LGSOTD 05-Jun-24

• Razor: Karve CB - Brass D #CNC #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY #STAINLESSLESS
• Blade: Treet - Classic Carbon
• Lather: Gillette - Labs Skincare Rapid Foaming Gell
• Post Shave: L'Oreal Men Expert - Hydra Energetic
• Fragrance: Hugo Boss - Boss Night

I was bloody dreading this one, I've still got a can of this Gillette Labs stuff, I could have nipped out and grabbed some Wilkinson Sword to make this marginally easier, but nay I'll make do!

The pic for this one just had me thinking of the djudges towering over the rest of us whilst we do their bidding and suffer.

Brought out the Karve CB D Plate, it already had some patina before the announcement of the games, but decided to leave it in the bathroom since then, just to see how it developed, it went nuts. I'll have to knock it back a little bit after this but it at least covers me for the tags. I should have gone for a lower plate with this goop, but I managed to do it without ripping my face up but only just, this is a hateful blade for me and is going in the bin.

Challenge - Reverse Lather Routine

I hate you people, seeing as I opted for canned goop you left me with little choice. Back in the day I would slap it in the palm and whack it on the face, you bring this on yourselves people! I mean alright, me and the little one were laughing, not so much the wife mind. Though after her involvement last year she thought I was going to ask her, so there was a little relief there!

photocontest

Aiming for "The Elements: Fire" theme in this instance.

Hope you all have a grand day!

Cheers

Marc

Edit for copy and paste error for Fragrance, tried to do it earlier but got distracted.

June 05, 2024 – Lather Games!

• Razor: YPM – Winning Razor Mk2, polished, tattooed ("The Emperor's Shave!") #CNC #TITANIUM
• Blade: Gillette Winner Stainless (1)
• Lather: Cremo – Cooling
• Aftershave: A&E – Ultima Unmasked Unscented Splash

There's a solid reason I left this behind many moons ago. Cremo works okay but not great, yet it will do in a pinch. I started with this but my shaves got easier once I picked up shave soaps and figured out how to work them. I got a decent enough shave here, so I can't complain.

Have a Great Wednesday.

#Challenge: Well, we're not using a brush here. (I left the brush in the photo for decoration and scale, really.) Trying a brush with this really doesn't do much, so we've met the requirements! We've exceeded expectations!

#LatherGames

Bonus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9TLbZuvsko ← Could The Earth Be Swallowed By A Black Hole? – Fabio Pacucci

Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: Omega - 11047 Mixed Midget Badger and Boar #MISTURA
• Razor: Merkur - Futur #ZAMAC
• Blade: Derby Premium
• Lather: Palmolive - Classic
• Post Shave: Pitralon - Swiss version
• Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz - Tabac Original Craftsman
• Bowl: Shaving Suribachi Bowl Teak by Steve Woodhead

Theme and post+frag relevance: The Palmolive stick is from a clearance sale at the nearest pharmacy three years ago. Pitralon and and Craftsman are from the two nearest department stores. All software on is theme.

Challenge: I normally face rub and face lather shaving sticks, so today I bowl rubbed and bowl lathered it. The rough kushi-no-me pattern in my suribachi bowl makes this a breeze, so I have accidentally found a very functional, albeit entirely unnecessary, method of shave stick usage. u/Merikus should extend the GUTL, there is new science on the matter, and 27 steps are no longer sufficient.

The mixed midget did its thing. Really a surprisingly good toy sized brush. I had a fantastic BBS shave with the Futur on level 5 (for the fifth day of LG). This loud, chattery SOB is big, slippery, and its blade clamp mechanism is a mere suggestion to the blade not to wander off too far. My point is that it has no business giving me good shaves, but there it is.

#photocontest: u/pppork sent me these handy razor head protector chickens, perfect for the bird theme.

Jun. 5, 2024 - Bowling it up

• Prep: CeraVe - Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Lather Bowl: Lather Bowl

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Mauricio 26mm Synthetic #FRANKENBRUSH

• Razor: Schick “66” G4 #RAINBOW

• Blade: Schick (9)

• Lather: Gillette - Pure Cream

• Post Shave: T.N. Dickinson’s - Witch Hazel

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Telegrama

This tube of cream has been my go to when I need a quick shave. I started my wetshaving career using this cream when I bought my 34c and used it exclusively for about 7 months. I then won a noob samplepalooza PIF from u/MrLamper1 and it’s all been downhill since then! I distinctly remember posting to the DQT asking about other things with the same scent. I was directed to TTS (RIP) and just opened the floodgates.

I still keep a tube of this one in my drawer for the stupid early shaves that I sometimes have to deal with. Ironically, today is the perfect day for it as I shaved at 0515 since I had to be at work at 0600 this morning!

Daily Challenge: So I did something a little crazy today. I typically face lather so I had to bowl lather today to complete the challenge. Yesterday u/Cowzilla3 mentioned someone should “Spray some out tonight, freeze it, lather it into a soap again in the morning in a bowl.” And I thought, what if instead, I froze my lather INTO a bowl and used that bowl to lather today?! Yes it’s a crazy thought, you can blame u/Cowzilla3 for his inspiration.

How to make a Lather Bowl in 4 easy steps:

1: Gather your supplies

2: Lather up a shit ton of soap

3: Load up your bowl mould

4: Freeze

And voila! You have a Lather Bowl!

Daily Theme Justification: I purchased this cream at the commissary on base.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: I went all products that have a blue theme to their packaging! Rounded out with a blue brush and blue razor!

Disclosure: I did not pay money for this brush handle. I sent u/thebunnynator1001 some soaps and he sent me this brush handle.

Edit: brush tag added, this has a Paragon synthetic knot in it that I set myself.

Cowzilla giving everyone bad ideas

I froze my lather INTO a bowl and used that bowl to lather today?!

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Stirling Two Band Synthetic
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85mm Safety Razor
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Barbasol - Original
• Post Shave: Aquavelva - Ice Blue Aftershave Splash
• Post Shave: Van Der Hagen - Unscented Aftershave Balm

LG SOTD 05Jun2024

• Brush: N/A - we don’t need no stinking brushes.
• Razor: Gillette - Fusion 5 ProGlide
• Blade: Gillette - Fusion 5
• Lather: Gillette - Fusion ProGlide Sensitive Gel + Skincare
• Bowl: N/A - we don’t need bowls where we’re going
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Classic Ice Blue Cooling After Shave

Happy hump day, beautiful people! Welcome to the fifth shave of the 2024 Lather Games. Today's theme is "Canned Shave Goop” where we shave with, you guessed it, canned goo available locally.

I have skipped the versions of this theme in previous Lather Games - didn’t want to debase my precious face with such inferior products, but it’s been over three years since I last used the goo, so not only am I going to use the goo, going to go for the full experience.

For today’s shave using a selection of goods purchased at the nearby Target. The razor and gel were here, my wife and daughter both use them. Added the Aqua Velva to the den for the challenge to give it that extra authentic touch.

The razor is Gillette’s Fusion 5 ProGlide, a cartridge razor I’ve never tried. Borrowed a Fusion 5 handle from my wife and will shave using a fresh basic Fusion 5 cartridge.

Lather is the Gillette ProGlide gel, a product I used to use regularly. I’m a little confused regarding the daily challenge, “Reverse Lather Routine”. Though I am a bowl latherer usually, this doesn’t seem like reversing so much as totally changing it up. No brush, no bowl, just some gel squirted into the palms and rubbed over the face until evenly coated and worked in. Is that face lathering? I’ll let the judges decide, but while I could have used a brush just because, that would have hurt the purity of revisiting the mass produced drugstore experience.

The post shave Aqua Velva is also new to me. Growing up it was all Afta all the time with my dad and I never ventured beyond. By the time I was a depraved shave junkie I was buying the hard stuff like BaM and HoM. I figured this was a good excuse to try something that’s been around more than a century 👴🏻

The shave was banal, that’s the best word for it. Immediately brought me back to what nudged me to look into DE razors. Lather was perfectly adequate and no more. Wetted the razor after every few inches to compensate for the sludge of canned goo. Functional, no discomfort, but no glide to speak of, just this slow pace of “dragging” the cartridge head over my face. The resulting shave was good, no complaints on the results, but found no joy in the actual shaving.

The Aqua Velva was the most surprising element. Was expecting something in the aquatic zone of scents and instead this is much more vegetal and has notes that remind me of that lingering note in Vespers and FMOM more than whatever it was my brain was expecting. The “cooling” was more of a slow burning on my jaw but experience was otherwise not unpleasant though not enough to convert me. This is going into the “strategic reserve” box after today.

Enjoy your day, a weekend approaches

LG Day 5- Canned Goop Day

• Brush: My sexy hands
• Razor: Schick M1 #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Schick Injector (1)
• Lather: Barbasol - With Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Gillette - Cool Waves splash
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented AS balm

This tends to be a day I dread because it means I'm going to be using the can of Barbasol that has been living in my basement bathroom for years. This can was bought at CVS or Hannaford (Maine grocery chain) many moons ago. And I confirmed, while at CVS yesterday, that this 'flavor' of Barbasol is still readily available. I'm pretty sure that when the Apocalypse comes, the only things left will be cockroaches, SPAM and Barbasol. Now, some might wonder why, if I was just at CVS yesterday, I didn't grab a tube of Cremo to bring myself more joy for this one day. Well, the Cremo will spend the next 15 years or so living in the basement bath after purchase because I'm pretty sure it will only be used once a year. It's going to take me a solid 15 years to get through all of my soap. And this is just one day so I can suck it up and tap back into my uneducated shaving ways of yore. Also, I'm a masochist.

But look at my morning set up!! It's downright barbaric. It's just a can of goo and a razor. There was no feeling of ritual pulling the can and razor down on to the sink because there's nothing else to prep for. Look at that rust on the can giving it that vintage look (because that can is probably 15 years old, at least). Although, we should take a moment and appreciate the wonders of science that Barbasol was able to proudly promote that its can had a rust-proof bottom.

On to the shave we go. Well today's challenge is to lather in reverse. I guess the reverse lathering technique for today is that I usually put a brush in my hand, swirl said brush over puck and then swirl soapy brush on my face. Now, I'm going to flip that shit and make my hand the brush, pop some goo into it and then swirl goo on to my face. Crazy (and did I mention barbaric?)!

So there I am swirling goo on to my face and adding water to my hands to hydrate it to a serviceable level singing along to this ditty that I heard while at the grocery store last week. I did want to ask the store manager if they might also consider adding this to their in-store playlist as a follow up track. Kids will love it. Alright, face is lathered up and I get to work with my trusty Schick that was probably purchased from an Eckerd Drug, Rexall or Laverdiere's (Maine drug store chain) 50-something years ago and dial it down to 5 since it's a new blade shaving over canned goo. With a light hand, I got to work and this song from a recent CVS adventure popped in my brain. As I was "nah-nah-nah, nah nah nah-nah-ing", it dawned on me that I was having a pretty decent shave. Slapped more goo into the hands and hydrated everything up for a second pass and this CVS brainworm entered the party. Pass 2 is done and somehow I'm feeling more joy. This shave is pretty damn good, as long as you don't expect any residual slickness or post shave whatsoever.

Time for some splash that was purchased at CVS last night. Apparently, they were cranking the classics Look, there's no point in half-assing this LG day with some bougie artisan splash. No, we're going for drugstore designer and Gillette Cool Waves fits that bill. I've never used it before and I have to admit that I don't feel like I wasted $8.59 last night. I dig it. The scent is nice. It doesn't feel like it's all alcohol. I'll actually use this!

So on a day I dreaded, I managed to find joy. It wasn't delirious ecstacy by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm definitely not starting this day like a cranky bastard. So try to enjoy your day and remember to be kind to one another.

Jun. 5, 2024
Brush: Omega 10029
Razor: Fatip Lo Storno
Blade: Gillette Platinum [1]
Lather: Nivea For Men - Sensitive Shaving Gel - Soap
Post Shave:* Barbus - - Aftershave

This stuff can go burn in hell, bought it last year as my first shave with my first brand, reused it as my goop shave last year, it does not get better with age.

This stuff was so tacky I had to use my pure alcohol AS to get it off.

Bowl lathered instead of face lathering, at least most of that stuff stayed off my face.

Like last time, tacky grippy, bad tuggy shave.

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 5, 2024 – Subpar but not horrible

• Brush: The Hands of the Tsar
• Razor: Bic Sensative #rainbow
• Blade: whatever comes in a bic
• Lather: Cremo – Original
• Post Shave: Nivea – Sensitive Post Shave Balm
• Fragrance: Ralph Lauren – Polo Blue

Goop. It’s what we all wanted to leave behind, yet here we are using it for internet fame. I opted for Cremo, which was surprisingly hard to find at Target as they transition to selling Harry’s, DSC, and other advertising heavy products that pay for shelf space. (Indeed, they no longer sell Proraso at my Target to make room for the big Harry’s display). This Nivea balm, also at Target. And did you know you can buy Polo Blue at Target! (Through their partnership with Ulta). This is an entirely Target shave, a Target Trifecta! It’s not exactly a #fof legend here, but Polo Blue is reliable. And easily available. It’s a safe scent. It’s office friendly. The aquatic plays well of what little Cremo citrus is in my memory (and oddly well with the medicinal smell of the Nivea). I don’t get any “wow” factor off it, but I’m sure it’s generally pleasing. And honestly your den needs some scents like that because you can’t be niche 100% of the time. (Disclaimer: This is some sample my wife got in an Ulta or Sephora order).

Ok but truth time: you can’t get everything at Target. I couldn’t find Yellow Bics, they only had off brand. So, I went to Target’s poorer cousin Walmart. Walmart also sells Cremo and Nivea, (but no Polo Blue!). These Bics remind me of my teenage years, because Dad taught me to shave with this exact razor model and dial soap. Yes, we lathered with Dial soap. It was miserable. Just horrible. Took me 20 years to figure out life was wrong. (I broke with him and went for electric shavers not long into my shaving career. I haven’t used a Bic in probably 20+ years.) But you know what, put a pin in that, we’ll come back to it on Father’s Day. The shave was, surprisingly, not bad. Not great, but not awful.

