Ariana & Evans - Khalifa
Island Bladeworks "Stoya" | Elite Razor Manchurian
Ever-Ready SE | Gem PTFE (1)
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This is technically my second use of Khalifa. The first go, I fought the lather a bit. I was expecting a true cream as Peter had initially described it. The consistency is a bit more firm than a cream. "Dipping" the brush tips in the tub didn't pick up any product. That initial shave wasn't ideal simply because of the frustrating load and not meeting my expectations. I admit, I'm so absolutely spoiled by top artisans' products excelling on every level that even a small matter like loading expectations can detract from an otherwise good product. I didn't want to paint a negative picture, because once I had the lather straightened out, I had a spectacular shave. I'd resolved to revisit it, approaching it as a soft croap. The consistency is like RazoRock's Santa Maria del Fiore or some of Dr. Jon's early soaps.
Treating this product like any other soft croap by gently loading with a damp knot yielded much more predictable results, and henceforth an ideal experience. In fact, the build was intuitive and provided a dense slick luxurious lather. Residual slickness was above average and post-shave was spectacular, rivaling my top 5.
Khalifi's fragrance is an unmistakable smoky, resin and crushed green cannabis mitigated by spicy vanilla and agarwood. It descends into a darker, syrupy accord towards the end of the shave with hints of toffee.
The aftershave comes in a heavy glass pump bottle that delivers an even light mist. Some may choose to spray it into their hands and apply. As a head and face shaver, I give it one full direct pump to the top of my head and use my hands to distribute over my head and face. A single pump delivers an adequate amount. Other than the delivery method, the feel from the aftershave doesn't stand apart from other alcohol-based splashes. While the soap's post-shave will probably preclude the actual need for post product for most skin, the fragrance is the real reason to use it. Thankfully, the aftershave fragrance has the same notes, but is less cannabinoid and more non-descript resin, oud, vanilla, and incense. However, I did not detect coffee from the spray but it may well be lost amidst the dizzying array of sinfully dark notes. The drydown sustains the dark, syrupy incense abandoning the hashish after about an hour. After having used this twice, I note the splash's fragrance duration is fairly brief at about 3-4 hours. I assume this is by design, thus encouraging me to drop some coin on the Black Afgano extrait that influenced Khalifa.
I'm a sucker for packaging, and the Diamond tier exclusive presentation of Khalifa looks classy even if it is impractical. The glass urn is just a showpiece that many of us will set aside. The plastic tub slips down inside and stops about one-third of the way before the slight taper of the interior of the urn stops it, and it easily gets stuck, so I won't even be storing the puck in the urn. While I’m happy with my purchase, I do look forward to using more of this A&E croap base in a more traditional sized jar. It should go without saving, Khalifa's fragrance will not be for everyone, but assuming this base is used throughout A&E's line, wet shavers wanting high-level product need only pick their flavor and enjoy.
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