About the artisan from the website: “We make grooming products of uncompromising quality for people of uncompromising taste.”
Packaging: The soap comes in a container that is used by many artisans with a nice, wide opening that makes it easy to scoop out soap, or load from the container. The top label is clean and very nicely designed. The name of the soap is displayed at the bottom and the artisan is small, but present. The side label displays the name of the soap (on my container the names line up quit nicely). The artisan’s name is present, but not as large as most of the other text on the side. The ingredients are also listed, as is the symbol for the Excelsior base.
Scent: The scent is described as being “inspired by photos of richly appointed libraries, peppered with winged leather armchairs, a glass of fine whiskey, and the smell of aging teak and mahogany wafting from the shelves. Genteel and smooth, the fragrance combines notes of cured tobacco, sandalwood, Mousse de Saxe (whose inky tang suffuses the entire scent like a whispered promise), citrus, vanilla, resins, myrrh, and geranium.” Off the puck I would describe the scent strength as medium, about a five or six. Once lathered, the scent strength stays about the same. I get the notes of cured tobacco, sandalwood and resins, but it is beautifully blended and on the darker side of the note spectrum. Barrister and Mann scents tend to be polarizing when it comes to scents, for me this one is a winner. Surprisingly my wife doesn’t hate this scent (like she does Eigengrau), so that is a big bonus for me.
Performance: Barrister and Mann soaps are known as top performing soaps and the Excelsior base is no exception. I scooped out a decent amount due to the size of know I was using (31mm) and ended up with a thick, dense lather that can be described as low structure, but dense. The soap can also take a decent amount of water before it is properly dialed in. The residual slickness is nothing but exceptional. After the shave was completed, I had a difficult time rinsing off the soap. Cleaning the brush also took a bit longer due to the slickness and properties of the soap.
Post Shave: For this shave I finished up with witch hazel and the Moon Soaps unscented balm for additional moisture. The soap alone has great post shave feel, but the balm just adds a nice bit of luxury to the shave. Once dialed in, the Excelsior base does not really need anything outside of witch hazel for a great post shave feel. I have used this base several times where I simply finished off with witch hazel and my skin felt well-nourished and hydrated.
Price: The Full Measure of a Mann is offered for $17.99 for 4oz, or $4.50 an ounce. That’s not a bad price considering how much product is used for each shave (I scooped out too much in the photo above, even using a large 31mm synthetic knot).
Final thoughts: While most Barrister and Mann scents can be very polarizing as I mentioned above, I thoroughly enjoy The Full Measure of a Man. It’s a dark, rich scent that tends to linger if no other scented post shave products are used. The lather feels luxurious on the face and has a great post shave feel that one has come to expect from high-end soaps like Barrister and Mann. I enjoy this scent and can easily recommend it to anyone who enjoys darker scents. Barrister and Mann has moved up on my personal list of artisans I enjoy due to this base and the scents I have recently tried. Have you used this soap? What are your thoughts on the scent? Do you find B&M’s scents polarizing? Let us know in the comments below.
JBT