For #photocontest, Cremo doesn’t require a brush, so my hands gotta be in the photo, and so here’s a picture framing my eyes. Picture was taken by my daughter (after several tries that were all blurry.)

Speaking of lathering, today’s challenge was interesting. I hit it since I normally bowl lather (about 80% of the time) and what you do with Cremo counts as face “lathering” (no bowls here!) But, in the spirit of the challenge I decided to flip when I lather! I always shower before I shave, so today I’ll reverse that and shave before I shower. I know some people do that; I don’t get it but in this case I’m glad I did because the Cremo left a film that was hard to get off. Shower helped. Instructions say if you don’t shower first rub warm water on your face for 30 seconds. While I do that, I’m going to contemplate how to up my game because u/priusaurus and others are bringing it.

Lather Games 2024-04-05, Canned Goo - But Why a Brush??? B'cuz Lather Games

• Prep: Coffee, Face wash soap/warm water
• Brush: Semogue - Semogue 830, Boar bristle 22mm
• Razor: Parker 11R - 3 Piece, horn handle #ZAMAC
• Blade: Gillette 7 O'clock Super Stainless (green), DE
• Lather: Edgewell Personal Care - Edge Shave Gel With Aloe, "Canned Goo under pressure."
• Post Shave: Pinaud Clubman - Lilac Vegetal

Grocery stores are weird. I thought this canned goo was from Gillette or Schick with the Edge name, but no...it is made in the UK by some American outfit spun-off from Energizer Holding (yes the battery and bunny mascot people) named Edgwell Personal Care. Edgewell Personel Care additionally owns other grooming brands including Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Playtex, Carefree, Stayfree, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat, Cremo, Billie, and yes, Edge. Apparently Edgwell has gotten big enough and gobbled up enough personal care product companies that the FTC moved to stop in from purchase of Harry's.

The Lather?!

_______________

But why a brush????

Seriously, you press the button and the gel shoots out in a part gel, part foam, all goo format. Smush with hands if not satisfied.

Why a brush???

Because because to meet today's challenge I have to lather how I do not normally lather.

Normally I bowl lather.

Since I bowl lather and don't just spray an expanding blast of over-engineered chemical goop onto my face arguably that would be lathering in a way I don't normally lather. That is not the spirit though.

This being Lather Games it is logical when lathering to carry this out in a bit more extreme manner. I decided to face lather but only in a roundabout way.

I used the base of the handle to shove said canned goo to locations on my face I need it to be. This is for certain and without question a lather that I would not ever do under any normal circumstances (read non-Lather Games shaves).

I then smushed the lather (gel-foam blob?) around in a circular manner so as to ensure this is a face lather creating a goopy lather.

Finally - yes, I used the actual part of the brush that makes it a brush just so I can say I did a face lather, which again is not normal for me.

Handle did enough, but we got a true face lather from the bristle, or as true as you can with canned goo, using the brush.

The Post Shave

_________________

The Veg is just there to confuse / annoy my coworkers because, aftershave or not, this beautiful monstrosity hangs around much longer than most things labeled an aftershave.

I can see it now...

"So PZ? Ah, just how long were you in the restroom? You seem to have taken on a certain, uh, aroma."

"Did a cat pee in someones messenger bag?"

"Hey PZ, did you fall in when you were there?"

"Is the urinal puck stuff just on your shoes?"

"PZ, WTF Mate!"

Actually I think I am one of the lucky ones,. One of those that was chosen by the Veg.
You know the saying...You don't choose the Veg; the Veg chooses you?

But more likely I am deluding myself. I am good at that.

________________

Scent Notes for those interested:

Edge goo - could not find official notes, product might actually be discontinued. I'm guessing mint, fresh-y stuff, sandalwood-ish stuff, soapy stuff and maybe the liner from the container.

Pinaud Lilac Vegetal - Official notes are Lilac, Floral accord, and Musk. Note: I have seen references that the musk being simulated is deer musk...what kind of deer I've no idea.

_________________

In the end. The quality of the shave was okay. Not great, not terrible, but kinda icky.

Take care and have a good one.

In attempting to understand what it truly means to reverse lather, u/PhilosphicalZombie decides to use the other side of the brush and uses the handle to dollop canned goo onto their face.

Jun. 5, 2024
Razor: Karve CB SS SB (D Plate, First Pass; B Plate, Second Pass)
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum [1]
Lather: Aveeno - Therapeutic Shave Gel - Soap
Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr - Aftershave
Post Shave:* Noble Otter - Rawr - Balm

For the challenge, I hand lathered instead of face lathered. It sucked.

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

Prep: Proraso White Preshave
Brush: Vielong Alter Brown Horsehair  #HORSESASS
Razor: Merkur 34c #ZAMAC
Blade: Astra Green
Lather: Barbasol - Original
Post Shave: Alum, Proraso - White Aftershave Balm, Taylor of Old Bond Street  - Royal Forest
Fragrance: Ex Nihilo - The Hedonist

Challenge: I usually bowl lather, but...Barbasol. So I hand lathered.

• Brush: Stirling - synthetic 2 band.
• Razor: Gillette - Super speed flair.
• Blade: Gillette - Nancet stainless.
• Lather: Barbasol - smooth aloe.
• Post: Cella - Bio balm.
• Fragrance: Maison Margiela - Replica Sailing Day.

Hand lather today - usually leg lather, unless it’s a sample then I will bowl lather. Foam is fun, but not my favorite.

I am digging this Canadian playlist. I really need to visit again sometime.

ROTY

Jun. 5, 2024
Prep: Warm Shower - - Preshave
Razor: Rockwell 6C - Gunmetal
Blade: Rockwell Swedish Steel [10]
Lather: Meijer - Regular Shave Foam * Post Shave: Kroger - Witch Hazel - Aftershave

Still have some of this shaving foam laying around.

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

Today I shaved with Barbasol and a Gillette Guard. I followed up with Aqua Velva Ice Blue and a shot of Cool Water.

June 5 - A RAWRing Good Time - Day 13

• 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: The Club - Vacanza Romana Splash

• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Electric Mayhem EdT

---

Tomorrow my journey with RAWR will come to an end. I purchased this at my local Tesco in Winnipeg, New Mexico, and it has been a lovely journey indeed.

I had to think hard about today's fragrance selection. Butt ultimately it came down to a lady riding a Vespa which gives me some kinda electric mayhem ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

#FOF

6/5/24

• Brush: Hand
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM
• Blade: GEM (3)
• Lather: Barbasol - Original
• Post Shave: Nivea - Sensitive Post Shave Balm

I am one to either bowl or face Lather, so for todays challenge, I used my hands. I started by wetting my face, then re wetting my hands and spraying in some Barbasol. I rubbed my hands together to really get the lather going. I applied a dash of water and mixed it up before applying directly to my face. The results were mid. However, with my late Kami shave, there was not much at all to shave. This must be the u/bacconchop experience, now that he's shaving nothing daily. ✊️

The balm is fine.

The MM24 was my first safety razor. Before this, my only desire for a safety was Lather Catchers. Though, when approached by Eld about one, I was intrigued. This sparked a love affair for GEMs and GEM adjacent razors. I am, as of today, up to 6 safety razors now! 4 of which are Lather Catchers.

June 5, 2024 - Wednesday

• Brush: Chisel & Hound "Cobalt Short" / 26mm Turn N' Shave Quartermoon
• Razor: Yates 921-H
• Blade: Wizamet (1)
• Lather: Williams - Mug Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Brut Splash On
• Fragrance: Paco Rabanne Pour Homme EdT

I picked up this puck of Williams at a local Sav-On Drugs store. I've only used it a couple times as the lather you get from it isn't all that good. I started by soaking the whole thing in a sink full of hot water and proceeded to hand lather. I always face lather so I don't know if a hand lather qualifies as reverse, but I wasn't using my bowl because it still has remnants of a smush in it. The lather actually wasn't as bad as I remember, but still not great. Love the name of it though ;) The Brut splash also came from a drugstore and I believe you can get this frag at them as well, but mine came from the evil empire.

Jun. 5, 2024 - stai lontano dall'erba, maledetto pazzo
Brush: AP Shave Co. Blue & Clear
Razor: Ditzer Gold - 4/8 round point #REVENANT * Lather: Proraso - Green - Super formula cream
Post Shave:* Proraso - Green - Aftershave

Say what you will, but the ubiquitous Proraso green (this one was bought from Pharmaprix near me, years ago. There was definitely Canadian pharmacy intercom music playing) is slick AF. Must be the “super formula” attribution. This made for a great straight shave with this cute little Ditzer that I restored myself. Lots of polishing, grinding and honing was involved but in my limited time straight shaving so far this one is one of my favourites.

I squeezed some cream onto the wet brush and then face lathered. This was a reverse(ish) routine for me as I usually face lather, but sometimes bowl lather. This was my in-between. Worked out just fine albeit a little messy.

Photo today uses the theme “Grass”. I call it “stai lontano dall'erba, maledetto pazzo - tableau 1”

#photocontest

June 05 2024: Canned Goop

• Brush: Hand
• Razor: Gillette - Venus Extra Smooth #RAINBOW
• Lather: Aveeno - Therapeutic Shave Gel
• Post Shave: Brut - Classic Aftershave
• Fragrance: Air-Val - Captain America EdT

There's a whole lot going on with this shave today. Canned Goop day is never fun, and in addition to the lousy lather, everything else in the shave is from a local store. Except my hand. Hence me using my wife's cartridge razor, this bottle of Brut I grabbed from the grocery store yesterday and Captain America EdT from either Target or TJ Maxx.

I usually face lather with a brush, the opposite of that is obviously bowl lathering without a brush. So I squirted some of the goop into my bowl, swirled it around with my hand, and smeared it on. The Aveeno is fine for what it is, but using the Venus is miserable. The blades are dull and the rubber bit around the border makes it especially draggy. I got through a single pass and called it quits. Brut splash is exactly what you'd expect, the scent is a classic and it does the job. And I followed it all up with some Captain America EdT. Getting to wear the Cap EdT is a treat, as it comes from legendary perfumers Air-Val International, the same house behind such fabled fragrances as the Peppa Pig perfume, eau Minecraft and Squid Game EdT. I wasn't kidding about it being a treat though since my daughter picked it out as a Christmas gift for me last year so I already feel a sentimental connection to the scent. The fact that it doesn't last long makes it beautiful in a contemplative, mono no aware sense, which is the only way that this mediocre fragrance could reasonably be described as beautiful.

The connecting theme of my products today is that they were all purchased within a 5 minute drive from my house. A further connection would be unscented, because the Aveeno gel is unscented and after about half an hour, Captain America EdT is unscented too. The Brut lasts the longest but by the time I got to work this morning there were no traces of scent left from my shave.

Sponsor spotlight is Spearhead, they have put out nothing but bangers and Roman Spice is going to get a lot of use this summer (after LG of course).

June 5, 2024

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: None
• Razor: Gillette Sensor 3 #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette Sensor 3 Cartridge
• Lather: Barbasol
• Post Shave: Thayers - Lemongrass Toner
• Fragrance: Dior - Sauvage Elixir

I think it's been about 20 years since I actually used a shaving cream. I used a gel a handful of times as I never shaved, and if I did want to shape up, I'd clean up with a cartridge after a shower with no product. I bought a travel gel a couple of years ago, and only used it once; on canned goop day last year. I threw it under the sink, with anticipation of using it for the same day this year. I wanted to change things up and wanted to go with the old school canned goop staple; Barbasol. I bought this value size (with 50% more free) at my local CVS, because they didn't have the smaller size, which I wish they did, as this thing is massive and I have almost no space. It will continue to sit under my sink until this time next year, and every year thereafter until the can inevitably ceases to generate canned goop.

Staying on theme, I used a disposable Gillette which was also purchased at CVS as well as the ubiquitous Thayer's Witch Hazel.

I was debating what I would do for my reverse lather routine, as I typically use the Michael Freedberg method of bowl loading NOT bowl lathering; i.e. scooping into a bowl, loading, and building the lather on face. I thought the opposite would be somehow loading on my face, and lathering in the bowl. Fortunately this challenge fell on canned goop day and I didn't have to attempt that. The only constant is I always use a brush, well today I use my hands, which is the scientific opposite of a brush. It was messy, and sub par, but following the LG rules and guidelines for themes and challenges ALWAYS comes first.

"following the LG rules and guidelines for themes and challenges ALWAYS comes first."

Preach, brother.

2024-06-05 - Brick, mortar, pestle, artillery...

• Lather: Proraso - Menthol and Eucalyptus
• Razor: Baili BR179 / Rockwell R1 / CVS Goodline Grooming Safety Razor
• Brush: Moar Boar #OLDWORLD #SUBBROOSH
• Post Shave: Stetson - Original, After Shave
• Fragrance: Stetson - Original, Cologne

Drugstore Day:
It's a good thing that Proraso occasionally shows up in those low-end department stores—e.g. TJMaxx, Ross, Marshalls—because I won't deign to use actual canned goop or even the sorry excuse for shave soap that is Badger Balm. I imagine it'll vary by locale, but I don't think I've ever been in one of those stores that isn't just a step away from a bin store. Speaking of, have you been in a bin store? The ones that have literal piles of Amazon returns that people just tear through, haphazardly throwing unwanted items over their shoulder into a sea of unattended children? Well, when I describe it like that, it just sounds like Ross.

But I digress.

Unifying Theme: Drugstore Day

The razor, though I got it as a winter-holiday giveaway from Rockwell, is the same as "Goodline" from CVS, where Stetson may also be found.

