A Half-Hearted Launch of the Shaving Stuff

Sharp-eyed observers have noted that there has been an incomplete assortment of wet shaving supplies in the Grooming section of the ASW store for a couple of weeks. It is incomplete because our search for the highest quality shaving supply makers determined that the English firm of D. R. Harris & Co. had the best rated shaving creams, and no sooner did we place our first order than that firm's only employee trained to complete the paperwork necessary to ship products containing alcohol into the United States departed for long term sick leave. And so the cologne and after shave portion of that line has been sitting in London for some time, only to finally depart for America a day ago if all went well.

Obstacles remain of course. Once the various potions and compounds arrive in Petaluma they will still need to be photographed and PhotoShopped and pre-wrapped and binned and things, but we hope to have the rest of the line up and running nonetheless by sometime next week.

ASW will initially be stocking Harris's Arlington and Marlborough ranges in addition to a selection of razors, brushes and other accessories. Arlington is a lively but subtle citrus scent mixed with hints of fern that is best for daytime and really shines in warm weather. Marlborough on the other hand is a subtle blend of woods including cedar and sandalwood that is better for evening and fall (your mileage of course may vary, which is why we will be offering testers of each fragrance). The advantage of each scent is that it can be layered, with shaving soap, after shave, cologne and other products all working together. And the shaving soap is the finest quality, triple-milled to increase the profuseness of the lather.

All this aside, ASW is not going to become a pharmacy, with a profusion of grooming items. But wet shaving is probably the second best experience a man can have with his pajamas on and I did want to offer a high quality way to enjoy it.