June 27, 2024 – 2024.06.27 SOTD: Lather Games Day 27 – Information Overload

• Brush: Bundubeard Oryx Horn handle with 26mm AP Shave Co. Pure Bliss knot
• Razor: Aylsworth Drakkant
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Prom King
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Light-ish Red – Splash
• Fragrance: Zoologist Perfumes – Bee

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Daily Theme: Information Overload

Theme justification: Summer Break Soaps Prom King has the following scent notes:

1. lavender
2. bergamot
3. mint
4. cinnamon
5. cumin
6. orange blossom
7. vanilla
8. tonka bean
9. sandal wood
10. cedar

That meets the requirement of at least 10 scent notes

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Information Overload continues! Both my aftershave, Stirling Light-ish Red, and my frag, Zoologist Bee, have more than 10 scent notes (16 & 13, respectively).

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Scavenger Hunt ~~Justification~~: COMPLETED

Razor facts: N/A

Brush facts: N/A

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Daily/Special Challenge: Leftorium Challenge

I cannot believe that the judges are making us do this. Left-handiness is something that is plain wrong! It's an abomination. The fact that the judges are making us do this is ridiculous. This goes against every single thing I believe in.

This post is mostly right, until it state that left-handed people are not evil. That is just flat out gibberish. Left-handedness is a sign of the devil and nothing more. There is a reason the nuns used to beat it out of children. It was the only way the devil would leave them alone!!!

Just look at this list of left-handed people:

• Oprah - evil - wants to control the world through her TV shows
• Prince William - evil - thinks he's better than us just because of his odd family tree
• Neil Armstrong - liar and evil - wants us to believe in "the moon landing"
• Leonardo da Vinci - evil - he was probably just high all the time. Plus, the Mona Lisa sucks.
• Napoleon Bonaparte - so evil that even poison couldn't kill him
• Bill Gates - do I need to even say anything here? I mean, come on, the list is endless.
• Babe Ruth - evil - he was a Yankee for goodness' sake!
• Gordon Ramsay - anyone who cooks a grilled cheese like this is pure evil.

There's absolutely more, but the evidence is clear: the only right hand is the right hand. I mean, just look at the word sinister. I comes from the Latin word for left! That's not a coincidence. It's bad enough we allow these people to play sports just because "it gives the teams an advantage." We need to return to the values that have stood the test of time. We need to recognize left-handedness for what it is: a troubling sign of the devil’s influence. The fact the judges would bring their left-handed satanic agenda to the games embarrassing. It's time to reclaim our righteous path and banish this sinister affliction from our midst! #DownWithLeftHanders #WetshaveOnlyRight #RightHandPride #WetshaversAgainstLeftHandedness #Only1DominantHand

So, anyway, I shaved with my left hand. It went fine. Here are some pics for proof

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Fragrance description

Prom King is a dupe of Le Male. Honestly not a huge fan of this one. Smells "generic," for lack of a better term. It's not bad, but nothing spectacular to me.

Light-ish Red is a dupe of Abercrombie Fierce. Smells like an early 2000s A&F store in the mall. A scent I can easily see, whether I'd like to or not. Not that I ever went in their stores, as I wasn't their target demographic, but they were very potent.

Zoologist Bee is quite nice. The first note I get is one similar to honey, but slightly off. It's relaxing. Vanilla is next. Don't think I have anything else like it in my den.

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Now onto the shave!

I did (against my upmost beliefs) shave with my left hand. It was fine. Summer Break Soaps is a fantastic soap and Stirling aftershaves are very nice as well.

Overall, 8/10 shave today.

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Totals:

• Razor Hashtags: 10/10
• Brush Hashtags: 10/10
• Hardware Sponsor Points: 2/2
• Software Sponsor Points: 16/16
• Number of Lather Brands: 27/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 27/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 27/30
• Number of Frags: 27/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

2024-06-26 - Analysis Paralysis

• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Valley of Ashes
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Texas on Fire
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - A City on Fire
• Razor: Henson AL13 Medium
• Brush: Omega 343178 Synthetic

Unifying Theme: Combustion
I was going to use Slow Explosions, which offers a little more variety in names, but my nose doesn't care for it and City on Fire fits wildly better in terms of scent.

