LGSOTD 11-Jun-24

• Brush: AP Shave Co. - Lemon Drop 26mm TGN Boar #FRANKENBRUSH #TOLL
• Razor: Yintal - Shavette #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette - Silver Blue
• Lather: Gentleman's Nod - Juniper
• Post Shave: Gentleman's Nod - Juniper AS
• Fragrance: Gentleman's Nod - Juniper EDP

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Decent excuse to bring out Juniper Reverie, a really nice, if subtle and fresh-ish scent for spring. The longevity isn't great on my skin but on clothes it hangs around for a decent time. I've only got a couple of Gentlemans Nod sets (this and Ernest), feels like it shares some similarities but I like both so there's no complaints from me.

AP Shave Co. Lemon drop with TGN Boar knot performs brilliant. It's a tall fella (couldn't find my calipers to measure again so it's an old one), but brilliant at whipping up a lather and has fair amount of backbone.

Holly crap though this 'Rainbow' razor is god awful. I could have put something better together with a plank of wood and some cable ties. The blade clamping is non-existent, I had a very dicey moment where the blade slipped out and I had to rearrange mid-shave. How I managed to get away with my face intact I have no idea. As soon as this thing is over and done with, it's going in the bin, wouldn't give this to my worst enemy!

Challenge - Colour Coordinated

I hated this challenge, at one point I had an entire picture where it was pretty much all yellow, hurt my eyes to look at it. So despite the massive amount of time allowed, this was the best of the bunch.

Photocontest

On the plus side I managed to sneak some 'Birds' into it without it being too random.

Have a good'un all.

Cheers

Marc

** 11.06.2024 **

• Brush: Deliplus horse hair #HORSESASS
• Razor: Mühle R41 Kosmo
• Blade: Perma Sharp
• Lather: MacDuffs soap company - Spring cabin
• Post Shave: MacDuffs soap company - Spring cabin
• Post Shave: Mühle alum stone

Horses running on green grass.... Morning sky ..... I'm sitting on the porch of wooden cabin.....drinking herbal tea!!! I paint this picture because the soap that I choose for today is so colorful and criteria for color matching is not so easy but that's why this games are! To try something more difficult and I didn't get shortcut with one color. That's why I get this horse brush with green handle to match the grass, my beloved Mühle R41 with wooden handle to match the cabin and R41 nickel head reflects yellow and blue of spring morning sky from lid picture like mountain lake. Even I listened Vivaldi "Spring" in bathroom. One of the most popular classical theme. Perfect morning to start your day! Have a nice day to 💈❤️

P.S. all the time I have spring images from TV show "Yellowstone". One of my favorite.

June 11, 2024 – Lather Games!

• Brush: AP Shave Co. w/ 28mm G5B Synthetic.
• Razor: Titanium Henson +++, polished, tattooed ("Machine Spirit Shaver").
• Blade: Gillette Winner Stainless (1).
• Lather: Shannon's Soaps – A Saturday Afternoon in Columbus.
• Aftershave: A&E – Ultima Unmasked Unscented Splash.

Here's some unobtanium from Shannon's Soaps. All kinds of sweet floral notes in this one: Orange, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Amber, Tonka Bean, Musk, Ambroxan, Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, Locust Blossom, Hops. According to another reviewer, the goal here was "Spring in Ohio". It's very fresh and quite well done, and I'm thrilled be to able to use it again.

#Challenge: Pretty color coordination? Yeah, we got it here in spades, man!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zjcnnx7igc ← The Insane Engineering of the F-117 Nighthawk

Jun. 11, 2024
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar 2
Razor: Green Cult GC 2.0 II
Blade: Gillette Platinum [5]
Lather: Declaration Grooming - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli - Soap
Post Shave:* Zingari Man - Sego Base Unscented - Balm

If roses aren’t floral then I don’t know what is

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 11, 2024

• Prep: House of Mammoth Embrace Doppio Bath Soap
• Brush: Billy Goat Brushworks with 26mm Declaration Grooming B15
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb Gen 1
• Blade: Personna PTFE (1)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Mäuer & Wirtz - SIR Irisch Moos - Eau de Toilette

Happy Rawr Day

LG Day 11 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: MOAR F’N BOAR
• Razor: Schick M1 Adjustable
• Blade: Schick Injector (3)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Alive
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive splash
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented AS balm

You know what those April showers do? They make everything outside come alive!! Lawn all brown and shitty from being covered in snow? April showers turn it green! All of those bare trees in your yard? Those April showers get those buds a-poppin' and leaves a-leavin' (or something like that). Those April showers wake the groundhogs up to start eating all of your plants that are coming alive in your yard. Sometimes, you might even find yourself walking outside in various states of undress in a cool April rainstorm just to feel alive!

I think Alive is most definitely a Spring scent since it falls in line with u/mammothben and his own rationale for making the scent which was, "I made Alive as a way to work through my own process of emerging from the lockdown and pandemic disruptions, to find ways to be reborn, to reemerge celebrating the growth that often happens through death and dormancy." He uses words like "emerge" and "reborn" and "growth". Sounds friggin' Spring-like to me. And I'm pretty sure the Mammoth Mafia starts whipping out Alive en masse come Spring. Oh, and it has plant stem and white florals and wood and bergamot (which grows on trees) and...

As to the Daily Challenge...My wife has written an astrology blog for 25 years. As part of her blog, she has always provided the color of the day. Over the years, there are any number of people (not necessarily me) who can't get dressed in the morning without knowing the color of the day. When my wife was a DJ on an alt-rock station here for a number of years, she would broadcast the doings of the zodiac and the color of the day to thousands of listeners. And they were thankful they knew how to dress themselves. I checked my wife's blog and today's color is apparently orange. As a diehard University of Miami fan, you know what color pairs awesomely with orange? Green (I had to get to my SOTD somehow). I think I did a fair job of color coordinating. I do appreciate how the labelling on the razor meshes with the color of of the splash. If only MOAR BOAR was a little more forest-y green, this picture would be perfect.

Try to enjoy your day and remember to be kind to one another.

LG SOTD 11Jun2024

• Brush: Yaqi Dandelion - 24mm cashmere synthetic
• Razor: Karve - Overlander (Brass)
• Blade: Personna - Lab Blue (5)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Bowl: AWEHIRU - slow feeder bowl (green)
• Post Shave: Stirling - Aftershave Balm, Unscented

Happy Tuesday, beautiful people! Welcome to the eleventh shave of the 2024 Lather Games. Today's theme is “April Showers” where we shave with a lather themed around spring, florals, petrichor, grass, etc.

I am shaving with Rawr from Noble Otter. This has been a stock tub in my den for more than two years and I always love it. The scent is Bloom County’s Dandelion Patch made into a fragrance. Soaps like this are great for the way they turn you onto a new fragrance theme for shaving, who knew that smashing dandelion blossoms in your face was so awesome?

Using my Yaqui Dandelion brush set with a 24mm cashmere knot. Visually, it goes with the special challenge but, like yesterday’s cashmere fiber knot, back into the bin after today’s shave.

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For the Color Coordinated special challenge, I let the scent drive the set up. The fragrance of dandelion blossom is central. The soap is packaged in a green and white tub featuring the iconic otter in a T. Rex costume 😍. The brush is Yaqui’s Dandelion - a lush green handle with a 24mm cashmere knot reminiscent of the yellow of dandelion blossom. The bowl is a AWEHIRU (Chinese goods reseller on Amazon) slow feeder pet bowl (AKA “Stirling“ Travel Bowl) in a bright green color with the nub pattern reminiscent of the geometric shapes on the green field of the Rawr soap label. The aftershave balm is Stirling’s unscented in the iconic Stirling green and white packaging. I chose the brass Overlander for another suggestion of the yellow of dandelion blossoms. I then arranged everything on my lawn in the sun - no dandelions in bloom now so settled for some clover giving the photo a natural green and white themed setting.

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Shave Report - It’s been some time since I used one of these pet bowls as a shave bowl and not a fan anymore. The nubs are too vigorous - doesn’t give you much control of volume and creaminess versus a less extreme agitation. That said, I am a professional and whipped up a decent NO lather and had a great shave.

Rawr is always pleasing. This is the soap I took on vacation to Disneyland with my wife in 2022 and that association alone gives it a leg up, and Noble Otter’s base is always solid if you feed it enough water. The Overlander as always was great and finished off with some color themed Stirling balm, unscented so as to leave the dandelion fragrance be.

Enjoy your day!

April Showers Bring may Flowers

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. / Zenith - Boar Brush 31mm × 50mm
• Razor: Weck - Hair Shaper (green translucent scales)
• Blade: Kismet - Rostfrei, Polymer beschichtet
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company Seaforth! - Heather
• Post Shave: Noble Otter- Cerberus Fougère
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Weinstrasse

Theme justification: Heather is a floral fougère and used to be one of the example suggestions for this theme (then the opening theme "Spring into Lathergames".

This is the first soap I've ever used in a Lather Games, and I got a bit nostalgic shaving with it. Djudging Lather Games is fun and all, but sometimes I want to hop back in the ring and compete. Maybe next year? Regardless, great shave with the little Weck and the big brush.

Relevant post and frag: They're green, they smell green, and they are fougères like the soap. On a side note, Weinstrasse is the reference scent for a "green" scent for me.

Challenge: Colour-coordinated spring colours green and earth tones in harmony.

2024-06-11 April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Prep: Coffee, Face wash soap/warm water
• Brush: Summer Break Soaps - Blue Swirled Without Name, 26mm Maggard Maggard's Razors SHD Badger Knot #FRANKENBRUSH
• Razor: Above The Tie - Calypso Blue V2 SB90, DE
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum, DE
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory – Dusty Mauve
• Post Shave: Talent Soap Factory – Dusty Mauve

Color Coordinated Scheme:

Going for the "non-monchromatic" color matching scheme...judges do the judging thing and let me know. Keying in on the blues and whites of the flowers and the painted pony.

Hewing close to the phrase, and since we are past April, and even may, now we have flowers. Got a nice bouquet in Talent Soap Factory's Dusty Mauve with tea rose, geranium leaf notes.

Hardware Notes:

The ATT Calypso is a bit wicked of an aluminum razor. Do not press - ha ha! I miss this razor maker. I do remember getting an email from Blackland stating it had received permission to resurrect the brand but I have not seen anything sense that.

This is my first use of this unnamed brush handle by Summer Break soaps. I bought it at the 2023 Maggard's Meet-up. Then I promptly misplaced the knot I bought for it. So it now has a knot. Like I said, I don't have a name for it. So I am just calling it "Blue Swirled Without Name" unless u/rocketk455 would like to christen a name for it?

Software notes:

Scent notes for both the Talent Soap Factory Dusty Mauve shave soap and aftershave are - tea rose, geranium leaf

The cover of this soap had me cue up a song...

"Talkin' 'bout your troubles It's a cryin' sin

Ride a painted pony Let the Spinning Wheel spin

You got no money, you got no home

Spinning Wheel all alone

Talkin' 'bout your troubles and you You never learn

Ride a painted pony Let the Spinning Wheel turn"

• Spinning Wheel by David Clayton-Thomas, (Blood Sweat and Tears), 1968.

