June 3 - A RAWRing Good Time - Day 11

• Brush: Semogue 610 21mm Boar

• Razor: Gillette Flare Tip Super Speed F1

• Blade: Sharp Star Platinum

• Lather: Noble Otter - RAWR Soap

• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger Splash

• Post Shave: Pinaud -Clubman Splash

• Fragrance: Catie's Bubbles - Blugère EdP

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This brush is just eating soap, cos I'm finishing this quicker than expected yet again. I'm not complaining, just surprised.

The powdery goodness of Clubman goes so well with the blueberry fougère of Blugère, and I am all for it. This combo brings about a casually classy vibe; refined, but easygoing.

#FOF

Edit: typo.

June 3, 2024 – 2024.06.03: Lather Games Day 3 – Where’s the Beef?

• Brush: AKA Brushworx Blues Stanley Cup with 26mm Turn N Shave Quartermoon knot #FRANKENBRUSH
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Dammusi
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Dammusi
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Dammusi

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Daily Theme: Where’s the Beef?

(It’s Arby’s. Arby’s has the beef)

Theme justification: House of Mammoth soaps contain Duck fat.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: I went easy today, since it’s Monday. Today’s theme is Dammusi. First ~~dickhole~~ trickhole of the Games. I just love Dammusi too much to not use it all.

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Scavenger Hunt Justification:

Razor facts: The MM24 is a Modern Gem. They started production in 2021. It is also a flip top due to having the head of an EverReady Shovel-Head razor.

Brush facts: The brush has a handle created by AKA Brushworx and knot from Turn-N-Shave.

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Daily/Special Challenge: OnionMiOsma Day

To start off with, Osma is the GOAT alum. I even bought a second block at the Maggard Meetup since I was already there. Always need to have a backup, am I right? Going from Maggard brand alum to Osma was a total game changer in my shaves. Don’t know how my face survived using such a poor quality alum. This is not Maggard’s fault at all, it’s just that all alum is poor alum compared to Osma.

Osma was used on this shave despite it not being listed in my shave log. This is to not annoy the robojudge.

Now, as for /u/OnionMiasma, I’ve got to say he’s a pretty cool dude too. I can even look past his error in being a Cubs and Blackhawks fan. He was one of the first people to reach out to me when I joined this community and treated me (a total stranger at the time) as a friend. He offered to drive a few of us to and from the Maggard meetup from Chicago this year. Without that offer I wouldn’t have been able to attend. I’m extremely thankful of this gesture, as a great time was had all. Meeting y’all at the meetup was a lot of fun. I also got this great picture of the convoy (us along with /u/hugbckt & /u/fuckchalzone) when he dropped me back off at O’Hare (he’s the one in the Blackhawks shirt under the yellow arrow, I’m in the Blues hat with the blue arrow). I did edit the photo for privacy a bit.

Seriously, /u/OnionMiasma++. If you’re ever in OK for some forlorn reason, let me know and I’ll buy you a beer.

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Frag description

House of Mammoth Dammusi

I love this scent. So much so that it was the first ever HoM EdP that I purchased. It beat out Rumble to earn that honor. The first note to hit me is the citrus. As a citrus lover, this is what drew me in (which is the point of that note). After that, the pine really comes forward. It’s quite relaxing.

I’d like to point out at this point I really have no idea what I’m talking about most of the time when it comes to frags. The main reason why I’m doing the FoF is to force myself to articulate what I’m smelling. I’m hoping that my later posts will be much better than these early June ones.

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Now onto the shave!

This was my first time using a MM24, though I have used a shovelhead in the past. Much better experience than with the vintage GEM I used previously. I think with some proper practice it could be a very nice daily shaver. However, I’m not sure I will be putting in the time. It’s nowhere near the level of a weck, but I just have too many nice DE razors that it doesn’t really make sense.

The brush might be my favorite handle of all time. It’s a Stanley Cup handle in the colors of the St. Louis Blues. I felt this handle was appropriate for today since the Stanley Cup Final has been set (I'll be rooting for the Panthers). I currently have a Fullmoon knot in it and I really like the knot. It’s super soft and feels fantastic on the face. I’m debating about putting it in a new handle where I can set it a smidge lower, but I’m not too sure. I think it would improve with just a touch more backbone (seriously, not much at all).

The soap, as we’ve all come to realize from HoM, is spectacular. Top teir soap.

