LGSOTD 19-Jun-24

• Brush: Simpson - 'M7' Manchurian #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Wolfman - WR2 SB 1.25 Basic Polish #CNC
• Blade: Wizamet - Super Iridium
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Revolution
• Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - Revolution AS
• Fragrance: Catie's Bubbles - Revolution EDP

Juneteenth

Having had no clue what this was, going into it, I had to do a quick bit of googling only to realise it was...ah of course I knew about that, turns out I've just never heard it called that. Everyday's a school day!

Of course this had me doing a bit of legwork through my calender to figure out what I could slot in here. So back to the Google machine I go. But bloody hell it was tricky trying to figure out where the various manufacturers were based. In the end, with some luck, I came across a location for Caties Bubbles (thank god for a contacts page with an actual address), so I think New Jersey counts for this effort.

Once again very lucky to get my hands on the full set of this over here in the UK, and again I have Hairykopite to thank for it. Almost smells like I should be in a library, and as weird as that might seem, that is a comforting scent to me, always love a good book.

Challenge - Meme Day

Possibly a bit random, and lengthy (for meme), but it still rings true.

Photocontest

I fought like hell with this one, couldn't get it to where I wanted, but I tried for 'Bokeh Balls' on this one, and thought the light source would be relevant given the soap descriptor. Different periods but at least linked to history. Worth a shot!

Have a grand one all.

Cheers

Marc

I love everything about this shot. Great work!

2024-06-19 - Juneteenth

• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Black Label
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Black Label
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Black Label
• Razor: Gillette - Old Type
• Brush: Maggard Razors - Synthetic Tuxedo

Juneteenth: Oh!

Unifying Theme: Triumvirate.

# photocontest Time
Black Watch and a black watch. Wildly clever, I know.

Meme Day:
Nobody actually likes these memes, do they? Do any of you?

It's a bit like hiking; everyone claims to love it and, "OMG I love hiking and being outside in nature and the outdoors and my head's just going to float off into the sky like a balloon!"

And then they go outside, and then find that that's where the sun is, and then they slowly scrape themselves across the rocks, desperately clinging to life until they're just carrion.

But I digress.

I literally wrote that before noticing tomorrow's challenge. Side note: I don't remember who it was who used that video before, but I totally copied you. If that's not in the spirit of Meme Day, I don't know what is.

Anyway, taking a r/trippinthroughtime spin on things, check out this thing I spent an inordinate amount of time on.

This was the first version, but it's hard to get worse because meme.

# FOF
Black Watch is a pretty good scent. The trouble is that my mind can't get past the "plum." I can but wonder what a world with 3 Scots would be like, because that evidently was another version of what wound up becoming Black Watch.

June 19, 2024 – Emancipation Day  

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Bangalore V20  
• Razor: Wolfman WR1  
• Blade: Feather (DE) (2)  
• Lather: Wholly Kaw – Rebelle  
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw – Rebelle  
• Fragrance: Tom Ford – Oud Wood  

I normally try to talk a bit about the theme, but there’s not a ton to say here. Slavery was bad, it took too long to push into Texas, which wasn’t even the end of Slavery as the Emancipation Proclamation applied only to states with seceded, the 13th amendment was required to cover the last stragglers, namely Kentucky and Delaware.

The theme eliminated a number of remaining sponsors from my choices. But, on a lark I bought some Rebelle off u/j33pguy13 a bit back because I owned no Wholly Kaw and I figured I’d shoehorn it into the calendar somewhere. So, this worked out well. It’s made in NJ, which was Union State (though also one that took some time to formally abolish slavery).

For #fof, I’m continuing the Oud theme by finishing off the dickhole with Tom Ford Oud Wood. Quite a bit heavier than I’d normally go in the 98 degree heat, but it is what it is.

For #photocontest, I’m going with Pirates, by using my kid’s pirate ship, and we’ll tie it a bit back into the theme. The relationship of piracy to slavery is quite complex. Many pirates were freed slaves and pirates regularly attacked slave ships because they were large and valuable thus disrupting the African Slave trade. But some pirates were engaged in slave trade though notably less African slave trade and more European. In short, humans make a mess of things, our view of pirates is probably romanticized (and sorta odd we made them kids toys) but everything looks better with enough time behind it because we like to forget.

Enough sadness and gloom about the state of mankind. Memes. Sources of diversion since…well I remember 1990s websites.

Since I mentioned J33p earlier, let’s check in on how he’s doing. Oooff tough.

