This isn’t a joke, although it lends itself to plenty of jokes.

It has been said that for its size, Paris isn’t a great wet-shaver’s city. There are very few specialty shops dedicated to wet-shaving, although most pharmacies stock a few products. While I was in Paris a few weeks ago, I heard of a store called Planète Rasoir (Razor Planet). I took a cab to the store, where I found an elegantly laid out shop with a good inventory of shaving and grooming gear. Unfortunately, like everything else in France, it was priced through the roof in multiples of what I would pay on line.

I was on the lookout for French-made products, especially soaps and shaving creams. There wasn’t much….Plisson, of course, and a collection of no-brand tins of shaving soap made from Asses’ milk. Yes, you read that right…the milk of donkeys. It was crazy expensive at 35 Euros for a small tin (about 50 bucks with taxes). The sales clerk mentioned that it was made for the store by a private supplier and that it would last for at least a year in daily use. I bought one, hoping it wasn’t I who would turn out to be the ass.

Upon my return to Montreal, I was eager to get some ass (you see, the jokes are inevitable). I tried it. As soon as my Plisson brush touched the soap it burst into the most incredible, thick, slick lather I have ever used. No joke: This may well be the world’s greatest shaving soap. A couple of swirls with the brush and it produces the most copious quantities of rich lather that lasts for 3-5 passes. Unbelievable shave. It puts all my other soaps and creams to shame.

If someone you know is going to Paris, ask them to pick you up a tin. Or just call the store and order one. Pay whatever it costs for shipping. Do it now….move your ass.