June 20, 2024 – 2024.06.20 SOTD: Lather Games Day 20 – Sunny Days

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Matte Black with 26mm UHD Independent Fibre Knot
• Razor: Yates Winning v2
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: 345 Soap Co. – Shark Bite
• Post Shave: Alcolado Glacial
• Fragrance: Zoologist Perfumes – Seahorse

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Daily Theme: Sunny Days

Theme justification: 345 Soap Co. Shark Bite is marketed as a summer scent:

In the dog days of summer, you’ll need a light, fresh fragrance to start your day off right

I mean, just look at the label. It's about as summer as you could get.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: The relevant theme for today is aquatic animals. The Alcolado Glacial has a penguin, Zoologist Seahorse has a seahorse, and the soap, as previously shown, has a shark. I even wore a shirt with a sea turtle on it, but forgot to take a pic :(

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Scavenger Hunt ~~Justification~~: COMPLETED

Razor facts: N/A

Brush facts: N/A

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Daily/Special Challenge: /u/Old_Hiker Appreciation Day

In appreciation of /u/Old_Hiker, I shaved outside. It was awful, but not because of the shave, but it didn't start off that way. I went to my back yard and found a cozy spot.. Then I had to find a water source. Thankfully, it's not like I'm in the middle of the woods. I wet my lather and brush and got to work.

This is when the trouble started. Just take a look here, and you'll see why. I should've known. June in OK? Yeah, these bastards are everywhere and I apparently am like sugar to them. Seems I'm one of the lucky mosquito magnets (always have been, unfortunately).

So I shaved about as quickly as I could, using my phone as a mirror.

End result was about 15-20 bites. I killed that many as well. See some of the fallen here on my leg. There were more, but that was the easiest photo.

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Fragrance description

Shark Bite is primarily pineapple and wood to me, and I really enjoy it. Love pineapple.

Alcolado Glacial just smells like alcohol, which makes sense considering it is made by the Curaçao liqueur company.

Zoologist Seahorse definitely has a strong marine/ocean vibe. Nice, clean smell, unlike what you'd get if you walked into an aquarium. This is more akin to when you step out of ocean from snorkeling and take a deep breath.

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Now onto the shave!

Outside of the misquotes, it was nice. I did shave as quickly as humanly possible so that I could stop getting bit.

This is the first time I'm using the aftershave splash. I purchased it in Curaçao when I was there for vacation earlier this year. Honestly, it wasn't bad. I don't know if I'll keep using it as an aftershave, but I will for a "cool down" splash (which is one of its main uses as well).

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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: 20/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 20/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 20/30
• Number of Frags: 20/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

June 20, 2024 – Soak up the sun

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Bangalore V20
• Razor: Wolfman WR1
• Blade: Feather (DE) (3)
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. – Montrose Beach
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co. – Montrose Beach
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. – Montrose Beach

“Summertime is finally hear, that old ballpark man is back in gear…” –Kenny Chesney

Ah summer. A good/bad time of year. Pools, fun, vacation. But also, 100F weather with humidity so high you can’t sweat. As with last year I’m breaking out the Montrose Beach. I love this scent, it’s got a bit of sea air (ironic since Montrose beach is a freshwater lakeshore) and some drinks mixed in. Summer in a tub. For #fof, trickholing again because it’s just too fun. Of note: Last year I needed this set for the photo color challenge, but Vida was sold out. I emailed and she said she had 1 left that wasn’t listed, posted it, I bought it. As a gift she threw in the 5ml EdT. I of course had to use it that day, which may have blown my challenge. We’ll never know. But not this year. Since I’m all in, there’s no points to be lost for sentimentality.

To celebrate summer, and the coconut drink in this scent I reached out to u/adworried2804 when we swapped LG packages. See, the Philippines has a lot of coconuts and this scent screams coconut in the best way. So, I said “send me anything and I’ll work it into the shave.” Y’all (and my neighbors) can be thankful he did not send a coconut bikini. He did, however, send this wonderful, glazed coconut bowl which matches my set. I used it today to lather up. Later, maybe I’ll make a nice piña colada and drink it on my patio out of this bowl to celebrate being 2/3 through the games. (I do have to limit the workday drinking just a bit if I want to keep my job.)