Etc., Etc.,

Spinning Wheel is most certainly a product of it's time. I like it in small amounts. It probably looped a few too many times. No, it did loop a few too many times. However, as the song suggests and according to it's composer 'Don't get too caught up, because everything comes full circle'.

Take care and have a good one.

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Semogue Galahad C3 Premium boar
• Razor: GEM Damaskene
• Blade: GEM SS PTFE
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Literal Lilac (Luxury Cream)
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

Literal Lilac is appropriately named. It captures the smell of lilac in full bloom. This Luxury Cream base is no joke. It's seriously good. It's one of the best bases I have ever used and I've used a lot of bases.

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Stirling Two Band Synthetic
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85mm Safety Razor
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Post Shave: Van Der Hagen - Unscented Aftershave Balm

June 11, 2024 – Green Shoots

• Brush: Zenith r/wetshaving Exclusive Moar Boar 31mm #OldWorld #Subbroosh
• Razor: Wolfman WR1 #CnC #Stainlessless
• Blade: Treat Classic (Carbon Steel) (2)
• Lather: Noble Otter – Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Rawr
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Alive

Spring! Oh, how I wish it were back and not 90 anymore. I’m breaking out RAWR today. I was informed it was specifically mentioned in previous lather games as a spring scent! Go Theme! I recently acquired the splash and so now is a perfect time to use it. When I saw the art for this soap, I knew I had to have it. The otter on front could be my son. He had a dino coat with big spikes on the head he used to never take off. It was adorable. People recognized him from across rooms by the coat.

For #fof I’m pairing it with Alive. Obviously one theme today is color coordination, all green scents (both for the photo and from a fragrance standpoint.) But both are also spring scents as well. I’ve never smelled the Rawr EdP, I’m sure it’s wonderful, based on the soap and splash, but also subtle. Alive kicks up that green note to 11. Just what I need after a morning of ~~wrangling kids out the door to camp~~ dealing with sick kids who won’t go to camp today (change of plans). Rawr is about parenthood, and parenthood makes us feel alive (and tired).

Spring is a time associated with cleaning, so I decided to take this opportunity to clean up my office/den overflow. See, it’s currently overwhelmed with shave stuff since I went on a pre-games buying spree. Boxes litter my area. That’s my package from u/adworried2048 taking up the chair. So, let’s do some spring cleaning.

There we go. Still not perfect but at least I can sit in my easy chair again. The real deep clean of my den is going to have to happen in the actual Spring. (For any OCD people I apologize in advance for tomorrow’s den tour)

To keep with today’s challenge, for #photocontest I opted to take this picture outside with a grass background. I think it worked very well for both the scavenger hunt and today’s color coordinated challenge. I even managed to match my brush.

June 11, 2024 – 2024.06.11: Lather Games Day 11 – April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Stirling 31mm Zenith Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Henson AL13+ #STAINLESSLESS
• Blade: Treet Falcon (1)
• Lather: Noble Otter – Rawr
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Unscented with Menthol Witch Hazel & Aloe
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime

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Daily Theme: April Showers Bring May Flowers

Theme justification: Noble Otter Rawr has been classified as a Spring Scent in the past. Plus, Dandelions are classic spring-time.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Green. Everything in my setup has green. The Stirling Witch Hazel, the brush, and the SSL frag. In case there is any debate, witch hazel is an aftershave.

Side note with this theme: April showers did not bring May flowers for my area. Just more storms and tornadoes. Two massive tornadoes hit cities close by me. Thankfully there weren't many casualties, but there was a lot of damage. They're still recovering. May was rougher than normal.

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Scavenger Hunt Justification:

Razor facts: Treet Falcon is a Carbon Steel blade. Thanks to /u/onionmiasma for the blade.

Brush facts: The brush was made my Zenith, who make their brushes in Italy.

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Daily/Special Challenge: Color Coordinated

My pic was my SOTD Pic listed above, but I'll include it here for posterity: photo

I'm the first one to admit that I'm not great at color coordination (or any coordination, really). That's why I reached out to my boss for confirmation. She has a degree in interior design, and she stated that the items in today's shave (save for the brush that I forgot) are color coordinated.. I took the photo in front of a bush in my garden, and it even matched the theme. I'm not a good photographer, but I think it looks pretty decent.

I know she's not reading this, but I'm very for my boss. She's the reason I haven't left my current role. If she wasn't there I would've taken a job in NC about a year and a half ago.

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Fragrance description

Rawr caught me off guard. It's the first time I've used it, and it was extremely pleasant. It's a light scent, grassy scent to my nose.

Sea Spice Lime is one of my favorites. I'm very grateful that the scent does not attract bees to me. The scent description of ocean water with lime is spot on. I went to Curacao this past spring and if I had added lime to the ocean water it would've been like wading in a giant vat of SSL.

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Now onto the shave!

I'll be honest, I was worried about the Treet blade. So I decided to use my Henson. I have to say, it was actually quite nice. It won't replace my Wizamets, but it is far superior to Treet Black Beauty blades. I got a nice shave with no issues whatsoever.

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Sponsor Spotlight

Yates manufactured my favorite razor: Aylsworth Drakkant. That makes them a winner in my books.

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Totals:

• Razor Hashtags: 9/10
• Brush Hashtags: 8/10
• Hardware Sponsor Points: 2/2
• Software Sponsor Points: 8/16
• Number of Lather Brands: 11/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 11/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 11/30
• Number of Frags: 11/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

One of the better photos I saw for the challenge, coordinated all the things, and didn't miss the fragrance.

Jun. 11, 2024
Brush: AP SHAVECO AP400B XL 28 mm (G5C)
Razor: Karve CB SS SB (D Plate, First Pass; B Plate, Second Pass) #ADJUSTABLE * Blade: Astra Superior Platinum [2]
Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Piacenza - Soap
Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr - Aftershave
Post Shave:* Noble Otter - Rawr - Balm

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 11, 2024 – LG Day 11 – Springtime

• Brush: Zenith r/wetshaving Exclusive MOAR Boar 31mm
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
• Blade: AccuTec Pro Premium
• Lather: Noble Otter – Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Rawr
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Arance Mandarini

It’s Springtime, everybody, aka Rawr Day. I was excited to go outside and take photos next to some dandelions, until I realized that dandelions are genuinely just a spring thing and they’re all gone. It’s interesting that so many of us flock to Rawr on this day every year, considering Noble Otter doesn’t explicitly market it as a spring scent. There’s just something about it, though, that screams “it’s spring!” Maybe the dandelion notes? It’s certainly grassy, but sweet, not dirty. The inspiration for this scent is childhood happiness, and it certainly hits the mark. So much so, that I felt the need to dickhole, something I don’t plan to do often this month. However, for my fragrance today, I wanted to step into summer a bit. Don’t worry, it’s still a relevant frag – lemon, grapefruit, mint, basil, and orange blossom all bring home the springiness of Rawr. However, Arance Mandarini also brings some complexity that Rawr lacks. It’s fresh, aromatic citrus all the way (so I guess not that complex), is bright without being sweet, and dries down into a pleasant, floral musk. Mediterranean without being aquatic, perfect for spring and summer alike. #FOF

For my photo/challenge today, I tried to feature green as much as I could, hitting several shades across the green spectrum, and the gold MM24 highlighting the foreground colors in Rawr. I hope everybody is able to embrace their inner child today.

edit: WSDB didn’t copy over my frag

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech (Z-4)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (3)
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - Diamond - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Petrichor - Aftershave

With scent notes of freshly cut grass, stadium soil, beer, leather, pine, cedar, popcorn, and caramel to conjure the unforgettable experience of attending a big league game, (freshly cut grass being listed first), this scent is decidedly on-theme.

Petrichor aftershave is meant to smell like the dirt of New England. You can't have baseball, grass, beer, leather, pine, cedar, popcorn, or anything else for that matter -- without dirt. So that makes it a related scent.

Jun. 11, 2024
Brush: Zenith MOAR BOAR
Razor: Gillette Ball End Tech
Blade: Feather New Hi-Stainless [1]
Lather: Barrister & Mann - Petrichor - Soap
Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Petrichor - Aftershave
Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented - Balm
Osma: Osma - Osma * Scuttle:* Georgetown Pottery - G20

One thing that vaguely doing the Games this year has shown me is how thin my den is getting.

Anything I thought qualified had been used up or was, upon research, found to be summer, not spring, scents.

This left me with Petrichor, which is in the box-of-soaps-I-don’t-use-much.

Why? Well, I give you this anecdote: I was out in my barn one day and was like “I smell shaving soap, what the hell is that?” And the answer was, well, petrichor. But actual real petrichor, and not the shaving soap stuff.

Putting aside the Baudrillarian implications of signs and simulacra there, my point is it smells exactly like wet grass after rain, which means it also smells like mildew and dirt and I don’t want to smell like that. No shade to Will—it’s a perfect masterpiece. But in doing so it’s also nothing I really want to wear.

But the tyrannical rule of the judges is unending so here I am.

I also decided to use a DE for the hell of it.

Day 11

• Brush: AP Shave Co Complete Brush - AP400B -20mm - Gelousy Badger
• Razor: Gillette – Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Noble Otter – Rawr Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Rawr Splash
• Fragrance: Al Haramain - Amber Oud Gold Edition

Happy Spring! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the bees are buzzing. Spring is in the air… In June… Okay. Mentally, I’m channeling Spring today, and fortunately, I have Noble Otter there to help me out. Their spring-time scent, Rawr, smells amazing and has a cute little backstory about kids yelling RAWR to try to scare their dad when he got home from work.

The soap smells great and it is spring in a shave – Bergamot, orange, dandelions, cedar, vanilla, and musk. The bergamot and dandelions really show through to me. (Sidenote: Did you know every part of a dandelion is edible?) I had an aunt that used to make dandelion wine and it was delicious!

The #FOF Rawr emerges as the perfect companion for your springtime shaving needs, and when paired with Amber Oud Gold Edition (AOGE), it is a fabulous combination. Combining the invigorating charm of Rawr with the luxurious allure of AOGE creates a symphony of scents perfect for spring. Rawr bursts forth with lively citrus and green notes, embodying the fresh vitality of nature’s rebirth, while its earthy woods and subtle spices add depth and intrigue. Complementing this is AOGE, with its rich blend of sweet amber and exotic oud, bringing a warm, golden richness that evokes the gentle warmth of spring sunshine. Together, they created a wonderful combination of freshness and opulence, where Rawr's vibrant greenery meets Amber Oud's sumptuous warmth. This combination captures the essence of spring in all its glory—a time of new beginnings, renewed energy, and blossoming beauty, making it one of the best #FOF combinations I’ve had all Lather Games.

Challenge: Given the scents of Rawr, I brought everything outside and took a pic with the grass and dandelions. I thought the gold from the Amber Oud, the razor, and the brush really complemented the gold accents on the Rawr Soap and Splash.

The #photocontest theme is: Grass.

