LGSOTD 24-Jun-24

• Brush: Blackland - Signature #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Blackland Razors - Dart #CNC
• Blade: Astra - SP
• Lather: Santa Maria Novella - Toscana
• Post Shave: Ariana & Evans - Tobacco Road AS
• Fragrance: The Essence Vault - 290 (TF Tobacco Vanille) EDP

Christmas in July, but in June's Eve

This shave is brought to you by u/TheStallionPartThree, I am very grateful for the help on this one. Despite being a transatlantic effort, he kindly sent me a number of very generous smushes, none of which I had tried before and one of which I could never try otherwise, ROTY 2023, which smells fantastic. This package almost had me rearranging my calender so I could get the ROTY in there, but sadly I have to be patient until this event is over and done.

That being said, the Santa Maria Novella Toscana is no slouch. Nice easy lather and very subtle but pleasant scent. The menthol addition is also a welcome one this morning. Along with this he'd also kindly provided some Astra blades, which of course would be rude not to set into use today as well. Excellent, shave, lovely scent and a great finish, TheStallionPartThree thank you once again, saved my calender (assuming I haven't buggered up elsewhere) and it is very much appreciated!!

Daily Challenge: r/Wetshaving Exclusives Wish List

Now, I half expect to see someone asking for a Maggards Old Spice Dupe just to cover a few bases for next year, and whilst that might be amazing I have another couple in mind. I know we've already had CGC, SW and SBS (was there a DG one as well?), how about sponsor of the day, Stirling. We already know it is one of the best in terms of bang for your cash and it lasts an eternity...anything with a smoke, tobacco or leather (or probably anything just for the novelty) and I'm in! The only request I would make if it ever happened, make the splash sans alcohol so we lowly Europeans can grab it as well!

Photocontest

This one being a tobacco scent I thought I'd try for exhaled smoke (well vape really) to show 'The Elements: Air'. I had thought about using a can of compressed air to blow stuff around and I missed my chance with a sailing yacht, but thought this would do the trick.

Have a cracking day all!

Cheers

Marc

Great shot and clever way to get the scavenger hunt theme in.

June 24, 2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG 2024 with 26mm AP Shave Co. Pure Bliss #FRANKENBRUSH #PREMIUMPLASTIC #SHD #FAUXFUR #SUBBROOSH
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (2)
• Lather: A A Shaving – Wapiti
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Ausflug
• Fragrance: Zingari – The Watchman Extrait

Christmas eve, when the sub goes on a giving spree. Today’s smush is from u/onionmiasma, who graciously bought a tub of AA shaving Wapiti and distributed it to everyone to save us all from not getting sponsor points.

I thought I should go ahead and do several things for this shave in honor of u/onionmiasma, so I used the Aurora Grooming Brush he likes. He says it’s “Cubs colors” but I think the red is darker. I just like red. The blue does glow in the dark, kinda like it’s radioactive, which does describe September as it relates to the Cubs.

Also, for #photocontest, I’m doing woodworking. I know u/onionmiasma just loves this cutting board I won last year for Lather Games, so it’s on display today. I’m not a woodworker at all, but u/phteven_j is a miracle worker with wood.

Tying #fof into u/onionmiasma was a bit harder, but then my Ausflug arrived. As everyone is aware it was Onion’s LG prize for last year. Now connecting these together is a bit of a challenge, but they’re all scents describing “the outdoors” in some way. Wapiti is defined in terms of “cool woods” and “Musky woods” (and is meant to invoke forests of the NW.) Ausflug, while it opens with citrus is defined as having a “classic refined outdoorsy base” (meant to be reminiscent of playing frisbee in the college quad if I understood correctly.) Watchman is said to have “soft woody seashore” notes up top (For thematic purposes we’ll make a sea shore on the NW as a call back to the soap). Sandwiching a citrus in between aquatics works pretty well to boot. It’s not quite as crisp as wearing something like Clean’s Rain, but the final effect isn’t that far off.

Thanks u/onionmiasma for the assist, both for this shave in particular, and as a judge keeping LG going another year.