Ok, meme machine what about u/onionmiasma, got one for him? Interesting.

Ok fine, we should do myself, I guess Highly Accurate.

Next, a look at the current status of the games. Brutal but true. I’ve started prepping my daughter that my chosen prize is probably off the table.

Just remember it’s all in good fun

LG 19 - Juneteenth

• Brush: Trotter Handcrafts - Badger 26mm
• Razor: Dorko 43
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - 322
• Post Shave: Los Jabones de Joserra - Altamira
• Fragrance: Lalique - Encre Noir A l'Extrem

---

photocontest Darkness

.#FOF Inspired by the darkness of the theme's photo, 322's vetiver patchouli combo followed by the oud cypriol musk that creates a leathery animal accord infused with the Encre Noir's vetiver, incense, suede, tar, oud and ended by honey-praline's sweet note.

---

Darkness is not just the absence of light. Your photo is mostly lacking color, yielding a dark character along with the subject matter. But there is hopefulness in the purple.

• Day 19
• Brush: Boti – 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gem G-Bar
• Blade: Gem PTFE
• Lather: Ariana & Evans - Cha Cha Matcha
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Mountain Man Splash
• Fragrance: BVLGARI - Man Rain Essence EdT

To get the administrative tasks out of the way first, Ariana & Evans is made in Connecticut.

Want to know how dumb I am? I’m sure you do. When I started wetshaving, I saw that Ariana and Evans was popular in among a lot of groups, so I looked at their offering and blind bought a couple sets. I really liked the scent of both, but one (Cha Cha Matcha) burned the shit out of my face, so I sold the set. Fast forward a year or so, and I “need” to buy a sample to push me over the free shipping threshold. I was clicking through the options, came across Cha Cha Matcha, thought to myself, “I remember I really liked the scent of that one. Maybe I’m exaggerating how bad the burn was in my head.” And I bought a sample… And used that sample today… And do you want to know what happened? It fucking burned the shit out of my face again! I’m so goddamn stupid and I’m pissed at myself. Like, how dumb can I possibly be? There’s no logical reason why I should have expected things to be different this time, but like a girlfriend that gets back together with her abusive ex-boyfriend, I decided to give Cha Cha Matcha one last chance, and it got me again. A tiger doesn’t change his stripes and A&E should come with a burn warning and I’m a big dummy who takes far too long time to learn his lesson.

ANYWAY, Juneteenth is a fairly new Federal Holiday and ~~right-wing nutbag snowflakes~~ people with different opinions than me are up in arms like someone just randomly made up a day to get off of work. They hear Juneteenth and roll their eyes like Hallmark invented the holiday just to sell cards. MFer, no! There’s an important reason behind the date and one that should be recognized. These are the same people that want to “preserve their history” by keeping up confederate statues, but not actually teach what happened before, during, and after the Civil War and recognize what a fucked up time in our history that was. Fuck that. And Spoiler Alert: Just because slaves were finally freed, it doesn’t mean all people magically became equal that day in 1865. Double Spoiler Alert: Shit still ain’t equal today and it’s not going to be equal tomorrow. Not trying to start something here, but I’m in a spicy mood because my face burned, so blame this rant on A&E. AND ANOTHER THING: How about that asshole from A&E saying reddit wetshavers are fat and gross? Fuck that guy, and his burny soaps too! Plus, does ANYONE think this fucking guy is in any position to be calling people out on their looks?? Now, I’m not going to say anything about what Peter Charkalis looks like, because I don’t want to be the type of person that bullies another person because of how they look. But I will bully someone if they’re an asshole. And Peter Charkalis is a giant asshole. And I mean giant in the figurative sense – not the literal sense, because well… nevermind. His comment really rubbed me the wrong way and it honestly made me want to not use his soap today, but then I thought this would give me a chance to rant like a crazy person a little bit. I hate how popular his stupid soaps are.

Challenge: In honor of Meme Day, here’s a live look at the judges when they announced the surprise leg shaving day.

And a bonus Ariana & Evans meme for good measure.

For #photocontest: Water vehicles (yes, I drove to a spot where I know there was a couple boats just to get this picture)

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Juneteenth”… My Top 5 Favorite Things Invented by a Person of Color

5.) Traffic lights – Think traffic is bad now? Try living in a world before Garrett Morgan decided that there was a better way than absolute chaos.

4.) Potato Chips – Ever think about the visionary who thought to thinly slice, then deep fry potatoes? George Crum was an absolute genius, if you ask me. Obesity rates be damned!

