I pity restaurant reviewers. No really, I do. Imagine having to eat at starred establishments several times a week if not more! In our early years together, my wife and I ate out at least 7 times per week (lunch or dinner). No kids, good income, and too busy to cook. After about a year, a certain jadedness pervaded our eating. The food was somehow never good enough. Been there done that. Too salty. The chef has no imagination, etc., etc.. The fact is, anything you do on a very regular basis, no matter how good it is, eventually becomes stale and unsatisfying. Yin and Yang…you can only know white by also knowing black. Or as the monks on Mount Athos say:  “Even the bishop tires of too much Kirie Eleison“.

And I realized yesterday, so it is with gourmet shaving.

For the last year, my shaving has become almost Zen-like in its simplicity. A couple of favorite soaps and creams, two razors (identical except for handle color), and two brushes. Whatever blade was in the razor. Three quick and almost mindless passes, with little attention to the outcome…after all it’s always very good. Then yesterday I had a craving for something a little different. Out came the Roger & Gallet shave soap in its wooden bowl. The Plisson European White Badger brush. A fresh Treet Blue Special. The jojoba oil for a fourth and final “gloss” pass. An amazing shave full of fresh experiences of scent and a near eunuch-like level of hairlessness.

The realization? To be a true gourmet means to balance the Yin of everyday shaving with the Yang of occasional forays into excellence. Embrace the routine so that you can enjoy the special days even more.