Turning to the challenge. I’m fortunate to have 3 r/wetshaving sub soaps and 2 #subbrooshes. (Plus, Gearhead, which wasn’t an exclusive but brough back due to the sub). While I’m looking forward to u/j33pguy13’s Stirling “Sir Irisch Baas” sub treat (and will buy a trick when it goes live), I’m especially fond of the funny sub collabs, like Remote Learning (yes, we’ll give u/priusaurus some props here for bringing this to fruition. Not like his head can get any bigger). To that end, I’d love to see what Talent Soap Factory could churn out for the sub because he’s definitely got some novel scents. But, here’s the kicker, they’re good. Fantasy Donut yesterday was a lot of fun. I took sniff of Fizz and it teleported me back to the local root beer joint we had in town with unlimited mugs of the good stuff that came with dinner. (I’d be curious what u/hugbckt thought of it, but USPS lost the package I sent him 2 weeks ago). Wolf Mother is a wonderful Coffee and Merlot blend. To that end, maybe he could take the Money Scent he’s got, mix it with a little bourbon and cigar smoke and make a sub scent called “Judge’s Backroom Deals.” (I’m out of other explanations for leg shave day on Father’s Day and outdoor shave in the middle of the week other than “someone cut a backroom deal.”) Or maybe a shave that smells like diesel exhaust called “public shave.” (Actually, no. I don’t want something that’s worse than Midnight Stag.)

2024-06-24 - The gift of giving

• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Behold the Whatsis!
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Nightman
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Remote Learning
• Razor: Wolfman Razors - Guerrilla
• Brush: Summer Break Soaps

Unifying Theme: Xmas Eve in June

Xmas Eve in June:
The lather and aftershave both came from u/souleater7173 as part of Onion's PIF train late last year. Thank you, yet again.

The gorgeous brush is courtesy of u/rocketk455 from his Anosmiac Torture Parade a couple years ago. This is absoutely my favorite brush that I will ever own, but it's is one of those things where I ironically don't use it as much as I might because I want to avoid any kind of wear. Meanwhile, the frag kind of counts for Xmas in June because he threw that in as a bonus when we paid for the Remote Learning soap and a/s. So I'm counting it.

Finally, I won the Wolfman in last year's Games. Thanks to them for their continued sponsorship.

Exclusives Wishlist:
I think u/stirlingsoap was long ago playng with the idea of doing one for our little, uh, Community.
To be honest, I'm not sure what kind of scent it could be. but I would be giddier than a grapefruit goulash if they continued their established pattern of name choices by naming it something along the lines of:

Dreamatorium
Kickpuncher II
Nadir
The Darkest Timeline
Greendale Seven
El Tigre Chino

Rod's probably sick of me suggesting that, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#FOF
Speaking of grapefruit, Whatsis! is all the grapefruit your grandmother can handle. I'm a fan of actual grapefruit. As grapefruit scents go, I've tried exactly two, and I think I prefer Noble Otter's Firefighter. Whatsis! is fine.

Moving on, I think I'm the third, maybe fourth person to have this particular bottle of Nightman and the corresponding tub of soap. I haven't used it more than a couple times because I've been focusing on other tubs, but maybe I'll pass it along to someone else to try.

That's not to say I don't like it though. I wouldn't say I dislike it. I would, however, say that it smells a bit like... gasoline? Or under the hood of a car? That's not quite it... some kind of rubber or plastic, maybe. Yeah, that's it; it's like the industrial smell of some newly-manufactured, nondescript thing right after you take it out of the package. Well, when I phrase it like that, I wouldn't expect u/souleater7173 to have liked it. I suspect it mellows into its "citrus-forward" components (oh, hey, it has that in common with Whatsis!), but I didn't give it much of a chance before Remote Learning.

Boy howdy, what a scent to follow that but Remote Learning! I actually haven't figured this one out. Doritos are definitely there, but does it also have the Mountain Dew? Is it like those jars that contain both peanut butter and jelly in the same jar? Do they still have those? That's not to say that I have an interest in that stuff, but I digress. It's definitely mostly Doritos.

#photocontest Onion
Yes, that's an actual onion. Seriously.
No, not the obvious grapefruit; that's an obvious grapefruit, which was as messy as it was disappointing. No, I mean the ~~pale, round, misshapen blob~~ onion in front (I promise I was still talking about the literal onion!).

