These days, the average man probably does not shave with “proper” soap. Instead, he picks up a can of Gillette’s or Wilkinson Sword’s shaving foam. He thinks nothing of this. He might notice the cheaper varieties protecting his face less, but that’s just the way it is, isn’t it?
The average man is missing out.
Crabtree & Evelyn are known for their skincare products, and it’d be a mistake to see a shaving soap as anything but a member of that group. Some of your most sensitive skin is on your face, and us boys are expected to drag razor-sharp blades across it once every couple of days (considerably more often, if you’re Robin Williams) with a mere foam or lather to stand between us and angry, red razor burn. The average man puts up with this for no good reason.
My skin has always been susceptible to razor burn when using an off-the-shelf foam (even when avoiding cartridge razors), so I was keen to see how the Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shave Soap would do by comparison. I won’t deny, I expected an improvement, but I was still very pleasantly surprised.
The soap lathers easily and is smooth enough in texture to cause a little embarrassment when I realised how long I’d spent absent-mindedly painting it onto my face. This is, of course, around the moment that the smell hits you. Lime, vetiver and ginger are all present and correct; suddenly shaving is an actual pleasure rather than a dreary, mandatory routine. Gone are the days of irritation, blades clogged with who-knows-what and boredom in front of the bathroom mirror.
All I have to do is come up with a suitably masculine explanation for my girlfriend when she asks why I keep stroking my own face.
Shop the Crabtree & Evelyn West Indian Lime Shaving Range at Escentual
