LGSOTD 26-Jun-24

• Brush: Wald - A1 #OLDWORLD #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Blackland Razors - Sabre #CNC #MODERNGEM
• Blade: Personna - GEM PTFE
• Lather: Noble Otter - Monoi De Tahiti
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Monoi De Tahiti AS
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Monoi De Tahiti EDP

User dares to use actual shaving gear rather than motor oil and a hedge trimmer (#Scrub).

Sorry all, once again failed to get sponsors slotted in elsewhere and had to bang this in here. I'll try again next year and perhaps manage to do something radical!

Challenge - Clean Brush Talk

I would assume this is a very standard affair, but Post Shave have water rinsing through whilst hand lathering until it runs clear. Then a few more under the tap followed by squeezing and flicking out the excess water. Finally a little brush on the towel and leave out to air dry in the bedroom before eventually (read that as when the table is overflowing with brushes and the Mrs raises an eyebrow) popping back into storage. That's about it really, I did give a few of them a deeper clean with gentle shampoo, but didn't seem to do much above what I do as normal so I'll probably not bother again.

Photocontest

With the user having the audacity to use actual shaving gear I give you a shocked otter aimed at 'Humour'. Well I found it funny, but then my sense of humour is very much pitched at the childish.

Have a grand one all.

Cheers

Marc

June 26, 2024

• Brush: My hands
• Razor: Target disposable razor
• Blade: Whatever the hell in already in there
• Lather: Pace – Nacho Cheese Sauce, Medium
• Post Shave: Mountain Dew – Soft Drink
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps – Remote Learning EdP

Of all the things I did last Lather Games, getting u/rocketk455 to release Remote Learning may be my favorite. It started as a ridiculous question in my interview series, “How many people will it take for you to release Remote Learning?” and I 100% expected him to make a joke of my question. Then gave a real answer - 10! And several days before I published the interview, I double checked with him. Was he sure I could run with this? I was willing to pretend like it never happened now that he’s had a couple days to think on it. And once again, to my surprise, he said yes. I posted the interview, and a stand-alone post for the set, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So, for my Wildcard Wednesday shave, I want to honor the origins of Remote Learning. By shaving with Nacho Cheese Sauce and using Mountain Dew as my splash. Of course, there’s only one Remote Learning, so I finished off the shave with my lifetime supply of Remote Learning Frag. I think this is the 3rd time have sprayed it on myself…. And….

Here’s the video

All in all, it was better than I thought it was gonna be. The smell of the Pace Nacho Cheese was not good. Admittedly, I bought it at the dollar store, so I’m guessing they don’t stock the high-quality stuff, but it was slick enough and provided a nice protective barrier for the Target Disposable Razor. The scent did bring me back to my high school and college days when I would eat the worst foods imaginable with zero consequence or regard to the nutritional aspects of food. The Dew Splash was sticky and sweet, but I’m pretty sure all the sugar acts like an astringent to tighten the skin and seal up any micro cuts that occurred from the shave. The lemon and lime were invigorating, packing a nice caffeinated punch to close out the shave, although the carbonation damn near killed me when I got some up my nose while pouring it on my face. Hand to God, the Nacho Cheese of the frag smelled better than the Nacho Cheese Sauce. My wife did not approve of the scent combination and kindly requested I shower before going to bed. I, of course, obliged. All-in-all, this fragrance combination evoked the pleasant memory of a sticky movie theater floor, covered with Nacho Cheese Sauce and Mountain Dew, and allowed me to reminisce about years gone past and the fleeting nature of youth. This shave gave me a moment to reflect on the limited time any of us have on this planet called Earth. #FOF

Challenge: Cleaning brushes? They get cleaned when I put soap on them daily, right? I don’t have a brush cleaning routine. I’ve never cleaned a brush. Does that make me gross?

Soap Theme Justification: If someone else uses Pace Nacho Cheese Sauce, Medium before me, I’m gonna be pissed.

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: It’s Remote Learning, come to life. Then finishing with the EdP from Summer Break Soaps

User shaves with the real version of "Remote Learning" - nacho cheese sauce and mountain dew for splash.

User shaves with the real version of "Remote Learning" - nacho cheese sauce and mountain dew for splash.

June 26, 2024 – 2024..06.26 SOTD: Lather Games Day 26 – Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Paragon Shaving Black Synthetic 25mm in AP Shave Co. Blue & Clear handle
• Razor: Schick Xtreme 2-Blade Sensitive Men’s Disposable Razors
• Lather: Waterman – Sertentiy Blue Fountain Pen Ink
• Post Shave: Diamine – Nib Cleaning Solution
• Fragrance: Zoologist Perfumes – Squid

---

Daily Theme: Wildcard Wednesday

Theme justification: Watermman Serenity Blue is fountain pen ink and is the first fountain pen ink being shaved with today.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Ink is today's relevant theme. Diamine Nib Cleaning Solution (aftershave) is used to clean ink off of nibs and feeds, and Zoologist Squid has black ink accord as a note

---

Scavenger Hunt ~~Justification~~: COMPLETED

Razor facts: N/A

Brush facts: N/A

---

Daily/Special Challenge: Clean Brush Talk

I mainly use synthetic brushes, so my cleanup is quite easy. After I shave, I rinse it under the tap. I squeeze out any remaining soap from the brush. After that, I go to my shower and rapidly squish my wrist to shake all the water out. I grab and squeeze the knot for a couple of shakes too, to insure all the water is out. Once all the water is gone, I'll run the brush over my arm (or something) quickly to reset the bristles (don't know how else to describe that). I don't think this really does anything, but it is habit now.

Quick, simple, and easy. #SynthsRule

Here's a pic of me cleaning my brush today.

---

Fragrance description

Both my lather and aftershave were mainly odorless. Zoologist Squid, though, is my favorite Zoologist scent. It might be my favorite scent in my collection. I don't use it much since I only have a sample vial and don't want to waste what's left.

The first thing I notice is the peppercorn, but that dries down quickly. Then, the Opopanax shines through. At least, I believe that's what it is. A slightly sweet myrrh scent. I feel like I'm in a market Ancient Smyrna, where I anger a local merchant and he throws a squid at my face.

Okay, maybe not to squid part, but I had to put something in to highlight the ink note.

---

Now onto the shave!

Thankfully there is no rule against cartridge razors today, so I'll be using the same Schick I used for Canned Goop day. Now lets get to this!

First, I'll start by decanting some ink. Don't want to just pour this stuff over my brush. Waterman Serenity Blue is one of my favorite, most used inks because of how well it behaves. It's the perfect office ink. That's for paper, though, and not my face. please don't turn me into the Blue Man Group

Now to load up the brush with the ~~ink~~ lather. Don't know how well this is going to work, but let get this on my face! First, have to load it into a blunt tipped syringe. This is so I don't use too much. Looks like a good amount to me. Loading the brush. And, finally, on the face. Gotta make sure it's lathered properly.

I tried to shave quick to minimize the amount of time the blue was on my face.

Now for the aftershave. I, again, loaded up my syringe for portion control, but this time of the Diamine Nib Cleaning Solution. Can't really see it in the bowl, but it's there.

Aftermath:

My face, thankfully, isn't a blueberry, but my shirt is going to need a wash.

Overall, do I recommend you shave with fountain pen ink? No, I do not. Can it be done? Yes, but at what cost? Hopefully Hobby Day will be happening again this year and I can let everyone know how to properly use fountain pen ink.

---

Totals:

• Razor Hashtags: 10/10
• Brush Hashtags: 10/10
• Hardware Sponsor Points: 2/2
• Software Sponsor Points: 15/16
• Number of Lather Brands: 26/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 26/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 26/30
• Number of Frags: 26/30

---

Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

shaved using fountain pen ink

shaved using fountain pen ink

Savoury Gourmands ±∓

• Brush: Silit - Silicone baking brush
• Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Friodur 72½ (13/16" hollow ground, stainless steel)
• Backup Razor: Blutt Rasur BR-1 (1.20 mm gap)
• Blade: Astra Superior Stainless Double Edge (blue)
• Lather: Djundjila Farm Works – Mountain-Raised Fresh Chicken Eggs (in Canard base)
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Shire
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – La Petite Prairie

Since I learned on Where's the Beef Day that some of my favourite bases have duck fat, I new I had to try a YRFCE variant with it. Photo story.

Blending the warm egg yolks with melted duck fat was promising, but things took a turn. The lather is extremely drippy, like dripping everywhere drippy, and wherever it drips, it seemingly instantanously congeals. ugh.

I thought that a straight razor would be the least problematic for this, but I prepared a backup razor with a large blade gap, just in case. The straight was the right choice, though.

Three passes, not a terrible shave, but I think the soapers are onto something with their saponification thingy.

Theme: Well, I'm first

Relevant post and frag: My favourite part of the original YRFCE scent is the clean grass, so I went with grassy post and nominally grassy frag.

Challenge: see last image in the Photo story.

OP finds that a congealed lather is not a good lather.

OP finds that a congealed lather is not a good lather.

bed blockers will be scrubbed today

June 26th, 2024

• Prep: None
• Brush: Zenith 506U N
• Razor: Gillette RFB
• Blade: Super Iridium
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Figarose
• Post Shave: Myrsol - Formula C
• Fragrance: None

Apparently I wasn't the only one with the idea to shave at this ungodly hour (props /u/bmac92 and /u/Priusaurus )

Looks like we all got the memo

I admittedly screwed up my calendar, and today was the only day left to get B&M in, so I had to put my original plans away for next year. Now Djudges, please remember the stipulations of today's challenge call for being the FIRST to use a specific lather, not who uses the WEIRDEST substitute. I have thereby satisfied the requirements of today's challenge, and in the spirit of the challenge, I have also been the first to use each item that is in my shave from razor, blade, brush, and aftershave (taking the games seriously, so probably max points here)

I'm sure the Djudges will be tired of reading the monotonous descriptions of our brush cleaning routines. Mine will be no different, but it will be one of the first, so whoever is Djudging this, hopefully won't be too jaded yet. After I complete my last pass, I lather onto my face and then squeeze out what's left in the brush. I then rinse out the brush under the tape while lathering the bristles in my palm until the water runs clear. I then give the brush 4-5 hard shakes to remove the excess water. And finally I paint the bristles on a towel for \~15 seconds, and then hang the brush to dry. This concludes my brush cleaning routine and binarily satisfies today's daily challenge.

June 26, 2024 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: AP Shave Co - Purple Ivory 26mm G5A SHD
• Razor: Aylsworth Apex
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Eleven Shaving - Lime and Basil
• Post Shave: EG380 - CL+T Aftershave
• Fragrance: EG380 - CL+T EdC #FOF

Today’s Theme:

Hopefully I’m the first to use this soap today. This is a super exclusive set of aftershave shave and EdC. You’ll have a really difficult time finding the CL+T. I had to go poking around to find where my wife hid it. But at last, there in a dark crevice of the fridge it was just peeking out a bit, and I found the CL+T.

Today’s Challenge:

Clean your brushes? But why clean something that is dirtied by soap? I haven’t really noticed a significant buildup of soap scum or other gunk in my brushes. I try to get them super clean after each shave. When I clean out the lather bowl. I first squeeze as much soap out as I can. Not wringing the knot, but just st getting the bulk out. I rinse the brush in clean water in the bowl, then squeeze that out. Then repeat until clear water comes out. Then I shake out the brush and stand it up on the counter. I usually rotate through 4 or 5 brushes so it gets a good chance to dry out. I think when I notice some buildup in a brush, I’ll try baby shampoo.

Fragrance:

I had two soaps I wanted to use with this aftershave and fragrance I concocted. It should be safe to drink, but maybe not drive after. It is a nice refreshing blend of cucumber, lemon, and thyme. The base for both is vodka. I added about a teaspoon of dried French thyme, zest of a large lemon, and about half a cucumber sliced to 8oz. of vodka. It macerated in the refrigerator for about a week. By that time, the liquid turned a bright yellow. I strained it out through coffee filters twice. I filled one bottle with about 3oz of the mixture and the rest into another bottle which almost filled it. For the short pour I added a mixture of water and aloe powder. I had a little too much powder for the liquid, so I filtered that out after the excess powder settled. The fragrance actually turned out better than I expected. I can distinguish the lemon, cucumber and thyme scents well. It a bright note of lemon, thyme is a favorite herb of mine, and the cucumber gives it a cool freshness. I only have two soaps I thought about using with this: Ethos Chill or Eleven Lime and Basil. Well Eleven gives me sponsor points. The soap scent is an immediate hit of the lime. The basil comes out more as a middle or base note. It smells good enough to eat, but I think I’ll pass. It was fun to come up with my own product, but I won’t be keeping it as I think it might go off before I could use it all. I considered having it as a cocktail after, but I’m going to go to the office this morning. They kind of frown upon arriving at work tipsy.

It took a while, but OP eventually found the CL + T.

Homemade aftershave and frag.

It took a while, but OP eventually found the CL + T.

Homemade aftershave and frag.

https://imgur.com/a/SqSavaa

• Prep: PAA - Chocolate Cube
• Bowl: PAA - Intergalactic Indestructible Shatterproof Travel Scuttle
• Brush: Tatara - Badger
• Razor: Tatara - Masamune Dark
• Blade: Perma-Sharp - Stainless
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Hiatus
• Post Shave: Striling Soap Co. - Coconut Lime Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: First Line Shave - Dapper Man

I forced myself to stay up and squeeze in an early morning shave so I could post as soon as the day opened. Who needs sleep? Anything for the Lather Games! I chose Wholly Kaw Hiatus for my Wild Card. I did not want someone else to post 1st with this soap and miss out on using it. I was given a sample by a friend and love the scent and couldn't wait to use it! The description of Hiatus on the Wholly Kaw site starts with "Imagine yourself on a sun-soaked tropical beach". This is exactly where this scent takes me. I decided to use the theme of a tropical beach for my very early morning shave. My aftershave was Stirling Soap's Coconut Lime Aftershave balm and my fragrance was an homage to "Beach Hut Man" called "Dapper Man" by First Line Shave. Different blade, brush razor, aftershave and soap brand today.

Today's Challenge: I have way too many brushes! I have bought some new and many used. I have been using Zingari Man All Purpose Brush Cleaner. I have used it to clean all of my used brushes and to try to remove the odor from some new brushes. I tub load it and build a lather. I rinse and repeat several times. It works well and has a pleasant odor.