#FOF
I'm pretty over Proraso Green. I haven't even used it all that much. I'm sure it's a perfectly fine smell, but I've come to the conclusion that it's not a scent that I would ever want or choose to smell like; rather, it's something I might expect from an industrial solvent.

Stetson is a fougère, whatever that means to you. I won't pretend it evokes imagery of a roping livestock on a Texas savanna or whatever, but I will say that, despite its classification and purported associated floral top notes, I mostly get amber with a slight woodiness out of it.

Reverse Lather Routine:
I have a track-record of maligning face-lathering. I'm not going to beat that dead horse, though, partly because there's not much left of the horse, but also—in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson—because "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds".

You see, I now have considered information that I previously hadn't: At the time that I developed my negative opinion of face-lathering, that opinion was influenced by the brush that I was using at the time, i.e. for the first Raw Hoggin'. Later, when using the Moar Boar, I found that it did a much better job than my first boar, but only when face-lathering. The Moar Boar sucks at bowl-lathering; because it's so huge and lather-hungry, it can't afford to sacrifice any to a bowl's surface. So I went with the Moar Boar today, and it didn't suck.

I am learning, though, that I do not much care for natural brushes in general. Synthetic brushes are analogous to automatic transmissions in cars. Time was when manual transmissions were standard and were referred to as such. Not only that, but the performance of automatics couldn't hold a candle to "standard." Except that stopped being true longer ago than almost anyone reading this has been alive. Today, automatics are better in every way. The same is true of synthetic versus natural brushes.

#photocontest Trash
Man, all the Trash photos have been really... well, trashy. I guess that's the point. Today's photo is kind of a throwaway, anyway (pun intended), so I figured I might as well.

I acknowledge I did a similar thing the other day, and I'm not trying to make a whole thing out of it, but that Badger soap is literally garbage that I've inexplicably been keeping in a drawer for far too long.

June 5, 2024

• Prep: Hot shower
• Brush: My fingers
• Razor: Muhle Companion
• Blade: Astra Green (Indian)
• Lather: Edge - Sensitive skin shave gel with aloe vera

Shave gel is so weird. I can't believe there was a time when I used that stuff on the regular.

Reverse lather challenge: I thought that I had failed to meet this challenge, but I see that a number of others are arguing for fingers being the opposite of brushes. Obviously, they are all totally right, and I, too, have completed the challenge.

ROTY

Day 5

• Brush: Semogue Owners Club – 24mm Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Schick Injector #RAINBOW
• Blade: Ted Pella Injector Blade
• Lather: Nivea – Sensitive Skin Shave Gel
• Post Shave: Nivea – Sensitive Skin Post Shave Balm
• Fragrance: Lacoste – Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Bleu

Why do the judges continue to include this theme year after year? Is it their way to make sure we never go back to the store bought goo? Like letting an indoor cat go outside once a year. Knowing full well, the cat absolutely hates everything about the outside, but you do it so the cat never tries to escape again? Giving us this illusion of freedom, knowing full well, after we experience shaving with this, no one is going to be scratching at the door, trying to get out. Is this your way of keeping us in line?? Well – It worked!

I’m a housecat through and through and I’m not trying to leave this artisinally crafted house of shaving tubs I’ve amassed. I like what I have and yet I’m using these Nivea products for points in an internet shaving game. What a time to be alive!

At the end of the day, Canned Goo Lather Games Day is like the Nickelback of The Lather Games – sure, it gets stuck in your head and it’s something we all remember, but for all the wrong reasons. And you know what’s worse than just using canned goo? Bowl Lathering with this stuff! I usually face lather, which means I'm doing a bowl today. Which judge thought this would be good idea??? I want names! This stuff is a challenge to use on its own, then we add in bowl lathering?!??? JEEEEZUS. What the judges want, the judges get. I bowl lathered my Nivea Shave Gel, and shockingly, it didn’t do much to make the shave better. I did experiment by adding a little more water to the lather, but that just made more of a mess everywhere. This stuff sucks. Suck. Suck. Suck. Suck. Sucks.

For #FOF All these smells are mostly inoffensive, generic, and forgettable. The shave gel scent actually comes across as artificial, but the balm is lightly scented and fine. And The Lacoste Bleu isn’t bad, but it’s not anything special either. It’s a basic department store fragrance. Certainly not bad and I’ve smelled far, far, far worse scents in this hobby, but as a fragrance, it is as generic as they come. So… It’s perfect for the gel and balm I used!

The #photocontest theme is: DIY, so I included a screwdriver in the picture.

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Canned Shave Goop” The Top 5 Best Slimes of All Time:

5.) Double-Dare – Nothing like sliding around in slime with your little brother for a chance to win a new Huffy.

4.) Ghostbuster’s II Pink Slime – Absolutely haunted my childhood ~~dreams~~ nightmares. Was pretty cool it could make a toaster dance though.

3.) TMNT Ooze – The Ninja Turtles wouldn’t exist with the Ooze. Also gave Vanilla Ice a much-appreciated Cameo. Go Ninja! Go Ninja! Go!

2.) Ghostbuster’s Slimer – A fun loving ghost who only wanted to shower his slime on people.

1.) You can’t do that on Television – Ushered in an era of sliming on Nickelodeon, as well as introduced the world to Alanis Morissette. If you say “I don’t know,” you’re gonna get galloons of green oatmeal dumped on your head. I’m convinced without YCDTOTV, none of these other Slimes exist.

June 5, 2024 * Preshave: Hot Shower
Brush: Chisel and Hound "Anthracite" TurnNShave V8 Tip Knot
Razor: Yates Precision Manufacturing 921-M
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Lather: Houe of Mammoth Dammusi
Post Shave:* House of Mammoth Dammusi Splash

DQ. I can't win a prize, I sure as heck ain't using canned goop.

• June 5
• Brush: Omega 10098 Boar
• Razor: Baili TTO #ZAMAC
• Blade: Treet Carbon Steel
• Lather: Gillette Fusion –Hydra Shaving Gel
• Post Shave: Harry’s - Post Shave Balm
• Fragrance: Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy

Today was a day marred by a dreadful combination of Gillette Fusion Shave Gel and Harry's Post Shave Balm. It’s been some time since I used canned gel, but I had this sitting at the bottom back and bottom of one of my bathroom drawers. No idea how old it is. But it doesn’t matter. This stuff sucked just the same today as when it was brand new. The difference is, a few years ago, I didn’t know there was a better way. But now I do. My brothers and sisters I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT! My journey to get here was unconventional. Like many, I started with cartridges, then moved onto DEs for environmental reasons. Then I used Cremo for a long, long time. I tried a soap puck or two from amazon, but never had good results. Then a friend gave me a tub of Barrister and Mann and now I’m hooked on the good stuff. But I digress, I have no clue how long I’ve had this canned goop and I remember why I never enjoyed shaving before. It was just something that had to get done – like clipping my toenails. Today was also a reminder why I enjoy shaving now.

At this point in my wetshaving journey, I typically approach my morning shaving ritual with the anticipation of a kid on Christmas morning, but today, I move cautiously. I grab my trusty and cheap Bailli Razor, and I hesitantly reach for the Gillette Fusion Shave Gel. Like a recovering addict who’s afraid to relapse. The can is all smooth and slick, like a car salesman’s pitch, promising HYDRA!!

Challenge: I typically build my lather in a bowl, but today I sprayed that canned goo directly on the brush for the challenge. What a disaster. I lather up on this boar brush and the goo feels...plentiful. And that’s it. I think I went through like the whole can of gel using this brush. The lather covers my face like a mask. Disguising my features, allowing me to hide in the shame of going back to canned goo. No luxurious lather, no decadent scent—just the shaving equivalent of a sweaty, dead-fish handshake.

Undeterred, I press on. The razor glides over my face with all the enthusiasm of a teenager asked to mow the lawn. Each stroke feels less like a smooth cutting of whiskers and more like a reluctant trudge through mediocrity, reminding me that I used to live this life every day. I will forever regret the years wasted living like this. As I rinse off, I hope the post-shave balm will redeem this lackluster experience.

Enter Harry's Post Shave Balm. Its minimalist packaging whispers promises of soothing relief. I apply it, and...wait, did I just put on unscented hand lotion? My face feels neither relieved nor particularly soothed like it’s supposed to. It's like the balm gave my skin a gentle pat on the back and said, "Whelp. You’re on your own now."

And so, I stand before the mirror, my face half-convinced it’s been the victim of an elaborate Lather Games prank on Rookies. My skin is neither irritated nor particularly happy—just sort of...there. Like it showed up to a party expecting fireworks and got sparklers instead.

To finish off my routine, I sprayed on Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy. Which is readily available pretty much anyplace you’d buy canned goo. It certainly isn’t bad. But isn’t anything special either. It’s inoffensive, clean, and forgettable. Almost reminds me of a dryer sheet. The fragrance is the highlight of today’s shave, but that’s not saying too much.

Today’s shave was a reminder that sometimes, it’s better to spend the extra time, effort, and energy using a great product, instead of settling for what you can buy at the big box stores (or find in the back of a drawer).

ROTY

Big Lather SOTD:

• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Polsilver Super Iridium (8)
• Brush: Summer Break Kearney B10
• Lather: Cremo - Original
• Aftershave: Summer Break Soaps - Picture Day
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Picture Day

I had to travel a grand total of 1.3 miles, to Target, to acquire this Cremo at some point in the past. That was incredibly inconvenient compared to traveling to my basement to acquire my splash, fragrance, and brush. I believe that SBS should be considered a convenience store, because its certainly convenient for me. As for the razor, it came from Canada, where ever that is.

Cremo provides a perfectly serviceable lather, don't get me wrong, it's not great, but it probably is the best option out there that is readily available at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc. It's definitely a good travel soap, and probably my favorite thing about it is that you can just smear some on your neck and go to town lathering it up. HOWEVER, you guys decided to make me bowl lather this stuff today which was maybe even more unbearable than running salt on my face for no reason. Was your intention to torture me, probably not, but maybe...

• Razor: Gillette Mach 3
• Lather: Barbasol Original
• Post Shave: Barrister and Man - Reserve Classic

An easy and basic shave today. Nothing special

June 5, 2024 – 2024.06.05: Lather Games Day 5 – Canned Goop

• Brush: Swollen Hand
• Razor: Schick Xtreme 2-Blade Sensitive Men’s Disposable Razors #RAINBOW
• Lather: NIVEA – Men Sensitive Shave Gel
• Post Shave: Gillette – Aftershave Gel
• Fragrance: Brut – Classic Splash On

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Today's shave is a little later than normal, and you'll see why down below. Trigger warning: >!freaking spiders, man.!<

---

Daily Theme: Canned Shave Goop featuring a Canadian pharmacy's intercom music playlist

Theme justification: Nivea Men Sensitive Shave Gel is available at my local Walmart The can I own is old and has a different label. Same stuff, though.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Today is a Walmart theme! As a former employee of the largest private employer in the world, I felt it was appropriate. All the items in my shave today can be purchased at Walmart: the razor, aftershave, and the cologne The only thing missing was a blue vest :)

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Scavenger Hunt Justification:

Razor facts: the Schick razor I used is green. See product photo here.

Brush facts: N/A

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Daily/Special Challenge: Reverse Lather Routine

As many of you know, I am a devout bowl latherer. Why? I just like it better than face lathering. Don't really know why, but I just do. My typical routine involves me smushing soap into my large CaYuen bowl, then creating the perfect lather. Well, since I cannot use my bowl today, I just used my (slightly swollen) hand. Messaged the gel into my wet face as instructed on the can, and shaved. Honestly wasn't too bad

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Frag description

Brut Classic Splash On Cologne

Brut. What is there to say about this all-time classic fragrance? I felt like a true man after putting it on this morning.

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Now onto the shave!

So, I have never been more happy to shave with canned goop and a cartridge razor. Tuesday morning, I woke up with a lump on my left hip. Thought it was odd, but I continued on. I took a shower and shaved. When I got back to my room to get dressed for the day, I saw a crushed spider in my bed. Here is a picture of the bastard. Yup. A >!brown recluse!<. Lovely. I felt fine, so I went to work, mainly because I had a public meeting that I had to attend. Throughout the day I felt fine, but my hands really started to cause me issue. They were fine until I tried to touch anything or even close my hand. You know how when your hands are really dry they hurt to close? It was essentially that. Plus, they were itchy. Throughout the evening, my boss kept telling me that I looked flush, but I honestly felt perfectly fine (outside of my hands). I made it back home at about 9pm, and by that time I had a fever, I was sweating, and I was cold. Wonderful.

I ended up going to the Urgent Care this morning. They said there is not too much you can do, but gave me an antibiotic to help out. I'll be fine, it's just super annoying.

Regardless, the games must go on!.

The shave wasn't terrible at all. The shave gel works about as well as can be expected for canned goop, and the schick razor does an adequate job (it is one of the options I use for travel). The Gillette aftershave gel was sub par, but not completely useless.

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Totals:

Razor Hashtags: 6/10
Brush Hashtags: 5/10
Hardware Sponsor Points: 1/2
Software Sponsor Points: 3/16
Number of Lather Brands: 5/30
Number of Lather Scents: 5/30
Number of Post Shaves: 5/30
Number of Frags: 5/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

OP gets bitten by a gnarly spider, ends up in urgent care, and continues to complete for the love of the game.

OP gets bitten by a gnarly spider, ends up in urgent care, and continues to complete for the love of the game.

