LGSOTD 28-Jun-24

• Brush: Generic - Awful Synth
• Razor: Stoll Jr. - 3D Lathercatcher
• Blade: Personna - GEM PTFE
• Lather: Mastro Miche - Rive Gauche
• Post Shave: Noxzema - Crema Rasatura Perfetta
• Fragrance: Artiscent Atelier - Vetiver Arome EDP

Frugal Friday So obviously the aim is to go for all the cheapest gear that I have to hand. So I give you a brief breakdown.

Generic Awful Brush - £4.99

I was sorely tempted to dip out on the cheapest brush, this thing is god awful. It's pokey and crap at holding lather for the following passes. I only kept it around for these sort of challenges!

Mastro Miche - Rive Gauche - £4.50

I imagine there'll be a lot of arko on show today. But for the price this one isn't half bad, though to call it a soap stick is a bit of a stretch. It's more like formed croap. I'll just have to press it down into the bottom of a mug.

Stoll Jr. - 3D Lathercatcher ~ 29p

The razor was harder to judge as a friend did this one for me gratis, so technically free. But to put a value on it, the black filament was about £15.99 for 1kg, the razor weighs in at 18g, so around (15.99/1000)*18 = 29p

Persona GEM Blade - 18p

Now I know you can get these cheaper elsewhere, but the service from connaught is second to none. A tray (100 blades) of these being £18, so 18p per blade.

Noxzema - Crema Rasatura Perfetta - £3.60

Much prefer aftershave splashes, but a balm in a pinch is OK. This one is inoffensive, has what seems like a bit of menthol in there which is pleasant, and works very well.

Artiscent Atelier - Vetiver Arome EDP - £10

Sods law, when I was taking the pic I missed the fragrance. A perfectly acceptable scent, nothing to write home about but for the price it is remarkably good value!

Giving me a grand total = £23.56

Barring the brush, which I would have been better off picking out my omega and sacrificing the extra couple of pound, it's a nice cheap setup.

The more I think on it though, I'm not sure I ever really got into this for monetary reasons, and if I did I sure as shit missed the mark. I still find pleasure in using the luxuries!

Photocontest

Going with the daily theme, I give you 'Money' with the total cash that my shave cost me minus the Fragrance. I completely bloody forgot about it until after I had already taken the picture and I didn't have an extra £10 to throw in. I was lucky to have any at all, I barely use cash nowadays.

Stay strong all, we're almost there!

Have a cracking day all and a good kick off to the weekend!

Cheers

Marc

June 28, 2024

• Prep: House of Mammoth Embrace Doppio Bath Soap
• Brush: Summer Break Soaps Decatur 28mm Maggard Premium Boar
• Razor: Wolfman WR2 1.05mm/WRH1
• Blade: Lab Blue (IDFK)
• Lather: Carnavis & Richardson - Porch Drinks- Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Tobacconist - Aftershave
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Tobacconist - Eau de Parfum

Cheapest soap left, I think. Cheapest Canadian Razor. Cheapest HoM splash. Cheapest brush this month. Only forcast up to 92° and its Friday. LFG!

Used all his expensive stuff

LG Day 28- Cheapass Motherf&$#er Day

• Brush: Omega Pro48
• Razor: Schick Eversharp G
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Arko - Arko bowl
• Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon Witch Hazel
• Post Shave: Stirling - Glacial Unscented AS balm

I've had two sips of coffee and now I'm being expected to do math?? What, the hell? Is this some CIA black site interrogation technique? I haven't taken a math class since my senior of high school and I barely, and I mean barely, got a C in my Trig/Analytic Geometry class. It's a good thing you guys aren't asking us to do word problems because I've sucked at those since first grade. But this math should be easy enough, I think.

Let's break down the cost of this shave:

Arko Shaving Bowl- 90g- Available at Maggards for $5.95 or $.06611/gram

Thayers' Lemon Witch Hazel- 12oz/340.194 grams- Available directly through Thayers for $10.95 or $.03218/gram

Stirling Glacial Unscented Balm- 4oz/113.398 grams for $9.35 or $.08245/gram

On a per gram basis, this is the cheapest software in my den, and that's pretty damn cheap.

Now, if we add in the hardware-

Schick Eversharp G- Acquired in an antique store for a whopping $6. It was, and still is, in excellent condition, and it was pretty much a steal.

Schick Injector blade- Injector blades are not where you are going to save a lot of money on a per blade basis. I can get injectors via Walmart.com for $9.57 for 7 blades or $1.37/blade. Granted, I can get 20 or so shaves out of an injector blade, but I can also get 20 or so out of an Astra SP that's $.10.

Omega Pro48 brush- Acquired through Amazon. Current price of this brush is $12.99. Are there cheaper brushes on Amazon? Sure, but I actually enjoy this brush and think it's a great entry level brush as well.

How did it all shave together? I got a perfectly lovely BBS shave. The scent of Arko doesn't bother me, but it sure as hell isn't going to put a smile on my face like some artisan soaps do. I throw the Thayers into the rotation from time to time and I like it. I'm definitely not going to be catching whiffs of this stuff throughout the day, but I'm also not getting nasty looks from the wife either for using it (the wife isn't a huge fan of my aftershave tastes). Could I make due shaving with this set up every day if I had to? Absolutely. Look this set up beats the living shit out of a cartridge and canned goo any day of the week.

Now it's time to drink more coffee and not think about the price per gram of the coffee I buy. Try to enjoy your day and remember to be kind to one another.

June 28, 2024 – Lather Games!

• Brush: Omega – Model 20106 Black Handle Boar Hair Shaving Brush #TOLL
• Razor: YPM – Winning Razor Mk1, polished #CNC
• Blade: Gillette Winner Stainless (4).
• Lather: Arko Shave Soap.
• Aftershave: Clubman Pinaud – Whiskey Woods

I picked up a 12-pack of Arko shave soap for $12 many years ago and I gave away a lot of them to various friends. I'm now down to just this one stick left, which gets pulled out every now and again for use. There is a certain nostalgia, a certain sense of timelessness to using this, almost like you can go back into time by imagining your forefathers using this or something similar as they go about their morning routine. The soap performance is decent but nothing special. If I was limited in my hardware and software, e.g., living in another country, I could get by with using this regularly. The shave is decent with all this, so I'm happy.

Have a great Friday.

#Challenge: The Mk1 Winning Razor was marked down to $40 when they were phasing them out, so I jumped and bought my 4th(?) copy then. The Omega shave brush I got for $10 or so on eBay years ago. And the Whiskey Woods aftershave was a bit less than $8 when I got it on a lark recently. The performance is okay but not great.

#LatherGames

Bonus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlJiFNq9TJQ ← J R R Tolkien, The Monsters and the Critics

u/Enndeegee : We're considering a group buy for this new shave soap that just came out. https://ibb.co/Y2ywDxX Can we count you making a purchase also?

u/Enndeegee : We're considering a group buy for this new shave soap that just came out. https://ibb.co/Y2ywDxX Can we count you making a purchase also?

SOTD Frugal Friday * Brush: Bassion - Wood handled brush.
Razor: Rapira - Double Edge Safety Razor.
Blade: Rapira - Platinum Lux.
Lather: Arko - Sensitive Shaving Cream.
Post: Thayers - Witch Hazel Facial Mist with Rose.

Shaving cream: $4.95 Razor with blades: $6.99 Brush: $7.99 Witch hazel 3fl oz. $5.29 $25.22 total (minus shipping and taxes)

I don’t mind this shave cream- It’s not the thickest or slickest lather ever, but creams have their place and are so convenient. This one has a soft, pleasant lavender scent. I would 100% take this over the stick but i recognize the arko sticks place as well. I think I threw mine in the trash can.

Photo : water

photocontest

ROTY

June 28, 2024: Shave Den Savings Time

• Prep: warm splash of water
• Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia Tuxedo 24 mm
• Razor: AtT S1
• Blade: Gillette Blue
• Lather: Stirling Soap Company - Barbershop
• Post Shave: Thayer's - Lavender
• Fragrance: none

Stirling, Walgreen's Thayer's, and nothing for a spritz of flavor. It's the cheapest I've got.

Happy Friday, ya animals. Enjoy the Gather Lanes!

LG SOTD 28Jun2024

• Brush: Yaqi Ash Wood - 20mm tuxedo synthetic
• Razor: Gillette - 109 Super Adjustable (1970)
• Blade: Personna - Lab Blue (3)
• Lather: Arko - Shave Soap in Bowl
• Bowl: SLSON - Pet Travel Bowl
• Post Shave: Afta by Mennen - Aftershave Lotion, Original

Welcome to the twenty-eighth shave of the 2024 Lather Games. Today’s theme is Frugal Friday where the goal is to shave with our cheapest lather, and I’m going for the added special challenge of shaving with cheapest everything.

For reasons that I would be hard pressed to explain logically, I have made a hobby out of shaving. And like every hobby, it is not a money maker or even saver. Like most of us in the games, I have spent enough on wetshaving to make cartridge shaving look practically free in comparison. Today shines a light on our degeneracy.

——

For today’s shave have put together the most inexpensive set of soft and hardware in my collection:

• ARKO - Shaving Soap Puck in Bowl $5

This was a curiosity buy last spring that I am finally trying today. Based upon the full price paid, ARKO weighs in at $1.58/ounce, making it the cheapest soap in the den. Next closest was the Palmolive Classic Shaving Cream at $1.89/ounce.

• Gillette - 109 Super Adjustable ~$40

I realize that a $40 vintage razor may not be that cheap relative to the possibilities out there, but it is the cheapest razor in my den. I'm not sure what the original MSRP would translate into in 2024 dollars, but since the cheapest modern market razor is a $70 Henson, it's probably the cheapest no matter how you look at it.

• SLSON Travel Dog Bowl $3

The bowl is very similar to what a lot of people call the Stirling travel bowl, but unlike the slow feeder bowl that Stirling sells, this does not have the nubbins; it's just a collapsible bowl with a barely raised silhouette of dog. On those occasions I've not been able to bring a proper bowl when traveling, this has been my go to. The material has enough texture/friction by itself to work just fine without the difficult to control over threshing of the nubbins. Paid $6 for a two pack (used the other as an actual travel bowl for my dogs - perfect for giving water on the go) making this a $3 lather bowl from some RNG named Amazon reseller, SLSON.

• Yaqi Ash Wood - 20mm tuxedo synthetic $5.60

Impulse buy on AliExpress while picking up another brush figuring it would work somewhere in the Lather Games and here we are, cheapest brush in the den it is.

• Afta - Aftershave Lotion, Original $5 give or take

I have no idea what this stuff is supposed to cost - if you can find it on the shelves at Wal-Mart, they want $3, there are online sellers that want $9 for a bottle. I've always managed to find it online in multipacks for about $5 per 3 oz bottle. Whatever the case, it's about the same cost as the Aqua Velva I used for drugstore day and far cheaper than any of the artisan aftershave balms.

• Nothing at all for fragrance $0

I hope that the fact I never use fragrances doesn't count against me for the special challenge and I'm going to use this opportunity to voice a beef I have with the scoring for the Lather Games: After on-theme lathers and judge points, the highest contribution to your lather games score is stand alone fragrances. Not daily or special challenges, not your vast hardware collection, no, it's something that has absolutely nothing to do with wetshaving beyond cross marketing.

I am not 100% neurotypical and can be overstimulated by some scents - if a soap wants a one way trip to the PIF pile all it needs is some non S-tier note detectable too long after I shave. Many are the times I posted a neutral or even softly positive first impression about a new soap in the SOTD only to come back later in the day and remove it from the den permanently because some part of it kept coming back. Wetshaving opened up the world of fragrance for me because it's ephemeral and temporary. I experience the burst of scents, and then they go away. There are very few scents I would even contemplate wearing as a stand alone fragrance, certainly not enough to compete against someone that routinely buys the trifecta. That is all.

——

That's a complete wet shaving kit for under $60, less than I paid for the Henson Medium that signaled my descent into depravity. But it doesn’t make me feel better as I would NEVER use this kit outside of the games. It’s my definition of penny wise and pound foolish.

Arko was not as bad as some describe it, certainly preferable to Stirling’s Electric Sheep scent wise, and performance was acceptable. But saving the small amount of money on this is hardly worth using it over the literal thousands of more pleasant alternatives. Let’s also keep in mind that I purchased this “cheap and money saving soap” while sitting on a few years worth of soap.

The brush was also functional but when for $10-$15 more could buy a nice Yaqi or DS Cosmetic, there is no reason to buy this other than stunt purposes.

Similar for the razor. A $70 Henson or $80 Karve will blow this and every other cheap razor out of the water - and if you don’t keep buying razors is effectively free compared to cartridge razors. I detest the tendency to regard something like a Henson as “expensive” when it steers people to “save” a few dollars on zamak garbage. You save money on razors by buying a good quality razor from the start and never reading these subs and related forums again. No such thing as a beginner razor, and cheap razors are just cheap.

The bowl is decent and for $3 is certainly cheap, but I’ll take my CaYuen and pay the extra. Cheapest bowl I would use on the regular is the standard copper Captain’s Choice. This is good for overnight travel and that’s it.

The only thing I shaved with today that I will use regularly is the Afta, everything else was about experiencing inferior products to understand and reinforce why the cheapest shave kit I would use comes in at more than double today’s stunt kit.

Enjoy your Friday, the weekend awaits!

OP does it all cheap.

More importantly, makes an interesting point about fragrance being relevant to the final scores, and makes a case for changing the rules next year.

Jun. 28, 2024
Brush: Wilkinson Sword OUMO Tuxedo
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue [3]
Lather: Barbus - - Soap
Post Shave:* Barbus - - Aftershave

My cheapest shave breakdown all prices are in euros: Barbus soap- 3.79 for 150g (0.025 per g)

This soap is honestly as great a value as I can imagine, cheap as hell available everywhere in my country, constantly on sale. And performance wise it’s honestly comparable to most brands outside the top top

Wilkinson sword classic- 3.43 for the razor and they include a pack of wilkinson sword blades which I actually quite like

decent razor, feels cheap but not in a I’m about to break it kind of way, just feels light and plasticy. Paired with a more aggressive blade it’s perfectly fine.

The wilkinson sword brush with a new knot- 6.79 for the brush and about 4 for the knot so call it 11 total

The original brush is complete trash, basically a fake boar synthetic, the new knot is very soft lathers amazingly.

The AS is about 0.6 and is alcohol with perfume, it’s not skin care but it’s fine

The blade I got for 15 for 100 blades, (0.15 per blade) probably not what it goes for nowadays with russia stuff going on. It is also not my cheapest 1 blade. That would probably be derby at 0.08 to 0.09 per blade. I however get 10+ shave on the silver blues which would get it down to 0.015 per shave and the derbys I can barely scratch through 1 shave.

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

User sensibly redefines relevant blade price as price per shave, rather than per house.

Lather Games 2024-06-28 Frugal Friday

• Prep: Coffee, Face wash soap/warm water
• Brush: Unbranded - Amazon Boar, 22mm ?
• Razor: Gillette - Super Click
• Blade: Astra - Superior Platinum, DE
• Lather: Godrej - Godrej Shaving Round
• Post Shave: Lustray - Blue Spice

Today's Challange: Frugal Friday

Unbranded Amazon - Boar Brush 22mm $6.95 (Amazon) derived from set.

Godrej Shave round - $2.95 beats Arko by 5 cents! (Maggard's)

Astra, DE razor blade - $0.65 price as single (as not from a 100 pack - about $0.15 if that is the case)

Gillette Super Click - $6.99 (TRC)

Lustray - Blue Spice - 5.99 (Walmart)

The Shave itself:

The Lows - The brush sheds bad - really bad. The razor is all plastic and all one peice, super mild and yet still scary, the lightest weight I own. Blue spice works well but the scent lasts maybe a generous minute (though not a bad scent).

The Highs - The Godrej Shave Round is actually a good performer. Kinda fun to lather. You dump it into the palm of your non-dominate hand and lather with your brush right there. After you are done you place it back into it's little plastic home.