SOTD * Bowl: Yates Precision Manufacturing - Sm. lather bowl.
Brush: Proraso by Omega - boar travel brush.
Razor: Henson AL13 - mild.
Blade: Treet - Platinum Super Stainless.
Lather: London Razors/Summer Break Soaps - Mountain Laurel.
Fragrance:* Tom Ford - Neroli Portofino.

Notes: Amber, Neroli, Geranium, Galbanum, Oakmoss- created as an homage to the Eastern Kentucky mountains. Soap by SBS, scent by London Razors. Okay this stuff is fantastic. This is another gift smoosh from u/pilgrim32 who saved my games and u/ShavigInCT who sent me a brush to help me be more competitive. Both are solid people and I will 100% PIF. I love florals and this one is excellent.

I’ve never heard of mountain laurel (not a native shrub to Illinois ☹️), but I would be happy smelling this all day. It’s a fresh, green fragrance with the wonderful performance that SBS is known for. If anyone has some stashed away collecting dust in your shave den and wants to start the cleansing process of decluttering, let me know!

As for fragrance- TF Neroli Portofino is as close as I have to pairing with the soap. Base notes include amber ✅ middle notes include neroli ✅ and maybe that’s it. I swear they go nicely together.

Photocontest - blooming Christmas cactus

Challenge- you can start by bringing back this soap and making it exclusive.

I’d also be stoked for an exclusive from a female artisan.

photocontest cactus

ROTY

Day 24

• Brush: SmilezforMiles - Synthetic Brush
• Razor: Gem G-Bar
• Blade: Gem PTFE
• Lather: Zingari Man – The Merchant Soap
• Post Shave: Ogallala Bay Rum - Sage And Cedar
• Fragrance: Cartier - Pasha Edition Noire EdT

Once again, thanks to u/Priusaurus for the smush. He’s sent a few my way this year.

This is an awesome theme because it “forces” interaction between participants. And by “force” I mean, it is totally optional. Like everything else in the Lather Games. This isn’t a frat house and no one is forced to do anything they don’t want to do. The beauty of the Lather Games is anyone can participate, and you can interact with the community as much or as little as you want. You can be a u/Enndeegee, a u/alg92, or anything in between. Shit-post, insightful post, whatever - just make it good. Or don’t! Just please don’t make it long and boring. This theme last year got me out of my comfort zone and “forced” me to DM Prius, because he offered soaps in the smush trading thread. And I’m super glad I did. It got me off the sidelines and interacting with people right off the bat. And this year, I made sure to check the smush threads somewhat regularly to see if I could help anyone. And I’m glad I was able to help a couple different people complete their calendar this year.

We are a community of 153,000 members strong! And probably 300 or so of those members are humans! And we have DOZENS of active members! And our human members are from all across the globe. Sure, our commonality is shaving the way our grandfathers did, but we connect on much more than that and represent people from all walks of life – people of different races, religions, political beliefs, professions, ages, music tastes, hair color, eye color… You get the point. All here to share in the way we shave and come together as people… And participate in a marathon internet competition dedicated posting entertaining descriptions of our shaving routines in the hopes of impressing another person tasked to judge your description of your shaving routine. If you did a good job, they give you points. And if you have a lot of points, you’ll maybe win a prize. Behold: THE LATHER GAMES!

So, for today’s description of my shaving routine:

I really enjoyed The Merchant. When I opened his smush, it was like I was greeted by a complex aroma that transported me to a bustling bazaar, filled with exotic spices and treasures from distant lands. As I lathered it up, the scent continued to develop, revealing layers of warm spices, amber, sweetness, and on a base of woods. It felt like embarking on a grand voyage, with each stroke taking me further into the heart of the merchant's world. I kept the spiciness and woodiness going with the splash – it’s a robust, woodsy fragrance. The classic bay rum warmth, combined with the earthy sage and cedar worked in harmony with the soap. This is something that the Merchant would sell at the bustling bazaar! To cap off the shave, I used Pasha Edition Noire EdT. The fragrance opened with a burst of green citrus, quickly followed by deeper notes of amber and cedarwood. It perfectly complemented the earlier scents, adding a final layer of complexity and brightness. Not every shave this month has been a winner, but this one sure has! #FOF

Sidecontest: #photocontest: Prius. Removed the dealership advertisement because I don’t want to give away free ads. If the dealership pays me, I’ll remove the censor.

