June 14, 2024 – 2024.06.14 SOTD: Lather Games Day 14 – Frigid Friday

• Brush: Paragon Shaving Black Synthetic 25mm in AP Shave Co. Blue & Clear handle
• Razor: Aylsworth Drakkant
• Blade: Wizamet (2)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Glacial Satsuma
• Fragrance: Simone Andreoli – Silver Marble

---

Daily Theme: Frigid Friday

Theme justification: Spearhead Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime contains a synthetic cooling agent.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Today's unifying theme is COLD. The aftershave is Stirling Glacial Satsuma, which is loaded with menthol.The frag is Simone Andreoli Silver Marble, which is described as:

Drawing inspiration from the northern Kingdom of Niflheim, Silver Marble is an icy and crystalline composition of frozen citrus and aromatic juniper, snow-draped evergreens and frosted woods. A potent and invigorating scent, with glacial freshness, woody depth and cool elegance.

From Simone Andreoli:

An exquisite union of crisp, frozen citruses and juniper berry notes that shine like icicles in the sun. A medley of spruce and cypress needles meld with the freshness of arctic air, evoking the vast expanses of an icy tundra. Base notes of frozen woods and molecules envelope the senses like an unforgettable olfactory journey to the icy North, bringing to mind vast landscapes of snow-capped mountains and frosted fir trees.

This is about as cold as a fragrance can get.

---

Scavenger Hunt Justification:

Razor facts: N/A

Brush facts: N/A

---

Daily/Special Challenge: Stacking Day

Behold! My masterpiece v2. It's not the best tower out there, but I think it is commendable.

Sadly, this challenge took a toll. In my first attempt, it fell. As a result, I (slightly) damaged one of my favorite razors.

Thankfully it wasn't worse.

---

Fragrance description

Sea Ice Lime and Stirling Satsuma are some of my favorite scents. SIL is the only tub I've killed. They fit well together, too. The citrus stands out even more over the salty ocean scent from SIL.

As for the frag, the description is pretty spot on. It smells like one of those winter mornings where you wake up, go outside, and take a deep breath of frozen air. It's nice.

---

Now onto the shave!

Well, this shave had prep that started last night. I took my fresh tub of SIL, and scooped some into my old lather bowl. I then decanted some Glacial Satsuma into a travel vial.

I then took the entire kit and placed it into the freezer

I took it all out this morning after my shower to shave. Everything was nice and frosted from its cold slumber.

Well, that's when I realized something. We need to make this a little colder, thankfully I have HoM Permafrost & Stirling Frost Drop. Let's add some of that instead of water. Well, not entirely, unfortunately. I did have to add a smidge of water, as the WS-23 & menthol just weren't producing a lather. The end result wasn't the best, but it was usable.

Spearhead's Highland base is great and produces a fantastic lather, so even with this sub-optimal lathering it was still slick. The worst part of this shave, though, was the frozen razor. Holding it was more challenging than dealing with the icicle that was on my face. I don't know if you guys know this, but stainless steel can get cold. Almost wish I had worn some mittens.

After I shaved, I used the cooled Glacial Satsuma splash. The added freezer time didn't really seem to have an impact on the splash. The added cooling agents to the soap, though, made the menthol in the splash less potent.

---

Totals:

• Razor Hashtags: 10/10
• Brush Hashtags: 10/10
• Hardware Sponsor Points: 2/2
• Software Sponsor Points: 10/16
• Number of Lather Brands: 14/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 14/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 14/30
• Number of Frags: 14/30

---

Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

LG SOTD CHALLENGE * Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 2 band.
Razor: Gillette - Black Handle Super Speed.
Blade: Gillette - Platinum.
Lather: Noble Otter - Northern Elixir.
Post: Noble Otter - Northern Elixir after shave balm. * Post: Zingari - Sego Unscented Balm.

This is the first tub I ever bought in my wet shaving journey and so far the coolest of the bunch that I’ve tried (Orbit, Stirling’s glacial soaps,Proraso eucalyptus, Maggard’s menthol). I will pick up another tub before it’s gone forever bc I love that the chill is long lasting and I even like the refreshing smell. I don’t usually use splash on my legs but this is one I purchased on a whim before I knew it was unnecessary, but it really does make the scent and chill last longer. The balm Is awesome.

ROTY

Jun. 14, 2024 Frigid Friday * Brush: Chisel & Hound Quartermoon
Razor: Yates Winning Ti
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue * Lather: Proraso - Eucalyptus & Menthol
Post Shave: Fine Platinum * Post Shave: Osma - Alum
Post Shave: Jack Black - Double-Duty Face Moisturizer

This Proraso cream was one of my first purchases when I got in the game. Fine provided the aftershave with their infamous alcohol, water, fragrance & MENTHOL ingredient list.

#ROTY

June 14, 2024 - Frigid Friday

• Brush: Omega 10077
• Razor: Yates Precision Manufacturing - 921-M
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet
• Lather: Proraso - Eucalyptus Oil & Menthol Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Mennen - Skin Bracer

Today's Theme: Had to bust out my only mentholated lather product today. Each time I use Proraso cream, I start to like it a little more. Not crazy about the menthol, but damn for $10 tube of cream, it is pretty good. I've been adding a lot of water to it and it gets really slick. Using some cold water and Skin Bracer to make myself shiver today!

Today's Challenge: My stacking really made my... uhhhh... something pucker. I am surprised I didn't break or damage anything in the process. It was easily over a foot tall!

ROTY

June 14, 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: Chiseled Face - Cryogen

For a few seconds after applying the lather, I thought, that's funny, I remember this being really intense-- there it is!