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Totals:

Razor Hashtags: 4/10
Brush Hashtags: 4/10
Hardware Sponsor Points: x/2
Software Sponsor Points: 2/16
Number of Lather Brands: 3/30
Number of Lather Scents: 3/30
Number of Post Shaves: 3/30
Number of Frags: 3/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

June 3, 2024 – LG Day 3 – Where’s the Beef?

• Brush: Zenith r/wetshaving Exclusive MOAR Boar 31mm #SUBBROOSH #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Karve CB SB-C #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY #STAINLESSLESS
• Blade: Treet Classic (1)
• Lather: Red House Farm – Nine Days Up Nort’
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Scots Pine
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors – Cape Heartache

Between the theme and the challenge today, we’re in for a journey of a culinary conversation. No beef to be seen here. Tallow is rendered from suet, which is the hard fat found around the kidneys, loins, and other organs in particular animals, traditionally cows (beef) and sheep (mutton). Suet is also the term used for the fat in the same area within wild game, but as the Lacey act prohibits the sale of “wildlife”, this is generally moot except in rare cases such as PIFs by u/grindermonk. Hard fat similar to suet is also found in pigs, but is called leaf lard for reasons that are largely unclear and can probably be attributed to the fact that language is weird.

Nine Days up Nort’, as featured in u/OnionMiasma’s underrated SOTD for the fall theme last year, uses deer tallow and has a requisite gaminess to it which I quite enjoy. There’s a hefty amount of woodiness, sure, but the natural scent of the non-fragrance ingredients is what makes this special. This is much harder to recreate in an aftershave, so doubling down on the pine note with Scots Pine (no sheep in the aftershave, at least per the label) seemed like my best option. Rod writes that it’s “nothing like a pine oil used in cleaning products,” which I don’t entirely agree with, but it’s not bad, just not particularly complex. Then, to entirely divert the vibe, Cape Heartache comes along. The blast of fir and pine at the top are welcome additions, but as they dry down to a sweet amber, it’s a strange combination with the Nine Days funk that I can still smell. The Scots Pine has completely faded just two hours after using, but this soap has some oomph to it, and would have benefitted from a more complementary frag today. In the journey of fragrance, we live and learn. #FOF

Now, back to our culinary journey. Let’s talk about salt. Samin Nosrat tells us all about the importance of salt in her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat as well as in this gifted article (you’re welcome). Salt aids in enhancing flavor. It reduces bitterness – hence why dark chocolate and sea salt are a wonderful pairing. Try a sprinkle of salt in black coffee. Taste is weird. Salt also enhances sweetness, which is why Maldon salt belongs on cookies after baking, and why classic cookie recipes typically need more salt than what is listed. Salt, through various chemical reactions, improves the taste and texture of food, such as its work drawing out moisture from meat and vegetables through osmosis, which then dissolves the salt and allows it to be reabsorbed into the food. On a molecular level, salt ionizes when it dissolves in water, breaking into sodium and chloride ions; then, these ions interact with the flavor compounds in food and our taste receptors, making flavors more pronounced and enjoyable. I prefer Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, just like many chefs and recipe developers, because it’s easy to pinch and sprinkle and is far more forgiving than Morton’s or especially table salt. Take a look at some of Kenji Lopez-Alt’s work for more about salinity by volume among common culinary salts.

This is all to say that I love salt, my doctor tells me I consume too much of it, and I don’t need to rub it on my head after shaving. (Yes, I know it’s a different type of salt. No, I don’t care).

2024-06-03 - Soylent Green

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Glacial Electric Sheep
• Razor: Clix E-Z Flo #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Brush: Yaqi Metal Timberwolf
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - D-503
• Post Shave: Alum, definitely not Osma
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Telegrama

Where's the Beef: Mutton
Side note: Check out this rust-free patina. No rusty butts here!

Unifying Theme: Literature
The title of the novel is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Dude, people aren't even said to dream of sheep. You're thinking of "counting sheep"; the dreaming part comes later. You should know better than that, Dick.
::ahem::
Philip K. Dick, of course.

Speaking of dystopian-future novels that I've never read, D-503 is the name of the protagonist of Мы (We) by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

I wish I could have kept the dystopian-future thing going, but I had to widen the scope to literature in general, which is fine because I make the rules! Even if Imaginary Authors almost feels like cheating, the aethetic of Telegrama seems at least vaguely appropriate.

#photocontest
Steampunk is an aesthetic genre that answers the question, "What if technology was only hot water and clocks and we dressed up all horny about it?" (paraphrased from u/BennyFeldman @1:25)
I didn't think I was going to have an opportunity to organically incorporate this into any photo during the Games, but I think it happens to fit, also vaguely, with the dystopian-future element of much of my setup today, so that works out. Serendipitous!

