July 9, 2023 – It’s a kitchen!

• Brush: Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Superspeed
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (1)
• Lather: Master Soap Creations – Peppermint Latte
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Hipster
• Post Shave: Nivea – Sensitive Post Shave Balm
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – 1904

Shave in a kitchen, ok. Doesn’t have to be my kitchen? Double ok. My kids have a Disney Princess Kitchen Set I can shave in. No mirror? Fine I’ll use my tablet in camera mode. (that only kinda worked). Of course it’s short so you gotta sit cross-legged and run using a bowl and towel. Don’t believe I did this? My daughter captured photographic proof. (WARNING: I’m clothed so pic is sfw, but I’m also just wearing shorts and a t-shirt so you probably don’t want to click on it.)

Shave went surprisingly well I gotta say all things considered. No nicks, fairly smooth. I used a wet towel to soften the whiskers. Since it’s kitchen day I broke out a mixing bowl for rinsing water and my trusty baseball helmet ice cream bowl to make the lather.

My #fof only sorta worked here. Obviously coffee ties all these together, but while coffee is prominent in the soap that has only 2 notes (no dq concerns there), after 15 minutes of shaving your nose is blown out by the peppermint. I got nothing off hipster. I showered before applying 1904 which brought some back. But in my ongoing thread of “how chatty lux speaks to a fellow St Louisian” let’s talk coffee. Coffee is a seriously underrated part of St. Louis. Shawn’s right to speak of the 3rd wave roasters. My morning coffee is from a small operation in North St. Louis, my wife and I basically courted at the on campus Kaldi location. But STL also has a few massive operations too. If you’ve drank coffee at a big hotel good chance it as made by Ronnoco (which is O’Connor spelled backwards.) who is hq’d here. And my old office was a few blocks from Thomas Coffee. Roasting days were my favorite day to walk into the building. Sure it’s a canned coffee but in a pinch you could do worse at the price point. (it was one of our go tos during our budget troubles.)

For #photocontest gonna go a different way than u/jwoods23. Yes coffee but I’m going to go with technology. Modern coffee makers are getting increasingly complex. This one alters timing based on brew size and type (it does coffee concentrate and iced coffee with proper ratios.) Sure a simple pour over or French press is good, but I can’t set that the night before. Technology is great.

Also #ROTY gotta keep it going.

July 9, 2023 – Bulletproof coffee

• Brush: Mühle – Silvertip badger with resin handle
• Razor: Blackland Era
• Blade: Astra SP (Green) (4)
• Lather: Black Ship Grooming – Captain Joe
• Post Shave: WestMan – Mazagran
• Fragrance: Hugo – Reversed

Daily Challenge: First thing you have to do in the morning, is to get up and take a cold shower. Do not hesitate! Dont stand there and wait till you are ready. weak peope react, strong people anticipate. Will it be cold? Yes. Will it hurt? Yes. Will you make sqeeking sounds? Depends on your type, but yes. Why do I do it very day? I force myself to be uncomfortable. If you get used to beeing uncomfortable, you are unstoppable. Damusi delayed? Another artisan joining the unoptainium list? Missed DG brush drop? Who cares? You do not! Do you know why? Because this morning, there under the shower, where Siberias cold whiplash beat its icy claws into your back and you looked death right in the eye… Not today.
The second thing I do, is to go to the kitchen, make some tea for me and coffee for my girlfriend. While everything brews, I start to build my daily lather. You need to be efficient in your life, you do not want to waste time. Precision lathering, GUTL, face lathering, FMF?!!! Forget it!
We live in a modern, technology society. Make use of the tools mankind developped to make your life easier. Nobody gets a medal for living on hard mode. How long does it take to build your lather 45- 60 seconds? More? I ‘ll show you how to get great lather in less than 15 seconds.
Do you know what that means? Every day we shave, I am saving 45 seconds of my time. Thats 315 seconds per week, 1350 seconds per month, 16.000 seconds per year. In 10 years thats about 4.5 hours time I saved. Do you know what you could do in that time?
You start with a full spoon of soap. You think that’s too much? You got to think big if you want to accomplish something in your life.
See, your lather is like your life. You need a good foundation. Thats the soap base. You need a vision! How does your perfect lather look like? Visualize it! And lastly, you need a plan. Hydrate the plan, ehh the soap.
While the tea brews, I shave as fast as I can. No need to leave the kitchen. Where you are right now, is exactly where you should be. . Need a mirror? No you don’t need one. Use your senses. What do you smell, what do you hear, what do you feel? You can do it, I believe in you. Bring your significant other the coffee you just made, step into the bathroom and get some aftershave. Does it burn? Maybe. Things do not always go as expected. Again. React, or anticipate. Embrace the moment, embrace the scent. Apply some fragrance to your wrists so you do not go nose blind. Take something energizing. Now you are ready to be successfull.