For #photocontest, of course, baseball!

Today’s challenge is not surprisingly to shave outside. Fine, it’s summer. What a better place to shave outside than on my BBQ patio. Pit already has the cover off. We’re ready to go.

But wait! I realized the shape of my house is such that, there are 2 walls (my garage and the bump where my house meets the garage) next to my BBQ pit. I need a new plan. Well, I paid $14k for this patio; I’m gonna shave on it!

Now as mentioned, I have a corner lot, no fence, and my backyard neighbor sits above me. So, there will probably be a lot of questions later from our, not 1, but 2 new neighbors (lots of selling on our street lately) as to what the hell I was doing. And yet, considering my kids were doing a radio fox hunt in the yard last weekend with what amounts to a cut up tape measure on a PVC pipe, this isn’t even the weirdest looking thing this week.

So let’s lather up! (Meh, lather because I’m outside.) And now shave. Oh, here comes my backyard neighbor to water his roses. Oh, and one half of the young couple with the newborn that moved last fall is also coming out. Neither decides to talk with me, so I press on.

Finished up. Well, crap I made a mess. It’s OK, I have a solution. Shave complete! Table clean.

June 20, 2024 - Take a Hike!

• Brush: Yaqi Bali 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Game Changer .68P
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: AA Shaving - Gale
• Post Shave: Caties Bubbles - Un Jour Gris
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Waves EdT

FOF

Today’s Theme:

AA Shaving - “Gale will open as an aquatic storm.” Definitely an aquatic and one of the notes is even fresh water. Paired well with the scent of a rainy day, Un Jour Gris. Finally Waves is a nice clean aquatic fragrance - “Resurrected from the early years of aquatic fragrance.” Pretty much fits the aquatic classification as acceptable for the theme.

Today’s Adventure:

I was hoping this would be on a weekend, but nope it is in the middle of the hottest week so far this summer here. Previously I would handle this on my back deck watching the cars go by on the street I can see over the arbor vitae natural fence for my little backyard. Probably would qualify, but been there already. What can I do then in my little corner of No. Virginia? Drive to one of the Civil War Battlefields? Well maybe yesterday’s theme would have been better. Plus, kind of disrespectful to go have a goofy shave where lots of people died. Well it is u/Old_Hiker appreciation day. I needed something hiking related. Then it struck me, there is just one place nearby that perfectly fit. The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine. People set about hiking this long route starting in Georgia in the Spring and trying to make it to Maine before Fall and the cold weather returning. Around this time, they should be around my area in the normal timeline for a hike. The Blue Ridge is about the western edge of the super commuter range for Washington DC. To get out there in the morning would be no problem, but the eastbound (and down?) traffic could be busy. It is forecasted to be around 95F this afternoon. Early in the morning was a more comfortable 75ish. There is a parking area at a trailhead about 20 miles west of me, I was in the car headed west about 6:40AM.

About 7:00AM I pulled up in the parking lot at Snickers Gap. The view through that pass is of the Shenandoah Valley. The Shenandoah River from the lyric in “Country Roads” is at the bottom of the ridge. A few cars were here, but nobody was around. I walked over to read the information about local wildlife. Nearby was an information board about the local trails and a brewery/restaurant in the area. This is just a couple miles from the FEMA station at Mt. Weather. I took a quick look at the Appalachian Trail entrance, and a shot of the highway and valley below.

It was time to shave. My SOTD picture has the gear I brought along for today’s shave. One thing I forgot was the scoop (back of a pair of tweezers) for the soap. Luckily AA Shaving includes a guitar pick in each tub. A scoop off the fairly firm soap into my trusty blue plastic bowl from IKEA, a splash of water, and a dry brush to start building lather. Because of the dry brush, it took a while to build my lather. Several splashes from the bottle and about 5 minutes to build up a pretty decent result. Where did I put that mirror? Well the car window would have to suffice. As I was starting to lather, an SUV pulled up. A guy got out and did a bit of warmup and stretching, before heading out to run on the trail. I’m sure he thought it was strange to see a guy shaving in the parking lot. It is strange to me that someone would get up early to go jogging in the woods. A little awkward on the neck leaning over to see my reflection, but a decent shave nonetheless. Two passes were completed, a quick tidy up, and I headed home.