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “April Showers Bring May Flowers”… The Top 5 Songs about Rain:

5.) Have You Ever Seen the Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival

1. Blame it on the Rain by Milli Vanilli – I know they weren’t singing, but who cares?

3.) Set Fire to the Rain by Adele

2.) Purple Rain by Prince

1.) November Rain by Guns N Roses – A Perfect Rock and Roll ballad.

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Wald Stratos Haunter 29mm A1 #OLDWORLD

• Razor: Koraat 6/8" Full Hollow

• Lather: Pasteur|Master Soap Creations - Bloom - Soap

• Post Shave: Pasteur|Master Soap Creations - Bloom - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayers - Rose - Toner
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Black Orchid - Eau de Parfum
• Talc: Yardley Classic
   

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Bloom is a dupe of Tom Ford Black Orchid. Terrific soap base and terrific scent. Bloom is not identified as a spring scent per se, but blooming flowers are associated with spring, and the Orchid (though there are many types) normally blooms in early spring.

June 11 - Springy

• Brush: Semogue 610 21mm Boar

• Razor: Razorock Mamba

• Blade: Asco Platinum Orange

• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Sinfonia Soap

• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger Splash

• Post Shave: Mickey Lee Soapworks - Pantie Dropper Splash

• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Fougère Angelique EdT

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I always thought of Sinfonia as a springy fragrance with fresh apricot and jasmine. If that's not spring, then FML

Pantie Dropper is a cologney splash that has a lighter tail end that aligns very nicely with the sparkliness of Fougère Angelique. They make for a strong, yet delicate, atmosphere that is quite enticing.

#FOF

June 11, 2024

• Prep: Hot shower
• Brush: Badger brush I've had forever with the maker's mark rubbed off
• Razor: Muhle Companion
• Blade: Astra Green (Indian)
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Peony and Violet

This soap has a light floral scent with grassy notes. I'm not sure if it's in accordance with any petrichors. (Fires up Google) No, I don't think I'm detecting any of that.

ROTY

June 11, 2024 - Tuesday

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps "Tekamah" / 26mm AP Shave Co. G5C
• Razor: Yates 921-H
• Blade: Astra SP (2)
• Lather: Mystic Water - Lily of the Valley
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Mayflower splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann Just Right for a Tuesday EdP

This was a floral heavy shave for flower day. I just love the smell of the ubiquitous spring flower lily of the valley. Hence why I had to have a shave soap with the scent. DG Mayflower has been one of my favorite florals since it came out and makes the perfect bridge to JRfaT with its violet heavy greenness.

Yates makes my two favorite razors right now, one of which I'm using all month long. Great people, great company with great products. Plus I'm all for supporting small family-owned businesses that cater to us shaving maniacs. It's so wonderful that we have so many better options than what the billion dollar corporate conglomerates hawk to the masses.

2024-06-11 - Purple Haze

• Lather: Eleven Shaving - Clary Sage & Violet
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - 茉莉綠茶 (Jasmine Green Tea)
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - Triumph
• Razor: Micromatic Open Comb (MMOC) #FLIPTOP #STAINLESSLESS
• Brush: Summer Break Soaps #FRANKENBRUSH

April Showers:
The very concept of spring is a lie being sold to you. It doesn't exist. There is only the torment of the sun and its ceaseless barrage of death. Simply step outside and see the wasteland of despair laid out before you. Appreciate it well; in mere moments, your desiccated ashes will be blown away into nothingness.

Unifying Theme: Color Coordinated

Color Coordinated:
It's well-established that a color-coordinated setup need not be monochrome. In fact, you can have a color-coordinated setup with exactly zero matching colors; you just need to deliberately navigate the colorspace. For example, purple and green are complementary, a fact that the Joker took full advantage of. There's a number of websites with handy tools to play with how this works. That one even has a feature to simulate colorblindness.

I'm admittedly playing it a little safe, as each color featured in my setup is represented in the aftershave label, which conveniently already has a tidy triad with purple, green, and a tie-in to the razor with the gold.
Speaking of the razor: stainlessless. Also, the purple frankenbrush is SBS with a timberwolf from Maggard.

I decided that I wanted to more fully incorporate the color scheme into the shave itself, fully decking myself out in purple and green, literally from head to toe (the camera doesn't want to capture the green of the pants). Side note: I do not recommend trying to perform fine motor functions with your hands all wrapped up in cloth. Trying to grip the thin handle gets unpleasant fast.

But I digress.

#FOF

Eleven's Clary Sage & Violet is a refreshing departure from the ocean of lavender scents out there (I am so done with lavender). It provides a floral scent that's not... well, that's not lavender. Meanwhile, the sage provides a grassiness that keeps it from being too floral.

茉莉綠茶 is the second jasmine green tea soap that I nabbed as soon as I discovered it existed. While lavender is dead to me, I love me some jasmine. The jasmine is much more prominent here than in the other such soap, Musashi. It's worth noting that the aftershave of 茉莉綠茶 doesn't seem to deliver grapefruit as strongly as the 茉莉綠茶 soap; I favor the aftershave in this regard.

Triumph follows seamlessly, likely thanks to the common jasmine notes, into a classically masculine aquatic to lead into the day, which will, of course, involve remaining under shelter from the relentless sun.

#photocontest Grass
Grass doesn't actually exist, either. Spring is a lie. Grass is a lie. This was a Triumph.

LG23-11: April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Maggard Razors Gray and White 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE86
• Blade: Astra SP (38)
• Lather: Noble Otter - RAWR - Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Sunny Lane - Aftershave
• Fragrance: DSH - Re-Assess
• Passes: WTG, XTG
• Coffee: Colombia SO
• Music: Animal Collective - Feels

Catching up on a bunch of stuff, so keeping it simple today, and going with RAWR—one of the more obvious answers to today's theme. Sunny Lane has that wonderful clover note and an equally cheery disposition as RAWR, with less sweetness. DSH's "running through grass" fragrance completes the theme.

Spring SOTD:

• Razor: Ever Ready Streamline #FLIPTOP
• Blade: GEM PTFE (10)
• Brush: Summer Break Confidence B9a
• Lather: Zingari - The Magician
• Aftershave: Zingari - The Magician
• Fragrance: London Razors - Mountain Laurel

Spring is my favorite season and spring scents are among my most favorite. The Magician and Mountain Laurel make a damn near unbeatable spring time combination.

Challenge: Don't give me any challenge points. In my head, my Zingari label was green, so I had an awesome green and purple plan to match the spring theme. However, when I realized my label was black and orange, I gave up and took a counter shot. It's summer, it's my lazy time.

Today I shaved with all Mayflower everything. I used a Stirling badger brush and an old type with a Personna blade.

June 11, 2024 – Lather Games 2024 Day 11: April Showers

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG24
• Razor: Yates ‘Merica
• Blade: Gillette Winner (5)
• Lather: Pasteur Master Soap Creations – Bloom
• Post Shave: Pasteur Master Soap Creations – Bloom
• Fragrance: Nautica – Nautica Blue

Use of Theme: April Showers

April Showers bring May flowers, the May flowers came and went. Soon the weeds took over my garden and now my back is bent.

Blooming is what the April showers cause, so it’s only natural to pluck the flower that is Pasteur Pharmacy and Master Soap Creations Bloom. There are plenty of fragrant floral notes signifying the blooming flowers of spring with just enough woody darkness to emote the showers of April to which we pay homage today. The matching aftershave is another artisan offering that is emollient rich without being too sticky. The scent carries well, but doesn’t overtly project. Fragrantly finishing today’s shave is Nautica Blue. The aquatic notes bring the moisture to the cool April air and shower our blooms with some additional floral and musky notes that brighten things up to remind us of fairer skies ahead.

Daily Challenge: Color Coordinated

I’ve cut back on my SOTD photos of late, only because of time saving and lack of available space to shoot. Plus you all get tired, I’m sure, of seeing the same stuff. I managed to produce something spur-of-the-moment as I was setting up today’s shot. The photo may be a bit overcooked, but the video is definitely a nice byproduct.

Hope you have a nice shave and be kind to one another.

Jun. 11, 2024
Brush: Stirling 2-Band Synthetic Brush
Razor: Merkur 37C
Blade: Gilette 7 O’Clock - Super Platinum [2]
Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Wild Flowers - Soap
Post Shave: Kroger - Witch Hazel - Aftershave
Post Shave: Stirling - Alum Block

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 11 2024: April Showers

• Brush: Power Rangers Boar #SMOLL #RUNT #COMPOSITE
• Blade: Personna PTFE (16)
• Razor: Ever Ready 1912
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Petrichor
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Tempest balm
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Oud Minerale

I decided to lean towards the April Showers side of the theme today, choosing Barrister and Mann's Petrichor, a soap which, believe it or not, prominently features a petrichor accord. It is rainy and earthy and strangely intriguing. I followed it up with Wholly Kaw's Tempest, which is also rainy but much earthier. My fragrance choice was Tom Ford's Oud Minerale, which smells like a walk on the beach after a rain storm. This was a cool scent progression, and not one I probably would ever have tried if not for Lather Games.

The brush was an ebay find posted in discord that I couldn't help but bite on. It is a boar knot, and must have been used or played with at some point in the past because it already has some split tips. It came as part of a Power Rangers toy shaving kit and knocks three hardware scavenger hunt categories at once because it is tiny and made of wood shrink-wrapped in plastic. It turned out to make a decent lather, though I did not try face lathering with it since I bowl lathered from a sample today. Painting strokes were the key but it got the job done.

Sponsor Spotlight is Yates and I've only ever tried one of their razors. It was very well made and they are LG sponsors so kudos to them.

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 2 band.
• Razor: Henson AL13 Mild - Blue.
• Blade: Personna- Med Prep.
• Lather: Martin de Candre - Rose.
• Post: Geo F Trumpers - Coral Skin Food.

SOTD I am green with envy over the wetshaving exclusive brush (green) that I’ve seen in several photos today. Is it available anywhere? It’s hard as a F leg shaver to justify a lot of hardware- though I have at least 4 (razors/brushes, etc.) which I thought was more than enough until I followed you enablers. 😂 Also, this theme had me going down the rabbit hole of searching for a pink brush. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a pink brush? I don’t know why some brushes are $400, but they are beauts. 🤩 I even looked at how to mold (?) my own on YouTube . Alas I did not succeed in acquiring a pink brush (the color pink of MDC!). It could have been color adjacent, but once I have something in my brain it’s hard to let go. I did find wine colored ones, a pink makeup brush on eBay, etc. but that’s not what I had in mind.

For today’s Spring scent I used my favorite Rose scent, MDC Rose, followed by GFT Coral skin food which pairs nicely and the smell of both is lovely.

As for Yates, I love the shaving bowl- I have the small orange one which makes quick lather of samples in particular.

I did listen to the podcast, and found it entertaining and informative! There are some solid competitors. I hope my formatting is correct🤞

ROTY

Jun. 11, 2024 - matchy matchy?
Brush: Maggard Razors Blue Resin 2-band Badger
Razor: Thomas Turner & Co Cutlers To His Majesty 6/8 quarter hollow square point * Lather: Declaration Grooming - After The Rain - Soap
Post Shave:* Declaration Grooming - After The Rain - Aftershave

April showers, May flowers. Ok, but we’re in June already so what the hell?!

