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 – 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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