ROTY

** 26.06.2024 ** * Brush: AP Shave Co 28MM G5A SHD * Razor: Mühle R41 Kosmo * Blade: Gillette Minora * Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Irish coffee * Post Shave: MacDuffs soap company - Morning Ritual ( Explorer series) * Post Shave: Mühle alum stone

This shaving was like morning coffee on a hurry when you are late for work. And I almost did. I don't drink coffee but I have to say this scent makes me want some Irish one but more "Irish" then coffee. And that's why I choose my trusted R41! Two passes and I was ready. Top performer! And bye coz I have to work.

After every shave I clean my brush. Even in days like today in a rush. First I squeeze the lather from the knot and after that put running water until is clean. After in bowl (at running water to) I swirling like I make lather for a minute (in every few months I make this step with dish wash gel) and squeeze water. After that I swirling in towel to dry it. I don't care so much about handles. When I dish wash knot with toothbrush clean and handle to. ;))))))

P.S. I'll read other participants comments but I'm open for suggestions.

Jun. 26, 2024 Wild Card Wednesday * Brush: Chisel & Hound Quartermoon
Razor: Everyday Shaving Stinger
Blade: Astra SP * Lather: Spearhead Shaving Co. - Seaforth! 3 Scots
Post Shave:* Spearhead Shaving Co. - Seaforth! 3 Scots

Challenge - Brush Cleaning: Rinse the brush continuously until soap is out and water runs clear. Give it a light squeeze, a few good shakes and lightly strop it on a towel and leave it to dry.

ROTY

June 26, 2024 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Omega S-Brush Silver Beehive - 24mm Synth
• Razor: Yaqi AC Blade Excalibur
• Blade: Red ProTouch mg (8)
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Cakehole
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Gravefruit II
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Gravefruit II

I had such a fun idea planned for today. However, because of the audible, I had to call on Monday; I am using my Talent Soap smoosh to count towards software vendors today since it is the only day left it can be on theme. That said, I stayed up late to shave and get this posted. Software is all linked by being a gourmand scent.

As far as brush cleaning goes, I have always soaked any that needed cleaning in some Dawn, lathered it, and rinsed it. When I used the egg on Wildcard Wednesday, though, I just had to pull the knot and replace it, as nothing I did got it completely clean. I hope everyone has a great rest of the day.

Side Contest: #PHOTOCONTEST - Donuts

June 26, 2024 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Rubberset 400 w/ Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: Yates Precision Manufacturing - Merica
• Blade: Gillette - Silver Blue
• Lather: DentonMajik - Mayberry Man
• Post Shave: Clubman - After Shave Lotion

Today's Theme: I see you guys play hardball on Wildcard Wednesday. Late night shave tonight, I dont care what u/Enndeegee says.

Today's Challenge: I clean my brush every time I lather up with it. Lather and rinse.

ROTY

June 26, 2024 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: My hand
• Razor: RazoRock Lupo Silver
• Blade: Wizamet (40)
• Lather: Tostitos - Salsa Con Queso
• Post Shave: Mtn Dew - Mtn Dew
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Remote Learning

Challenge: I hardly ever clean my gear. I use ZM’s brush cleaner if I feel like a brush needs to be freshened up.

Video

The day has finally arrived. From my first (maybe only?) use of Remote Learning I said the soap smells like cheese powder. It lacks the tortilla chip corn smell of Doritos. So, to commemorate Remote Learning, I shaved with Tostitos Salsa Con Queso. It smells like nacho cheese and peppers, which might have bothered me if I wasn’t so concerned with queso dripping all over the place. It shaved better than some of the soaps I’ve used this month. Post-shave, the cheese smells a bit like vomit, which is fitting for a shelf-stable cheese-product.

I did the Dew. Mtn Dew did nothing to tighten or hydrate my skin. It’s a terrible aftershave. I’ve heard Starburst candies aren’t flavored. They’re only scented. i.e. your brain thinks “strawberry” because that’s what it smells like, not what it tastes like. I don’t know if that's true. But, I realized this soda (I’ll refrain from calling all soda Coke for the purpose of this post, even though that's what we do in Georgia) doesn’t smell as strong as Remote Learning because there’s no fragrance. I’m only smelling the flavors in the beverage, which aren’t strong in the context of aftershave. It was no match for the nacho cheese.

The Remote Learning edt is truly the smell of spite. Well, You Did This probably tops it. But, that was meant for /u/cowzilla3. The cheese note is bracing. It’s like inhaling the cheese packet from a box of Kraft Mac & Cheese (KD/Kraft Dinner to our Canadian wetshavers). Then, because smelling like fake cheese for 4-5 hours wasn’t enough, there’s also Mtn Dew. I bought it because it was funny and I wanted to be in on the joke. But, these things don’t smell good together. It’s revolting. It reminds me of a boardgaming store I used to play at. It’s true. Some nerds have bad personal hygiene. Of course saying this smells bad is like saying Snakes On A Plane is a bad movie. I knew what I was getting.

#photocontest - Fill the Frame

#FOF

Edit: took another SOTD pic

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Declaration Grooming B11 Knot #SHD #FRANKENBRUSH

• Razor: Lady Gillette #RAINBOW

• Blade: Gillette Nacet

• Lather: AA Shaving - The Hunt - Soap

• Post Shave: Noble Otter - The Trail - Splash

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Confluence - EdT

Here we are with some 1 AM shaving shennanigans. I normally wouldn't bother but AA Shaving is a sponsor with only 4(?) offerings and today was the only day I could work this sample in. This soap sample is courtesy of Señor u/JoboozeRum, a fine, upstanding gentlexir. It seems like everything in AA Shaving's catalog (idk are there more than the 4 soap scents that can be found on their or TRC's website?) is some form of woodsy scent. The Hunt is supposed to be their take on the PNW wilderness. I have not been so I cannot attest to it's accuracy, however it was a very nice scent and I think complex per their description is accurate. Thankfully the ozone in this wasn't detectable and was blended in. The soap performed well to boot. I applaud the Judge's vetting of the new soap sponsors. All of the new bases were actually good. AA Shaving was the hardest to source, and I'm sure TRC loved being the only place with AA in stock for people buying new soaps. I paired The Hunt with Noble Otter's The Trail. I get a ton more pine off The Trail and initially it actually reminded me of a resinous IPA. This is an old old version of Noble Otter's aftershave and I find it to be slightly sticky on the skin. While I don't have any PNW forest frag, I have Shawn's version of "coniferous forests and the incense burning" at the intersection of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Oddly enough when I first spray this fragrance, it almost comes off lime-y for me. The Lady Gilette is very mild and the handle seems awfully long. This and the OC MM are my only Twist-to-Open razors and I find them fun to operate.

I don't have a strict brush cleaning regimen. I'll mostly tend to use the same few synths with an occasional badger thrown in here or there. For deep cleaning, maybe once a month or two, I just do a mass cleaning of all my brushes with Zingari Man's brush cleaner if they've been used. For daily cleaning, I'll just rinse the brushes thouroughly, squeezing occasionally to make sure all lather is out of the core of the knot. After I'm certain there's no more soap in the knot, I shake it out and gently "strop" it on a towel. Definitely leave the brushes out on the countertop for a day to dry as well. It's crazy that some people don't let brushes dry out completely, especialy any kind of SHD badger knot.

Have fun all you psychos who are shaving with questionable substances. This scrub is peacing out.

Jun. 26, 2024

• Brush: The CaYuen Workshop Diablo Badger

• Razor: Blackland Sabre

• Blade: PAL Blue Blade #STAINLESSLESS

• Lather: A A Shaving - Gale - Soap

• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Co - Seaforth! 3 Scots

• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Co - Seaforth! 3 Scots

Wildcard Wednesday.

I normally shave in the afternoon after work, but I’m up early today to use this soap. I needed the Sponsor points and I wanted to use it day one, but there was a screw up at the vendor and it did not make it in time. Anyway the soap is ok for me. Lathers well, but the scent is not the strongest. It’s there but it disappears pretty quickly.

I used a PAL SE blue blade for the hashtag. My face is not happy with me.

Daily Challenge I make sure to rinse my brushes after every use. I hold it to my ear and run my thumb through it. If I still hear soap I rinse again. I have one brush that it hogs so much lather that I actually soak it in a cup of warm water for a good 15-20 minutes after I do the initial rinsing. When I get a new knot. I use Zingari Man brush cleaner then I’ll use Proraso green to wash the knot, then I use Stirling Baker Street to finish getting the funk out. I’ll lather the knot for a few days in a row before I use it. Synthetic I just soak in some water to get any dust and dirt out.

Photo Contest. Bucket

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

June 26, 2024 – Lather Games!

• Brush: Cayuen Abalone w/ 28mm Timberwolf Synthetic.
• Razor: YPM – Winning Razor Mk2, polished, tattooed ("The Emperor's Razor!") #CNC #TITANIUM
• Blade: Gillette Winner Stainless (2).
• Lather: Ballenclaugh – Cherries in the Chamber
• Aftershave: A&E – Ultima Unmasked Unscented Splash
• Fragrance: Flower City Fragrance – Bourbon Vanilla

Here's some rare ware, and we're using Ballenclaugh for this shave. This is one of the first soaps I bought all those years ago when I started my shave journey. It works decently, and I love the frag, although it's hard to get now.

Have a nice hump day.

#LatherGames

#Challenge: https://ibb.co/GWR3pdG

I have only one badger brush, most of my stash is synthetics in one form or another. Cleaning synthetics is as simple as running them under water for a while, then drying them. I have a towel rack I bolted to the wall and I use the upper opening to hold all my brushes. They dry upside down after I shake and squeeze the water out by hand. Easy peasy.

Bonus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQQnyjLQCms ← Gillette 195 Adjustable (Fatboy) | Jikoryen Shaving Soap

June 26, 2024 – Artisano Stalliano y Formaggio de Nacho

Brush: Remote Learnding Release Day exclusive Hand Altered Italian Boar Brush #doublehollow  
Razor: Gillette Tech Fat Handle  
Lather: St.U.P.I.D Soapworkery – Remote Learnding  
Post Shave: Pinaud – Lime Sec  

Well well well well well, it looks at 4 something am I am already late to the party? Seems like u/tetriside and u/priusauras have already been divinely inspired by the nacho cheese and dewey goodness as well and set their bar. Looks like it 's time I set mine. 

But before I do I have to give some acknowledgements for what you're about to witness. A big thanks to all who have shared their knowledge and guidance over the past vague amount of time. Those that have inspired me from afar and been a mentor beside me. Most importantly i'd like to thank u/airbudruler and every Air Bud Rulian out there who works to forward an ethos of shaving at is not just a nice ritual or a routine but a path to freedom through the multiplicity of ways we engage with this hobby. And, in a greater sense, life itself. Soapmakers, handleturners, restorers, perfumers, daily SOTD posters, shitposters, wet tubers, those banished to the lands of wicked_edge, and even mods and judges. I see you, I see your work, I see your efforts and I applaud them. Though you may not know it now, I hope that one day each of us see how our collective efforts in these games can "free us from mental slavery"

******Star Wars Intro Music*****

*******Michael Buffer "Lets Get Ready to Rumble*******

*****Movie Guy, "In a world...***

****-Fade to black, open in IMAX 5D... RALPH-*****

****Air Horn, Air Horn,Air Horn, Air Horn, Long Air Horn*********

That's right, in a wetshaving world with        FEW.     TOO.      LITTLE.     DUPES.

Here I stand. 

As a man. 

A man with ideas. 

A man with ideas about making MORE DUPES (an homage really). 

MY DUPES (again, more of an homage). 

And today I share with you my new DUPE (homage) company....

St.U.P.I.D. Soapworks "Stallion's Uninformed Purposefully Idiotic Dupes" And I can't be a soapworkery, especially not a dupe soapworkery (or should i say WOKEery), without a soap, without a dupe (homage) soap. So I decided to look towards a great inspiration, u/rocketk445, his great base, Doug, and in my opinion his signature scent that should have been nominated for a golden pear: "Remote Learning". That scent, which I only know from a smoosh from u/cowzilla3, is as the kids say... FIRE! 

June 26, 2024

• Prep: House of Mammoth Embrace Doppio Bath Soap
• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 26mm Maggard SHD Fan
• Razor: Wade and Butcher Extra Hollow Ground Improved Tang 6/8 Shoulderless Round Point with Ivory scales
• Edge: Max Sprecher (10)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Ausflug - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Ausflug - Aftershave

Dawn is the way, whenever it feels like it's not loading as well.

SOTD * Brush: AP Shave Co. -28 MM G5C Synth. * Razor: Henson- AL13 mild..
Blade: Gillette - 7’o’clock super platinum .
Lather: Talent Soap Factory- Lemon. * Post: Zingari Man - Sego unscented balm.
Fragrance:* Byredo - Bal d’Afrique.

First of all- it is early as F, and I’m still late to the show. You people have got a sickness/dedication.

After reading so much about TSF this month, I had to pick some up to try for myself. It was hard to choose as there were several that peaked my interest and I am trying to have some self restraint. I favorited some for the future and went with my initial feeling, Peppermint Patti. I love peppermint, York Peppermint Patties, and “Peanuts” Peppermint Patty .. it was a no brainer that I would also love TSF Peppermint Patti. The package took maybe 2 days to arrive and as I was tearing the box open like a monster I discovered 2 soaps!! 2 full sized soaps! PP AND LEMON!! I must have been really good this year or Aaron really knows how to win people over. Maybe both. I was so pleased I turned around and placed another order (galaxy grape). Time will tell if there is another stowaway , I just hope whoever is packing these orders up doesn’t get in trouble for missing inventory bc this stuff is “pretty, pretty, good.”

There are no lemon notes in this fragrance so how does it pair? I’m not a perfumer, but I think it compliments nicely. If you use your imagination anything could be true.

Challenge: Brush cleaning?? You mean the rinse after lathering in shave soap doesn’t make it clean? Wet brush, a dab of dawn dish soap , massage /work soap in getting down to the roots, let sit for 5 or so minutes with some soft music , thoroughly rinse , tease the hair once in each direction by gently fanning the tips, then air dry. That’s the way to treat yo’self.. or your brush.

ROTY.

Jun. 26, 2024 - wildcard pivot
Brush: AP Shave Co. Blue Lagoon Tuxedo
Razor: Merkur 34C
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue [1]
Lather: Eleven - Lemon
Post Shave:* Eleven - Lime And Basil - Aftershave

I was all set up to use lime and basil but alas, I was not the only genius to hatch that plan. So a last minute pivot to Lemon of which I still had a smush. Thanks to u/schontznm. A good shave was had by all.

When I feel the need to clean a brush it’s as easy as a vinegar/water solution. Let it soak a little and then rinse well. Can’t go wrong, really. I have never tried a commercial brush cleaning product.