Sometimes I love this scent but not always. Today is one of those days where the petrichor notes just ain’t doing it for me. But shaving on theme is the point of this exercise, so there you go. I spent a lot of time re-doing the edge on this razor and finally I’m getting some good results.

I think my photo is quite well coordinated with blues/purples and their complimentary yellow for the tape on the labels and scales of this very old piece of steel.

User's photo looks great.

Jun. 11, 2024
Prep: Cremo - Coconut Mango Shave Cream - Preshave
Brush: Yaqi Bluish Violet Synthetic
Razor: W.C.S. Multi Titanium Collection Razor, 84M
Blade: Gillette Nacet [4]
Lather: RazoRock - For Chicago - Soap
Post Shave: RazoRock - For Chicago - Aftershave
Fragrance:* Jimmy Choo Man - Aqua

I really like using For Chicago and it fit today’s theme well. Italian Barber describes it as “masculine floral” with jasmine and gardenia. Fitting - I just yesterday bought two jasmine plants at a local nursery to plant outside with my wife (like, she and I will do it together - she isn’t buried outside my house by where I’ll plant the jasmine).

Anyway, it’s a fragrance I like a lot more than I thought I would. She bought it for me a few months ago and I e come to really love it, especially when I have to be in meetings or around people professionally and don’t want to have a strong smell about me. It smells very much like I think an old barbershop would; it reminds me of what I remember dads using when I was a kid (not in a weird way like I went around smelling my friends’ dads. Just like what I remember adult men smelling like). It’s more of a “work” smell; not so much a “date night” fragrance. And I think it’s the only mentholated aftershave I have, so that’s a nice refreshing treat when I use it.

To go for the color challenge, I matched the blue in the label with my WCS razor by attaching WCS’ huge blue 175BL handle. I like a heavy razor but this one is a little unwieldy for me. I used a blue Yaqi synthetic brush as well, and I hardly ever use that brush so this was an excuse to use it. The blue Aqua Man cologne completes the challenge for me (I know it’s called Man Aqua but I like to think it’s the cologne Aquaman would use).

I’m writing this instead of paying attention to my virtual staff meeting this morning so I’ll add the photo later. Anyway, great shave today. Very little feedback from the alum and the SOS spray will take care of any potential redness or irritation. It’s amazing stuff, dudes. (And that’s a gender-neutral use of “dudes”).

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

Edit: added my photo (I hope)

ROTY

Jun. 11, 2024 - Grab your Towel!

• Prep: CeraVe - Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Mauricio 26mm Synthetic #FRANKENBRUSH

• Razor: Weck Hair Shaper (Translucent Blue Scales) #WECKONISTA #RAINBOW

• Blade: Fromm (1)

• Lather: Barrister and Mann - 42

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - 42

• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - 42

Spring is sucha great time of the year when the temperatures are perfect, the grass and flowers start to grow and life outside is perfect! unless you live in Mississippi where we are almost guarenteed a triple digit temperature days before the end of it...Spring doen't end until next wednesday and both days this weekend are forecasted to be 100 deg (freedom units). It's already been pool weather for 2 months now!

Daily Theme Justification: 42, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. In case anyone needs more justification than that, its also a Petunia forward scent that is also marketed for a Spring holiday: Towel day (25 May)

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Dickhole 42. This is my only trifecta for the month but damn is it a good one!

Daily Challenge:
I'm blue

I'm blue

I'm blue, da ba dee da ba daa

Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa

Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa

Da ba dee da ba daa, da ba dee da ba daa

Edit: forgot to add my disclaimer, this brush handle I did not pay monies for. I send Bunny some soaps and he send me this handle.

June 11th, 2024

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Zenith 506U N
• Razor: Schick Type L
• Blade: Personna 74 Injector
• Lather: RazoRock - Irish Countryside
• Post Shave: RazoRock - Irish Countryside
• Fragrance: Armaf - Tres Nuit

"Warmed by a gentle sea breeze, wild, delicate flowers sit dotted amongst freshly cut grass painting a picture of spring meadows coated in frosty morning dew."

Green Irish Tweed and Spring are synonymous. You can't think of one without thinking of the other. It's also got the cool factor being worn by Pierce Brosnan and Cary Grant. I've tried a small handful of clones/dupes, and I found Irish Countryside to be my favorite out of the lot. It hits everything just right, I can't say which is objectively the closest, but this on from RazoRock is certainly my favorite. I did some Googling for the best GIT frag, and Tres Nuit from Armaf was the most recommended. To my nose, it sits somewhere between Cool Water and GIT, but for 25 bucks, it can't be beat.

Color Coordinated

I admittedly know nothing about photography, but I tried to capture the greens and blues against a green and blue background. Big thanks to u/SaintBandicoot for the touch up and and tips. (I asked for help after I had already taken the photos)

LG 11 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Trotter Hancrafts Kanon Lavanda - 26mm Badger
• Razor: Straight Razor Boker 6/8
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Trouble Maker
• Post Shave: Tallow+Steel - Sásq`ets II Aftershave
• Fragrance: Sung Homme

Lavanda centered shave, colorful composition.

.#FOF Today's election was for the colour, but it worked scent-wise too. Sasquets supported the Trouble notes giving the soil some animalistic vibe, the Sung's soapy fougere added complexity and variety to the whole picture.

LG2024- June 11th “Chicks dig it”

• Brush: Yaqi Cashmere Synthetic Dandelion Green Handle, 24mm
• Razor: Razorock GC .84
• Blade: Astra Green (9)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann- Diamond
• Post: Barrister and Mann- Diamond splash and balm
• Fragrance: Green Irish Tweed

Shave: April is the best month of the year. Firstly it’s mine and my oldest daughters birthday month. Secondly, depending on where you live it’s is generally the month that the cold and long and dreary winter starts to depart or if it’s a warmer climate, like a few places I have lived, its the last tolerable month before the heat waves begin. Lastly, and most importantly, it’s when baseball begins. There is no better sport that exists.

Early on in my wetshaving journey I happened upon some Diamond splash. Baseball scented aftershave? Yes please. Shortly after, I was able to find a used set on the Bazaar. I then found out that this perfect scent will no longer be made and now have 3 sets ( if you have any that you would like to part with, please let me know.) It is the only scent that I own multiples. I could settle for the other baseball themed scent in Noble Otters Batters Up…but that shit was terrible. Seriously??? green pepper ??WTAF???

Because of the green theme I was not able to include my favorite brush. Last year I broke one of my birch baseball bats during an adult league game. I didn’t just wanna trash it and figured, “hey why not make a shaving brush out of it?” I contacted Levi from Prometheus Handcrafts via Instagram and asked if he could repurpose my bat into a brush. He gladly obliged and made this custom beauty. It has a darker area around it that was lightly torched to darken the wood and meant to simulate pine tar that is used to enhance the grip while swinging a bat.

Viewing: I was in little league in the late 90s and all the baseball heroes of the time were bigger than life sluggers like McGwire and Sosa and Bonds. We now know why they were bigger than life :). I also grew up in a city without and MLB team and the only baseball I could watch were the nationally televised Braves on TBS and Cubs on WGN. The Braves were the easy choice. Instead of the sluggers like Fred McGriff or Chipper Jones, my favorite Braves were Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Absolute aces! Behold my favorite commercial of all time

ROTY

2024-06-11 LG SOTD

• Brush: SHAVE⭐DANDY Walnut Alto (22x52 Oumo Manchurian Badger)
• Razor: Merkur 33c
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Field Day
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Bonafide
• Fragrance: Christian Dior - Dior Homme Eau for Men

Iris three ways today because Iris is the first fragrant flower to bloom in my yard every spring and hot dog is it ever fragrant. Love it.

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Noble Otter 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Henson AL-13 Medium #CNC #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. - Montrose Beach - EdT
• Post Shave: First Aid Beauty - Ultra Repair Cream

I smell wonderful.

June 11, 2024 - PRIMAVERA!

photocontest

Theme: Bokeh Balls (plus some marbles, the closest approximation I could think of to the 10-points "real thing" here)

• Brush: Black & Yellow Merit 99-5 by Heritage Collection Shaving / AP Shave Faux Boar Synthetic 24mm #FRANKENBRUSH #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Muhle Hexagon - DE89
• Blade: RK - Stainless [2]
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Sunrise on LaSalle - Artisan Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Sunrise on LaSalle -
• Fragrance: Guerlain - Vetiver - Eau de Cologne (vintage bottle)

"Primavera" is the Italian word for the Spring season.

Wikipedia informs me that it comes from Latin ver-, which in turns comes from a Sanskrit word that means "shiny", or "splendid".

It's a time of new beginnings, a powerful symbol that I immediately appropriate, as I mean this post to represent a fresh new start after a constructive clarification with the judges.

Let's just put on some Vivaldi ~~telephone wait~~ classic music inspired by Spring, and jump to today's frags.

As this is my first time using Sunrise on LaSalle, I wanted to experiment the soap + AS combo to appreciate the common thread as well as the differences.

Also, I wanted to continue yesterday's good-vibes celebration of collaborations, as my choice today is for one of the many collaborations between DG and Chatillon Lux.

The soap lathers impeccably and hits the mark in evoking a flower market, and "reflect the early morning hours of freshly cut flowers, with their dew-laden sweetness and vibrant freshness". Spot on.
Extremely mind-opening that this mental image is evoked through a feat of olfactory alchemy: the main note is, in fact, not floral but fruity. Mainly one fruit, a pear, transmuted into a floral orchestra. What a great symbolic resonance to the impermanent and transformative essence of the Spring season!
Love it both viscerally and conceptually.

The AS, as it's common, features a wider range of facets - some of them a bit disorienting to my nose.
To me, it evokes a ripe pear skin scent, as well as a less "round" scent, possibly evoking the slightly "dirty" smell of pear flowers. It's not off-putting, but my brain keeps searching for a clearer analogy, only to settle on a mental association with an aspect of the scent of Pyrethrum, the (former) name of a variety flowers also used for insecticides. It's not a bad smell, but it's unfortunately a bit distracting to me.

Today's fragrance is a vintage bottle of Guerlain's Vetiver: the top citrus notes are muted by the effect of time, but the drydown feels more complex and, again, "dirty" (in this case, with an intriguing leathery/tobaccoey accord) than the one of current formulations.

The transition from SoLS to GV worked even better than I expected: both evoke a clean accord with a green element, and then surprise you with mysterious transmutations that reveal an unexpected complexity beyond the easygoing façade.

#FOF

#ROTY

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Oumo - Pandora SHD - 28mm Badger #SHD
• Razor: Gillette - Aristocrat Adjustable
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Alive Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Alive Splash
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Alive EdP

"The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
…
They thought, 'If only Casey could but get a whack at that—
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.'"