Information Overload:
1) Coal 2) Tar 3) Bourbon 4) Tobacco 5) Bitter Citrus 6) Smoke 7) Leather 8) Motor Oil 9) Burning Rubber 10) Diesel 11) Clove 12) Birch Tar 13) Bergamot

Leftorium Challenge: Yup. I'm suprised at how much better I am at doing this, despite only doing it once year. That said, I'm still pretty inept.

The Henson is pretty much my designated Leftorium razor; I'm not sure I could cut myself with this thing if I tried! I'm not going to try to cut myself. I'm pretty sure I could cut myself with this thing if I tried.

#FOF
The order is backwards, which means we experience the effects of the blaze in reverse order. Starting with the soft ashen aroma of Valley, why do so many people say it's bad? I find it to be very nice; it's a calm, even soft scent. Surely, there is calm after everything has been burned to ashes, no?

Texas on Fire is another that people don't seem to like. To be fair, there is a Stag-isness to it. I liken it to the tar-rich smoldering embers—when the flames have died down but the fire is very much alive in the heart of the burning wood—as we slowly move backwards in time from the ash.

City on Fire is a bit more fresh, taking us futher back to when the fire was new. There's a clear wood (which is not a play on the listed "Clearwood" note) intermingling with smoke, with enough lively notes in the background that it brings to mind a small campfire in the moments just before the destruction begins to spread...

#photocontest Fire

June 27, 2024 – Error: NaN

• Brush: Chisel and Hound V24 Passaround
• Razor: Bic Sensitive #rainbow
• Blade: whatever comes in a bic (2)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Marilyn
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Marilyn
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Marilyn

Today we celebrate information overload. As such for #fof I’m trickholing Marylin, which has 14 scent notes right on the back of the EdT box! Now when I think information overload, I think back to when I used to teach ethics of Big Data (I promise this ties into the scents!) There are “3 V’s” of big data: Volume, Velocity, and Variety. Basically, a large amount of a lot of different types of data; coming at you fast. That’s not a bad description of Marylin, a large amount of a lot of different scent notes coming at you fast. One thing I’d point out in my lectures is with these 3 V’s you get so much data it can basically be made to say whatever you want it to. Sometimes this is called spurious correlation. You can overfocus on one single thing and bend the data to show that thing. Again, back to Marylin, where…all I get is powder. Tons of notes and my nose chooses to bend it to powder. Oh well.

For #photocontest, I’ve included a growler from a brewery/homebrew store near here called “Steampunk BrewWorks” for Steampunk. Their beers, like Marylin, often contain a lot of notes. And sometimes my pallet reduces it to “hops.”

For the challenge. Well, this is a family affair, and the rules dictate it doesn’t have to be my hand, so here’s my daughter shaving my face with her left hand. Per my rules her face is not in frame, but as you can clearly see this is not an adult’s hand. It is also not her dominant hand. (Of note, she asked what the challenge was and I said, “shave with my left hand or someone else’s” she immediately said “I’m gonna cut your face!” with a wicked grin. I have compensated by using the Bic again.) Now one thing I didn’t plan on was that she insisted on lathering as well. Despite my numerous warnings, there was soap in my eyes. Apparently, I need to convince u/bostonphototourist to make “tear free Omnibus” next. She got about half my left side done then said “Dad, it’s not working.” She couldn’t get the angle of a bic right! I ended up finishing up (with my left hand as I am right-handed! Also take note, lather was mixed with my left hand and applied by her and my left hands. She’s also right handed.)

Two quick closing notes: As you can see this is u/geekyoldrob’s pass around V24. It is wonderful. Damnit I don’t need a new brush.

Also today's sponsor TSF: I said I’d love them to do a sub exclusive. I’m glad they joined up as a sponsor this year. They’re just fun.