Feats of fragrance:

Gale is described as a storm of a scent. I got the water and some damp earthiness from it. It isn’t a storm out on the water to me. It is getting caught outside near the shore during a rainstorm. Not really petrichor, but a wet field/shoreline by a freshwater lake. Un Jour Gris is when the storm has settled and it is an overcast, wet, and grey day. Waves though has the sun coming out, you are starting to smell more than just the damp ground, but the summer flowers and grasses have come out. Things are looking brighter, and it is going to be a nice summer day. I liked this progression of scents.

It is time to get to work now. Should have started at least 30 minutes ago. What would u/Old_Hiker say about that? “Work sucks!”

If you want to read a great travel book about the Appalachian Trail, seek out Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods”. Very descriptive and humorous.

Day 20

• Brush: SmilezforMilez 22mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gem 1912
• Blade: Gem PTFE
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Cannonball Soap
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Cannonball Splash
• Fragrance: Nautica – Blue EdT

Today’s shave was absolute summertime grooming excellence. I dove right in with Summer Break Soaps' Cannonball soap and splash, topped off with a couple spritzes of Nautica Blue EdT. Because if you can't spend your summers at the beach, you might as well smell like you jumped into a pool.

First up: Cannonball!! The scent is a delightful mix of chlorine and citrus. Reminds me of that one time my drunken uncle spilled his pina colada all over the Lido Deck, while doing the Cupid Shuffle, right before he was put into a Carnival Cruise’s drunk tank. Ah, memories… But I digress, Cannonball has that "I’ve been at the pool all day, and yes, I like to party too" aroma. Perfect for convincing yourself you’re on vacation while you’re actually just trying to get through another Thursday and shaving in your backyard. The splash is like being slapped in the face by Wendy Pefffercorn from The Sandlot. It packs a nice mentholated punch, but after the initial shock, I was left left with a cooling sensation that’s like jumping into a pool that isn’t heated. It’s a refreshing splash of reality to wake me up from the realization that it’s not summer break by the pool and I need to go back to work after shaving outside.

Finally, Nautica Blue EdT. This cologne is basically the olfactory equivalent of those flip-flops you bought last minute at the beach gift shop. It screams “I’m ready for summer,” even if the closest you’re getting to the ocean is the kiddie pool in your backyard. I guess that’s my way of saying, it’s functional, but lacks some sort of soul and depth. Certainly not a bad scent, but not something I’m necessarily ever excited to wear. I honestly can’t quite put my figure on what's missing, but it's something. It’s got a breezy aquatic feel to it, and is balanced out with some florals, citrus, and sandalwood/cedar, but it's not something I reach for often. I will say it does do a nice job capturing the essence of the freshness of the ocean. It fit in with Cannonball very nicely and perfectly works with theme of the day. This entire shave routine reminded me of a Summer that you just don’t want to end. #FOF

photocontest: Elements: Water. Everything but the soap sank.

Challenge: Shave outside! Done and done. I remember last year a storm came through and I had to wait until like 10PM to shave. Luckily, it’s nice and sunny today. When the challenge was posted yesterday, I went into my work Outlook and blocked off 9AM-10AM to give me time to shave outside before it got to be too hot. Working from home is the best.

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Sunny Days”… My Top 5 Best Treats to get from an Ice Cream Truck

5.) Drumstick – Classic, ready-made ice cream cone with a dusting of nuts (for your health). The best part is the bottom of the cone had chocolate on the inside which (1) prevented ice cream from dripping on your hand and (2) made for an absolutely heavenly last bite. So good!

4.) Strawberry Shortcake bar on a stick – Sometimes you want something substantial, but aren’t in the mood for chocolate. The Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake bar is exactly what you need!

3.) Ninja Turtle with gumball eyes – Okay. Admittedly, these weren’t the tastiest of treats, but god damn they were the most fun.