June 5, 2024 – LG Day 5 – GOOP

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Synbad Fan
• Razor: Merkur 34C #ZAMAC
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Nature’s Promise – Lime Scent
• Post Shave: Eleven – Lime and Basil
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors – Saint Julep

I am not convinced that this “cream” is meant for shaving. It looks like bad sunscreen. Per my last use of this goop, it was “aggressively marked down.” I recently saw it in the clearance bin at Hannaford again, and it was around $2. Per the challenge, I need to lather/shave in reverse. I typically tub load (or bowl load for samples) and then build a lather on my head, with a lot of scrub and :whipit: action. Today, I added way too much “cream” (read: goop) into the bowl, as seen above, but then remembered the old adage: moar water moar soap. So I added water. And added more. And more. Too much. Remembering that I need to make a serviceable lather in the bowl and that I have to paint it onto my head, I made sure we were drippin’ so we weren’t trippin’. It looked like (shit)[https://i.imgur.com/1hINCS5.jpg]. The shave was fine. Not enjoyable, but no cuts. I really don’t enjoy painting the lather onto my head since I’m so used to building a good lather right on my skin from the protolather I build while loading. But again, fine, whatever. However, the post shave feel was downright greasy. Like, very very gross. A good rinse followed by Eleven splash seemed to do the trick, but I’m still thinking about that icky greasy feeling and how I don’t really want to save this tube of goop even for next year. Quick #FOF today: Straight lime oil smell. Allegedly "persian lime." Followed by a much more pleasant, herbal quality in the splash, evoking memories of the days I worked in a bakery. We had pizza on Sundays, and I would often be the one to go and pick the basil, the most relaxing part of my 3am-11am shift. Finished with a sweet mint julep, herbal, sweet, with smooth bourbon - the perfect drink after a long, hot shift making bagels in the peak heat of August.

Note for the judges: This was purchased at Hannaford, my local grocery chain, from the location nearest to my home, a 4.9 mile drive and equidistant to the nearest pharmacy.

I logged onto Reddit this morning as I often do, to make sure I don’t copy something someone has done. And I saw u/Crossan1983 lather with his foot. I can’t beat that. That’s funny as hell. Also, I can’t even do that as I am large and physically inflexible. So, instead, let me tell you about what the hell “Nature’s Promise”^(1) shaving ~~cream~~ goop is, and more specifically, some unsolicited information about the history of grocery stores and the concept of the store brand, or as it’s called in the biz, private label. The grocery store as we know it was pioneered by Clarence Saunders when he opened the first Piggly Wiggly on September 11, 1916. Before this, you would go up to the clerk and he would grab, weigh, and box/bag everything you needed. Saunders introduced the concept of self-service, which decreased labor costs and gave customers lower prices, which quickly outweighed any skepticism folks had about this major change. The concept of self-service took off, and now we find ourselves in a world of complete grocery store automation.

(CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

edited because I forgot my #FOF

June 5, 2024: Can Day

• Prep: warm splash of water
• Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia Tuxedo 24 mm
• Razor: AtT S1
• Blade: Gillette Blue Silver
• Lather: Gillette - Aloe Soothing
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Watchman
• Fragrance: none

It doesn't lather. How do people still buy this crap? Magic aftershave to fix the lack of sickness on my face. It smells like I'm cleaning my school desk again.

Jun. 5, 2024
Prep: Cremo - Coconut Mango Shave Cream - Preshave
Brush: Simpsons Trafalgar T3 Ebony
Razor: RazoRock Lupo 72 OC #cnc * Blade: Personna Red [3]
Lather: RazoRock - For Chicago - Soap
Post Shave: RazoRock - For Chicago - Aftershave
Post Shave: Tower 28 - SOS Rescue Spray

I didn’t have any canned goop but I did try the challenge by face lathering rather than using a bowl.

ROTY

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 05, 2024 – LG24 Day 5 - Canned Shave Goop

• Razor: Gillette Mach3 #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette Mach3
• Lather: Gillette – Foamy Lemon Lime Shave Foam
• Post Shave: Mäurer & Wirtz - Sir Irisch Moos AS Lotion
• Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz - Sir Irisch Moos EdT
• Music: Big Head Todd and the Monsters - The Moose Song

Daily Theme & Relevant Post/Frag: Every shave product I used today was purchased at local stores. The canned goop was bought at a local drug store here in the Philippines. When I was working in Singapore, the post and frag were bought at a department store which catered to Europeans, and the razor and blade were bought at the Base Exchange department store when I was stationed in Singapore. In addition to all shave products being mass-produced and purchased at local stores, they all have one more thing in common - they're all green.

Daily Challenge: Regardless of the type of shaving lubricant I use, my primary lather-building method is face-lathering. The opposite of face lathering is bowl lathering. So, how do you bowl lather canned goop? Let me show you how it's done.

Sorry about the abrupt ending of my video, the videographer is an idiot!

User made a video of bowl lathering with canned goop... instead of using a brush, proceeds to slap the bowl on his face.

June 5, 2024

• Brush: My hand
• Razor: Target Brand Disposable Razor #RAINBOW
• Lather: Barbasol – Soothing Aloe Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Brut – Aftershave Splash
• Fragrance: Calvin Klein – Defy EdT

Would you believe that I forgot all about the Lather Games today?

No?

Well, let’s just say for the sake of this story, I forgot all about the Lather Games. I’m driving to a meeting, rub my face and realize… Oh shit! I completely forgot to shave today!

Yes! That’s EXACTLY what happened today. In my car, driving, not thinking about Lather Games at all! And what is a fellow to do? I guess I have to pull off at the nearest exit to find a store to procure something to shave my face with. And look what I have here: A Target! What are the odds? Right when I realize I need to shave, a Target is right here! It’s a Lather Games Miracle!

I enter Target the exact opposite way that my wife goes to Target: With a purpose. First, I head over to the travel size section because Lord knows I don’t need a big can of foam goo. Picked up a small can of Barbasol with Soothing Aloe. Then I head to the men’s care section and snagged a pack of Target Brand disposable razors and bottle of Brut Aftershave. Perfect. This is everything I need! I go to the front, pay, and do the next logical thing: Head directly into the Target bathroom to shave there.

I’ve always found Target bathrooms to be on the higher end of store bathrooms – I think because of the good lighting. However, but they ALWAYS are right in the front of the store and have a heavy amount of foot traffic. Oh well – I guess everyone else is gonna have to use the other sinks because this one is gonna be occupied!

For the challenge, I’m using my hand to lather, which is the opposite of what I usually do (use a brush). I get lathered up and quickly try to put my phone away as someone walks in to use the bathroom. I don’t want this guy thinking I’m a weirdo photo-documenting my Target shave. Plus, I’m pretty sure taking pictures in the Target bathroom is a worse offense than shaving in one.

The shave itself was…. Fine…. At least in the sense that my whiskers got cut and there was no blood drawn. Barbasol isn’t exactly what one would consider slick and no one is going to mistake this lather for artisanal soaps. If Everett is a brilliant olfactory opera, this was more like a me learning how to play the recorder in elementary school. The lather was thick and foamy, but slickness? About as slick as sandpaper. But hey, it got the job done.

And the splash was… Fine… I mean, it’s Brut Aftershave. This stuff is an old-school classic, and when I splashed it on, I felt like I was being initiated into a secret society of dads and granddads. The scent actually wasn’t too bad if I'm being honest. Very much smelled like my barbershop… Probably because this is the splash my barber uses. The fragrance lingered for far longer than I would have expected and was honestly pleasant and fresh.

But the shave lacked so much. Privacy for one. I’ve done more than my fair share of public shaves, but this was different. In a public bathroom, with people coming in and going out. I didn’t love that. Really takes the #metime out of my shaving ritual with strangers entering and exiting my sacred shaving space. And the products I used had no character, no heart, and no artisanally crafted scents. Oh shit! The SCENTS!! I DON’T HAVE A FRAGRANCE TO WEAR!

Well, lucky for me, there is an Ulta Beauty right next door to Target! I pack up my newly acquired razors, go into Ulta Beauty. Head straight for the fragrance area and look for a fragrance that (1) has a tester and (2) I want it to complement the lather and splash I used today. Perfect! This one says it’s “Fresh”! Relevant Post-Shave and Fragrance Points: Unlocked! The nice girl comes over and I ask her to test this one. Smells nice enough. I don’t think CK Defy is going to be winning any Golden Pears anytime soon, but the scent is unoffensive and clean and paired nicely with the Brut Aftershave. As far as #FOF goes, I smell like a basic guy who is trying to smell good. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but nothing stands out today. I thank the nice girl for letting me try the tester and go about day, heading for my meeting. Thankful that there happened to be a Target and an Ulta Beauty right when I realized I forgot to shave on Canned Goop Day! What are the odds??

Soap Theme Justification: And wouldn’t you know, on the day I forgot about The Lather Games, it ends up being Canned Shave Goop Day and I’m perfectly on theme.

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Everything can be found in your neighborhood Target and Ulta, and are scents which could be considered “Fresh”.

My favorite part about this is that he was dressed as a Target employee.

I don't think he did that on purpose, I assume he just chooses to dress like retail employees on a regular basis.

** 05.06.2024 ** * Brush: AP Shave Co 26MM G5C * Razor: Karve Shaving Co - THE CHRISTOPHER BRADLEY OC-C * Blade: Perma Sharp * Lather: Denim - Original * Post Shave: Denim - Original * Post Shave: Mühle alum stone

Because I an born in communist era "Denim" brand was a luxury item. Bulgaria was isolated and not everyone can have it. After the regime fеll and beard and moustaches start growing I bought cream and aftershave Denim Original. Now I am not a big fan. You can shave it of course with it but with all this artisan soaps that I have I literary not using it. But fits perfect for today requirements. You can buy it in every grocery now. This year in Lather Games I'll test Karve plates to choose which one I'll like it most and buy Karve safety razor. Today I tested OC-D. Amazing performance. Two passes and BBS! But I feel alum block. Maybe it's my fault. Next I'll try OC-C. Lathering in bowl and occasionally on face. Now I have to choose more interesting part of my body to impress judges.

June 5, 2024 - Canned Goop Day

• Brush: Right hand
• Razor: Yates Precision Manufacturing - Merica
• Blade: Feather New Hi Stainless
• Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Proraso - After Shave Stone

Probably no surprise the one day I use a Feather blade and Barbasol is when I get the biggest nick of my life. Even alum did nothing to slow the bleeding.

SOAPANDBRUSH4LYFE

ROTY

6/5/24 Lather Games shave

• Brush: Jayaruh #441 / AP Shave Co G5C synth → quick switch to palm

• Lather: Gillette - Satin Care with aloe vera (Target)

• Razor: Charcoal Goods everyday brass w/ Suneko

• Post Shave: Brut - Classic (CVS)

• Post Shave: Neutrogena - Hydro Boost gel cream w/ HA (Walgreens)

I was able to choose between a wide variety (i.e. 2 options) of the wifey’s Gillette shaving gels. The Target she goes to really has the best selection in town. Obviously I chose the one with aloe vera, knowing that that would take this already ethereal product to the next level. For my lather method (do you really call it a method though if the stuff doesn’t lather??) I started with a synth brush and since I normally face lather I tried to bowl lather. It look about 1.7 seconds to realize that the lather would just end up being too good that way, and since I didn’t want to spoil all future shaves I switched to the good ol’ palm to face method. Three passes later and I’m ready to face the day. Just from inside the house though, so nobody sees me like this.

Thanks so much mods for setting this day up. What a treat 🙄

June 5, 2024 - Drugstore Day

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps “Mood Indigo” Synthetic, 28mm
• Razor: Assured For Men TTO Safety Razor
• Blade: Assured For Men Blade (1)
• Lather: Bolero - Cedar Wood and Eucalyptus - Cream
• Post Shave: Bolero - Cedar Wood and Eucalyptus - After Shave Lotion
• Fragrance: Catie’s Bubbles - Cape Cod Cranberry

Daily Write-Up

Using this stuff year after year (why don’t I throw it away?!) is bad enough. But now I need to try to use a brush with it and bowl lather, since I normally face lather?

Ok.

I put a generous amount of the Cedar Wood and Eucalyptus Shaving Cream in my bowl. Sadly, there’s still enough left for 1 or 2 more years.

I attempted to whip it into a lather.. It really didn’t want to lather up, but I managed to get something passable.

Then I scraped the hair off my face (one pass only, I’m not a masochist) with the Dollar Tree razor and blade. It’s just so bad. There’s very little slickness from the soap. And this unmarked blade is not sharp at all. Lots of blade chatter from the plastic TTO razor. 1/10 shave, 1/10 with rice.

Soap Theme Justification
The soap was purchased at Dollar Tree, which is the store nearest to my home that sells shaving items. Well, except that there is an AutoZone next door. But they only sell shaving soap, not razors.

Post-Shave and Fragrance Relevance Notes
Dickholed the Cedar Wood and Eucalyptus. Riffed off the soap and aftershave (that were allegedly cedar wood, but they pretty much just smell like chemicals) with more cedar. I had planned on using HoM Tobacconist, but in my first audible of the games, I felt more like using CCC, which also has cedar as a prominent note.

Now that shave is done, it’s probably time to return to alternate-universe OnionMiasma, to see how he’s progressing….

Prequel 1 here

Prequel 2 here

He readies himself in front of the mirror, taking care to not nick himself with the plastic razor. This is one of his proudest possessions. It helped him get to where he is. The fake chrome has flaked off, leaving only the plastic underneath now, but as he deftly removes the hair from his face, he’s forced to think about how far he’s come. It’s graduation day. He can finally put his old life behind him.

In the past few years, he’s been focused on two things, graduating with honors so he could move on to having a fruitful career, and becoming the internet’s biggest wet shaving expert.

For the first item he ended up changing his major to journalism. He felt that AI was just a flash in the pan, and people are obviously going to shift back to newspapers. He doesn’t have a job yet, but is continuing to flex his writing muscles by staying engaged in various wet shaving forums.

There are tons of them, and he’s active in almost all. The only one he’s never been a fan of are the weirdos over at Reddit. He checked it out, but quickly was told he wasn’t welcome due to his affinity for a specific brand of product that he’s a paid ambassador for.

It’s that brand’s forum he’s most proud of. He built the Phoenix Artisan Phans Facebook group from nothing to 221 active users. In the past year he’s gone from being proud to have met the founder to being a paid representative of the company.

He finished up his shave, rubbed in the Bolero Cedar Wood and Eucalyptus aftershave into his face, and grabbed his cap and gown.

