LGSOTD 17-Jun-24

• Brush: Wald - A1 #OLDWORLD #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Lambda - Athena #CNC
• Blade: Wizamet - Super Iridium
• Lather: HAGS - Undertow
• Post Shave: HAGS - Undertow AS
• Fragrance: The Essence Vault - 199 (Aventus) EDP

Don't have a cow, man!

This was a random buy when I was on a very brief Aventus kick, it was brief though. I like the scent, but it doesn't blow my skirt up (putting this here just in case of confusion). I didn't actually realise this was vegan when I picked it up, not that that matters. It performs well enough, but I prefer many others, and the splash feels a little drying for me. Looking back I should have thrown in Cubebe, but I'd already committed.

Brought in the very pretty Lambda Athena, I see a ton of these being bought then passed on. Surprises me a little as its an excellent razor for me. I do prefer to polish this one up (and this is in need of a clean) rather than letting it colour which is a pain.

Challenge - Knee Lather

Now, I actually generated the lather on my knee with my Oumo synthetic, this Wald is a loaner and I didn't want to abuse it for the purpose of the games. Kept having to move the lather up the leg out of the way, I loaded far too heavily and needed a little more water than the final pic, but I got there in the end. Painted on with the Wald for a very good finish.

Photocontest

Seeing as its vegan day, I thought I'd go for a 'Bucket'. Sadly I didn't have a pail/bucket to show it was empty of milk. Tenuous at best, but it's an attempt, told you they would get more desperate!

Tomorrow's challenge is going to need a bit of searching, as daft as it may seem I don't actually know what it means!

Have a grand day all.

Cheers

Marc

June 17, 2024 – No animals harmed in the making of this shave.

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG 2024 with 26mm AP Shave Co. Pure Bliss #FRANKENBRUSH #PREMIUMPLASTIC #SHD #FAUXFUR #SUBBROOSH
• Razor: Gillette Superspeed
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (6)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Boonana
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Black Cherry
• Fragrance: Creed – Aventus

I don’t own a lot of vegan soaps. Catie’s Bubbles, Dr. Jon’s and SW. The other two were spoken for by other themes, so this gets the run today. Boonana is not a summer scent, but I can dress it up a bit as part of #fof. We’re going to go with a fruit medley. Stirling Black Cherry Splash followed by Creed Aventus (original version with the pineapple, not the flanker Cologne version.) By doing this progression I pulled the sent notes back to warmer weather.

No complaints about SW, once I had a few lathers under my belt it performs just like a good tallow soap. I went ahead and used my synth brush to complete the no dead animals idea.

For #photocontest, since today is about vegan soaps, i.e. plants. Let’s do a plant picture. “But Tsar,” you say “plant isn’t a category.” Too true, but a cactus is a plant, and so I put on in this picture.

For the challenge, sorta odd that I had to shave my legs yesterday then lather on them today, but that’s the rules, so here we are one knee lather. This was made harder by the fact that a) I needed to shave in shorts to avoid accidental NSFW pics and b) my toilet lid slipped off halfway through the lather, so I had to balance, hold my shorts up to avoid getting lather on them and tighten the bolt. Finally, some of y’all need to go back to anatomy class. “Upper Thigh” is not “Knee.”

Day 17

• Brush: Frank Shaving – Imitation Silvertip Synth
• Razor: Silver Star Vintage DE
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia Soap
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia EdP

Today, I decided to dive into my bathroom apothecary and pulled out the whole Southern Witchcrafts Druantia line-up. Because (1) it’s Vegan, so it fits the theme and (2) who doesn’t want to smell like they’ve just emerged from a mystical forest that’s most likely, probably, definitely haunted by ancient spirits?

I think we’re past the point of anyone here shitting on Vegan soaps, right? Like, we all know Vegan soaps can be on par with tallow soaps. Because this soap lathers up like a dream—if your dreams are filled with druids, spells, and mossy glades. As I lathered it up, I smelled "freshly rained-on foliage" with a hint of "I swear I'm not summoning anything in my bathroom" and some spices to round it out. The slickness, performance, and scent are all excellent. The splash is like getting a slap from an enchanted tree branch, but in best enchanted way possible.

