LGSOTD 14-Jun-24

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps - Boti NC #FRANKENBRUSH #SHD
• Razor: Koraat - 6/8 14-2.0
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen AS
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen Balm

Frigid Friday

God damn, what in the hell was that! I've struggled with what I considered to be an extreme cold before (B&M Terror) so this may be a mistake, I bought this for the games out of morbid curiosity. Opened the tub to be greeted by this awful sight. The initial contact with the face was fine, but the damn thing kept building. I thought I'd managed to get it in my eyes until I realised it was just the fumes. Never before have I had self-hydrating lather, tears were streaming down my face. I couldn't whip that blade around my face fast enough, never mind that I had to go for another two rounds.

I had the splash and balm taunting me as I splashed my face with cold water, well that was a fucking mistake! Tentatively reach for the splash, whack it on the face and it's another eye watering moment, that stuff couldn't soak in fast enough...do I bother with the balm, sod it may as well...fuck why would anyone make this stuff. Now one thing I did cotton onto after using Terror, make sure you wash your hands afterwards, and I mean wash them. I made a grievous error last time that had me wishing I hadn't gone for a pee, not this time my friend! I sit here 10 minutes later and the stuff is still going nuts and my eyes are still watering. I now can't feel my face and I dare not touch it for fear of transfer. What sadist asked for this level of insanity!

It does not get hot enough here to actually feel any benefit, perhaps I'll leave it till I head down to SA this Christmas, or perhaps I'll palm it off on the father in-law when I'm down there and piss myself laughing!

Challenge - Stacking Day

I was more nervous this time around, I had opted for the straight that the Mrs got me for my 40th, quickest photo I've ever taken!

Photocontest

This one I'm aiming squarely at 'Hobbies', I joined r/skating (it's a small group with mixed skating types) a while ago (still a lurker). I went back to skating when I decided to try and teach the little one. First few times she fell she looked at me like I had betrayed her. She's got into the swing of it though, though I think I enjoy it more than the rest of the family.

Hope everyone had a chilly shave!

Cheers

Marc

Nice color work.

2024-06-14 - Stack 'Em to the Heavens!

• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Island Man (Glacial)
• Fragrance: Bath & Body Works - Mountain Frost
• Razor: Phantom Blue Slant
• Brush: Summer Break Soaps

Frigid Friday: Rope Swing features the synthetic cooling ingredient WS-23.

Unifying Theme: Coldth.
You know, like slow + -th → sloth, warm + -th → warmth, and cold + -th → coldth
Rope Swing has WS-23, Island Man has menthol, and Mountain Frost has 'frost' right in the name!

Bonus: Everything is in the same neighborhood of blue, transitioning smoothly from Kyle's vaguely green pen to the deep blue purple of his brush.

#photocontest Water

I think this is what was intended from the description:

[...] the Platonic solid associated with water is the icosahedron which is formed from twenty equilateral trianges.

Stacking Day: I can write a song called "Stack 'Em to the Heavens!"

Nothing is flat. The tiny, ancient tube of rubber cement that I found has long since dried out.
Twice times, those glass bottles fell from horrific heights onto the hard concrete floor below.
How many people have literally destroyed stuff by attempting this?

Okay, the razor handle and soap container are mostly flat; I can take advantage of that. Not bad.

The (fuller) bottle is heavier, though, making it more top-heavy, but I can take it one step further.

#FOF
Rope Swing never fails to surprise me with how nice it is. It's grassy and woody, with whatever other elements purport to make something aqautic, which is such a vaguely-defined mystery that I've begun to question whether the perfumers themselves have any idea until they find one in their cauldron. But I digress.

This glacial Island Man aftershave made my eyes burn, which doesn't tend to happen, but not before delivering the absolute fruitiness that is its scent. I can appreciate this a lot more than other fruity flavors, but I just don't care for fruit. I can see it being fitting for a warm—not hot—day... The problem is, that that only ever happens once or twice in the heart of winter, when there are more appropriate scents.