3.) Fire Extinguisher – Before Thomas Martin came along, I guess people would just say, “Damn. That thing is on fire. That sucks.”

2.) Refrigerator – I guess keeping food fresh is kind of important, right?

1.) Super-Soaker – Quite possibly the most impactful item on this list. Ever participate in a water gun fight when you had a stupid cheap plastic water pistol and you were outgunned by your opponent. I have. And it’s no fun. Lonnie Johnson leveled the playing field for children in water gun fights everywhere.

I applaud you going the extra mile for the scavenger hunt.

SOTD * Brush: Omega - Boar Bristle. * Razor: Gillette - Slim adjustable.
Blade: Gillette - Silver Blue (2).
Lather: Wholly Kaw - Lav Sublime.
Lather: Stirling- Glacial Frost Drops. * Fragrance:* Seaforth - Sea Spice Lime.

Today is a two shower kinda day bc it’s so freaking hot. I believe everything in my shave is from a union state (ok not the glacial drops)! I added several drops of the glacial goodness to provide lasting relief. Lime and lavender are a great combination so it made for a great shave.

For the photo contest, my partner is a super talented woodworker and has an assortment of wood for future/current projects. I scooped up this little piece of cherry with a nice grain and knot as well as one of her favorite planers for a cameo with my setup.
Meme

photocontest Wood

ROTY

Jun. 19, 2024

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps Declaration Grooming B11 Badger

• Razor: Henson AL13++ #Rainbow

• Lather: House Of Mammoth - Everett

• Post Shave: House Of Mammoth - Everett

• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Black Orchid

I first want to thank u/infernalinternal for loaning me his brush. Now I have to spend more money on a DG knot.

Today’s shave was great. Everett is just a great soap and splash. It never disappoints. I love how the smell of the lather and splash fill the bathroom while using. The soap when shaving and the splash when cleaning up.

I used the Henson AL13++ today. I used it to get the Rainbow tag but I honestly forgot how great it shaves. I might have to get it back into rotation.

Tom Ford Black Orchid Parfum goes really well with Everett. The sweet and fruity notes pare really well. As I’ve stated in another post a few days ago I am a Patchouli freak so for me goes with everything and the light hints in Black Orchid play very well with the toasted marshmallow of Everett

Now on to today’s theme. Juneteenth I learned a long time ago to never talk politics or religion on a message board. I know that when people say that, they usually have an unpopular opinion on such matters. All I will say is, I was the first white kid in my predominantly white NJ high school to join the African American club back in the 8O’s.

Todays challenge. I made this meme this morning, it’s been something I have been saying since I read the horror stories of a certain vendor.

Photo Contest. I went sugar and sweets. We don’t have a lot of sugary cakes and candy but we do have a ton of the sweet sugary ice pops that dominate my freezer from May to October

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest.

What a great concept paired with the Everett label.

June 19, 2024 – LG 19: Juneteenth

• Brush: Maggard Purple Swirl Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Voskhod (3)
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Rumble
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Ravish
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Rumble

Actual footage of start of LG of u/priusaurus, u/mrtangerinesky and u/djanovshaving. Oh, and here’s u/onionmiasma. On with more memes, I can’t be the only one like this from the 16th, or who feels like this after messing about with my calendar or simply waiting. Showing up to these threads can be hard though, but at least I’m safe. Speaking of, one more for the dogpile. Here’s some low hanging fruit cause I know the judges love that. They’re about as smart as most “artisans”.

Does anyone want to read a #FOF today? Rumbles chocolatey and boozy, and ravish complements it well as a cinnamon vanilla bomb. Both fall in the gourmand realm.

For our #PHOTOCONTEST went with Sugar and Sweets which pairs well with the scents of today.

As an aside, since knee lather day, I’ve spent the last 2 shave smearing soap directly on my face as I don’t have a mug and can’t be bothered to use a lid from the full size soap I have. Ultimate Face Lathering Technique or UFLT for short.

Just in case, all products today are from Union states, and they all start with R, and scent wise actually go decently together as well.

Edit: let’s do a few more stand alone: me in the LG threads, looking at den tour day, trying GRUYE, certain users here, don’t choose favorites, I think what W_E users need

Dark chocolate digestives 🤭

Juneteenth

• Brush: Yaqi Ferrari
• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable
• Blade: Bic
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather

photocontest

Baseball

Today’s Challenge:

Meme Day

Here is a meme I made

SOTD - June 19

Feb 25, 2024

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: AP Shave Co - Gelousy 26mm Badger
• Razor: Dorko Straight razor
• Lather: Spearhead - Roman spice
• Post Shave: Cold Water

here is my meme

I honestly know very little about the American civil war or Juneteenth. But I think this soap is made in Ohio and I think that's good.