Finishing off with the EdP is like continuing on through the foggy enchanted forest at dawn, where you might just stumble upon a hidden fairy community. The scent of the EdP lingers longer than an unwanted houseguest, but in this case, you won’t mind at all. Plus, the witchy vibes it gives off might make those houseguests think I’m casting spells, so they can get the hell out of my house! I've long said that SW EdPs are the best bang for your buck in wetshaving. The scent stayed as my day went on, keeping me smelling like the mystical woods and spicy amber all day long. It’s perfect for when you want to be that person at work who smells intriguingly enigmatic, like you just might know how to cast a spell or two. #FOF

All in all, SW's Druantia line-up turned what could have been a Mundane Monday Vegan Shave into a Magical Monday Vegan Ritual Shave. I love herbal, earthy scents with a twist of the arcane, so this one is definitely for me. Just gotta make sure I don’t start feeling the urge to dance naked under the moonlight.

Challenge: First, I shave my legs and now I’m lathering on my newly shaven knee? Who comes up with this stuff? Kinda funny to see the line of hair where I shaved to yesterday.

photocontest: Money

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Don’t have a Cow, Man”… My Top 5 Favorite TV Catchprases of All Time:

5) "Bazinga!" - Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. The year is 2012 and something amazing happens in your life. There’s a 40% chance I was saying “Bazinga”.

4) "It's gonna be Legen… Dary." - Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother. Is something going to be super trucking awesome and want to build a little suspense? Here’s your answer!

3) "Did I do that?" - Steve Urkel from Family Matters. No need to apologize when you accidently blow up your neighbor’s garage. Just sheepish look at them and in your most nasaly voice say, “Did I do thaaaaaat?” and all will be well in the world!

2) "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" - Arnold Jackson from Diff'rent Strokes – Admittedly, I’ve never seen Diff’rent Strokes, but I’ve said “What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?” more times than I’ve said any other catchprase on this list. It’s that Legen-(wait for it)-Dary.

1.) "How you doin'?" - Joey Tribbiani from Friends – If you were a female around Joey and he said that, you might as well drop your panties right then and there.

Don't have a Cow, Man!

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Vitae Taper w/AP Shave Co. 26mm Pure Bliss Knot
• Razor: Yates Precision Polished Winning Razor #CNC
• Blade: Personna - Comfort Coated
• Lather: The Holy Black - Artisan Line Gunpowder Spice Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Classic Aftershave
• Fragrance: Old Spice - Classic Cologne

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to my mom for getting this soap as my 15th birthday present a few months ago. Thanks to my mom for the aftershave. Thanks to my dad for the cologne. Thanks to engineeredshave for doing the winning passaround. Thanks to the judges and fabulous people putting this whole thing together.

Daily Mistakes
I feel kind of crappy because after buying archsoup's soap lot I sold a bunch of it without really noticing that it was kind of flipping and that's a bit messed up. Classic 15 year old making mistakes.

Daily Writeup
Man this is the Lather Games I was excited for, shaving my legs and lathering on my knee and taking weird pictures of random stuff with my shave stuff.

Daily Theme Points
The Holy Black shave soap is based on a vegetable derived stearic acid, making it vegan.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
Old Spice!!! (the holy black gunpowder spice is an old spice dupe)

Daily Challenge
Proof of lather. Don't worry, I didn't shave my knee with a passaround razor lol. I built a quick lather on my clean smooth shaven knee and at the end of the shave the lather had dried out a bit on my knee to the point that I could rub it in as a nice lotion! Now I smell even more like Old Spice!

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
I don't quite remember if I've already done CNC hashtag yet so I'm just making sure. I'm 99% sure this razor is #CNC.

Photo Contest
Time, if time was an old crappy chinese broken target watch that was way overpriced.

TL;DR
Gratitude, guilt, happiness, old spice, time, I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests

photocontest

ROTY

June 17, 2024 – LG 17: Don’t Have a Cow

• Brush: Rx Shaving Maggard 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Voskhod (1)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Pomona
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Frankly My Pear
• Fragrance: Gallagher – Fineapple

Lather Games 24 just went prestige, aka worldwide! From California to England, today’s shave is brought to you from London. I’ve don’t interstate LG before, but this is the first international take.