Challenge: I’m pretty sure House of Mammoth is contractually obligated to create a sub soap by winning March Madness.

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Christmas in July, but in June's Eve”… My personal Top 5 Favorite Christmas Movies of All-Time

5.) The Muppet Christmas Carol – An all time classic where the guy that plays Scrooge is acting like he’s going for an Oscar while being like the only human cast.

4.) The Santa Clause - Nothing says 'Merry Christmas' like accidentally knocking Santa off your roof and having to take over his job

3.) Elf – The classic tale of a human, raised as an Elf, trying to find his real dad.

2.) Christmas Vacation – An absolutely perfect Christmas Masterpiece. Clark Griswold's quest for the perfect Christmas light display proves that sometimes it's okay to blind your neighbors with holiday cheer.

1.) Home Alone - Little Kevin McCallister shows that the best way to celebrate Christmas is by turning your house into a booby-trapped fortress against burglars.

(Editors Note: If you’re one of those people that say “Die Hard” to be cute or an attempt to be funny… Shut up.)

June 24, 2024 - Christmas in July's Eve

• Brush: Bundubeard Sekelbos Hoss
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Wizamet (38)
• Lather: Tallow + Steel - Rainforest
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Mûir(e) Wood
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Confluence

Challenge: How could the answer be anything other than Stirling? How has there not been a Stirling exclusive, yet?

Today’s lather was given to me by /u/Priusaurus. This is the fourth sample he sent me that I’ve used in the Games. So, thanks for being so generous! I’ve used T+S before. T+S uses essential oils for their fragrances, a fact I learned thanks to the short lived Muh Oils theme. In the past, those essential oils have been very strong and headache inducing for me. Namely, Boreal.

Now to the fragrance. I smell a very strong patchouli note. It's overpowering. Dirty vetiver and sweet grass make the fragrance earthy. There's a note of incense lingering around the patchouli. There's a slight sweetness. This doesn't fit “rainforest.” I was hoping this would be mossy. But, it's an earthy patchouli bomb. I don't care for it.

I’m going for a woodsy fragrance theme today. For the splash, I picked Barrister and Mann Mûir(e) Wood. A sweet, jammy note of Blackberry greets me as soon as the fragrance hits my nose. I smell balsam, vetiver, and a bit of oakmoss. There’s an impression of fresh air. This doesn’t smell like an attempt to perfectly replicate woods. It’s more of an homage. I think it’s all the better for it. I love the mix of jammy berry and airyness with mossy and coniferous notes. It feels homey. It’s like if Smucker’s grew on trees.

Rounding out the woodsy fragrances is Chatillon Lux Confluence. This fragrance has aromatic top notes. There are sharp green notes contrasting coniferous ones. I smell layers of woody notes with resinous sweet undertones. The strongest notes to my nose are spruce and juniper. It’s very woodsy. There are a lot of elements. Yet, it feels cohesive and balanced, and detailed. It smells fantastic. It's a realistic woodsy fragrance that works for both genders.

#photocontest - birds. I took this as a safety pic. But, I managed to get one with a real bird. Zoom in the top right corner.

#FOF

Jun. 24, 2024

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

• Razor: Feather AC DX Kamisori #KAMISORI

• Blade: Kai Captain Titan Mild Pro Touch [1]

• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co - Armonía

• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Co - Seaforth! Roman Spice

• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Co - Seaforth! Roman Spice

Christmas in July, but June’s Eve

Today was a day of a few firsts for me. Starting off with Armonía that was sent to me by u/Infernalinternal as well as the Kamisori out on loan for the games. Unfortunately for my wallet I really liked the Kami, so now I have to buy mine and send him back his. I have a bunch of samples from infernal that I plan I trying in July. Also even though I have used Roman Spice before, I still credit Infernal with turning me onto Seaforth! when he sent me a sample of 3 Scots a few months ago.

I was nervous going into today’s shave, not gonna lie. But I went for it, slow and steady, and I am happy to report 2 passes no blood no irritation. Definitely the opposite of when I used a Weck for the first time.