Take Care and Have a good one.

2024-06-28 - Cheap

• Lather: Arko - Arko
  $.0399/g
• Post Shave: Williams - Aqua Velva Ice Blue
  $0.0608/mL (beating out Brut's $$0.0655/mL)
• Fragrance: Old Spice - Swagger Body Spray
  $o.151/g (previously-established as explicitly a fragrance product)
• Razor: Alshabab Razor
  $0.15 (originally included blade)
• Brush: Qshave
  $9.99

Unifying Theme: Frugal Friday

Frugal Friday: Shit's cheap, yo.

#FOF
Urinal cake puts this as a contender for the foulest-smelling—nah, there's no competing with fish sauce. Follow the urinal cake with the absolutely cheapest-smelling aftershave and then something vaguely woodsy, and I'm smelling exactly as classy as, say, the djudge who accused me of cowardice from behind a shroud of anonymity. I'd be just giddy to learn what they think I "chickened out" on.

June 28, 2024 – Cheap! Cheap! fun! fun!  

• Brush: Omega 40033 24mm #hallow  
• Razor: Gillette Tech  
• Blade: Bic Chrome (1)  
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Lightish Red  
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva – Ice Blue  
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Deep Blue Sea  

Today’s title references commercials for a local frugal liquor store. It's all about the money saving. Now I added it up, and no surprise, among all the stuff in my den, Stirling remains the value leader. Honestly, it wasn’t even that close. Next closest was the Daveli Farms soap, but by the time I got it had increased to $9 for a 3.5 oz puck (with no tub!) Stirling is just a hair cheaper (I did a rough calculation and normalizing to Stirling tub, DF would be about $15, just over the Stirling price). Additionally, Daveli also had a mandatory $3/item shipping cost. Now, normally I wouldn’t include shipping in my calculation, but if the cost is mandatory per item (and it doesn’t cost $3, to throw an extra puck in the bag mailer it came in) then it probably needs to be counted since no amount of buying spreads the shipping out. Given that it’s more like $12/3.5 oz which is way over Stirling price. Plus, Daveli no longer sells shave soap as far as I can tell (they no longer have any web store presence. They appear to still sell bath soap on site, so who knows.)

Plus, as I noted at the time in my review, Stirling was just better. So, win/win. Not surprisingly, my den is full of Stirling stuff. Yes, I have more Mammoth, but whenever I order coffee from Stirling (which is quite often) a sample or full tub finds its way into my cart. Which is how I ended up with this tub of Lightish Red. I couldn’t pass a on a ~~Halo~~ generic shooter soap. (Seriously love the helmet on the label.) For these reasons and more I will always stan u/stirlingsoap to everyone who stumbles into the DQ thread asking where to get started. Rod excels at what he set out to do: make a good product at a fair price. I could shave with Stirling for the rest of my life and my wallet would be better off for it. (Speaking of which, I have a Stirling Wallet! They’re awesome, get one! Thanks, sub Secret Santa!)

Everything used here is cheap. For #fof, I paired up a bunch of cheap, color themed things, Lightish Red, Aqua Velva Ice Blue ($5/bottle) and Stirling Deep Blue Sea ($27 for a full botte). I’m certain this is the cheapest stuff in my den, but none of it is bad. The progression from woody, to minty, to aquatic also worked pretty well!

Because I have to use the cheapest stuff, but the rules specifically state “no cartridges” I pulled out my tech. It was $0.49 new according to the internet, which adjusted for inflation is about $5. I originally thought I was going to need to use that shitty $7 Walmart Badger again, but no! As it turns out my Omega Boar, purchased from London Razors, was only $6, making it the cheapest brush I have. Saved by a cheap, but not bad boar. Lastly blades. Had to do some digging, because I have a lot of random blades, but at about $0.19-$0.20/blade the Bic blades sent to me by u/bmac92 are my cheapest on hand. To put all this in perspective, If I used 3 Stirling tubs a year (my estimated usage), 2 bottles of Aqua Velva (WAG, I have yet to finish 1), 50 blades, cheap brush, Tech, it’s just under $65 for the first year of shaving. Brush and Tech carry over, so closer to $55 in year 2+. That’d buy me 32 Harry’s Cartridges, with no soap or splash. Not even a year’s worth. All the inexpensive gear can be seen, per the challenge, in the SOTD pic. (I didn’t include EdT in this calculation because it’s not really necessary to shaving. But you could throw in a Stirling EdT, a steal at $27, and that is probably less than your yearly canned goo cost. Or take the money you saved and buy fancy cologne).

Now a frugal shave would not be a shave in my fancy renovated bathroom. No this, bathroom with its semi-custom sinks and cabinets is not frugal, it’s what a coastal elite would do. Where to go then? My kitchen isn’t high end, but not really frugal either. No, there’s only one frugal shave spot in this house. It’s not outside, I have a fancy patio there. Nope, it’s down at the basement utility sink. The cheapest utility sink I could find at Home Depot. No mirrors, they cost money. Yes, sink is dirty. It’s a utility sink.

Finally, #photocontest, I’ve got a toy boat for water vehicles. How does it tie in? Well, if I had more frugality, maybe I’d be able to afford a real one. I’m limited on expensive hobbies, so for now, the toy is all I get.

Edited for note: Savvy players may rememeber I used Arko last year. that was a smush, it is long gone. This year I did not trade for "cheap smush" to force my calendar. I did what the den said.

June 28, 2024 – 2024.06.28 SOTD: Lather Games Day 29 – Frugal Friday

• Brush: Diane D985 Shaving Brush
• Razor: Assured for Men Double Edge Safety Razor
• Blade: Assured for Men Double-Edge
• Lather: Arko – Shave Stick
• Post Shave: Xtra Care – Original Scent
• Fragrance: Yardley – Summer Breeze

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Daily Theme: Frugal Friday

Theme justification: I'm not sure what the MSRP of Arko is, but at Maggard it sells for $2.99/75g. That works out to $0.04/g. This is by far the cheapest wetshaving soap I have in my den.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: CHEAP! CHEAP! CHEAP!. To continue Frugal Friday, my aftershave and frag were purchased at Dollar Tree and are the cheapest AS and frag I own. The Xtra Care Original Scent Aftershave and Yardley Summer Breeze Body Mist (note that the bottle calls it a perfume. See the bold words in the instructions).

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Scavenger Hunt ~~Justification~~: COMPLETED

Razor facts: N/A

Brush facts: N/A

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Daily/Special Challenge: Frugal Friday

Everything in today's shave is the cheapest I have in my den. Will it make for a good shave? Let's find out!

Items: Razor & Blades: Assured for Men from the Dollar Tree.. I couldn't find a retail price for my Gem Jr. 1912, which I believe is the razor that I have that retailed for the least amount of money when new. However, I did find this ad for a MMOC with a coupon for $0.25 from 1935. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $5.73. This razor beats out everything.

Since the blades are included with the razor as a bundle, I feel like I'm being generous when I value them at $0.25/tuck - $0.05/blade. On Razor Blade Club, there are no blades that hit that price point (regardless of quantity). So that makes them easily the cheapest blades I own.

Soap: I already discussed this above, but Arko is the cheapest soap I have on a price/gram basis.

Aftershave: Xtra Care Original Scent was purchased at Dollar Tree (link above). 4 oz for $1.25 comes to $0.3125/oz of AS. This Gillette Aftershave Gel is the closest I have to it, but it comes out to $1.03/oz.

Fragrance: Yardley Summer Breeze (same pic as the razor). A perfume that is $1.25/2oz, or $0.625/oz. I mean, nothing comes close in terms of standard frags. The Brut cologne I purchased for canned goop day is close, but it still comes in above at $0.783/oz.

Brush: Diane D985 Shaving Brush I originally purchased this for #FauxFur, as the description list "faux badger hair" twice, but I ended up buying a Pure Bliss knot. Still comes in handy, though, because at $4.39 it is by far the cheapest brush I own. CamelCamelCamel has the average even lower, at $3.01, so I got played! Just like "badger" brush I used earlier in the games from Amazon (that clearly stated it was badger), I do not believe this is synthetic. Feels like a terrible boar brush.

Bowl: I cannot use my CaYuen bowl today, sadly. So I grabbed the cheapest bowl I own. This Ikea bowl fits the bill. These things come in a 6 pack for $1.99. That comes out to $0.33/bowl. A lot cheaper than my CaYuen.

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Fragrance description

Arko - I've heard Arko described to me before as the smell of a urinal cake. I don't think that is quite right, but it's close. It's a pleasant citrus smell that does remind me of some sort of cleaner. I don't mind it.

Xtra Care Original Scent - I really cannot place this one, but it's not good. It's quite powdery, which is not a favorite note of mine, with some other note that I can't identify. Regardless, it's not great.

Yardley Summer Breeze - This stuff smells like sweet potpourri. Sickeningly sweet. It's not great, especially mixed with powder note of the aftershave. Just not good at all.

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Now onto the shave!

Thanks to /u/jwoods23 for the Arko smush. This is my first experience with Arko. I can see why it's popular. Decent stuff at a very cheap price. Produced an okay lather that could've been a lot better with a different brush. Just look how much it's shedding in just that pic!

The razor left a lot to be desired. Can't expect much for $1.25, though (especially when it comes with blades). The blades came completely unmarked. Thankfully they weren't too bad.

The shave itself went fine. Lather could've been better. I hated that brush so much. It shed constantly to where the razor looked like it was growing its own beard. It also felt exactly like the "badger" brush I used earlier in the games with my Doritos lather. Let that be a lesson to everyone: don't buy extremely cheap brushes from Amazon that look like crap, because they are crap.

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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: 28/30
• Number of Lather Scents: 28/30
• Number of Post Shaves: 28/30
• Number of Frags: 28/30

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Contest Hashtags:

#FOF

#ROTY

LG23-28: All About ‘dat Value

• Brush: Zenith r/wetshaving Moar Boar
• Razor: Wolfman Razors WR2-DC 0.95 SB / 1.25 OC
• Blade: Voskhod (43)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Boat Drinks - Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Lather Bros. - Everglades - Balm
• Fragrance: Day Three Fragrances - Del Mar - EdP
• Passes: WTG, XTG
• Coffee: Ethiopia Natural Process / Colombia Washed
• Music: Wilco - Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP

I ran the numbers a few times last year and couldn’t find a soap around that ended up cheaper per ounce than a Stirling tub (5.8oz for $14.25 at the moment), so I reached for the green plastic again today.

Now is the time for Boat Drinks; it’s sweet, but is the scent of summer shenanigans, and I need it to combat the omnipresent drizzle that will be falling all day. To complete the picture of swigging fruity drinks on the deck while blasting Jimmy Buffett, the Everglades balm set the shave among the mangroves, floating along, and Del Mar added in the scent of “warm sand, ocean breezes, and radiant sunshine.”

Glad to be back at home after lots of travel. Remind me not to do this to myself next June.

June 28, 2024 - Feats of Frugality

• Brush: Colonel Conk - Badger #WEDONTNEEDNOSTINKINGBADGERS
• Razor: Bic Metal
• Lather: Colonel Conk - Lime
• Post Shave: Thayers Facial Toner - Cucumber
• Fragrance: Racing Club - Blue #FOF

Cheap Shave theme and challenge:

Prices were at the time of purchase that I recall. I did not ounces because even though US was supposed to go metric when I was a kid, stubborn people canned it in the 80s.

Colonel Conk - $1.60 per oz.

Thayers - $0.84 per oz.

Racing club - $1.19 per oz.

Bic Metal - $1.00

Colonel Conk Brushy (aka Shaggy) approx. $6. It was part of a set with brush, mug, and soap.

I almost wrecked it using Williams earlier this month, but I got it on Ebay after I couldn’t find it in stores anymore and paid $12 for 2 pucks + shipping. Colonel Conk was in a 4 pack for $15 or $16 dollars with free shipping.

I am surprised I kept up wetshaving with how bad the brush I used when I was starting out. It is both really floppy and scratchy. Not a nice scrub, it is very unpleasant. I couldn’t find the other really cheap brush I called Pokie. It had broken off most of the tips losing about 5mm of loft. Shaggy on other hand is still losing about 10 or so hairs per shave and gets floppier each time I use it.

I chose the Bic Metal that I recently purchased to not travel with a DE in my carry on bag. Also, when I started out it was the soap, mug, and brush I went to first. DE razors came along about a month later for me. If I bought the BICs in bulk, would be even cheaper per razor and be really competitive vs. many DE razors in price per shave over a couple years.

Feats of Fragrance:

Not much good to be said here. I had 4 soaps to choose from the 4 pack of Conk I bought. I decided since Racing Club - Blue is sort of a very cheap dupe of Polo Blue, Lime would be the best fit. The vaguely citrus scent of the puck translated to almost nothing lathered. The Thayers Cucumber at least was pleasant and very recognizable as cucumber. It was the best of the bunch, and Thayers may be the best bargain in post shave products. It has been less than an hour since I applied Blue, and the scent is already getting very faint. This is after the really cheap sprayer pissed a stream of cheap cologne? all over my arm instead of a spritz of the scent. What is weaker than cologne? I know in the scent realm highest to lowest % of fragrance content goes parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne. I guess this is eau de bath water. Sadly, when I bought it last year at 5 Below, it was probably the best of the scents they had there.

I might need to give myself a luxury pre-travel shave before I head to the airport tonight. Or maybe a bit of a nicer EdT would be a good choice.

Jun. 28, 2024 We do this once a year
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Razor: Wilkinson Sword Classic
Blade: Dorco Titan [2]
Lather: Palmolive - Classic cream
Post Shave: Laboratoires Osma - Alum Block (extra large size)
Fragrance: Eau de Robinet - Pure Canadian

~~Cheapy Tuesday~~ I mean, Frugal Friday: The day that we actually follow through on all those money-saving practices that we talked about when we were first contemplating switching to wetshaving. That lasted, for most of us, maybe a week; basically however long it took for us to start scrolling through SOTD posts and see such intriguing scents, or for an artisan to post about a new or upcoming scent. And there went most of the money we saved by switching to wetshaving; at least the shaves are more pleasant and environmentally friendly!

So for today's frugal shave: Palmolive shaving cream that I bought from a Canadian pharmacy near my parents' place for 3 Canadian Dollars for a 100ml tube! For Americans that's $2.19 for 3.38oz. A bargain!

Because there was an extra challenge I couldn't simply stop there. Razor? I got this Wilkinson Sword Classic with a 5 pack of blades locally for 8CAD ($5.84). Brush? Another Wilkinson Sword pharmacy special; 6CAD ($4.38).

As for the blade, a Dorco Titan, which going from Maggards website is the cheapest DE blade they seem to carry at less than 9.5 cents a blade.

Now I could have gone with Thayer's for the post shave which costs less than $0.75/oz, but! Osma... Either the 75g (2.65oz) standard block for $6.20 or the larger 100g (3.5oz) for $11 that comes with a storage case to protect the precious block of salt; this thing will probably outlast me! As long as I don't drop it. Considering how long it lasts and that I've already gone through more than one 12oz bottle of Thayer's while the Osma looks almost the same as it did brand new, I will argue that this is the better value.

As for the fragrance, I used Eau de Robinet. Most fragrance prices are measured in $/ml, but this one is priced by the 1000L (that's 264 US.gal). At $0.82 for 264 US gallons it's by far the most economical fragrance I can use, even if it is a very mild fragrance. Because it's so cheap and lightly fragrances I can use it liberally. And if you want to argue that it's not a real fragrance, well I checked, and it is!.

So there's my super cheapy shave; it happens about once a year so I make the most of it.

Frugal Friday - Lather Games - 6.28.24

Alright, the bar is low today, so here's my lather games debut.

• Brush: Edwin Jagger Badger 21mm
• Razor: "Utiopia Care" shavette
• Blade: Derby Professional SE
• Lather: Edwin Jagger Sandalwood (?)
• Post: PAA Aqua D/G sample & (necessary) stypic pencil

Got this Edwin Jagger kit like 12 years ago from my college roommate. It was an awesome gift, but I didn't really pick it up and start using it until just a few months ago.

