Pre: water
Brush: Oumo 26mm Motherlode
Soap: Murphy & McNeil - Nantahala
Razor: Rockwell 6S (R6)
Blade: Gillette 7o'C yellow (5?)
Post-shave: Nivea Sensitive
I'm quite surprised dropping the loft only 2mm made a substantial difference to backbone on this brush. It's still probably a little less firm than my Yaqi 26mm Timberwolf, but it's not mean to have the backbone of a badger. Much better than when the loft was set at 55mm, no where near as 'floppy'. The increase in backbone did increase the springyness of the fibre a little too. I noticed it flicking more soap off as I face lathered than before. I actually did a side by side comparison with my Timberwolf and found the tips of the Motherlode to be even softer (didn't think that was possible). It's like lathering your face with a plush toy. But the fibres draw water like nobody's business. Even with most of the water squeezed out before loading, it plumed lather like, well, a 'motherlode' of lather. I hardly had to add any more water as I face lathered to get the necessary hydration. These fibres are nothing like a Tuxedo, Timberwolf, Plisson etc... This is a true 3rd generation fibre (along with the Synbad, Mew brown, Alpine, Silksmoke and a couple of others - not sure where Cashmere falls, I think it's G2). I still prefer my TH (G4) for the increased backbone though.
M&M really oversold this soap, tbh. Like a refreshing walk through the rainforest national park? No. Is it a good example of a fougere. Yes, but nothing special or exciting. I kind of liken it to Seaforth Heather without the powder/talc. Scent strength is low and the performance of the Aon base is average. I'd put it somewhere between Spearhead's 20.1 and Stirling. Their Kodiak base is much better. I know the expense and difficulty of obtaining bear tallow stops them from using Kodiak as their main base, but it's significantly better than Aon. This isn't like splitting hairs between B&M Excelsior base vs Softheart. Like you're not missing out on Softheard if you already have some soap in Excelsior. But if Aon was M&M's only base and I didn't know about Kodiak, I'd definitely be missing out.
I've been rotating my razors, so I actually don't know exactly how many times I've shaved with the 7o'C yellows, but on my final pass, it started to feel a little scrapey on the face. Time to change it over, I think. 5 or so shaves. Kind of puts it in the range of Astra SP in terms of longevity, but it is smoother and more enjoyable to shave with though. Maybe worth the additional expense to purchase.