#FOF
Are you familiar with mosquito-repellent candles? I am not. If you're unfamiliar with Electric Sheep, it's worth noting that Stirling has a WARNING on the product page imploring people to try a sample before a full tub. I'm pretty sure I dove straight into the latter when I bought this.

I don't know what the fuss is about. It's strong, but refreshing. Like Lemon Pledge, maybe? I don't know what Lemon Pledge smells like. It's intense, and the Glacial menthol kicks the entensity levels up to Awesome. "Not for the faint of heart," indeed.

A dupe of Legend by Mont Blanc, D-503 transitions smoothly, perhaps thanks to its citrus notes, although those same citrus notes are the reason (maybe along with the purported 'dried fruit') that I opted to target the D-503 soap that I had in order to use it up and get it off my shelf. It's not that I don't like it—quite the contrary; tonka and light florals effectively mute the citrus—but it's not a contender for being among my favorites.

Telegrama deviates sharply from D-503, coming in firing on all cylinders with powder and linen, falling away to a firm assertion of vanilla. It's a very clean scent that, in retrospect, actually makes for a pretty excellent pairing with the sharp cleanness of Sheep. Serendipitous!

I suspect it would also tightly intermingle with Maggard's Barbershop and such soaps that use that scent mix. But I digress.

OnionMiOsma Day:
I've noticed a tendency in jobs that I've had, in which I inherited some task—a report or the like—and I later discover that the person I inherited it from hadn't developed a good understanding of it. Not only did that person not know the "why," but it later turns out that the exec or whoever who originally asked for it never really even cared that much about it, not then and especially not now.

I'm convinced that this challenge is the same. Alum is handy stuff, but no one really gives a shit about Osma. For example, consider this pristine block of Osma. I'll never need it, because the giant, chemically-identical rocks of the stuff that I got for a fraction of the price of that tiny block will last me forever.

June 3, 2024 – Fever Dreams

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 22mm Faux Horse w/ Ruby Ripple Handle #Fauxfur
• Razor: Weck Junior #weckonista #rustybuttrusty
• Blade: Personna Hair Shaper (1)
• Lather: Areffa Soap – Agave
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Smash
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors – Saint Julep

I make bad decisions when I have a fever. This is known. Once, when I had an ear infection, I decided to drive to Walmart in a snow storm to get formula for our son. (He needed special stuff and only Walmart had it.) I didn’t get home for 7 hours.

So, it’s no surprise when looking at my options this morning for shaving, I opted for the weck. On Osma day, so I’ll know exactly how bad I did. But it’s also “OnionMiOSMA” day so I used the Personna blade in honor of u/onionmiasma’s suffering for AA.

This thing came pre-patina’d and needed to good scraped out of it so I could get the blade in. More patina pics. Is it supposed to hinge by the serrated part? No time, I’m getting tired must shave!

This was not a good shave. I only drew blood in one place, just below my ear where I tried to go XTG, and hit the angle wrong. But it’s OK, I HAVE OSMA! I “finished” the shave (such that you can call being still scruffy finished) and applied the Osma.

Now a note about my Osma, if you look it a chunk is missing from the top, that’s because I broke some of it off and sent it to u/AdWorried2804 so he had Osma today. It looked like I sent him Crystal meth. Anyway, we wanted to test the idea that since Osma comes from a shared block, sharing part of that would transfer some of the feel of the shave. Basically all Osma is connected! If so, I’m sorry, he’s in for some stinging. When I hit that part behind my ear it stung something fierce, I think blacked out, and when I woke up, I tasted…saltwater and coconut? He has nicer weather than I do.

Now while u/grindermonk is only aware of 1 bear tallow soap (that is a prize for best shave in scuba gear or something, I dunno I didn’t read the whole post) there is in fact at least one more. I commented once to u/bmac92 my thrill didn’t extend to odd Ukrainian soaps made with bear tallow, but then when he offered to send this for shipping only I said, “why not, maybe it’ll be useful for LG.” Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

My #photocontest here “animals (dead)” But how you ask? Well, that Tupperware container contains the missing beef tallow! Theme question answered.