Fruit centric shave today for our #FOF, starting with more subdued and spicy and making way to sweet. Pomona (RIP I think?) is heavy on the apple, but has plenty of warm wine and spice notes, it’s minimal sweetness coming from honey. Think mulled wine. BM FMP is a medium sweet pear forward scent, with whisps of ginger. Lastly fineapple returns to the apple but with a bright citrus supporting cast in pineapple. It’s also more tart, crafted around green apple instead of red like in pomona. It makes its way to a soft jasmine/white floral, while remaining fruit dominant throughout.

For our #PHOTOCONTEST we went with steampunk. What’s more retro than a radiator, with a valve of course, that’s also likely to remain in use well into the future.

As for our challenge today, NSFW? here you go. Had to strike my best Captain Morgan pirate pose to make it work. How fitting that knee lather day is after leg shaver day, though I didn’t do my legs yesterday so it is what it is. Soap straight on the leg, lathered there, then to the face. In hindsight should have used much more soap.

For sponsor, CB is great. I don’t own a ton from them, but I also appreciate their ample sample size and hear great things about the cream which I’m to try.

soap brands 17/30, post shave 17/30, frag 17/30, post/frag linked 17/30, software sponsors 12/16, hardware sponsors 7/2, razor hashtags 9/15, brush hashtags 10/15, photo contest 17/30, daily challenges 14/26, special challenges 2/4

Don’t have a Cow, Man!

• Brush: Proraso
• Razor: Fatip Piccolo
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
• Lather: Saponificio Varesino - Tundra Artica 4.1

photocontest

Steampunk

Today’s Challenge:

Knee-Lather Day

Jun. 17, 2024

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

• Razor: Blackland Sabre

• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [19]

• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Valley Of Ashes

• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Valley Of Ashes

• Fragrance: Bath & Body Works - Graphite

Don’t have a cow man!

Well we had a cow today. My wife called me and said she was bringing my son to the emergency room this was at 11:41 this morning. By that point he had been sleeping since 3:30pm (15:30) yesterday. I left work and drove there. When I got there he was sleeping but woke up long enough to say hi to me and went back to sleep. They ran every test they could on my poor boy, even a catheter because he could not pee, a CT Scan and a Spinal Tap. Thankfully everything came back normal other than he has an ear infection. They were worried he had a brain infection but nope nothing. Tested him for drugs that came back clean. But just like that after the spinal tap and catheter he was wide awake. My boy has ADHD and he never took his meds this morning so he super hyper fixated on not being able to pee. But he asleep now, we are taking him to see his primary doctor tomorrow and he’s now sleeping on the couch because thats where he is most comfortable because he’s sore. I did have to laugh when they came and got me after the tap and cath, he said “Dad, they put a tube up my pishadeel. Tell them not to do that again”.

Anyway I did shave, no knee lather, 2 challenges in a row I have not completed. SW is tied with CB for my favorite vegan soaps.

Frag is sage, leather and bergamot and goes really well with VOA

Photo contest theme Fire. I half assed it. I had a plan for today fire and ash like a valley of Ashes but, my kid had other plans.

Now I’m gonna just sit here and sleep in my chair in case he wakes up in the middle of the night and needs anything.

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

June 17, 2024 - Don’t Have a Cow, Man!

• Brush: Zenith B15 #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Gillette Black Beauty T3 #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Wizamet (31)
• Lather: Saponificio Varesino - Opuntia
• Post Shave: Captain’s Choice - Venture
• Fragrance: Zoologist - Dodo

Challenge: Didn’t we basically do this yesterday? You guys are weird. Are you people trying to see balls? Because, this is how you get pics of balls. What's wrong with a good ol’ fashioned chest lather? I could have a luxurious chest lather going. But, no. Instead I’m showing off my knee like a mennonite hooker.

Today’s software fragrances all feature a note of pineapple. Starting off is Opuntia from Saponifico Varesino. First off, this is a great fragrance. I used this Zenith B15 with my tub of Saponifico Varesino Desert Vetiver in the same base for Austere August. This soap is okay. The fragrances are so good. I don’t want to get rid of them. Opuntia has an invigorating note of pineapple. The pineapple is bolstered by bergamot and black current. It’s aromatic. Meshed with the fruit, I get a woody note, and some musk. Underneath, there’s a note of rose and grassy scent notes. It’s a playful combination of fruity, woody, and musk that feels sophisticated.

