Uh…Have I mentioned that I’m a big fan of the Proraso products?
For those who didn’t read a prior post on the first mail call shipment, you may not know that there were two orders to this mail call. So here’s the notice that the second order arrived.
I was very excited for this shipment: directly from Proraso USA (or their authorized US distributor/importer), I received the following: The complete refreshing (green) line of pre-shave, shave cream, and aftershave balm; the complete protective (blue) line, and the white shave cream. Oh, and two samples: one of the green pre-shave, and the second the green aftershave balm.
You’re probably aware that I already have the white line’s soap in a tub (they offer the white, green and red lines with both shaving soaps and shaving creams), and the pre-shave and aftershave balm. Those are each at least half full, so I don’t need to stock up on those for a while.
But after trying the blue and green samples recently, I decided, especially after hearing that the pricing of these Italian-made products has been going up some places by as much as 50% due to tariffs, that I’d order the full sizes to have them in stock when the samples run out.
Let’s talk about what I got!
I’ve loved everything about the sensitive skin (white) line. It lathers well. The pre-shave provides a lot of lubrication. And the aftershave balm is such a nice way to end a shave–it moisturizes and soothes after the shave. All three products have a very light scent.
Now I hadn’t used a shaving cream like these before getting the samples. The blue line’s lather only comes in a cream, and while it took one session to figure out the differences of lathering with cream versus soap, it didn’t take long to appreciate how well these creams lather. That’s why I decided to add the white shaving cream to the mix.
The blue line was one I was most excited about trying with the samples. It sounded like it would be a good addition to the white line, offering more protection during the shave and moisturization after. It has a slight cooling feel with the pre-shave, and has a stronger fragrance, but I really like it–it just feels kind of classy and tells me that yes, I have shaved.
When I was getting the samples, I figured I’d try the green products, just to see how they worked. I was fairly certain that I wouldn’t need it, because I wasn’t sure I’d need a menthol and eucalyptus, cooling formula for my shave. But I was happy with it. The pre-shave has a stronger nose of menthol than the shave cream. And in just sniffing the contents of the bottle, I think the aftershave balm is similar in scent profile to the pre-shave. But I don’t mind the fragrance at all, and the cooling feel is pleasant.
I’m very excited to start digging into them.
As a bonus, the same day that the Proraso haul arrived, I noticed a post in the Wicked Edge Subreddit, asking if anyone in Minneapolis wanted a collection of blades that the poster just wanted to get rid of because he preferred Feather blades and wasn’t fond of those in the picture. Accompanying the post was a picture of a pile of Accuforge Super Stainless blades, Gillette 7 O’Clock Greens, Gillette Silver Blues, Bic Chrome Platinums, and Perma-Sharps.
Now yes, I’d just bought some of these Perma-Sharps and Bics, but what can it hurt to have a few more? So I commented on the post that I was, indeed, a resident of our fair city, and that I’d be interested. We chatted online for a bit and I headed to his end of the city and met him to take what turned out to be 158 blades off of his hands.
So now the inventory is up to 393 blades, including 75 Bic Chrome Platinums, 55 Perma-Sharps, 54 Gillette 7 O’Clock Greens, and 48 Silver Blues. Yes, I’m up to 7 1/2 years worth of shaves (about 1 1/2 years of that being just with the Bic blades), assuming one blade per week. Am I officially a shaving hoarder now? I don’t want to be a shaving hoarder, except I wanted these blades, so maybe I do?
Just in case you’re wondering, I should get about 1,180 shaves out of the blade collection. I have no idea how many shaves the pre-shaves, lather and aftershaves will support. Guess we’ll find out.
Stop me, please.