FOF

Coffee soaps are a novelty to me. I knew the lathergames would push my den development to this scent once ( I can’t stop talking that way…). It’s not that I do not like the smell of coffee, but there have been more fascinating scents to me. Blackship grooming is a new soap to me and my biggest soap purchase for this years LG. The soap is super soft. I had to look if it’s soap or creme. My Palmolive is more dense than this. But I like the small coffee bean in it. The scent is pretty sweat for coffee and closer to iced coffee powder. I also get a bit of rum from it. A coffee soap for people who are not used to drink coffee. u/Teufelskraft also lend me this aftershave. I did not check the lid and had almost the whole bottle in my palms. Damn. The aftershave matches the soap pretty well. Mazagran seems to be a coffee from portugal with rum, sugar, lemon and mint. As fragrance I chose Huge Reversed, more for its marketing and our theme. Since we use coffee to feel energized and fresh, I chose a refreshing fragrance. Hugo claims to have revolutionized freshness with this. I doubt it, but its simply good. Its forward citrus with wood. In my collection, I have a few of these combinations, but this one is way more citrus than others I have used. Unfortunately there is not much depth in this scent. It also does not really develop into something. Citrus looses its spotlight, but stays on stage as a background character, while wood plays a bigger role.

A final note to myself. I did my shave on speedrun mode, but am pretty happy with the result. The area where the cheekbones end has a little invisible and barely feelable stubble. The soap burned me a little bit. Still, both the soap and aftershave feel well. I have to revisit the soap again without shenanigans. Since my gf is on vacation, shaving in the kitchen was nothing special. Just Marquis doing weird things again. She supported me last year, so I expect her to know how crazy the games can get. Still she shakes her head pretty regularly.

July 9, 2023 – LG Day 9 – The Normalized Substance Addiction of Caffeine

• Brush: Zenith r/wetshaving Exclusive MOAR Boar 31mm #CHONK
• Razor: Gillette Slim Adjustable
• Blade: Sharp Star
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Irish Coffee
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Woodshop
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Rumble

Coffee. We drink it, a lot of it, and make sure people know we drink it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my coffee. I genuinely enjoy not just the taste, but also my routine of making it in the morning (Japanese-style flash-brewed iced coffee using a french press, if you’re curious). I just wonder how healthy it is for us to not only normalize this addiction but also to use it as an excuse for being a jerk in the morning.

Anyway, the classic Lather Games kitchen shave. I’m seeing my friends’ parents later today, and I considered bringing my setup and shaving in their kitchen today, but I didn’t want to have to explain my reasons and end up talking about shaving, Reddit, and cults for the entire visit. Thankfully, my view at my kitchen sink isn’t half bad. Plus, I have a handheld mirror that I usually use to check my lather on the back of my head and ensure I didn’t miss any spots. This made my life easier than some, who had a mirror-less face shave. However, although I could see the sides and top of my head (and hanging pan rack), I kept instinctually putting the mirror behind my head to then realize that doesn’t help me at all when I don’t have a mirror in front of me, too. It’s not the first time I’ve had to do this – I shave by feel when staying at friends’ houses or when camping – but it’s not the easiest thing to do, and I have a couple of birthmarks that using a mirror helps me to avoid nicking. Thankfully, we made it through today’s shave cut-free, largely thanks to CBubs incredible soap.