This sample of Captain’s Choice Venture aftershave was in the Adentus box from /u/jwoods23. Venture is their Aventus clone. I smell pineapple, but also lots of aromatics. There’s some fresh spicy notes. The scent strength is pretty weak. It’s only been a few minutes and I can’t really smell it on my face. Let’s pop open the sample. In the vial, it smells more citrusy with a hint of pineapple. There’s a lot of bergamot. There’s a bit of a floral note. After repeated sniffing I get a whiff of patchouli. It’s much brighter and more aromatic than Stirling’s Aventus dupe, Executive Man. It’s fresh and fun. I wish I could smell more of it when it’s on my face.

Initially, I was thinking of using another Aventus dupe, Armaf Club de Nuit Intense Man. After comparing the scent notes to Dodo, I saw they were similar on paper. Now I’m wondering how similar Dodo is to the Aventus clones I’ve smelled (I’ve never smelled the real thing). Not very. There’s an intense note of sharp, tropical fruit. It’s dank and slightly tart. It makes me think of papaya.

It’s been about 20 minutes. The dankness isn’t as strong. It’s hard to pull specific notes. There’s a lot of fruity and fresh spicy scents. It feels like a singular fragrance.

It’s been a couple of hours. The fruity notes are gone. The fresh spicy accord remains. I think I’m not really smelling the basenotes, because this sort of just fell-off. The opening was unique and fun. Sadly, the base is kind of boring and not very noticeable.

#photocontest - time. I wanted to show off my new Millennium Falcon clock. You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?! It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

#FOF

June 17, 2024

• Brush: Omega Penelli White HI-BRUSH Synthetic
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – La Terre Verte

Today I am on theme by using Catie’s Bubbles. I haven’t used a lot of this brand but the descriptions have been pretty on point with a few of the major notes. Especially to someone like me who doesn’t always pick out subtleties. Oak moss, patchouli, sandalwood. Each complementing the other without being overly forward. It’s a nicely blended fragrance that isn’t overwhelming or boring. Just the right amount of each. I know it is supposed to evoke a forest, but I can’t get over how It reminds me of a nice vinaigrette. Just a couple ingredients but when blended nicely, it’s a game changer.

Challenge: I tried my best to get an opportunity to do this in private but it’s hard when vacationing. So my wife thinks I’m a dummy. This is after I stopped in a parking lot to take a shave photo with a Prius in the background.

Darkness for my scavenger hunt. I was trying to get the colors on the gear to contrast. #photocontest

fof

June 17, 2024 - Don't have a Cow, Man!

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Yaqi Arctic 24mm
• Razor: Blackland Dart #CNC
• Blade: Voskhod (5)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth

I've been looking forward to today's shave for the last few days. I love SW, and Labyrinth is one of my favorites from them.

Then you had to add (NSFW?)this stupid daily challenge(NSFW?) and ruin a good thing. How am I supposed to get the glorious lather from my knee to my face? Oh well, I figured it out and don't think the shave suffered at all.

PHOTOCONTEST - DIY

June 17, 2024 - tobacco et donuts

• Brush: Simpson Wee Scot
• Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom Tech
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Roam Two
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Valedictorian
• Fragrance: Abbate y La Mantia - Garibaldi

Breaking out the sample of Roam Two in the new vegan omnibus for this shave. I really get the tobacco out of the scent, so we're pairing it with Valedictorian and Garibaldi (two very tobacco forward scents).

I don't know why I chose to use the Wee Scot for this shave, but it worked. Here's some proof of the knee lather. It was able to make just enough lather for two passes and not one bit more. The new vegan formulation of Omnibus is absolutely legit. It's right up there with the other top tier vegan bases for sure. Super duper slick. Seems just as water hungry as regular Omnibus too. The scent on Roam is starting to grow on me, but today was really just a fantastic coincidence/excuse to break out Garibaldi. This scent is so good.

Photo contest theme today is Donuts. This dozen donuts did not last very long, I'm glad I had help to eat them today. #photocontest