Ahhh… Spring. Despite all the pollen and having seasonal allergies, it’s my favorite time of year. The days get longer, the weather gets warmer, and the true sign of spring arrives: Baseball. There’s nothing like it. I get that the popularity of the sport is steadily decreasing and some people say it’s boring. But, to me, it’s perfect. There’s nothing like it. It's the same game that's been played for over 150 years. There's something special about it's relaxing pace, stellar atmosphere, and the fact that even the best players will fail 7 out of 10 times. Anything can happen in baseball. And in 1888, Ernest L. Thayer wrote the quintessential baseball poem “Casey at the Bat” in Worcester, Massachusetts. Telling the story of the Mudville baseball team, and their star player, Casey, as he comes up to the plate with the game on the line. I won’t ruin the ending for you, but give it a read or let James Earl Jones read it to you. It’s a wonderful piece of American literature and one of my twins toddlers’ favorite bedtime stories.

And since it was written in Worcester, Massachusetts, the AAA baseball team in Worcester – The Worcester Red Sox - have a statue of Casey at their ballpark to commemorate the poem being written there.

And I’ll give you one guess as to why I’m telling you this story....

If you didn’t guess that I’m shaving with Casey, then you haven’t been paying attention to how I operate. So yes, I packed up my mobile shave den and headed to Polar Park, home to the Worcester Red Sox, and went to Centerfield, where the statue of Casey sits.

Fortunately for me, there is a bench right next to the oversized Casey statue. Unfortunately for me, they are doing construction directly across the street from the statue, so there is a construction crew with a boom lift truck doing work 20 ft away from MY shaving space. The nerve… Usually shaving is my time to be at peace with myself, but with these guys hammering, loudly talking, and staring at me, it gets a little uncomfortable. As I started to load from the tub, one of the workers came over and told me he was the “site’s safety officer” and that I could sit here, but he was gonna stand here to ensure the crew was aware of me sitting on the bench. Ummmm… Sure thing bro-ski. If you wanna watch a guy shave, say the word and I’ll send a whole WetTuber SOTD thread to you. The whole interaction was weird and honestly a little tense. He clearly didn’t want me there, but also couldn’t really ask me to leave, since I was on the opposite side of the street from him and his crew.

A lesser Lather Games contestant would have packed it in at that point, but I had already put quarters in the meter, so I wasn’t about to let that $1.50 go to waste. With the added pressure of a “safety officer” looming over me, I rushed to build a bad looking, yet effective, slurry lather like u/sgrdddy taught us. I never want to be a bother to anyone when shaving in public, and this guy was not excited about my presence, so I didn’t take the time to build a spectacular lather. (Sidenote - I’m starting to think that maybe bowl lathering is the way to go for these mobile shaves. Especially when speed is of the essence. But I digress….)

I shaved without issue with Alive, splash on Alive, then sprayed on Alive, packed up my stuff, and said goodbye to my new safety officer friend as he pretended to not pay attention to me.

What a day to be Alive! Happy Spring to all!

Challenge: Color coordinated. Such green niceness! Looking at a lot of the pics today, I missed the memo about using grass as a background.

For #FOF, Alive is one of my favorite fragrances in this hobby and it screams Spring to me, so using an Alive trifecta was a no-brainer today. The green apple right on top of the fragrance gives it a fresh brightness, and then basil and bergamot add a little spice to it. Mix in some florals, then it sits on a deliciously woody and musky base that lasts for the rest of the day. This is the perfect scent for a shave at the ballpark!

Soap Theme Justification: Did you know Alive is a Spring Chypre in its original conception? I found that out thanks to u/USS-SpongeBob.

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Trickhole. It’s all relevant.

Player shaves in a local (?) baseball park after doing a great job of tying Spring to baseball and sharing a fun poem "Casey at the Bat"

6/11/24 Lather Games shave

• Brush: AP Shave Co 2BED sytn

• Lather: MacDuffs - Lilacs in Bloom

• Razor: Yaqi Raster w/ Feather pro

• Post Shave: MacDuffs - Lilacs in Bloom AS

Clearly my photo skills really suck... was trying to get a picture with our jasmine in the backyard showing nicely, but oh well. I really love this scent from MacDuffs and need to use it more, its fresh and green and sweet all at the same time and is a perfect warm-weather shave.

LG24-11: April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Lowborn Supply Montrose Beach 26mm Synthentic Knot
• Razor: Gillette English Flat Bottom Tech
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) [7]
• Lather: Gentleman’s Nod - Juniper Reverie - Soap (C4+)
• Post Shave: Gentleman’s Nod - Juniper Reverie - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Gentleman’s Nod - Juniper Reverie - Extrait de Parfum

Spring has arrived

This is still one of my favorite scents from Gentleman's Nod, which is saying a lot because of all the great scents they've been releasing lately. Pure Spring in a bottle.

• June 11
• Brush: Antique Brass Boar #RUNT
• Razor: Gem Micromatic Open Comb #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: Gem
• Lather: Moon Soaps – Tobacco Flower
• Post Shave: Moon Soaps – Tobacco Flower
• Fragrance: Liz Claiborne – Curve

Spring is in the air with this set. If you don’t believe me, the artisan themselves calls this “A Perfect Springtime Scent”. I point this out because having the word tobacco in the name does this scent a great disservice, IMHO. This is based on the fragrance of the flowering tobacco plant, not the tobacco that people smoke or use in fragrances. The scent highlights green tobacco flower, oakmoss, lavender, and rosemary. It’s a very green forward scent and perfect for springtime. A little more floral than I would typically enjoy, but nice for a day like today.

To finish, I spritzed on Liz Claiborne’s Curve. This classic fragrance is the perfect complement to the Tobacco Flower’s bright elegance. Curve’s blend of aromatic notes—spicy, woody, and slightly sweet—adding a layer of complexity to the scents of the shave. It’s a scent that has a certain charm about it and is perfect for a day where I wanted to smell like spring, but not TOO floral.

Challenge: Color Coordinated! I picked up in this antique brass brush because its color complements the razor and weathered brass accents of the Tobacco Flower and Curve labels… But it needs a new knot desperately! I soaked and washed it as best as I could but it is awful. Like, really, really, really bad. It’s only redeeming quality is it made the picture coordinated.

photocontest – no theme. I just want to enter to the best photo part.

ROTY

don't hate the scruba hate the game

• Lather: no scrub x red house farm - no scrub soap
• Brush: Gillette standard 19mm boar 
• Razor: Schick injector
• Post shave: random baby cream because it pisses off u/visceralwatch 

Theme: lavender is apparently flower Challenge: pale/cream/whites

When I first didn't play lather games challenges were hard, and so was I. Now maybe if I'd used the little blue pill I'd be still be hard (if symptoms last more than 4 hours see a doctor), but I didn't. Instead I stacked challenges with an old favourite alongside this boring one.

Edit: forgot to add that there's a special and totally officially endorsed no scrubs exclusive discount at barrister and mann. Thanks to u/bostonphototourist for joining in with the no scrub award and u/jeffm54321 for alerting me to it.

And also I did a playlist for yesterday - it's in the DQT

NOSCRUBS discount code at B&M

June 11, 2024 - BossHoggins10 Brings May Flowers

• Brush: Omega 10077
• Razor: Yates Precision Manufacturing - 921-M
• Blade: Gillette - Silver Blue
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Le Grand Chypre
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Le Grand Chypre Splash
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Eau de Soleil Blanc EdT

Today's Theme: When I made my Lather Games Calendar, I asked the judges if B&M Le Grand Chypre would count as a spring scent. Fair enough, the product description does not explicitly state it is Spring scent or "prominently floral".

However, as I was mowing and listening to the Lather Games Recap today, they emphasized to read themes and challenges carefully, insinuating this month is a matter of semantics. Cool, I can play that game.

Well since B&M LGC does feature some floral notes and would work for today's challenge, I figured I would make LGC "prominently feature floral, grassy... accords. These beautiful flowers in my yard caught my eye and figured I would pick up some mowed grass while I was at it.

I took a shower, dried off, and started creating my "product", soap featuring floral and grassy accords. It lathered up beautifully and smelled exactly like what the judges are looking for. Even when I applied and shaved with the lather, it was a glorious experience. I'll take my points for hitting the theme today.

Todays Challenge: See my above SOTD photo. My Tom Ford fragrance beautifully matched the rest of my gear. I did not decant the fragrance because that would require pouring, not spraying, according to Merriam Webster.

Sponsor Highlight: Not much can be said about Yates Precision Manufacturing that I have not said already. I probably have the most shaves logged with Yates razors in the last 5 or 6 months here in r/wetshaving. Jake Yates is a stand up guy who knows how to design and manufacture an incredible razor.

ROTY

User doesn't believe judges when they tell him LGC isn't a grassy or floral accord. User then mows the yard, takes some grass clippings and a few flowers and mixes it into LGC to make it a more grassy and floral accord. Gets a decent shave.

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Bone - 28mm B16
• Razor: Karve Shaving Co. - Overlander (Matte Black Aluminum)
• Blade: Personna Med Prep
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Petrichor - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Petrichor - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Catie's Bubbles - Top of the World - Eau de Parfum

Petrichor for the theme. C Bub's new (forthcoming) Top of the World for my frag. BaM's Petrichor uses geosmin for the after the rain effect and Top of the World fetaures geosmin to provide some earthiness fougère that's meant to capture the scent of being above the tree line.

• Brush: Maggard Razors Timberwolf
• Razor: Maggard Razors MR14 with Ikon Bulldog handle
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: London Razors -Mountain Laurel
• Post Shave: London Razors - Mountain Laurel

I don’t know what spring smells like where you live, but here in Central Kentucky (and Eastern KY) it smells like allergies. And London Razors perfectly captures that beautiful scent that makes me sneeze. All kidding aside, this stuff is great. It is made by SBS and it is a thirsty, thirsty soap but damn, it is good. Smells fantastic and like everything you imagine spring to be around here.

Jun. 11, 2024 - Easy Peasy

• Prep: Shower, Baxter Shave Tonic
• Brush: AP Shave Co. G5A
• Razor: Henson AL13 Mild
• Blade: Personna Platinum (1)
• Lather: Black Ship Grooming - Classic
• Post Shave: Old Spice (Indian)

I'll be honest. Some of these days I'm stretching a bit (but still should get points) but today there's no need. Florals prominently in the scent? Check the Old Spice scent list. It's like floral heaven. Probably would have called it Old Floral. Just so there's not too much effort in award me the point as I know the judges have a lot of work to do (especially since they're still teaching u/OnionMiasma how to read) here's the flowers: Carnation, Geranium, Heliotrop, Jasmine. Floral as fuck.

Player take a tip from watching Judge Judy and taunts a judge.

June. 11, 2024 - SOTD 

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

This scent definitely hits the grassy theme of it. My wife smelled it and said that it smells like allergies.

11JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Viscount w/25mm Paragon Boar
• Razor: Karve CB [SB-C] #CNC #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: MacDuffs Soap Co - Spring Cabin

Ahh spring time. The time of cleaning, the time of mosquitos, the time of...wait why do I like spring again? Oh yeah

I Don't.