Mountain Frost might just be my absolute favorite scent ever, but it doesn't exist anymore and I couldn't tell you what it smells like (seems like maybe it's aquatic) other than what it says on the ~~tin~~ bottle, i.e. mountain frost.

Day 14

• Brush: Yaqi - White 22mm – Badger
• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving – Sea Ice Lime
• Post Shave: Captain’s Choice – Nor’ Easter Splash
• Fragrance: Issey Miyake - L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme EdT

Thanks u/Priusaurus for the smush!

Today I embarked on an epic, frostbitten journey that left me feeling as cool as than the other side of the pillow. Picture this: a battle of man versus menthol, where the stakes are high and feeling of ice is, well, everywhere.

First up: The Glacial Greeting

I kicked things off with Spearhead Shaving’s Sea Ice Lime. Just opening this little plastic baggy sent an arctic blast to my face. I swear I heard a polar bear whisper, “Good luck, buddy.” As I built the lather, the room temperature dropped by 10 degrees. The second that frosty foam hit my cheeks, it was like Santa’s sleigh crashed into my bathroom. The lime provided a refreshing twist, but the menthol—oh boy, the menthol! My face turned into an igloo faster than you can say “winter wonderland.”

Next stop: The Nor’easter Knockout

Next up, Captain’s Choice Nor’ Easter Splash. By now, I was already shivering, but hey, in for a penny, in for a frozen pound. I slapped on this splash and BAM! If the soap was a chilly breeze, the Nor’ Easter was a full-blown Arctic Circle hurricane. My skin went from chilly to “I can’t feel my face!” faster than an ice cube in a sauna. I’m pretty sure a snowman appeared in my mirror and gave me a thumbs up. The menthol was so intense, I half expected to see snowflakes forming on my stubble, while the amber, lavender, citrus scents signaled a thaw out was coming.

Finally: The Thaw Out

To finish up, I sprayed on Issey Miyake’s L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme. After surviving the menthol maelstrom, this was like finding a cozy cabin in the middle of a... Nor’ Easter. The crisp, aquatic notes were a gentle reminder that my face wasn’t actually stuck in the freezer, and the citrus notes tied the whole #FOF experience together. As I spritzed it on, I could feel my face slowly thawing out, like a snowman basking in the first rays of spring sunshine, finally escaping the cold. The woody base notes provided a comforting warmth, wrapping up this frosty adventure.

Today's shave was more than just shaving; it was a frosty rollercoaster ride through a winter wonderland. My face went on an adventure from the North Pole and back, emerging smoother than an ice rink and fresher than a peppermint snowflake.

Challenge Goddammit. A stacking challenge the day I’m using sample sizes and smush. What is this? A stack for ants? The stack has to be at least three times bigger than this!

My #photocontest theme is: Baseball

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Frigid Friday”… The Top 5 Most Ridiculous Winter Olympic Sports:

5.) Ice Dancing – More like Ice-Snoozefest, amiright?

4.) Nordic Combined – Adds jumps to the Country Skiing. If there was a sport that desperately needs more excitement it’s Cross Country Skiing.

3.) Biathlon – Combining Country Skiing and Shooting. I’d say only in America, but other countries compete in this too???

2.) Skeleton – I remember sledding the hill as a kid. Now it’s an Olympic Event? I missed my calling…

1.) Curling – I mean… Come on.

June 14, 2024 – Let it goooooooo!

• Brush: Omega Mixed Midget
• Razor: Gillette Superspeed
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (3)
• Lather: Chiseled Face – Cryogen
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Cryogen
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Uitwaaien

“Freeze!” Today’s command from our shaving cops. Ok fine, I’ll do that. Now there will be people getting ice filled baths, or shaving in their freezer, but let’s play this straight. Last year I commented I had never used cryogen so u/onionmiasma said “take mine!” As in he just sent it with something else he was sending me. So, I guess I’ll use it. But that’s not all, I want the full experience, so I picked up some cryogen splash from Maggard’s since they sell samples. It’s 90 something today so lets see if we can chill to the point of beating the heat. To extend the ~~pain~~ experience, I’m going to use the Mixed Midget brush and face lather. It’s tiny this is going to take a bit of time.

