June 19, 2024 – 2024.06.19 SOTD: Lather Games Day 19 – Juneteenth

• Brush: AKA Brushworxs Metamorphosis Kaiser-i-Hind with 26mm Turn-n-Shave Fullmoon knot
• Razor: Blackland Era (SB 3)
• Blade: Wizamet (2)
• Lather: Elysian – Styx
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! 3 Scotts
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! 3 Scotts

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Daily Theme: Juneteenth

Theme justification: Elysian Soaps are made in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was part of the [Union.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_(American_Civil_War))

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: I'm continuing Juneteenth theme with Spearhead Shaving Company products, which is based in Ohio. Ohio was a Union state as well.

On the note of today's theme:

So, as several of you know, I'm from the Tulsa area. Tulsa is known for many things:

• having a dope-ass flag
• cool art deco arhitecture
• A kick-ass park that was donated by a billionaire. Seriously, it was voted the best park in 2024 by USA Today
• Oil - It was once the oil capitol of the world. The legacy from Oilmen lives on here.
• Westhope - a Frank Lloyd Wright house
• Woody Guthrie - Tear the Fascist Down
• a lot of other great things that would take too long mention (fantastic museums, Route 66, et plus). Hit me up if you want more!

However, I'd say what most people know about Tulsa (especially now) is the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Around here, Juneteenth is a day of remembrance as well. Greenwood was called Black Wall Street due to being "one of the most commercially successful and affluent majority African-American communities in the United States." The massacre destroyed Greenwood and the thriving community it created. There's a lot more to this story, but I'm not writing a thesis here! Oh, after all that, the State built an interstate and junction over it. So that's nice.

All that to say, Juneteenth is a big deal to a lot of people here.

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Scavenger Hunt ~~Justification~~: COMPLETED

Razor facts: N/A

Brush facts: N/A

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Daily/Special Challenge: Meme Day

Let's lighten the mood a little bit, shall we!

• We all started this to save money, right?
• Have you guys heard of this great store?
• I mean, cartridge razors are terrible

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Fragrance description

As I said for the frag, Elysian Styx is a dark apple scent. It's not comparable to a scent that is more apple pie, but one that is more akin to a fallen apple. It's nice.

3 Scotts is an absolutely fantastic scent. I don't fully know the scent notes, but I believe the main note I'm getting is amber. But I don't really trust my nose, so I could be completely wrong.

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Now onto the shave!

I don't think Elysian gets enough love around here. The soap is easy enough to work and produces a nice, slick lather. Combining it with the Era resulted in great shave.

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Totals:

• Razor Hashtags: 10/10
• Brush Hashtags: 10/10
• Hardware Sponsor Points: 2/2
• Software Sponsor Points: 11/16
• Number of Lather Brands: 19/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 19/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 19/30
• Number of Frags: 19/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

June 19, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Gold/Blue/Black - 26mm Mags SHD Badger
• Razor: Blackland – Era – Plate 4OC
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - King of Bourbon Soap
• Post Shave: Stubble Buster – Evocative Splash
• Fragrance: Joop – Joop! EdT

Finally! A new lather games theme that doesn’t start with the sentence “Shave with a soap that prominently features XYZ scent note…” It's about time! A lot of the daily themes can get worn out year after year after year after year. Redoing the same themes and challenges can get a bit tired, so I'm grateful the organizers included this theme since (1) Juneteenth is an important day in US History and its recognition is long past due (2) it's something new to post about instead of another description of sandalwood (3) the distinction of US geography adds in a different/strategic element to building your Lather Games calendar.

If anyone out there has objections to the inclusion of Juneteenth because it's "political", I'd love for you to explain how celebrating the freeing of slaves in the United States is political. Recognizing, and learning from, US History is important for everyone.

Shitposting about Juneteenth doesn't seem right, so I’ll take a moment to explain why Juneteenth exists: Picture this: It's 1865, and the Civil War has ended. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had declared slaves in Confederate states free two years earlier, but Texas, being Texas, ignored the memo. So, for those still enslaved in the Lone Star State, life hadn't changed much. Enter Major General Gordon Granger, who rolled into Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, and dropped the freedom bombshell with General Order No. 3. This marked the true end of slavery in the United States. I think that is a BFD, and should be recognized and celebrated.

For my #FOF, the scent of King of Bourbon is mostly vanilla to my nose. It’s not too sweet, as there is also Ginger, Tobacco, and some earthy Cypriol and Vetiver to balance the scent. It’s very nice. For my splash, I stuck with the vanilla theme with Evocative, which is a dupe of Joop. The scent profile was a perfect complement to King of Bourbon, adding layers of complexity with hints of spicy herbs, sweet cinnamon, and vanilla. And of course, it made sense that I used the real deal for today’s fragrance. I’ve always enjoyed Joop. It’s sweet vanilla, cinnamon, and a hint of tonka bean. For me, it’s an absolutely delicious spicy vanilla bomb. Sure, at this point, it’s dated. But it was literally the first fragrance I ever bought in my life, when I was in high school, so spraying this on immediately takes my memories back to the carefree days of the 1990s. I just need to frost my tips and I’m good to go!