In the south spring is a hot, humid, mosquito filled hellscape where all the idiots are driving to the beach, drinking, then driving home putting everyone else's life at risk. Crime goes up, people do dumber shit, and I sweat through every shirt I own, making it the most uncomfortable time of year. Getting into an overly hot car, even after letting it run first to get the AC going and circulating.

But hey, at least the flowers are blooming, right?

People who like spring/summer are crazy. Spring--

This soap? This razor? This brush?

++

-100000000/10 for Spring 10/10 for this shave

ROTY

June 11, 2024 - Spring Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Zentih - MOAR BOAR r/wetshaving exclusive 31mm #SUBBROOSH #OLDWORLD #HOLLOW
• Razor: Bulimica - Safety Razor #ZAMAC #RAINBOW
• Blade: Bulimica - blades
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr Splash
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Rawr Edt

SOAP - Noble Otter makes amazing quality soaps as we all know it. RAWR is no different. This spring scent is just FUN. It’s also the only scent I know (no connoisseur here) that has dandelions as a scent note so yeah cool right!!

RAZOR - I got this from big internet retailer because I had some credit accrued from a return! It was pretty cheap and matched the color of my setup. Shaved was very mild and I used their blades which to me didn’t seem very sharp. Had to do three passes to get it smooth. Maybe too mild of a razor but hey I didn’t pay anything. The hardest part was explaining to my wife why I bought a RAINBOW 🌈 razor!!! I got home and she was all up in my face interrogation style demanding to know if I was hiding something from her! I, again, had to tell her about LG2024 in which she responded saying “oh yeah the chat group you watch other grown man without shirts shaving!!!” as she walked away.

THE THEME- This was the trickiest and most rewarding photo shot I did! I got up super early and waited just after the sunrise for the right lighting before the sprinklers activated. The grass was damp but not wet and I went to the most flowering bush in my yard (Trachelospermum Jasminoides - weird name for star jasmine) to get the background just right. Had to wait about 10 min to get a passing snail in my shot to make it even more spring_ish. It worked out okay. The green grass with the green white flowers bush matched all the green RAWR labels and the moar boar stood like a phalic/obelisk pedestal! Perfection….

June 11, 2024 - Magnolias in the dirt

• Brush: AP Shave Co AP400XL 30mm SynBad
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Noble Otter - Lonestar
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Lonestar
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Lonestar

My favorite part of spring, living down here, is walking the dog and just being absolutely assaulted by the scent of Magnolia flowers. Lonestar nails the experience of the outdoors down here absolutely perfectly, balancing the magnolia with sage, hay, and other grassy notes. Post-shaves are relevant by trickhole.

I don't really know how much more praise I can give the otter before somebody starts saying I'm a paid shill. Top tier soap, best splash bar none. I guess you could complain that the fragrances don't really evolve much throughout the day. However, I'm not going to do that because Lonestar is the best scent in wetshaving. I stand by that claim.

Today's daily challenge tied in nicely with the photo contest. I went with the theme of The Elements: Earth. Lonestar is colored like the clay dirt down here in Texas, but unfortunately I don't have that. What I do have is this big rock that matches that same kind of bronze-y color. We're coordinating that reddish-orange bronze color through the packaging of the software, and the choice of brass hardware. It's just a nice coincidence that the SynBad knot also has the kind of bronze-y fibers. I picked this specific rock because of it having that defined split between light and dark, and then tried my best to line up the software containers along the line in reverse color. I really like this picture. #photocontest

April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Omega 10098
• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable
• Blade: Astra
• Lather: Ariana & Evans - Fruit de la Passion

photocontest Water.

Today’s Challenge: Color Coordinated

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Resolute V20
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Gentleman’s Nod – Juniper Reverie
• Post Shave: Gentleman’s Nod – Juniper Reverie
• Fragrance: M;Men

This soap/AS scent is marketed as part of GN’s Spring Élan collection. I get big whiffs of citrus and juniper, which should be expected. It is sharp and crisp, a bit strong for my liking. And perhaps I like a bit more “natural” feel to the scents where I can clearly pick out notes that I am more familiar with. The cognac accord is seemingly lost to me but I do notice the florals and coffee, and the incense as the day went on. Or maybe I was just drinking coffee right after I shaved. It was more cologne-y than I expected when reading the description. I used the tiniest bit of fragrance from my 15+ year old bottle of M;Men, with its grapefruit and rosemary notes, before walking into my fragrance free workplace. If you think outdoor shaves are daring…..you have never met 1000 Karen’s descending upon you to let you know how they are allergic to literally anything and they might die if you are within 100 feet of them as they cough right at you to let you know. Overall, this soap/as reminded me of college and getting ready to go out for the weekend. I usually did not use fragrance but many did and I remember the sharp crispness of them. And Juniper Reverie brings me back to MD20/20, Natty Ice, and Admiral Nelson.

Challenge/photo theme: I tried to match up the whites, blues and yellows for the challenge today. I even made sure to include the fragrance. Then I also tossed in an antler from my first buck for an animal (not alive) theme.

Photocontest

FOF

June 11 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Semogue SOC Mistura #MISTURA #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley Brass C-Plate #ADJUSTABLE #CNC #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: Wizamet (26)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Tres Matres
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Tres Matres
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Tres Matres

Theme: Tres Matres is a floral petrichor fragrance.

Challenge: see SOTD pic

I’ve made an effort not to dickhole fragrances this year. Unfortunately, the color coordinated challenge backed me into a corner, today.

I was heartbroken when Tres Matres was discontinued. It was an early favorite in my den, and is still a fragrance I love. I wish I had some backups. There's a floral note at the opening that smells pretty and is just right for spring. The petrichor accord comes through from the start. I smell ozone and damp earth. I'm getting a lot of sweetness from the floral note, now.

With the splash: again, I get a green floral note in the opening which melds nicely with the petrichor.

The frag isn't much different. The ozone and green note come through a bit more and project nicely. I get less of the damp earth in this.

Razor tags: I have 3 base plates for adjustable. pic of patina for rustybuttrusty

#photocontest - wood

#FOF

Jun. 11, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Maggards 26mm Boar

• Razor: Weck Sextoblade

• Blade: Kismet Hair Shaper [4]

• Lather: Noble Otter - RAWR

• Post Shave: Noble Otter - RAWR

• Fragrance: Noble Otter - RAWR

April Showers bring….

It’s raining today. Bunch of bullshit. I know I live in Florida, I know it’s the rainy season, I know we “need” the rain but I needed to hit the Daily Challenge color coordinated and Photo Contest Grass. Have been plaining this picture since the photo contest was posted. So yeah that all went to shit today. Got my picture but not how I wanted it. But I do have to thank u/infernalinternal for lending me his Weck with green scales so I could have everything match today.

Went to see my cardiologist today, he said my heart is improving to keep doing what I’m doing and to come back in 6 months. That was the news I needed to hear. It was what I needed to push me forward to take the next step on a plan I have been working on for the last few weeks. I can’t say what it is right now, but hopefully soon.

No sibling fisticuffs today and they are back to not talking to each other so all is well there.

Todays shave… I have used a Weck 4 times now and I have wecked myself in the same 2 spots. Left cheek by my mouth and on my lower left side of my neck closer to the ear side. That one I can understand, only having 1 eye the left side is hard to see. But the one by mouth I just don’t get. August is going to be fun…

I know I dickholed it today, but I honestly put a lot of thought into what I was going to do for today’s picture just for it to get screwed by the rain.

#ROTY #FOF #PhotoContest

June 11, 2024 - April Showers Bring Dandelions

• Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving Exclusive 31mm Moar Boar #SUBBROOSH
• Razor: Razorock Eco Hulk Green #RAINBOW
• Blade: Crown Stainless SE
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr Splash
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Rawr EdP

FOF

Today’s Theme and Feats of Fragrance:

Combining my FOF with the theme. I think today Rawr is going to be most used because this Noble Otter is the King of Spring. It is a tribute to fatherhood, and Father’s Day is one of the last holidays of the Spring before the solstice. The scent leads with the grassiness of dandelion and happiness. Rawr is a delightful scent that to me makes me feel like I’m taking my daughter for a walk on a beautiful Spring morning. She’s picking the dandelions that have gone to seed and making a wish blowing the seeds into the air, delighting in how they slowly float away. The orange scent reminds me of playing soccer in the Spring season. Oranges were always a big part of Youth Soccer when I was a kid. We had two seasons of soccer in my town one in Spring and the other in the Fall. Rawr feels more like the Spring season with the bright sun and days getting longer. Fall would be more like apples and burning leaves. Rawr is one of my favorite Spring scents, but I’ll use it anytime when I want to feel like a kid and also a father. I picked up the EdP not too long ago while buying some refills for Rawr and Barrbarr. Honestly trying to keep trick-holes to a minimum, but Rawr I will always want to load up the scent.

Rawr is a great Spring scent, and it is one of the first Google responses to best shaving scents for Spring.

Today’s Challenge:

Everythings Gone Green

Today’s Shave:

Ok, we all know Noble Otter makes great stuff: soap, splash, and EdP. Definitely no complaints there. The Moar Boar is a fantastic brush. Top marks again. The razor and blade are not good at all. Really half DE blades lose the rigidity you can achieve by bending the blade when clamping it down. Secondly, if the could achieve a little rigidity in how it is clamped, that isn’t done here. It is held pretty flat. Third, there is a ridiculous amount of blade in front of the cap. I think I feel the blade more here than on many Weck shaves. You’d think at least it should give a close shave, but I can’t find a great angle with it. The best thing about the razor is the color Hulk green. The shape looks good; it’s like the love child of DE razor and an Injector. There must be a better way to get a razor in this form factor. Yes, the Hawk uses AC blades. Maybe they could make one with a DE head, but with the cap covering over one side. You’d use it for several shaves, then flip the blade around. It could look like a modern take on a GEM 1912.

User nails photo and theming with Rawr with the small addition of a Lego minifig in a triceratops costume.

DAY 11 LATHER GAMES! COLOUR COODRINATED? AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!

• Prep: Water
• Brush: Hand made wooden handle with synth knot
• Razor: Feather - AS-D2
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Areffa Soap - The Gardener
• Post Shave: MacDuff's Soap Company - Spring Cabin
• Fragrance: Bvlgari - Aqva Amara

Ahhh spring is in the air and love has arrived! Or was it vise-versa? Can never really remember....

Anyways, today is my only fail of a challenge in the LG, no matter how I switched, turned, twisted and shouted I could not find a full tub for today's challenge, so I will gracefully skip this one, knowing full well that I will compensate with points from the judges from their evaluation of my immaculate posts(which due to reddit being an asshole gets split into two).

Fuck all of that, I ain't moaning no more, mainly cause I don't get paid enough, moaning's extra!!!!

So choosing the artisan for today's spot was a tough one, but in the end the lucky winner was Areffa soap. I saw many people use them on "Not Beef tallow" day, because they have like 4 bases, even badger. The one I used today(The Gardener) is with bear tallow. It performed well, but I was not blown away.

It is described by the manufacturer as "...a very interesting "wet soil" fragrance..." and here is the run down of the scent notes:

• Fragrance: earthy
• Top notes: jasmine, gardenia, rose
• Heart notes: wet soil, mud
• Base notes: wet soil, mud

Have you ever smelled Petrichor, by B&M? Well it's like that, but a bit less complex and not as strong.