I was very dissatisfied to find out none of my photos were mentioned so far in the podcast. I will be unsubscribing.

photocontest

Theme today is wood. Went for a soft cinematic look.

Very pleasant photo

June 19, 2024

• Brush: Omega Penelli White HI-BRUSH Synthetic
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime

Spearhead is my choice for the theme today. Sea Ice lime is the soap that is perfect for today. This was my first foray into Spearhead l as a brand, when the owner Dennis was giving out experimental tubs to newbies. I am no longer a newbie, I guess, but do have several other Spearheads soaps and AS because of this soap. I am glad I was able to use it while on vacation at Cape Cod. It has three facets to me: salty aquatic sea, bright lime, and spice which I get mostly coriander. To me, it’s a speed boat on the ocean with a margarita. I appreciate the clean salty sea spray nostalgia. The lime is apparent as a top and middle note mostly, with the spice taking over a little later. Coriander is distinct, and traditionally goes very well with lime. If I had to put a vibe to this scent, it’s 80s Miami and I love it. I can’t say it reminds me of the Cape specifically, but it damn sure reminds me of roasting on the hot beach. Having a refreshing corona with a lime wedge, unknowingly appreciating how much better it is on the beach because of the salty air enhancing the flavor. See u/hugbckt if you don’t know what I mean. If you aren’t eating tons of watermelon with your corona, you are missing out. But since I am here on the Cape, sea ICE lime is perfect because it’s like doing an ice bath as you go in the water, so cold it hurts but feels so good at the same time.

fof

Today’s theme is cactus. Not a succulent like I was tempted to do, but a bonafide cactus. The only, to my knowledge, native cactus in New England. Cape Cod coming through for the #photocontest

Oh yea, a meme

June 19, 2024 Juneteenth

• Brush: Rubberset 200-N Maggard Black and White 20 mm #FRANKENBRUSH
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird SS #CNC
• Blade: Wizamet (33)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Vor V
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Company - New City
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Fake Yellow Light

Theme: Wholly Kaw is in New Jersey; Chicago Grooming is in Illinois; Declaration Grooming is in Michigan.

Challenge: This is probably my favorite challenge. I've been jotting down ideas. I couldn't land on one for /u/cowzilla3, so I made 3. There's one for /u/sgrdddy, too.

The Architect
Waiting
NEED
MOAR
SPICE
Slurry
Soap Kill
My Homies

Vor V is the first Wholly Kaw soap and splash I bought. I got it before my first Lather Games to get a sponsor point on my calendar and won a set of Wholly Kaw as my prize that year (I chose Rebelle). Working backwards a bit: I paired this with New City because they smell very similar. I was under the impression that Vor V was an original fragrance when I bought it. The similarity between the two was apparent when I bought New City and smelled it for the first time. New City is/was advertised as being inspired by Tom Ford Tuscan Leather. Wholly Kaw’s ad copy? No mention of Tom Ford, Tuscan Leather, dupe, inspired by, homage, etc. Sure enough, a search query at thirsty badger confirms that I was sold a fabulous smelling lie of omission.

Now, to the fragrance. I smell raspberry and leather in equal measure. Once it’s lathered, it opens up a bit and the scent of oud comes out. Leather and raspberry sounds like an odd combination. But, the pairing smells really good. Leather scents sometimes fall flat with me; like someone who doesn’t move during… smooshing. I’ve talked about this before. I love the smell of a good leather wallet, or couch. It’s a luxurious material. Leather works very well in the fragrance. Raspberry gives it a nice berry boost. There’s something about raspberries that smells like happiness. It’s also unexpected in a leather fragrance. When the oud comes into play it takes it up a notch. I can just make out the saffron. This fragrance feels stylish, like a guy who wears sport coats with t-shirts and slacks with loafers. Did I just describe Tom Ford?

New City is more leathery than Vor V. There are herbal and floral notes that come through in this dupe. There’s a note of incense when I smell the bottle. I prefer the raspberry heavy approach of Vor V. But, I appreciate that there’s more nuance in New City.