Day 27

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Svolaer Aurora 28mm - SHD Badger
• Razor: Gillette Executive FatBoy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: AA Shaving – The Hunt
• Post Shave: 345 Soap Co – Estes Splash
• Fragrance: Boucheron - Jaipur Homme

AA’s The Hunt has 22 listed scent notes. 22!! Does that mean I get double credit?? I think it’d be quicker for AA Shaving to list the scent notes that aren’t included with this soap. Holy shit – 22. When I read the list of scent notes, I had to take a break and get a snack halfway through. We’ve got woodsy notes, citrus bursts, floral undertones, spices, ozone, and possibly even unicorn tears. I think they just accidently dropped their fragrance oil collection into the soap and ran with it. I also got a kick out of this line from their description, “The Hunt is a great scent for the fall, summer, spring, and winter that is sure to please.” So that narrows it down to EVERY SEASON. Why not just say year-round?? And who orders the seasons like that??? Has anyone in human history ever ordered the seasons, starting with fall and going in reverse chronological order? That is crazy person behavior if I ever saw it. These people need to be locked up and have the key thrown away. We can’t have people that list the seasons in that order just roaming free. I will say, the scent was nice and enjoyable, and does it achieve it’s goal of taking my nose deep into the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, so they have that going for them.

For my splash, I picked Estes, which has a pathetic 9 scent notes listed… Fucking amateurs… Similarly, they are trying to evoke the scent of the mountains, except this time in Colorado. And they do it with half the scent notes. Both scents are designed to take you into the mountains, but I guess the mountains the AA Shaving goes to are far more complex. Imagine needing to take more than double the time to do the same thing as others? It’s like AA Shaving is u/MudAccording and 345 is everyone else player Lather Games. For my fragrance, I chose Jaipur Homme by Boucheron. Not surprisingly, it shares some of the same scent notes as the soap and splash, but more importantly, it’s a nice, warm spicy amber. And it’s no slouch in the scent note department with 12 listed: Lime, Jasmine, Cardamom, Carnation, Rose, Patchouli and Cedar, Cinnamon, Lemon, Bergamot, Benzoin, Tonka Bean. It’s like they took every scent known to man, put it in a bottle, and called it a day. Citrus, spices, woods, flowers—it’s all in there. With the olfactory overdose my nose experienced today, I’m all sorts of confused. Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!! #FOF

Sidecontest: #photocontest: Elements: Earth

Challenge: I did indeed shave with my left hand. Once again, you’ll have to trust me on this. We’re on the honor system, right?

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Information Overload”… The Top 5 Pictures of Overloaded Cars and Trucks

5.) When I make a quick trip to Ikea

4.) More tables, ladders, and chairs than a WWE match

3.) Big load on a tiny truck

2.) Should we get a Uhaul? Nah, we can fit it all in my truck

1.) How many people are on this thing?

June 27, 2024 – LG Day 27 – Info Overload

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Synbad Fan
• Razor: Univinlions Kamisori #KAMISORI
• Blade: Ted Pella Injector
• Lather: Australian Private Reserve – Lightning Ridge
• Post Shave: Black Ship Grooming – High Seas
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Admiral

Last night, I asked my partner if she would be willing to wake up a couple hours early to shave my head. The answer was simple: “No.” My otherwise supportive partner has broken my heart. I may never recover.

So, I figured if I’m doing this myself, it would be the ideal opportunity to try a kamisori for the first time. Thank you u/tsrblke for the loan - it came in just in time for today, as if it was meant to be. As a lefty, I did everything with my right hand today. Loading the brush took about 10 times as long as usual due to a complete lack of fine motor control in my right wrist. Lathering was difficult but doable, though it looks like something from dry lather day. Then, after spending not enough time finding the right angle, I shaved my head with my right hand. It was more difficult shaving across the grain from back to front, and significantly more challenging to shave the back of my head. It was bad enough to the point that I’ve made an album highlighting all the nicks I got (proceed with caution), and I had to clean up (still with my right hand, don’t worry) with an injector to get the stripes of stubble I left behind.