Challenge: Memes! I fully recognized I peaked in Meme Day posts in 2023, and no, I don’t have a soap to get released today. Instead, I decided to do what other competitors may be too afraid to do. I’m memeing each one of our Lather Games judges. That’s right. Every judge gets a meme!

u/Djundjila gets a meme!

u/DoctorRotor gets a meme!

u/FrankieIVFingers gets a meme!

u/J33pGuy13 gets a meme!

u/OnionMiasma gets two memes to represent his 2nd place finish last year!

u/PutneyCJ gets a meme!

u/RedMosquitoMM gets a meme!

u/ShavinginCT gets a meme!

u/VisceralWatch gets a meme!

u/wallygator88 gets a meme!

Please don’t DQ me.

Soap Theme Justification: Wholly Kaw is made in New Jersey, which is a Northern State.

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Vanilla all around

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

Juneteenth 2024

• Brush: Zenith Copper 28mm Boar
• Razor: Genco Head Barber 5/8 Hollow
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder
• Post Shave: Caties Bubbles - Purple Grapefruit
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Co - Seaforth! Roman Spice EdT

FOF

Today’s Theme:

House of Mammoth is created in NY and manufactured in IL. Caties Bubbles is from NJ. Spearhead hails from Ohio. My razor was made in Geneva NY. The brush is from Italy which remained neutral; however, Lincoln asked Garibaldi, the Italian General and Unifier of Italy, to be a general in the Union army. He declined i part because he wanted to be the Commander of the Union, and in part because the US had yet to abolish slavery. HoM is a fitting choice as they support organizations that combat human trafficking.

Today’s Challenge (not just Meme’s):

Originally, everything I had found about new LG sponsor Eleven Shaving pointed to IA. The name is from the #11 Lock and Dam on the Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa. Their Julien base is after the namesake of Dubuque, Julien Dubuque. I was all in on Eleven as being in IA. Every reference on their web site was about IA. No mailing address though nagged me. Still I went ahead and planned on them. I wrote up about my history with Dubuque and thought it was a great choice. Had my post and all. Still after all that, a nagging thought lingered. So I broadened my search. I got ambiguous returns. Google responses to Eleven Shaving came up with other states. I’d click the link, and it was the vendor. A few more down, my heart fell. Their facebook page said South Carolina. Man, I never check out Facebook. I needed a new Lather Games Shave for today. I was back to my Meme Challenge. With 11 days left after today can I do it? I had to try. This changes all my plans for a couple days, but it will work!. A trip to the bathroom, a 3 pass shave including atg for good measure, and a new plan for the write up. Whew! Glad I caught this before too late.

Feats of Fragrance:

I picked Sonder for a couple reasons. It is a theme of empathy. Realizing that other people have their own lives going on, and it isn’t just your own little universe. If more people experienced Sonder, maybe there would have been less slavery going on in the past and even today. The scent is a lemon cream biscuit with sandalwood giving it that creamy woody base. Pairing with Purple Grapefruit, the citrus elements complement each other, and the lavender gives it a powdery softness. Finally Roman Spice ties into the fruit elements with grapefruit and apple, beachwood links up the woody notes, and the rest provide a soft spicy background. Pretty good combo today. As the citrus fades, I’ll be left with a floral and woody fragrance.

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

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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.

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June 19, 2024 – LG Day 19 – Juneteenth

• Brush: Shave Forge 24mm Horse Hair x Muninn Woodworks Handle #HORSESASS
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy Aluminum
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Valedictorian
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Valedictorian
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps – Valedictorian

u/Priusaurus wrote an excellent summary of Juneteenth – check it out – so I don’t want to be redundant. Reflecting on my shave, however, caused me to think about the main accord of Valedictorian: tobacco. Tobacco use in America is inherently linked to slavery and the slave trade. Colonizers brought slaves into the original Colonies often for the express purpose of farming tobacco, and by the inception of the US as a country, tobacco and slavery were completely intertwined, and slavery was seen as a necessity to maintain American economic growth, with tobacco as a major American commodity. The most common tobacco product today, cigarettes, didn’t become popular until after the outlaw of slavery in the US, but even with the shift away from loose/pipe tobacco, the roots of slavery were still deeply connected to tobacco farming. Sharecroppers, usually poor African-Americans, continued to be the core source of labor on plantations. So, today, as I use a soap made in Nebraska (which, as a territory, was certifiably pro-Union), I find myself thinking about all the ways that this country’s history of slavery continues to show up in our day-to-day lives. Juneteenth is important, and we should have been giving it real attention long ago.

Valedictorian is up there among the tobacco scents for me. I love tobacco scents so much that I might resurrect the u/chefkoolaid review series one day. It’s clearly tobacco forward, but neither dry like Tobacconist nor rich like the Tobacco Vanilla dupes. The accord supporting the tobacco is complex but wearable, very difficult for me to discern notes other than “smooth.” The citrus quality is a standout, keeping it away from vanilla world, but it’s not uniquely fruity in the way Dr. Jon’s Black Label is. Chefkoolaid described it as a “complete departure” from the grungy, funky tobacco that he (and I) love about this category, and calls Valedictorian a “sophisticated suave and clean space in the tobacco spectrum.” I quote him because I couldn’t agree more and don’t want to bother rephrasing or plagiarizing. Worth the trifecta today, particularly with the theme connection described above. #FOF

MEMES MEMES MEMES

Album link

RIP u/pridetwo

the calendar grind

frigid friday regrets

what are jeffm/alg doing

u/rocketk455 profiting off our degeneracy

u/Priusaurus ruining my life

j33p’s favorite day

throwback to last year u/tsrblke

sharing is caring, right u/OnionMiasma?

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.

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

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