I’m going to need to grab a tub of Armonía, I love HOM tobacconist but this has a different tobacco scent to it that I really dig. It’s not in your face but it’s noticeably there. I like that very much.

Son update, I think we are in the home stretch. No throwing up two days in a row, and he’s eating normally again. Super stoked about that.

Today’s Challenge I am an admitted Catie’s Bubbles fan boy. I would love to see a sub exclusive made by u/C_Bubbles. I have not tried a soap from CB that I don’t like. I have 10 different ones right now and a back up of 1.

Photo Contest: Theme Air. I had some trouble figuring out what to do with this one, but then it hit me. Fans move air, and we have a few Japanese folding fans and the DX is made in Japan so why not go that route.

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

Christmas in July, but in June’s Eve

• Brush: Yaqi Ferrari
• Razor: Qshave Adjustable
• Blade: Astra
• Lather: Southern Witchcraft - Lycanthropy

I am just another 2024 Lather Games contestant. So a soap from u/kitaecw shoud be eligible in my opinion. Jokes aside, I just could not get any soaps from other members of community in time, so here it is.

photocontest

The Elements: Earth

Today’s Challenge:

r/wetshaving exclusives wish list In my opinion, it should be The House of Mammoth

June 24, 2024 – LG 24: Xmas in July but in June

• Brush: Rx Shaving Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: 3D Printed Half DE Razor
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (4)
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory – Razberri and Tomato Leaf
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Bash
• Fragrance: January Scent Project – Folk Tale

The soap was a free smoosh from u/onionmiasma on the LG thread. I know part of the games is poking fun at judges, and onion gets his fair share having finished 2nd last year. Ironic, considering that’s better than 99% of people, but being number 2 is a tough spot. Super generous guy and single handedly allowed for half this sub to score that AA sponsor point with wapiti. Helped folks caravan to the maggard meet. We also share a love of DMB, so that’s cool too.

The splash was tossed in for free from I believe u/fuckchalzone when he was kind enough to send me his lavender interrupted sample (also free) from I think last years maggard meet.

The frag was a gift that was extra and included in my LG FoF 1st prize package last year curtesy of u/wallygator88. A pleasant surprise and means I got 3 bottles last year.

The razor was won in a PIF on r/wixked_edge curtesy of u/wrong_coyote_9525. I know his 3D printed bowls get a lot of praise as well. If you check his history, lots of cool printed things and giveaways.

The brush was a r/wetshaving Xmas/gift exchange that came from u/rdthedo that he turned himself. Very cool and thoughtful.

The blades were from a free personna giveaway sometime back if you ~~gave them feedback~~ shilled a bit.

For #FOF I’ll be honest, the folk tale leaked so it all smells pretty much like that. It’s a lovely bright scent. I get some light citrus, some florals, and a touch of powdery-ness. The TSF was a bit candy like, with some earthiness, but again had been a bit saturated by the frag. The Bash is a MFK Grand Soir dupe, super heavy on the vanilla.

For #PHOTOCONTEST went with animals. These are my cousins dogs, well, a picture of them.

For the challenge, let’s go with todays sponsor in Stirling for a sub exclusive. Namely because they are awesome (helped make the sub broosh happen too!) and I already have several soaps others from other artisans as exclusives.

Christmas in July, but in June's Eve

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Vitae Taper w/AP Shave Co. 26mm Pure Bliss Knot
• Razor: Yates Precision Polished Winning Razor
• Blade: Personna - Comfort Coated
• Lather: Eleven Shaving - Unscented
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Classic Aftershave
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral

Daily Video

Daily Gratitude
I do the basic gratitude every day so I thought I would do something special for today, I will say what I enjoy about each person I thank. First person to thank is u/Cowzilla3 who PIFed me the soap smush, I like that he does the fun old spice thing without being annoying or obviously up for DQ. Next up is u/ShavinginCT who deserves a ton of thanks for sending me almost every frag this month including today's as well as he sent a ton of soap smushes and he helped me plan, I like the way that he isn't too active but everyone still knows him so when he messages everyone is pleasantly surprised. Thanks to u/Engineered_Shave for doing the razor passaround, I respect that he can be active and participate in the lather games here but he is still active in r/wicked_edge without losing too much culture. Thanks to my mom for the aftershave, I thank her for getting excited about my wacky hobbies but she makes sure to send hints when I am rambing on too much. Thanks to Rob @ Chisel & Hound for setting the knot at no extra cost, I like that he has a presence here and in the discords but he isn't too active so he keeps the imfamous cool big company guy role.