Sadly, Tom Ford’s fragrances are out of my price range. So, sans Tuscan Leather, I scoured my den for something to go with the pair of Tuscan Leather dupes. I got a sample of Declaration Grooming Fake Yellow Light in the Adventus box. It has several scent notes in common with Vor V: leather, amber, chai (black tea), and vanilla. I have just enough of it left for today’s shave. I’ve worn this a few times (hence being nearly empty, although I think it leaked a bit, too), but haven’t really nailed this one down. At the start, Fake Yellow Light is resinous, ambery, leathery, with a touch of honey. There’s a strong tobacco scent. The dry down smells like leather, tobacco, chai, and amber. It's more of an amber/leather/tobacco fragrance compared to the Tuscan Leather dupes which are fruity and smooth. This might be one of my favorite Scott originals. There's a nice layering with the tobacco and chai spice. Everything is enveloped in amber. It's very masculine.

#photocontest - darkness. The light source is the night light in my bathroom with the door closed. There are no windows.

#FOF

June 19, 2024 - the grass is always greener

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Declaration Grooming B10
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Bell Ringer
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Bell Ringer
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. - Montrose Beach

SBS is based in Nebraska, which was a Union territory at the time of the Civil War. So theme met. We're going matching set on the aftershave and topping it all off with a couple dabs of Montrose Beach to really round out the summer-y shave for the day.

Bell Ringer is easily one of the best scents in my collection. Everyone constantly talks about how great the base is. But for the life of me I just cannot get it to work. Even if the lather looks superb it is always not slick enough, or I've just added too much water and it all falls apart. After some diagnosing in the discord, the conclusion seems to be that my hard water is causing the problems. So after the lather games I'm looking forward to trying this soap again with some distilled water to see if that helps.

This is day two of me getting to try out the brass Karve CB, and I'm really enjoying the heft so far. I'm still using a blade gap that I already own in aluminum while I get used to the weight, but I'm looking forward to jumping up in the next day or two.

Photo Contest theme for today is Grass. I've taken every picture so far this month, including this one, spur of the moment immediately before or after shaving. I think I'm finally out of themes I can do that with. So the real adventure begins tomorrow. Wish me luck. #photocontest

June 19, 2024 - Juneteenth

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Omega 11047 Mixed hair brush #MISTURA #SMOLL #RUNT
• Razor: Blackland Brassbird #CNC
• Blade: Voskhod (6)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Merchant of Tobacco
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Tobacconist
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Tobacconist

I told myself that I would get to post early today since it was a day off. Obviously, that did not happen, but the shave today was great, so no complaints here. I tied it all together with the tobacco wordplay.

For your amusement, I give you memes.

PHOTOCONTEST - Hobbies

Juneteenth

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Vitae Taper w/AP Shave Co. 26mm Pure Bliss Knot
• Razor: Yates Precision Polished Winning Razor #CNC
• Blade: Gillette - 7 O'clock SharpEdge
• Lather: Dr Jon's - Runaway
• Post Shave: Barrister And Mann - Fougere Classique Aftershave Splash
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Damocles

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to tsrblke for this soap I think? Thanks to ShavinginCT 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
The mess that was yesterday's SOTD lol. I'm back to normal don't worry.

Daily Writeup
Now that I have used this passaround razor a couple times I am starting to really figure it out and now I can judge it more fairly than I could on day one; for the past couple days it was super strange and it was never quite a good shave. Today I really got in the groove (possibly because this new blade I'm trying, super good btw) and it was a super smooth shave, still not exactly my cup of tea because I like a lot of blade feel like the blackbird but this is definitely a completely different experience, super smooth with little to no blade feel for most of the shave, especially with this special polish on it.

Daily Theme Points
When Dr Jons was still in business they were located in one of the union states.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
Both House of Mammoth and Barrister and Mann are located in union states.

Daily Challenge
I came up with this joke and I thought it was pretty clever: Why did the safety razor hate his job?

!Because he had to hold double edged blades (like double edged swords)!<

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
Nothing new today.

Photo Contest
Bokeh Balls! This was my most advanced picture I've ever taken lol. There are lights above my mom's bed, then I took her like breakfast in bed table thing and put my SOTD stuff on it so I could hold it up with one hand. Then in the other hand I kept on trying to focus on the SOTD stuff while making sure that I didn't have my mom lying on the bed in the frame lol. Shot on 2020 iPhone SE

TL;DR
Gratitude, reflecting, learning, union states, comedy, complicated photos, I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests

photocontest

ROTY