Ariana & Evans Obsidian Ember: Review from the McKenzie River

Father’s Day 2026. I’m standing knee-deep in the McKenzie River, about 15 miles from home in the Pacific Northwest, just after 8 p.m. The kids spent the afternoon here with us. Alexis is on the bank. Tripod’s in the river. Beautiful day.

Disclosure up front: Peter at Ariana & Evans sent me the Obsidian Ember soap and splash for review. I didn’t pay for either. Eric at The Cajun Blade sent me the Blizzard Butter pre-shave as a gift as well. Also worth noting: Obsidian Ember hasn’t launched yet as of this recording. No sales page up yet. The link in the description will go live when it drops.

The Setup

The brush I’m using is a custom handmade piece from my friend Chris. He’s not selling them yet. He should be. There’s a Frank Shaving G8 knot in it, and there’s a 20% off link for Frank Shaving in the description.

For pre-shave, I used Blizzard Butter from The Cajun Blade. It’s a gifted prototype. That’s his Bayou Butter formula in the White Walker base, mentholated. On top of that, I loaded PAA Chill Mill menthol crystals directly into the soap. I’ve been building that concentration for a couple of weeks, so there’s a solid amount of menthol in there going into this shave.

Loading tub-style. Ariana & Evans has moved to the new low-profile jars - the Medusa logo is embossed on the bottom. No mirror out here. I used my Samsung Galaxy S24 phone screen to see my face. Standing in a river will do that.

The Ultima 2 Base

Before the fragrance, I want to talk about this base, because it’s one of my two favorites.

Slickness, density, residual glide. Everything I want in a top-tier soap is in the Ultima 2. I love the K2E (Kaizen 2) base. Love the vegan VR2. The Legacy base is great. But if I had to pick two, it’s Ultima 2 and K2E. Something about those two just fits my shaving needs. And what I appreciate about Peter is that he has a base for just about every shaving style. Whatever you’re working with, he’s got something that works for you.

Obsidian Ember: First Impressions

I applied the splash to the back of my hand before loading the brush. Immediately, I got a rich, dark cherry.

At the same time, my wife Alexis and our 18-year-old daughter Emily both agreed: there’s a very distinct almond or amaretto note right up front. I went and researched why, because looking at the official note list Peter sent me, there’s no almond listed anywhere. What I found is a compound called benzaldehyde. It’s present in cherry and in a range of other botanicals, and it’s what creates that almond-adjacent quality. The two notes come from the same molecular family, which is why the almond impression surfaces even when it isn’t an ingredient. It only lasts a few minutes. Front-end, and then it fades.

That’s just my own hypothesis from the research. I haven’t talked to Peter about it. But three of us smelled the same thing, and benzaldehyde is the only explanation I found that tracks.

As the cherry settles, a light roasted coffee note comes through. Not a strong coffee. Gentle. Give it a couple of minutes. After that, I pick up just a hint of cinnamon.

How It Develops

After about 20 minutes, I notice a slight resinous weight in the fragrance. There’s a shift. The official notes include Virginia cedarwood, and I think that’s providing the grounding finish. The dry down is warm and lingering.

Here’s my honest take: Obsidian Ember is a linear fragrance. The cherry I applied is pretty close to what I’m getting an hour in. There’s a shift, but it’s subtle. I really, really like this fragrance. It’s absolutely beautiful. I just wanted more evolution in the dry down. More of a journey.

That’s why I’d love to experience an extrait or EDP of this. The core scent is worth it. More concentration would give it the depth I’m looking for.

For most guys, the dry down won’t read as dramatically different from the opening, and that’s not a flaw. It’s warm, it’s cohesive, and it wears well. Gender scale: unisex. I’d wear it any time of year up to about an 85-degree day. Not a peak-summer fragrance, but you’ve got most of the year to work with it.

The TGS Lybra

I had the TGS Lybra on loan from my friend Tim. Mild side, straight bar, loaded with a Kai blade on its first use. Full review coming in the next day or two.

What I’ll say here: damn fine shave.

A floating log drifted past me mid-shave, straight out of a Stephen King story. That’s what this hobby is. Thanks for watching, and happy Father’s Day.

It’s the little big things!