The soap has been in the dish for 12 years. My friend had told me to "melt it" into the dish by keeping it wet after a shave and pressing it into the dish. I think this "melting" technique, and time, have caused it to not be very smooth, because this was a rough shave.

The shavette and 100 pack of Derbys were like $5 on eBay a decade ago.

Happy I found this community. You guys are super helpful and entertaining. Looking forward to my "frugal" being much further away from my daily. 💸

Shave rating: 4/10. On to better days.

June 28, 2024 - Friday

• Brush: Omega 11137 24mm boar ($15)
• Razor: Baili BT131 ($8)
• Blade: Astra SP (1) ($0.08)
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Silence of the Hambs ($0.12/g)
• Post Shave: Jeris - Osage Rub ($0.02/mL)
• Fragrance: RazoRock - American Barber EdP ($0.66/mL)

Grand total: $23.88

This was my first time using this soap which was kinda making me hungry as I was sniffing it out of the tub. The scent is pancakes with maple syrup and bacon. Yum. Once lathered though it fell flat and smelled like wet cardboard with a bit of bacon grease and syrup spilled on it. Perhaps reminiscent of the wrapper from the the bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle^(TM) sandwich you just had for breakfast. Splashing on some straight menthol splash and barbershop scented EdP after made for an oddly scented shave, but I guess it wouldn't be LG without a few of those. TGIF! Have a great start to the weekend all.

June 28, 2024

• Prep: Hot shower
• Brush: Omega 10049
• Razor: Muhle Companion
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Col Conk - Amber
• Post Shave: Zingari Man Sego Aftershave Balm Unscented

I'm pretty sure that if I bought Col Conk new, it would qualify as the cheapest soap in my den. However, this isn't new Col Conk. This stuff came from a four pack I picked up around 20 years ago. So I probably paid half what they're charging now.

For the rest of my kit, the Omega brush is a bargain, and the Wilkinson Sword is apparently one penny cheaper than my preferred Astra Green. I only have the one razor, so it's the cheapest by default. As for how great it felt, well, I don’t love the scent of the Col Conk, which is part of the reason I’ve had it for 20 years. The lather was also kinda dry. The brush is totally fine, but obviously not as luxurious as my Chisel and Hound, and I didn’t actually notice a difference with the blade (dammit, that’s nearly a dollar a year in potential savings lost!).

ROTY

Cheap SOTD:

• Razor: Gillette Super Speed
• Blade: Personna Super Stainless (2)
• Brush: Ever Ready unnumbered
• Lather: Williams - Mug Soap
• Aftershave: Epsilon - Blue
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Everett

Williams is certainly one of the soaps that exists that can kinda be used for shaving. Several years ago, when still somewhat new to the hobby, I picked this bad boy up at HyVee on sale for $1.79 (marked down from $1.99). I think I over paid. As I was shaving, I was thinking about all those people who shave will Williams exclusively for years and years. When they could pay a bit more for Cremo or Proraso and get a much better experience. It seemed crazy to me until I remembered how I would shave with the same Mach 3 blade for months because I was too cheap to spend money on them.

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Stirling Two Band Synthetic
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85mm Safety Razor
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Master Soap Creations - Zeus God Of Thunder
• Post Shave: Van Der Hagen - Unscented Aftershave Balm

9¢ per gram

June 28th, 2024

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: USSR Army Brush
• Razor: Profimed Saiver
• Blade: Treet Carbon
• Lather: Arko - Shave Stick
• Post Shave: Floid - The Genuine
• Fragrance: None

Frugal Friday is one of my favorite theme days. It's fun going through the inventory in the ole den and doing some quick maths. That said, here is my cheapest loadout;

Brush; The brush, although I received it for free, was/is being sold as NOS on eBay for $7.46. The markup percentage wise is actually quite high, considering this brush was made for the Soviet army in the mid-late 80's and probably cost literal kopeks to make and was issued for free. Not only is it the cheapest brush I own, it is also the worst. It's crazy scratchy and if you have some spare time, you could probably sit down and count the individual boar hairs as there are so few.

Razor; I thought I'd end up using some vintage Gillette adjusted for inflation today, but somehow, this "modern" Russian army razor is still cheaper. These were being sold brand new just a few years ago for $10. It uses 2 DE blades, one of which is snapped in half, and is crazy mild. It also is a hybrid guard, with a safety bar on one side, and open comb on the other. It's such a pain to get the blades to seat properly, but the novelty of this razor makes it a keeper.

Blade; This one is the most difficult to quantify as there is no MSRP and finding consistent pricing is tricky. I checked multiple sites and settles on Razor Blades Club's pricing since they have the most variety and thus the most consistent pricing. It narrowed me down to 3 different blades that are 29 cents a piece. After doing some more Googling, I found a 100 pack of Treet Carbons for $7.98, making these 8 cents a piece!

Soap; This will be the most popular option today, not because LG competitors are unoriginal, rather we are satisfying today's theme as expertly as possible. An Arko stick is $2.99, or 4 cents a gram; you simply can't beat that.

Aftershave; This was the most surprising. After finding the prices for all of my splashes, the Floid Genuine was the cheapest by cost per oz. A 400ml bottle sells for $38, making it 9.5 cents per oz.

To acquire every item in today's shave, the total cost excluding taxes and shipping is $66.43, but of course on a price per gram/oz/blade, the shave is even cheaper. I will try to quantify this below;

The brush and razor can last a long time if cared for properly, if you get over 1000 shaves with the razor, and 746 with the brush, they will each be 1 cent per use.

The blade we'll say an average of 3 total uses, so 2.67 cents per use, but this razor takes two, so it's 5.33 cents

The soap and splash are the trickiest to quantify, so here it goes. From a cursory Google search, an Arko stick lasts about 3.5 months of shaving daily; roughly 105 shaves, making it 3 cents a shave. Assuming 2ml of aftershave is used, this bottle of Floid will last 200 shaves, making it 19 cents per shave.

That makes the cost of today's individual shave 29 cents.

Jun. 28, 2024
Prep: Cremo - Coconut Mango Shave Cream - Preshave
Brush: Yaqi Sagrada Familia Resin Handle Synthetic #RUNT #SMOLL
Razor: Razorock Tech II
Blade: Gillette Nacet [2]
Lather: Proraso - Coarse Beards - Sandalwood Oil & Shea Butter - Soap
Post Shave: Gillette - Aftershave Gel Sensitive Skin - Balm

Pretty sure these are all the lowest priced products I own. I do not like this razor.

ROTY

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

Jun. 28, 2024

• Brush: Some Making Requires Black And Gold #premiumplastic
• Razor: Bali BR 171
• Blade: Gillette 7 O’Clock Black [3]
• Lather: Stirling - Grapefruit - Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling - Grapefruit - Aftershave
• Post Shave: GreenBox - Alum

This set dates back to 2019, I believe. I believe it was purchased after Christmas so it was on sale. I love the Black Friday deals Rod does and he does them in June too, I think. They are the perfect travel size and are still a heck of a good value.

This is a great scent. Grapefruit, lots of menthol.

The Bali 171 is a copy of a Tech, and a mild one at that. I should try to remember to use this razor for #legday next year.

The brush used to have a Badger knot in it. I put that knot another handle from Summer Break Soaps. This is the upgraded synthetic from Maggard’s.

2 passes.

June 28, 2024 - Frugal Friday

• Brush: Ounabing - Green Shave Boar Bristles

• Razor: Bic - Sensitive 3 Disposable

• Blade: Bic - Sensitive 3 Disposable

• Lather: Proraso - Sapone di Barba Rinfrescante

• Post Shave: Proraso - Sapone di Barba Rinfrescante Splash

• Fragrance: Goodfellow & Co. - No. 9 Grapefruit & Cypress Men's Cologne.

THEME CHEAP, Cheap, cheapest! There is no better feeling than saving precious mula! I love the smell of a clearance item and who doesn’t. No free shipping!!! Forget it!! So in order the save myself some hard earned cash I visited my local dealers where I was sure to get more for less! Here is my breakdown:

Brush: Walmart - bought 2 for a better deal so cost per BOAR brush =$3.69
Razor&Blade: Dollar Tree - pack of three so cost per razor =$.42
Soap: Amazon - $10 bucks, they even tell you is $1.92 per ounce!!
Splash: Amazon- $14 bucks! It had to match so I splurge on the cost. Still $4.12 per Fl Oz.
Frag: Target - Got an Edt Sampler for $14.99. Comes with 4 so cost per vial = $3.75
Bowl: Amazon - Viking Revolution- $7.88

TOTAL = $21.78 for a complete shave plus hardware!! NOT TOO SHABBY!!! Well so not the complete cheapest way to go but I wanted a splash and frag that would complement each other. Goodfellow No. 9 has a big cypress scent which complemented the proraso eucalyptus really well.

THE SHAVE You pay for what you get!!! I like eucalyptus but proraso does a mild job at it. It’s more of a eucalyptus that has been sitting around for a while and gets stale! Not sure if such thing is possible and I am biased because I like super strong scents!! Lather was fine nothing special! It did the job well. The razor was an absolute torture!! I remember the days using a disposable and I can feel the ingrown hairs coming. It’s it going to be a fun rest of day. The splash had a little more life to it so it wasn’t bad. The frag was all worth it!! Tons of strength pack in this little vial and a couple spritz got the job done!! Was it worth the savings??? Oh yeah… Sure felt great to save so much money in my shave today. In truth I may add some of these items to my daily routine like the splash. But not sure when I will use the razor ever again…LG2025???

June 28 2024: Frugal Friday

• Brush: Omega 11137
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (5)
• Razor: Alshabab Original
• Lather: Stirling - Baker Street
• Post Shave: Stirling - Baker Street
• Fragrance: Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy EdT

My Omega boar was only $9.99, Shark Super Chrome blades are $7.95 for a box of 100, the Stirling clocks in at $14.25 for the soap and $13.65 for the splash, and Tommy EdT can be had for $19.99. The real star of my Frugal Friday is the Alshabab Original razor, which was only $0.15 from AliExpress. The razor is surprisingly cromulent for the cost, giving a decent shave but requires good technique not to use pressure despite the near-nonexistent weight of the whole thing. The Omega brush is amazing for the price, and it goes without saying that Stirling punches way, way above its price point. It felt great to save so much money!

** 28.06.2024 **

• Brush: Boti 18mm #RUNT #SMOLL
• Razor: Tih Trud safety razor
• Blade: Sputnik
• Lather: Fresh Up Cosmetics - Kupa
• Post Shave: Men's Master Professional - Aftershave

I am visiting a friend for the weekend in a mountain village. So water is free. Cost: 0.00$

I used last year Scrooge day safety razor. Bulgarian made in early communist era. But then I give a price 10-25$ and I didn't know that base plate is not original and is from another unknown shitty old razor mabymade in some garage. So this garbage doesn't cost more then 1-3$ just if anyone buy it for spear parts for original.

Blade Sputnik is also from last year. I regret that is not same blade because it'll reduced the price from 0.02$ to 0.01$ and is new again. But I'll keep it for LG 2025. And I makes only one pass to not amortize it and to not pay for two passes.

Lather again is Kupa ( Hearts from deck of cards). Last year I used 2 grams and I want to reduced on half so price from 0.01$ to 0.005$ and because is not budget for bowl I face lather. Aftershave i used same quantity 2ml for 0.03$ The most expensive item this year is the brush. Boti knot ~5$ and handle I made on lathe from piece of scrap wood from the decor of "The Voice". I planing to make a career in shaving brushes. If you judges are so punctual I'll add 0.5$ for power for lathe and chisel amortization. Didn't use alum. To expensive. Total cost: 6.555$ way more expensive then last year ~0.060085 $. But hey I growing up in wetshaving and is normal to spend a fortune. P.S. The photo is without post production coz I don't want to pay high qualified labor ( my self ) big money.

Jun. 28, 2024 - Cheep Cheep

• Brush: Dreadnought Avenger #SMOLL #RUNT

• Razor: Schick “66” G4

• Blade: Schick (10)

• Lather: Free Soap Collective - The Slickest Resistance

• Post Shave: T.N. Dickinson’s - Witch Hazel

• Fragrance: ~~Mäurer & Wirtz~~ SIR - Irish Moos

Daily Challenge: All are my cheapest products!

Cost breakdown:

Dreadnought Avenger: Purchased from Smallflower for $3.75/32g = $0.117/g

Schick “66” G4: OG MSRP was $0.66 in 1949 which equals $8.71/30g = $0.29/g

Schick Blade: Too light for my scale, included in the razor weight.

The Slickest Resistance: Free/169g = $0.00/g

TN Dickinson’s: Bought from Walmart for $3.98/501g = $0.008/g

Moos fragrance: Bought from Smallflower for $28.50/143g = $0.199/g

It is so nice to get a really good shave from cheap items! The most expensive item is the Moos fragrance and that was worth every penny! The worst part of my shave was the brush. It just might be the worst brush ever and cretainly is the worst one that I own! At $3.75 I totally overpaid for it but despite its avertisement of being “The Ultimate Shaving Brush for ReAl MeN!” it has no use other than qualifying for the RUNT and SMOLL tags. I lovingly refer to it as my "tiny shit brush" and for the other 11 months of the year let Woodstock play with it. I did manage to get a good lather, it just is the most stiff, pokey brush ever.

Daily Theme Justification: So this soap is quite the interesting item, I received it from u/mammothben in a PIF but the history of it is pretty cool. As can be seen in this comment from u/pppork, Free Soap Collective never charged any money for any of their soaps. It was created by Max Schaefer who raffled off (free entries) tubs of soap in a facebook group. So not only did I receive it for free but it has always been free therefore making it by default my cheapest soap product.

Relevant Post Shave & Frag: All on theme as my cheapest item per gram! Grand total of $0.61/g for all of these items! If you want the total cost of procuring them, it cost me $41.06 to buy all of the items, most of that coming from the full bottle of fragrance but can you really put a limit on the value per sniff of SIR Irisch Moos?

Jun. 28, 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: Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man - Soap
Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented (Sego) - Balm

I agree with everybody who says Stirling makes a great lather at an affordable price point.

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

2024-06-28 LG SOTD

• Brush: Semogue 1250 (22x55mm Boar)
• Razor: Ever Ready 1924 PAF (1919-1924)
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Proraso - Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Ice Blue
• Fragrance: BRUT - Plastic bottle version from grocery store

Cheapest cheapest shave. Cheapest brush ($15 back when I bought it), cheapest razor (I think this cost me like $13), the only blade that works for that razor, cheapest soap ($10 / 150g), cheapest aftershave ($5.97 / 200ml), cheapest fragrance ($8.99 / 88ml). All prices in CAD.

This shave was honestly really good and I really enjoy Proraso Sandalwood paired with Aqua Velva - there's like zero crossover between them, but they compliment each other very nicely. Also, I'm not just bullshitting about the quality of my shave for the challenge, and here's how you know: as LG staff I get no prizes so IDGAF about points. That's also why I ain't taking a photo to finish the challenge. Heck, I'm so satisfied with today's shave that I'll probably use most of the same stuff tomorrow.

Cheap stuff is even good enough for the judges, who OP reminds us can't earn points.

Jun. 28, 2024 - Math is Hard

• Prep: Shower, Baxter Shave Tonic
• Brush: WCS Tuxedo Synth
• Razor: GEM G-Bar
• Blade: GEM Stainless PTFE (2)
• Lather: Bundubeard - De Goede Hoop
• Post Shave: Dollar Tree - Spice Aftershave

Ugggg, Lather Games making me do math now? I'm not good at math. I thought for sure that, as with previous years, my cheapest soap would be the $4.595 Old Spice cream that you can pick up from Maggards. I've had this tube for a while and there's not much out there that could beat it price wise ounce for ounce. But as I went into my cabinet I realized that I may indeed have something new to shave with on frugal Friday thanks to Bundubeard's Spicy Trio of Old Spice riffs. For those not acquainted Bundubeard is a South African soapmaker and he sells his soaps at dirt cheap prices (partially making up for the shipping cost of getting it over here, but shipping doesn't count in an MSRP so shouldn't count here.)