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APR, apparently famous for long scent note lists per folks in the Discord, certainly fit the bill today. 11 notes altogether – Ozone, Lime, Petrichor, Musk, Patchouli, Guava, Bergamot, Pear, Anise, Lily, Grapefruit – per the WSDB listing as well as this Badger & Blade review. (Thank you u/EldrormR for the sample and making this shave possible.) Ostensibly as a result of having so many scent notes, this soap is fairly indistinguishable to me. It doesn’t smell like an aquatic, nor any green soap I’ve smelled; it’s not fruity, ozonic, floral, nor does it fit in any other category well. It’s both everything and nothing. I decided to go the aquatic route with the rest of my shave, because it seemed like the ozone and petrichor notes wanted me to go in that direction. High Seas is the opposite of Lightning Ridge – it keeps it simple and it knows what it is. Sea air, salty water, and cypress. Aquatic through and through. Easy to layer on top of, works with any other aquatic-adjacent soap or frag, and inoffensive (unless you’re one of those folks who hates aquatics). Finally, CL Admiral finds the balance between complexity and a clear concept. With nine notes (or ten+ because “aquatic notes” implies more than one note), there’s a good bit going on, but the notes all complement each other beautifully. Lightly aquatic, lightly green, with a lasting citrus quality – for a fragrance meant to represent summer on the Mississippi River, I can imagine it hits the mark. Sweet, pleasant, comforting, relaxing. #FOF

LG 27 - Information Overload

• Brush: Grizzly Bay - Oumo Sparrow ST1 #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Rigarazor 8/8
• Lather: Gentleman's Nod - Johnny
• Post Shave: Murphy and McNeil - Kell Aftershave Splash
• Fragrance: Gentleman's Nod - Jhonny

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Notes overload:

T: Green Apple, Bergamot, Lemon, Timur Pepper, Lime

M: Jasmine, Rosewood, Cedarwood, Tonka Bean

D: Amber, Vanilla, Patchouli, Vetiver, Musk

.#Challenge I use both hands to shave but today I kept my right hand in my pocket while I shaved with my left.

.#FOF Full AventuzzZZ

The real man. Respect.

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June 27, 2024

• Brush: Yaqi - Barbershop - 24mm Boar #SMOLL
• Razor: Gem – Flying Wing Bullet Tip
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Chiseled Face – Midnight Stag Soap
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Midnight Stag Splash
• Fragrance: Coty – Raw Vanilla EdC

Today is my simple tribute to a man who got me off the sidelines and got me to truly participate in Lather Games shenanigans. The year is 2022, and I am just dipping my toes into the r/wetshaving water. I see the Lather Games announcement and decide to take part. I quickly noticed there were several users posting using Midnight Stag every single day, trying their best to convince the judges they were on theme. They belonged to The Noble Order of Stag, and there was one user in particular who was crafting arguments with a particularly hilarious fervor. This user then started a side contest to have people argue on his behalf, every single day, as to why Midnight Stag fit the daily theme. Many days, I looked forward to posting my defense of him more than posting my own SOTD. It was fun and I had a blast. And I ended up winning that side-contest. That user and his side-contest is got me away from just posting individually, and got me interacting with different community members, stirring the pot a little, and having more fun with my posts. Without this user, my time at r/wetshaving likely would have been drastically different, thus altering the current history of The Lather Games forever. So, wherever you are, thank you, u/CosmoBarber, I’m about to be a two-time Lather Games Champion because of your ridiculous daily usage of Midnight Stag. And today, Midnight Stag is indeed on theme.

So, shavers and shavettes, gather 'round and let me regale you with the tale of a man who was not just a legend, but a force of nature, a fragrance icon, and an olfactory maestro—the one and only Cosmo. If you ever had the privilege of interacting with him, you know he was a man of epic proportions, a titan of scent whose very presence could make the flowers bloom and the air sing. And in his heart, he had one scent to rule them all: Midnight Stag.

