Day 23
- Brush: Frank Shaving – Silvertip Synthetic 20mm
- Razor: Schick Injector
- Blade: Ted Pella Injector Blades
- Lather: Talent Soap Factory – Cakehole Soap
- Post Shave: Apex Alchemy – Basic AF Splash
- Fragrance: Valentino - Born in Roma Yellow Dream EdP
Thanks to u/Priusaurus for the smush of the absurdly named Talent Soap Factory Cakehole.
I’ve been putting the challenge stuff at the end of my SOTDs, but today, since it’s such a big part of the shave, I’m starting with it. Firstly, I need to paint you a picture. I bet a lot of people won’t remember, but last year, I texted my sister about using my niece’s play kitchen for this challenge, she thought I was on drugs, and as it turned out, I was just really dedicated to my first Lather Games.
This story has been repeated time and time again throughout my family. Everyone has heard it and can probably recite it over and over and over again. It has quickly become part of our family’s lore. Everyone loves this story of me using my niece’s play kitchen to shave for the internets. Now, fast forward to last Christmas, my sister wrapped up the toy kitchen and gave it to me as a gag gift. My niece had outgrown it and she thought she’d be funny and give it to me before giving me my real gift (A Maggard’s Gift Card, thankyouverymuch!) And I’ve been hanging onto this kitchen for almost 6 months, waiting for today: Kitchen day.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: No, I don’t have any other kids in my life. So, I’m just the ~~weird~~ completely normal single guy in his 30s, with a toy kitchen in his apartment that I’ve been saving for an internet shaving competition. Completely normal stuff. Explaining it to people that come over has been fun. Imagine going over to visit your single buddy, going to his fridge to get a beer, and you notice he has a toy kitchen in his kitchen. Yeah. That’s been my life for the past 6 months.
Well, who’s crazy now, because I’m using it today and I don’t even need to text my sister to ask her to borrow it! So there! Crazy like a fox!
Anyways, I used the little sink to soak my brush. Then since the little sink doesn’t actually drain, I picked up the kitchen and dumped the water out of the little sink, into my real sink. Total practical. I also decided to use the little sink as a lather bowl and smushed my smush right in there and got to loading and lathering. This tiny sink was, well, tiny. Which is why I’m using the smallest brush I own. Creating a lather was still a giant pain in the ass, but I managed to get a pretty good lather out of this soap. The only thing this tiny kitchen is missing is running water and a tiny mirror.
Speaking of the soap: Cakehole. Because nothing says "start your day right" like smearing your face with something named after a slang term for your mouth. It’s one of those words that sounds kind of dirty, but isn’t, but it still feels like I’m saying something explicit when I say the word “Cakehole.” As I opened the little plastic baggy, a scent so sweet it could give you diabetes wafted out. Think of a bakery explosion, where everything that could possibly have frosting was fused into one sugary scent bomb. If there was ever any confusion what gourmand is, this is gourmand.
Applying the lather felt like slathering a birthday cake directly onto my face – minus the sprinkles, of course. This soap is unlike anything I’ve ever used before. Delicious? Absolutely. Ridiculous? Even more so. After rinsing off the lather and resisting the urge to lick my own face, I used Apex Alchemy’s Basic AF. The name alone sets expectations low, and it delivers in spectacular fashion. It’s okay-ish. It’s scented like a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and was an appropriate finish for Cakehole. Not something I really have any desire to use a lot, but it fit this shave. Basic AF, indeed.
With my face now free of cake and coated in the essence of basic bitchdom, it was time to elevate this experience with Valentino's Born in Roma Yellow Dream. The name evokes visions of grandeur and sophistication, a stark contrast to the "basic" splash I'd just used. The fragrance opened with a burst of juicy pineapple and zesty mandarin, quickly followed by a heart of spicy gingerbread. The gingerbread really tied this whole shave together. It was like walking through an upscale bakery. First the cake, then the P.S.L., and now the gingerbread. The dry down of the cologne revealed a base of vanilla and cedarwood, adding a layer of elegance that felt almost comically out of place with this shave. #FOF
Sidecontest: #photocontest: Elements: Air. The fan blows air.
iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:
In honor of “Sweet Sunday”… The Top 5 Flavors of Cakes/Cupcakes
5.) Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting – Perfect for the chocolate lover in your life. If anyone out there says “It’s too chocolatey” there’s an easy solution: add a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
4.) Pineapple Upside Cake - This cake likes to keep things interesting—literally flipping the script on dessert. It's like the rebel cousin at family gatherings, always bringing a tropical party and saying, "Who needs frosting when you've got caramelized pineapple and cherries on top?"
3.) Red Velvet – I still don’t know what exactly the flavor of Red Velvet actually is, but I know it’s delicious!
2.) Yellow with Chocolate Frosting - The classic duo that’s been together longer than peanut butter and jelly. It's like the golden retriever of cakes—reliable, loved by everyone, and always bringing sunshine to your dessert table. You can set your watch to yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
1.) Funfetti - The cake equivalent of a confetti cannon at a birthday party. It's colorful, tasty, and was more fun than the alternatives. Imagine going with a regular ass white cake when Funfetti is an option? With sprinkles inside and out, tells all the other takes to take a seat and watch how it’s done.
(Editors Note: If you even suggest Carrot Cake, you can fuck right off. Carrot cake sucks. Vegetables don’t belong in desserts, and if you think for a second they do, you’re wrong.)