Australian Private Reserve | Fenchurch
Phoenix Shaving | The Starcraft | Roswell Hybrid Synth
The New Improved Schick Injector Razor | Personna 74
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FpUQ73hZ.jpg&hash=2014b5cd56f8c48769e28acb2b7e9d83)
This past year, I've been afforded the opportunity to not only try old stand-by artisans' upgraded soap formulas, but also some outstanding new-to-me artisans. Much like West Coast Shaving introduced me to Grooming Dept, Maggard Razors made it easy to procure an otherwise difficult to obtain Australian Private Reserve. Jason Rudman's recent review of Fenchurch motivated me to place an order.
I played around with this lather the day preceding the actual shave to determine how it responds to my hard water. I found loading fairly dry with hydration on the back end works best for me. This method proved the most effective way to get a consistent no-brainer lather. In this respect the Australian Private Reserve "F2" beef tallow base loads and reconstitutes very similarly to that of Declaration Grooming's Bison Tallow base. APR F2 has a relatively wide water tolerance, but it performs best when hydrated like average tallow bases as opposed to taking it to the drowning stage necessary for Grooming Dept Mallard, Barrister's Reserve, or Phoenix and Beau. The resulting lather is high-end density but low profile. It will not blow up into a voluminous or fluffy Hollywood lather. When optimized, it paints on like glistening cream and floats the blade as if it were oil. Residual slickness is such that a wet blade can safely revisit areas devoid of visible lather, but it rinses clean. Post-shave is also high-end, leaving soft supple well-hydrated skin.
The fragrance of Fenchurch is unlike anything I've ever experienced, and the documented notes are dizzying. On paper, this should be too sweet to be in my wheelhouse, but the masterful perfumery displayed in Fenchurch makes this an addictive accord for me. I won't presume to claim I can identify the individual notes as it's just far too complex. That is not to say it's convoluted, however. The soap is lovely warm sweet tobacco, vanilla and powder, but the splash medium unveils the realized fragrance. Fenchurch opens with what I perceive as liquored overripe black cherries and soft tobacco flower. This phase alone is amazing and I lamented its departure. The middle offers up hints of leather without actually being leathery, and this is accompanied by fresh earthy uncured tobacco playing off the preexisting tobacco flower. Somewhere late in this stage the fragrance becomes thicker by way of conservative musks sustaining the leather and powder. The dry down actually continues to echo the former notes but with a warmth and foundation of resinous florals and beautiful vanilla. I found myself compulsively revisiting the bottle long after the splash lifted. With the help of a fellow wet shaver, I now have a bottle of the Eau de Parfum en route. This is a must-have fragrance for me.
I apparently stumbled upon Australian Private Reserve at its pinnacle with the "F2" base. Never having experienced it's prior bases, I can't speak to how it has upgraded. As it is, there's very little room for improvement, but the high-level perfumery exhibited by Fenchurch is the reason to import this product.
Click to expand...