2.) Chipwich – Pound for pound, probably the best value in the ice cream treat game. If you had one of these bad boys you can go right ahead and skip dinner.

1.) Choco Taco – The absolute GOAT.

(Editors note: If you even think to say Screwball, you are uncultured swine and you can go ahead and fuck right off. The sherbert in Screwballs suck and the gumball at the bottom is even worse and it’s not even in the shape of a fun character. I hope the Screwball company went out of business.)

LG 20 - Sunny Days

• Brush: Zenith SCNHG lmted edition - Horse hair #HORSESASS
• Razor: Filarmonica Novodur 14
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Summer Storm
• Post Shave: MacDuff Soap Company - Black Rock
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - OCEANA EdC

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Today I climbed the mountain to the cave called "Cova de l'Aigua", inside which there is a small torrent of water, I filled the bowl with cool water, took off my boots and sat on the edge of the cave's stairs while looking at the horizon I whipped up an impressive lather.

I made two passing, with the grain and across the grain. The razor slid as if across buttered toast, cutting through the beard like barbed wire without mercy.

I stuck my head into the torrent of water in the cave, poured the aftershave over my face and then the cologne generously all over my torso.

It was an awesome manly shave on the wild that left my face softer and shinier than my legs after the leg-shaving day.

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In reality, everything was in my head, neither work nor my knee allowed me to climb the mountain, but I could climb the ladder to the garage and dream about what the perfect shave would have been like.

I even chose the best soap for the shave, from the artisan description: "...Perfect for those days when you have to spend your days behind a desk, but would rather be out enjoying nature."

.#FOF Awesome how well "Summer Storm" and "Black Rock" combine, with their petricoresque scent. Oceana brings clarity to the whole picture.

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LG SOTD Jun 20 2024 - Summer Solstice Sun Seeking Hike

#photocontest

Theme: Grass

• Brush: Muhle Travel Brush - Synthetic #HOLLOW
• Razor: Bic single blade disposable
• Blade:  Bic single blade disposable [1]
• Lather: Eleven - Sicilian Lemon (smush by u/OnionMiasma)
• Post Shave: Murphy & McNeil and Black Mountain Shaving - Nantahala aftershave (sample)
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Sun Soaked (sample)

Today's weather forecast was for an overcast sky, high humidity, and max temperature of 37°C/98,6°F.

Not a Sunny Day, not the ideal day for a hike.

But I'm no quitter blah blah: woke up an hour earlier for an AM hike to one of the hills that surround my city.

Today's SPECIAL CHALLENGE forced me to revolutionize my plans.
The Eleven - Sicilian Lemon kindly provided by u/OnionMiasma fit the Citrus-forward Theme Requirement, and was also easy to take outside for a hike.

Everything else I had planned to use today was not as minimal as I now needed.

The special challenge made me decide that the rest of the hardware and software had to be something that I could carry in my pants' pockets, without forcing me to carry a bag during the hot humid morning hike.
I wanted the hike to be enjoyable and meditative.
No luggage. Literally and metaphorically.

The prospect of a hike into nature immediately inspired me to grab the Nantahala AS sample, because of all the outdoor references in the official description for the scent.
My previously selected pairing, T+S Sicily, would have been more connected to the "Sunny Days" theme as well as to the "Sicilian Lemon" lather, but my full AS bottle refused to go out for a hike, also claiming that all this Summer / Citrus association is vastly unnatural. Google up when the majority of Sicilian lemons and oranges are harvested, and start questioning the criteria behind the arbitrary decision to associate Italian citrus and Summer. Just to double check, after the hike I went to my greengrocer and asked what citrus they had: lemons from Argentina, oranges from Spain.

There was also no way to bring with me the envisioned large bottle of my favorite Citrus-forward chypre. So I quickly browsed my samples collection and picked Sun Soaked, hoping that through powers of synesthesia it would have provided the Sunny-ness that was absent from my actual view.

FRAGRANCE WRITEUP

Sicilian Lemon is a rigorous and straightforward "restitution" of a green lemon scent. I particularly appreciated the vaguely herbaceous (almost, but not really, smoky) note, that made it more vegetal than gourmand. It reminded of Limone Verdello, the Sicilian variety that actually does mature during the Summer.
Hats off to Eleven for actually picking a citrus scent that has an actual connection with Summer.