Bundubeards soaps range in price but De Goede Hoop is 185 South African Rand. This, however, presents a secondary challenge to cost analysis. I recall the US dollar equivalent at the time of purchase being around $.850, though I can't confirm that as the invoice for the purchase shows the cost in ZAR. However, in doing conversions on Bundubeard's site today it is around $10.01, meaning the cost in U.S. dollars for the soap is constantly fluctuating depending on how strong the Dollar is compared to the Rand. In fact, whenever a judge is reading this that conversion rate may have changed again but lets work under the premise that the judges don't want to do math so we'll have to do it for them.

So to begin we'll go with the easy set price of $4.95 for 70 g of Old Spice Shaving Cream. That comes to about $0.07 per gram for Old Spice.

Next, we'll take the low price I think I paid for for De Goede Hoop at $8.50. That makes it $0.04 per gram of soap. OK, cheaper for sure.

But just to be totally sure I've used the cheapest soap we'll do it with today's market value of $10.01. That still comes out well below the Old Spice shaving cream at $0.05 per gram.

So there you have it. Even if the Dollar drops in value in the next few coming days thanks to the lack of faith in our political institutions plummeting towards total failure by the rest of the world it would still have to drop pretty hard for Bundubeard to even come close to touching the $0.07 per gram of a cream of Old Spice. What's more ridiculous is that Bundubeard's sheep tallow base is one of the best on the market and it is this cheap. Craziness.

Everything else in my shave is the cheapest I own. This brush is the first I ever bought and I hate it to death. It is one of the worst synths I've ever tried, with "hairs" that visibly look like pieces of plastic. Rubbing it on my face now I realize what a terrible experience I was having when I first started wet shaving. And yet... it still felt better than canned stuff.

The razor is vintage but I bought it and another GEM in good condition for $32 on eBay. That puts its value at around $16. I have other vintage razors, all in good condition and doing a quick search around $16 is definitely the cheapest of them.

LG SOTD Jun 28, 2024 - Frugal Friday

• Brush: Proraso (Omega rebranded) - Professional Brush - Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Bic single blade - disposable
• Blade: Bic single blade - disposable [1]
• Lather: Proraso - Sapone da barba barbe dure - (Red cream soap)
• Post Shave: Proraso - Crema liquida dopobarba Anti irritazione - (White balm)
• Fragrance: 4711 - Original Eau de Cologne

Here in Italy, Proraso shines a success story that has been continuing for over a century. Its parent company, Ludovico Martelli, takes the name from the Martelli family, who started the company in 1908 and are still in charge of it (currently at the 4th generation, I believe).

After their recent acquisition of the Floid brand, historically associated to "the" aftershave product used by Italian barbers, the company is (today more than ever) a living monument to the Italian contribution to professional shaving.

At the same time, the products they supply to professional barbers are also available to the general consumers, not only through professional vendors, but also through super-accessible channels like supermarket and skincare/household products chains, and for very sustainable prices. Class, elegance and professional quality made accessible to the everyman. To me, this is the best expression of Italian values.

PROFESSIONAL, INDEED

I stepped into a barbershop of the Blues Barber mini-chain (three addresses in Florence, only use Proraso shaving products), and inquired about shaving options.

My first idea was to use the same cheapest products I own, but applied from the hand of a professional barber. I wasn't sure it would've qualified with respect to the LG rules, but ended up not needing to bring up the question to the judges. The barbershop was fully booked until next week.

One day, I will try one of their shaving options: Italian shave (Eur 20), American shave (Eur 30). Differences are related to the number of warm towels used during the prep phase, and inclination of the chair during the shave. But today's not that day.

A CLOSE SHAVE COMPANY

"Hi, my name is MudAccording, I am participating to the Lather Games. As I realized your HQ are less than 30minutes from where I am, can I come take pictures for my SOTD?"

For brevity, I will spare you of my subsequent explanation of what the Lather Games are.

"Dear Mr. MudAccording, unfortunately our company policy does not allow for outside persons to come and take pictures inside our premises".

Really gracious answer, considering that I was a random unknown dude pestering them with the request to get last minute access to their manufacturing building, so as to snap some pictures and then post them anonymously in a Reddit sub. I wouldn't have let me access the building!

Even more graciously, to answer my curiosity about visuals that could remind the historical roots of the company, they sent me digital pictures of two of their vintage ad campaigns, that I am sharing here and here.

SHORT CHRONOLOGY

They also helped me put together a basic chronology of their products:

• 1948: pre-shave cream
• 1960s: shave soap
• 1970s-1980s: canned shave foam, Colonia, postshave lotion
• early 2000s: postshave balm
• from 2014: beard care products

PRORASO PRODUCTS, PRORASO BUILDING

On top of all this graciousness, they also told me I was welcome to pick up a little something they left for me at the entrance of their building.

This is where the energy of all the LG contestants entered my conscience. I was no longer MudAccording, I was just a vessel for the whole r/Wetshaving community, and I was called to act by its highest standards. A sudden thought: lathering inside the Proraso premises, with my own Proraso products. Backup: lathering in front of the building, outside the gates.

I packed my shaving gear in an inconspicuous bag and got to the Sacred Source of Italian shaving products.

The address points to a group of factory buildings. After trying to get into the wrong building, owned by a luxury fashion brand, getting stopped by security and rerouted to the correct entrance, I was THERE.

I went to desk at the entrance, introduced myself and said I was there to pick up something.
"Sure, there it is"
"Oh, just a sec. Can you keep it for a few more minutes? Is there a restroom I could use before I leave?"
"Sure, over there"

TODAY'S CHALLENGE

As requested, I took a photo of my money-saving SOTD.

I don't really care about how much money I saved today. Money is important, but once one has secured the means to survive, other values are worth being considered as a priority.

I was happy to shave with Proraso, because they are classy yet accessible, and therefore inclusive. Their scents are great. They have been my first wetshaving products, and while some artisan soaps are better performing on the technical level (and at a much higher price point), Proraso always gave me a sense of non-snobbish homely comfort.

Similarly, 4711 is an unparallaled cologne for its price point, and resonates with memories of my childhood.

#ROTY

ROTY

Jun. 28, 2024
Brush: Stirling 2-Band Synthetic Brush
Razor: Rockwell 6C - Gunmetal
Blade: Gillette Platinum [7]
Lather: Proraso - Eucalyptus Oil And Menthol (Green) Cream - Soap
Post Shave: Kroger - Witch Hazel - Aftershave
Post Shave: Stirling - Alum Block

Shared from My Shave Den for iOS

June 28, 2024

• Brush: Assured for Men – 18MM Terrible Dollar Store Brush #RUNT
• Razor: Assured for Men – Terrible Dollar Store Razor
• Blade: Shark – Super Stainless
• Lather: Free Soap Collective - L'Air du Panache Soap
• Post Shave: XtraCare – Fresh Scent After Shave Splash
• Fragrance: Bod Man – Really Ripped Abs Eau de Whatever

Let’s go down the list bit by bit today:

Soap: $0.00 - Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. And my friends, today, I feel like the luckiest man on the sub. A couple months ago, I won a PIF from u/jwood23 and it included two soaps from The Free Soap Collective (FSC). Basically, this dude named Max created a very successful video game franchise, and (I’m assuming) did pretty well for himself, so now he makes shave soaps to give away as a hobby on the side. This all happens in a Facebook group called The Shave Market, which I requested to join when I found out about this, but they (sadly) did not approve my request to join. No clue why, but I’m clearly not what they’re looking for in a member. If anyone has an in, please put in a good word for me. ANYWAYS… He never charges for the soap and built this whole “company” called “Free Soap Collective”. Bingo, bango, bongo, the MSRP is $0.00. Saving money babeeeey! I made sure I checked with the Lather Games Rules Liaison prior to using this today because I don’t want to get DQed on a Day 28 technicality, and we’re good to use this today! And FSC makes good stuff – even Ben thinks so! L'Air du Panache is supposed to smell like the Grand Budapest Hotel, but I get spices on top of a base of vetiver and sandalwood. I think. I don't know. They won't let me in their group to ask them. The scent isn't really something I'd typically buy, but it nicely done and enjoyable to use. I wish I could say it evokes the memory of the time I went to Budapest, the only time I was in Budapest, I was staying in a hostel with a naked guy sleeping on the bunk below mine. Not exactly Grand.

I’m still using the ~~worst~~ least expensive of everything else I own. Last year on Frugal Friday, everything I used was from Dollar Tree/Dollar General.

Brush: $1.25 - Okay. I’m not gonna try to bullshit anyone this year. The brush sucks. It costs $1.25 and is awful. In preparation for today I tried all the tricks to break a brush in: Scruffing it on a towel, soaking it in salt water overnight, scrubbing it on a brick wall, and leaving lather in it for days on end. Hell, I even oiled it up, tied a string around it and put in under my mattress for a few days. I’ve tried it all. And you know what? It still sucks. There are just some things you shouldn’t buy at Dollar Tree and shaving brushes is one of them (another is nacho cheese sauce). I think this thing could also double as a scouring brush.

Razor: $1.25 Also not good. With a decentish blade in there it’s not TOO bad, but it’s no Wolfie, that’s for sure.

Blade: $.07 I had to do a lot of math for this one to calculate the price per blade for every brand I have. The cheapest is this Shark Super Stainless one. Meh. I tend not to be too picky when it comes to blades. Sure, I have my favorites, but I can get a good shave from pretty much anything.

Post-Shave: $1.25 I remember the splash being a pleasant surprise last year and this year, it’s the same. The scent is generic, but inoffensive. The nice thing about aftershave splashes is that they can be ridiculously simple and still be nice… And XtraCare proves that!

Fragrance: $4.50 for 100ml Bod Man: America’s #1 Men’s Fine Fragrance Brand. I got this 100 ml bottle from Dollar General, but if you buy one of their “full size” bottles the trigger and atomizer are literally the same as a bottle of Windex. Really Ripped Abs, smells like a gym locker room mixed with a can of cheap energy drink, and it is perfect for those who want to make an unforgettable impression—just not necessarily a good one. BodMan ensures you won't break the bank while breaking nearby nostrils with its overpowering aroma. It's almost as if someone thought, "What if we bottled the essence of overly confident teenagers at a discount price?" If you're looking for a cologne that screams "I bought this with my allowance," look no further than Bod Man Really Ripped Abs. #FOF

Challenge: Today’s shave proves you don’t need to invest a lot into wetshaving to get a ~~nice~~ shaving experience. I love saving money, so I feel ecstatic that I saved so many American Freedom Dollars on this shave. On a per shave basis, this shave cost pennies.

Soap Theme Justification: The soap is from an entity called Free Soap Collective. The MSRP is $0.00. Is that enough for you??

Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Everything is the cheapest thing in my den AND everything comes in a blue container!

But you could have just used your hands and saved $1.25

6/28/24 Lather Games shave

• Brush: EverReady 200 / old TGN finest

• Lather: Vitos - Extra super

• Razor: Aluminum-handle Tech w/ Suneko

• Post Shave: Master - Bay rum

So for the soap, when I got this I believe Vitos was going for $22 for a kilo block. Thats $2.20 per 100grams (“normal” soap tub size), or 2.2cents per gram.

I bought this 15oz bottle Master bay rum right after I started wet shaving, and at the time I’m pretty sure it was $7-8 from one of the barber supply stores. So let’s call it 50cents an ounce. As I’m typing this though I’m realizing that my similar-size bottle of Osage Rub might have actually been a little cheaper. Hmm….

The vintage EverReady brush is one that a brush hobbyist threw in with a purchase I was making for $2. He had meant to restore it but never did, I thought I might try my hand at restoring it but clearly haven’t either 🙄

This Tech is another one I got in a purchase somewhere for $2-3. And Suneko blades were going for something like $6-7 per 100pack, so 6-7cents per blade.

Happy Friday, I hope everyone has a great weekend 👍

June 28, 2024 - Frugal Friday

• Prep: Proraso - Pre-Shave Cream (Green)
• Brush: Omega - Bambino
• Razor: Wrong_Coyote_9525 3D Printed Razor
• Blade: Tatra- Platinum
• Lather: Proraso - Eucalyptus Oil & Menthol Cream
• Post Shave: Proraso - Sensitive Skin Balm
• Fragrance: Old Spice Eau de Cologne

Today's Theme: I used Proraso Eucalyptus Oil and Menthol today. Please see Challenge section for more explanation.

Today's Challenge: Coincidentally, I purchased a Proraso Travel Shave Kit yesterday. It included pre shave cream, an Omega boar brush, shaving cream, and some balm all for $16. My Tatra blade retails for about 19¢ a piece. The razor itself is not for sale, but for the challenge, I will estimate the materials to be worth around $1 and I won the razor in a giveaway. Old Spice from Walmart is $8.97. If this isn’t a frugal shave, I don’t know what is. Funny thing is, this was an surprisingly great shave despite being incredibly affordable.

Edit: Mr. Coyote himself said it cost less than a dollar in materials.

ROTY

Today I shaved with Arko and an Omega boar brush. I used an old type with a Polsilver blade. I followed up with Aqua Velva Ice Blue and a shot of Cuba Prestige Black.

Jun. 28, 2024 - cheapskate
Brush: Wilkinson Sword Boar
Razor: Flying Eagle Gillette Tech Clone
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue [2]
Lather: Razorock Green Label
Post Shave:* Booster Barbershop Classics Polar Ice

By far the cheapest and crappiest stuff in my den. It was a shave. Cheap crappy picture too.

June 28

• Brush: Yaqi – 22mm Badger
• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co – Hot Apple Cider Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co – Hot Apple Cider Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Samhain EdP

When I started wetshaving, I told myself there was an initial investment, but I would end up saving money in the long run. That’s what the internet told me. Hell, I even have a friend tell me the same thing. And I feel deceived. But it’s so worth it. Can you put a price on joy? I think not!

Fortunately, I don’t have anything terrible in my shaving gear line-up.

For my hardware: I got this brush as a defect direct from Yaqi on Alibaba and is cost $7, shipping included. It’s not great, but I wouldn’t call it AWFUL. This Gillette Travel Tech came in a vintage razor lot from Ebay, but I think original MSRP was like $.49 – Hell, even today, you can pick one up on ebay for like $10-15 bucks. I think I paid like $40 for a lot of 7 or 8 razors. I have a couple different blade brands, but the least expensive one I have is Gillette Silver Blue, which is about $15 for 100.

For my software: Stirling is by far the cheapest per ounce of any artisan soap out there. You get a whopping 5.8 ounces for $14.25 and the splash is $13.65. The fact you can buy a set for less than $30 AND the soap is massive is such a frugal win!

For fragrance today, I used Southern Witchcrafts Samhain. This has got to be the unsung hero of the wetshaving fragrance world. A bottle is $22!

Stirling’s Hot Apple Cider soap felt like taking a journey through an apple orchard in the fall. The soap filled my bathroom with the intoxicating scent of spiced apples and cinnamon. It was like autumn in a shave, making me ALMOST want to pull a Prius and eat the stuff. The splash matches the soap so I kept the fall festival going. A refreshing and invigorating splash, it soothed my skin and left me smelling like I just stepped out of a cider mill. And finally, Samhain EdP. This fragrance is the epitome of fall – earthy, smoky, and a subtle sweetness. With notes of autumn leaves, pumkin, and bourbon, it’s like a walk through a haunted forest on Halloween night. The perfect complement to the warm, cozy apple scent from Stirling. #FOF

Sidecontest: #photocontest: Birds. Two swans in the water, a flock of ducks flying by, and a bonus dragonfly flew into the shot too. Since they’re in the background, they aren’t in focus, but they’re there!

Challenge: This is the cheapest of everything I have in my den. It felt wonderful knowing how this hobby is saving me money!

iamhonestlylying’s Daily Top 5:

In honor of “Frugal Friday”… My Top 5 Tips to be Frugal in Wetshaving

5.) Buy in bulk. Buying 100 blades at a time is gonna be cheaper than 5 at a time.