Cosmo was not merely obsessed with Midnight Stag; he was the embodiment of it. From the moment he woke up to the moment called it a night, Midnight Stag was his constant companion. His house didn’t matter. His car didn’t matter. Even his dog took a back seat to the Stag. If you were within a mile of Cosmo, you knew it. The air surrounding him was always thick with the rich, heady aroma that could only be described as a symphony of leather, gasoline, smoke, and a hint of rugged, untamed wilderness. Midnight Stag is as if someone bottled the essence of raw masculinity and adventure, and Cosmo wore it like a second skin. But Cosmo was not just a man with an extraordinary nose; he was a connoisseur, a scent sommelier of the highest order. He could dissect all 11 of the notes of Midnight Stag with the precision of a maestro conducting an orchestra. "Ah, the top notes of Russian Leather," he'd say, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. "Followed by a heart of Motor Oil and Hoppes #9, with just a whisper of Birch Tar and Oakmoss. And the base notes? A sublime blend of Gasoline, Smoke, Cedar, Cade, Bergamot, and Vanilla." It was poetry in motion, a performance that left all of r/wetshaving in awe.

Cosmo’s devotion to Midnight Stag was more than just a personal passion; it was a crusade. He converted the uninitiated with evangelical zeal, spreading the gospel of The Ancient and Noble Order of Midnight Stag far and wide. His friends, his family, even passing acquaintances were not safe from his fragrant fervor. "You haven't truly lived," he'd declare, "until you've experienced the raw, untamed power of Midnight Stag." And somehow, he always convinced them. Is it a coincidence the Noble Order of the Midnight Stag has not been able to recruit a new member since Cosmo stopped posting about it? You tell me…

Cosmo, you were not just a shaver; you were a phenomenon. A force of nature whose love for Midnight Stag was only rivaled by the love that GaryTha gave to Williams Mug Soap. Your legacy is not just in the unforgettable scent of Russian Leather, Motor Oil, Hoppes #9, Birch Tar, Oakmoss, Gasoline, Smoke, Cedar, Cade, Bergamot, Vanilla that lingers in our memories, but in the the lathers you taught us to properly hydrate using Precision Loading for a Perfect Lather. You were the Midnight Stag in a world of faint whispers, a true original. Some people around these parts may remember your 2020 run of winning the Lather Games, but I’ll always remember 2022 for your pursuit of Stag.

Fin.

BTW – I went down a Lather Games 2022 rabbit hole preparing this. Did my rookie year have The Greatest Lather Games Rookie Class of all time? Me, J33p, Putney, Tangerinesky, Hugbckt, Str8_Razor, Marquis, loudmusicboy, Zimora, Environmental-Gap380, schontzm, PhilosphicalZombie, bloodcrab, and some guy named OnionMiasma. Goddamn, if there ever was a Lather Games Team event, where different years competed against each other, I would take our team 100 out of 100 times.

The Shave Soap and Splash, have some very obvious bold and rugged notes, and create a ridiculously powerful and unique scent base that is unlike anything else. But the splash shows a nice vanilla quality to it, and when layering Coty’s Raw Vanilla on top of the splash, the rich and creamy vanilla adds a layer of warmth and sweetness that beautifully complements the raw intensity of Midnight Stag. The combination results in a perfectly balanced fragrance profile that is both rugged and refined, making it a really nice scent experience those who appreciate something a little more… unique. #FOF

Challenge: Yep. I’m right handed and I used my left hand today. Nope. It wasn’t an issue. There was a time when this would have been the most questionable thing I’ve done in the Lather Games. That time has long past by.

Soap Theme Justification: Midnight stag has 11 scent notes: Russian Leather, Motor Oil, Hoppes #9, Birch Tar, Oakmoss, Gasoline, Smoke, Cedar, Cade, Bergamot, Vanilla

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: The sweetness of the vanilla note in the Stag splash really comes through, then finishing with a Vanilla Fragrance ties the whole thing together.

June 27, 2024 – LG 27: Information Overload

• Brush: Rx Shaving 26mm Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Voskhod (9)
• Lather: Jabones de Joserra – Cefiro
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Scarn
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – EMP

Jabones is pricey and overrated but I got a couple samples in a PIF. Cefiro is his Aventus dupe coming in with exactly 10 notes listed. I find it to be somewhat muted, with bits of citrus being the leaders but nothing really jumping out. Scarn is a dupe of Sauvage, a bit spicy and citrusy. I felt as cool as all those sweet Johnny Depp ads. EMP is like Executive Man (aka Stirlings take on Aventus) but with boosted pineapple and smoke. I believe it’s slightly sweeter than EM too, likely from said pineapple. #FOF So, today’s linking is they are all dupes, but also fuck boi frags.