The transition to Nantahala was perfect: after the citrus top notes, the AS opened up to the rest of the accord, providing no contrast to the actual experience of being outside for a hike.

This was my first experience with Sun Soaked, and I must confess that it took me completely by surprise.
The accord is not just citrus/neroli forward, as the amber and chamomile notes are making their "rounding" presence felt from the very beginning. This is not a background citrus cologne, it's a main player who requires your full attention, a properly "mature" scent, also in the sweet / "ripe" sense of the word (in Italian we use just one adjective, "maturo", for both meanings). I would've sworn I could smell a mossy chypre drydown, but I see no mention of such notes in the official writeup, nor on the Fragrantica page.

A fitting Baudelerian correspondance to the serendipitous, off-the-beaten-path nature of my experiences today.

Baudelaire, which rhymes with Fougère.

See you tomorrow.

#FOF

#ROTY

June 20, 2024

• Brush: Yaqi – 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Personna - New Angle 70: BBS-0
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Zingari Man – The Watchman Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Waves Splash
• Fragrance: Gallagher Fragrances – Amongst Waves EdP

Shaving outside again and the neighbors think I’m nuts… Again... I can only imagine what they think when they drive by or look out their window and see a grown ass man doing shit like this. “Last week, Priusaurus was shaving and mowing the lawn, now today he’s in a kiddie pool, with an inflatable Triceratops that shoots water out of its head, shaving his face. Is he okay? Who do we call for this?”

Well, neighbors, it’s The Lather Games, and I have a trophy that I’m not ready to give up yet! And you’re goddamn right I’m doing this in the front yard! That way everyone in the neighborhood can witness what Lather Games Greatness is all about!

Sidenote: You think it’s a coincidence there’s a rainbow in this picture of my shaving spot? It’s gotta be to symbolize my pot of gold at the end of the month, right?

Here’s the video to witness this 2-pass ridiculousness of a shave for yourself. I sped up the shave for the viewing pleasure of whichever lucky judge gets this one.

If I’m being honest, not the best shave, but I managed to complete my standard two pass shave in my front yard. My triceratops sprinkler friend seemed to be happy spraying lather off my face faster than I could put it on. The good news is, the lather was super hydrated and nice and dripping, so we know I ain’t tripping. Also kinda funny that about halfway through the shave, my phone got so wet that I didn’t need to use anything to sensor my face. Made editing this whole hell of a lot easier. It maybe also hurt the video quality, but we do these things in one take. I had no idea until I watched the video back. C’est la vie. That’s the way The Lather Games be sometimes.

For the #FOF thing, the scent of The Watchman is so very good. I’m generally not the biggest fans of aquatic scents, but this one is wonderfully complex that is absolutely delightful. Maybe it was because my Triceratops friend was relentlessly spraying water in my face, but it really felt like I was really shaving in stormy air and dark seas and I’m sure the scent of the Watchman absolutely helped. I wish I had a lighthouse Watchman to rescue me from the onslaught of water I was experiencing. The Waves splash was like a dive into the ocean, with a more fresh, aquatic scent - it has a very enjoyable floral vibe to me and it smells almost sweet. It’s the perfect follow-up to the soap, creating a seamless transition to that keep the marine vibe going strong. And finally, Gallagher Fragrance’s Amongst Waves kept me right on the seaside with a nice crisp, fruity aquatic. The fragrance is sweeter than the splash, so we’ve been increasing the level of sweet with each product today. Amongst Waves certainly captures the essence of the ocean, but adds in Green Apple, Honeydew, and Lime, making it an aquatic like I’ve never experienced before. Very fun fragrance, and perfect for when you are getting sprayed in the face by an inflatable dinosaur friend. This trio of products (and the dinosaur) all combined to form an absolutely aquatic shaving experience, perfect for the summertime. From the soap to the final fragrance, each step enhanced the feeling of being one with the ocean, even if I’m just sitting in a kiddie pool, in my front yard, getting my face blasted with water from an inflatable Triceratops. Here’s to enjoying the summer, one shave at a time!