LG Day 26- Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG24 w/26mm Oumo Synthetic
• Razor: GEM Junior #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: GEM PTFE (11)
• Lather: Subtle Art Soap - Bay Rum
• Post Shave: Stirling - Glacial Spearmint splash
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented AS balm

Well look at this. As someone who is typically one of the first 5 or so posters on SOTD threads, it was strange opening up the thread and seeing 30-something comments on here already. The thrill of competition clearly driving some folks to set alarms or pull all-nighters to be the first to shave with something. While I personally enjoy spraying lavender on my pillow to help me fall asleep at night, I have to wonder if the scent of cheese sauce and Mountain Dew is more or less calming as a sleep aid. I'll let our experts weigh in on that.

After a solid 6 hours of sleep, I woke up and calmly grabbed this tub of Bay Rum. I was in a meditative state knowing that 1) This is a brand isn't really on the sub's radar screen and 2) Bay Rum seems to be one of the least enjoyed scents around here. Now, if Wildcard Wednesday gave you the ability to knock out a whole scent category with the shave, I might have been a little more intense about my morning. But no, I got to take a relaxing shower and then have a relaxing shave with this nice take on Bay Rum. Not too spicy, a little fruity, really just a damn good summery Bay Rum. It's going to be hot today so I decided to end my shave with a good cry thanks to the Glacial Spearmint. And now, I sit here posting, calm in the knowledge that no one is going to be beating me to this. Is this a safe shave? Sure. I could have smeared some Skyr on my face and tried for more creative djudges points, but by the time I did that, someone might have stolen my idea and I'd be left smelling like peach and lingonberries.

Let me sip some more coffee before responding to the Daily Challenge. Ahhhh, that's good. Now how do I clean my brushes? Well, aside from swirling the brush in my hand under water post shave followed by a shake out of the brush(holding the knot firmly while doing so) and then a towel strop/dry, I don't do anything else. I don't have a cleaning regiment for my brushes. The only time I will do a deeper clean of a brush is if I'm selling or gifting one. Then I'll do a good palm lather with dish soap.

Let me take another sip of coffee before I remind you all to try to enjoy your day and remember to be kind to one another.

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Zenith 506U XSE
• Razor: Weck hair shaper
• Blade: Kismet hair shaper
• Lather: Bufflehead Soap Co. - Signature
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger AS
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - unscented balm
• Post Shave: Olay Complete

This is one of a number of dead soap brands I have. I guess it's another means of illustrating that I have way too much soap. In its day this brand was hyped more than any other of its era largely because of its scarcity. It was amusing to see how people mined salt when they got a tub and equally amusing to see how people reacted to not being able to get a new tub. FFS...it's just soap.

LG23-26: Scrubby Wildcard Wednesday Travel Shave

• Brush: Maggard Razors Gray and White 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE86
• Blade: Astra SP (36)
• Lather: AA Shaving - Oak Ash Thorn - Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Pacific Shave Co. - Caffeinated Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: WSP - Tobacco Vanilla - Solid Cologne
• Passes: WTG, XTG
• Music: Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

Unlike the rest of you poor, unfortunate souls, us judges don’t have to suffer through the heinous indignities of Wildcard Wednesday. Here I sit on my Scrubby throne, shaving with actual shave soap and not slathering any sort of foul or toxic substance on my face. Feelsgoodman.

Also, good opportunity to kill another sample.

As for my brushes, I haven’t had to clean one in ages. When I do, I follow the Declaration Grooming recomendations. Generally speaking, soak with a bit of detergent for about ten minutes, rinse thoroughly, and then mix up a bowl of lather with any on-hand artisan soap.

June 26, 2024 – LG Day 26 – Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Ateco Ultra Offset Spatula, 7.75in, Black Handle
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy Aluminum
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Hugbckt Homestead – Vanilla Buttercream
• Post Shave: PepsiCo – Starry
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Rumble – EdP

Have you ever watched Is It Cake? and thought to yourself, “boy oh boy, I wish I could be one of those cakes.”? Yes? Well, same here. So I made it a reality today.

First, I whipped up some buttercream frosting. It’s pretty easy to do, even if you’re not a baker! I mean, I personally am a home baker who has made wedding cakes in the past, but that’s an irrelevant brag I wanted to throw in here. In process, and final product. (Note: All photos from here on out are SFW-ish, as long as your work is okay with hairy shoulders and above-the-nipple-line-chest.)

Then, I grabbed my offset spatula and went to work. As it turns out, ones head is harder to frost than cake. Even with a day’s stubble, there wasn’t enough to grab onto – possibly a result of all those pesky naturally occurring oils in skin. With much more effort than I was anticipating, I managed to get it done. But you know, that didn’t seem like enough. I looked like an incomplete cupcake. And what I wanted to be was a complete cupcake. So I added some sprinkles. Still not enough. This is a cause worthy of celebration. This is my third Lather Games. Kind of like a third birthday, you know? And as such, I found a way to adequately celebrate this.

I have become Cupcake, destroyer of worlds. (Bonus points if you catch what I was going for with my drawing/markup that keeps this photo safe for work!)

After shaving, I splashed on everybody’s favorite children’s birthday party soda, ~~Sprite~~ Starry. Ahh. Satisfying.

Was too tired to take a proper video, so I took a video (not modest enough to share), took screenshots and cropped for SFW-ish, and made a lil photo album that I think adequately show my dismay and regret through the process.

---

When making buttercream that isn’t destined for my head, I typically use organic powdered sugar as recommended by Stella Parks. Paying the premium is rough, but the flavor is more rounded, and far less sickly sweet. This batch is quite sweet. Scents of vanilla and white sugar, with slight lactic notes from the butter and splash of milk. Starry (the artist formerly known as Sierra Mist) is a classic lemon-lime scent, sticky sweet but not overly saccharine, ultimately refreshing, the perfect way to wash down birthday cake. Rumble joins us to represent chocolate ice cream (a flavor many people enjoy), covered in a special coffee-rum sauce only available to the grown-ups. A perfect finish to a joyous party. #FOF

---

Brushes are scientifically proven to be dishwasher safe, microwave safe, washing machine safe, thermonuclear reactor safe, and sometimes they clean themselves like cats do. Any of those methods should work fine for ya.

In reality, when one of my boar brushes get gnarly, I lather it up on a bar of Dial antibacterial soap, as I do when I have a brush I’m selling, PIFing, passing on, etc. It seems to work alright, but I’m genuinely looking forward to learning what others do.

OP makes a cake.

OP makes a cake.

(This one is going to be hard to top.)

SOTD 2024-06-26 Lemon Drops and Muffin Tops

• Brush: Didn't use one
• Razor: Flying Eagle - Not sure, but it's got a knurled aluminum handle
• Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless (1st use)
• Lather: Tiber River - Lemon Drops and Muffin Tops (body butter)
• Post Shave: J.R. Watkins - Lemon Cream (hand cream)
• Fragrance: J.R. Watkins - Lemon Cream (body oil mist)

What could go wrong?

What's it like using body butter as lather? Well, first it doesn't lather. Second, it's like shaving with margerine

And yes, I did shave with it. I may be a fool, but at least I'm an honest fool.

Did I regret not grabbing the bar of soap by the sink and using that instead? Yes.

Was the shave worse than the one with that stuff actually marketed towards shaving that I used on June 5th? Debatable.

Is my face smooth? Well yes, I slathered it in butter, then hand cream, and then sprayed it with oil.

Was it a close shave? Goodness no!

Is my face totally red from skin irritation? You could say that.

Will I remember this shave by the time next year's Lathergames rolls around? Probably not.

Will that result in similar poor decision making? Isn't that what this day (and possibly month) is all about?

As for the challenge; Clean Brush Talk: How do I keep my brush clean? By not using it on days like this.

• June 26
• Brush: Omega 10098 Boar
• Razor: Aylsworth Razors - Drakkant
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Homecoming
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Homecoming
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Homecoming

I’m more than a little stressed about today. Every other day, I can use whatever I want, as long as it’s on theme and post it WHENEVER I want. Now, I gotta make sure no one else is using this? God damn, this is stressful. Then I worried about the timing. What if I make sure no one used what I want, go shave with it, and come back to see someone else posted before I could.

I asked Los Dupe about it, and he said to either (a) shave at midnight and post about it when the thread opens at 2AM or (b) pick something a little obscure and (c) there’s a zillion shave soaps out there, so pick one, and have a backup in case someone else picks it. So that’s ultimately what I decided. Fortunately, no one has shaved with Summer Break Soaps’ Homecoming yet, which I’m very happy about.

I very much enjoyed this scent. The soap’s scent note of lavender was instantly recognizable, but it wasn't your typical floral lavender. This blend is accented with black pepper and coriander and brought out a deeper, spicier character. It was like walking through a misty forest at dusk, with the air filled with earthy, woody tones. Homecoming was a deeper lavender scent than I’m used to and did a wonderfuly job turning a very familiar scent into something truly unique.

Challenge: I haven’t been in the hobbyist side of shaving long enough to ever need to clean a brush.

Jun. 26, 2024 - Wild Comparison Shave 1

• Prep: CeraVe - Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: My Hands

• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley SB-C

• Blade: Astra Green (3)

• Lather: Kroger - Avocado

• Post Shave: Thayers - Cucumber

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Soft Lawn

So this is part 1 of my comparison shave today, the second luxury shave will be posted in the other shave thread. Link to part 2

Background:

When u/mammothben dropped the bomb that he had finally given in and made an avocado cream i was beyond excited! Until I realized that he was giving them out at the Maggard Meetup that I was not attending. Thanks to u/OnionMiasma for snagging me a sample of it so I didn’t go without. I have purposely not used it for today’s comparison shave! Yes I know Avocado isn’t a new thing to shave with for Wildcard Wednesday but has anyone ever compared the inspiration to the soap in separate shaves? I think not!

So who is Avocado for?

Me

The Unboxing Experience

As you may already know, avocados are quite difficult to get into, hard leather skin with soft flesh and then the hard pit again. It’s a miracle that I don’t cut myself every time I open one of these!

The Scent

Optionally the truest green scent I’ll ever shave with! 3/10, needs more salt

The Release

Avocados have been very hyped up in younger generations, mine included. While I admit there’s something still satisfying about cutting into a ripe green avocado, it really shouldn’t gather as much excitement as it does. I’d just an avocado, every grocery store has them.

Can you even score a soap if you payed full price for it??

I can and I will.

The Shave:

Onto the brass tax: Avocado shave

Really what can I say about this lather. It’s green, it’s chunky, it’s tasty!

FOMO Factor: 0 missed Ausflug EdP bottles out of 7

Drama Pyjamas: 0, I shave naked remember.

Safety of Intended Use: All proper food safety protocols were taken in the manufacturing and use of this product

Final Score: 4.20 / 69, I will buy when this is released

Disclosure: I purchased this avocado at Kroger with no discount. All other items were purchased with my own monies.

Daily Challenge: For the longest time I really was grossed out by used wetshaving items and then I realized, it’s soap. For any new brushes to my den (new new or just new to me) I clean them out by lathering up with Dawn dish soap

Daily Theme Justification: It’s Wednesday, it’s wild, it’s the first!

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Green! Avocados are green, Cucumbers are green, lawns (grass) are green

Disclaimer for the Djudges: these are two separate shaves. I completely shaved with an Avocado first, went through my post shave routine and then started over with my pre shave face wash for my second shave with HoM - Avocado. I made sure to get in a good second application of The Soft Lawn. Which was great because Imaginary Authors isn’t known for its longevity and I was already going nose blind to this application.

Edit to add link to my second review shave

June. 26, 2024 - SOTD 

• Prep: Splash of warm water
• Brush: Oumo O4 Venus SHD Badger Brush 26MM
• Razor: King C Gillette
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Fake Yellow Light
• Post Shave: MacDuffs Soap Co. - Almond Biscottie Aftershave Splash

June 26, 2024: King for the Wing!

• Prep: warm splash of water
• Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia Tuxedo 24 mm
• Razor: AtT S1
• Blade: Gillette Blue
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - King of Oud
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Orbit
• Fragrance: none

Before I knew what oud smelled like, I'd have called you crazy for thinking I'd like the scent of tree resin, but here we are.

It was muggy as hell yesterday, so not the typical AS today, gave it a little spice/cooling action.

Enjoy your day today!

June 26 2024: Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Hand
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (3)
• Razor: Gillette NEW Long Comb
• Lather: Trader Joe's - Vitamin E Oil Blend
• Post Shave: Trader Joe's - Vitamin E Oil Blend
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Remote Learning

I'm seeing a lot of shave soaps out there people. For shame. Today I shaved with Trader Joe's Vitamin E Oil Blend. It was goopy and drippy and I had to reapply a bunch of times, but wasn't entirely terrible. Doesn't have much of a scent, but what’s there is not very pleasant, though the nice thing about it is that it doubles as a post shave too. My face feels really smooth but kind of greasy. I chose a razor that would come apart easily and wouldn't clog, but that didn't end up being necessary.

I chose Remote Learning as my fragrance today because it seems like a lot of people are going for nacho cheese or Mountain Dew themed shaves today, so Remote Learning out of solidarity. The Remote Learning soap has grown on me recently, and the splash is great, but the two scents together in this frag is pretty gross. So the unifying theme today is scents that are somewhat unpleasant.

I've never cleaned my brushes before, always being of the mindset that lathering with soap and then letting it dry is usually enough, and I've never had any issues. I did have a bit of trouble loading MOAR BOAR the other day so maybe I will try giving it a cleaning and seeing if that helps.

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Stirling Two Band Synthetic
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85mm Safety Razor
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Light-ish Red
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Light-ish Red Aftershave Splash
• Post Shave: Van Der Hagen - Unscented Aftershave Balm
• Frag: Stirling Soap Co. - Light-ish Red EDT

Wildcard, you cowards!

• Prep: Warm shower
• Brush: Dogclaration 22mm B5 Kashyyyk
• Razor: Wolfman WR2 0.95mm
• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum (2)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Orange Creamsicle
• Post: Stirling Soap Co - Tangerine - Splash

It's a hard to swallow pill, but it needs to be said: Wildcard Wednesday is the most cowardly day on the Lather Games calendar.

I know it's all the rage to celebrate the outlandish things people find to lubricate their mugs for today's shave, but all I see are a bunch of lily-livered scaredy cats.

You shaved with motor oil? Coward.

You shaved with peanut butter? Coward.

You shaved with dog slobber that you've been collecting in a jar for the last 6 months? Low down dirty dog coward.

On Wildcard Wednesday we see the lengths some people will go to to avoid even the possibility of losing a fraction of a point off their precious Lather Games score and I name that cowardice. The brave shavers are the ones showing up here shaving with easy-to-get scents from popular brands. Real shavers see Wildcard Wednesday on the calendar and reach for their everybody-has-it Barrister and Mann or Stirling. Real shavers dare someone to beat them to the punch.

