I ask you this ... why are women’s shaving products so much worse than men’s?
We can’t move for beards, man buns and woolly chests — so while men are getting furrier, many women are still chasing that hairless dream, though I suspect those days are, rightly, numbered. And yet the majority of shaving products aimed at women are pink or turquoise, cheap-looking, cheap smelling, lazily formulated, often blunt and make shaving a chore.
So I turned the other way to see what was lurking in the men’s aisle. And it’s a trove of promise. I’ve gone all barbershop with Floris’s sublime triple-milled No 89 Shaving Soap, (bergamot, lavender, nutmeg, sandalwood and vetiver), served up in a wooden bowl (£35; florislondon.com) and accompanied by a weighty rose-gold shaving brush, (£70) which is so much more satisfying than smothering your legs in hair conditioner and scraping joylessly away at them. This is smooth stuff in every sense.
Less foamy but equally elegant is a tube of the heritage Parisian Buly 1803’s Crème Pogonotomienne, (£31; at selfridges.com) with sweet almond oil to leave skin supple.
In terms of aftercare, try Aesop’s unisex Moroccan Neroli Post-Shave Lotion, (£37; aesop.com); a moisturiser so perfectly and subtly scented that it imparts a sense of woody cleanliness without interfering with other fragrances you may use. Boosted with botanical oils, it sinks straight in but leaves bare legs sufficiently moisturised to battle the Beast From the East ... as they step out of the Uber and into the party, anyway!