4.) Don’t be tempted by FOMO and avoid impulse purchases. If it’s good, it will come back. Unless it’s Ausflug.

3.) Borrow, instead of buy – See something you want to try? Ask someone who has one to borrow it, or join a passaround.

2.) Shop secondhand – r/Shave_Bazaar anyone?

1.) Unsubscribe to r/wetshaving – You’ll just want to buy what other people have. Remember: Comparison is the thief of joy. Be happy with what you have.

• June 28
• Brush: Omega 10098 Boar Brush
• Razor: Baili Twist to Open DE
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: Arko – Shaving Soap Puck
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger – After Shave & Face Tonic
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – South Padre

Let’s work through a price list here:
Omega Boar Brush: $14.99
Baili TTO: $5.99
Blades: $.08 per blade
Arko: $5.95 per puck. 90g per puck = 3.17oz = $1.87 per ounce
Lucky Tiger Face Tonic (full size): $18 for 8 ounces = $2.25 per ounce
Stirling Fragrance: $26.95 for 50ml = 1.69oz = $15.94 per ounce

Everything here is the cheapest item I have.

I realize this is supposed to be one of those days where we struggle and whine and say “THIS STUFF ISN’T USABLE!!!!” But, you know what. This is very usable. I used this DE for years using canned goo and/or Cremo. Using Arko was a walk in the park. It never fails to deliver with its fantastic lather and unbeatable price. This little puck proves that you don’t need to spend a fortune for a rich, slick shave, as long as you don’t mind using the scent of a urinal cake.

Lucky Tiger’s Face Tonic Splash wasn’t my favorite. I wouldn’t call it unusable, but it certainly didn’t bring me any joy when I used it and the scent wasn't the greatest.

Stirling’s South Padre EdT provided a really nice wonderful, scent reminiscent of a beach getaway. The best part? It’s incredibly affordable, so I can smell fantastic without feeling guilty about the cost. The bad part? The beach getaway didn’t last nearly as long as I would have hoped. The scent was gone faster than I could say "What time is high tide?"

All in all, today's shave was not only smooth, but effective and kind to my wallet. It just goes to show that you don’t NEED to spend a lot to get a top-notch shave. Maybe there are a couple things here that would be better to spend a little more on, but overall, it wasn’t the worst shave I’ve ever had. If there's one thing I've learned in my limited time doing this: There is a law of diminishing returns with high-end gear - A $300 razor doesn't shave 30x better than a $10 razor. These Baili razors aren't bad at all.

Challenge: All my cheapest wetshaving products.

Today’s shave was all about getting a great shave without breaking the bank and I didn't hate the results.

OP makes a strong argument for low-cost products.

Frugal Friday

• Brush: I Am (house brand of local grocery store chain Migros)
• Razor: Wilkinson Sword
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Arko – Berber Tiraş sabunu
• Post Shave: Wars – Classic - Energetyzujący Płyn Po Goleniu
• Fragrance: Brut — Original

Theme: To my chagrin, the cheapest soap by weight in my den seems to be Arko at CHF 22.80/kg, eking out a narrow victory over my palmolive stick (CHF 30.67/kg) which I bought in my local pharmacy a few years ago when it went out of production. The soap performs well enough, but I struggle with the scent. This is based on a technicality, because I do own an even cheaper soap, Vitos, but it's in my mountain den, so it's not in my collection today.

Relevant post and splash: also the cheapest in my den. Wars is CHF 43.33/l and Brut CHF 78.00/l.

Challenge: Luckily I got rid of my horrible clipped boar brushes at CHF 1.50 per brush last year after Frugal Friday (I bought them for my Rookie Lather Games, when there was still a bonus point for using 30 brushes and they were tërrible), so this brush is my new cheapest one at CHF 6.80. It's still garbage, but less. The Wilkinson razor is GBP 4.99 including the blades, making it my cheapest. Saving so much money on today's shave wasn't worth using that brush. I'm getting rid of the brush and Arko.

https://imgur.com/a/8O2Ll10

• Prep: Hot water
• Bowl: Me - 3D Printed
• Brush: Me - 3D Printed
• Razor: Me - 3D Printed
• Blade: Personna - Comfort Coated
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Lionhart
• Post Shave: Faberge - Brut Classic
• Fragrance: Clubman - Dragon Noir

How my Frugal shave became my most costly

Well, I didn’t read all the rules about Frugal Friday until after I had planned out my days.  I thought cost would be what I paid for an item. I didn’t realize that it was based on the usual cost of a product.  So, this forced me to do a long overdue soap purge.  I decided what soap brands I really liked and got rid of the ones I didn’t care for or cost less than my Talent Soap Factory.  Talent Soap Factory is very affordable so, there weren’t that many.   I gave most to my son (He still lives at home so I did have to borrow some) and a few to friends.  I even had to give away several Razorocks, Stirlings and my beloved Cella (still one of my favorite scents).  I mostly kept soaps from some of the Lather Games' sponsors as well as some other favorites like MdC, Ethos and MacDuffs.  I did keep a bunch of samples, so I can still have a variety.  So next year my den photo should look much better unless I start hoarding soaps again.      

Today's Challenge: I used Talent Soap Factory soap for several reasons. It was tied with several others as my cheapest soap by wt.   (Nobody warned me that math was involved in the Lather Games) Also, I was given this soap for free when I ordered a bunch of aftershaves.  So it really is my most frugal shave soap.   I 3D printed my razor which cost a whopping 37 cents to print.  My Scuttle cost $4.61 to print and my brush cost $2.25 to print plus $8.95 to buy the knot.  My cheapest blades, Personna Comfort Coated were about 12 cents each bought in bulk.  Surprisingly my shave wasn't too bad. I took it very slow after I butchered my face yesterday with the Leftorium Challenge. My aftershave Brut is dirt cheap about $5.69 at Walmart and the fragrance Dragon Noir is $6.99 for a huge 14 oz bottle.  All in all a very Fugal shave.  I really enjoyed this frugal shave and with all the money I “saved” I will be able to start hoarding soaps again!

Still going with different brush soap brand, aftershave, blade and razor every day. Only 2 days left! VIVA THE LATHER GAMES!

ROTY

User PIF'd everything in his den cheaper than TSF so he would be on theme.

June 28, 2024 – LG Day 28 – $rugal $riday

• Brush: Stirling Synthetic Li’l Brudder
• Razor: BIC Sensitive Shaver
• Lather: Van der Hagen – Deluxe Shave Soap
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva – Musk
• Fragrance: Brut – Classic Splash On

First off, let me be perfectly clear. Bic Sensitive Shavers are not cartridge razors. They are single-edge disposables. Per Gillette, which we would assume knows what they’re talking about, “A cartridge razor is a razor where the head or cartridge can be detached from the handle so it can be discarded when it becomes worn; the razor handle can then be used with a new cartridge.” Hence, by definition, the Bic is canonically on theme.

Now, onto the “math.” Cheapest everything. Frugality can be defined a few ways, but Brittanica provides a definition that I think best fits how I grew up understanding the term.

frugal: “careful about spending money or using things when you do not need to.”

I was raised on calculating unit prices. My dad taught me to look at the lefthand, orange-highlighted number on price stickers, which was just as important, if not more, than the price itself. Bigger packages usually mean a less expensive per-unit (e.g. ounce, pound, item) price; however, this is not relevant if you will not be using the product enough to make buying the large package worth it. If you only have mayonnaisse once per month, don’t buy the half gallon jar of mayo. It will expire, nullifying your attempt at frugality. It’s worth noting that this is my current-day interpretation of what my dad emphasized so strongly; he had a much looser interpretation of expiration dates than me, and I’m pretty lax about them (much to my partner’s dismay).

• My Stirling Lil’ Brudder cost me nothing, as it was passed onto me by my father in law, but even that notwithstanding, it’s my cheapest brush. Coming in at $11.99, it’s a solid dollar and a quarter less than the runners-up.
• Bic disposables, particularly if you can get them on sale, are worth keeping around in my opinion. They live in my car, because if I get to work and notice that I missed a spot on the back of my head, I feel compelled to fix the issue or else be stuck thinking about it all day. At current MSRP, they’re $4.49 for a 12-pack, so about 37¢ a shaver; I almost certainly paid less.
• I picked up VdH Deluxe on a whim – because it was around two dollars and I thought, why not, Frugal Friday was going to come around. I never took it out of the plastic to smell it, though, and that was a mistake. If I had, I would have tossed it so I could use Proraso (which at $10 for 5.2oz is $1.92/ounce). It smells of old ladies, and in a way that makes me almost think Tabac is good. At the $2.19 I paid, it’s a whopping 88¢/ounce. At MSRP of $3.49, though, it’s still only $1.40/ounce, easily the cheapest soap in my den.
• I bought AV Musk after seeking somebody (probably u/USS-Spongebob) recommend it as a favorite despite being so cheap. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, but at $3.17 for the bottle (and 91¢ an ounce), I’m sure I’ll hold onto it and give it another go when I’m craving the musk.
• Here is where I contradict myself. If frugality is all about avoiding unnecessary spending, then this fragrance was not in the spirit of the challenge. However, I simply don’t have cheap fragrances. The cheapest I owned was a Stirling EdT, which doesn’t feel super frugal at ~$27 a bottle (though I recognize this is very cheap compared to much of what I own, and absurdly cheap compared to some of the big designer frags). So I went on a mission to grab the cheapest mass-market yet popular fragrance that isn’t a body mist or body spray. Brut saves the day. At its current Walmart price of $5.48, it’s a meager 78¢ per ounce. Unheard of for a fragrance. Creed Aventus (for a standard 50ml bottle) is $214.70/ounce.

Notably, I didn’t actually start wetshaving to save money – it was all about finding a way to stop the razor bumps & burn that plagued me after shaving with the allegedly foolproof HeadBlade, or any other cart. Even then, I started with Proraso and a cheap, shitty Amazon brush and razor set that was likely tossed at some point. It did the job at the time, though, and I was happy enough with how Proraso smelled.

I now realize that frugality has its limits, though. This shave is powdery. Decidedly not my favorite scent profile. The soap was the worst part. Lots of rose and powder, full-on old lady perfume, nothing that I’m looking for in a wetshaving soap. It lathered and shaved surprisingly well for its laundry list of ingredients and concerningly low price, but this smell just ain’t it. AV Musk is, as one might expect, smells primarily of clean laundry with strong powdery notes, and a light floral touch. It’s not my typical cup of tea, but I can see that it’s a good representation of the genre. To finish out the day, Brut, which I’ve seen described as woodsy and a fougère, just reads as powdery to me. Maybe it’s because of the other scents on my skin, but it’s all I’m getting. The scent of alcohol is so strong off the bottle that I can’t smell it more to try to identify other notes, and my wrists/neck are, again, just powdery at this point. To answer the ultimate #FOF question, “How do your scent choices make you feel?”, the response is simple: powdery.

User writes lengthy, but thoroughly enjoyable treatise of frugality.

June 28, 2024

• Brush: AP Shave Co Strawberry Cream 26mm G5A
• Razor: Parker A1R Travel Razor #ZAMAC
• Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (Yellow) (4)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Island Man - Soap
• Post Shave: Combe Inc. - Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue - Aftershave

 

---

If I'm to do a frugal shave, then it will be a straightforward, no frills affair. So, no witchhazel, or talc. That's for sissies.

I was surprised to find that this AP Shave Co brush is, at $60, my least expensive brush. It is equal in cost to several other synthetics I have, and tied with my cheapest badger brush. I've given away brushes that cost less so I'm left with rather high-end bristles. Anyway, here's the cost rundown of my setup:

• Island Man - bought off the 'zaar so not fair, but Stirling is definitely the best cost/gram shaving soap I have. I make up for the great value by owning more tubs than I'll ever be able to finish. Oh, did I mention how great the soap actually is?
• Parker A1R Travel Razor - $30
• AP Shave Co brush - $60 (this one was best for the photo)
• Aqua Velva - $5

Cheap gear, absolutely excellent shave. It's the blade that does the cutting. The better you wield it, the better your shave.

The Los Dupe files uncovered

• Lather: no scrub X red house farm - no scrub soap
• Brush: my hand #toll
• Razor: Wilkinson sword classic.

On theme because no scrub soap has no monetary value as it cannot be sold, my hand is free and the Wilko sword is a cheap 5 quid demon razor.

It was a horrible 1 pass shave after my run. But the run itself was interesting. I came across a weird usb stick and decided to bring it home to see what was in it.

There was one folder called DO NOT OPEN opened it, and there was a single word doc. It was called 197$ffpu*3.docx so I figured there was no virus.

Gentlesirs I hit the jackpot. I found out what Los Dupe has been up to these games and I have to apologize for seeking him out. If I had known he was on the side of the justife I never would've got involved.

The below is copied and pasted straight from the doc. Except the redactions are my own, to protect me and my loved ones.

IN THE LATHER GAMES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF R/WETSHAVING

LATHER GAMES

v.

REDACTED (defendant)

---

CRIMINAL NO. 9985/24/cg

VIOLATIONS:

Count 1: 24 L.G.C. §SC.28 (Frugal Friday)

INDICTMENT

• The Defendant, REDACTED was the 9th Champion of the Lather Games and a candidate for re-championment in 2024.

• In order to do this the defendant resorted to a plethora of different methods to retain advantage over the pack. This included using multiple brushes, soaps, razors in order to meet the criteria for the games.

• Despite having a range of brushes the defendant chose to use their hands on wildcard wednesday therefore bringing their hands into their shave den as brushes

• Established Lather Games case law has shown that hands cannot be procured and that ownership of a hand is not a requirement to shave. A hand brush is therefore intentionally and not inadvertently owned.

• Despite using his hands as a brush and his knowledge of the book of case law the defendant chose to use a brush, instead of his hands which he had already submitted as a ‘brush’ that he owns

• This was done to gain advantage in the 2024 Lather Games, by seeking to illegally procure points that he is not eligible for. This includes .5 special theme points, and between 1 and 5 bonus points depending on the severity of his crime

Los Dupe — Special counsel

Lather games department of Djustice

---

June 28, 2024 – LG 28: Frugal Friday

• Brush: Maggard Purple Swirl Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech (user grade)
• Blade: Voskhod (11)
• Lather: Arko – Arko Shave Stick
• Post Shave: Suave – Vitamin Revitalizing Lotion
• Fragrance: Beverly Hill Polo Club – Blaze

Of course to me today’s challenge we went cheap all the things. Cheapest brush was my maggard synthetic (barely beating a couple boars). I have a cheap Amazon badger, but that’s was mostly cheap in quality but quite pricey in terms of the kit it came in. Ladas per maggard were cheapest blades. Went with a user grade tech. Software, arko stick, some suave lotion, and Beverley hills polo club body spray curtesy of a former student. Long story short, I brought in some shave gear/soap with some students as part of a little show and tell thing and talked about liking fragrances. Thoughtful gift despite missing the mark. Here’s the breakdown below.

Brush: 11.95 (now $13.95 FWIW)
Razor: originally ~.49. Inflation ~6.50. Purchased for like 4-6
Blade: Ladas, .75, or .15 each
Soap: arko stick, $3, or .04 per gram
AS: suave, $4.69 (nice), .00495 per mL
Frag: $10, or .11 per mL

So, all gear was about $32, but roughly $17.25 per shave assuming 2g soap and 2mL lotion and frag. I’d argue the linking factor today is them being cheap and smelling cheap. It’s a disgrace that I was in Penhaligons, PDM, and Guerlain yesterday and wear this crap today. The things we do for LG…

For #FOF arko is like a citronella mosquito repellent candle mixed with urinal cake. Mine is special edition and unintentionally also soaked in lilac vegetal. Suave smells like generic lotion. The atomizer did not get any of it out that I transferred from the big bottle at home, but am also now realizing I few items in there but not in this pic were left out of my den tour. The Beverley Hills Polo Club Blaze, according to wiki scents “Its Top notes are Cedar, Cardamom, Black Leather, Patchouli, Red Sage, Saffron, Lavender, Vervain, Red Grapefruit, Cranberry, Italian Lemon. Mid notes are Black Leather, Patchouli, Red Sage, Saffron, Lavender, Red Grapefruit, Cranberry, Italian Lemon, Cedar, Cardamom, Vervain and Base notes are Patchouli, Red Sage, Saffron, Black Leather, Red Grapefruit, Cranberry, Italian Lemon, Lavender, Vervain, Cedar, Cardamom.” I’d argue worse than axe sprays. I also like how top, mid, and base are all the same but just in different order. This specimen is the “body spray” and not EDT, though I think the quicker it goes away the better.

