The Shave Mercantile Sangria Nocturne: Finally a Splash to Match
Hey everybody, John here, also known as Cape Cod Wet Shaving. Allergies are hitting hard over here right now. Me and the kids are all suffering. Anyway, got something good to talk about today.
Coffee of the day: Sterling Costa Rica. Excellent roast. Love all the Sterling coffees. Big fan.
Today I’m using the recently released Sangria Nocturne from The Shave Mercantile. I bought this myself, and I bought the matching splash too, which is an aftershave toner, non-alcoholic. Haven’t opened the splash yet but I’ve had my nose to it. It’s going to be good.
Ethan and The Shave Mercantile
Ethan runs The Shave Mercantile. I’ve known him for about five years. Smaller shop, but he carries good stuff: Omega brushes, Goodfellas’ Smile, a lot of it. Wonderful guy, family man. Love him to death.
Any chance I get to support him, I do. And over the past five years, I wouldn’t say I hounded him, but every now and then I’d say, “Hey, have you thought about making splashes for your soaps?” He’d only had shave soaps. No balm, no splash. Nothing. A number of months ago he finally reached out and said, “You’re not going to believe it.” I said, “What?” He was working on a splash formula. I said yes immediately. Had to do a video.
Sangria Nocturne vs. the Original
Sangria Nocturne is a revamped version of the original Sangria. Sangria has been one of my favorite soaps he’s ever put out, which is funny because I am not a wine guy at all. Long story involving my younger days and a certain type of red wine. Tequila too, same situation. I can’t be near either of them. But Sangria worked for me because it’s different. Very fruity. The only other wine soap I can think of is McDuff’s Blanc, which I also like because it doesn’t smell too winey.
The scent notes for the original Sangria, as I remember them: lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, red wine, apple, raspberry, oak, and musk. Sangria Nocturne goes a different direction. The notes here, per the product description: dark plum, black grape, red wine, and tropical fruits. The citrus is mostly gone. The tropical fruits probably carry some of that, maybe pineapple in there. But this one is heavier on the dark fruits and the wine.
I’d describe the original as tart and fruity. Honestly reminded me of those Welch’s berry fruit snacks when you open the pack. You know that smell. This one smells more like a jam. Velvety is the word I keep coming back to. The oak barrel note from the original is gone, which makes sense given the direction. I actually love that oak barrel scent. Monica’s burnt oak barrel soap is one of my current favorites. But this one goes somewhere completely different. Darker. Richer.
Soap is $16.99 and the splash is $15.99, per the product listings at the time I filmed this. My affiliate code is CAPECODWETSHAVING for 10% off at checkout. Link is also in the description and my Instagram.
The Setup
For the razor I went with my copper Fatip Piccolo Gentile. One of my favorite razors I own. Beautiful piece. I get compliments on it all the time and for good reason. I love copper. Loaded a fresh Permasharp. I haven’t used them in a while and I love these blades. Sometimes I’ll match the blade to the look of the razor, which sounds ridiculous. The Permasharp box is brown, and things like that matter to me.
The brush is my True Till Death brush that Cody made for me as a Christmas gift. It’s a type of wood that turns green as you handle it, and it’s starting to. It was meant to be a red and green Christmas brush, but honestly the color it’s developing now matches the wine tone of Sangria Nocturne pretty well. Face lather today.
The Shave
The soap is a little thirsty. I had to add more water than I expected. That’s a good thing, not a complaint. Just something to know going in. Once the lather dialed in, it was excellent.
The fragrance during the shave is really, really good. I said it smells like a jam and I’ll stand by it. You get that dark fruit heaviness right away. The wine note is more present than in the original, which is exactly what “Nocturne” suggests. Velvety. Not sharp or tart. Richer.
The Permasharps were great. Quick second pass, careful around the mustache as always. One wrong angle and I’m trimming the whole thing, which I’m not ready to do. I haven’t touched the beard or mustache with a trimmer once since I grew everything back. It’s getting wild. I’m leaving it.
A Year-Round Pick
I’ve been thinking about where this one fits in the rotation. Summer is obvious given the fruit and wine. But I’d actually call it a year-rounder. In autumn I reach for spicier, fruitier stuff. Mulled cider territory. Sangria Nocturne slots right in there too. Dark fruits, that richness. So this one stays out through the colder months as well.
Bottom Line
The soap is excellent. The Shave Mercantile has always put out good stuff. But the splash is what I was waiting years to see, and I’m glad Ethan finally went there. Non-alcoholic toner, and even just cold it tells you something good is coming. Really hoping he keeps going and makes splashes for the rest of the line.
If you’re on the fence: $16.99 for the soap alone is worth it. The set is even better. Use CAPECODWETSHAVING at checkout and save yourself some money.
Thanks for watching, everybody. Hope you’re all having a great start to summer.