Challenge: Obviously.

Soap Theme Justification: “Prominently feature aquatic or citrus accords”: Consider it done. The Watchman is one of the best aquatic scents I know of. From Zingari Man: “The sea air, alive with electricity, feels almost a part of him. The water, the salt, the fresh life of the ocean, the almost sweet warmth of the lighthouse lamp, he wears them like cologne. And so too may you with this aquatic fragrance named for such a man as him: The Watchman.” Reads almost like a J. Peterman Catalog entry, doesn’t it? But hell yeah, it’s aquatic.

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Aquatics all around. Waves on Waves.

2024-06-20 - High and Low

• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Abyss
• Post Shave: Moon Shaving - Astoria
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Every Storm a Serenade
• Razor: Gillette - Travel Tech
• Brush: Maggard Razors - Synthetic Tuxedo

Sunny Days

Unifying Theme: Aquatics

#photocontest Bucket
You can't say that photo doesn't feature a bucket.

Old_Hiker Day: This whole thing is relevant, I promise.

The first part is about work and about taking control of one's direction in life. I concede, in advance, that the course of action that I'm taking is a luxury that isn't available to everyone.

At this juncture, I want to just reference a couple things, but only by vaguely pointing at them, otherwise it'll become a whole drawn-out thing, and no one wants that:

1. Albert Camus' famous "One must imagine Sisyphus happy," which I also mentioned a bit the other day.

2. Friederich Nietzsche's Will to Power. Despite his reputation, Nietzsche was hugely optimistic, as was his philosophy. He advocated taking control of one's own life: casting aside one's burdenful existence, baring your claws, defeating what prevents you from being you, finally becoming free to play! That's what Zarathustra said, anyway.

Anyone? No? Alright, I digress.

Those are lofty ideas, certainly easier said than done—not the least because pursuing such things is frankly a luxury that not everyone has.

Later today, I'm going to be on the phone with my past employer, reinstating remote access for me because I'm going to continue doing a small amount of work for them on a contractual basis, just to fill some of my off-hours. It was an enjoyable job. I liked it—for the most part. It was nonetheless constraining such that it limited my options for growth.

Earlier this year, I became aware of an online graduate program at my alma mater, one that unites my past graduate career in Linguistics with the programmy path that I later found myself on. I got it into my head that I would apply/enroll in the program, quit my job so that I can unilaterally focus on school, and get the fuck out of this bullshit hellscape of a climate I live in.

I wasn't happy with the direction—or lack thereof—that my life had, so I chose to take control and change it.

As for the goal of freeing myself from barren wasteland that exists in an impossible location inches from the surface of the sun: I postponed that part. I decided that relocating right now would require a lot of mental energy that I need to reserve.

Anyway, I resolved even before the Games even started that I would not shave under the impossible sun of this climate.

So I didn't.
I headed upwards by some thousands of feet: Saguaros to pines.

#FOF
Check out this horribly unflattering—but not altogether long—clip of my ramblings. I did that because I knew I wasn't going to remember anything that I had been muttering to myself. Talking to a camera for the sake of a recording feels wildly unnatural, by the way.

Some of us are a little bit more bold than to censor our own faces, u/Priusaurus. I don't blame you; I'd be embarrassed if I were you, too. 😜

What I didn't mention is that Abyss is easily my favorite scent now. It starts cucumber-heavy, which is beautiful and which yields to rich watery notes once the cucumber mellows out. What's Aaron's u/? That dude needs to keep making this scent forever. On top of that, it lathers like a dream. Why is there no Abyss aftershave?!

I almost want to empty my den and keep nothing but Abyss and Every Storm a Serenade.

Almost.

Edit: He said it's pretty much retired now, so I straight up panic-bought some more. Grab it while you can! If there's none left, tell him you want more!