For #PHOTOCONTEST we went with black and white. What better way to make a cheap shave classy?

June 28, 2024 – Frugal Friday

• Brush: Green Boar Brush
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector Blade
• Lather: Red House Farm – Prairie Dog
• Post Shave: Thayer’s - Original
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon – Old Glory solid cologne.

Yesterday I deeply upset another member, u/putneycj, with my frivolous water usage. I want to apologize and make it up to him in the most frugal way possible. Today I used precisely 1 cup of water for the entirety of my shave from brush soak to final pass.

• The Lather: Since this is frugal Friday I wanted to make sure I used only what I needed and what was the cheapest item of that variety in my den. To that end I started by soaking my tiny little green boar brush (given to me by u/2SaintsDude) in 1 cup of warm water. You can currently find what I believe is this brush (there is no branding) on Walmart for a whopping $0.79. While this was happening, I measured out 1 g of soap into my cheapest “shaving bowl.” I went straight from the soaking and right to lathering so as to conserve the precious little water I allotted myself. This soap lathers beautifully though even with the worlds cheapest brush.
• The Shave: After looking at current pricing, I determined the Schick injector to be my cheapest razor in my den and equipped it with its cheapest blade. I shaved using only the original brush soaking water and used that same water to rinse after I finished.
• Aftershave/Frag: My cheapest aftershave by ounce is definitely Thayer’s Original. Not only is the bottle massive by comparison it costs only $8. My cheapest Frag has to be Duke Cannon’s Old Glory Solid cologne. Its cheap and seems to last forever.
• Theme/Challenge: I used the cheapest of everything in my collection. Bowl, brush, razor, blade, aftershave, and frag. Please see the cost breakdown and analysis for how much I saved.
• Cost Per Item:
• Soap: I used 1 g of soap and at $.1058 per gram that is $.11
• Aftershave: To determine my actual aftershave usage I decided to go by weight and weighed the bottle pre and post shave as well as weighing a 5 mL sample of the aftershave to get a proper conversion (13 g / 5 mL). Using that I found that I used 2 g (.76 mL) of aftershave at $.032 per mL or $.02.
• Frag: I tried using weight to determine my frag usage, but the difference in weight was immeasurable on my cheap scale. As best as I can determine it was less than .5g and I will split the difference between that and 0 with an estimated usage of .25g. This makes my Frag ($13.33 per ounce) for the day cost $0.12.
• Brush: At $0.79 and likely to get no more than 100 awful shaves, I estimate about $0.01
• Razor: Schick Injector razors can currently be found for 29.99 on Murphy and McNeil. I will give it a 10 year usage estimate and make its cost per daily shave $0.01.
• Blade: Having never used an injector blade to its maximum I have to estimate the lifespan for me to be approximately 30 shaves. At about $0.68 per blade that brings the days blade cost to $0.02.
• Bowl: The bowl set me back $10 but due to the fact it is stainless steal and unlikely to ever need be replaced the cost calculation per shave is effectively $0.
• Water: I used 1 cup at $2.93 per 748 gallons for a grand total of $0.00024. More importantly I hope putneycj is appeased with this water ~~frugality~~ conservation.
• Cost Analysis: The up front cost for the items used for today is approximately $142.79 with a large portion of it being the purchase of blades in bulk. By purchasing it in that way, however, the total cost for todays shave comes down to a measly $0.29 or . 1 cartridge easy costs 10 times that price and that doesn’t account for the canned goop, aftershave, and frag that would be used with it. I am quite happy to be saving so much money with my shave today and with my current stock I should be able to have this cheap of a shave for the next 20 years. Obviously I plan to live longer than that so I will continue to stock up and keep the savings going longer.
• Acknowledgement: This tub of Red House Farm – Prairie Dog was won in a PIF put on by u/grindermonk

I have video proof, but since I can’t have my voice or face in the video for work reasons I’ve deleted the link. I never expected judges to watch my whole videos and only look to see that I did what I said and give a contrast to todays frugal shave. Sorry whoever judged yesterday’s, and just so you know the water gets reused on agriculture so it is not wasted.

User gets very precise on measuring the cost of this shave, down to the water he used.

June 28, 2024

• Brush: L'Occitane Plisson Synthetic
• Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
• Blade: Bolzano Superinox (German) (16)
• Lather: Williams - Mug Soap - Soap
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Musk - After Shave Cologne
• Fragrance: Eau Factory - Noble - EdT

WMS cost $1.75, or $1 per oz. Of course now that it's "unobtanium", it costs a bit more. It is not worth the inflated price, but it was absolutely worth $1.75. It's decent soap!

AV Musk was $3 for 3.5 oz.

This bottle of EdT was $10 at Lidl.

I used an expensive razor, blade, and not my cheapest brush, so I didn't really complete the daily challenge.

June 28, 2024

• Brush: Stirling Boar 24mm
• Razor: ~~Assured For Men TTO Safety Razor~~
• Razor: Gillette 7 o'Clock Tech Clone (India)
• Blade: Astra Green (1)
• Lather: Derby - Lemon
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Ice Sport
• Fragrance: Five Below - CEO Pour Homme

I was not looking forward to this day.

The soap is fine. I traded this soap with another r/wetshaving member, but kept back enough for today's shave, because at 4.49 USD for 3.3 oz., it was by FAR the cheapest soap I own. It's also not great. And smells a bit like lemon Pledge. But it's fine.

The aftershave is fine. It smells really generic and chemical-y. But it's fine. It goes away quickly.

The frag is surprisingly nice. It is a pretty faithful recreation of Hugo Boss that I found at Five Below last summer.

The blade is fine. I don't usually use Astras, but they're fine.

This fucking razor though. It's terrible. The gaps are all over the place. It rattles and chatters and just can't give a good shave. It wasn't even worth the $1 I paid for it. And I couldn't come up with a reason why I haven't thrown it away.

So I was going to do that. But then I realized that the asshole judges might say that if it's in my garbage, it's still in my collection, because it could still be used.

Ok! I'll throw it in my trash compactor!

But then I realized that it's not 1988, and my house doesn't have a trash compactor.

How can I ensure that it's not usable, so it won't be considered part of my collection?

Just then, u/ktturtlesue asked if I wanted to go to a Lobster Truck. For those of you who haven't been to a Lobster Truck, it's like a taco truck, but with lobster. Sometimes, like in this case, there are lobster tacos. The tacos are optional, the lobster isn't.

Anyway - I was struck by a bolt of brilliance. As Americans, we're legally required to drive giant vehicles that weigh approximately 2 metric tons. The vehicle could easily dispose of a 2 oz. mostly plastic razor so that it would be completely unusable, and no longer in my collection.

I waited until she was going to back the van out, and slid the razor underneath her tire. She then backed over it. And then went forward just to make sure it was completely dead. Yep, it's unusable now

So now, I'm using a cheap Gillette Tech clone that u/PhilsophicalZombie sent me. It retails for $6.99, and is definitely cheap. But it shaves just fine. Now given that hideous razor is gone, it felt so dang good to save money by wet shaving today. Just don't look in the first drawer of my bathroom. Or the second, or third. Under the sink is bad too, as is my office closet. Definitely haven't spent $600 on shipping through PirateShip in the last two years, plus all the smushes I've sent all over the globe. Nope.

June 28, 2024 – Lather Games 2024 Day 28: ~~Whiney Bitch~~ Frugal Friday

• Brush: Omega Bambino
• Razor: Assured For Men TTO Safety Razor
• Blade: Gillette Wilkinson Sword (Saloon Pack) (1)
• Lather: Arko – Shave Stick
• Post Shave: Assured for Men – Original Scent
• Fragrance: Parfums Belcam – Black Classic Match

It’s Friday and we’re using all the cheap stuff!

Use of Theme: Frugal Friday

Daily Challenge: Frugal Friday

Lather: Arko – Shave Stick ($0.024/g)

Say what you want, derogatory or otherwise, about Arko Shave Sticks. It’s my first time using one and I’m not unsatisfied with it. Again, Arko users get a lot of chuckles and ribbing, but if that’s all I had to use, there’s nothing wrong with it. Does it smell a little funny? Yes, but that’s what aftershave and fragrance is for, to cover that shit up.

Assured for Men TTO Safety Razor ($0.038/g)

When am I gonna learn my lesson and throw these things in the trash? As long as they are in my house, I have to use one of them. Not a one of my cheap razors is any cheaper than the Dollar(Twenty-Five) Tree Assured Razors that I keep around. Why didn’t I stop at one? The first one, a TTO I’m pretty sure I bought before the 25% jack in price, broke into pieces before I could even ~~self flagellate~~ shave with it, so I bought another one. (One must take care to use that word, flagellate, as we all know autocorrect would probably change it to fellate, though self-fellation and self-flagellation are certainly mutually and arguably metaphorical for what we actually do around here.) The others I bought to test the mettle of ~~suckers~~ ~~unwary blood donors~~ volunteers in a few contests we held at previous Ohio Wet Shavers Meetups. Now having figured out the secret—an extremely light touch—I could use this razor if someone pointed a gun to my head every morning.

Omega 50068 Bambino White Handle ($8.50)

I always defaulted to my cheap-ass Perfecto brush for today as it felt cheaper than its $16.98 price tag. I’ve since acquired some Omega brushes that feel decidedly better than their cheap price tags. Te cheapest brush is now my Omega Bambino that, when I get fully broken in, should be a fine brush to take traveling as well as use any time. I think the Omega brushes could represent the gold standard for frugality. Go get some!

Gillette Wilkinson Sword (Saloon Pack) ($0.07)

These could be a blade I’d use every day, and I ordered many for just that. They are now in my Top Five and are the least expensive per blade that I probably have. The aren’t the sharpest, but they always give me a consistent shave. Just what you want when you are a ~~tightass cheapskate~~ frugal shaver.

Assured for Men – Original Scent ($0.01/mL)

Let’s talk about covering that shit up. Assured for Men ain’t gonna do it. It is certainly aftershave, has alcohol and some fragrance in it, but that’s about it. Not covering up much. Let’s try to be cheap and exciting with our fragrance.

Parfums Belcam – Black Classic Match – EdT ($0.11/mL)

It says it smells just like Polo Black, and I’m sure it does. Cheap and exciting, right? Well, there’s a reason it doesn’t say “projects just like…” or “lasts as long as…” ‘cause it’s cheap. Spray it on at the end of your fancy-schmancy date night and it’ll last for about three minutes, and that’s probably about the right amount of time.

Have a great rest of your day and be kind to one another.

LG 27 - Frugal Friday

• Brush: Hands
• Razor: Stick-o-Blade
• Blade: Non replaceable Personna (2)
• Lather: Palmolive Classic Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Brut - Original
• Fragrance: Parera - Colonia Varon Dandy

---

Shave bill:

• Hands ............. 0
• Stick-o-Blade ..... 0 (McDonald's loaned)
• Personna .......... 0.4
• Palmolive Classic . 1.35 (full)
• Brut Original...... 3.54
• Varon Dandy........ 6.75 (1 Liter)

Around 1€ Shave

No four-legged animal suffered any harm or torture during the recording of this video.

There was a lot of tension in the shaving, recording with one hand and shaving with the other, I was on the verge of giving up a couple of times, letting go of the phone and finishing the shave with two hands but I continued until the end. I survived the experience (turn sound on).

I didn't record it completely because at the beginning of the second pass, I forgot to put the phone in video recording and I took a photo instead.You miss the part where I scream and whimper.

.#FOF I took off my shirt and flooded my body with Varon Dandy's manliness.

---

Player uses stick (coffee stirrer?) as razor to achieve maximum frugality. Warning: video contains some weepers

Jun. 28, 2024

• Brush: Viking Revolution Badger #WEDONTNEEDNOSTINKINGBADGERS #SMOLL

• Razor: Viking Revolution

• Blade: Astra Green [1]

• Lather: Ach Brito - Musgo

• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Ice Blue

• Fragrance: Lattafa - Eternal Oud

Frugal Friday.

I hate this day. I did not think I was going to, but I do. There was only 2 good things about today’s shave. 1: Musgo I like it a lot. First time using it but I’m a fan 2: that it’s over

Holy shit that was terrible. The brush and razor are the first ones I owned. I bled more today than I did the first time I used a Weck. Hell I used a straight the other day for the first time blood free. The brush…. Fuck me running it felt like I was lathering my face with a cactus, hence today’s photo contest theme. That brush was so scratchy that I’m going to use it for mosquito bites. When it was all said and done I splashed the Aqua Velva on my face that shit burned bad enough to make we wince. I hate this challenge

Todays daily challenge

Musgo $.09 a gram Brush $9.88

Razor $17.88

Blade Astra $.08

Aqua Velva $1.56 oz

Eternal Oud $10.29 oz

Photo Contest. Cactus because of that damn brush.

#ROTY #FOF #photocontest

27 June 2024 Complementary Non Dickkhole Kool 3D

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Ouomo Unsullied 25mm
• Razor: Ever Ready Streamline
• Blade: GEM (43)
• Lather: Kool - 3D (2)
• Post Shave: Nivea Sensitive Balm A/S
• Post Shave: Thayer's Concoction
• Post Shave: Good Oleo
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented Balm
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Waking Dream

Free Bangladeshi soap from the ILG. Apparaently a 100gm tube costs 85 BDT.

Razor won from ILG in the 2020 games

Fragrance sample provided by somebody

Brush on loan from /u/tonality

Cheers

Frugal Friday

• Brush: Proraso Brush
• Razor: Qhave adjustable
• Blade: BIC
• Lather: Arko Stick

photocontest

Darkness

Today’s Challenge:

Frugal Friday. Everything is the cheapest I have, but I have to admit that the Qshave is a great razor and Arko stick is very good, as I really enjoy the scent. BIC are my to go blades recently and the Proraso brush is cheap when you buy it in Italy

June 28, 2024 Frugral Friday

• Brush: Omega 10049 #HOLLOW #OLDWORLD #TOLL
• Razor: Schick Injector N1
• Blade: Schick Injector (16)
• Lather: William's - Mug Soap
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Ice Blue
• Fragrance: Eau Studio - Defiance

Challenge: Let’s see how much money wetshaving has saved me!

• The Schick Injector N1 was $2 in 1980. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $7.62 in 2024 dollars.
• I only have Schick blades for the injector. So, these are the cheapest at ~$1.22 per blade.
• The Omega 10049 sells for $10.
• Williams Mug Soap sold for $1.25 for 50 g (1.75 oz), which works out to 2.5 cents per grams. My next cheapest was Arko shave stick at 4 cents per gram.
• Aqua Velva Ice Blue sells for $4.98 at Walmart for 7 oz, making it ~71 cents per ounce.
• Eau Studio is a Lidl store brand of fragrances. I paid $5 for this bottle, which is ~$1.97 per fl.oz.
• Grand total = $30.07

This is my same setup from last year. I haven’t bought anything cheaper. We're getting to the point in the Lather Games where I'm forgetting what hardware I've used for tags. I don't know why I'm freaking out. I think I maxed out on hardware points more than a week ago.

I don't think I'll ever be able to shave with, or look at, Williams Mug Soap without thinking of u/CosmoBarber’s epic GaryTha prank. It boggles my mind that this soap is still being flipped for as much as $20 a puck. Or, that anyone who likes wetshaving enough to participate in an online shaving community would freak out about it being discontinued. It’s not easy to lather. I had to work the soap for 2-3 minutes, adding water, until it finally lathered up. It was okay. I shaved. I didn’t cut myself. I can maybe smell a little bit of lavender. But, it’s basically unscented. This stuff is as "no frills” as it gets (got?). It was a frugal man’s soap. Sure, it was so cheap the only other option at the price point was canned goop. But, you know what? I shaved with Barbasol this month. It was easier to lather, more convenient, and provided similar performance. If you enjoy wetshaving enough to be reading this, buy better soap.