On to the lather. The first thing I notice is this isn’t as bad as I expected. Then I notice my eyes starting to water. I realize the tears are not from the cold but from the intense menthol smell running up to my eyes. Like an Onion (heh) causing me to cry as I cut it. As I add more water the cooling sensation gets more intense. This soap is thirstier than my other CF stuff. Probably the menthol.

After what seems like forever to lather, I finally start to shave. I…can’t feel the razor. This makes finding the angle hard, but the superspeed is sorta mindless anyway. Pass 2 is weird, the brush feels like poking myself with ice crystals as I go. I think I feel menthol crystals coming out of solution. By pass 3 I want to be done, but I have extra lather. When this happens I usually engage in some u/itchypooter type shaving because I like a clean chest under the collar. So here we go! Surprisingly…no cooling sensation.

Ok, onto the splash, now it’s a Maggard’s sample so it came in a sprayer, spray it on my hands and…WTF I can’t feel my hands now? (Note: I’m typing 40 minutes later and my hands are still tingly). OK put it on my face…huh no effect, probably because the soap already chilled my face to maximum…WTF IS THAT OH GOD IT STINGS. Apparently, the splash has a delay of about a minute before it sets in. Whelp, I still have half a sample of soap and 12ml of splash left…guess I’ll use it at some point.

For #fof, while these are all samples (and that’s a connection) but I wanted to match scents too. Or at least build to a better scent. Cryogen was quite hard to pair with, I get a sort of medicinal minty smell from it. That is: menthol. It’s sorta like mouthwash. So I decided to pair with HoM Uitwaaien, which has a subtle mint note, but also elements of a cool breeze by the ocean. The hope here is to play off the chill, rather than fight it. What ended up happening was the drift wood note came through and actually complimented the minty/menthol note. I do feel like I’m walking on an old pier up by the shore on a winter day.

For #photocontest, let’s do water, or rather ice. I have a fancy fridge that makes ice balls, which seem perfect for today. And since it was the stacking challenge I managed (after much trying some assistance from melting) to get the razor on top of the ice ball near the top of my stack. Again, since everything was small I used a small brush too. Turns out getting the ice to stay on the brush is hard. Ice is slippery!

Edited to quickly add, my kids tried to help with the challenge. They got about 3 high but couldn't manage the razor (blade out for this challenge obviously).

Jun. 14, 2024 - use the Schwartz
Brush: Chisel & Hound Bermuda Fanchurian V10 Badger
Razor: C.F. Schwartz & Co. - Clover Four - 11/16 square point * Lather: Noble Otter - Orbit - Soap
Post Shave:* Noble Otter - Orbit - Aftershave

This morning I tried to use the Schwartz and failed (mostly). I just picked up this razor on e-bay, ground down the edge completely as there was a chip in the blade near the heel and started over from scratch. Mostly successful but still needs some finishing stone love. My prize was a cut on each jowl. Nice. I’m getting close tho. Thank you to my pudding-loving sensei for all of his wise advice!

Orbit vs cuts on the face burns more than with no cuts. Facts. Also a great scent and lather. More facts.

My SOTD photo is also my daily challenge pic. I will go for the Darkness photo theme today as, ya know, space is dark. And to try to kill all birds with one photo.

#photocontest

Jun. 14, 2024
Brush:* Century #3

• Razor: Weck Med Prep

• Blade: Kismet Hair Shaper [1]

• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Cannon Ball

• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Cannon Ball

• Fragrance: Christian Dior - Homme Intense

I woke up today running a fever and noped right out of work and went back to sleep. My youngest has been sick the last few days and I caught his crude. On the bright side 3 day weekend.

SB Cannonball lather has a nice amount of cool to it, but combined with splash, 40 minutes later I still feel it. It’s intense. I remembered this when I chose it for today and that’s why I paired it with Dior Homme Intense. I pick up on the Chlorine in the soap and the lavender and iris in DHI play well with it.