Daily Mistakes
I should have gotten a table or something to capture an easier to see photo.

Daily Writeup Happy Christmas Eve in June July or whatever the hell today is. My family's relationship to the holidays is a bit weird so get ready for a massive story time that may have major gaps because this is just what I remember people have told me, my grandparents on my mom's side left the USSR as refugees seeking asylum on terms of religous prosecution as part of jews for grain where USSR would sell grain to Russia if they let jews leave, but because my grandma was German and they weren't both Jewish, they could only go to USA or Canada for some reason, my grandma said that if she was Jewish then they could have gone to Australia or something. So then the whole family went to Canada, but my grandpa wasn't religious at all, but the rest of his family was Jewish so my mom still grew up with that, but because my grandma isn't jewish, my mom isn't jewish, so we only kind of celebrate chanukah. Now on to my dad's side, he doesn't really talk about it but I'll see what I can remember, his dad was crushed by a giant concrete pillar or something when my dad was only like 6 and I'm pretty sure it was on Christmas Eve so my dad isn't big into Christmas but here in Utah everyone has been, is, or will be Mormon at some point and our family was Mormon until I was about 3 when my dad decided that the church is actually really messed up (nothing against anyone who is mormon) so my dad decided to leave, then my mom didn't like that or something so they divorced, then a year later or something my mom left the church, but we celebrate Christmas every year. So now we kind of celebrate Chistmas and Chanukah without being religous about either. Where was I going with this, idk, maybe I did it all as filler or just to practice typing on colemak because I have only been using it for like 4 days.

Daily Theme Points I got the smush for free from cowzilla.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
Old Spice because it wouldn't be a shave with something from cowzilla without it. The frag sample was sent to me at no cost from ShavinginCT.

Daily Challenge I've been thinking of my two wishlist exclusive soaps all day. 1. "Stirling Soap Co. Wetshaving Man" and I want it to be a pretty decent batch on their website because the chance of seeing that at my local shave shop that sells stirling would be crazy, coming up for the name of something there would instantly cop me that job. 2. Something from Spearhead because all my favorite soaps are from them.

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
Nothing today.

Photo Contest
I spent 30 minutes with all my shave stuff in one hand watching this bird feeder for a hummingbird, I only got the one crappy shot but all my stuff is there and if you zoom in you can see the bird.

TL;DR
Gratitude, crazy family history, free stuff, bird watching, I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests (but hopefully formatted good) #photocontest #ROTY

June 24, 2024

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks purple burl AP Shave Co. 24mm MiG
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory – Peppermint Patti

One cancelled flight, one missed flight, 2 standby failures and one delayed flight plus 32 hours later, I am home from one of the worst airport TSA experiences ever. Luckily, because I didn’t have any of my themed soap which was graciously sent to me by u/impressive_donut114, I’m making it home in the nick of time. It’s the first use of TSF for me and it’s decent. I originally was expecting a chocolate peppermint based off the name of peppermint patty candy, but then I realized it’s peppermint Patti so must be Patti mayonnaise. The mayonnaise is for the creamy lather. Could this be a base race with Doug? Not quite in my opinion. It’s a very peppermint forward cooling soap, not really much otherwise. But there are different types of mint, this one leaning more towards peppermint gum scent. Clean and fresh. Not vegetal or medicinal, nor is it toothpasty or bathroom cleaner mint. Just pleasant. One of those if your in the mood for it scents. As hinted, this reminded me of blue peppermint orbit gum. I have memories of this gum for a weird reason. It was a gum of choose for a bit in junior high school especially during track and field meets. The weird thing, however, is the gum would eventually break down and turn to goo. Pretty quickly and unexpectedly. Looking into it, I was not the only one who experienced disintegrating gum. Well, it was the only sport with coed practices.