Aqua Velva contains astringent and fragrance, and nothing else; not even witch hazel. Oh, wait. There’s menthol. Why do all commercial shave products contain menthol? Is it cheaper to give the impression of relief with the cooling effect of menthol than using skin food ingredients? I mentioned it last year: there’s an Aqua Velva ad on the Williams Mug Soap box. Williams makes Aqua Velva, so it makes sense. The fragrance is a mishmash of leather, lavender, lemon, mint, and oakmoss. There’s no depth. It’s everything all at once and it doesn’t develop over time. It's a classic drug store fragrance, and a bare bones aftershave.

I had to check my previous posts to make sure I hadn’t already used Defiance. This is another Eau Studio frag from Lidl. I don’t know which fragrance this is meant to smell like. The top notes are aromatic, green like crushed leaves, and iris or jasmine. The base notes coming through at the moment are musky, woody, and amber. It’s lightly powdery and I smell a tinge of citrus. It’s sophisticated, and It got a compliment today.

#photocontest - money

#FOF

06.28.2024- I’ve saved so much money switching to wetshaving…or something like that.

• Prep: Shower

• Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom Tech

• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum

• Brush: Omega 10049

• Lather: Stirling - Island Man - Soap

• Post: Stirling - Island Man - Splash

My first foray into wetshaving was a Van Der Hagen razor set I bought at Target. I tried the soap, tore my face to shit because I sucked at lathering and went back to goop. Eventually that razor broke and rather than buying a new one I returned to cartridges. I hated shaving and would put it off at all costs. Flash forward to the pandemic and being at home was an opportunity to just not shave to the chagrin of my wife. While cleaning out my medicine cabinet I found that shitty busted DE and decided to try it again. If I have to shave I might as well make it an experience.

Upon researching, WCS flashy site caught my attention and I picked up a few things, a Merkur 33C, Silvertip badger brush, some Feather blades because Uncle Geo said they’re the best, and some soaps and creams. I tried the soaps and no surprise my lathering sucked so I stuck with the Proraso and TOBS.

Determined to get the soap to lather I decided to research and found this place. I lurked and read and learned and also bought a WCS synthetic since they are less finicky. Upon successfully lathering the WCS ~~dickfart~~ duckfat soap I was blown away my the superiority to what I was using. I proceeded to test the waters with some other brands, Barrister and Mann and A&E. That was the beginning of the end of my demise into “saving money” and just headfirst down the rabbit hole.

As someone who has over 100 sets and more razors, blades and brushes that any rational person should own. I leave this piece of advice to anyone new to the sub or hobby. “Don’t do what I did.” I am not a rational person and there is no reason for a collection of shaving soaps. Which is what brings me to this shave and why for frugality purposes it is all a person should need.

First off, let’s start with the razor. The Tech has been around since the 1930’s and revolutionized the way Gillette made safety razors. It was given to every American soldier in WWII and if it was good enough for them it’s good enough for me. The experience can be tailored by switching the blade, me personally like something sharp like a Feather but for frugality purposes the Astras are cheaper and good enough. These are great for someone starting out because a decent one can be had in eBay for not much money. Omega brushes are under appreciated and shunned my many due to their inexpensive price point. This one was $10 off Amazon. It was scrubby at first but once those tips start splitting it softens up and is as nice as other boar brushes. Breaking it in and seeing how it changes is part of the experience and fun. LASTLY, the soap…I shunned Stirling at first because of the price. I assumed it wasn’t as good as other brands because of the cost. Well wasn’t I wrong. Stirling is a helluva deal with the cost per ounce being $2.45 for the huge 5.8oz pour. Is it even possible to kill a tub?! Even the samples are generous and capable of many shaves. Rods soap base is nothing fancy but is a reliable daily driver that lathers easily. As far as scents are concerned the selection is endless and a person could be quite content for some time before using another brand.

So make the financially sound decision of buying a vintage Tech, a boar brush, and some Stirling soap samples and give yourself a frugal but damn fine shave.

LG24-28: Frugal Friday

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. Green & Ivory 24mm Synthetic 2-Band Synthentic Knot
• Razor: BAILI BR 176
• Blade: Perma-Sharp Super [1]
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Satsuma - Soap
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger - Face Tonic - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Mandarina Duck - The Duckers: Into The Jungle - Eau de Toilette

So after taking into account market price and excluding soaps that I bought on sale, Stirling still comes in as the cheapest soap at almost USD $0.09 per gram or $2.58 an ounce. The Stirling synthetic brush is currently USD $13.99. While I bought it on sale, even at market price it's still the cheapest.

The BAILI was USD $10.99 and 100 Permasharp blades comes out to USD $0.17 a blade, Lucky Tiger comes out to USD $0.05 per ml, and the fragrance only set me back 0.25€ per ml.

The bright citrus notes from Satsuma and Lucky Tiger worked well together and were a base for Into the Jungle to come into its own.

Edit: The missing Lather has been located. Thanks to everyone who sent out the alerts.

June 28, 2024

• Brush: Omega Penelli White HI-BRUSH Synthetic
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Schick Injector
• Lather: Cella – Milano Crema Da Barba
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Samhain

Cella is the cheapest wetshaving soap/product I got with price of $1.01usd/oz. aftershaves I am blessed to have some good ones from HoM, B&M, etc and the cheapest is actually this Samhain from SW. this Schick I bought for 5 dollars and I only have one blade type for it. I may have felt good saving money today…but not anywhere close overall. For cella, it is an almond scent. Not an almond nut but a slightly sweet dessert almond. Specifically, I would say frangipan. Others may say marzipan but that is too sweet. Cella is a subtle sweet. A singular note, but pleasant. It reminds me of an apple galette that I like to make based on Alice Water’s. A butter pie or galette crust, peeled apples interior, and drizzled with apple skin/core glaze. Delicious as is but what makes the whole thing is frangipan smeared on the bottom on the crust. It’s two fold. 1) it tastes really good and natural almond flavor compliments apples while adding complexity to the galette and 2) it absorbs juices (contains flour) while providing a barrier (contains butter) for the crust from the juices. It’s becomes perfectly browned and crusty, with a butter crust when made right is flaky, and the frangipan + apple + glaze adds so much more than the regular apple pie does alone. As before – let me know if you would like a recipe.

I used the theme “time” by making a sundial with my razor today. It’s arguably the most accurate device ever created, and it’s frugally the best way to tell time #photocontest

fof

DAY 28 LATHER GAMES! FRUTALITY!

• Prep: Water
• Brush: Studio Pro SB020 #RUNT #SMOLL
• Razor: Chinese no name razor
• Blade: Minora
• Lather: Kupa - shaving cream
• Post Shave: Zdrave - universal hydrating cream
• Fragrance: Shirley May - Darknet EdP

Last year I heard the judges talk on the podcast, about how some people went out of their way to buy some cheap stuff, which wasn't the point of this challenge. So for this year, it's stuff that I've had for some time and were not bought for the challenge itself. Also I could have done a 0$ shave, but that's also not interesting, cause one of everything needed that has been gifted to me at some point.

As is the theme that I'm trying to follow this year, today I went full frugal. Here is a summary of what I did today and what money I spent. Note that I could have not eaten or drank water at all, but that would be too scrub and requires not much effort, I've done it far too many times, just because I was lazy.

For food, there was a visit to the market and went straight to the discounted section. Got me some bread for 0.60$, some discounted Lyutenica(tomatoes, peppers and spices blended up to make a paste, it's amazing) for 2$. And that was the meal for the whole day done! Whole day for 2.50$. Hydration wasn't a problem, just drank the water from the tap, around 2 litres. Price for 1 cubic(1000 litres, that's how we measure it here) cold water is 3.30$(current currency exchange). So that's like 0.0066$ for hydration. And I should actually double that, cause that's how much I used for the shave.

Next we have showering. I used strictly cold water, and was very quick. My usage was 10 litres, so 0.033$. For the sake of frugality I didn't smoke, didn't use air conditioning, didn't use lights, didn't charge my phone.

Daily money spent comes to a total of 2.6462$. Not bad.

Let's get on with the shave.

Let's first show the prices of each item(misspelling for the bot):

• WATUUUUR: 0.0066$ (2 litres for the whole shave)
• RAZUUUUR: 0.35$

You may be wondering, what kind of razor this is, that only costs 0.35$. Well last year I wanted to use this razor, but I couldn't find it and thought I had thrown it away, early this year it was found in a drawer and I though "Oh I'm keeping this for the LG Frugal Day!". The story is that 3 years ago, while scrolling AliExpress I wanted to find the cheapest razor, and so I did, I just couldn't resist not to get it! The big upside to this razor is that it's basically made from tin or something like that. I say upside, because the top cap is so soft that one can bend and mold it to whatever shape he likes, he can make it shave more or less aggressive! In the end it shaves pretty badly, but it gets the job done. I think this razor can get easily 1000 shaves(if you clean it and disassemble it) or more before it gives out, but for the sake of conversation, let's say it lasts you one year of shaves, 365.

That makes it 0.00098630136$ per shave.

• BROOOOSH: 1.13$

This brush is the most hideous thing I've ever used, If I was told that this was the only brush that I could use for the rest of my life, I'd just not shave or use my hands. The bristles are as hard as steel and you can only lather in a bowl with this. Upside is that it's great for picking up soap from a triple milled puck. My honest opinion is that this is a forever brush, I don't think It would ever give out, judging by the way it was built. Soo let's give it 1000 uses just as a benchmark.

That makes it 0.00113$ per shave.

• BLAIIIID: 0.056$

I used a Gillette Minora, since it's the cheapest one I have. A pack of 10 is 0.56$ and so far I've been able to get around 15 shaves per blade, if I was sgrdddy I'd smash this category, but alas I am not.

That makes it 0.00373$ per shave.

• LADUUUUR: 1$

For cream/soap I usually use around a gram per shave. But since today is FF I was stingy AF. I used 0.2g of cream, just enough to make lather for one pass ATG. The tube is 100ml.

That makes it 0.002$ per shave.

• POSTSHAV: 3$

For postshave I had something else in mind, but it seems I have given it away and forgotten. So this cream was used instead. The size of the tub is 145g and I used 0.5g.

That makes it 0.015$ per shave.

• PARFUUUM: 4.40$

For the EdP I did 1 spray of the bottle. It is a 100ml bottle. Looked it up the internet, that approximately 8 sprays equate to a gram.

That makes it 0.0055$ per shave.

• GRAND TOTAL OF GEAR: 9.41$
• COST PER SHAVE: 0.04$(rounded up)
• Note: Everything has been weighed before and after use just to keep consistency with the numbers.

Daily Lather Themes: 28/30

• Daily Challenges: 28/30
• Hardware Scavenger Hunt: 20/20
• Hardware Vendor Points: 2/2
• Software Vendor Points: 15/16
• Software Vendor Bonus Point: 0/1
• 30 Different Soap Brands Point: 28/30
• 30 Different Soaps On Theme Bonus Point: 28/30
• 30 Different Post-Shaves Bonus Point: 28/30

June 28, 2024 – Frugal Friday, Home Surgery Edition

• Brush: Commonwealth 'CW' Badger, purchased on Ebay
• Razor: Krisp Beauty DE safety razor, purchased on Ebay
• Blade: Gillette – Super Stainless (Green)
• Lather: Proraso – Shaving Cream for Sensitive Skin (White)
• Post Shave: Clubman Pinaud – Aftershave Lotion
• Fragrance: Sensual Scents by Lin – Perfume Oil (dupe of Ferragamo Incanto)

Frugality, Poverty, and Home Surgery

“Ah Poverty, you slut! Why do you stay? Why love me when I hate you?” (Theognis, 6th century BCE)

For some reason I’m inclined to associate today’s theme with poverty, even though frugality and poverty are of course not the same thing. That probably says something about me.

I also wasn’t sure how to made an on-theme SOTD picture, but then I remembered that earlier today I performed minor home surgery (urgent care is too far away). So in addition to the usual shaving supplies, the picture shows rudimentary home surgical tools used—safety pin, Feather blades, matches, bandages, antiseptic ointment.

Daily Challenge

For the shave I used Proraso White. I don’t excel at math but I ran the calculations and Proraso cream appears much cheaper per gram that even my most inexpensive shaving soap (Shannon’s). As it happens this tube of Proraso represents my foray into wet shaving less than a year ago, as does the CW brush and Krisp Beauty razor that I purchased off Ebay. I was worried that wet shaving might not take (I’ve always had sensitive skin), so didn’t wanna spend lots of money up front. The Clubman Pinaud is (I think) the cheapest aftershave I own, and the fragrance I’m using is a dupe available from this Etsy seller.

Brush Stokes

There are countless depictions of Diogenes the Cynic, who’s variously shown living in a barrel, carrying a lantern during daytime, or meeting Alexander (scroll down for an adorable painting with the human figures replaced by dogs). I'd like to highlight this 1882 example by the English painter John William Waterhouse because I like the way it depicts the philosopher dwelling in his barrel.

#ROTY

LG 2024- June 28th “Cost savings… sure”

• Brush: Elite Razor Custom Synthetic Birch
• Razor: Razorock GC .84
• Blade: Lord Platinum (6)
• Lather: Proraso - white
• Post Shave: Stetson splash
• Frag: Stirling - Arkadia

I’ve been wetshaving for 13 yrs.

For 11 of those years I actually did see significant cost savings because my setup was: - one razor
- one brush
- Proraso green cream
- And I bought a massive blade sampler that literally lasted me 10 yrs.

Then in late 2022 I shaved off my beard and wanted to up my game so bought some Barrister and Mann Soap and a new synthetic brush for myself for Christmas… and here were are. Sharing my daily shaves with like minded internet strangers:).

Challenge: Cheap lather, proraso is currently $10 on Amazon, check. I bought the Stetson splash for maybe 6 bucks at Walmart, check. I only own one razor so check. of the brushes that are not currently boxed away traveling across the country the Elite razor is the cheaper of the 2, check.

ROTY

Jun. 28, 2024
Brush: Omega 10049
Razor: Gillette Fat Handle Tech
Blade: Astra SP * Lather: Godrej - Cinthol Cool Menthol
Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Classic Ice Blue

The Omega 10049 is $9.80 on Amazon. The Fat Handle Tech originally sold for $0.49 in 1938, which today is ~$10.63 adjusted for inflation. Astra SP blade $0.08. Godrej Shave Cream is $4.95 for the tube or $0.06/gram. And finally Aqua Velva $4.24 for the bottle or $0.02/ml.

ROTY

June 28, 2024 – Fun Affordables

• Brush: Omega 10065
• Razor: Diane Double Edge Shaver
• Lather: Cella – Milano Crema Da Barba
• Post Shave: Pinaud – Clubman

The true highlight of today’s shave is the Diane Razor. Picked this 2 piece plastic razor on my lunch break on day 9 of this month, Shave and a Haircut…”. Stepped out at lunch and walked a couple blocks down to the black beauty shop in search of some barbering supplies scents I’d never from my own upbringing. And surely enough I found Clubman. I always hated the smell of the talc as a child but since wetshaving have been more open to the powdery world of scents so I picked it up. The only other options were brut, razor bump specific creams, and Pinaud hair tonics. I stuck with what was familiar. And it is a charming scent. BUT, on the way out I spotted this little beauty sitting on top of a pile of random dusty forgotten products for a mere $2.99, with two included Kai blades to boot. Suck on that Assured for Men!

Here a little gallery of the razor if you’re so inclined. Per their website it looks like they refreshed their branding since this razor was produced. They promote themselves as a grooming company founded in 1954 that serves many ethnicities but specializes in textured hair. Checking the current men’s grooming line they sadly do not produce a safety razor but have multiple shavettes marketed as straight razors and even sell a boar lathering brush.