For #fof, I’m going with an all-drink theme here, Agave (famously used in tequila), Smash, which is a peach bourbon cocktail, and Saint Julip which is a nod to Mint Julips. Fittingly the description of St. Julio mentions “bear” (though in verb form) bringing us back around to the tallow! Go theme! The smells are interesting, I get a slightly chemical smell off the soap, smash smells like cherries to me, and Saint Julep is supposed to be like mint. The soap did not improve upon lathering, the smash clashed a bit with the Julep, which did not smell like mint to me, but maybe that’s the tangerine? It was ok. I’m going back to bed and hoping that area behind my ear stops stinging by tomorrow.

Mutton Fat' Day

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks - Oumo 24mm Manchuria M4 Two Band Fan #FRANKENBRUSH
• Razor: Gem Micromatic OC #FLIPTOP #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: Fresh Personna GEM
• Lather: Brand - Stirling - Electric Sheep
• Post Shave: Brand - Tüff - Herb
• Fragrance: Pino Silvestre EdT

Today, this beautiful Muninn's brush arrived just in time for LG. There's nothing to say about the MOOC it performed like a monster, probably the best safety razor. I paired the medicinal scent of ES, with the spicy, wood , herbal taste from Tüff and rouded it with Pino Silvestre Edt. #FOF

Happy monday! The Cure - Friday I'm in Love

I forgot about the Osma thing, who needs to use such a thing? Rubbing a piece of aluminium salt on your beautiful skin, Ohh no!

Informative post

June 3, 2024 - Where's the Beef?

• Brush: Brad Sears Gonzo Handle Manchurian Fan 24 mm #SHD
• Razor: GEM 1912 #TWINS
• Blade: GEM PTFE (14)
• Lather: Grooming Dept - Mallard Corretto
• Alum: Osma
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Embrace
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Treachery

Challenge: I won’t be rubbing a styptic pencil and cracking black pepper on my face this year. I’ve been converted. In ~4 years of wetshaving I’d never used alum. In September I decided it was time to see what the hype was about. I included Osma in a Maggard’s order. I’ve used it after pretty much every shave since. I haven’t included it in my lather games posts because I don’t want the bot picking it up. Hopefully labeling it “Alum” will avoid that.

I love coffee. I drink a cup of black coffee made from good locally roasted beans almost every day. Mallard Corretto is tailored for a different kind of coffee drinker. It's very sweet. The combination of brandy and honey smells similar to caramel. There a big note of vanilla, and a bit of cocoa. If you like sweet fragrances, this smells nice. It's enjoyable for the duration of a shave. But, that's all I can take.

This soap utilizes a duck fat base. It's not the easiest soap to use. The consistency is that of room temperature butter. It's tricky to load as it likes to stick to my scooping stick, my fingers, and itself. I had little globules of soap in my brush that had to be worked out by working the brush on my face. It took a good bit of soap to get a lather going. Thankfully, it's not particularly thirsty. The end result was good. The lather had a nice consistency, resembling face cream. Primary slickness was good. Secondary slickness was lacking.

I picked Embrace to go with the coffee theme of Mallard Corretto. The fragrance in House of Mammoth’s balms tends to be a bit muddled. Embrace is warm and friendly. The notes blend together well. Nothing really sticks out more prominently than the others. I smell notes of fruity berries, cardamom, a sharper spice note, and a general green woodyness. It’s an inviting fragrance that I could sit with for a while. I wish this came in a candle.

The cocoa and vanilla sweetness of Mallard Corretto lead me to the most decadent fragrance in my den, Treachery. I love the bold boozy whiskey note in this that walks up and jumps on you like a poorly trained dog. It's chocolatey with an accompanying bitterness. After dry down the tobacco spice creeps up on you (or was it standing there the whole time?). There's also a warm spice that smells like cinnamon. This is a fragrance you wear when you want people to take notice. It also makes me want to smoke a cigar.

#photocontest - an onion, because it’s OnionMiOSMA day.

#FOF

June 3, 2024

• Brush: Zenith B16 #OLDWORLD #HOLLOW
• Razor: Ever Ready – 1912 #TWINS #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Razor: Gem - 1912
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Daveli Farms - Cranberry, Pomegranate, Vanilla Sheep Fat Shave Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Pinky Swear Splash
• Alum: Exotic Blend of Salts from around the World
• Fragrance: Clinique – Cocoa & Cashmere EdP

🎵Mary had a little lamb🎵
🎵Little lamb🎵
🎵Little lamb🎵
🎵Mary had a little lamb🎵
🎵Whose fleece was white as snow… And whose lamb had sweet, sweet talloooooow🎵