It was a short walk across town to the stadium where graduation was held, and Onion used this time to continue to mull over his options for post-graduation work. His top choice would be to combine his degree with his passion. Maybe he could write a series of reviews looking at all the different soaps using a specific scent. Nah, that would be painfully boring to read.

Maybe he could start his own blog. Or do some Youtube videos as one of those new-fangled Shavefluencers.

The options abound.

But deep in thought, he didn’t notice when he stepped into the street that it wasn’t empty. He noticed a vehicle coming towards him, but noted it was in the other lane, so he slowed down to let them by. At the last moment, the yellow Jeep Wrangler swerved towards him in order to purposefully strike, and hit him straight on with a sickening crunch.

Onion flew to the side of the road, bleeding in multiple places. He looked up to see the Jeep speeding away, and he noticed the spare tire – a Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements cover adorned the extra rubber.

As he was bleeding out… his mind raced. Who in the hobby have I upset? Who did this? Why now? Was it because I slept with Doug’s wife? Is it one of the Reddit fanatics out to silence me?

He was unable to answer these questions as darkness descended upon his senses for the final time.

LG2024- June 5th “ The worst a man can get”

• Brush: NA
• Razor: Razorock GC .84
• Blade: Astra Green (4)
• Lather: Barbasol- Sensitive
• Post Shave: Noble Otter- Barrbarr splash

Shave: Barbasol was the only stuff my dad ever used, or at least the only stuff I ever saw in my parents bathroom. I picked up the cheapest option in the travel section of my local grocery. Clean enough smell, lather was thick but extremely dry. No cushion at all. Served as a Reminder why all of us are here. Got a pretty close shave regardless.

Challenge: the canned stuff I simply applied with my hand, no brush used.

Viewing: could it get anymore 90s than this

ROTY

2024-06-05 LG SOTD

• Brush: Omega 11126 (24x55mm Boar)
• Razor: Generic Mach III
• Blade: Generic Mach III
• Lather: Nivea - Protect & Care - Shave Cream
• Post Shave: Nivea - Protect & Care - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Davidoff - Cool Water - 2023 Reformulation

Honestly? I like everything I used today. I know people dread Drug Store day, but this stuff all works fine for me, and it isn't even the nicest stuff the big chain drug store 2 blocks from my house sells.

Also I think the 2023 post-COVID reformulation of Cool Water (with the plainer lettering on the bottle) smells noticeably nicer than the previous 2010s reformulation, and part of the reason I say that with some confidence is that I can wear it without going "ow my nose." Smoother treble, more detail in the mids, bass has better sustain than the last version.

June 5, 2024

• Brush: AP Shave Co Strawberry Cream 26mm G5A
• Razor: Edwin Jagger 3One6 Grooved Blue #RAINBOW
• Blade: Personna Platinum (6)
• Lather: Cremo - Palo Santo - Cream
• Post Shave: Combe Inc. - Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayers - Rose - Toner
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Whispered Myths - Eau de Parfum
• Talc: Pinaud Clubman Finest Powder
   

---

I purchased this Cremo at a local drug store two years ago for the Lather Games and I have only used it in the Lather Games. Since I normally face lather, I bowl lathered the Cremo today. Terrible lather. It was very foamy, but I was able to make it work. Other than that, it was a very nice shave.

Whispered Myths has notes of oud, cantaloupe, cedarwood, muskdana, honey, and salvaged shipwreck. I live by the Chesapeake Bay and, by far, this is the best smelling shipwreck I've encountered.

June 5, 2024 – Lather Games 2024 Day 5: Canned Shave Goop

• Applicator: Ace Hardware – Cotton Cloth Cleaning Mitt
• Razor: Gillette 195 Adjustable E-1 “Mal” #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Gillette Winner (4)
• Lather: Gillette – Gillette Foamy
• Post Shave: Mennen – Skin Bracer
• Fragrance: Zoologist Perfumes – Rhinoceros

Use of Theme: Canned Shave Goop

My original plan was to use my anniversary throwback can of Barbasol, but when the daily challenge means you could possibly waste that creamy Barbasol goodness, all bets are off. Gillette Foamy will do the job. It’s cheap and available at pharmacies everywhere. As is Skin Bracer, today’s post shave product of choice. Of all the “old” scents in my arsenal, this one is my least favorite, as nice as it is. Rounding of is Zoologist Rhinoceros, not because it is available in pharmacies–it isn’t, but because it would be interesting to see a Rhinoceros lather a cheap drugstore can of shaving goop.

Daily Challenge: Reverse Lather

I go back and forth between bowl lathering and face lathering. I have knee lathered. At my age, I’m not flexible enough for foot lathering and I’m not pulling a muscle. So we’ll try this… Don’t you think that’s how a Rhinoceros would do it?

Happy shaving!

user lathers with an automobile buffer attached to his drill.

Jun. 5, 2024

• Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T1 #SMOLL

• Razor: Harry’s Truman

• Blade: Harry’s Harry’s Blades [1]

• Lather: Harry’s - Shave Cream

• Post Shave: Harry’s - Balm

• Fragrance: Paco Rabanne - Invictus

I call this a shitfecta™️. This was my setup sans bowl and brush when I decided to shave off my beard and shave regularly again. I used it for a few months. I keep it around now because every other month I have to shave my chest after the doctors office only shaves spots for the EKG tabs. I was going to skip today completely but I’m a trooper. I did not like it one bit. I usually face lather so I went with a bowl and it does not lather very well in a bowl. The Harry’s can take a lot of water but it was just terrible.

Soap justification. I bought this tube at Publix back in September of last year.

Daily Challenge: I usually face lather and when I used Harry’s before I knew any better I hand lathered so today bowl and brush

FOF justification. Harry’s really does not have a sent and I honestly needed something to make this bearable.

Photo contest Theme Garbage.

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

Canned Shape Goop

• Brush: Myself - Hands
• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable J1 #ADJUSTABLE #STAINLESSLESS
• Blade: Treet - Classic Double Edged Blade
• Lather: Barbasol - Original
• Post Shave: XtraCare - Fresh Scent After Shave
• Fragrance: Guy Laroche - Drakkar Noir

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to whoever sent me this blade with their smooshes, sorry I don't remember who. Also thanks to the random u/Enndeegee guy that was the only one that commented on yesterday's SOTD post.

Daily Mistakes
I stayed up until 2 AM then I had to wake up at 8 because my dad had to drop me off at my mom's house before he went to work, then I fell asleep meaning to take a 2 hour nap but it ended up being 4 hours.

Daily Writeup
Man Barbasol sucks, this crappy dollar store aftershave is more water than it is alchohol so it did absolutely nothing. The fragrance was alright though. I'm tired and hungry but I spent all my money on keyboard stuff so I can't afford any food.

Daily Theme Points
This Barbasol was acquired a couple months ago at my local dollar store.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
I found this aftershave at a dollar store and I got the good old Drakkar Noir at Walmart

Daily Challenge
Usually I would say I am a face latherer but I bowl lathered a couple days ago so I wouldn't say I never do that, instead I hand lathered because the opposite of using a brush is not using a brush.

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
The Gillette Slim Adjustable is believe it or not, #ADJUSTABLE. I also used this Treet Classic blade that is in fact carbon steel.

Photo Contest
Because I used Drakkar Noir I decided to go for the noir iphone filter for the black and white picture prompt. Also you can't see from the picture but this aftershave is like a really scary blue color. The lather and aftershave don't deserve any color today.

TL;DR
Crappy SOTD other than the fragrance. I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests

photocontest

ROTY

scruba games day 5

Well that was fucking stupid wasn't it.

I'm not playing to win because you know I don't have the requisite number of soaps, razors, brushes, vendors, or indeed the required amount of shit that needs to be given to win.

But when last years winner u/priusaurus is doing a lame pretend last minute shave, newly minted judge u/onionmiasma is replaying his greatest hits and at least half the shavers are 'using this that I bought for last time' then you know that I gotta do something.

Fucking scrubs all of them.

I don't have pharmacist soap because I'm not a scrub.

I am not going to buy it because I'm not a scrub

I am not going to lame out and use a DQable soap because I'm not a scrub.

I am going to take the daily challenge possible because I am not a scrub.

• Razor: no scrub x zenith MOAR BOAR #REVENANT #rainbow
• Brush: ruby adjustable #composite

*Lather: dermol 200 emollient shower cream

Yes I cellotaped a blade to the bottom of the brush. Yes I used the razor to spread shower cream on my face. Yes it cut at least one hair before the whole thing collapsed.

(And then yes I was a scrub and finished off with softheart sandalwood to take me back to a happy place)

Boring judge bit: on theme because I got this shower stuff from a pharmacist for my boy and because product doesn't specify shaving product. Tags work because I restored this brush into a razor fixing what was clearly a mistake and also because the new razor is green and white And the new brush is mixed material of plastic and metal.

True Icarus flight:

Genius reverse lather, develops sub exclusive razor, poignant, yet non-lengthy write-up, but crashes and burns by airbudding the lather product rule

LG 5 - Wednesday

• Brush: Lea 1823 Boar 24mm
• Razor: Gillette King C
• Blade: Gillette King C (2)
• Lather: Wilkinson Sword Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Brummel after shave lotion
• Fragrance: Brummel EDT

I went shopping at a couple of supermarkets today and noticed a decrease in shaving products (excluding cans) since the last time I went into this section. I only bought Wilkinson's soap out of curiosity, I've never tried it.

Curiosity has been paid, I didn't enjoy the shave, the lather was airy and stinky, and I don't know how to describe the scent, could be watery Arko. The Gillette is too mild and the blade is dull. The best thing is that I didn't have to face lather with this soap and the bald-syndrome-boar-brush, the bowl had the privilege.

.#FOF The soap had an awkward scent not to say stinky, it was annihilated by the childhood memory of a barbershop's scent.

LG24-05: Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: Eberbart 24mm Best Badger Badger Knot
• Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic Razor
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) [2]
• Lather: Speick - Men Active - Soap
• Post Shave: Cella - Lozione Dopobarba - Aftershave Lotion
• Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz - Tabac Man Gravity - Eau de Toilette

Today was a comedy of errors. It started with the challenge: bowl lathering instead of my now usual face lathering. I think during my first LG I was still bowl lathering, and probably with this same brush.

I was a bowl lathering pro. But today? It was like watching a baby giraffe learn to walk. Somehow, in trying to create a decent lather, I managed to drop my brush right into the sink. Water splashed everywhere, and I was left fumbling during this awkward endeavor. I swear, I used to be good at this.

The razor, which I picked up last year at the local Apotheke (pharmacy) for this theme, is a nightmare to use. It's plastic clamping mechanism is garbage. I knew it was going to be a disaster, and yet, I went ahead and used it anyway. What does that say about me? Probably that I'm a glutton for punishment and Internet points.

At least the shaving soap and splash were a win. Throw a rock and good local supplies can be found around here. Thank goodness for small victories!

05 June 2024 Complementary Non Dickkhole Proraso Sensitive

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Aurora Grooming Synth
• Razor: Aylsworth Apex
• Blade: Gillette Nacet (37)
• Lather: Proraso - Sensitive (1)
• Post Shave: Nivea Sensitive Balm A/S
• Post Shave: Thayer's Concoction
• Post Shave: Good Oleo
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented Balm
• Fragrance: Dior - Vetiver

We had a super hot and humid day, so using Proraso Sensitive (I think it's sensitive, didn't smell too much like the Green) was nice. Paired it with my trusty Nivea balm and Dior Vetiver

Cheers

June 5 Lather: Nivea Men Sensitive Shave Foam

• Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Lather: Nivea Men Sensitive Shave Foam
• Post Shave: Thayer’s Facial Toner - Witch Hazel - Unsecented
• Fragrance: Spearhead Seaforth! - Sea Spice Lime - Edt
• Lather Bowl: Captain’s Choice Copper Bowl
• Music: Shaving Cream - Buddy Bell

TODAY’S THEME: With a family of five, there’s always a can of canned goop somewhere in the house. Found one in the hall closet. This is easily my least favorite day of the lather games. Not a fan of stuff. But I added a bit of water to it, maybe even more than a bit, and it wasn’t…terrible. Not as slick as a good artistan soap, and not nearly the Post-shave feel either. But it did the job just fine. I won’t be shaving with canned goop again until the next lather games. The Thayer’s was actually nice. Decided to keep the drugstore theme going. Not sure how much it really does, but it felt good going on.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: When I started wet shaving a few years ago, I used a bowl exclusively. Over the following few years, I gradually shifted to become primarily a face latherer. So today, I went back to the bowl. I sprayed a shit ton of foam into the bowl. And then started to add water. Swirled the T3 around in it. And added more water. At the point I could tell it was going to break down, I stopped and applied. The added water actually helped a lot and the lather wasn’t awful. But I’m happy to return to my soap tomorrow.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Spearhead. I have 3 full trifectas. SSL, Black Watch, and Roman Spice. The first two are likely in my favorite 10 all-time scents. With SSL a contender for #1. So I wrapped up the synthetic smelling shave with some sea summer spicy stuff.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Death leaves cans of shaving cream half-used.”

—Haruki Murakami

Canned Shave Goop * Brush: Omega 10098 #HOLLOW
Razor: Muhle R41
Blade: Bic
Lather:* Pulse - Comfort

photocontest Animal

Today’s Challenge: Reverse Lather Routine

Most of the times I face lather, so for today’s challenge i’ve used shaving bowl. As for main theme I choose to use a shaving gel, it was not a good idea at all, but at least I tried.

June 5, 2024 - Cactus

• Brush: Simpson 13mm Wee Scot #SMOLL #RUNT
• Razor: Schick Injector Type I #STAINLESSLESS
• Blade: Eversharp Schick Injector Blades
• Lather: Barbasol Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Noble Otter Rawr
• Fragrance: AXE Fine Fragrance Collection Black Vanilla

First up, Barbasol is definitely canned goop. Calendar theme check. Second, my entire software line up for today's shave was purchased at a grocery store, so relevance check. Now for the fun stuff.