So in the razor department, it was a special shave for me, cause today, the instrument I used(Feather AS-D2), was the first high end razor I had ever tried, and that was 3 years ago. Do you remember the feeling of being a small child, waiting for Christmas Day so you could get your present and be surprised. This razor, the first shave with it, that's how I felt! Back then my mind was blown at how good this razor was. And now, you may ask? Well I'm still really impressed. 70+ razors down the line, and it's a monster of an efficiency shaver. Of course the feeling isn't as strong as back then, but damn I be if this thing doesn't shave amazing. Yes, you are required to do a bit more of skin stretching than usual, or at all, but it gets you almost to a BBS shave. You cannot cut yourself with this thing, it's idiotproof! It puts it in the same category as the GameChanger. The boring category, not because the GC or this razor are boring, it's just that shaving with them is so easy that you can go into autopilot and forget that you're even shaving, thus killing the joy.

Daily Lather Themes: 11/30 * Daily Challenges: 10/30 * Hardware Scavenger Hunt: 9/20 * Hardware Vendor Points: 2/2 * Software Vendor Points: 6/16 * Software Vendor Bonus Point: 0/1 * 30 Different Soap Brands Point: 11/30 * 30 Different Soaps On Theme Bonus Point: 11/30 * 30 Different Post-Shaves Bonus Point: 11/30 * 30 Different Fragrances Bonus Point: 11/30

Jun. 11, 2024
Brush: AP Shave Co G5C
Razor: Karve CB
Blade: Astra SP Green [2]
Lather: Shannons Soaps - Valley Parkway - Soap
Post Shave: Thayers - Witch Hazel Original - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

This was a sample so no cool challenge for me today. Cheers!

SOTD 2024-06-11 What is it? Well...It's green

• Brush: Semogue 2020 Best Badger
• Razor: Karve Overlander (copper)
• Blade: Dorco - Prime (1st use)
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Vernal
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria - Absinthe

!R!<eally, Declaration Grooming could have just written:
!I!<t smells like a soap that rhymes with "Shmirish Spring".
!P!<retty sure that was the scent they were going for anyway.

!J!<ust a whiff of this soap and you'll know it's a "spring" scent.
!A!<nd it doesn't fool anyone with it's colour: It's bright green.
!M!<aybe there is some tomato leaf, some spices, other stuff;
!E!<ven maybe "sweet grass", whatever that is.
!S!<mells distinctly like the soap to me; I used it all my childhood.

!D!<idn't have a green brush, but there's verdigris forming on my razor;
!O!<f course verdigris is green!
!O!<h and I naturally had to choose Absinthe as a splash;
!H!<aven't you heard it's known as "la fée verte" (the green fairy).
!A!<nyhoo, the soap works well like all of their soaps.
!N!<ot one of my favourite scents though, so I've not used it till now.

11 June 2024 Complementary Non Dickkhole Barrister and Mann Petrichor

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Prometheus Red Boti Fan 28mm
• Razor: Aylsworth Apex
• Blade: Gillette Nacet (43)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Petrichor (17)
• Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Diamond A/S
• Post Shave: Thayer's Concoction
• Post Shave: Good Oleo
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented Balm
• Fragrance: Barrister & Mann - Fougere Imperiale

Cheers

June 11, 2024 - April Showers Bring May Flowers (Color Coordinated)

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: AP Shave Co. 24mm Cashmere w/ Emerald Handle
• Razor: Weck Hair Shaper #WECKONISTA
• Blade: Personna Hair Shaper Blade (3)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - Intrepid Man

Near perfect shave with the Weck today. Noble Otter was as good as it always is and the scent on Rawr is top tier. Tied it together with the daily challenge with everything, fragrance bottle included, being green.

PHOTOCONTEST - Grass

https://imgur.com/a/yPldJSA

• Prep: PAA - Bubble Gube
• Bowl: Naked Armor - Silver Fox Scuttle
• Brush: Wolf Whiskers - Semogue Galahad Premium IT Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: PAA - Crimson Ghost Open Comb Double Monster Slant
• Blade: Personna - Red
• Lather: Martin de Candre- Rose
• Post Shave: Dr. Jon's - Rose of Phrygia Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayers - Facial Toner Coconut Water

Today was an exciting day for me in the Lather Games! I was looking forward to this special challenge of matching all of my colors. My favorite color is Red so, I used different shades of Red! First was my Crimson Ghost razor with a Personna Red Blade. Then came the light red/pink Bubble Gube preshave, followed by my Semogue Red boar brush perfectly whipping up the MCD Red Rose lather. I topped everything off with my Red topped Thayers toner and Dr. Jon's Red Rose of Phrygia aftershave! Awesome lather and shave with my first use of the Crimson Ghost!

Still going strong with my personal challenge of different blade, razor, brush, aftershave and soap brand every day!

ROTY

June 11, 2024 – Flowers Old and New

• Brush: Zenith Boar
• Razor: Karve CB Head and ATT Handle #RAINBOW
• Blade: Voskhod (1)
• Lather: London Razors – Mountain Laurel
• Post Shave: Pinaud – Lilac Vegetal

Posted in March of 2021, Andrew at London Razors described his first scent as, “… an awesome scent to welcome Spring.” And it does just that. Green and clean and fresh morning dewy. And “The Veg” just paired so well as the Lilacs bloom in you guessed it, the Spring. Fresh new damp spring undergrowth as well as an old man splash of vernal bouquet.

And if you’re lucky enough after those April showers, you might get to peep a #rainbow, just like my hardware scavenger hunt today. So I thought I might tie that theme and hashtag and challenge all into the shave today. Pretty sure I got that ROYGBIV in my SOTD shot with a background of our lavender bush at its purplely height.

Cheers!

June 11, 2024 – April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Green Shave Boar Brush #RUNT #SMOLL #HOLLOW
• Razor: Simply Smooth – Triple Blade #RAINBOW
• Blade: 3 attached blades from hell
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr aftershave balm
• Fragrance: Noble Otter – Rawr EDP
• The Lather: Lets just say this little piggy is pretty damn awful. Breaking in a new boar brush is always bad, but between the pig smell, all the hairs that fell out into the lather, and the fact that the knot is so damn tiny, this was not my best lather. This brush could easily be in a My First Shaving Set for kids. Aside from the brush, Rawr is a fantastic scent and otherwise lathers up well.
• The Shave: Well if you’re going to have a crap sandwich, you might as well make it a double. I found this gem of a razor at a local Big Lots and it cost me a whopping $1.50 for 4 of them. I can only guess that they were so cheap because they didn’t take the effort to fully sharpen the 3 blades. Maybe they just figured that one of the 3 blades might get lucky and cut. To say this was a bad shave would be an understatement.
• Aftershave/Frag: Rawr on Rawr on Rawr anyone? With Spring and color coordination day I couldn’t help but run the trifecta.
• Theme: Rawr practically screams spring in your ear, but if that’s not enough it has dandelions as a scent note.
• Challenge: I went with simplicity in this case and color coordinated the picture/shave with green.

6/11/24

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks w/ C&H V19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Wüsthof 220 "Barber's King" 7/8, Extra Hollow Square Point
• Lather: Noble Otter - Two Kings
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Two Kings Aftershave Splash

I have several florals in the den, but Two Kings is one of my favorites. Partly because it's one of Mrs. Pudding's favorites. It's a crying shame that it's been discontinued. I've surprised myself with how much I actually enjoy a floral scent on a sunny day. It's unique for someone to show up to a construction site smelling of flowers, but I do it anyway.

I chose the Barber's King to go with the side challenge today. White. Gold. KING!!! How could I not?

Side challenge: Three Kings SOTD

Jun. 11, 2024 April Showers Bring May Flowers * Brush: Chisel & Hound Quartermoon
Razor: Gillette Fatboy Adjustable E3
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
Lather: Noble Otter Soap Co. - Rawr
Post Shave: Noble Otter Soap Co. - Rawr * Post Shave: Osma - Alum
Post Shave:* Jack Black - Double-Duty Face Moisturizer

Dandelions, bro.

ROTY

June 11, 2024 – LG 11: Spring Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Maggard Razors Purple Swirl Resin 24mm 2 Band Fan
• Razor: English Gillette Tech
• Blade: Treet Carbon Steel #STAINLESSLESS (4)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – Reserve Lavender
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming – Champs de Lavande
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann – Reserve Lavender

I want that purple stuff Reserve Lavender was the culprit to really lead me down the artisan wetshaving rabbit hole, and BM remains one of my favorite brands to this day. Lavender is also a flower, check mate theme.

Today, not only was #PHOTOCONTEST (hobbies) a purple explosion, I opted to take it several steps further. Sound on, Here’s me contemplating today’s choices. I opted to add some ube extract to make purple lather. Photos don’t do the color justice. Hopefully, these showcase better, insofar as staining the brush a neon purple/pink. As for my face, legit a bit willy Wonka. Good thing I don’t give a speech at work for graduation in a couple days…

For our #FOF BM lavender is a crisp, clean, and a smooth take on lavender. Its a recreation of Caldey Island Lavender, which I haven’t tried but is an AS hailing from Wales (where I will be in a couple weeks!). It is safe and sophisticated, classy and suave. It is not really spicy. It smells strikingly similar to the actual plant. As for Champs, its is way darker, grittier, and potent. Herbaceous and medicinal. there is an herbal eucalyptus quality too it that might turn some off, but I enjoy. Its peppery and spicy, but grounded in earthiness as it mellows.

As for today’s sponsor Yates, I had the pleasure of winning a custom razor from them last LG, and it is a favorite in my rotation. Custom LG engraving on the bottom, top cap. I was intending to use it today, but the bead blast titanium didn’t match the silver of the BM frag bottle as well as the Gillette, cest la vie.

soap brands 11/30, post shave 11/30, frag 11/30, post/frag linked 11/30, software sponsors 8/16, hardware sponsors 6/2, razor hashtags 8/15, brush hashtags 9/15, photo contest 11/30, daily challenges 9/26, special challenges 2/4

User colours lather for colour coordination purposes accidentally colouring brush and face in the process.

June 11, 2024 – Lather Games: Day 11

• Brush: Shavemac w/ AP Shave Co 26mm Pure Bliss™ SHD Premium Synthetic Knot
• Razor: Blackland Osprey
• Blade: Astra SP (Green)
• Lather: Ariana & Evans – Poison Hemlock
• Post Shave: Ariana & Evans – Poison Hemlock

Poison Hemlock is a spring blooming plant which is highly toxic, as the name suggests. Per the USDA, all parts of the plant are poisonous, that’s the leaves, stem, fruit, and root, with the leaves being even more poisonous in the spring. Oddly, it is part of the carrot family.

For the reasons stated above, I’ve never really smelled the plant in the wild, nor do I plan to. That said, I can’t really say how much the hemlock plays a part in the scent of this soap. If it plays a big part, then hemlock smells quite nice. To me, it has a sweet fruity smell, and this might be due to the other scents that are involved. Whatever it is, I think it’s refreshing and different than most of the darker scents I usually gravitate towards. As expected, it performs quite well; it’s A&E.