Did you know the classic children’s nursery rhyme was about a real-life girl named Mary Sawyer? And you’ll never guess who followed her to school one day, school one day, school one day… It was a little lamb! No one actually documented the name of the lamb, so for the sake of this post, we’ll call the lamb: Porkchop. You can read the whole story here, but poor, little Porkchop was abandoned and Mary rescued him. And Porkchop pretty much became her shadow, following her around everywhere. The consensus is that one of Mary’s classmates wrote much of the nursery rhyme we know and love based on his eyewitness account. Now, there are some controversies about who actually wrote the diddy, but the story itself is believed to be 100% factual. Henry Ford, yes the car guy, even stepped in and purchased the actual Old School House that Porkchop followed Mary to and moved it 20 miles away from its original location to preserve the building. No word on what happened to little Porkchop or if they made shaving soap out of its tallow. But they should have. Because I’ve tried a few different soaps made from Sheep Fat and I haven’t been disappointed yet.

This Daveli Farms shaving soap performs quick well, especially for the price-point – I think it was like $8 for the tub. It’s definitely a no-frills soap. No fancy art, or layers of complex scent profiles here. Hell, it came in plastic wrap and I had to put it in my own tub. But at the end of the day, it smells nice enough and gives me a good, slick shave. I don’t know what it is about sheep tallow, but I really enjoy shaving with sheep fat soaps. To some noses, the funk of sheep can be a bit too much, but for me, the performance positives outweigh any slight sheep funk.

"Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go." And indeed, everywhere my razor went, this soap provided the perfect cushion and glide. No nicks or cuts – just a smooth, close shave that left my skin feeling as pampered as little Porkchop The Lamb. The sheep fat tallow works its magic, creating a rich, slick lather white as snow that feels super smooth on my skin. It was a shave experience that will leave me with a DFS that’s bound to follow me to work all day, work all day, work all day. The DFS will last all day, because it’s was a good shave!

#FOF: The sweet, tangy notes of cranberry and pomegranate mingle with the warm, sweet aroma of vanilla in the soap. I quite enjoy it this scent, and building off the sweetness from the vanilla and finishing the shave off with Pinky Swear, which is comprised of Caramelized Sugar, Nutmeg, Cocoa, Cedar, White Musk, Tonka, & Vanilla sparks joy in my life. To triple the sweetness, I used Clinique’s Cocoa & Cashmere, which is almost like a simpler version of the Pinky Swear Splash, sharing Cocoa, Vanilla, and Musk notes. No surprise, a stellar gourmand day in the books! Together, this trio created a symphony of scents that harmonized pretty perfectly. The bright, fruity notes of cranberry and pomegranate, the creamy vanilla, the immediate sweetness of Pinky Swear, and the rich, warm embrace of Cocoa & Cashmere all blended into a magnificent fragrance journey from start to finish.

Challenge: Osma. No thanks. Never touch the stuff and probably never will. I’d rather grind it down into a powder and snort it before rubbing a dirty old block of salt on my face. And you shouldn’t either... HOWEVER, in the spirit of the Lather Games, I decided to try something today…

It's come to my attention that I can come across as a "Coastal Elite", or perhaps a bit "smug" or even "arrogant". Whatever. Just because I enjoy the finer things in life, doesn't mean I can't slum it with you commoners in r/wetshaving. So, imagine my surprise when I found out there are people who will take a basic block of salt and rub it on their face after shaving. Unbelievable! What will you poors think of next? But I digress... Priusaurus doesn't do anything basic and I'm not about to start today. I gathered a smattering of my artisanal salts, and mixed them together in a one-time-use crystal bowl. If you all do a basic block of salt, I'll do a blend of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, Black Icelandic Lava Salt, Icelandic Flaky Sea Salt, and Smoked Salt Flakes from the coast of Maldon, Great Britain... Because, it's truly the only civilized way. I rubbed this concoction all over my face and despite using higher quality materials, I don't see the appeal and have come to the conclusion that I am simply too high brow to understand this Osma thing. This will be the last time I rub salt on my face after shaving. My face feels like a freshly brined piece of Wagyu that I'm about to Sous Vide and serve with a glass of Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard 'Mundus Bacillus Terrae' Malbec. Ugh... I'll never live this stunt down with my friends at The Country Club.

Soap theme justification: The soap is made from Sheep Fat.

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Everything tasty and sweet.