Cryogen is way too much for me. All I want is to get it off as quickly as possible. But then my skin continues to tingle for a half hour. Yeesh!

Stacking day challenge: the challenge description says, "pile your expensive treasures..." Well, none of the shaving kit I used today is particularly expensive or treasured. So I stacked some other treasures. Which felt really weird. And nerve wracking.

ROTY

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

SOTD - 2024-06-14

• Beard Growth: 24 Hours
• Prep: Hot Shower
• Pre Shave: None
• Brush: Yaqi - Sagrada Familia Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Ti
• Blade: Treet - 7 Days Platinum
• Passes: WTG x2
• Lather: Proraso Green
• Post Shave: Proraso Balm

• Fragance: Dolce & Gabbana - Light Blue EDP

• Comments: Menthol Day - used Proraso green soap and balm booth have a cooling effect with menthol and eucalyptus. Right of the bat you a get whiff of menthol and as you start lathering the eucalyptus takes over. It's an okay scent, slightly generic but not bad by any means. Typically, I get headaches with mentholated soaps/shampoos etc. but it wasn't too bad or overpowering in its smell just slightly unpleasant and tingly when I started to lather. Usually, I let the lather sit on my face while I gather the blade and razor etc. But soon as I put it on my face I wanted to get it over with. Shaved quickly and did a super quick second touchup/pass.

Coming to the razor Blackland BB-Ti - idk what to make of it yet. I got it right before the lather games began and I don't think I've given it a fair shot with a familiar base. Too many variables at the moment. Having said that, today's shave was great, super smooth with the Treet blade, high blade feel and high efficiency. The weight is great too, it's a nimble little tool. One thing that I've noticed though is that there's a little friction or drag with the top cap. Not sure if that's something to do with the satin finish or maybe the slickness of the lather hasn't been consistent recently. Definitely need a few more shaves.

For the challenge today - I started off making a pyramid but that was too boring. So, I started making a reverse pyramid after a few accidents I ended up with something like soap jenga!!

It all came crashing down as soon as I removed the blackbird lol

#ROTY

LG 2024- June 14th “Cold as ice”

• Brush: Elite Razor Custom Birch Synthetic
• Razor: Razorock GC .84
• Blade: Voskhod (2)
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps- Rope Swing
• Post: Stirling- Mountain Man splash w/ menthol

Shave: SBS rope is up there as one of my new favorite scents. From their site it lists “With Rope Swing, we are headed to a pristine mountain lake. The scent notes on this one are dandelion, water, moss, galbanum, juniper, ozone, patchouli, and cedar. The scent opens with a rush of green before settling down into a beautiful mix of dandelion and woodsy elements. The aquatic notes are not featured here but instead play a supporting role. Rope Swing will also feature the synthetic cooling ingredient WS-23.“ just a wonderful experience. Paired with Stirlings Menthol Mountain man I really loved my stacked shave.

Challenge: see my stack above

Viewing: it’s cold as ice

ROTY

https://imgur.com/a/Wpk9ium

• Prep: PAA - Bubble Gube
• Bowl: Naked Armor - Silver Fox Scuttle
• Brush: Ariana & Evans - Retro Shaving Brush Synthetic
• Razor: Karve - Overlander
• Blade: Rockwell - Swedish Stainless Steel
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Kryptonite
• Post Shave: HAGS - Resurrection

Another fine shave today using my Karve Overlander. The House of Mammoth lathered so thick, I made way too much! It had a mild cool from the WS-23 synthetic cooling agent. I used a Rockwell blade I have never used before and it went well.

Stacking Day Challenge: I call this my Tower of Terror. It wasn't very tall. but I was terrified my just delivered today and never used Alpha Spirit SE razor would fall and break into pieces. I wanted to be unique and I used 4 scuttles (Why do I have 4 scuttles? I don't know!) and one shaving bowl. I have a second bowl, but my son has claimed it and was afraid I would break "his" unbreakable bowl. So, I was stuck with only one bowl. Kids!

https://imgur.com/a/w6sN2XX

Still have been using a different blade, razor, brush, aftershave and soap brand every day.

ROTY

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 13, 2024

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. Finest Badger 24 mm Fan Knot
• Razor: Fatip Piccolo Slant Closed Comb
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (Green) (5)
• Lather: Master Soap Creations – Frosted Lavender
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Uitwaaien  
• Fragrance: Mountblanc – Explorer

Stacking

These stacks they keep me down, so I build some more

—Fugazi, “Stacks”

Today I put things in a stack. Went better than expected. Especially considering yesterday’s monstrosity.

Stay Frosty

For soap I used Master Soap Creations Frosted Lavender. I don’t use menthol products (Orbit was too intense for me). MSC FroLav was so frosty that while making the lather I could already feel it on my face (or so I suspected—maybe psychosomatic). When I applied, though, it didn’t seem that cold. Initially. Then it got cold. Stayed cold. Stayed with me.

Uitwaaien aftershave seemed a good pairing. Has an unusual cooling effect immediately evident.

Mountblanc Explorer isn’t cold by itself. It’s actually got a funky/armpit note. But Mount Blanc—I assume Mount Blanc has snow on it. And it's a mountain—so cold. And "Explorer" could imply venturing to some distant, cold place. Let us face ourselves. We are Hyperboreans; we already know how far off we live. Beyond the north, ice, and death—our life, our happiness.

Cracked Ice

In today’s edition of Brush Strokes I wanted to feature the cartoon character Chilly Willy. But I have to instead share this remarkable diptych, depicting cracked ice, painted by the Kyoto artist Maruyama Ōkyo. This was painted in the late 18th century. It’s just ice. With cracks in it.

#ROTY