The two biggest problems with goop, in my eyes, are that it dries out my face like crazy and that it's really sticky. It tries to make up for both of these things by being very very very cushion-y, but in the end I don't think that really makes up for the dry and sticky. So, in order to reverse lather, since I'm normally a face lather guy, I dumped it in a bowl and started adding water. I worked in water very, very slowly until it was somewhere between stiff peaks and dripping, but closer to stiff peaks. In total I probably added, max, 30-40 drops of water, trying really hard not to overwork it so that it all evaporated. And, y'all, I'm incredibly annoyed to say that it actually kind of worked.

I got a good shave. It wasn't the slickest, but it was MUCH better than normal goop. My face was still dry, but it was a little better than normal goop. It was still decently cushioned too. If you've got any goop defenders in your life, have them try this and you might get them to start seeing the benefits that soaps can get them with more hydration.

All that said, I'm glad I have access to grocery store NO to fix the dry face problem by using what is still my number one alcohol based splash. The fragrance today was a gift from one of my students. I've talked about my soap and frag collection in an effort to seem like a normal human being (it didn't work), before, and they got me this as a joke because of the times where I've complained about the hallways all smelling like Axe. Now I just need to throw away the can so that I can use something else for Frugal Friday.

Today's photo contest theme is cactus. I have the aloe scented barbasol so I put all my stuff in an aloe plant and took a picture. Easy. #photocontest

SOTD 2024-06-05 Guardian Pharmacy is a Canadian Heritage

• Brush: Man'Stuff - Vegan #RUNT
• Razor: Wilkinson Sword - Classic
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Lather: Man'Stuff - Black Pepper cream
• Post Shave: Man'Stuff - Black Pepper balm

Today's bonus special challenge: Reverse Lather Routine. Normally I bowl lather so today I'll face lather. But how about we do everything a little differently today.

You can't go on for a penny without going in for a pound in this rabbithole, so of course if I was going to use a soap from a local pharmacy (which also happens to be a Canadian pharmacy) then I should also use a local pharmacy brush and razor and blade and aftershave balm and it just so happens that all of this gear was acquired at the same pharmacy, a pharmacy that just happens to perhaps be the greatest pharmacy in all the land and impresses me every time I go; though this time the gear I got was a bit of a different story, but enough of that story for now until I come back to that story in a few minutes while I chase this train of thought down what seems like a proverbial rabbithole, you’re probably thinking that there’s no way that I could have gotten all this gear from a single pharmacy; well you’d be wrong, I did, and I’ve got proof as I was told by the honourable (spelled the Canadian way because this is Canada Day; actually it’s not Canada Day because that’s July 1st, but it’s basically Canada Day: The Prequel) OnionMiasma “if the local store also sell Crest or condoms, you’re good”; so yup, I brought it home; though since we’re going on trial here I’ll throw this in too since the razor, while purchased from the same pharmacy, it seems they didn’t have any more of them in stock at the time, and since I didn’t really want to use the Bic Metal, even though I did buy them at the time, I had previously purchased the visible in picture Wilkinson Sword razor so without further ado, this is me at that same store, which is evidenced here and you can even see that “Man’Stuff” branded stuff below it, as if I needed more proof, but onward, upward, twirling, twirling towards lather we go, and so I opened up the package and was impressed (if that was really my reaction, I guess I was more taken aback) by how SMOL this brush was; it’s tiny and deformed from being in that package, which seemingly is vegan since it’s got a PETA logo on the back of the box, but vegan can be good (more on that later) as evidenced by wonderful soaps made by Southern Witchcrafts and others, but I would save my judgment for when I actually used the brush; so next on the list was the soap, which allegedly is supposed to smell like “black pepper”, but I’ll talk more about that later, first was the packaging which was hilariously cheap – even the threading was stripped due to the way it was sealed; talk about quality control, but I can forgive that, if it was a quality product and they simply cheaped out on the packaging, but alas that was not to be, and I will start with the scent, which reminded me of Gillette Foamy that had simply been sprayed into a tub; if only it was Gillette Foamy sprayed into a tub it would not have been so terrible, but it had all of the faults of canned foam as well as all of the faults of a hard soap, yet it was as soft as a cream, it boggles the mind, but I would try it, as I must for the purposes of shaving with it, so on I went and wet the brush which was also horribly bad, stiffer than a brand new boar brush, with zero splay, and more like a spatula than a brush, which is probably why the package also suggests that I could use my fingers rather than the brush if I wanted, but I needed to use the brush because I needed to use the brush because I said that I would use the brush since I’m reviewing the brush and that’s what the brush is for and I already wrote above that I used the brush and otherwise I’d be lying and lying is bad I guess and I’ve lost track of the train that was my thought but anyway the brush is bad, but somehow not as bad as the soap which has both the chemical smell of canned foam but doesn’t lather, but rather than not even lathering like a brushless cream it somehow is just I can’t even describe how terrible this stuff is because I can barely understand how they managed to create a cream that is almost as soft as canned foam and smells like canned foam that you found at your parent’s house after your dad switched to an electric razor in the 1980s and can’t lather for its life and clogs up the razor, yes I’ll get more on that, more than any other product you’ve ever tried, and you wish that you just used the bar of soap by the sink instead because I’ve never had to clean out a razor after a SINGLE PASS before, this is by far the absolute worst shaving kit and worst soap I can possibly imagine please don’t ever buy it I’m serious this is as bad as I’m describing it and even worse this is cursed beyond cursed this is run on sentence levels of bad where the writer goes on for pages and even passes one thousand words without using proper punctuation in their sentence to the point where you wonder if they even know what a period is, but somehow they must since there are periods in the URLs that they used to link the images, but back onto the subject at hand where we were talking about the soap, but I don’t want to talk about the soap anymore and how I had to disassemble the razor after doing a single pass and the brush that was worse at lathering than a spatula and they all are going into the garbage after this because I can’t possibly think of any enemy that I have that is deserving of such terrible punishment, even worse than having to read this huge wall of unbroken text (be happy that I at least remember how to use the spacebar) and I’ve forgotten what I’m talking about oh yes on to the ~~spatula~~ brush but yes it’s terrible and I hate it but at least it’s a tiny knot so it qualifies for the #RUNT hastag so I get some points for it and anyway there seems to be a theme with this kit and it’s that it’s absolutely horrendous but maybe the balm is alright because it’s a balm and it also says that it smells like black pepper which honestly if you know what black pepper smells like it’s not something that you’d think “yes this is what I’d want to smell like because it makes people sneeze” but maybe that’s just how delusional these people making these products are because they decided to call their product “Man’Stuff” without even using proper punctuation or even spacing (maybe my anger at that is why I’ve remembered how to use spaces) but still on the topic of the balm it smells EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE SOAP and so I proceed to put it on my face because I must for stience (the sacrifices we make) and somehow this balm is worse than if I didn’t use anything at all as my face is even drier than if I covered it in a paste of alum and left it all day not to mention that my face is now itchy and still scruffy since that single pass was also probably the worst single pass since the razor was totally clogged and probably didn’t cut anything at all but no fault of the razor it performed admirably and my face at least didn’t end up raw and cut up though it’s not exactly a fair test of blade since it’s the first time using it in this razor and I’m not even certain if it even had a chance to cut any hair because my face still feels like I haven’t shaven yet but now it’s itchy and also dry as a bone I see flaking how did it dry my skin out so much well I wasn’t wasting any more time thinking about it and I’m washing this horrible smelling stuff off my face and wishing that I had Midnight Stag to spread all over my face to cover it up and not to mention my bathroom now smells like this horrid chemical smell stronger than you’d normally get from that canned foam from the 80s but the same sort of smell and it did only so much but didn’t do anything for my now super dry skin so for the first time in possibly ever I spread hand cream on my face to deal with the dryness and thankfully I’ve got some good stuff so It’s not so bad but then I needed to go to work and spent the day debating whether or not I could use something different since it still would be Canadian Pharmacy shave day and I did still need to shave because this morning’s shave did nothing but alas I’m not sure if it would be breaking the rules but perhaps if someone has actually kept reading this far they could tell me though perhaps it would be the sort of Air Bud type ruling that is disallowed except when it is allowed but I thank you all for your attention because I know that every single person read all 1600 words of this because who knows if your future may depend on it because if you ever pick that soap up (at least it was only $13 Canadian dollars) and here I was thinking I was getting a bargain but no I was very very wrong and horribly wrong and terribly wrong and regretting my decision but it was for Stience and for the Lathergames and for the community that I have done this great sacrifice of my face and I’ll need to leave the review of the Gillette Platinum blade in the Wilkinson Sword Classic razor for another day since I’ve not passed 1700 words and I think I’ve remembered how to punctuate.

Let's leave the stream of consciousness with Misters Joyce and Faulkner.

Oh, did I miss the fucking Lather Games this year? Dang.

Enjoy, everyone! You'll go far.

June 5, 2024

DIFFICULT LOVE: THE ADVENTURE OF A WET SHAVER

(theme: Canned Shave Goop)

photocontest - Hobbies (Movies)

Prep: shower with Mario Fissi 1937 Firenze - Royal Musk soap

• Brush: Proraso (Omega rebranded) - Professional Brush - Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Bic - Monolama disposable
• Blade: Bic - Monolama - integrated blade (1)
• Lather: Mario Fissi 1937 Firenze - Crema da barba rinfrescante
• Post Shave: Denim - Musk Aftershave
• Fragrance: Denim - Musk EdT

A long and busy day, I am posting late and I apologize for the decreasing quality of my English.

Happy to have involved my GF, who helped me with today's pic's set dressing by making the paper wedding arch and the stylized yellow bus.

Let's jump into today's story about the difficult love life of mass market products in a world dominated by plastic and multi-blades.

BIC = BEN'S INNER CONFLICT: A STORY ABOUT DIFFICULT LOVE IN THE TIME OF SUPERMARKETS

-> click here for the real story of the Graduate

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: REVERSE LATHER ROUTINE

As I usually shift between Bowl- and Face- lathering, I decided to subvert my routine and reclaim my shaving destiny by taking it into my hands.

This was my second time using Mario Fissi's Crema da barba rinfrescante, a puzzling product that presents itself as a hard soap (in a commendably recycled cardboard box), while being labeled as a "cream".

During my previous shave with it, I scraped some of the dry soap and put it in a bowl to try to lather with a brush.

This time, I energetically rubbed the soap bar with my own two hands so as to cover them with its oily and alnost sticky proto-cream, then I used the Proraso Professional boar brush (Eur 3.73 at the same supermarket where I purchased the Fissi Crema da barba) to lather it frommy hands.

The resulting foam was (same as last time) full of bubbles and not particularly reassuring. On the other hand, the shaving experience with the humble Bic 1-blade disposable (Eur 1.18 for a pack of ten) was incredibly effective, and THE POST-SHAVE WAS AS GOOD AS WITH MOST TOP ARTISAN SOAPS. Seriously, this is uncanny.

I feel vastly unequipped to decode this cheap soap from a mass-market company I had never heard about until a few weeks ago. I'll need to further investigate the mystery of this "cream" that appears as a solid bar, makes a very ugly lather, and then performs way beyond its league. Very happy to have used just my hands and the most no-BS boar brush I could find, to get the most "hands on" experience (literally) I could conceive.

After the intense palm lathering (one palm for each one of the two passes), a side effect is that my hands benefitted from the moisturizing properties of the soap, returning to a state of softness that reminds me of my pre-adult life.

FOF WRITEUP

Today's products were all selected on the base of their availability as mass-produced goods that are available at local supermarkets here in Florence, Italy, so the pairing options were limited from the start.

I started with a pre-shave shower with Fissi's soap bar "Royal Musk", a nice citrus/green/musk accord, and then used the Floid Vetyver Deodorant Stick, which provided a generic but pleasant, consistent and persistent citrus/green accord.

The lather was nominally featuring Vetiver and Lemongrass essential oils: while I could smell them both from the hard soap bar, once lathered they were almost non-perceivable from my nose.

After many decades wondering what is the scent of "The man who don't have to ask, ever", I used today's LG theme as an excuse to finally find out the truth about the legendary Denim Musk.
The AS alcohol splash, available at least three different supermarket chains, cost me Eur 3.90.
The EdT, available only at one of the three stores I scouted, cost Eur 6.49.

While lacking any functional properties beyond, well, being alcohol-based, the AS splash punches waaay above its weight, offering a clean citrus/green/musk accord, with a short but impeccable evolution from the bright top notes to the surprisingly nuanced synthetic musks.

The EdT tries to add some woody/spicy complexity to the drydown, with a result that ends up being so bland and generic that it's almost unnoticeable (yet, luckily, not annoying) to my nose.

The Mario Fissi Royal Musk soap bar combined with its Vetiver and Lemongrass Crema da barba sibling, and Denim Musk AS provide a seamless and excellent pairing: for a cumulative price of less than 10 Euros, it's possibly the most affordable good scent pairing I ever experienced.
On the other hand, the Denim Musk EdT is ok, but I'd rather apply more AS (which has a decent staying power, and a less brooding scent), than buy again the EdT, which had the counter-productive effect of covering the citrus/green and musk duality with an underwhelming woody spiciness.

FOF

ROTY

DAY 5 LATHER GAMES! DRUGSTORE GO BRRR!

• Prep: Water
• Brush: Hand
• Razor: Men's Shave Club(Lidl)
• Blade: Nacet
• Lather: Nivea - Sensitive shaving cream
• Post Shave: Osage Rub
• Fragrance: Shirley May - Just Black

Now I know I said I'd have everything under control and I'd manage to post earlier, buuuuuut that was a lie, not so much a lie, more like shitty time management, but hey at least I bought a new pair of kicks today, so YAY!