Jun. 3, 2024

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Strata W/TnS Quarter Moon Synthetic #COMPOSITE

• Razor: Blackland Sabre #CNC #MODERNGEM

• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [16]

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co - Glastonbury

• Post Shave: MontBlanc Explorer

• Fragrance: MontBlanc Explorer

Where’s the Beef?

I am old enough to remember when that commercial was new. It was everywhere, T- Shirts, bill boards, I’m sure if I went through old photo albums there’s pictures of my Step- Father sporting a Where’s the Beef shirt. I’m also old enough to remember when Wendy’s was actually good.

So for my 3rd shave of my first LG I chose Glastonbury paired with MontBlanc Explorer. I love both of them and this month is going to kill me because usually use MBE 2-3 times a week. I have plenty of Frags but I reach for this one a lot.

I have really fell in love with the SE format. I use the Sabre more than any of my other razors. It just works so well for me.

I don’t use Alum. It’s a dumb reason why because I know it’s just in my head but I have to watch my salt intake because of my heart condition so even though I know I’m not absorbing it into my blood stream I just don’t want to take the chance of any extra salt. But I will say that u/onionmiasma is the perfect strawman. He did not know me from Adam but helped me score some Spearhead! that I was on the hunt for and I will always be great full for that.

Soap justification. Glastonbury is made with Mutton Tallow

Frag. Glastonbury is very Patchouli forward as is Explorer they go great together.

Photo Contest: Theme Money

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

Where's the Beef?

• Brush: Chisel and Hound - Intrepid (26 mm Zenith boar knot at 53 mm loft) #COMPOSITE #FRANKENBRUSH
• Razor: Above the Tie - Calypso R1 #CNC #RAINBOW
• Blade: Feather - new Hi-Stainless
• Lather: YRFCE - Yard Raised Fresh Chicken Eggs
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Roam
• Osma: Osma - Osma
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Shire 2

Happy YRFCE day! Three years ago, u/pppork revived this mythical chicken tallow soap and published the best documentary in wetshaving history. Definitely worth a watch if you haven't had the pleasure!

The chicken tallow makes this perfectly on theme, and the relevant post shave and fragrance through-line here lies in three different versions of grassy scents of nature: YRFCE has notes of grass, dry hay, and vetiver. Not exactly clean, but light and subtle. Roam is the exact opposite: Wet grass, earth, smoke, dirt. This is the scent of a camp site that smelled like YRFCE three rainy days ago. When the weather turns good again and the land dries again cleaner, that's when it smells like Shire: violets and fresh air (= warm hay to my nose, but that's a side note), fresh vetiver. I like these happy roller coaster fragrance progressions that tell a #FOF story. I'm really looking forward to the Roam 2 splash, because the balm in the Covid era finger balm tub starts looking a bit sus.

Great shave with the blue AtT. It's a good razor, it's just not very exciting. As a result it doesn't tend to get a lot of use. Not sure why I find it boring, but I do.

For the #Photocontest, I first planned to do the Bird theme (obviously), but then I got in the mood of doing Fill the frame instead because I enjoy the perspective and calm a closeup gives, the details and imperfections revealed, the tricks of depth-of-field, the visceral experience of one's size, and, of course, the tiny bokeh balls.

The chicken with its piercing look is a fun subject for closeups, even getting very close. I also experimented with a shorter focal length macro lens, but it was a bit over the top.

Today's Sponsor Wholly Kaw is the maker of controversial Entropy Man, one of my all time favourite scents in ~~cough syrup~~ wetshaving, and for that alone I'll be forever a fan ♥.

Day 3

• Brush: DS Cosmetic – 26mm Horse #HORSEASS
• Razor: Blackland - Sabre #CNC #MODERNGEM
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. – Wayoh Soap
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co. – Wayoh Splash
• Fragrance: Azzaro - The Most Wanted EdP

Boom Boom Boom - now let me here you say way-ooh – WAYOH!!!!

Boom Boom Boom - now let’s shave with WAYOH – WAYOH!!!!

Made with duck fat all the way, I could shave with this all day Maybe with a different brush cause this horse one really sucks Scratchy getting tangled too – For the hashtag, no thank you Used a modern gem today, cuts those whiskers every way

Shave shave shave – now let’s shave with WAYOH – WAYOH!!!!

.#FOF – Wayoh is a woody-spicy dupe of Spicebomb by Viktor and Rolf, so I used Azzaro’s the Most Wanted, which is also woody-spicy. Wayoh is more cinnamon and leathery and smells warmer, while the frag is more like vanilla and spices. The two scents complimented each other nicely, but not really the best combination for a day like today. An 80 degreee summer day is too hot for this, as the smell makes me feel like I should be sipping mulled apple cider. Either way, this would be a great combination for Oct/Nov.