Daily Challenge Stacking. This challenge made me pick what razor I used today. I could not get the Sabre to stack with out falling and after the 3rd attempt I went with the Weck because I could get it to balance. Here it is in all its stacked glory

Photo Contest Theme Water

#ROTY #FOF #Photocontest

June 14, 2024

• Brush: Omega Penelli White HI-BRUSH Synthetic
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Cannonball!

Cannonball is one of my favorites cooling soaps, along with rope swing. I love how SBS is going for the feeling of a cannonball and not just a good smelling scent, which it also is. This reminds me of when I was young, when heated pools were not a thing that I was aware of. I would slather on my banana boat sunscreen, actually I wouldn’t because I was a stubborn brat but others would force me to put it on. It’s a smell that brings back memories, pina colada or tropical scent notes by the pool side. I would walk through the public locker room to head to the pool and always go right to the diving board. The best way to get acclimated was going in head first. The month of May never had warm water so the effects were chilling. Taking your breath away, over chlorinated vapors heading into your mouth too. This scent brings all of that back but in a refined and deliciously scented soap. It’s tropical, yet reminiscent, and chlorinated but not at all harsh. And the cooling is tolerable and enjoyable. Coincidentally I was at a pool today so was pretty excited I was able to use this soap.

Challenge: I wish I were at home and had access to more things to stack. So today was my travel stack.

Today the theme is sugar and sweets featuring several candies #photocontest

FOF

Frigid Friday

• Brush: Omega 10049
• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable
• Blade: Astra
• Lather: Proraso - Green

photocontest

Bucket.

Today’s Challenge:

Stacking Day

June 14, 2024 - Frigid Friday

• Brush: Century 752 w/ 22 mm Maggard Badger
• Razor: Gillette 40’s Super Speed
• Blade: Wizamet (28)
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Orris Forest

Challenge: Not as impressive as some of my previous efforts. The lid on the soap doesn’t sit flush, which prevented me from stacking it vertically.

Rope Swing is such a fun fragrance. I love the playfulness. The dandelion is unique. Ozone and green notes create a sensation of fresh air. A bitter green note makes me think of crushed plant leaves. This evokes images of spring outings; Those little adventures when the flowers are in bloom, where you take a trail just to see where it goes. It fits in the same niche as Rawr, in that regard (also, dandelions!). The splash smells sweeter. The cooling lasts for several minutes. I still smell dandelion more than 4 hours later. The longevity might be longer than the frag.

The description of Orris Forest reads: "Growing up, my grandmother lived south of Saint Louis close to the Meramec River. As a child, I loved hiking out in the woods behind her house down to a creek that was a tributary to that river. There were fun hills to climb, and the smell was so fresh, green and vibrant.” I felt that was in keeping with the theme of Rope Swing. The top notes are armatic green leaf notes, sweet floral, with a trace of evergreen. There’s an earthness, and woodiness, like ginger/vegetable peel, and some fresh spicy notes. Later, it's takes a softer tone, with lavender taking over the aromatics. This one feels more leisurely than adventurous. This is like a relaxing day spent gardening.

#photocontest - A (popcorn) bucket

#FOF

June 14, 2024 - a bucket for my tears

• Brush: AP Shave Co 26mm G5C
• Razor: Karve CB (SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Arctique
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Arctique
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Seville

This shave was so cold I'm surprised the tears didn't freeze on my face. I swear this stuff gets colder every year. The splash was especially diabolical today. This splash on EdC is also mentholated, so I've got cooling in all parts of the shave.

I really don't remember Arctique being this bad. I legit had to stop after two passes because I just couldn't keep going today. The peppermint smell also really messed with my head today. First ever headache from this soap, but I'm blaming this one on the lack of sleep and not on the soap. Seville really helped mellow things out, the citrus played real nice with all the mint and helped extend the cooling past just my face.

