Elysian's Reaper at the Barbershop Soap, Shaved With the Leaf Twig

Hi there, welcome back. It’s time for another shave.

It’s been a week. I have shaved, just not on camera; it was hectic. The weekend’s been quiet though, so let’s get one in. Another Halloween-themed shave soap. This one’s a collaboration between Elysian Soap Co and the Wet Shaving Store, called Reaper at the Barbershop.

Really cool label. It says barbershop scent, but it’s not the citrusy kind of barbershop. It’s a darker, earthier take on it. I don’t have the full note breakdown in front of me, and I won’t do a full scent review here, but I like it a lot. This was a release from a couple of years back, and it’s still sitting there. Good sign for a seasonal collab.

Razor for this shave is the Twig from Leaf Shaving. Loaded up with a fresh Astra Green ↗ Amazon blade. The brush, already loaded for me, is a 23mm classic silvertip from Mühle.

Lathering Up

I load my badger brushes heavily. Always have. I like it when they go on thick so I can work the lather up with a lot of water. That silvertip is holding a ton of soap.

So what have I been up to? Quiet one. Got some things done around the house, nothing much on my mind either, just here to make a shaving video. It’s a cold one out there, abnormal for October, but it’s supposed to warm up soon.

This Reaper at the Barbershop soap is on a beef tallow base, and that base is very, very good. It can take a lot of water. Watch it turn into this leather.

This Mühle silvertip is so soft. No backbone to it at all. Feels like a cloud on my face, or a pillow full of lather. It’s a massive knot for only being 23mm, big coverage for its size. I think I overloaded this brush a little. You’ll want to fast-forward if you don’t like long lathering sessions, but I’m not shaving with a pasty lather. Shave however you want, there’s no right or wrong here, but I like to hydrate the soap out of my lathers, and you can see this one stays dense and creamy even loaded up this heavy.

The Shave

Cold water, as always. First pass with the grain.

I love the feel of the Twig. The one thing I’m not fond of is the handle shape. That taper just feels a little off to me. Outside of that, it’s a lovely razor to shave with.

Leaf has a new single-blade razor out, somewhere between the Twig and the Twig Two in terms of efficiency. I don’t remember the model name of that new razor off the top of my head. The handle’s different too, straight and broader, but it carries the same kind of head geometry, probably a touch wider blade gap.

This lather is going crazy thick now. It’s a very forgiving razor, and the lather is just falling off the brush at this point from how wet it is. Very easy to find an angle with the Twig - you just lay it flat and let it glide.

That lather is beautiful. I also lathered up the floor a bit; that’s fine, we tend to make a mess on this channel. It’s dripping and falling everywhere.

I’m really liking the feel of this razor. Smooth, intuitive. This would be a great beginner razor for anyone used to cartridge razors. This is a third-pass look, and I haven’t touched it up since the first lather. Beautiful. It’s also nimble for getting under the nose, and great for shaping up sideburns.

Very smooth against the grain too. This soap is snake-slick.

Quick update: I’ve had some trouble with my running lately; it’s better now. Haven’t run much of late, but I’m getting back into it; went and it felt pretty good. Hoping to be back to full mileage soon.

I’m not going to chase this shave any further. It’s crazy smooth already. That’s a brilliant shave, and a very close one. Going to pause here, rinse with cold water, and come back for the aftershave.

Aftershave

Okay, we’re back, rinsed off. That’s actually the closest shave I’ve had in a good while. No blood, no irritation at all.

Matching splash for this one. Looks like it’s alcohol-based; aloe vera is in there too but alcohol’s the third ingredient listed. Shake it up before you use it. Figured it would sting a bit, and there’s a nice fresh little sting, but almost no burn at all.

Once winter really sets in, I’ll follow this up with a skin food formulation. Great stuff, really nourishing.

That’s me done and dusted. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe to the channel, and until next time, take care.