Challenge: I have never used Osma or any other alum, for that matter. And honestly, never plan to. My shave routine is great as it is and I don’t think any amount of rubbing a salt block on my face would change that.

.#photocontest: Onion

imhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Where’s the Beef?”… The Top 5 Best Ad Campaigns of all time:
5) Pepsi, The Pepsi Challenge – If we add more sugar to the sugary drink America loves, they’ll love the extra sugary version even more!
4) American Express, Don’t leave home without it – Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to NOT buy something? Grow up and get an Amex!
3) Milk, Got Milk? – Drinking the product of a lactating bovine is the best way to be successful.
2) Nike, Just Do It – Consequences be damned, live for the now!
1) DeBeers, A Diamond is Forever – Successfully convinced a population that your marriage doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t have a rock in which they control a monopoly of and artificially create scarcity in inflate the price.

June 3, 2024 - Where’s the Beef?

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Lather Games 2024 - Blurple
• Razor: Unbranded Solingen Silver Steel 6/8 #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co - Montrose Beach
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co - Sandy Cheeks Splash
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Manoi de Tahiti EdP
• Alum: Osma and Green Block

FOF

Today’s Theme - Don’t have a cow:

First thing I thought of was the Darkwing base of Chicago Grooming Co. I got this soap in a generous PIF from Vida at CGC. Also included was the Sandy Cheeks splash. The Darkwing base shows that duck fat is good for more than just French fries.

Today’s Challenge:

Alum or potassium alum KAl(SO_4)*12H_2O has been a folk remedy for millenia. It is often the ingredient in styptic pencils and many antiperspirants. If you ever used the brand Certain Dri, it has a very high concentration of the alum which can last for days. There are 3 prevailing opinions in the group. Alum is great and Osma the best, ain’t nobody need that shit, and ehh? from the fence sitters. When I got my first sampling of blades, a free block of alum was included. I used it off and on, usually if I had weepers. I was in the ehh? camp.

I decided for today to unscienticianly determine if Osma was the aftershave GOAT (hmm any soaps with goat tallow?). From the Osma camp the claim was since it was cut from solid blocks of mineral alum, the smoothness made it miraculous. After spending Saturday evening honing a couple straights for the first time, some of my equipment was still out, and I got an idea. Now out of the box, the Green Block has a rougher surface texture. I actually opened this block yesterday, and it was pretty grainy, but pretty solid. Could I polish this ~~turd~~ alum block? Now I didn’t want to use my new Shapton ceramic stones, but I do have a fine/very fine Duosharp diamond plate. It is approximately #600 and #1200 grits. I got the Green block wet and started polishing all 6 sides of the GB. It made a milky swarf/slurry of alum pretty quickly. Once I got it smooth to the touch on fine, I flipped the plate over to very fine. On 1200, I could feel the stone was much flatter. It started doing that thing where flat ground surfaces can kind of stick to each other. I got out the Osma to compare. I learned a little lesson. If you put Osma in a plastic box wet, some of the salts will dissolve and crystalize on the surface. To the diamond plates with the Osma. It was quick work to remove the rough crystals from the surface. I dried both blocks, and I was ready for today.

To give myself the best base to test these, I decided I should either do a Weck shave, MMOC, or try my first self honed razor. The Nameless Solingen has a fair amount of character from the black iron oxide stains, and surface putting. Not sure why the tag is Rusty Butt Rusty, but I added it. I went with testing my work with myself as the 🐹. One thing that did happen from wet polishing alum for about 20 minutes. My fingertips are crazy soft today. Anyway, the shave was a bit crunchy, but did remove the hair. Back to the stones and strop before I try again. After a 2.5 pass shave wtg, atg, other atg cheeks only, I was sure I had a perfect test bed for a bit of alum sting. To my surprise, nothing. No stinging and both blocks felt pretty smooth on the skin. While I dried off the razor, I left the alum on my face. Still no stinging, so I washed it off. Then applied the splash. Now there was some stinging.

Conclusion: ehh, if you like it use it, if you don’t no big deal. It is this decisiveness that I’m known for after all. As for Osma vs. other blocks, buy the Osma if you can get it. Sure a cheap block made from crushed up alum can be smoothed, but that isn’t worth the time unless Osma cost 10x more.