This razor was pretty forgiving. Comparing with a slim adjustable it seemed about the same as a three. Fine shave in a pinch and perfect for the theme and challenge of this day.

Cella was exactly Cella, yummy European almond with good performance. And clubman was clubman. Also, I can’t stop from raving about this Omega I got for $7.75 from Maggards. All and all it was a nice change of pace tonight and got me outside my usual shopping and shaving routine. They helped to make a fun SOTD phototo boot!

Enjoy the shave between the blades!

OP found this ultra-cheap razor in a barbershop and shows it off.

Good post, but really just commenting to highlight the fantastic photo.

June 28, 2024 – Larger Games: Day 28  

• Brush: Shavemac w/ AP Shave Co 26mm Pure Bliss™ SHD Premium Synthetic Knot  
• Razor: Blackland Osprey  
• Blade: Astra SP (Green)   
• Lather: Clubman Pinaud Shave Soap  
• Post Shave: Mennen – Skin Bracer  

Clubman Pinaud is my cheapest soap, and it performs like it. It’s not slick and seems almost impossible to create a decent larger. The scent is the only good thing I can say it has. Avoid this soap unless you hate yourself.

6/28/24

• Brush: Stirling x Zenith 510 SE
• Razor: Kampfe STAR Lather Catcher
• Lather: Arko Shave Stick
• Post Shave: Pinuad - Clubman Aftershave Lotion

Stirling x Zenith 510 SE: $22.80

Kampfe Lather Catcher: $50

Arko Shave Stick: $2.87

Pinuad Clubman: $9

Total: $84.67

This is the cheapest shave I could manage. I have some things that may be valued at less, like a brush or some GEMs, but I didn't pay for those. Either gifted, traded, or won. Everything in this shave I paid for.

After having had a MOAR BOAR, I at least had to get one of the Zenith x Stirling boars. I went with the 28mm since MB was already 31mm. Just to change it up a little.

This Kampfe I picked up off the zaar for a crazy good price. I've always loved lather catchers, and this was my first. It is such a beautiful razor. It is also the cheapest razor in my rotation.

This stick of Arko I picked up for last years LG for "So Fluffy..." Day. It's a cheap soap, and the smell just smells like hand soap. Performance is mid. If I had to only use Arko, I'd just grow a beard.

Clubman is one of the 🐐 imo and should be in every den. It's also my cheapest splash. I love this scent, and it's a good performing splash. My skin always feels hydrated and refreshed after using it.

Jun. 28, 2024
Brush: Omega Boar Brush
Razor: Parker 78r
Blade: Parker Blade [1]
Lather: Arko Soap
Post Shave: Thayers - Witch Hazel Original - Aftershave
Post Shave: Nivea - Post Shave Balm - Balm

So arko is not my favorite scent but I bought it. I think I bought it for less than 4$. Just because why not. This is going to be like a mini review because I do not usually use these items.

First off arko. Not my favorite scent. But that guy can lather just fine even with a shitty brush.

Which brings me to my next review the omega boar brush I bought for under 12$. This brush sucks ass. No backbone at all splays like a mfer and it lost a big chunk of hair out of the middle when I first got it. Hence why I never use it. It was cheap though! You get what you pay for I suppose.

The all star was the razor. I have no idea how much this guy costs because I won it in a raffle. I think I used it once before this. Pretty mild and easy to use. I only one pass shave most of the time unless I have extra free time(which is not often) and even then I only do two passes because my skin can’t take any more. The razor is mild and somewhat efficient. I use the large cb as my daily for a reason but still I could totally fall back on this one with no problem.

Cheers to all on a Friday night!

https://imgur.com/a/dIc2hym

June 28, 2024 - Frugal Friday

• Prep: Warm Shower
• Brush: Zenith 80R Boar Brush
• Razor: Bevel Essentials Disposable
• Blade: Bevel Essentials Disposable (1)
• Lather: Arko
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Classic Ice Blue
• Fragrance: Parfum Belcam - Classic Match Polo EDT

Arko - $7.98 for a 2-pack comes out to $0.05/gram; Zenith 80R I bought off Amazon a couple of years ago for $7.99; Classic Match Polo can be found at Walmart for $7.98 or $3.19/oz; Bevel Disposable and Blade normal price is $8.46 for five or $1.69/ea.; Aqua Velva from Walmart is $4.98 or $0.71/oz.

I have come to like today's theme quite a bit. Like many, when I first got into wetshaving, I did it intending to save money. However, I quickly jumped off the deep end. Today's theme reminds me, as I tell the people I try convincing to wetshave, that wetshaving can be cheap and still enjoyable. I am so glad I saved money with today's shave, and of course, I had to remind my wife that it was shaves like today's that got me into the hobby!

Side Contest: #PHOTOCONTEST - Humor

June 28, 2024 - lamb chops?

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Tuxedo
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Electric Sheep
• Post Shave: Myrsol - Agua Balsamica
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Joker

The daily challenge and being thematic are all rolled into one today, so let's get started. Here's a pic of the whole shave setup.

I got this brush for like, $12. The only other brush I have that even comes close to that is my Chisel and Hound LG special, but it was about $5 more than the Yaqi, so Yaqi it is for today's shave.

I'm honestly not sure what kind of Tech this razor is. I know it's got a stamped diamond baseplate, so it's not British, but that's about it. even at their most expensive MSRP, controlled for inflation even, this is by far the cheapest razor I own (that isn't a cartridge since those were against the rules for today).

Next up I used the cheapest blade I have, which is this Astra. At about $0.15 per blade, it is almost half the price of my preferred Gillette Silver Blues and Wizamets.

For lather Stirling will always win this, because I refuse to buy any of the truly cheap stuff like Arko. It is completely absurd the value present in a full tub of Stirling when considering the quality of the product. Way, way, way too good for how cheap it is. (Side note, if y'all haven't tried Electric Sheep yet, get on that. This stuff is wild.)

For the post shave I went with this sample I have of Myrsol's Agua Balsamica. This was the cheapest stuff in my collection at a price of around $0.16 per milliliter. I really like this splash formula and just ordered a whole bottle. Thank god I ordered a different scent because I really hate how much this smells like roast dinner...

Lastly the frag. Thanks to u/kerblimeyskal for sharing this with me. I really enjoy this frag, which is a scent sampler for Joker in a solid cologne formulation. I am using that solid cologne to determine the price, because as far as I can tell they never sold this scent in EdP. Which means, dear reader, that this fragrance costs $0. In the past, it looks like Noble Otter has offered free samples of their scents in solid cologne form (proof of that here and here (this is their FAQ page, if you go to "Product" then "Can I get a Sample" they mention giving out free samples of scents via solid cologne)). So with no MSRP, that means this is the cheapest fragrance I own by a very large margin.

Relevance in software achieved by everything being on theme.

Today's photo contest theme is Steampunk. Please judge the photo linked in the title. To achieve Steampunk, I called my shave setup a bunch of punks, threw them in jail, then steamed up the jail real good, then took a picture of these punks in their steamy prison. This is absolutely a correct interpretation of what steam punk means and I will accept no arguments. #photocontest

ps: I tried writing the word "Punk" into the steamed up glass, but it was completely illegible so I had to change picture locations.

Frugal Friday

• Brush: Bevel Shave Brush
• Razor: Fromm Hair Shaper Razor
• Blade: Fromm - Hair Shaper Blade
• Lather: Arko - Shaving Stick
• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Classic Ice Blue Cooling After Shave

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Confluence

• *WARNING: Daily Video contains blood

Daily Gratitude
Thanks to someone in some passaround for the soap. Thanks to ShavinginCT for the fragrance. Thanks to my grandma for buying the razor, blade, and aftershave. Thanks to my mom who bought me the shave brush in a starter kit. Thanks to anyone who watches the whole vid. Thanks to the judges and fabulous people for putting this whole thing together.

Daily Mistakes
I forgot about the weird acne bump thing and I cut it.

Daily Writeup I'm saving so much money!! Especially because I didn't pay for any of this. I almost didn't post the vid because it is pretty boring and it has a lot of blood so if you are a judge, please don't waste your time. It's pretty crazy that the lather games are so close to being over, this has been super fun and I'm glad that I proved StBandicoot wrong because he said that I would quit from skin irritation from day shaving but I'm pleasantly surprised that I can actually daily shave, and after a bit of one pass shaves I found that I can pretty comfortably do a couple 3 pass shaves with no major repercussions.

Daily Theme Points All my other soaps are mad expensive lol, this is definitely my cheapest.

Daily Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance Points
This aftershave is my current cheapest aftershave, if you are wondering about the dollar store one I used for pharmacy shave day, I had to throw it away because it was terrible and I had no space. As for the frag I believe this is my cheapest frag, or at least the cheapest one that I can find.

Daily Challenge This razor was under $10 making it my cheapest razor, the blade is my cheapest hair shaper blade, and the brush is my cheapest brush because I gave away my old cheapest brushes.

Hardware Scavenger Hunt
Nothing today.

Photo Contest
Water vehicles! I spent a while using old music theory homework paper to fold this boat that ended up floating!

TL;DR
Bleeding, thanking, saving, reflecting, sailing, I win rookie of the year thank you very much give me my prize.

Side Contests #photocontest #ROTY

June 28, 2024 – LG24 Day 28 - Frugal Friday

• Brush: No Brand Cheap Brush
• Bowl: Daiso Soup Bowl
• Razor: Kingever Refillable Razor
• Blade: Kingever Stainless Steel
• Prep: Stirling Soap Co. – Unscented Preshave Soap
• Lather: RazoRock – Classic
• Post Shave: Thayers - Unscented Witch Hazel Facial Toner
• Fragrance: No Brand - 21Men2 EdP

Daily Theme, Special Challenge & Relevant Post/Frag: Last year I hunted down the cheapest ~~crap~~ hardware I could find on AliExpress and was rewarded with "absolutely the worst shaving pass I have ever experienced". Not to be outdone, this year I went ~~dumpster diving~~ shopping at Lazada.ph (the Philippines version of AliExpress) and found even cheaper stuff. The relevancy between each item I used in today's shave is that it is the cheapest I currently possess (by category) in my collection. Here they are:

a. No Brand Cheap Brush - 46 pesos / 0.79 USD. The Lazada product page listed it as "Hot Badger Hair Great Mustache Wood Men Barber Cheap Beard Tool Brush". The only descriptive words they got right were "Cheap" and "Brush". I've never seen bristles like this in any beauty brush I've encountered in my six decades of living. Quality-wise, they're not even good enough for a toilet brush.
b. Kingever Refillable Razor & Blade - 15.19 pesos / 0.26 USD. This Lazada special is a cheap Chinese knockoff of razor/blade sets sold by Gillette, Wilkinson, and Dorco, amongst others. I've used the Gillette Rubie set and was impressed with its shave quality. Would the Kingever favorably compare? Considering how much effort it took to load the blade and get it properly aligned, probably not.
c. Daiso Soup Bowl - 66 pesos / 1.13 USD. I purchased this at Daiso Philippines. The price may be cheap, but the bowl is anything but. I need my bowl to facilitate precision loading my brush with the scooped shaving soap, and it is the perfect size, shape and texture for that task, thus it's now my daily driver shaving bowl.
d. Stirling Unscented Preshave Soap - 5.00 USD for 156 g / $0.0321 per gram. I purchased this directly from Stirling. It is half the price of other preshaves I've used yet it's better than the rest. I love this stuff. Well done Stirling!
e. RazoRock Classic shaving soap - 5.99 USD for 150 ml / $0.0399 per gram. I purchased this directly from Italian Barber. It is half the price of Stirling (per gram) and 40% cheaper than my Proraso and Cella tubs. The soap is descent enough, but I'll take Stirling over this any day of the week.
f. Thayers Unscented Witch Hazel Facial Toner - 10.95 USD for 355 ml / $0.0308 per gram. I purchase this from Amazon. Thayers is by far the cheapest post I own (it's 40% cheaper than Stirling's fantastically priced witch hazel!). Even when I'm using a scented post, I use Thayers first because my skin reacts well to this stuff.
g. No Brand - 21Men2 EdP - 45 pesos for 35 ml / $0.0220 USD per gram. I purchased this at a local budget department store which specializes in selling cheap China crap. A dupe of Carolina Herrera 212 Men, the borderline IP theft of the label would normally chase me away, but its price made it a must-purchase for Frugal Friday.

Hardware Cost Breakdown	PHP Cost	USD Cost
Brush	₽46.00	$00.79
Bowl	₽66.00	$01.13
Razor	₽13.67	$00.23
Blade	₽01.52	$00.03

Total Hardware Cost: $2.18

Software Cost Breakdown	PHP per gram	USD per gram
Preshave	--	$00.0321
Lather	--	$00.0399
Post Shave	--	$00.0308
Fragrance	₽1.2857	$00.0220

Total Software Cost: $0.1248 per gram

Assuming a totally arbitrary 2 grams used for each software item, my software cost for today's shave was $0.25. Also, assuming that all hardware items were one-time use only (a smart assumption for all but the bowl) and today's shave cost $2.43. Not too bad if you're into self-mutilation.

The Frugal Shave Challenge: There's a quote some attribute to Albert Einstein that goes "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Well, based on today's shave I'm certifiably insane because I had high hope for the razor/blade set. If last year's Frugal Friday shave was my worst ever, this shave is my second worst ever! The cheap-ass brush had ZERO water/lather retention, so it functioned closer to a silicone spatula than a brush. Using the brush like a very, very short egg wisp, I was able to beat the soap sufficiently in my bowl to make a lather. I tried to paint the lather on my face, but the bristles acted like Teflon and shed all soap before I could make it to my face (to avoid losing all of my lather, I resorted to lathering my face with my fingers). And speaking of shedding, every time I moved the brush a dozen bristles dropped, so by the time I made acceptable lather, there were more bristles in the lather than remained on the brush.

As bad as the brush was, the razor/blade set was worse. No matter what blade angle or head pressure I used, the razor/blade sucked. By the time I finished 2 passes, my face was on fire from razor burn, and everywhere the blade touched was as red as Jolly Saint Nick's cheeks! Good thing my cheapest post was Thayers, because my skin needed some relief. I encountered a first with witch hazel, it stung on contact similar to how alcohol does after a good shave. Stinging witch hazel, that's how irritated my skin was. I needed two doses of Thayers to get my face to relax. I finished with the frag and was pleasantly surprised by its descent scent, or maybe because the shave sucked so bad the frag appeared good in comparison...

SOTD - 2024-06-28

• Beard Growth: 72 Hours
• Prep: Hot Shower
• Pre Shave: None
• Brush: Yaqi - Sagrada Familia Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Wilkinson Sword Plastic DE #FLIPTOP
• Blade: V12
• Passes: WTG x2
• Lather: Delmy Shave Round
• Post Shave: Stetson Aftershave

• Fragance: Axe Body Spray Deodorant

• Comments: Frugal Friday… one of my friends picked up some shaving stuff for me in India. This whole setup probably cost me about 90c plus the brush which was a defect Yaqi for $2 on Ali express

The delmy soap smelled like laundry detergent mixed with bleach, I think I burnt my nose hair on that but overall it had nice slickness. The blade and razor were super mild. Overall a good shave I think but I prefer my more expensive wares

#ROTY

June 28, 2024

• Brush: Omega Pro 48 #HOLLOW #TOLL

• Razor: Maggard Razors #ZAMAC

• Blade: Gillette Nacet

• Lather: Burts Bees - Soap

• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Splash

• Fragrance: Polo Ralph Lauren - Blue - EdT

Cheap Day.

June 28, 2024  

• Brush: My hand  
• Razor: Bic – Dual blade disposable  
• Lather: Declaration Grooming – After the Rain  

Theme: The Den is wherever I’m shaving. And I happen to be away from home. I thought I grabbed my cheapest setup and instead I made it out with no brush, no razor. Just the one soap.

Challenge: I ended up shaving with an old Bic disposable from the bottom of my dopp kit. It doesn’t get any cheaper than your hand and a Bic.