I've never tried a bay rum :-( They are so hard to come by here. Those that are drug store available in US (dunno if this one is though) is a speciality here that are darn near impossible to get. Actually, the "toughest" I've tried is Williams Ice Blue
What?!! I now understand why my Encyclopedia Britannica career hasn't taken off . Now get off my lawn, you crazy kids *shakes fist* guys! Careful though, I'll get a big head & the only way to deflate is to tell bad puns. Warning: my jokes are like sick birds... So bad they should be ill-eagle
After the shave, for me, lately it's been: Cold water splash to help close up any weepers, etc. Dickenson's witch hazel applied with cotton swab, finishing the job the cold water started and toning up the skin. Aveeno unscented aftershave balm.
When I first started DE shaving (years ago at age 15), I followed my father's technique to the letter. His process: warm, damp wash cloth to the face for 3-5 minutes (wander the house, peer out the window, watch the early morning news on TV), dab of shave cream into a coffee mug & whip it up good, paint the face while making all types of facial contortions, shave, re-lather, shave, cold water rinse & while the face is still dripping, slap on some Mennen Skin Bracer. The wet face really did dilute the sting that potent Skin Bracer packed!
I usually apply it to a wet face. My only reason is that I don't like a strong scent on me and it dilutes it. Superior 70, I use straight up on a dry or damp face.
I do the exact same thing when using an alcohol-based AS. I don't want to be that guy who smells like he just doused himself in "Axe" in order to attract the ladies. Applying AS to a wet face dilutes the fragrance enough so that only my wife can smell it when I give her a kiss goodbye.
Haha, this is exactly what my dad used too! Come shaving age while I still lived in my parents' home, I grabbed a bottle for myself from the supply in the laundry room. I ought to go back to this - I'm currently using some strong new-scented Gillette stuff.
