HC&C James Bond: You Only Have Nine Lives Straight Shave Review
Hey, what is up my marvelous misfits of wet shaving. Welcome back to the channel. I’m Wes, the Dude of Oud, your favorite talking torso. I hope you had a phenomenal week and your weekend is shaping up to be full of all the good things - family, cars, shaving, whatever you’ve got going on.
It’s Straight Shave Saturday, I’m working with a brand new offering from HC&C - Hendrix Classics & Co. Pete just dropped this one, and it is called James Bond Starring in: You Only Have Nine Lives. The label art is something, man. Black panther in a tuxedo sporting what looks like a 1911. Pretty neat. I like it.
The Inspiration Behind the Name
This soap is inspired by Lafayette Street from Bond No. 9 - hence James Bond starring in the thing. On the nose, and I respect it.
Bond No. 9 is a luxury niche fragrance house headquartered at 9 Bond Street since 2003. Their whole concept is dedicating fragrances to New York City neighborhoods. Lafayette Street is literally right around the corner from their front door. But it took them 15 years to finally put a scent to it. They waited until that street went through a real cultural shift - sneaker boutiques, skate culture, modern downtown energy. Grounded in history but energized by something current. That’s what they were after. And that’s the vibe Pete brought into this soap.
I had never smelled the original Lafayette Street before this, so I did some digging to talk about it properly.
Breaking Down the Notes
Bond No. 9 classifies Lafayette Street as an oriental fougere - smooth, leans masculine, but with a modern sweetness that gives it a cosmopolitan, high-end feel. Not a traditional barbershop scent. Not heavy leather. This is a night-out-in-the-city kind of profile. The note breakdown below follows Bond No. 9’s own description of Lafayette Street, the fragrance Pete built this soap around.
Top notes: bergamot, coriander, and fresh florals. The bergamot brings a sparkling citrus lift. The coriander adds a zesty spice that keeps the florals from going powdery. Off the puck, this stuff opens up bright. It smells very good right out of the tub, and it only gets better as you build the lather.
Into the heart: apple, ambroxan, and vanilla. The apple is crisp and fruity, smoothed out by the creamy warmth of the vanilla. The ambroxan acts as a bridge, giving it a modern, airy, slightly salty depth. That’s what lifts this above a simple sweet citrus - that airy quality is what makes it feel high-end and current.
Then the dry down: tonka bean, dry woods, and grey amber. The tonka brings a rich, velvety depth, almost like sweet hay or a touch of tobacco nuance. The woods and grey amber ground the whole thing and leave a refined, musky finish. Very nice.
One thing worth noting: in the soap itself, you really pick up the bergamot, coriander, apple, and those heart notes. In the splash, that’s where the tonka, dry woods, and grey amber come forward and linger. The base lives more in the splash. Between the two products you’re getting the full picture of what this fragrance is doing.
On my Tennessee Whiskey Proof Scale, where zero proof is the worst and 100 proof is the best, I’m giving James Bond Starring in You Only Have Nine Lives a solid 60%. There’s a good amount of fragrance in that puck and it smells fantastic. For me, this is right up there with Year of the Dragon, The Fixer, Judge Roy - the upper tier of what HC&C has put out. I’m putting this in the same conversation as Spice Bomb and Drakkar Noir. That’s where it lands for me.
I’m definitely picking up the EDP on this one. That’s how much I’m feeling this fragrance.
The Kit
I hadn’t touched my Feather kamisori in months, so this felt like the right time to bring it back out. Anybody who ever asks me about getting into straight razor shaving, the Feather artist club style is usually where I point them. The kamisori in particular - I love the control. The way you hold it, the way you get a purchase on it. It’s a razor I keep coming back to.
For the brush, I used my Truefitt & Hill that I picked up on a trip to London last year. Felt fitting for a James Bond shave. Seemed right.
The Lather
Pete’s base builds a thick, cushioning lather. Vegan formula with cocoa butter. Stays hydrated and slick as long as you keep the pace up. Soap can only stay so wet, you know what I mean. But I’ve never had a problem with Pete’s base. Every time, it performs.
The shave itself was fantastic. I did have to be careful around some sensitive spots right now - looks like I’m developing eczema along the collar line, probably from my laundry detergent. Might have to go unscented. Getting old is something else. But even with that going on, this was an excellent shave. No complaints.
Final Thoughts
Pete has been putting out great stuff consistently. Emperor Oud is excellent. His DNE pine menthol is terrific - a really nice original creation on his part. And his inspired-by line is quality across the board. The fragrance oils he uses are top-notch.
Side note: if you haven’t been to his site lately, Pete has started selling knives. RoseCraft Blades, Benchmade, a nice little assortment. And he’s got these cigar box display cases lined with leather for your straight razors, DE razors, whatever you want to lay out in there. The leather wicks moisture away. It’s a sharp display piece for anyone who’s into that kind of thing. Worth a look.
Before I let you go - if you missed the OC last night, go catch the replay. Marcus from Allen Valley Shaves was on as a guest, and Guts walked away with the giveaway thanks to Marcus’s generosity. If you haven’t checked out Allen Valley’s channel yet, go give it some love. I had the pleasure of meeting Marcus at the Ohio Shavers meetup. Good guy, good channel.
Alright, gents. Another Straight Shave Saturday in the books. Happy shaves.