So what's it gonna be folks? Are you gonna step up on Wildcard Wednesday and lather up your Chiseled Face or are you going to be a little punk and hide behind that hyper-local ranch dressing you got at the farmer's market last week that you're certain nobody else on the sub even owns?

User calls anyone not using a super popular BaM or Stirling scent a coward. Uses obscure Chiseled Face soap.

Lather: Pink volcanic stone ground up to dust

I'm not sure why u/sukirem sent me this to shave with. Obviously it's a hint as to the city he's in but it's not something one would ever shave with. I mean, the entire point of what we're working towards is the freedom of the Air Bud Rule to not have to shave with ridiculous things. This feels like... like something a judge would do. I'm becoming more and more disillusioned as the weeks go on, honestly, and now this. What does the Air Bud Rule even mean anymore?

I... I guess we should all still continue looking for Sukirem. Send me your guesses through a DM or message.

Wildcard Wednesday SOTD:

• Razor: Schick Injector Type F
• Blade: Schick Injector blade (3)
• Brush: KH Hand Painted Sunflowers Synth.
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Cedar, Pepper, Peach
• Aftershave: Declaration Grooming - Peaches & Scream
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Agua Freaca

Out of all of the soaps I've made, this one is the rarest of all of them. Only 2 tubs of Cedar, Pepper, Peach were made. If you can read my terrible hand writing on my beautifully done labele, it was made a gift for someone in the summer gift exchange 5 years ago. I know the other person still uses his as I see it pop on Instagram occasionally, but he also hasn't been active on r/wetshaving for a minute, so I think I'm safe.

Despite the fact that I took this shave in a sweeter fruitier direction with Peaches & Scream and Agua Fresca, Cedar, Pepper, Peach isn't sweet or really fruity at all. The peach note is there, but there is a reason both Cedar and Pepper are listed first. This is definitely an interesting and unique scents that I should take another look at...

Challenge: I make my own brush cleaner. It's super simple just 100% coconut oil soap. When my kids were little I'd usually clean them all every couple of weeks while supervising bath time. Since my kids are older. I most definitely don't clean them as often probably once every few months now instead of weeks. I don't feel that it is super necessary; however, I do notice a difference in how they feel after cleaning.

LG SOTD 26Jun2024

• Brush: Yaqi Cavern Lake - 24mm tuxedo synthetic
• Razor: Karve - CB SB-C (Copper)
• Blade: Wizamet - Super Iridium (8)
• Lather: Stirling Conditioner Bar - Queen of Hearts
• Bowl: CaYuen - Dark Nebula, large
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Shave Balm, Embrace

Welcome to the twenty-sixth shave of the 2024 Lather Games. Today’s theme is wildcard Wednesday where the goal is to shave with any sort of shave lubricant you want so long as no one else uses the same thing first. It’s always a weird theme because there are different ways of approaching.

There’s the stunt lube - guacamole, motor oil, toothpaste, KY, whatever, the idea is to go for theme and judge points with something dumb enough that statistically no one else is as dumb as you and earns respect from the sadistic side of the judges.

There’s the early bird where you grab a lather for scoring purposes and hope to post first. Not a deep strategy but it’s usually going to work out and, if you go early enough, maybe even cause a later DQ for someone thinking like you and not paying attention.

Then there’s the route I’m going - plausibly functional but statistically unlikely to get a DQ. If someone else uses this at all, let alone before me, I will be very surprised. I have high hopes for it as a makeshift lather.

Stirling’s Queen of Hearts, or should I say their dupe of Juicy Couture by the Viva la Juicy Project, may not be the manliest of scents by pedigree, but I rub that stuff on my head daily via this conditioner bar. It is a delicious and warm caramel or toffee like scent and whoever tried to market it to just the ladies was evil and clearly trying to keep the awesomeness from us gents.

I discovered that Stirling’s conditioner bar makes for a great shower lubricant for shaving my neck and other bits and pits. True lather is too easily rinsed off in the confines of a running shower, but this stuff is slick and clings even in the splatter with solid residual slickness. Today I’m going to put a brush to it and see what sort of “normal” shaving lather I can make out of it.

Turns out it’s not bad but not really lather. Just creamy-ish goo. Was slick enough used out of the shower but not up to soap standards. Pretty sure results would have been identical if not a bit better if I just slicked my face with the bar like I do in the shower for shaving. The awkward loading, the iffy water loading, none of it seemed to have improved the final product beyond trying something for the games. It did take a lot more effort to rinse the skin post shave. Would not recommend this as a replacement for proper shave soap.

The brush cleaning routine is more that I don’t let them get nasty to begin with - even today the alternative lather will clean easily from the brush. All my usual brushes are synthetics that don’t absorb much grossness and I only have the two infrequently used boar brushes and never use them with anything unusual that can penetrate the natural fibers. After I shave, swish the brush out in the sink to remove bulk of lather and then under running water straight into the knot while I massage and squeeze until nothing but clear water coming out. Rinse a few more times, snap out all the water, and give it a good sniff. It should barely smell like the soap I just used unless something with unusual funk like Melange. If still smells too strong, more rinsing. Then I air dry it, usually for days (or longer), before it gets used again. Every brush has stayed fresh thoroughly rinsed and rotated like this.

If there ever is a reason to clean clean the brush, dish soap is how I go, but BaM’s Death may have been last time that was necessary.

——

There’s a bit of false bravado going on these past two days. Put our sixteen y.o. Aussie down yesterday. If you’re a dog lover, pour a little lather out for a good boy and friend

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (14)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Batters Up - Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Hamami - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Hamami - EdP

Batters Up got such a bad rap, and it's really too bad -- but it's honestly one of my all time favorites. It's so good.

Relevant post and frag: Hamami is another scent from Noble Otter that tends to be divisive, and it's also one of my all-time faves. So the relevance is that the scents are not loved by all, but are super-loved by me.

Brush cleaning - My brushes get a thorough rinse with warm water (even if I do a cold water shave) after every shave. I have a water softener in my house, so soap scum (the white residue, which to my knowledge is mostly stearic acid) takes a very long time to develop, or doesn't develop at all. If I do clean a brush, I'm cleaning the white residue off the handle with a dry towel. It wipes right off.

Lather: Farm Body Skin Care - The Crop Tender Orange Ale

I tend to keep too many empty tubs around in my closet and under the sink. Some might say hoarding them. I have no idea why, I rarely have more than maybe 2 samples going at a time. So a couple weeks ago I thought, let me collect them from all the nooks and crannies of the closet, save a couple and toss the rest. Hit one and realized there was something in it. And it's soap (this is sold like Williams, just a puck)! I immediately remembered what it was (still haven't thrown out those tubs, I stopped when I found this).

I purchased this soap shortly before Wild Card Wednesday 2019. Guessing that was the last use of it, unless I used it again, but I don't recall. I need to apologize to this soap.

1. I listed it as "The Crop Tender - Orange Ale" then. Looking at the website, I think the company is Farm Body Skin Care, not The Crop Tender. Crop Tender appears to just be the name of the soap? But it comes in different options like Orange Ale, Apple Ale, etc.. Confusing then, confusing now.
2. I said residual slickness wasn't great, but did concede that I was in a hotel. Today I tell you, this is good soap. Slick, face feels great, will definitely use again.

When I re-read that post a couple weeks ago, I felt nostalgic for the lols that was u/nameisjoey and Admiral again, so when I placed an order for samples of the new CL scents (both great) I added an Admiral frag decant. Really is great, other than the smoke ended up being and still is a touch heavy for me.

June 26, 2024 - Wedenesday

• Brush: Semogue Owner's Club boar
• Razor: Yates 921-H
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword (1)
• Lather: The Sudsy Soapery - Crimson Red
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Reserve Spice splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Roam Two EdP

So yeah. Wildcard Wednesday. I only shave with soap and since Sudsy Soapery is a rarely used brand here (let alone a Jesus themed one from them), I'm betting that I'll be the only person to use it today or at the very least the first one. Don't worry, I already checked ;)

If I ever get around to cleaning my brushes (or before I sell one) I will soak it in a diluted vinegar solution with a drop of dish soap for about an hour then proceed to do a dish soap lather. Good as new!

June 26, 2024

• Prep: Hot shower
• Brush: Chisel and Hound Sakura with v21 Fanchurian
• Razor: Muhle Companion
• Blade: Astra Green (Indian)
• Lather: Sudsy Soapery - White Sage and Lime
• Post Shave: Zingari Man Sego Aftershave Balm Unscented

As this is my first Lather Games, I’m not sure what the strategy usually is for the Wildcard theme. Do people pick a popular soap and try to get in early and crush the competition? Do they go for the obscure? I get the impression that the wildly inappropriate is encouraged.

I guess I’m playing it safe and using something slightly obscure. Based on last month’s software report, I was the only one in May to use anything by Sudsy Soapery. Frankly, that’s a shame. While the White Sage and Lime scent isn’t very exciting (it’s fine, just not exciting), the base is amazing. The tub says it’s Supercreamed Triple-Butter. Whatever. It’s super easy to lather. Soft and slick. Tons of residual slickness. And really excellent post shave feel.

Clean Brush Talk: I happen to have an old bottle of “daily clarifying” shampoo that I don’t think anyone is using anymore. Every now and again, when the mood strikes me, I’ll put some on my brush, suds it up, then rinse it out. So far, it works great. To get soap scum off my brush handles, I’ve been gently wiping them with a magic eraser every so often. If there’s a better way to handle that, I’m happy to learn.

ROTY

2024-06-25 - ~~Stir-Fry-Day~~ Wildcard Wednesday

First, go ahead and check the spelling for yourself here. No blushes, razers, or flagrants this time.

• L​a​t​h​e​r​: Viet Huong Three Crabs Fish Sauce
• P​o​s​t​ ​S​h​a​v​e​: Emperor - Shao Hsing Cooking Wine
• F​r​a​g​r​a​n​c​e: Kilbrin - Irish Whisky
• R​a​z​o​​r: Micromatic Open Comb (MMOC)
• B​r​u​s​h​: ~~Ikea - Tillagd Fork~~ Hand

Unifying Theme:
As before, this is inspired by one of my favorite kitchen concoctions: stir-fry. I was never comfortable with how I had the fish sauce in all three software slots in last year's fakeout, so I brought in other ingredients from my stir-fry sauce—or have used in it, anyway; the whisky I've used only once in stir-fry, though I'm not sure whether it actually did anything to the flavor.

I'm frankly opposed to the idea of shaving with bizarre, non-descript, non-lather slime, and not just because I'm not a fan of the idea of shaving with this horrible fishy ooblek. My original plan was, like last year, to mix the tapioca in to thicken it up and help it stick. Do you remember ooblek, from when you were a kid? It's a non-newtonian fluid and it doesn't stick to anything. So mixing in the tapioca was never an option. I figured the MMOC would be able to handle the paste, but that's kind of moot considering the paste isn't plausible.

Side note for Clean Brush Talk:
At least when I'm using the "brush" I intended to use, I can just throw it in the dishwasher!
When using an actual brush with actual lather, I generally just give it a thorough rinse and squeeze/shake after the shave. Very rarely, I've been known to give a brush a soak in a vinegar mixture, but I don't find it all that necessary.

A discovery I've recently made on the topic of gear-cleaning is for razors: gun-cleaning solvent is fantastic! Not CLP or Hoppe's #9, though. No, just the cleaning solvent, preferably one that's odorless. I started using Shooter Lube, and I hear Clenzoil is similar in this regard. Soap gunk gone in a flash (no pun intended)!

But I digress.

#FOF Here's what you should know about fish sauce: 1) Adding a bit of it to scrambled eggs makes them incredible; 2) it stinks. Bad. Bad enough that rubbing a bunch of it around your nose-holes will make you want to vomit. The smell does not go away. Even after a shower. For a while. I'll let you know.

The cooking wine seems like it would provide relief, but that's only in contrast to the fish sauce. It's also a horrible smell. It's just wine, after all. Cheap wine (not that that makes any difference, really).

Pile on top of that irish whiskey? I have no desire to consume the stuff, and this experience... well, it reinforces that. I guess that, when cooking, it's supposed to help bring out other flavors; I think it performed similarly for the fish stench.

So no, I'm not interested in doing any of that, and you can see how today's little experiment confirms that it's horrible all around. Plus, I promised u/tsrblke that I was only going to use actual shaving products for my LG shave today.

The djudges will find that the portal agrees that this is my actual submitted shave for today:

• Lather: Wild Magnolia - Bourbon Tobacco
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria - Cognac & Cuban Cigars
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - Haverford
• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech
• Brush: West Coast Shaving - Two-Tone Synthetic

Unifying Theme: Tobacco Pairings
That is, they're all tobacco plus another flavor (bourbon, cognac, and vanilla, respectively).

Oh, and that's my dedicated beanbag-shaving razor, which was the very purpose it fulfilled today.

#photocontest Hobbies
I'm not really thrilled about having yet another photo like this, but the topic is relevant to my ramblings for today's challenge, plus it's my most recent buy-too-much-of-a-given-thing rabbit hole, plus I just wanted to draw more attention to my real SOTD setup.

Part of the reason I don't like bringing attention to this particular hobby, such as it is, is that it's strongly associated with a particular kind of ~~person~~ douchebag. Like, just as one example that barely scratches the surface of the tip of that iceberg, you would not ~~believe~~ be surprised at the wild misogyny that's celebrated in some of those subs. Holy shit.

User prepares fantastic WCW shave but chickens out.

Tries to distract from cowardly software choice by shaving scrotum.

Djudge puzzled by voice of scrotum as it emphasises user's complete lack of balls.

June 26, 2024 - it was a shave I guess

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Tuxedo
• Razor: Gillette Red Tip
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Ocean Potion - Sunscreen SPF30
• Post Shave: OFF! - Unscented Insect Repellant
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - A City on Fire

I hope I beat everyone to the sunscreen. Post shave is relevant because I’m getting prepared to do things outside all day and there are so many god damn mosquitoes out here. Fragrance is relevant because, in the vein of outside activities, family is doing a bbq today so I might as well smell like smoke the rest of the day too.

This shave fucking sucked. I did one pass at home before going out to get this picture for the photo contest. I put some sunscreen onto the brush then painted it onto my face like I would with a cream. The slickness kind of worked? But you get one swipe and that’s fucking it. No going back for me here at all. I used my mildest razor so that I would guaranteed have no cuts to irritate when I splash bug spray on my face instead of aftershave. Fucking worst thing ever here.

To clean out this brush I’m going to do a couple dish soap lathers then let it dry out real good. I don’t know what else yall expected from this daily challenge.

