2023-07-09 "Kitchen," you say?
- Brush: Omega 11047 Mixed (43mm x 20mm) #MISTURA #SMOLL #RUNT
- Razor: Gillette Travel Tech (J3: 1964) #JETSETTER
- Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Irish Coffee
- Post Shave: Epsilon - Scottish Spirit
- Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - 1904
- Blade: - Lord Platinum (1)
Well if it isn't my annual reminder to clean my kitchen!
I'm kidding. I didn't clean my kitchen last year, either.
#photocontest
Photo: Drinks
Super original, I know. Yes, it's the same little bottle of whiskey I used last
year. Yes, they're the same coffee beans. What can I say?
What is new, as of this morning, is the moka pot in the back,
which the Games inspired me to finally spring for.
I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I am a fan of tea, and I've been known to
enjoy the occasional straight espresso.
That said, I don't handle caffeine all too well, so it wasn't great when I
got this thing this morning and promptly made 2... batches? brews? witch's brew?
I don't know, but I had already had too much caffeine this morning,
so I was really fucking amped before I started drinking the third.
Challenge Accepted:
I knew I wouldn't be alone in choosing a different kitchen than my own,
considering it was hinted in the challenge description.
I was hesitant to follow through with this,
but super-wired with faux-expresso, my brain barely able to process reality,
and my kitchen now more of a mess, I sought another kitchen.
I shaved in a kitchen, alright: Pei Wei Asian Kitchen.
As I waited in line to order, I scoped out the restaurant for a secluded place
to accomplish my task. There was none. It's an open, casual-fast restaurant;
there are no secluded booths, only one open space. Everyone in the restaurant
was part of an audience.
After I selected a table, I realized I would need another bowl for water, so
I asked the person working, who graciously brought me one. I began preparing,
and it wasn't long before the food arrived.
After having a few bites, I commenced lathering. That was inconspicuous enough,
but once I began applying the later to my face.
there was no hiding.
Two things became clear: 1) People are generally focused on what they have going
on and 2) as long as you're not bothering anyone, they don't care what you're up to.
The people who did notice didn't gawk or stare. They just observed that there
was some guy nonchalantly shaving in the middle of a restaurant, and carried on
with their own food and conversation.
And so I was able to proceed with shaving (using my phone's camera as a mirror)
with little concern for the other people there, much as they had little concern
with me. I admit I was nonetheless a little rushed, so I hadn't gotten the
lather as thick as I would have in my own kitchen,
but I got it better for the second pass.
Once I was finished, I rinsed each bowl in
the restroom, and reflected on the fact that a greater coward would have
done the entire shave in there. Similarly, a greater coward would promptly
leave, but I decided it was
time to finish the food
Relevant Post Shave and Fragrance:
Tied together as the main features of the lather: coffee and whiskey.
#FOF
Lather:
Because this will undoubtedly be one of the most popular lathers today, there
isn't going to be much that I can add. I will say that it's probably the most
pleasant coffee soap I've tried.
In contrast, Stirling's Iced Coffee (a bar of which I currently have in the
shower) is strong on hazelnut.
Storybook's Coffee Spoons smells like coffee-flavored ice cream.
Catie's Bubbles, on the other hand, is mellow and smooth coffee,
with no bitterness. I do not pick up mush "Irish" in it, but I admittedly
don't know what I would be sniffing for in that regard. During today's shave, I
admit I didn't pay much attention to the scent.
Post Shave:
First off, I very much enjoy the wordplay in the name, Scottish Spirit.
Secondly, this aftershave pairs astonishingly well with General Tso's Chicken!
I had started eating again when I donned it, and the whiskeyness laid
beautifully over the hot spices of the meal.
I feel comfortable calling the aftershave woody and smoky, words that I think
are not uncommon when describing whiskeys.
By itself (i.e. not alongside the chicken), the clove note comes through pretty strong
to my nose, which I don't mind at all; I'm a fan, even. Cinnamon also seems
quite prominent, but I've never been much a fan of cinnamon anything, so I
could do without that part, but it's not terrible.
Fragrance:
Following up with 1904 brought back the coffee, which frankly interrupted the
graceful chicken/whiskey dance, but that's not the fragrance's fault.
1904 is what I might expect as the general ambient scent of air in a coffee shop,
just the background
smell that reminds you that it is a place where coffee is made.
Speaking of the fragrance in isolation, I think that the coffee note is close
enough to the neighborhood of sandalwood that it
occupies the same nose-space, so I don't think I can pick it out.
I still don't know what cardamom is, but if I learned anything from yesterday's
cardamom+ylangx2 fragrance, I expect it's a light one that works with the
jasmine and lime notes to brighten the scent from the coffee and sandalwood
(that is straight guesswork there). I think I can actually detect the jasmine
here—definitely more so than the lime—which pleases me; as I keep saying for
some reason, jasmine is something I cautiously wish was more prominent in more
scents.