Prorasso Red

I finally recieved this in the mail. I have been looking forward to using it - Proraso shave cream and sandalwood: two of my favorite things in one! It had to be a win-win.

So use it I have; 1.5 times now, actually.

The first time I brought it to work with me so I could shave after my morning workout. They let us shower and shave after, so its not like I was ducking work. I went ahead and started taking out my supplies: Razor, check. Proraso Red, check. Aftershave, toner, face wash, moisturizer, check check check check. Brush and lather bowl, check che- aww hell.

Yes, I forgot my lather bowl at home, and had to improvise. There was nothing there I could find to use, so I ended up lathering up in the palm of my hand. No the most ideal situation, but what could I do?

The lather was a little too dry, as I expected, and seemed a little 'heavy' on my razor. But the shave went off just fine. No nicks, no burn.

The scent was great - I was not dissapointed in the sandalwood; I must admit though, I missed the menthol in the Proraso Green.

It wasn't the best shave I've done, but it wasn't bad. I figured I'd just chalk it up to the missing gear.

So this morning I tried again, at home, with my lather bowl. I performed The Routine as always, and broke out the Red. One thing I've noticed is that Red is a little runnier than green. I have to squeeze thre Green out of the tube; the Red almost falls out on its own. I don't know why this is, or what is so different about the formulas. I think I will order a bonefide Proraso Green next time, and see if maybe the difference is CO Bigelow vs. Proraso (although from my understanding the only thing that changed is the packaging).

So anyway, back to this a.m.'s shave: I got a nice lather out of the Red, and set myself to smoothing out my face.  I made sure not to over/under hydrate the soap this time. I applied it to my face about three times (once per pass). Again, it seemed that it was a little 'heavy'; by that I mean it thickened up and sort of gummed up my razor a little. Overall it wasn't bad, but it didn't seem as smooth as the Green.

Post shave I was a little bit raw, perhaps because I don't have the menthol as a buffer. The shave was decent, and I like the smell of the product.

I'm going to continue to work with it and see if I can get the kinks out. So far though, Proraso Green keeps the crown.