June 20, 2024 – LG 20: Sunny Days

• Brush: Maggard Purple Swirl Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Voskhod (4)
• Lather: Ariana and Evans – L’Orange Verte
• Post Shave: Mickey Lee Soapworks – Cape Verde
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap – Boat Drinks

For our #FOF AE orange verte is a citrus packed yet subtle scent. It includes orange, tangerine, bergamot, and lemon peel. It gets a little spice from pepper and a touch of earthiness from lavender. MLS Cape is another citrus and lavender blend, also with both orange and tangerine. Its lavender is more prominent as is the earthiness from oak moss (also in AE, but not really to my nose). Lastly, boat drinks is like sun screen and tropical booze beverages combined, what is more summer than that? Coconuts and rum, tangerine, banana – tropical cocktail.

Sadly, I did not manage shaving outside today, which I’m not averse too. Travel, trains, tubes, and busses and it just didn’t work out. I did snap a picture of a pirate though, so for #PHOTOCONTEST pirate, we layered some photos together. The pirate was at Albert Docks in Liverpool.

Jun. 20, 2024

• Brush: Rubberset 400 Un-numbered 26mm Zenith Boar

• Razor: Blackland Sabre

• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [20]

• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Contemplation

• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Contemplation

• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Contemplation

Sunny Days!

I grew up in Jersey City but every summer I spent the entire time on at the Shore. My parents were divorced, my dad lived down the shore so I always spent my summers with him. Going to the beach, walking the boards, or just hanging out with friends. It was a glorious time. When I was old enough and financially able to, I moved out of my mom’s house and moved to the Shore. I pretty much lived within 10 minutes of a beach for the next 17 years. When I moved to Florida I did not want to live by a beach but did move to a home with a lake view. I really like living by water. I drive over the Tampa Bay everyday to get to and from work, and just seeing all that water just relaxes me.

Anyway enough rambling, I dick holed it again. Contemplation is too good not to just go start to finish with it.
Just to make sure lather justification.

From DG site: There is a stark difference between spring and summer, and Contemplation falls squarely in summer

Today’s challenge. To honor u/Old_Hiker My wife thinks I’m nuts but here it is. I shaved in front of my house. It was the perfect day for it. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky and we got to see some ducks at the end. .bef

Photo contest Hobbies

I love to cook. Does not matter stovetop, oven, gas grill, charcoal, pellet grill, barrel smoker or flattop grill. I love it.

#ROTY #FOF #Photocontest

June 20, 2024 – LG Day 20 – Summer has begun

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Pure Bliss SHD 24mm x Heritage Collection Merit 99-4 Handle
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy Aluminum
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Zingari – The Gatherer
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Smash
• Fragrance: Kerosene – Summer of 84

Today’s shave is in memory of u/loudmusicboy. Just to be clear, the man behind that account is alive and well. But the u/loudmusicboy persona? Dead. He should probably just change his Reddit handle to boringcorporateman. See, today’s lighthouse shave was supposed to be done together. Just the two of us, like old times. But he has eschewed internet fun to step up the corporate ladder. He’s traded in his music posters for charts about this quarter’s growth. His tattoos have sloughed off his body and have been replaced with a business suit that fused with his skin. I’ve even heard that he stopped teaching yoga and now spends Saturday mornings golfing with his coworkers, pretending to have a good time. We used to have fun, he and I. Drinking all night, staring at the stars, talking about girls and how we’d never be stiff like our dads. We listened to metal in basements that were hot and smelled of blood and sweat. Now he worries about meeting deadlines and listens to the Dave Matthews Band. We always talked about how we’d never grow up. We would be different. We would stay cool.

That young man I once knew is dead.

~~Anyway, I shaved in front of one of the most iconic lighthouses in the country, Portland Head Light.~~ A torrential rain and active thunderstorm foiled my plans.

I shaved in my backyard, with the rain having ~~unfortunately~~ fortunately slowed down right before I wandered outside. To make it a little more interesting, I didn’t bring a mirror and recorded a 30 second timelapse.