~~Smelly feet~~ Fragrant Feats:

This set of smells is all about my wife’s least favorite food, coconut. Fun fact, when your wife hates a food, she assumes you should hate it too. I don’t get a lot of coconut here. Montrose Brach starts this tropical party with a pretty aquatic scent accented by coconut. It is quite a refreshing scent. Sandy Cheeks slaps you in the face with a sweet coconut with my mind thinking I spilled a piña colada all over my face. I was back on a cruise having my after breakfast piña colada. If you buy the alcohol package, you have to drink pretty steady while on the boat. I didn’t touch a drop for months after the trip. Manoi de Tahiti is a wonderful tropical fragrance with a base of sandalwood and vanilla. The floral tiara flower, coconut, and ginger mix well with the base notes. All said, it is a tropical gourmand scent combination that would be perfect for the sweet day.

I have pictures to add later tonight, but first I’m late for dinner now.

June 3, 2024 – LG 3: Where’s the Beef?

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 30mm Synbad #FRANKENBRUSH #COMPOSITE
• Razor: Gillette Slim #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Astra Green (10)
• Lather: Red House Farm – 9 Days Up Nort’
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Northern Elixir
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Hygge

Video here Being the idiot I am and rushing, initially forgoing the climax and point of today’s shenanigans, I filmed it in 2 parts but did slap it together in iMovie sans editing for one enjoyable experince. As for today's sponsor spotlight, WK is a legit contender that probably doesn't get enough love in my den, they have like 17 fougeres alone.

I immediately knew I’d be using some Red House Farms 9 Days Up Nort’ today, made with deer tallow. This was made to honor Wisconsin deer hunting season. It’s woodsy with a healthy dose of pine, with slight herbal qualities from lavender. That said, picture walking through cold, frosty evergreen forest. Followed it up with another chilly northern scent in NO Northen Elixir. This takes the frost up a notch, and has much for prominent lavender and the oft pungent camphoraceous and medicinal eucalyptus. To round and mellow out today’s winter wonderland, we visit hygge. A barbershop at heart, but so much more. It too has sharp evergreen fur and a wintery freshness, kissed atop with sweet orange citrus. #FOF

In honor of u/onionmiasma today, what better way than to use an onion in the photo and in the shave. Why in the shave you say? Well, alum is pointless you see, and rubbing styptic pencil all over one’s face is so LG23. Of note, onion is part of the allium family, which is basically the word alum any way. So onion seems like a logical substitute. It makes total sense too, according to point number 7 in this article onions have antibacterial properties, just what you need to heal nicks and cuts. So today, onion was used in place of alum, which never needs to be used anyway. #PHOTOCONTEST Onion

soap brands 3/30, post shave 3/30, frag 3/30, post/frag linked 3/30, software sponsors 2/16, hardware sponsors 4/2, razor hashtags 3/15, brush hashtags 3/15, photo contest 3/30, daily challenges 2/26, special challenges 1/4

June 3, 2024

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks purple burl AP Shave Co. 24mm MiG #COMPOSITE #FRANKENBRUSH #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Karve CB SB-D #CNC
• Blade: Personna Lab Blue
• Lather: West Coast Shaving – Pear-Brrr Shoppe

Day 3 down memory lane. My on theme, duck fat based soap threw me for a loop. It was my first use and I knew I was recognizing the notes it but didn’t know why. Up front it’s very fruity, unsurprisingly peary. But with an undernote…what is it….I know it….spices? Yes! It is! It’s that first step into my grandma’s house when I was younger. Not pie but straining to be the filling, it’s the fresheners or candles she would have going. This soap’s pear and spices are not so strong that it’s overwhelming but actually a nice touch. After a pass and a half, the sharp pear fades to the ubiquitously recognizable geranium, oak moss classic barbershop. That’s grandpa – rubbing his knuckles together ready to tear my forearm apart with his patented Indian rope burn (sorry for any offense but that’s what we called it 20+ years ago). His ungodly old man strength defying logic to wrestle you down while he has you locked down as you are catching whiffs of that oh so familiar scent. Overall, perhaps a little to potpourri upfront for this to be a staple, but it was nice to reflect on those visits so long ago.

Alum – won’t use it. There is no “luxury” chuck of salt. It’s worse than sea salt varieties which at least captures other minerals to add some flavor into it. The alum salt is just a face burner that literally adds zero true health benefit (except when bleeding). I can’t describe it any better than u/kind_simian has already, who also provided the sample for today. Thank you!

Tonight I decided to fill the frame with soap, brush, and razor for the #photocontest

FOF