Wedding Blog

On the 7th of last month, Mr. Cherry Pie and I celebrated eight years together. Eight! EIGHT IS GRRREAT!

Ahem. Sorry ’bout that.

Because it was our last date-a-versary, I wanted to get him something special. I had planned to take him to a very spiffy restaurant near our apartment, but it was closed on Monday evening. I didn’t want to come home empty-handed even though we could just reschedule. So I went hunting about Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood to see what I could find on my lunch break.

Mr. Cherry Pie is kind of a fashionista, so at first I thought I’d see what I could find him at his favorite boutique. But I already suspected he was getting me something to wear as an anniversary gift and I didn’t want to make it into a clothes swap.

As you ladies know, it can be hard to shop for men, especially when looking for something “timeless” and “classy.” I mean, my dude’s hobbies are listening to girly pop music, playing MMORPGs, and rock climbing, and he’s got those bases pretty thoroughly covered on his own. So what’s a well-intentioned lady like me to do?

I stumbled into the neighborhood perfumerie, Essenza, thinking that I would just look at their men’s colognes and soaps, even though I know that Mr. Cherry Pie hates fragrances. It was kind of a last resort. And there I saw it, the holy grail of man-gifts… a classic shaving set.

I pretty much broke the bank buying this for Mr. Cherry Pie because I was still planning to take him out for a nice dinner. Oops. But when I saw it, I knew it would make a perfect anniversary gift… or a wonderful wedding present. Of course, I probably could have saved a bunch if I’d had time to do some research because there are plenty of affordable shave sets, soaps, and brushes out there. Well, I still love the one I got! (And, more importantly, so does Mr. Cherry Pie.)

Mr. Cherry Pie had just recently gotten into “product” like men’s facial lotion, men’s hair cream, and exfoliating scrub (mine, which he steals). As far as shaving, he’s pretty much been a Gillette with Barbasol shaving cream guy for as long as I’ve known him. I figured he’d like the razor because it fit his blade and was made of a nice, smooth dark wood. I wasn’t sure what he would think of the shave soap and the badger brush, but my guess was that he would think the whole set was nifty because he likes “fancy” things.

Boy, was I right on the money. When he opened the box he got really confused because he had nooooo idea what he was looking at. Then, he put the set together and his eyes lit up like like a kid’s on Christmas. Actually, he was more excited than he has been for the past few Christmases because I’ve been giving him an awful lot of sweaters.

Once he started using the badger brush to lather with the shave soap, he became a true believer. Just drank the classic-shaving kool-aid riiiight up. That very day, he started researching shaving online to learn about this “whole new universe.” Within a week he had ordered a DE (double-edged) safety razor because he’d read about the great shave he could get from one… but was convinced he would probably slice his face off. While I was a bit irked that he was already “upgrading” his upgraded razor, his newfound enthusiasm for male grooming made him so giddy (and SMOOTH) that I couldn’t complain.

Now he’s obsessing about getting a classic straight razor and has ordered a variety of shaving soaps and aftershaves to sample. I haven’t seen him this “into” something since he first started rock climbing. But I do loves me a smooth-faced man, so color me a happy girl. Of course, he ‘blames me’ and says, “I totally never would have entered into this crazy tangent without prompting. It never would have even entered into my mind! I have to give you props for your insight.”

One of the first things Mr. Cherry Pie wanted to consider after he’d gotten over the initial glee of his present was possibly getting shave sets for his groomsmen. I told him he’d best look at somewhere other than Acca Kappa if he wanted to avoid complete sticker shock, but perhaps his attendants might appreciate just a badger brush and some shave soap. ( Looking at badger brushes online also revealed that some of the highest end ’silver tip’ brushes go for over $1000! Yikes! )

In any case, Mr. Cherry Pie wanted me to share his shaving adventures with the Hive as a recommendation for all you ladies looking for wedding (or birthday or anniversary) presents for your man AND as a recommendation for all your men who might be looking for groomsmen gifts. There are a variety of great shaving-related sites out there that Mr. CP has turned to for his research and he highly recommends Classic Shaving for all your shaving needs!

I just checked with him to see if I missed anything in this post and he said, “Nope, just how much I love you. It is, in fact, one of the most awesome presents you’ve ever gotten me.” How’s that for a glowing testimonial!

Does anyone else have any experience with classic shaving as a men’s gift or pastime that they can share with me, Mr. Cherry Pie, and the Hive?