The Gatherer represents “summer’s masculine potential.” It’s among the ideal peach scents for me. It smells neither like peach rings (one of my favorite gummy candies) nor farmers market peaches, and yet with one whiff, it’s unmistakably peach. With the zesty, powdery orange and light floral musks, it becomes complex but maintains its clear peach trajectory. Impressively wearable. Smash has a sharper and sweeter peach accord, bolstered by the sugar cube and accentuated by bourbon, with a somehow buttery essence to it. Finally, the explosion of citrus that is Summer of 84. Imagine slicing into a grapefruit – zest essence spraying, juice spilling out, the aroma flying into your nose with reckless abandon. Yes, sweet and smooth melon, salty sea water, and white florals give a backbone and tie it to the rest of the shave, but it’s ultimately grapefruit all the way. This is the most summery shave I could have possibly asked for. #FOF

June 20, 2024 - Sunny Days

• Brush: Century 752 Maggard Badger 22 mm
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Wizamet (34)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime
• Post Shave: Fine Accoutrements - Italian Citrus
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Falling Into The Sea

Challenge: I didn’t go for a hike. But, I spent some time in the sun trimming trees, and pulling/digging up saplings. After that, I shaved on my deck(Yeah, it’s a mess and it’s falling apart). It was overcast until the moment I started lathering. I was using the reflection off my phone until I got an overheating warning and put it inside to cool off (first time I’ve seen one, it was fine in my pocket doing yard work). I made a quick slurry lather to move things along and did my shave.

I had planned on using Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime. I switched to Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime because of the heat. They smell the same, anyways. The Ice version has WS-23. Sea Spice Lime is so good. It has a bit of every summer-time fragrance element. It’s citrus heavy with sweet bergamot and tart lime. It’s a bit aquatic with hints of salty sea water. It’s green and fresh spicy in the base. This is my summer go-to. I wear the edt a lot this time of year. Coincidentally, my current bath bar is Sea Spice Lime. I’ve been smelling good the last few weeks. Sea Sp/Ice Lime is goated.

I was hoping to use Ausflug today. I’m not certain it would’ve worked. But, the scent notes sound about right. Plus, I really want to smell it. But, it’s still not here. So, I’m using what I planned originally, Fine Accoutrements Italian Citrus, which is inspired by Acqua di Parma Colonia. A Colonia style fragrance is something that is sorely missing from my den. I saw someone break out their full Acqua di Parma setup for Flex Day a couple of years ago. It looked fancy. And, it made me curious about the fragrance. I figured a sample of a dupe was a cheap way to try it out. I smell lemon, soapy floral, herbaceous, grassy, and woody notes. It’s classic, elegant, light, and aromatic. It feels stylish, and very appropriate for summer. I think it’s about time I picked something in this genre to add to the den.

Today’s fragrance is Falling Into The Sea from Imaginary Authors. I smell citrus and aquatic notes. The citrus is muted. It’s more bitter than tart. It smells like a mix of grapefruit flesh and bitter lemon. I don’t know how else to describe the aquatic note other than to say it smells like the beach; beach sand in particular. The citrus evokes the feeling of spending a few hours in the sun. It makes me feel nostalgic. It brings to mind summer vacations at the beach. The only thing that’s missing is the smell of sunscreen.

#photocontest - Earth. Terra.

#FOF

June 20, 2024

• Brush: Omega Penelli White HI-BRUSH Synthetic
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: A A Shaving – Wapiti

Today’s soap features predominantly aquatic notes. AA Shaving is a brand I never heard of and was fortunate that u/onionmiasma sent me a smush. Thank you! Wapiti opens with strong aquatic notes and dries down to woody notes. The aquatics stay throughout, changing from a brighter note to a muskier one. A little too strong in my opinion, although I can see how others would appreciate this. It falls into a more cologne territory scent than a realistic forestry scent which is what I generally prefer. Perhaps this is the calone, which I could be recognizing in the same vein as more popular colognes I have sniffed.

fof

Steampunk for my photo today. I really liked this watch because I could see all the gears, and today it comes in handy. #photocontest

Edit: I forgot to include my memory. I have no clue why, but I remember Old Spice Pure Sport deodorant being reminiscent. We used to have summer football practices, and I would just load up on it. I hated smelling myself sweating and being gross, so I replaced it with moar deodorant. I was also one of the few who actually washed my practice uniform more than once a month. If you know the football locker room smell, you know what I mean. I’m sure hockey, etc probably all had their special stink too.