For #PHOTOCONTEST we went with birds. I got my Hogwarts letter today, 25 years late, and lo and behold my shave gear was ready to pick up in Diagon Alley with my owl.

As for the challenge, going lefty is always easier than anticipated. Like yeah, it takes a sec longer, but in the grand scheme of things it ain’t that bad.

As for our sponsor, can’t say much as I’ve only tried 3-4 smooshes, but they seem like they could carve out some space in the unique/wacky/gourmand scents. Perhaps that’s all I’ve happened to try though.

Jun. 27, 2024

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [23]

• Lather: Zingari Man - The Merchant - Soap

• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Merchant - Aftershave

• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Merchant - Balm

• Fragrance: Burberry - Brit

Information Overlaod

I had a few choices I could have used today but went with Zingari Man The Merchant for 3 reasons, I needed the Sponsor points, there is 14 scent notes listed on ZM’s website, and finally because the notes are right up my alley. Unfortunately, I could not get it to lather. Add water, still pasty, more water still pasty, more water still pasty, more water annnnnnnd broken. Ok let’s try again, this time I stopped before it broke, but it was still not right for me. The splash and the balm are awesome, don’t get me wrong the soap smells amazing and I’m gonna try it again, different brush maybe a bowl lather we shall see. I also recorded part of the shave using my left hand and you will see that this soap actually turned my towel brown.

I went with Burberry Brit today because it has 13 sent notes and I honestly just like to wear it. The base notes are all to my liking but it’s the middles, the Rose and Cedar that are my favorites in this one

Went to my last Dr’s Appointment today. This one was the Pacemaker doc, I swear I was the youngest person by 15-20 years in the waiting room. I got a clean bill, told me to come back in a year. So all I have left is my heart specialist in December hoping he says come back in a year, and in January I have a device check that they do once a year at the Pacemaker Clinic, the other times are all remotely.

Today’s daily Challenge. I recorded the second pass of my shave using my left hand ATG. I used the left for WTG but that’s the easy one.

Photo Contest. Theme Prius

These last 4 days also have the last 4 themes that I have been trying to figure out since the themes were posted. I am not happy with this one at all but it’s honestly the best I could come up with.

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

June 27, 2024 - Info Overload

• Brush: AP Shaveco Purple Ivory 26mm G5A SHD
• Razor: Game Changer .68P
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Marilyn
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Marilyn Splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Marilyn EdT #FOF

Today’s Theme:

Marilyn is quite a complex fragrance with 14 listed scents. I did a trickhole of it so the whole shave is up to ~~11~~ 14! That’s 4 more than 10 for those that don’t math.

Leftorium:

I told my wife and daughter the challenge today. My daughter jumped up and said I want to do it. I told her since she’s a southpaw, she had to use righty. Then she asked if she could just put the lather on my face. I said all or nothing. She asked, “Is this the right razor?” No, I’m not that crazy. She made the lather using her right hand. She wanted to switch to her left hand as it was awkward, but she persevered. “I’ll just put the lather on your whole face.” This is what happens when you let a 10 year old be in charge of your grooming. She was very nervous about shaving. I told her to just make sure she doesn’t move the razor sideways. I had to correct her angle a few times. Starting to get into it a bit. First pass almost done. A bit more confident now, she shaved the neck too. A few more strokes and she was finished with the shave. Just the post shave and fragrance left. This was her favorite part. I’ll say she did a pretty good job. She did not like using her wrong hand, and asked if we could just say she did. I told her no, we don’t do that, just try to be patient and do your best. If I would have don’t the shave left handed, it would be less of a challenge for me. I started practicing shaving left handed well before the Weckonista challenge. I’m reasonably comfortable left handed now.

