The Great Bear Aftershave Balm - by Murphy and McNeil

A Message from Joe @ Black Mountain Shaving

The Great Bear

Dedicated to the storytellers

For thousands of years, Winter has been a time for celebration and fellowship. Families, friends, and neighbors gather to share wisdom, folklore, and stories of great adventures. It's a time to put away our technology, delve into imagination, and embrace each other.

One such celebration occurs on the Winter Solstice known as The Long Night of Storytelling. People gather under the stars sharing ancient tales and wisdom, including the legend of The Great Bear (Nyah-gwaheh). The tale is about the hunt for a monster of a bear running across the mountains terrorizing the villages. It teaches about overcoming fear, persistence, and the dangers of complacency. This lore was affixed to Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, to represent The Great Bear, as a reminder of this lesson.

When developing this scent blend, memories of warm celebrations, feasts, and stories of family members' travails, including those long since past, flooded my mind. Winter is a time to pause, a chance to look up into the heavens, and embrace fellowship and camaraderie. The smells from the kitchen and the warmth of a drink fill the soul under the dark, starlit sky on a cold Winter night.  We are many people, but we came together as one. What story will you tell? What legend will you leave behind?

May peace and comfort be with you on your adventures this season and every other.

-Joseph.K
Black Mountain Shaving

Scent Profile

• Scent Strength: Medium - Strong
• Top: Cinnamon, Honey, Osmanthus, Bergamot
• Middle: Plum, Fig, Rum, Labdanum, Artemisia
• Base:  Tonka, Vanilla, Cashmere Wood, Patchouli
• Notes: This fragrance is the embodiment of coming in from the cold. The transition from cool to comfort is brought on by sweetness and spice on a base of relaxing woody notes.
• Credit: This set features the art of the incredible Rafa of @xicano_design!

Aftershave Balm Ingredients

• Water, Coconut Oil, Emulsifying Wax, Stearic Acid, St. John's Wort, Chamomile, Comphrey, Plaintain Extract, Pomegranate, Sodium Lactate, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol + Koolada-23 (Optional), Phenoyxethanol, EDTA, Fragrance
• 103mL / 3.5 fl oz