I tied today's photo contest theme (a bucket) and the daily challenge together. My stack lives on a bucket. A bit of a cowardly stack, I really don't trust the curved bottoms of the splash bottles, but it is a stack nonetheless. #photocontest

June 14, 2024 - Frigid Friday

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. - 22mm Synthetic
• Razor: Muhle R89 #ZAMAC
• Blade: Voskhod (3)
• Lather: Tcheon Fung Sing - Barber Soap
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Ghost Town Barber
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Ghost Town Barber

It's not the best-performing soap in my den, but I have grown to like mentholated soaps more and more, so it's not all bad. I paired it with Ghost Town Barber using the fact that both have Barber in their names—I know, super creative.

PHOTOCONTEST - The Elements: Water

CREAM

• Brush: Wallygator - mystery vintage brush #SMOLL #RUNT
• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable J1 #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Personna - Comfort Coated
• Lather: Noble Otter - Orbit
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Orbit Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - O Unknown

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to wallygator88 for the brush. Thanks to my mom for letting me use the orbit I gave her. Thanks to my dad for buying this razor from the antique shop with me after pho as my second razor ever! Thanks to the judges and fabulous people putting this whole thing together.

Daily Mistakes
None, I am perfect.

Daily Writeup
Honestly considering the knot isn't actually attached to the brush and how small it is, the lather was pretty good. I love this soap and I'm glad my mom does too. Today I spent $100 on a fictional item in minecraft.

Daily Theme Points
Really nice chill in orbit.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
The post shave is the matching aftershave. As for the fragrance I went with imaginary authors because it's a somewhat summery scent to my nose and I think imaginary authors had a collab with noble otter if I'm not mistaken?

Daily Challenge
It took an hour to stack this so you better be grateful. I ended up going through about every razor and brush in my collection trying to stack something. I ended up cheating a bit by unscrewing the slim and rescrewing it on the brush.

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
No new hashtags so look at previous posts for explainations.

Photo Contest
So I kind of forgot about photo contest until I had already stacked stuff so I just put on a new wallpaper and called it a day. AIR, one of the four major elements, stacking this wouldn't be possible without it, because there would be nothing to hold it or I would suffocate or something. There is air in the picture I promise.

TL;DR
Mom's soap, minecraft coins, hour stacking, air, I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests

photocontest

ROTY

June 14, 2024 – LG 14: Frigid Friday

• Brush: CaYuen Cosmic Abalone 24mm Maggard SHD Fab #FRANKENBRUSH
• Razor: Gillette Blue Tip Super Speed
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (11)
• Lather: Noble Otter – Norther Elixir
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw/House of Mammoth – Iced Tea
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors – Saint Julep

Sorry, no ice kamisoris today. For our #FOF we have a nice mint though line today in all 3 software forms that is quite prominent. NO NE packs a heavy minty eucalyptus punch. Hints of earthy lavender and cedar wood give it a foundation, but the peppermint, frost, and eucalyptus really shine and dominate this scent. The iced tea follows with a zesty yuzu and refreshing cucumber combo. The mint and basil gives it an herbal quality while simple black tea lingers beneath. Lastly, saint julep is modeleed after the mint julep beverage. I don’t get a lot of the bourbon, but there is plenty of sugar and refreshing sweet mint featured in the scent. A little one dimensional, but pleasant nonetheless. The cooling of soap and balm are way less intense than typical splashes on this day, but are notably refreshing.

As for our #PHOTOCONTEST, elements: fire seemed fitting. A nice juxtaposition against today’s frigid. A Song of Ice and Fire for the fellow fantasy nerds out there. Currently making my way through a second ‘read’ with the Roy Dotrice audiobooks. Plus, it was fun to get the inner child pyro going with the lighter and hairspray.

Today’s challenge. Tried forever to get the tub on edge, but it wouldn’t cooperate with the others. Still dig the outcome though.

soap brands 14/30, post shave 14/30, frag 14/30, post/frag linked 14/30, software sponsors 10/16, hardware sponsors 8/2, razor hashtags 9/15, brush hashtags 10/15, photo contest 14/30, daily challenges 12/26, special challenges 2/4