Today’s photo contest theme is Baseball. There was a little league baseball complex on the way to my family’s house so I stopped for a picture. I think it works. #photocontest

Day 26

• Brush: Boti – 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Silver Star Vintage DE
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Wholly Kaw – Project Leather Soap
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria Cognac & Cuban Cigars Splash
• Fragrance: Mont Blanc – Legend EdP

So last year, I had no idea people used ridiculous things for Wildcard Wednesday and then the first two posts of the day were u/OnionMiasma using Motor Oil and u/Priusaurus using KY Jelly. And I told myself that I want to do something fun for Wildcard Wednesday next year. And here I am, using Wholly Kaw’s Project Leather. I don’t have a lot of Wholly Kaw in my shave den and didn’t have another place to put this, so here we are. It’s risky business relying on Wildcard Wednesday for a Sponsor point, but I like to live on the edge!

Today’s shave is one that made me feel like Ron Burgundy. Starting off with Wholly Kaw's Project Leather, I felt like I was transported into a high-end leather workshop. The lather exploded with a strong deep scent of leather, with the unmistakable addition of cigars, bourbon, and vanilla. This is exactly what I’d imagine Ron Burgundy’s house smells like. For my splash, the Henri et Victoria Cognac & Cuban Cigars was the perfect fit. The scent was a brilliant blend of smooth cognac and rich, earthy tobacco, keeping me right there, hanging out with Ron Burgundy at a sophisticated gentleman's club. The splash not only soothed my skin but also left me feeling like a debonair connoisseur of the finer things in life. To finish off scents, I used on Mont Blanc’s Legend EdP. Legend is Ron Burgundy in a fragrance – It’s leather, woody, and masculine. Using it brings an aura of sophistication and timeless elegance, and completely unjustified confidence, and that’s the Ron Burgundy way! #FOF

Sidecontest: #photocontest: Wood.

Challenge: I like the method of using warm water, a drop of dawn, and a little vinegar. I've only done it once, and I'm honestly not sure it made a difference, but it made me feel good about giving everything a cleaning.

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Wildcard Wednesday”… The Top 5 Songs with the word “Wild” in the Title

5.) Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams – Tay Tay is an absolute musical juggernaut. She will be on damn near any top 5 music list anyone does these days.

4.) Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa- Young, Wild and Free ft. Bruno Mars – Just in case you didn’t know, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and Bruno Mars (1) get drunk, (2) smoke weed, (3) have fun, and (4) don’t care who sees.

3.) Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild – I like to blast this song as I drive in my Honda Civic with my hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock, going safely 5 MPH over the speed limit.

2.) The Troggs - Wild Thing – Kinda funny to think these guys were the badasses of their day.

1.) Will Smith - Wild Wild West ft. Dru Hill, Kool Mo Dee – To this day, I don’t know if this was supposed to be a joke of a song, or serious. Either way, with Will Smith as a rapping cowboy, I’m absolutely here for it.

Jun. 26, 2024
Lather: Cremo - Coconut Mango Shave Cream - Preshave
Brush: AP Shave Co AP400 Gelousy #SHD Fan 2 Band Badger #SHD * Razor: RazoRock Superslant L2++ #CNC * Blade: Gillette Silver Blue [1]
Post Shave: Ariana & Evans - Asian Pear - Aftershave
Post Shave: Tower 28 - SOS Rescue Spray

Cremo only

ROTY

First shave with the SuperSlant and it was great. I’ll need to use it a few more times to form a good opinion but I got a great shave today and it handles those tough spots on my neck beautifully without redness or irritation like I get from milder razors. I went with the L2++ plate to start - I would have gone with the L2++OC or the L3 but neither were available. I may try one of those in the future. I love the thing so far. It was a Father’s Day gift from my amazing wife and daughter but the top cap didn’t come until yesterday.

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

Today I shaved with Seaforth (non-Spearhead) and an Omega boar brush. I used a GC84 with a Personna blade. I followed up with Atomic Holiday aftershave and a blast of Sea Spice Lime edt.

Jun. 26, 2024
Brush: AP SHAVECO AP400B XL 28 mm (G5C)
Razor: Karve CB SS SB (D Plate, First Pass; B Plate, Second Pass)
Blade: Astra Superior Platinum [3]
Lather: Central Texas Soaps Cowboy Spice (Pasteur Pharmacy Collaboration) - Cowboy Spice - Soap
Post Shave: Central Texas Soaps (Pasteur Pharmacy Collaboration) - Cowboy Spice - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented (Sego) - Balm

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

6/26/24 Lather Games shave

• Brush: Vintage Surrey / AP Shave Co cashmere synth

• Lather: Siliski Soaps - Midnight in Tunisia

• Razor: Yaqi Raster w/ Feather Pro

• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Gravefruit II

My brush-cleaning routine is pretty standard: rinse well with warm water, squeeze out and shake out in the shower, then brush lightly across a soft towel for a bit to try to get it as dry as possible. I don't use the same brush for consecutive shaves (unless I'm travelling, in which case I'm bringing a synthetic so that it dries quickly anyways).

Happy hump day!

Jun. 26, 2024
Prep: Warm Shower - - Preshave
Brush: Stirling 2-Band Synthetic Brush
Razor: Merkur 37C
Blade: Gilette 7 O’Clock - Super Platinum [9]
Lather: Rock Bottom Soap - Barber Shoppe - Soap
Post Shave: Kroger - Witch Hazel - Aftershave
Post Shave: Nivea - Sensitive Soothing Post Shave - Balm
Post Shave: Stirling - Alum Block

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 26, 2024

• Brush: BBQ Baster
• Razor: Bic Sensitive #rainbow
• Blade: whatever comes in a bic (1)
• Lather: Schnuck’s – Bragging Rights St. Louis BBQ Sauce
• Post Shave: AB-InBev – Busch Beer
• Fragrance: Schnuck’s – Liquid Smoke, Hickory

WCW has arrived. My #photocontest right now has no props! Because this shave embraces the edible by itself. Sure it’s not “Sugar and Sweets” except it contains a lot of sugar, and the sauce is sweet. Let’s explain: I’m following in the long line of food themed shaves but putting my own spin on it. Let’s walk through the #fof that is a STL BBQ shave.

Now, purists will note STL BBQ is more like “grilling” which is true, we slice pork but about 1.5 inch thick, grill it and simmer it in sauce for the remainder of the day. The end result is delicious, and this shave pays homage to that. STL BBQ sauce is traditionally Mauls (Don’t base your Bar-b-que MAUL IT!) but Maul’s went out of business a while back. Partially because most stores put out their own rough equivalent, and that’s what we’re using today Schnuck’s brand “Bragging rights” STL style BBQ sauce. Now Maul’s was popular because it was really just a base for other things, and no STL BBQ is complete without BUUUUSCCCCHHH. You throw some in the sauce to thin it (then add brown sugar, mustard, spices, etc.) and drink the rest. So, I’ve incorporated it as today’s splash. Finally, to capture the smoke flavor, dabbing some liquid smoke on as EdP. This is more accurately extrait strength, but you get the idea. (It’s probably also applying concentrated carcinogen to my skin….).

Now, we don’t grill inside, so what does that mean? Back to the patio for an outside shave. But it’s raining. That’s OK, confidence in your strategy is knowing you can wait for the rain to end before shaving. Also no worrying about wall placement this time, we can set up at the BBQ. In my…exposed back yard. All good though, I’m out here a ton fiddling with the BBQ pit so this probably won’t even register with the neighbors. As I set up the rain started to move in again. This meant I wouldn’t be able to get good pictures. So I moved back into my kitchen for the purposes of getting a video done. I kept it under 3 minutes for the judges (worst shave of the game so far.)

Now today is my anniversary, so you’re probably thinking “WTF he slathered himself in BBQ sauce?” But oddly, this is thematic. See, I proposed to my wife in Memphis, TN, right after we went out for dinner at the Rendezvous. And when I handed her the ring, and looked at her…she had a bit of BBQ sauce on her cheek. I wiped it off, later when we headed down to the lobby of the Peabody Hotel to watch the ducks, she noticed I too had BBQ sauce on my cheek. So here’s to 14 years.

Since I now have to go clean up, for the challenge I’ll talk about my brush cleaning routine. It’s fairly standard. I use Zingari brush cleaner. I follow up by lathering in a tub of Stirling Bonafide to restore any necessary fat/oils to the hairs. This tub is only used for brush cleaning (I maybe shaved with it once.) I got it on clearance (it was a Black Friday soap and I picked it up when they were liquidating all the scents.) It’s a dupe of someone’s L’homme (Prada I think.) It’s an ok scent. Stirling defined it as “office friendly.” But didn’t really wow me. But since it’s fairly non-offensive I find it useful for finishing brush cleanings, especially on the pass arounds. I’ve cleaned a lot of brushes for those pass arounds, so the tub is lower than you’d expect.

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Oral B Braun Pro 500 14mm Bert and Ernie Custom Edition #RUNT #SMOLL
• Razor: Blackland Razors Blackbird
• Blade: Gillette Platinum (1)
• Lather: Orajel Kids - Anti-Cavity Toothpaste with Fluoride Natural Berry - Soap
• Post Shave: Listerine - Cool Mint - Antiseptic Splash
• Fragrance: Listerine - Cool Mint - Breath Spray

We are back for a third installment of my review series, where I try to help all wet shavers find ways to avoid big soap and still get a clean, comfortable shave.

In 2022 I endeavored to determine if baby food is a suitable substitute for the massively overpriced shaving soaps and creams we all use. Spoiler alert: it is. Nice and slick, and had a refreshing spinach and onion scent. In this review I attempted to make my own homemade toner, which I don’t recommend. It’s very time consuming, and time is, as we all know, money.

In 2023 I brought hard-hitting video evidence that big oil can actually help you save money over the criminals at big soap, and showed that you too can have a nice slick shave using the motor oils at your local big box store or fueling station. I did determine, however, that gasoline is a poor substitute for an effective aftershave splash, as many, many showers were required to remove that scent from my face.

This year, I am going to evaluate that while big soap is only here to fleece your wallets and empty your bank accounts as you chase after new bases and scents, can big oral hygiene help you with your shaving ritual as well? Could you combine tooth care and shaving into one process using the same easily-purchased materials? Find out after the jump.

For today’s shave, I assembled some of the finest tooth care and shaving implements on the market. For my brush, I’m using the Oral B Braun Pro 500 14mm brush. This is the “Bert and Ernie” Custom Edition in that in order to convince my daughter to brush her teeth we all got Sesame Street toothbrushes at one point courtesy of some stickers. I purchased this toothbrush and replacement heads with my own money from the Costco in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The Burt and Ernie stickers were purchased with my own money from Amazon.

For the soap, I’m using Orajel Kids Anti-Cavity Toothpaste with Fluoride, Natural Berry flavor. This is a more obscure soap, but Shallot and Scallion hate mint or bubble gum, so we’re trying different types of toothpastes since the one they liked is discontinued. They said this tastes “kind of like garbage, Dad”. I purchased this toothpaste using my own money from Walgreens in Prospect Heights, IL.

For the aftershave, I’m using Listerine Cool Mint Antiseptic Splash. This was purchased with my own credit card at Target in Arlington Heights, IL. I’ve not paid the Target Red Card bill yet though, so technically I should disclose that I haven’t actually had funds leave my account. Also, I don’t even pay that bill, u/ktturtlesue does, so I guess she bought this for me? That does not affect my objectivity in this review.

For the frag, I’m using Listerine Cool Mint Breath Spray. This was purchased using my own money at Walgreens in Buffalo Grove, IL.

Now that’s settled… on to the shave.

I placed an amount of soap in my bowl equivalent to two walnuts. I know most here use almond-sized amounts of soap, but I also know “more soap, more water” to be what has worked for me in the past, so I decided to err on the side of too much soap. I could always add more water later. This amounted to approximately ½ of a tube of toothpaste.

I started building a proto lather, but it was very clear that I needed more water.

I was following u/cosmobarber’s precision lathering technique, so I slowly built the lather, adding water as necessary

Once I had a lather that was as good as I was going to get and does not at all resemble semen, it was time to move to my face.

I started with scooping up the soap and painting strokes to get the soap on my face. Once I had my face covered, I used my battery-operated shaving brush to lather the soap further, which provided a gentle exfoliation that I really appreciated..

Once the lather was ready, I moved to shaving.. If I’m honest, the slickness was not great, and there was a lot of stinging. I finished up above my lip, where I ended up with 4 weepers, finished my chin, and then rinsed to move to the after shave portion of today’s shave. Using the Blackbird with toothpaste, like milk while running, was a bad choice.

I poured a healthy splash into my hands and applied it directly to my face. Great Odin’s raven, that stung. Like a bunch of tiny hornets stinging me all over my face. After it dried, I was left with skin that felt clean and replenished, and a calming mint scent.

Lastly, I went with a spritz of the frag on each wrist and four on my neck for good measure. If I were reviewing this on Fragrantica, I’d say its main accord is mint, with top, middle, and base notes of mint. I’d say the longevity is moderately strong, sillage is enormous. I’d classify this as a more-male scent, with great value, as it was approximately $5.

Overall, the post-shave items in this shave were great. I’d leave the toothpaste for your teeth, and pick up another bottle of Pennzoil for shaving purposes. Given that a tube of toothpaste costs what, $10? This was a pretty expensive shave for the quality that I got. I rate this shave 42 jackalopes out of 87.

For brush cleaning- in this brush I'll throw the head away and put a new one on. Normally, I lather the brush twice with Dawn, and then follow up with a mild-scented shaving soap for a third lather. Typically I use NO Monarch.

LG24-26: Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Wild West Brushworks Samurai 26mm Timberwolf Synthentic Knot
• Razor: Mühle Rocca R94
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Super Stainless (Green) [9]
• Lather: Red House Farm - Kitchen Sink - Soap
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Lycanthropy - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Sunrise on LaSalle - Eau de Toilette

Kitchen Sink has a little bit of everything, and it was made with love by u/grindermonk. It maybe didn't pair as well with Lycanthropy and SoLS as I would have liked, but they are all great scents.

Good luck to everyone who's destroying their shave gear and faces today.

Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: My - Hand
• Razor: Fromm Hair Shaper Razor
• Razor: McDonalds Fries #KAMISORI
• Blade: Fromm - Hair Shaper Blade
• Lather: Double Dips - Fry Sauce
• Post Shave: McDonalds - Sprite
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Jack Solid Cologne

Daily Video

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to my grandma for the razors, lather, and aftershave. Thanks to anyone who watches the whole vid. Thanks to the judges and fabulous people for putting this whole thing together.

