As part of the starter kit I bough way back in the summer of 2010, I got a bottle of Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave – a non-alcoholic after shave balm.

I didn’t think too much of it at the time; I was new to the traditional way of shaving and had no real experience in using a post-shave product. So I tried it for a bit, and promptly decided not to bring it with me when I went on a 12 month Tour of Duty in Africa. It was a glass bottle after all, and I needed the space in my bags for other things… looking back I should have brought it. Hindsight is 20/20, and now I know the importance of a decent post-shave routine.

Long story short, I got back home and started picking up on using after shave, which cleared up the issue of dry skin I been troubled with while in Africa.

The Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave is a pretty decent after shave balm; the lack of alcohol mean no burn, and it’s fair to decent as far as moisturizing goes. It can leave my skin a little greasy though, so I have to wipe my fingers after using it. Scent is faint, which can be good or bad depending on your preference, and fairly indescribable.

I don’t use this as often as I perhaps should – simply because I find Krampert’s Finest to be a much superior product as far as moisture and scent goes. Kramper’s can give a bad alcohol burn though, if I managed to nick myself…

I know, I know… dabbling in the Dark Side. But how can we see where the light comes from unless we wander in darkness?

Before I started enjoying my shaves, I was pulling my whiskers off with a Gillette Sensor I was given while in Boot Camp. Never got a really good shave with it – or with any of the electric shavers I’ve tried over the years – but I persevered for lack of anything better (growing a full beard is just not an option). Last summer I decided to revisit the Sensor, to see if it was as bad as I remembered it to be… having spotted it in the back of the cabinet again, I decided to write up a short review:

The Sensor is a mild razor – which is good, since I needed four passes and some touch ups to get close to the DFS I get from two passes and no touch ups with my DE razors. Honestly Gillette; if this is supposed to be “the best a man can get” then I suggest you all hand in your man-cards. Half an hour after shaving I found myself longing for a real shave – and to add insult to injury I got shave bumps again; something I always had before switching to DE and haven’t been bothered with since I switched.

I hate shave-bumps with a passion – it used to be because the next shave would slice them open, meaning I’ll dislike shaving even more. These days I hate them because it means I have to take a couple of days pause from shaving… things change even if they stay the same.

On the other hand, the shave was better than I got from the Sensor before I switched to DE, so I guess it highlights the benefits of a good prep and a great lather.

On the upside, the handle is rock solid and near indestructible; it has lasted twenty years so far and still see regular use when my Better Half do her legs. I guess it highlights the Gillette Idea; they will pretty much give you the razor, and then gouge you on the cartridges. Which is fitting in it’s own way, since the cartridges will gouge your face just as efficiently as Gillette will gouge your wallet…

Bottom line? Rock solid razor, not so much blades. Bad for your wallet and face – Your Mileage May Vary off course, but please don’t skimp on the prep-work if you go for cartridges.

A while ago I reviewed two Turkish brushes – the imaginatively named No6 and No7 – and was in general pleased with the result. Sometime after I had bought the two brushes however, the No6 was ‘upgraded’ by the manufacturer:

Please note, this product has been revised according to customer requirements.
Now, more quality, and aesthetics

Seeing as how I PIFed my original No6 away, I just had to get a new one… well, so I told myself at least.

The handle sits somewhat better in my hand than the original No6 did, due to the slightly more bulbous shape. The knot is very similar to the original, but the mounting of it is now done with a slightly better looking plastic ring.

In use the new No6 is more or less indistinguishable as the original No6 – good backbone, good flow, very little scratching. It’ll make lather just as good as a more expensive brush, but you’ll find it’ll hold less of it – more than enough for two passes though.

There is – as it was with the original No6 and the No7 – some discussion online as to the nature of the knot – horse or pig. Personally I suspect it’s a case of ‘whatever we can find’, but since Turkey is a predominately Muslim country I lean towards horse. Or at least partly horse – my original No6 certainly smelled rather strongly of stables, but a few hand lathers fixed that.

There is also a lot of indications that the quality control can be at best spotty – some users reports their brushes developing a ‘crater’ in the middle after a while. But for a brush costing about the same as a cup of coffee, can you expect perfection?

To repeat what I said in my original review; the No6 would be an excellent first brush for a newbie not wanting to spend much money on a new hobby. It’ll would also be a good “first horse” for more experienced shavers who wants to try something new. Or you could simply get one just for the fun of it – letting you get one more brush in your rotation without laying out more money than you would for a cup of coffee.

Can you afford not to try one?