Review: Barrister and Mann's The Four Horsemen... Famine
The fabled “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” are: War, Plague/Pestilence, Famine, and Death. Here I review “Plague” after a week of shaving with it.
When given the opportunity to grab some interesting-smelling soaps for cheap, I usually pounce. The Christmas sale at Barrister and Mann was appealing and there were still some Halloween “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” soaps remaining. I grabbed a tub of “Plague,” among others from this series that are variations on one base-accord.
Plague’s scent advertising copy is here:
We layered notes of thyme, sage, rosemary, lavender, and geranium over the core chypre of Death, itself a construct of citrus, resins, and moss, to produce a crisply floral scent that exhibits the tang of despair and the creeping miasma of doom, wrapped in the powdery, mossy design that characterizes the entire set.
Scent of The Four Horsemen: Plague
Upon first whiff from the tub, the top-notes are floral with tinges of herbal spiciness at the fringes. The underlying presence of chypre is only noticeable to me during lathering, when the scent really comes alive. The lingering scent is powdery and subtly earthy, and as always with Barrister and Mann scents, seemingly ever-changing. At any time, various notes seem to want to make themselves present, reminding the shaver of the elegant complexity that is present in this experimental series.
Scent strength of most Barrister and Mann soaps has been above average for as long as I can recall (2014), which I appreciate, as someone who doesn’t like to buy aftershaves. If I truly want the scent to remain after shaving, I pony up the money for the accompanying EdT/EdP. Also, as a reviewer, I want wetshaving to remain cheap and accessible for the average shaver, so I will usually avoid reviewing aftershaves.
(Note: I am aware that there were no EdP offerings for any of the Four Horsemen scents).
The scent lingers post-shave for about 10-15 minutes, which is standard for a top-tier artisan. The scent is approachable and pleasant for masculine and feminine sensibilities. If I was forced to pick a leaning, I would say that it leans masculine. Due to the floral nature of this scent, I would generally say that it is best-suited for Spring and early Summer… Not Fall, as the thematic release would imply.
Soap Performance
Barrister and Mann’s “Omnibus” soap base is one of my favorites. To illustrate the soft quality of the soap base, it only requires very little pressure from a finger to create an indentation. While I’m preferential to harder soap bases, like the “Reserve” base, primarily due to their longevity, this softer soap will last about 2/3 as long as harder soaps. I don’t mind using a little extra soap when it means that the lather is this good.
With minimal work I was able to create a thick and dense lather, but with closer to a minute of lathering (and a good deal more water), I was able to create a sloppy and luxurious lather that was forgiving… even with my 30-shave-old blade. This is one of the easiest soap bases for beginners to use. It is shockingly dependable and handles the hard water of Texas very well.
I was able to comfortably do two passes, With the Grain (WTG) and Against the Grain (ATG). The residual slickness was more than enough to complete touch-ups afterwards without worry for nicks, cuts, or even weepers.
Overall
Barrister and Mann has the luxury of being one of the larger soapmakers in the artisan shaving world. As a result, they can take risks like making an experimental soap-series. Plague is a standout scent in this series and it really is a fun interpretation of the chypre genre… and they’re only going to get more interesting from here.
I always end my posts with the question: “Would I buy this soap again?” but that’s a really difficult question to answer when it comes to an experimental series such as this. I certainly don’t have any soaps that smell similar to this. so the uniqueness and deftly-layered scent complexity makes it a very attractive purchase. I’m going to say that “Yes, I would buy this soap again,” but as I review the other soaps in this series, I may change my mind if I like others in the series more. I’ll update this post if that happens.
I purchased all reviewed items with my own money. I have not been paid/compensated/reimbursed in any way for discussing any product or for posting product links.