Feats of Fragrance:

Marilyn is a fantastic scent. I like to imagine it is what Marilyn Monroe’s bedroom would smell like, but when she was married. So the Chanel No. 5 mixes with a more masculine cologne. This is one blend where I don’t get a lot of individual note, but I do smell the leather and tobacco. As those fade it will leave a creamy woody scent left with the cedar, fir, sandalwood, and amber. When I saw the theme for today last month, I immediately knew that Marilyn was going to be my choice. With the overload of scent notes, it is a beautiful orchestration of a scent.

June 27, 2024

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks purple burl AP Shave Co. 24mm MiG
• Razor: Karve CB SB-D
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Ariana & Evans – Peach & Cognac
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Daydream

Arianna and Evan’s gets used about 1-2 times a year. Today it fulfilled the 10+ notes with this: Bergamot Lemon, 2 wonderful, but uniquely different Peach notes, Orange Blossom, Cognac, Tobacco Absolute, Mimosa, Leather, Vanilla, Dried Fruits, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Himalayan Cedar. A total of 12, or 13 if you count 2 peaches. It actually is a nice scent, described as a gourmand with a twist. I find it to be a almost sickly sweet scent up front but quickly evolves to something else. The (2) peach notes are strong, combined with the dried fruits it does give it an overly sweet start which reminds me of a mix of prunes and peaches. The tobacco and leather accentuates the dried fruitiness making it smell thick, maybe sticky, to me. The other scents are there for background and depth, I get a woodiness but not clearly one type. An ever so slight hint of orange blossom too, it’s more likely I’m sensitive to citrus blossoms because they occasionally perfume my house while my Charlie Brown lemon tree produces them. As for what it evokes or a memory, it’s of a dark warm night, walking through a club/bar, shoulder to shoulder next to everyone trying to get a drink. A palpable heavy sweating air condensing on my skin. The building slowly heating up. It’s the sweetness of this scent that reminds me of the perfumes from 15 years ago. Overly applied so everyone within a ten foot radius gets a hint. But at the same time, I liked it then as I kinda do now.

Left handed challenge (I’m right handed) is one that I just go slow with. Extra drippy lather to accommodate my weak hand taking so slow and drying it out.

Today I used baseball as my theme. It’s the back stop to my local playground field. Welcome to the Sandlot for #photocontest

fof

June 27, 2024 - Information Overload

• Brush: APShaveCo 24mm Cashmere Fan
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Wizamet (41)
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Blacksmith
• Post Shave: Gentlemen's Nod - Zaharoff Signature
• Fragrance: Zoologist Perfumes - Musk Deer

Challenge: I did a two pass shave using only my non dominant hand.

Theme: The Blacksmith has 10 scent notes. Zaharoff Signature has 16 scent notes. Musk Deer has 11 scent notes.

Zingari Man The Blacksmith is a r/wetshaving exclusive. The fragrance is a dupe of Bvlgari Man In Black. It’s very leathery. I detect some cardamom, and something floral. There’s a woody note buried under the leather. There’s hints of rum and spice. It’s an upscale, leather-forward fragrance. But, I find it a bit lifeless. I think I’d like it more if the rum and spice were dialed up.

This Zaharoff splash is throwing me for a loop. When I splashed it on, it just smelled like bergamot, which isn’t even one of the advertised scent notes. So, I grabbed the bottle to give it another sniff. Now, it smells very musky, woody, with a peppery note. There’s still something reminiscent of bergamot. I think it’s the combination of cardamom, lavender, and pear, maybe mixed with an ingredient in the toner. It's a designer-style fragrance that's safe for most occasions, but doesn't spark joy for me.

A couple of years ago during the r/wetshaving secret santa, I was the lucky recipient of the full Zoologist sampler. There’s a lot of winners in the set. Musk Deer is one of my favorites. I’m immediately enveloped by a strong note of musk with soft powdery undertones running up against a wall of dry cedar. Over the course of an hour it hasn’t really changed. The fragrance feels warm, and quite dapper. It’s more of a fall fragrance.

This brush is a complete APShaveCo brush.

#photocontest - Pirates. This post was typed on my handy pirate keyboard. We were warned about pirates. But, the spirit of piracy is hard to stamp out. My SOTD pic is ~~me~~ a pirate showing off their shave wares and illegally downloaded music.

#FOF