Daily Mistakes
I had to stay late for marching band and my grandma was late for work.

Daily Writeup Fantastic shave today, I 100% recommend you to watch the video. This was my first time using this soap and it lathers so nicely, and the slickness during the shave is incredible, not to mention the wonderful smell!!! Oh man, and I forgot to mention the taste, oh boy it is better than any soap I have ever tasted. Fry sauce is definitely a Utah thing but if you are somewhere else you can just go ahead and follow the following recipe to make your own:

Cuisine: American Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 0 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes Servings: Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Instructions Combine the ketchup and mayonnaise in a bowl. Dip fry or scrape off face. Think about what you have done.

Daily Theme Points IDK how but I am the first person to shave with fry sauce today.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
Today I chose McDonalds Sprite because some folks have claimed that it is spicy or even burns, so what better aftershave than something with a burn! As for the frag I did a bit of explaining in the vid but I am also the first person to use it today.

Daily Challenge In the video I have the full tutorial of how to clean a brush (a real brush not just my hands that I used today). But in short you use water.

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
McDonalds fries do not have a folding handle and make them #KAMISORI form factor (judges lmk if you want me to edit that part out before midnight).

Photo Contest
Money!!! And it's just as real as the rest of the shave!!!

TL;DR
Fry Sauce let me win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests #photocontest #ROTY

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts with Declaration Grooming B10 #FRANKENBRUSH

• Razor: Puma 89 #2 11/16 Full Hollow

• Lather: Eufros - Rosa Oud - Soap

• Post Shave: Eufros - Rosa Oud - Aftershave Balm
• Post Shave: Thayers - Rose - Toner
• Fragrance: Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Oud - Eau de Parfum
• Talc: Yardley Gold
   

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Wonderful shave. Perhaps I'm missing it, but I don't see a lot of Eufros used around here these days. I only became aware of it because of u/VisceralWatch. Rosa Oud has a very unique, and kind of haunting, scent.

Brush cleaning. I do all my cleaning under running water. First, I take the brush and gently squeeze out as much soap as I can. Then, I hold the brush knot-up directly under high(ish) pressure running water from the tap. In this position, I compress the knot with my hand until I see only clear water running from the base of the knot. At this point the knot is cleared of all soap. Then I simply dry the brush with an ultra-plush microfiber towel (that is normally used for car detailing).

The razor for today's excursion was my new (to me) Puma 89 #2, and today's shave was a test shave. It went very well. Here is a video of me playing with this cat.

June 26, 2024 – LG 26: Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Rx Shaving Maggard 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Voskhod (8)
• Lather: Geo F. Trumper – Rose Cream
• Post Shave: Taylor of Old Bond Street – Royal Forest
• Post Shave: Truefitt and Hill – Apsley Balm
• Fragrance: D.R. Harris – St. James 1684

All your obscure “liquids” and “soaps” today. What’s more wild than rolling the dice and using one of the world’s more common brands. That seems like the wildest riskiest move of all. And waiting until later in the day, that’s truly daring.

Today, I planned my quest, with 4 stops to make. On my jaunt today I made my first stop to get some soap (aka cream). On to stop 2, the famous TOBS store, it was actually quite happening in there, where I got some AS cream. I continued my journey for stop 3, where surprisingly I went with an unsolicited recommendation for EDT. That said, the man was kind and just doing his job. Lastly, I made it to stop 4, where the lady was way to liberal with her sprays. Sadly, they had no splash, so I went with another balm (which was outrageously overpriced). All in all this quest was likely only matched by Frodo and the fellowship on their quest to destroy the one ring. However, instead of being a semi-hopeless hobbit, I felt like this at all of the stores. In case the judges need me to spell out the connection, these were all purchased today on site and the England storefronts.

For our #FOF, the geo f is a straight forward rose. The TOBS royal forest is like a fruity vanilla floral. The T&H is a very grapefruit citrus forward ‘cologne’ like blend with touches of lavender. Lastly, the DRH is a versatile unisex frag that again opens quite fruity, and mellows to soft florals.

For #PHOTOCONTEST, I’m going with humor today. Dry sarcastic humor is more my speed, and what is more humorous than spending tourist level prices and mid and low range products when I have an overflowing den of choices at home…

As for brush cleaning tips… I don’t really do that except the occasional dawn if I’m to sell. Though I’m open to suggestions after this ube mishap earlier in the LG.

Todays sponsor. I like my Henson, but I also got it for free in the inaugural Adventus Calendar. It is a fool proof razor and I’m glad it’s helping folks switch to wetshaving. The owner/spokesperson seemed like a bit of a tool though in his latherhog podcast.

LG 26 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Hand
• Razor: Coffee wodden stick x 2
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (1)
• Lather: Home Brewed Cream - Cottage Cheese & Honey
• Post Shave: Granini - Arándanos y uva
• Fragrance: Myurgia - 1916

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Last minute shave had to improvise. The first thing I found in the refrigerator, was cottage cheese, why not! I mixed it with honey for the sticky factor.

I glued the blade to the coffee stick with two components fast glue.

The entire process, notch included.

.#FOF Today I made my custom gourmand scent cheese, honey, blueberries, grape with Myurgia - 1916 classic colonia scent.

I almost forget the challenge, my brushes get clean with shaving soap a good rinse, and letting them dry.

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Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Yaqi Ferrari
• Razor: Nobel Prize Anatole France Straight Razor #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY #REVENANT
• Blade:
• Lather: Grey Lab - Kyoto

photocontest

DIY

Today’s Challenge:

Clean Brush Talk
Usually I don’t clean my brushes often, it is soap we use, isn’t. Now and then however i just use ordinary soap and clean it.

its late and I'm tired. Fuck off Imgur I don't know why you don't love me any more

• Lather: barrister and mann - Seville

I realise that my other comment will mean this one isn't picked up now (that right u/djundjila?)

Oh well . I've been busy and not looked at the sub most of the day so I get some fun scrubbing tomorrow. 

I had planned on shaving with no scrub soap but instead I'm trying out something stupid. The most common soap I own. I should get DQd surely. I mean the other post means I will anyway I guess.

LG SOTD Jun 26 2024 - Wild CARB Wednesday

photocontest

Theme: Bird (egg-laying chicken, deceitful chicken)

• Brush: Coop D'Osa - Pennello da cucina in silicone
• Razor: Bic - Single blade - Disposable
• Blade: Bic - Single blade - Disposable [1]
• Lather: u/MudAccording - Home made carbonara cream sauce
• Post Shave: Braulio - Amaro Riserva 2008
• Fragrance: Providence - Haitian Rum Blanc

additional post shave: Saponificio Varesino - Pro Victis - Skin Repair Cream
additional fragrance: Haitian Vetiver EO blended with Providence - Haitian Rum Blanc

ON THE RUN WITH CHICKEN, EGGS AND PIGS

Yesterday’s photocontest theme, Do It Yourself, has become today’s necessity.

My escape brought me to a remote place in the countryside.
I have to admit I was too optimistic.
No shaving soap available today. The closest stash is hours away.

“Work with what you got”, they say.
Here, in this farm, I only have access to some of humankind’s oldest options in terms of animal resources: chicken, pork, and some dairy products.

I wonder if karma brought me here: after all these posts of Americans using shaving products that smell like food, and sometimes even eating their lather, I am forced to do the opposite. 

Use food as lather. Not junk food, but something home-cooked.

NOT MY MOM’S SPAGHETTI
(Sorry u/Enndeegee )

I was born in Tuscany. Carbonara is a recipe from a different region, so it did not belong to my mother’s range of spaghetti options. But it became an affordable and essential survival option during my uni years, thanks to the mentorship of some fellow students from Rome, the homeland of carbonara.

Today I prepared my most updated version of a carbonara sauce base (eggs yolk, low-temperature melted pork jowl fat, grated cheese) and then used it as condiment for my spaghetti dinner, as a well as a pseudo-lather for my shave.

This is not a re-hash of the glorious Yard Raised Fresh Chicken Egg story.

I did use free range chicken eggs, but I did not make a soap out of them. Just a Mac-Gyver'd shaving cream.

Now, I don’t believe in evangelizing recipes as if they were a dogma written in stone. Non-gourmet household cuisine always needed to adapt to the ingredients available at hand.
It’s all about making it work for you, using what you have.

For carbonara, in addition to the flavor variants (you can even make a veggie alternative with zucchini, asparagus or other crispy greens), a big factor that somewhat reminds me of shaving is the importance of a slick texture.

ON THE RUNNY

If you don’t want the sauce to overheat and turn into scrambled eggs, then you need to work on the elements that contribute to slickness/creaminess, and ensure a timely application of sauce onto the pasta when the temperature lowers just enough so that it does not make the eggs proteins overheat and become too dry.

For ideal creaminess, I follow the practice of making a bain-marie savoury zabaione (if you insist, look at this reference recipe here, but take it with the proverbial grain of salt). I mix it with a considerable amount of melted fat from the pork jowl (alternative: bacon), which adds taste to the pasta, and thickness / slickness to the shaving cream.
Every cured pork has different fat characteristics. Today I had good results heating the fat at 125°C, so that it melted without getting any burnt note. Melted fat on the bottom of the pan, crispy sticks of cured meat ready to be added when you put together the sauce+pasta.

The history of carbonara is still debated and most Italians will claim it's related to local traditions, but recent research points to a strong dependance on the food supplies - dehydrated eggs and bacon - brought to Italy from US GIs at the end of WWII.

Once again, as in previous entries this month, I am confused and inspired by the complex, paradoxical history of Euro-Atlantic exchanges.

SHAVE AND SCENTS

As I have no shaving brush at hand, I had to make do with a kitchen brush, which actually worked quite effectively in covering my face and neck with the dense carbonara cream.

For FOF, the scent notes are: egg yolk, cured pork (including the accompanying aromatic pepper notes), seasoned cheese (tastes umami, don’t know how to translate it into a scent).

I shaved with a Bic disposable. My previous shaves with this gentle single-blade product were all very superficial. Today, I got an impressive and unexpected BBS.

I was astonished by the slickness of the thick cream that I made out of egg yolk and melted pork jowl fat (with the addition of some cheese fat and proteins heated at bain marie at 60°).

I then splashed some Amaro Braulio Riserva: it’s an alcohol based solution of herbs distillates, on paper so not so different from many “natural” EO-based AS. The bitter and fresh herbs contrast very nicely with the greasy scent of the carbonara cream. The sugar present in the recipe is not immediately perceivable, but after a few minutes it contributes to a slightly sticky drydown feel.

After a while, my super-smooth skin felt bizarrely dry, so I decided to apply some Pro Victis from Saponificio Varesino, to balance any shortcoming of the carbonara and amaro with respect to post-shave properties.

As a fragrance, I used a 58% alc Haitian Rum Blanc.
I recently wondered: why looking for fragrance reconstructions of boozy scents that are already available as strong alcohol solutions?
Well, I now have an answer: the funky and original "agricole" scent profile of the rum was very vibrant during the first minute, then the evaporation of the alcohol basically stopped it from continuing being perceivable.

On the other hand, I am surprised by the long-lasting sillage of the "rooty" scent of the herbal accord from my Amaro AS.

For fragrance longevity, I did a second attempt with a small rollerball of the same rum that had been macerated since over the last six weeks with a few drops of Haitian Vetiver EO,. The persistence of the EO has remained perceivable for a much longer time compared to just the rum scent.

While I remain skeptical with respect to boozy fragrances, I guess there is an actual point to the art and craft of perfumery, after all.

FOF

Today's Challenge: I use mostly synthetic brushes, and I don't feel the need to clean them with a water / vinegar solution. I once used soap dish to clean one that kept smelling like a particularly strong-scented soap, but other than that my brushes are still waiting for me to learn how to properly take care of them.

ROTY

SOTD June 26, 2024 

• Prep: Splash of warm water
• Brush: Stirling Synthetic 2-band 24mm
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85MM Safety Razor
• Blade: Van Der Hagen Stainless
• Lather: Barrister & Mann - 42
• Post Shave: Nivea Men Sensitive balm

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks purple burl AP Shave Co. 24mm MiG
• Razor: Karve CB SB-D
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Red House Farm – Sedona

I am slow to post this so had all the brands I didn’t use yet as a backup in case I get sniped. Today I used this lovely scent from Red House Farms, a soap maker I would encourage others to give a try. Pretty affordable, works well, and scents are nice. Sedona’s scent is based on what would be encountered in Sedona, Arizona. I never been there but assume it is desert, or at least partly. I get a lot of pine, but a woodsy natural pine, which I find different than the balsamy not as woodsy pine scent. Yes, balsam is natural but its association with the holidays probably did that to me. I imagine low, bushy evergreens in a clay desert. Which the soap ironically kind of looks like clay. I think the patchouli is giving me the clay notes. I find it true to its intent, and brings me to a dry, dusty, piney desert. Extremely pleasant and naturey. It reminds me of a memory of a summer wedding in Lake Tahoe. Not a desert by any means but huge pines and it was very dry and dusty. Hiking was amazing. The bride and groom did not expect the low temps at night during the reception (destination wedding). It was frigid. Table clothes turned to blankets, I got a radiation burn on my face from the outdoor heater, and to top it off they did not like cake so replaced the wedding cake with ice cream. It actually was a great trip and fun wedding, just cold but that forced everyone to dance to avoid frostbite.

Clean brush talk: I used to have hard water and I felt this was much more noticeable prompting me to clean my brushes. I diluted vinegar, no scientific amount, and then “lathered” gently while letting it sit for a minute or two. This removes the hardness. Then rinse well. Then dish soap lather to remove the vinegar. Finally, lathered with a citrus type of shave soap (Stirling clementine was my go to). I did this maybe every couple months. Now that I have a softener, I honestly don’t do it much if at all.

Today I used the theme grass for the photocontest, which is probably my last easy one to get #photocontest

fof

DAY 26 LATHER GAMES! WILDCARD INDEED

• Prep: Water
• Brush: Kapo(Karo) 22mm synth
• Razor: Goodfellas smile Impero OC razor
• Blade: Nacet
• Lather: Playing Cards - No. 976 grounded to dust and bits
• Post Shave: Ethos - Success skin food lotion
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - O, Unknown!

I had such a laugh today. Why? Well cause of the time difference. When I wake up and the new post of the day starts it's around 9 AM, and there(the States) it's midnight. Usually when I check, there are 1-2 posts at that time and that's all. This morning I opened and I was like, WTF, probably like 20 posts. Then I remembered why there was such a rush of posts on this day. Everyone is a scrub and isn't sure in themselves that someone else won't copy them.