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Stirling Boar 24mm
• Razor: Blackland Razors Era
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Albizia
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Albizia
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Albizia

This soap was my first kill, and is still one of my favorites in my collection. Spring scents are generally my jam, and I'd personally rate this one above Rawr which everyone seemed to have made a group decision to use today. Slightly below Alive, probably, but I use them for different moods. This is more restrained... maybe more polished? Alive is fresh and fun and invigorating. If people have suggestions for others to try in this same vein, I'm all ears.

It's been a minute since I really tried on an SOTD pic. I thought the greens and wood in the labels went well with the grass, and the ivory and black brush matched the black lid and ivory tape of the DG label.

I'm titling this Everything's so green!

June 11, 2024 – LG24 Day 11 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Spice Blow handle w/ 26mm v23 Fanchurian Badger knot #COMPOSITE
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
• Blade: Personna PTFE Stainless Steel GEM (2)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta AS Splash
• Fragrance: Fragrancelab - 019 Libre EdP

Daily Theme & Relevant Post/Frag: Last games, seasonal scents were my kryptonite. I'm sure I was DQ'd on at least two of the four. My brain does not associate scents with the seasons. This is a byproduct of spending multiple decades in either extreme cold environments (Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland) or in extreme hot environments (Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, Philippines). At this point F'n Cold and F'n Hot are the way my brain sees the seasons. To compensate for my lack of scent awareness I tried something different, I read the frickin' theme description instructions! I searched the vendor pages of all of my soaps looking for the key phrase "spring" and discovered on the first line of Fougère Nemeta's product page that it "is a Spring fragrance created for Southern Witchcrafts by award-winning perfumer Shawn Maher." Jackpot!

Finding a relevant post was a pretty simple affair since I have the Fougère Nemeta splash, but it did take some effort finding a relevant frag. I have plenty of fougère frags that I like to pair with Fougère Nemeta, but none of their bottles fit the color theme I was seeking for today's special challenge. When looking for some frags for my wife, I lucked upon the 019 Libre frag (a Yves Saint Laurent Libre dup) which fit my color theme and is a modern fougère to boot! Libre is marketed as a woman's scent, but who cares. Its floral and citrus main accords nicely compliment Fougère Nemeta's "luscious greens accompanied by blossoming florals and crisp fruit accords." Game, set, match!

Daily Challenge: Southern Witchcrafts special edition soaps typically have a cream-colored stone background image. This was the thematic color I used to link today's shaving wares. Since the frag bottle had a bit of silver and the brush had a bit of bronze which was not represented in the soap and post labels, I added the MM24 to help link everything together. Here are the results.

June 11, 2024 - April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Voigt & Cop VC01

• Razor: Charcoal Goods Gen 1 Level 2

• Blade: Wizamet

• Lather: Gentleman’s Nod - Juniper Reverie

• Post Shave: Gentleman’s Nod - Juniper Reverie

Still probably my favorite scent from last year and this shave was a good reason to take it for a spin. Finally getting to try a V&C brush and generally speaking I’m pretty impressed with it. I think there is still some break-in left on the table for this knot, but I think it’s a keeper overall. Great shave this time around with no complaints.

Pretty sure I hit the challenge, but of course this one is up to the judges discretion as to whether it all coordinates.

SOTD June 11, 2024** 

• Prep: Splash of warm water
• Brush: Stirling Synthetic 2-band 24mm
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85MM Safety Razor
• Blade: Van Der Hagen Stainless
• Lather: Ariana & Evans - The Peony & Serpent
• Post Shave: Chanel - Bleu de Chanel balm

June 11, 2024: The Nina, The Pinta, and The Santa Maria

• Prep: warm splash of water
• Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia Tuxedo 24 mm
• Razor: AtT S1
• Blade: Gillette Blue
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Mayflower
• Post Shave: Thayer's - Lavender
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Mayflower

Easily my favorite floral. Thanks Scott!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Vitae Taper w/AP Shave Co 26mm Pure Bliss™ SHD Premium Synthetic Knot #COMPOSITE #FAUXFUR #FRANKENBRUSH #PREMIUMPLASTIC #SHD #TOLL
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM
• Blade: Personna PTFE Coated Stainless GEM
• Lather: Gentleman's Nod - Juniper Reverie
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Classic Aftershave (American)
• Fragrance: Motif Olfactif - Voile D'encens

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to Arch for giving me a killer deal on a soap lot including this soap. Thanks to ShavinginCT for the fragrance sample. Thanks to my mom for buying me the aftershave. Thanks to EldrormR for including some free blades with my MM24. Thanks to my dad for finding a flower and getting the bugs off of it then holding it in front of my SOTD. Thanks to our wonderful judges and other people for putting this whole thing together.

Daily Mistakes
I should have properly planned today better, I originally had a sample set and I knew I would have to change it for the daily challenge but I was so busy I forgot until last minute.

Daily Writeup
Man this cologne smells terrible! I could hardly breathe after applying it. Today was the first day of marching band and it was meh, I don't like marching band. Then I went over to my grandma's house to help her with some arts and crafts but it took way longer then expected so I had to rush to work without shaving. So I just got home from work and put together a shave and shaved and now I am writing this, way past my bedtime because I have marching band early morning tomorrow.

Daily Theme Points
Don't get it wrong, Juniper Reverie is in fact a spring soap, when Gentleman's Nod first introduced the scent they said, "Spring has arrived - And so has a new fragrance collection." Not convinced? Just look at that logo art, looks like some grassy soap to me! Still need some more convincing, look at the scent notes or just smell the soap, "...soft florals," is directly listed as one of the scent notes. Reminds me of before the summer marching band heat, oh how I miss it.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
Today for the relevant post shave and fragrance I matched it by color and tone for the daily special challenge. Old Spice is a pretty light bottle but not exactly white so it matched the sky of the soap label very nicely, for the fragrance I went with a fragrance that is more yellowish orange to match the actual grass of the soap label art.

Daily SPECIAL Challenge
I explained a bit in the daily relevant post shave and fragrance section but to finish off the picture I put it with a brush with some white to match good, a white towel, and last but not least, a nice spring light flower to finish it off and make it relevant for the theme.

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
No new hashtags so if you want to know about these ones you can see my previous posts.

Photo Contest
For the photo contest today I went with darkness because frankly that's what reminds me of spring, maybe it's because when I was a very young child I had breathing issues at night occasionally and my mom would take me outside in the cold and smell the lavender with me, and lavender is a springy scent so it's very nostalgic. Today's photo theme I decided to go outside in the dark and have a spring flower to remind me of those days.

TL;DR
Late shave. I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests

photocontest

ROTY

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Zenith Boar 24 x 48 mm
• Razor: Fatip Piccolo Slant Closed Comb
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (Green) (2)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Queen
• Post Shave: Thayer’s – Rose Petal Toner
• Fragrance: Andy Tauer – No. 2 L’air du désert Marocain

Honeysuckle Rose

Yesterday’s SOTD posts were fun because music. Glad to find out there are a few jazz aficionados around here.

My SOTD post from yesterday got a bit carried away, at least in terms of length. Today I’ll try to be more concise.

So for springtime-y scented soap I went with Noble Otter Queen, which the artisan describes as “learning more feminine,” and which has honey and floral notes. I contend that honey and flowers are springtime-y. I thought the scent might smell cloying, but it wasn’t. It has a soft honey fragrance, like the honey cake you get at your local Armenian bakery.

The aftershave is also an understated floral scent, Thayer’s Rose Petal Toner. I topped things off with a more challenging scent: L’air du désert Marocain by the Swiss perfumer Andy Tauer. I haven’t smelled anything else quite like it. It combines spice notes (coriander and cumin—which occasionally veer toward smelling like armpits) with an open, breezy quality. Does that sound like a springtime scent to you? To me it didn’t, but the manufacturer recommends it (“especially”) for springtime. It does have leafy and floral notes: petitgrain (leave and stems from a species of bitter orange tree), along with jasmine and rockrose.

I’m couldn’t participate in the today’s challenge due to most of my shave products being samples.

Brush Strokes: Early Spring edition

The most famous Chinese painting is known as Early Spring. It’s dated to 1072 CE and attributed to court painter named of Guo Xi. It’s a landscape painting, yet unlike any other landscape painting. I recommend going on Wikimedia Commons and examining a hi-res image this masterpiece.

#ROTY

SOTD - June 11 - Spring

Feb 25, 2024

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Wild West Brush works - Synth
• Razor: Feather - Artist Clun
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Spearhead - Heather
• Post Shave: Spearhead - Sea Spiced lime

photocontest touch grass

As a person with colorblindness I find today's challenge offensive.

Sea spiced lime does not go with Heather but I needed it for color coordination.

Initially had planned on using kryptonite because it has a distinctive grass smell for me. After listening to the podcast and getting mad about my vetiver DQ, I decided to play it safe with a lather that had flowers as the 1st and 3rd scent note listed. Had fun taking this picture outside and looking like an insane person.

SOTD - 2024-06-11

• Beard Growth: 24 Hours
• Prep: Hot Shower,CeraVe SA Face Wash
• Pre Shave: None
• Brush: Yaqi - Sagrada Familia Synthetic
• Razor: Lambda Athena
• Blade: SuperMax Platinum Plus
• Passes: WTG x2
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougere Nemeta
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougere Nemeta After Shave Splash

• Fragance: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougere Nemeta EDP

• Comments: Another post-bike night time shave… Feels very good to be back in familiar territory. The base is so good, hopefully I can get more out of it in the next few days, loved the smoothness, thickness, slickness of the lather, I’m a fan lol

The razor was super smooth and a great combination with the supermax platinum blade.

Loved going back to this brush too, super soft and worked well for face lathering today. Forgot how much I liked this one, not bad for a sub $5 Yaqi brush off of AliExpress

All Fougere Nemeta all day, spring scent, enough said, love it!!

The pic for today tried to keep it Off-White/Amber theme : https://ibb.co/3NBp5gC

#ROTY

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood – Badger
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Lather: Declaration Grooming – Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli

Scent: features florals. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I love rose.

Challenge. Photography is not my bag, but I went for the pink and orange theme. Used a wood handle brush and a brass handle on the razor.

June 11, 2024

• Brush: Zenith Moar Boar

• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley OC B Plate

• Blade: Ladas Super Stainless

• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Vernal - Soap

• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Vernal - Aftershave

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Alive

The tomato leaf note in Vernal is chef's kiss. I absolutely owe it to myself to get the fragrance, but I still don't have it. I wish the green apple was more prevalent in Alive, but overall I really enjoy this scent. Its an easy one to throw on whenever the mood or occasion. Obviously the theme is green in the photo. While I don't have a green razor, if I allowed my brass Karve to get nasty, it would develop a green patina. Like that one guy from W_E that makes all his razors look nasty on purpose. So I should actually get more bonus points for having a clean, non nasty brass razor and for not making you look at somethign hideous.