DAILY THEME:

For the theme that is for the day of today that is Wednesday I tried to make everything with brands that you can find readily available at local drug stores, the Hand part especially, every shop/marker/drugstore I've ever been to has hands, it's the most common and readily available shaving gear there is. Osage Rub is probably the one that isn't that easily found, but somehow the scent matches the mood of Nivea, gives me some kind of Nostalgia of days gone, days past, days where I didn't shave.

The razor is a VERY interesting piece of ~~garbage~~ equipment. There was a promotion around Christmas(of course) of these razors in a shopping chain(Lidl) here in Bulgaria and me and the boys went out and got it. Took me about 4 months to use it, but I gotta give out props, this thing came with a very adequate piece of paper that had instructions on safety and how to use it, load the blade, etc. Right now the interesting part. When the day came and I decided to give it a go(even made a video of that, see 2:52 on how to open packaging of a razor). Put the blade in, immediately was amazed at how advanced the bottom plate was, I mean you could shift it to the left, you could shift it to the right. One might say I liked to move it move it! And make no mistake, this innovation of bottom plate shifting made for giving a type of slant gap between the blade and the bottom cap, GENIUS! After one chooses their setting of where the bottom plate should sit, comes the next surprise, when you screw the handle and tighten it. I tell you, there is a bigger chance of a dickless man having sex with a woman, than this razor shaving. Basically when tightened like any other razor, the blade just lays flat on the bottom plate. BUT, this was my mistake, I didn't know this was AN ADJUSTABLE RAZOR! YES FOLKS YOU READ RIGHT! This razor has the unique ability to let you choose the blade gap, because depending on how much you screw the handle the gap goes from 0.0 to 1.x. After a bit of adjusting I found my preferred gap and shaved. Was it rough? Yes. Did I get a decent result? Yes? Would I repeat? No.(today's an exception). I can definitely send it for a passaround here or on Discord, cause it's to say the least, INTERESTING and an EXPERIENCE!

Unlike some people, I didn't need to go to drug stores and shave in questionable sanitary enviorments, cause I was prepared. And I didn't forget, cause MrTangerinesky doesn't forget!(except when he does, but that doesn't happen).

Comment with daily challenge continues in replies to this comment.

https://imgur.com/a/DuIWtm0

• Prep: PAA - The Cube 2.0
• Bowl: None - Face Lathered
• Soaking Cup: Yeti Can Cooler
• Brush: Acca Kappa - Boar #TOLL #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Cooper - Monobilt - #FLIPTOP
• Blade: Derby - Premium
• Lather: Gillette - Fusion 5 Ultra Senstive Cream
• Post Shave: Proraso - Green Aftershave
• Post Shave: Omega - Alum Stick

I am not sure what I was thinking. I decided to use an unfamiliar razor, unfamiliar blade, unfamiliar way to lather and a can of shaving Goo! I was quite worried I would hack my face to bits. I figured in for a penny in for a pound and pushed on. I first soaked my very tall Acca Kappa Boar brush in water in a Yeti Can Cooler I picked up at Goodwill for a couple of bucks, and proceeded to face lather (Reverse Lather Routine Accomplished). I always bowl lather. It was a bit messy, but I finally got my face covered with my $1.99 special, Gillette shaving foam I picked up at Ollie's discount store. I left the price tag on for laughs. I loaded an untried Derby Premium in my Cooper Monobilt Open Comb Fliptop razor, that I have never used and proceeded to mow down my stubble. It wasn't very smooth, but it was effective. I got a DFS after 2.5 passes and called it quits. It was good enough, and no bloodshed.

So far, I have been able to accomplish my own personal challenges of using a different blade, different razor, different aftershave and different brand of soap every day. ( I will use a different brush everyday until I run out of options.) So far so good!

ROTY

June 5, 2024 - Goop Day

• Brush: Colgate Youth Soft Toothbrush #SMOLL #RUNT
• Razor: King C Gillette #ZAMAC
• Blade: King C Gillette
• Lather: Nivea Men - Sensitive Shave Foam
• Post Shave: Nivea Men - Moisturizing Post Shave Balm (Polo Green?)
• Fragrance: Ralph Lauren Polo - Blue EdT

Today’s Theme:

This is my least favorite challenge for quasi-internet fame, or is it infamy? To make sure I stayed within bounds, I went to the Walgreens that I can see from my kitchen window. I think under 200m qualifies as my local drugstore. While my daughter looked at Squishmallows, I perused the shaving aisle. I still have my old Dorco Pace razor that I sometimes saw at Target a few years ago, but nope Strike 1. There were Walgreens brand cartridge razors that look the same as the Dorco, but not a match according to my strict yet arbitrary standards. Years ago I would use Bic Metal razors sometimes, but Strike 2: not at Walgreens, Walmart, or Target. Then I saw their “premium” section filled with King C Gillette products. I have a match. Didn’t buy a new one since I still have a couple King C blades and the razor. Then I was looking for the goop I used to use before I got in this hobby. That was King of Shaves Gel. It is a water based lubricant that I liked for shower shaving. Strike 3 for KoS. Man I need more strikes, ok t-ball rules, just keep going until I get a hit. Maybe Cremo was there? I bought some at Walgreens for the first Drugstore day I participated in back in 2022. Once again, no luck, no Cremo shave cream at all, Strike 4. There was a Cremo bump cream, but not a match for anything I have. So I saw that Nivea Men was $1.50 off. I picked up the foam and balm. Last I needed a brush, because… reasons. Strike 5, no shave brushes that I could see. Maybe I missed a cheap “badger”. Oh wait, there are lots of brushes for teeth. Walgreens carries Colgate toothbrushes, and my dentist gives us them for free. Last fragrance was the easiest thing there. They carry Polo there, and I had some at home. I headed home with my plan in place.

Today’s Challenge - Put my bowl down, Flip it, and Reverse it:

I bowl lather in a <$0.50 blue plastic bowl from IKEA. I took it on a trip to use and never looked back. It works better or at least as good as any lather bowl or mug I’ve used. Alas, my trusty blue had to take a break today. I had to face lather. As I was getting ready to shave, we got a Tornado Warning. Time to relocate to my tornado shelter room in the house. Luckily, it is the downstairs bathroom. It has no windows, is on the bottom floor, and also isn’t on an outside wall. My daughter freaks out over storm warnings, but she was chatting with her friends on her iPad trying to stay calm. One of her friends said her mom just saw a tornado on her way home. My daughter started freaking out again. I told her the warning is for the next 30 minutes and we are already in the safest part of our house. Ok, the cat wasn’t in the room, a few tuna treats and we got her in with us as well. Well, not to make light of a tornado, but at that point, nothing we could do but wait. I opened the toothbrush from the Dentist. Realised it was my daughter’s and was a really small knot. 10mm high and about 10mm x 20mm. If it were a round knot, it would be at most 16mm in diameter. To me definitely smaller and shorter than my wee Omega. Ok, face was washed and ready to make some lather. Damn, a toothbrush does not hold much of the foam. Took a few applications and time to work it up a bit. If you want a seriously scrubby brush, Colgate soft is right for you. Brushing your teeth after tastes awful. I haven’t used the King C in at least a year. Not going to be my daily razor, but not horrible. An ok razor to take on a trip. If I were to lose it, I wouldn’t miss it. I was happier with it when I bought it for $17, but now I have better options. More Nivea toothpaste to the face for pass two. I’m very exfoliated now.

Fragrance Feats:

FOF

Nivea Men - Sensitive Shave Foam smells like maybe lime, soap, and a bit like my father’s in law’s drugstore cologne. The Nivea balm was a little different. I got cheap dupe of maybe Polo Green with a bit of lime. I thought about switching to Polo Green for the fragrance, but you know Tornado Warning. Not going to sugar coat it, I don’t like the combo of the two Nivea products. Polo Blue was chosen because I’ve been able to find Polo - Green, Black, Red, and Blue at Walgreens in the last few months. I didn’t buy it there, but I could go over right now and pick it up. Also the Nivea logo is blue, King C also has navy blue packaging. It was time for some blue. Now this rescued the mediocre experience. Polo Blue is a nice fresh aquatic scent and a safe choice for me. Not my favorite scent, but just a solid choice. I get a bit of citrus, mineral, and being out on the water from it. Perfect for a fast moving thunderstorm. As I finished the shave, the thunder cell was a couple miles past the house and moving away. We all exited the little bathroom and now my daughter is still chatting with her friends, my wife is watching a movie, and I am writing this up.

As usual, a couple photos will be loaded shortly. For some reason, Imgur on my iPad doesn’t always let me select pictures I loaded from my phone. I have to save the post, and then open Imgur and Reddit on the phone.

June. 05, 2024 - SOTD 

• Prep: Splash of warm water
• Brush: Oumo O4 Venus SHD Badger Brush 26MM
• Razor: King C Gillette
• Blade: King C Gillette
• Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Nivea Men - Sensitive Soothing Aftershave Balm

Normally a bowl Latherer but this time just put it in my hands and applied to face because today their are no rules apparently

June 5 - Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: Farvour Unicorn Puke APShaveCo Silksmoke 26 mm
• Bowl: Captain’s Choice Black Ceramic
• Razor: Merkur 34C #ZAMAC
• Blade: Wizamet (23)
• Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Brut - Classic
• Fragrance: Eau Studio - Noble

Theme: Barbasol is available everywhere that sells toiletries. Brut was purchased at Kroger. Noble was purchased at Lidl.

Challenge: This is a weird day for this challenge considering many of us are using products that are intended to be used without a brush. Nevertheless, I deviated from my normal face lathering routine and used a bowl.

The fragrance of Barbasol is a powder bomb. It’s aggressively powdery. Baby powder isn’t this powdery. Adding water to the foamed goop results in a lather that looks slick. And, it’s slick enough for a passable shave. Although, even when hydrated to the point of being translucent on my face, it still left my skin very dry. The fragrance seems to stick around for a while post-shave. I feel like this is going to give me a head-ache. It’s unwelcome.

I’m trying to come up with words to describe Brut. But, I’m still smelling the strong powder-splosion of Barbasol, which is odd because this aftershave fragrance tends to have good longevity. Time to splash more on. Lavender carries over from Barbasol. Brut has more of a citrusy presentation. I’m getting some heavier notes: oakmoss, patchouli, maybe vetiver. I don't know that is considered to be a fougere. But, the elements are there. The splash is just alcohol. It stings. It’s harsh. I like the fragrance. But, it needs to be paired with a moisturizing product.

Eau Studio is Lidl’s store brand fragrances. There are web pages listing what the dupes are for multiple Eau Studio fragrances. But, none of those pages mention Noble. So, it’s almost certainly a dupe of something. I’m just not sure of what. I get notes of oud, leather, wood, and white musk. There’s a note of sweet grass, possibly vetiver. It smells really good for a cheapie European grocery store dupe. Longevity sucks. But, again, it’s cheap.

#photocontest - Hobbies. I’m a disc golfer. I lurk, and occasionally comment on r/discgolf and buy/sell on r/discexchange. Included in my SOTD pic is my bag, featuring my Barbasol FD3. Barbasol started sponsoring the DGPT (Disc Golf Pro Tour) Championship in 2022. My buddy went to spectate the event and brought back tournament stamped discs for our disc golf friend group.

#FOF

June 5, 2024 – Lather Games: Day 5

• Brush: Shavemac w/ AP Shave Co 26mm Pure Bliss™ SHD Premium Synthetic Knot
• Razor: Blackland Osprey
• Blade: Astra SP (Green)
• Lather: Barbasol Sensitive Skin Thick & Rich Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Mennen – Skin Bracer

Barbasol Sensitive Skin Thick & Rich Shaving Cream sucks compared to most decent soaps. I really have nothing else I can say. I really wish a saved my receipt to return this.

Today’s Challenge: For canned crap, I will place some cream in my hand and spread it on my face. Today, I decided to place it in a bowl and try to put it on my face with a brush. My brush did a respectable job, but it now hates me for making it suffer this indignity.

I figured another widely available shaving product should also be used. Fortunately, I like the scent of Mennen Skin Bracer. I doubt it’s very good for my face though.

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

• Razor: Karve Shaving Co. - Overlander (Matte Black Aluminum)
• Blade: Personna Med Prep
• Lather: Barbasol - Original (Think & Rich)- Foam
• Post Shave: Nivea - Sensitive Post Shave - Balm

For me, Nivea is always the highlight of this day.

June 5, 2024 - Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: Simpson Wee Scot #RUNT #SMOL #OLDWORLD

• Razor: Charcoal Goods Gen 1 Level 2

• Blade: Wizamet

• Lather: Barbasol - Canned Shave ~~Poop~~ Goop

• Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented Sego Balm (not pictured)

This is easily my least favorite day every single time it rolls around. The canned shave goop will do the job, but there’s absolutely nothing luxurious about it. I couldn’t even make myself take a serious SOTD photo because Barbasol just doesn’t deserve that kind of effort. Lack of photo effort inspired by /u/whosgotthepudding

I do believe that I also hit the challenge today on the basis of normally I build my lather on my face, but Barbasol does not require our outdated brush technology to build a lather and simply exits the can in an already lathered state.

05JUN2024 Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: None
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [7]
• Lather: Barbasol with Aloe Vera
• Post Shave: AA Shaving - Moonlight

I want to start with this. I hate you all. First of all, Barbados. Absolutely not. Second of all, feet. Fuck no. I have really nothing more to say about my shave today. -1000/10. Fuck this theme and challenge.

Edit: I didn't realize I needed to use a brush. I hate myself and I'm not redoing it.

ROTY

Dude shaved with his feet. Pretty flexible.

Also has aversion to feet.

Dude shaved with his feet. Pretty flexible.

Also has aversion to feet.

June 5, 2024 – Chinese American Goopy Barbershop?