After last year's upset for, where u/Onionmiasma, copied my idea(not on purpose, he didn't know what my idea was) of shaving with motor oil(which I did do on camera the previous year, unrelated to LG) and me being left in the dust, I said "fuck it" and left today's Wildcard Wednesday for the last moment. Yup, you read that right, I waited for inspiration THE DAY OF! And that was the right decision to take, because what was created today by me, is something that I KNOW nobody has done, neither today nor any previous LG years. I didn't even check what people used, that's how confident I am!

Here we gooooooo!

As I was walking back from work, admiring how wonderful the day was and realizing that the LG are almost over, something caught my eye on the sidepath. It was a deck of cards that had written on them "WILD CARDS". I thought "Wild Cards, what concidence, there must be a way to fit this in today's theme". I got back home and opened them, and there was an instructional card that read "WARNING CARDS CAN TALK". You can imagine how giddy with excitement I was for the fact I had stumbled upon magic cards. I quickly took one out and asked it what it could tell me. The card proclaimed in a monotnous voice "The earth is flat!"... I was shocked, very strange thing to say. I didn't like that so I crumpled it up and threw it away, took another one out it said "Incest is wincest!", I was floored, such a vile phrase. The third one just started saying something about Hitler, but I squished it in my hand before it could finish it's sentence, I didn't even want to know what it was. These truly were wild cards, but one thing was clear to me, they must be destroyed. So I took my blender and made them into dust particles.

Since this hobby carries the notion of eco friendliness and reducing plastic polution with cartriges I didn't want to just throw away the waste that was created from blending the cards. And since I do not have a compost, I said "You know what? Fuck it! I'm gonna shave with this!". That's right folks, I shaved with blended Wild Cards on Wildcard day!

Here is a VIDEO documentation of everything that happened today to get here!

VIDEO of me shaving with Wildcard lather on Wildcard day!

Daily Challenge

Now for brush maintenance I owe most of what I do or know to AnotherCutAbove. From the very beginning of my wetshaving journey, when I was watching wetshaving youtubers, he was probably the only guy I really liked and his lather inspired me to make mine better, cause he really did hydrate his lather.

I learned from him the trick that when you've washed your brush after shaving but are not sure if there is any soap in there, after shaking all the water out, just squeeze the bottom of the knot, and if you hear some scrunching sounds, that means that there is still lather in there. I use this trick to this day, I think I even used it yesterday. After I hear that the brush is scrunching I use hot water and rinse THOROUGLY until I am satisfied. After that I whip the ends of my brush on a towel, verticallly and horizontally, to get all that excess water out.

I've been using this method for more than 3 years and I have never had problems with any brush, no soap build-up, nothing. All my brushes are healthy!

Oh I do want to share something that I found out on my own. Have you seen synthethic brushes that when you look on top of the knot that there is a hole there in the middle? That happens from when you push too much on the knot, either on your face or in a bowl, though this is more common for bowl lathering. I found a way to fix it. You just take the brush, take a bowl, or a towel, or your hand in a cupped form, apply slight to medium pressure to the tips onto the chosen surface(important if should be a spherical surfacen, not flat) and do very small circular motions, about 100-200 rotations should do, check on your brush, the dent in the middle should have dissapered or be substantially reduced. Repeat this process until it is as good as new and in the future just be mindful of how much you press when lathering.

Daily Lather Themes: 26/30

• Daily Challenges: 24/30
• Hardware Scavenger Hunt: 20/20
• Hardware Vendor Points: 2/2
• Software Vendor Points: 14/16
• Software Vendor Bonus Point: 0/1
• 30 Different Soap Brands Point: 26/30
• 30 Different Soaps On Theme Bonus Point: 26/30
• 30 Different Post-Shaves Bonus Point: 26/30

User shaves with a blended up deck of cards.

User shaves with a deck of "wild cards" and really commits to the bit with a video and all.

June 26, 2024

• Prep: Shower
• Body Soap: Spearhead - Spiced
• Brush: Wild West Brushworks - synth
• Razor: Henson - Al13 Mild
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Spearhead - Spiced
• Post Shave: Spearhead - Spiced
• ** Fragrance:** Spearhead - Spiced

Brush cleaning game is non existent. I rinse and hang.

Will follow up with photo in edit. Can't be risking getting my shave snaked . Already tough enough as a nightshaver

Edit:

meme for you

Here is my photo for #photocontest https://imgur.com/gallery/kXCuHIm Theme is elements: fire. Had to wait till late to grab this photo. Left the fragrance out of this pic for fear of it going up in flames.

photocontest

June 26, 2024 – Lather Games 2024 Day 26: Wildcard Wednesday, aka Impressive Djonut’s Djelicatessen

• Brush: Opus Brushworks – Djelicatessen Brush
• Razor: Chopstick Kamisori v.2.5 #RAINBOW
• Lather: Djonut’s Djelicatessen – Mornay Sauce
• Post Shave: Hartzler’s Family Dairy – Whole Milk
• Fragrance: Radical Works – Bacon Solid Cologne

Ahhh…it’s the annual day where half the sub awakes, posts a placeholder, and goes back to bed feeling good about themselves long before the sun ever rises on the Eastern seaboard. This year it looks like some of the less adventurous actually shaved, leaving the late risers in a frenzy as they keyword searched the thread to find out if another user sniped them, leaving them without their daily lather point.

Use of Theme: Wildcard Wednesday

Welcome to the third edition of what began from a friendly conversation with u/djunjilla about deli sandwiches, particularly the Reuben—ranked only number 14 by Far & Wide in their list of Most Popular Sandwiches in America, Ranked, but arguably the best by his and my standards—Impressive Djonut’s Djelicatessen

Year one was all about the iconic Reuben, which gets a lot of love in the Midwest yet is likely snubbed because of the sauerkraut.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity to meme a good comment, the Beef on Weck became the featured sandwich for year two and the subsequent opening shave of this year’s Lather Games.

If you were lucky enough to be having out on Discord the day I inadvertently tipped my hat, this will be no surprise. I set out to evaluate the list of popular deli sandwiches and came upon this Kentucky favorite, the Hot Brown.

Created the 1920s by Chef Fred Schmidt of the Brown Hotel in Louisville as a new temptation for late-night revelers of the hotel’s famed nightly dinner dances, the sandwich has gained world-wide appeal. These days, everyone and their brother’s cousin has a version of the famed sandwich, but before we go to the source for today’s recipe, The Brown Hotel, here are a few obligatory words about the shave theme.

Milk. It does a body good. Sri uses lots of it in Wholly Kaw soaps. My Mornay sauce lather is butter (another good ingredient), milk, and cream. More milk is good, so Hartzler’s Family Dairy Whole Milk is a nourishing aftershave lotion that does a face good. What can make this shave even better? That which makes anything better—bacon. Fragrantly finishing this fine shave is Bacon Solid Cologne from Radical Works.

The Chopstick Kamisori makes its return in a new V.2.5 #rainbow configuration with a comfort wrapped handle.

BONUS UPDATE! Making today’s sandwich!THE WORLD-FAMOUS HOT BROWN

INGREDIENTS Makes Two Hot Browns

• 2 oz. Whole Butter
• 2 oz. All Purpose Flour
• 8 oz. Heavy Cream
• 8 oz. Whole Milk
• ½ Cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese (Plus 1 Tablespoon for Garnish)
• Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper
• 14 oz. Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast, Slice Thick
• 4 Slices of Texas Toast (Crust Trimmed)
• 4 Slices of Crispy Bacon
• 2 Roma Tomatoes, Sliced in Half
• Parmesan Cheese
• Paprika
• Parsley

In a two‑quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium‑low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk heavy cream and whole milk into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about 2‑3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast with the crusts cut off in an oven safe dish – one slice is cut in half corner to corner to make two triangles and the other slice is left in a square shape – then cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and two toast points and set them alongside the base of the turkey and toast. Next, pour one half of the Mornay sauce to completely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. Place the entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.

Daily Challenge: Clean Brush Talk

Every so often I’ll clean a brush with some Zingari Brush Cleaner. Mrs_D and Lil’_Donette have since taken to using it to clean their makeup brushes to great success. But let me tell you about how not to clean a brush that you have used to slather Russian Dressing all over your face.

I pretty much thought the Opus Brushworks Glow Dot brush I used for for the inaugural Djelicatessen shave was ruined, but I liked the handle, so I wanted to at least try to rescue it. I thought a deep clean with white vinegar might do the trick, so I pretty much submerged the knot for a while and forgot about it. It must have gotten bumped while on the counter and I don’t know what, but a spot on the handle that was now in the vinegar became bleached of color. The knot still smells like rancid oil and has a sticky feel to it. I haven’t used it until today and it turns out that letting your dogs lick the Mornay sauce out of it doesn’t work so well, either. So, kids, don’t use your nice shaving brushes to mess around in the kitchen!

shaved using mornay sauce

shaved using mornay sauce

6/26/24

• Brush: Hands
• Razor: Elk Ridge Bowie Knife 17/8, Sabre Grind Drop Point
• Lather: Anchor Lube Lubricants LLC - Anchor Lube
• Post Shave: Beefimus - Beef's Clean Laundry Aftershave Splash

Today's shave is something I've always wanted to try. We've all seen it in movies and such. Some machismo bro shaving with a Bowie out on the plains. The calm before the storm. So I did. It was awful.

It was awkward, and I didn't take this to my Jnats, just synthetics and a pasted strop. That synthetic progression only takes me up to 8k. I figured, "What the hell, I've shaved off an 8k edge before," but damn... I should have spent way more time changing the angle of the bevel. I mean... it shaved (kinda)... it just wasn't great.

For my lather today, I went with a favorite product of mine: Anchor Lube. Some of you may know, I'm a Journeyman Carpenter. More so on the commercial side of things, I work with a lot of metal. Primarily when doing doors and hardware. This involves lots of drilling and lots of thread tapping.

Typically, guys will use cutting oil to drill, thread or tap. I'm telling you here now... that's trash. Especially if you're fighting gravity. It burns up super quick, it's hella runny, and all in all, it's pretty mid. Some other guys also like using wax. Wax has a place when working with wood, but never metal, in my opinion. Folks that use wax on metal are also the same ones that need instructions drawn in crayon.

I digress. This stuff sticks super well and doesn't burn up like oil. Absolutely an S Tier product. It feels slick enough that I thought it might do for a lather. That may have been the case with an appropriate shaver. But I couldn't tell shit as I hurried along.

The proof is in the pudding. This wasn't my best shave. Maybe I could've done better? I'll never know, cause I'm probably not going to do it again. It was one pass and done. My neck is on fire.

My post shave today was made by my dear friend Beefimus (he's real. u/J33pGuy13 has Helldived with him). He sent this along with some shave soap and beard oil. All scented the same. To me, it smells like clean laundry. Today, it burned like hell. Think Home Alone type burn.

All in all, it was an experience.

For the side challenge, I just clean my brushes with a little bit of dawn and water. I used to use a clarifying shampoo that seemed to work great, but I'm out and haven't bought more.

shaved with a knife

2024-06-26 LG SOTD

• Brush: SHAVE⭐DANDY Maple Baritone (26x55mm Synth)
• Razor: SHAVE⭐DANDY Custom 77 Shavette
• Blade: Cloud 62mm x 16mm
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented Balm with Menthol
• Fragrance: Lalique Pour Homme

So I waited to shave until pretty late in the day and figured "I'll just use something from my collection that nobody else hasn't used yet." Figured I'd be able to find something.

Fuck y'all

I have a lot of soap, and I'm actually a bit surprised at how few of them have been used by other players so far today. Literally nobody has used any of my Stirlings and I have, like, 20+ of them. So here we are. One of the all time best selling soaps in the entire artisan shave soap ecosystem and I'm the first to use it today.

• Brush: Stirling Soap Company - Boar
• Razor: Maggard Razors MR14 with Ikon Bulldog handle
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Stirling Soap Company - Piacenza
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann- Reserve Cool

Traveling this week so not a lot of options. This is always one of my favorites.

June 26, 2024 – Head Shaves!

• Brush: Custom Irish Bog Oak Handle w/ 30mm Synthetic Knot #TOLL
• Razor: OneBlade – Core.
• Blade: Personna – GEM SE (2).
• Lather: Cold River Soap Works – American Barbershop.

I figured I'd pull out more unobtanium for my head shave. It's a shame Cold River went out of business, this soap base performs rather well. I was planning on getting more of their soaps but that's when they closed up shop. Regardless, this head shave was wonderful, no hassles at all. Ultra-smooth and ultra-comfortable. What more can a guy ask for?

#HeadShave

June 26, 2024 – Lather Games: Day 26  

• Brush: Shavemac w/ AP Shave Co 26mm Pure Bliss™ SHD Premium Synthetic Knot  
• Razor: Tatara Muramasa  
• Blade: Gillette Nacet   
• Lather: OSP – Herb Garden  
• Post Shave: Duke Cannon – Ice Bath  

I still own this soap for one and one reason only, to use it in the Lather Games. Honestly though, the scent is a lot different to me now then it was in previous years. Before, it was horrendous in my opinion. I’m not saying it’s great now, just not as bad. It seems like the odor has died down, leaving more of the menthol scent. This makes it a bit more palatable. It still will not make any other rotation except the Lather Games, but one day I. The distant future I may use more than once a year.

Today’s Challenge: I honestly haven’t taken the time to clean my brushes all that well. The ones I use on a regular basis are synthetic, so I will rinse them with some hot water and dish soap. I’m not sure how efficient that is, but it works for me.

June 26, 2024 – Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Left Hand
• Razor: About Body – Bikini Shavers
• Blade: See razor
• Lather: Slippery Stuff – Personal Lubricant Gel
• Post Shave: Happy Nuts – Comfort Cream
• Fragrance: Summer’s Eve – Island Splash Douche

Last year for Wildcard Wednesday I missed the memo and used a soap. The scrub shame from u/Enndeegee was great, but I vowed to do better. I decided to keep things within the boundaries of for human use as my wife is already asking me when this thing ends, and a hospital trip might end in divorce. That limited me a little bit, but I put together a plan to attempt to redeem myself. Now u/Priusaurus used KY last year in his classy romantic coitus shave, but what about us average people. You know the kind that have to look up what those words even mean. Well allow me to introduce to a different kind of shave, a shave that includes what goes on behind the scenes.

