I happened upon this deal at Big Lots today on the 50% off Clearance table for fragrances etc. Original price was $6.00 - so I got it for $3.00! The brush looks like it might be horse hair. Seems soft and does not have any funky smells. It is a pretty dense knot. The shave butter has a distinct menthol note, but a pleasant undertone. It is not a cream but has the consistency of Noxzema ''Skin cleanser''. I am not sure if it will lather or not. The label (on the bottom of the jar) lists: Ingredients: Water(Aqua), Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerol Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate, Citirc Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Fragrance (Parfum), Menthol, Disodium EDTA, Piroctone Olamine, PEG-90M. (C)2016 Manufactured for & Distributed by Tri-Coastal Design - Bath & Body LLC. Wharton, NJ 07885 Hopefully, I will try it out tomorrow.
I picked that same pack up at a local outlet store clearance around Thanksgiving. In short, I got shaved, but haven't used it since because I went on a soap buying binge and found others that I preferred. I think it smells more like Noxzema than White Birch or tobacco, which probably biased me against it to be honest. The brush shed a bit though it did hold a decent amount of lather. The lather was serviceable but nothing I wanted to put into rotation. It was not terrible either though. Of course, YMMV, and that is what makes the adventure. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
I'm pretty sure my grandmother has those cookies in her cupboard right now. Of course, they may be from 1972
Thanks for the comments. I am always looking for bargains, and really do like those canned cookies! OK, so back to the Shave Butter & Brush. BRUSH I was able to pull the knot out of the handle easily before using this. The knot is embedded in a cork base that fits into the plastic handle. The plastic handle is pretty light, has an obvious seam, and feels cheap. Upon re-inserting the knot, the glue must have took hold, and the handle is securely fastened now. Brush experts can comment further on this assembly. I have never taken a knot out of any of my brushes before. I have not had a horsehair shave brush (to my knowledge - have some from my Dad that were well used when I got them) so though I suspect it is, I'm not sure if the brush is Horsehair or not. It is different from my other boar brushes- seems stiffer and the bristles darkened significantly more when I wet them. I couldn't place the smell as either boar or horse, but know that this is not a synthetic or badger knot. BUTTER I used the butter as a pre-wash and it has a moderate slickness, but very cooling feel to it. After, I worked up a superlather with the butter and just a touch of Williams Shave Soap loaded on the brush. I am more comfortable building up a lather with a soap than a cream. I face lathered with the brush. The smell was pleasant, with mild notes of woody menthol. The lather was thick and rich. There is definitely a strong cooling menthol tingle that lingers on the skin for the whole shave. I got a 4 pass shave with the one loading of the brush. I think the Williams may have reduced the slickness of the first lather a bit. Next shave will be pure butter to see the difference from the start. The brush did not have an overly offensive smell to me, but I left the lather on it till the next use to "break it in". So, I am pleased with the product - for $3, I think I got a deal.