• Brush: My Own Bare Hands
• Razor: Gillette Guard
• Lather: Ultra Max – Shave Cream Extra Thick
• Post Shave: Nivea – Sensitive Post Shave Balm
• Post Shave: Fine Accoutrements – American Blend

So I started the day by heading walking down to the barbershop for a long overdue cut. Rickey is my guy and as always did an excellent job. The shop was a turnkey operation, but owned and operated for 50 years by the same neighborhood gentleman. The new owner Dave kept it mostly untouched, the large last supper over the door to the back room, but updated the shop with the new school old school tattoo dude aesthetic. This includes the products. My cut was finished off with a straight razor shape up of my neck with some Lather Time machine soap and some healthy spritzes of Stephan Bay Run. And as always some brushings of Pinaud Clubman Talc. Perfect.

Tonight’s shave? Did it bring back that nice morning memory of the familiar barber chair and bullshitting about heading down the shore and how hot the Phillies are right now? No. But maybe kinda. Enough for me to blather on, and romanticize about a haircut..

Tonight I used for the second and last time the Ultra Max Shave Cream I purchased at a going out of business sale of an independent dollar store, an import directly from Guangzhou, China. I made sure this was the last time by answering the question of ,”How much lather is really in this can?” I still don’t know how to answer, I mean it seemed appropriate? My sink overfloweth. but in the end handled it. It did take a good five minutes to melt the goo with cold water and completely clean my sink.

The lather was fine, I applied it with my hands and found out it didn’t JUST smell like propellant, but also a bit like the Lather Time foam my morning cut. I used the Gillette guard I also bought for LG last year as I was traveling and it’s terribly forgiving and seems to be readily available in the Indian Market. I was tempted to then use the Indian Old Spice but deferred to both my old bottle of Nivea from my cartridge days and Fines send up to YSL Rive Gauche, American Blend. Mrs. Stallion always loves the American Blend and that always makes my night. Unexpectedly nice shave for an oft begrudged theme to end the day.

Cheers!

LG24-05: ~~Canned~~ Sticked Shave Goop featuring a Canadian pharmacy's intercom music playlist

• Brush: Maggard Razors Gray and White 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE86
• Blade: Astra SP (32)
• Lather: Pacific Shaving Company - Spearmint - Ultra Slick Shave Stick
• Post Shave: Pacific Shave Co. - Spearmint - Caffeinated Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Hima Jomo - Summer in Paro
• Passes: WTG, XTG
• Coffee: Tanzania. Mbeya. v: Peaberry KENT. N39. p:24-36 Hr Fermentation. Sun-Dried On Raised Beds. r: 02/20/24
• Music: Heart - Heart

These Pacific Shave Co. products were purchased from my local grocery store and live in my dopp kit. Convenient for today's theme, since I'm traveling. Mobile judgments incoming! 🚘🧑‍⚖️

June 5, 2024 – Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: Lefty
• Razor: Gillette - Fusion
• Blade: Gillette - ProGlide
• Lather: Dollar Shave Club – Shave Butter
• Post Shave: Brut – Classic After Shave
• Fragrance: Brut – Classic Cologne
• The Lather: Dollar Shave Club is full of all sorts of bad ideas. Whoever thought a translucent gel would be an appealing shave lubricant should be taken out back. It felt, smelled, and looked like I rubbed KY all over my face. Honestly, I swear even that would have been better, I guess most people just get used to it. After rubbing enough with my left hand I was almost able to form something reminiscent of tiny bubbles.
• The Shave: There is a reason I stopped using these 5 bladed pieces of crap. At first I told myself and more importantly my wife it was to save money. Really it because they give such an awful shave. It probably didn’t help I shaved with my left hand. That talentless lump of flesh is as uncoordinated as a baby giraffe. Since it was reverse day I also decided to up the ante by shaving XTG first (I never shave ATG) and then WTG because why the hell wouldn’t I when I have a zero cushion lather.
• Aftershave/Frag: Sticking with today’s theme of mass-produced locally available garbage, I used Brut. Target, Walmart, or CVS take your pic and you’ll find it near me.
• Theme: Well Dollar Shave Club’s Shave Butter doesn’t come in a can, but it is available locally and definitely feels like goop. In fact everything used today can be found at a local store, including a left hand but that costs extra.
• Challenge: Reverse my lather routine, of course. I started by face lathering (I bowl lather normally) with my non-dominant hand (left). I used a reverse pattern shaving (XTG to WTG) and used the opposite hand to shave as well.
• Acknowledgement: Thank you u/2SaintsDude for the splash and frag for today’s shave, I hope to never have to use them again.

June 5, 2024

• Brush: Omega Penelli White HI-BRUSH Synthetic #fauxfur #oldworld
• Razor: GEM Clog-Prug #rustybuttrusty #fliptop
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
• Lather: Dollar shave club – shave butter
• Post Shave: Zingari – Unscented

My kind wife let me steal a bit of her cream today for those sweet sweet LG points. Unfortunately for me at 11pm, I had to fight for enough to barely make a pass via creative retrieval. For the challenge: I would normally just use my hand and smear on my face with this so the opposite would be a brush application. Worked fine but wasted what precious butter I had in the brush.

This scent evokes…not many memories. It’s basic, non scented, boring. A routine. Going on with the day. But that’s alright, and it’s a good memory. More of a reminder that I’m fortunate to have a routine. I like to appreciate the simplicity of a routine. Don’t get me wrong, I love and crave wild times. But that’s for special occasions. Even the basic and boring should not be thrown by the wayside. This scent is reminiscent of that memory, as I reset my nose and await more special occasions.

FOF

I present to you an onion, in many allium ways. Todays photo feature a white onion, chive flowers, scallions, and a bonus fresh and dried garlic #photocontest

SOTD - 2024-06-05

• Beard Growth: 24 Hours
• Prep: Hot Shower
• Pre Shave: None
• Brush: My own hands
• Razor: Gillette Mach3
• Blade: Gillette Mach3 Cartridge
• Lather: Gillette Foam (travel size)
• Post Shave: Stetson Aftershave

• Fragance: Axe Body Spray Deodorant

• Comments: Well, this was terrible! But I guess it could be worse lol

Raided my travel kit for some items today, thankfully I'm on my last mach3 cartridge. All drug store picks the Mach3 razor and cartridge, and the Gillette foam got these a while back. Had picked up the Stetsons and AXE body spray from Walmart too sometime ago

Since this is opposite day, the opposite of using a brush is using no brush, so used my bare hands today.
Usually, it depends on my mood on whether I bowl or face lather, probably split 50/50. So, neither would fit cleanly into the opposite spirit.

Anyways, good reminder why I started to and stick to wet shaving.

#ROTY

June 5, 2024 – LG 5: Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: Amazon Badger #WEDONTNEEDNOSTINKINGBADGERS
• Razor: Gillette Mach 3 Turbo
• Lather: Gillette – Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Burt’s Bees – Balm
• Fragrance: Giorgio Armani – Acqua di Gio

All drug store/big retail products. Bowl lathering canned cream seems so pointless, but alas, it’s LG. A little water actually helped I think. I don’t get bowl lathering. Why spend money on luxurious brushes (unlike today’s 12+ year old purchase as a foray into wetshaving) to barely use them on your face, just sayin.

Do I really need to do a #FOF for Barbasol? It’s refreshing, I’ll give it that. The burts bees is a bit minty, basically like their standard chapstick. This is a vintage Acqua Di Gio, purchased circa 2004, so you know it’s the good stuff. Ready for that slow dance, confessions and my boo playing back to back to close the evening. A citrusy aquatic, I’m not going to claim the scents stand out much. I feel like the limited mass market frags I’ve smelled are all much more blended than our small artisan counterparts which move and develop through more phases on dry downs.

For our #PHOTOCONTEST cactus seemed fitting not only for canned lather quality, but also cause a cactus is kinda like aloe, though technically the latter is a succulent.

I was praising the bases of today’s sponsor yesterday, but I’ll shout out Spearhead/Ironbeard again. Integral part of the community, killer products, Adventus Calendar (which I was the inaugural winner of) was such a cool idea and seemingly still an ongoing tradition he started.

soap brands 5/30, post shave 5/30, frag 5/30, post/frag linked 5/30, software sponsors 3/16, hardware sponsors 5/2, razor hashtags 3/15, brush hashtags 4/15, photo contest 5/30, daily challenges 4/26, special challenges 1/4

June 5, 2024  

• Brush: Dogwood – Badger  
• Razor: Gillette Tech  
• Lather: Care Line – Shave Cream  

goo day AND lather in a weird way day don’t mix all that well.

Dad spent a lot of the last year in the hospital, to the point where we have a small pharmacy of tiny toiletries. It’s mass produced and it’s readily available so I went with the finest of hospital shaving cream. It smells like Irish spring and baby powder and dribbles out of the cam in the saddest way.

Now for the challenge of lathering. I don’t normally lather goo but it was time to get weird with it. I normally do a combination of bowl lather and leg lather. I’ve hand lathered, chest lathered, counter lathered and knee lathered. So this year, I hand lathered….just not in my own hand.

OP hand lathered….just not in their own hand.

OP used products available at the hospital. :(

June 5, 2024 - Canned Shave Goop

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Omega Pro 48 #HOLLOW #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Ever Ready 1914 #FLIPTOP
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (3)
• Lather: Cremo - Bourbon Vanilla
• Post Shave: Clubman Pinaud - Whiskey Woods
• Fragrance: Parfum Belcam - Classic Match Obsession EDT

When I first started wetshaving, all I used was a bowl. Then, I started a hybrid mixture of bowl and face lathering. To save a little bit of time, I transitioned to just face-lathering and have never really gone back. Today reminded me why I used to use the bowl, as that was really the only redeeming part of my shave this morning. Either way, the shave was completed, and all software is linked by being on theme. I hope everyone had a great day 5!

PHOTOCONTEST - Money

Jun. 5, 2024
Brush: Chisel & Hound Quartermoon
Razor: Gillette Super Speed Red Tip B3
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue * Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe
Post Shave: Brut - Classic - Aftershave
Post Shave: Osma - Alum
Post Shave: Jack Black - Double-Duty Face Moisturizer

Well, I bowl lathered Barbasol. Talk about combining two things that absolutely suck. I tried to add as much water as possible to break down the dense foam that shoots out of the can and it was still terrible. I have no idea how people use this stuff daily. Anyways, picked up Brut while I was at the store for the Barbasol. Heavy alcohol burn which I normally don’t mind but was less enjoyable given the fact that I just bowl lathered and shaved with Barbasol. Tomorrow is a new day! 😃

#ROTY

June 05, 2024

• Brush: Hand

• Razor: Razorock Gamechanger .84

• Blade: Gillette Silver BLue

• Lather: Barbasol - Original Thick & Rich - Soap

• Post Shave: Nivea Men - Cooling Post Shave - Balm

• Fragrance: Nautica - Voyage

Hand lathered which is absolutely the opposite of anything I'd typically do, per the daily challenge. This lather is certainly thick. I think this is where the W_E'rs get their idea that cushioned lather is good lather. It worked but the slickness wasn't there. I actually really dig the scent. It's old timey and reminds me of a grandpa or something. I went full drugstore/local market for the entire shave. It was okay but I'll definitely look forward to the artisan products tomorrow. I believe the Nivea balm was actually the first aftershave product I bought when I was just getting into wetshaving. Nautica Voyage is a good, cheap aquatic. Looking forward in the calendar, isn't today pretty redundant with frugal shave day? That was the nice part about flex day in lieu of frugal day.

SOTD June 05, 2024 

• Prep: Splash of warm water
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85MM Safety Razor
• Blade: Sharp - Durablade stainless
• Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Nivea Men - Sensitive balm

While I will admit I love the nostalgic smell of Barbasol the post shave feel is genuinely unpleasant. It makes my skin feel tight.

June 5, 2024

• Brush: n/a
• Razor: Fatip Piccolo Slant Closed Comb
• Blade: Gillette Super Platinum (Black) (5)
• Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Lider Aftershave Lotion
• Fragrance: Antonio Puig - Sybaris

I haven't used canned goop for 30 years. Back high school I used Noxzema "Sensitive Skin" in a red can, and I become convince it was causing/exacerbating acne. So I switched to ordinary soap, usually a bar of Dove, which brings us up (almost) to the present.

Honestly tonight's shave didn't go badly. It's like the canned goop scientists have the optimal level of slickness dialed in. And the Barbasol "Soothing Aloe" didn't smell as bad as I expected.

The Lider aftershave was meant to complement the mass-produced/widely available part of the theme. At least it looks/smells like it could be available at drugstores in Poland. The Sybaris, on the other hand, was chosen because it smells medicinal to me, a bit like band-aids.

On the mass-produced side of things, Brush Strokes today features a photograph titled 99 Cent, by the German photographer Andreas Gursky.

ROTY

June 5, 2024 - Canned Goup

• Brush: Rubberset - 153 sterilized
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: Barbasol - Thick & Rich Cream
• Post Shave: Duke Cannon - Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon - Naval Supremacy

SOAP - What in Mary mother of Jesus was I thinking!!! There is no lathering this GOUP and to make matters worse I attempted to face shave using my left hand the whole time. Which I never do!!! New discovery here folks - I suck using my left hand at anything.

So I unquestionably did not remove all my whiskers! Got a few weepers and to add insult to injury my matching splash just burn it all to hell!!! My face is on fire, I am bleeding, everything is burning and to think this was my normal routine before I started wetshaving!!!! So yesterday I felt like I got kicked in the balls and today it’s just a massacre! Oh the humanity folks. Could it get any worse??? Maybe!!! But as they say “Lather Games must go on”

RAZOR - I like this Shick TTO. But using my left hand to shave with it is like trying to unfasten a bra with your eyes close - impossible! Am I right guys!!! I mean… wait… am I the only one?

THE THEME- So since I was going shopping for a shaving soap why not get the rest of the setup. Dollar tree for the Barb, Walmart for splash, Lowe’s for fragrance. All local and all pretty shitty. But hey it made everything cohesive. Was it worth it? Oh yeah…..