• The Lather: For today’s shave I went straight to business with a little bit of Slippery Stuff Personal Lubricant Shaving Gel. Bowl lathering this stuff was pretty much impossible so I had to scrap that idea. With any chance of a brush foreplay over I moved straight to a quick spread by hand. Now when I bought this “personal lubricant” I had the idea that maybe it would be a slick gel, but it’s a lot more slimy than slick.
• The Shave: Shaving my face with a women’s pube razor, not my finest moment. As if that doesn’t sum up the shave, the lube acting very similar to how it felt rubbing it on my face. This was a zero cushion shave with near constant clogging with lube. It doesn’t help that this razor is tiny so it took forever. Thankfully the Slippery Stuff is long lasting so it didn’t dry up. Eventually I got through some semblance of a shave and with minimal cutting. Here is a quick shot of some of the action.
• Aftershave/Frag: So now that I’ve done the ~~dirty~~ shave its time for a little self care because lets face it, this isn’t a classy shave and sometimes it doesn’t end well. I started with a search for a suitable lotion for the job. When I was talking with u/2SaintsDude about needing a product he was more than happy to help me out and give me his to use. Yes, the Happy Nuts Comfort Cream is used. Against my better judgment and with the encouragement of 2SaintsDude I rubbed the lotion on my skin. Thankfully he wasn’t here to watch me or it might have gotten awkward. Now that I had a proper aftershave lotion to powder I needed a suitable fragrance. In the interest of equality I wanted to represent both sexes here and well we all know what fragranced self care the other sex might use to smell a little better down there. That’s right I went straight to the douche. The fragrance on this stuff was quite strong and I immediately regretted this decision to pour it in my hand and put it on my face, but I cant stop now, Enndeegee is always watching.
• Theme: Pretty sure no one else subjected themselves to an unforgettable genital themed shave. I used a gel to shave, a lotion for aftershave, and a fragranced product as my frag. Did I do it right this time Enndeegee?
• Challenge: Brush cleaning is really the least of my concerns right now as I sit here smelling like a literal douche, but I know my brush is going to need a thorough scrubbing after today. So how do I do it. If it wasn’t already clear I’m a simple man. I hand lather some dish soap with the brush, rinsing and repeating a few times. I then leave it to dry for a few days to ensure it’s both clean and ready for the next shave.

Personal lube has entered the ~~chat~~ shave

Jun. 26, 2024
Brush: AP Shave Co G5C
Razor: Karve CB
Blade: Rapira Super Stainless [6]
Lather: Noble Otter - Lonestar - Soap
Post Shave: Noble Otter - Lonestar - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

Got off work late had to check all the shaves to see what was free lol.

For brush care I do not do much. I also don’t lather with bbq sauce or cream cheese and honey or whatever you animals used today. I simply flick my brush, scrub it up on a towel to dry it out and then let it air dry 🤷🏼‍♂️

LG 2024- June 26th Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Elite Razor Custom Synthetic Birch
• Razor: Razorock GC .84
• Blade: Lord Platinum (5)
• Lather: Nivea for Men - Body shaving protective shave stick
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Eroe splash

Shave: Last shave before we move. Chose this because I shaved with it then I could throw it away after. Honestly it wasn’t terrible. Sickly manufactured meant-to-be-manly-but-not scent. Finally killed the splash and just in time.

The next 5 days while traveling are gonna get interesting but I have all my soaps neatly packed in my dopp Kitt(it’s a lot fuller than usual).

Challenge: I only use synthetics. Rinse completely, shake, dry off excess water and let dry.

ROTY

Lather Games 2024-06-26, Wildcard Wednesday - Brilliantine & Hair Tonic shave

• Brush: The Left Hand of PZ
• Razor: Wilkinson Sword - TTO
• Blade: Tiger Platinum, DE
• Lather: Tres Flores - Brillantine
• Post Shave: Pinaud Clubman - Eau de Portugal Hair Tonic

I got be getting up earlier so I can have time to post these before I go to work in the morning.

The Daily Theme is Wildcard Wednesday:

So today I am trying out hair preparations. To tie the theme together there are two styling products in this shave.

Tres Flores Brillantine - (really hair oil) I have now found out does shave...okay. I've never tried using a shaving oil - other than a pre-shave oil when my skin is dry. All I can say is it was viable but without cushion. Obviously no brush needed. Just slap and rub it on with a hand you are not going to try to hold a razor in. Not really enjoyable.

• Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Fragrance, Yellow 11, Red 17. (So, yeah basically weird but nice smelling baby oil).
• Scents: Flowers (presumably three of some kind) and a small twinge of vanilla.

Eau de Portugal Hair Tonic - the Post Shave? To be fair I have seen a few people use this version of Eau de Portugal Hair Tonic as an aftershave. I does have the alcohol And the "light hold" is provided by glycerin primarily. Maybe slightly sticky, I cannot tell with all this damn oil. Smells like mandarin oranges - very briefly, like under two minutes.

• Ingredients: Alcohol denat., Water (Aqua, eau), Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Citral, Limonene, Linalool, Yellow 5 (CI 19140).
• Scent: Mandarin Orange

By the way I had to take a shower to get all the residual oil off. I also had to soak my razor in shampoo water.

Today's challenge: Talk about brush cleaning.

I don't really clean them much.

For all shave brushes every time I shave I rinse under running water to get the excess off then I refill my brush soaker with warm water and lather the water, dump and repeat, until is no longer making any bubbles. Really adds about a half minute to the shave.

Not really much other cleaning takes place for brushes that only I am using. Disinfecting one is another story.

Take care and have a good one.

25 June 2024 Complementary Non Dickkhole Mythos Grooming Violetas

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Ouomo Unsullied 25mm
• Razor: Aylsworth Apex
• Blade: Gillette Nacet (44)
• Lather: Mythos Grooming - Violetas (2)
• Post Shave: Sudsy Soapery - Ten A/S
• Post Shave: Thayer's Concoction
• Post Shave: Good Oleo
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented Balm
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Cape Heartache

I figure that nobody has this soap

Cheers

June 26, 2024 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: AP shave Co. - Tuxedo 24mm synthetic Black & Butterscotch signature series
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: PINESOL - Lemon Fresh
• Post Shave: Fabuloso Multi Purpose Cleaner - Lavender
• Fragrance: Lysol - Disinfecting Spray

SOAP So I have been preaching and shouting for a PineSol shaving soap for over a year now. Since I haven’t found anything that compares I decided today to see what it would be like using the real thing!! For the sake of not getting fired decided that using the original formula would be too strong for work mode so opt to use the Lemon Fresh one. This way I wouldn’t leave my coworkers teared eye every time they talk to me.

So it turns out the liquid is super concentrated so a little goes a long way.I poured a bit in my bowl and gave it a go! The sweet smells of lemon, geraniol, citronelol, linalool, and tarpineol (WTF!!) pretty much filled my bathroom. It brought back great memories of walking into a fresh clean bathroom at target before everyone stars to shit on it! To my surprise I got bubbles!!!! I was creating lather goodness like a magical act of appearance! I quick spread it all over my face just to have the bubbles instantly disappear and the so sweet fresh lemon smell started to burn my nose hairs!! I took my razor and began chopping my whiskers and funny enough it was really slick! Almost too slick. A feeling of doubt crossed my mind like the moment when you have turned on the BBQ propane and let the gas out for 5 min because the lighter won’t spark and your mind has this epiphany of what’s to come!!! But it never did!! I finished the shave and my nose can’t smell anything and my lips are tingling like I just ate a cookie full of fire ants (fact) but my face doesn’t burn!! I wash it all off and weirdly enough I can’t remove the slickness away. It is almost like a film is left behind.

Well I must stay on theme so I paired all my set up with no other than Fabulous_o. I sprinkled a bit in my face and the chemical lavender filled my nostrils with something warm. Well I think it was a lavender since my nose was still burning from the shave. And to top it all off what’s more hygienic and bactericidal than Lysol. Ah what wonderful memories from when I used to come home during COVID pandemic and my wife would gas me from head to toe with Lysol!!! Side note here guys Lysol actually has a sweet taste and don’t ask me how I know!

CHALLENGE: Well this was done today and I highly recommend that if you want to kill two birds with one stone shaving with an industrial cleaner will not only clean the shit out of your face but inexplicably neutralize any bacterial odors your shaving brush may be harnessing. The main issue is figuring out the amount to use so you don’t pass out in the bathroom! Oh and a quick golden nugget here! Don’t use hot water cause it adds to the burn!

June 26, 2024 – LG24 Day 26 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: BukoPuro Organic Coconut Husk
• Bowl: BukoPuro Organic Coconut Shell
• Razor: Merkur 23C
• Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium (2)
• Lather: BukoPuro - Organic Coconut Cream
• Post Shaver: BukoPuro - Virgin Organic Coconut Oil
• Fragranc: BukoPuro - Organic Coconut Juice

Daily Theme & Shave: My approach to last year's WCW was admittedly low effort - I used Aloe Vera Skin Care Lotion. I still regret that I didn't do something more adventurous (I don't mean adventurous as in shaving with anal lube, I mean adventurous as in doing something that's both fun and a a bit outside the box). Pre-games, u/tsrblke indicated that he was considering a locally themed "bonkers food shave". I was very intrigued but was having difficulty with how to present a Philippine-themed bonkers shave without looking like I was just copying Tsar, so I took things in a different direction. Today I'm shaving with a coconut. Well, that's not quite right. Today my software, bowl and brush will all be parts of coconuts I arranged to have harvested for use today.

You see, one of Mrs Worried's friends (we'll call her Mary) has a side-hustle farming coconuts and selling coconut meat at a local market. A few days ago, Mary harvested some coconuts for me. Here you see her son (we'll call him John) using a long pole to yank ripe coconuts from trees on their farm. John then "shucks" the husk to expose the nut. The nut is then split open, the coconut juice drained, and then the coconuts are mechanically scraped to remove the coconut meat.

John delivered the coconut raw materials shortly after we returned from Bali yesterday. The last pic shows the meat to be processed into cream and oil, plus the juice, husk and bowl set aside for the shave.

The second part of the coconut transformation is Master Chef'd by Mrs Worried. Before you can make coconut cream and oil, you need to extract the coconut milk from the meat. You add hot water to help release the milk from the meat, and you squeeze the meat until it's dry. This is a very low-tech process, thus even I'm qualified to do the squeezing. Any floating bits are strained out, and what you have left is coconut milk.

The milk is then heated, which causes the milk to break down and the coconut cream separates from the coconut oil. If you continue to heat the cream/oil, all moisture will cook out of the cream, and leaving behind a powdery, sweet treat used as flavor enhancer on desserts such as sticky rice. FYI - Mrs Worried made the stick rice concurrent with our cream/oil production since they share many of the base ingredients.

I let the cream/oil cool down, and then it was shave time. Keeping with the coconut theme, I used one of the coconut shells and some of the coconut husk left over from the meat extraction process as my bowl and brush. I used the husk to mix up the coconut cream in the shell and to apply the cream to my face. One thing I discovered during the shave is that coconut cream is not very creamy (at least in the raw state we produced). The cream was incredibly slick, and I got a great shave as a result, but to be honest, it looked more like vomit than cream when I applied it. Coconut oil is a natural beauty product and it worked well today as my post. Coconut juice is naturally fragrant and was a natural choice for my frag.

Relevant Post/Frag: Lather, Post and Frag were all made from the coconuts harvested at Mary's farm. Post was made by Mrs Worried with the same coconut meat used to make the lather, and the frag was extracted by John from the coconuts when they were being prepared for mechanical scraping. All in all, today was a family/friends affair.

Product Branding: If I were to get into the coconut product business, I would name my company BukoPuro. Buko is Tagalog for coconut and Puro is Spanish for pure. I used a company name creator AI for name development assistance and in logo design.

Daily Challenge: I have two levels of brush cleaning: daily and special. Shaving soap is naturally antibacterial, so daily cleaning is almost always what I do. Post-shave, I first extract as much soap as I can from the brush (I use the lather to clean soap scum from the sink with an old brush I repurposed for this task). I rinse the brush under the tap until there is no visible soap, and then I dunk/splay the brush in my shave bowl (refreshing water as necessary) until the water is clear. I then hang to dry.

I only perform special cleaning when a brush is brand new (it's part of my brush break in process) or if a brush gets contaminated (such as falling into the toilet). I use a dedicated brush cleaning soap from a vendor on the DNB list and thus shall not be named (I bought this pre-r/wetshaving and if I ever need to replenish my brush cleaning soap, I will procure Zingari's version next time). After soaking the brush (at least 15 minutes for natural haired brushes and at least a couple of minutes for synthetics) I load the brush doing figure eight swirls (both clockwise and counterclockwise) for 30 seconds with the cleaning soap. I then use a pocket comb to slowly comb the brush from glue plug to tip. If I encounter tangles, I slowly work that area until bristles are untangled. This combing process works the soap throughout the knot and lather starts building as a byproduct. I continue to comb the brush for another minute or so, and then I rinse the brush using my daily cleaning process.

Player really went above and beyond in this post - showing how all of his shaving products (except the razor/blade) were really farm to bathroom.

June 21, 2024 - Fougère Friday

• Brush: Chisel & Hound V11 Embrace

• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy Ti

• Blade: Wizamet

• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Smoking Bishop

• Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented Sego Balm

Just kinda in a rush to get this shave done this evening. Didn't even take the time to see if this had been used so late in the day, but something tells me that Smoking Bishop of all the soaps had not been used. Closing in on the last few days!

June 26, 2024  

• Razor: Maggard V3  
• Lather: Band-Aid – Antiseptic Cleansing Liquid  

Theme: well, someone beat me to sunscreen and I’m not fool enough to shave with bug spray so I raised the first aid kit. I’ve got enough big bites in my legs to actually benefit from it and Antiseptic liquid worked surprisingly well. It provided a little bit of lubrication and I didn’t feel any razor burn so I assume the analgesic is working.

Challenge: Clean my brushes? You mean running them under warm water isn't enough?

June 26, 2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG24 Synthetic ("Lux Emerald Green")
• Razor: “Screwy” (GEM Damaskeene)
• Blade: Personna GEM (4)
• Lather: Kirkland Signature - Organic Fruit and Vegetable Pouch, Apple Strawberry Spinach
• Post Shave: Martini (Kirkland Signature London Dry Gin, Noilly Prat Extra Dry Vermouth, Regan’s Orange Bitters, lemon twist)
• Fragrance: rosemary sprig

The organic fruit and vegetable pouch is baby food, similar to apple sauce.

Pros:   • BPA free    • Gluten free     • cooling effect     • you can eat it

Cons: • lubrication is inconsistent    • leaves unusual residue

The martini was bracing. Lemon and juniper notes were complemented by a fresh rosemary spring that I rubbed on my face.

Daily Challenge

Thus far I've only cleaned my razors with a Q-tip and mild dish soap. I did buy some baby oil to maintain the straight razors, but I haven't used those much.

Art

Walter De Maria, Lightning Field, 1977, installation

#ROTY

EDIT: formatting