Challenge: Honestly all sub exclusives are pretty cool. And they have developed into some pretty awesome ideas. I would probably pick Barrister and Mann, closely followed by HoM or Spearhead. I think these all have the most hits for me scent wise.

Today the photo theme is stale wordplay humor (see above) #photocontest

fof

June 24, 2024 - Christmas in July, but in June's Eve

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Wild West Brushworks - Shock - 26mm Timberwolf
• Razor: Schick Black Handle DE (Pre-Krona)
• Blade: Voskhod (10)
• Lather: Dapper Dragon - Terre du Dragon
• Post Shave: 345 Soap Co. - Trench Lines
• Fragrance: 345 Soap Co. - Trench Lines

Overall, I had a great shave today and zero complaints. Now, I suggest buckling up for this one. Until last night, I had planned to use a smoosh I received before starting the lather games. I checked last night to ensure I had the day right and was ready before bed. I haven't had much time to Reddit stalk, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to jump on and ensure the person I got it from has participated in at least 50%. It was then that I realized how much trouble I was in as the person I got the smoosh from does not meet the criteria. Then, panic ensued as I realized I had nothing for today.

I searched my den, and every smoosh I encountered was either from someone not participating or from an artisan I had already used. Until I came across this little Dapper Dragon from the big box of samples, I won in a PIF two years ago. I had forgotten about it because I only scooped enough for one shave to send the rest and the box to the next winner.

As my last hope, I looked back to see who I won it from. What I found did not bode well, as the person I won it from is not participating in the games either. So I took one more shot in the dark and looked at who that person won it from. It was u/oswald_heist who added the Dapper Dragon to the box. With that being said, u/oswald_heist, since I technically got this from you, thank you for the smoosh and saving my lather games! Seriously, though, this sub has been amazing for the last couple of years since I found it. I am not as social as some, but I'm here every day because the people here are so kind and generous.

Terra du Dragon is a Terred'Hermes dupe, from what I found. Terre d'Hermes means 'Earth of Hermes.' Since you need earth to dig trenches, I paired the soap with Trench Lines from 345. Plus, they are both dupes, so they are also related that way.

Regarding r/wetshaving exclusives, I instantly thought of three or four I would love to see. The challenge calls for one, though, so I think I would have to choose Stirling. Stirling was the first soap I ever purchased and one that will permanently be in my den.

Side contest: #PHOTOCONTEST - The Elements: Air

June 24, 2024 - all aboard the USS Wetshaving

• Brush: Zenith 31mm MOAR BOAR
• Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom Tech
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: DentonMajik - Hot Laguna Nights
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - 42
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Jitterbug

A while ago, I won a pif for this razor from /u/BossHoggins10. In that package he included the soap sample that I used today. So huge shoutouts to the Boss Hog for today's shave, both lather and razor. This post shave was pif'd to me by /u/jeffm54321 a very long time ago. I love this scent. It matches up well with the soap as a fresh scent. Lastly, I picked this frag because, to my nose, it smells very very very similar to 42. So we're going with some summer-y florals and citruses this evening and I'm quite enjoying it.

The shave went well. I think I've pretty much decided that boar brushes should always be bowl lathered for my face. All my boar struggles don't seem to exist when I bowl lather them, so that's going to be my tactic moving forward. This soap base was pretty good. It lathered very easily, the slickness left something to be desired, but there was plenty of cushion to make up for that. I'm sure there's somebody out there for whom this is their favorite soap base, but I'd rather it be slicker.

I really want House of Mammoth to make a rose centric scent. I know that he would do that note justice, and tusk is an awesome base. So House of Mammoth is my vote for the next sub exclusive.

Today's photo contest theme is Water Vehicles. I don't have access to any full sized vehicles so I made a paper boat, christened it the USS Wetshaving, then set it afloat in my sink. This picture was a huge effort in timing. Race against the clock for the paper to waterlog andd then sink, for it to be facing the right way, and for the razor leaning up against the splash to not fall over. I went through 5 or 6 boats before everything worked in my favor. I feel like this idea was a good match for today's lather theme as well. This community is very good about sharing with each other in order to enable us to try new things we've never tried before. The USS Wetshaving is my metaphor for that community pillar. #photocontest