For my #FOF, I kept it pretty simple today. Soap: coffee and irish whiskey. Splash: coffee, bourbon, and woods. Frag: coffee, chocolate, rum. Three of my favorite wet shaving scents, all different but wonderfully complimentary, and all celebrating coffee.

The only thing missing was booze in my actual coffee, but I’m about to drive to NH, so the boozy coffee scents will have to do.

• Brush: AP Shave Co 30mm Synbad #CHONK #FAUXFUR

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Hoffman's Shaving Co. - Affogato

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Rumble

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - 1904

Today's Theme: Coffee - everything in today's shave has coffee notes to varying degrees

Today's Challenge: Shave in the kitchen day - It was a bit odd shaving in the kitchen sink since I don't have a mirror, but it was rather nice just looking out into the backyard and relying on feedback from my razor and my skin to guide me on where to shave. Honestly I got a pretty darn good shave out of it, though I may have fucked up my sideburns a little.

My theme for today's shave: The Morning After

So for today's shave, I pulled together all my coffee-adjacent scents, and thought about coffee, my memory associations with the smell, and how the people in this hobby tend to talk about coffee. IRC gets super sexual about coffee all the time, and /u/mammothben describes Rumble as a sexy scent (that will definitely get you laid, if you happen to meet up with /u/rocketk455), so I decided to go all in on sexy coffee, which to me means it's the morning after. Affogato was basically straight up creamy coffee and worked very well for a soap scent, and while Rumble is definitely sexy I find it to be like a new Corvette - really only sexy to other dudes. Lastly CL's 1904 is a great coffee-ish scent that picks up a lot more of the lime note than I expected, though the drydown definitely gets to coffee and cardamom.

And for music, I picked out the sexiest goth metal album (yes, that's not an oxymoron) I have - Prey by Tiamat. It's actually a super mellow album that's definitely got the right rhythm throughout the course of the album for a steamy 45ish minute lovemaking session.

Also, ogre mug, because Shrek is love. Shrek is life. And it's all ogre now. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

July 9, 2023

• Brush: Oumo - Imitate finest two band 24mm synthetic
• Razor: Chiseled Face - Legacy
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Gemutlichkeit
• Post Shave: Storybook Soapworks – Coffee Spoons
• Fragrance: Halloween – Halloween Man X
• Music: Frank Sinatra – The Coffee Song

Today might be my favorite day of the Lather Games. I love trying different coffees from different regions and brewing them in all sorts of ways. Fun Priusaurus Fact: Every year in December,I do “12 Days of Coffee” with my wife and brew coffee 12 different ways in the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Thus, my weakness for coffee soaps isn’t too surprising. And Gemutlichkeit is one of my favorites because it takes coffee and then adds more gourmand sweetness on top of it. As the self-proclaimed Gourmand King, this is right up my alley. I have no idea how to pronounce it, and I have to double check the spelling every time I type it, but Gemutlichkeit is top notch.

Fun challenge today. Shave in the kitchen day?? LEEEEEETTTTTTS GOOOOOOO!!!!!

I looked around my kitchen, looking for something to take my shaves to the next level. And I spotted her. In all her glory. My KitchenAid Professional 600. And I started to wonder… Could I? … Should I? I’m usually a face latherer, but can I use this expensive kitchen gadget to bowl lather? I HAVE TO try. But how? The dough hook! I could somehow attach the brush to the hook. And when you want to attach something to another thing. Duct tape! I used orange, because it’s more fun and I thought I’d be able to see it better if something went awry. I took a scoop of Gemutlickeit, and rubbed it in the mixing bowl. I put my modified brush attachment on the mixer, razed the bowl… And… Turned that son of a bitch on!. I learned if I put it on a setting above 6, the brush starts to come off lather flies everywhere. For those that want to try this at home, setting number 4 seems to be the sweet spot. It didn’t take long to whip up a nice, shiny, beautiful lather.

The shave itself was great. Clean-up and set-up were a pain, so I can’t see myself regularly including my KitchenAid mixer into my daily shave routine, but for a once-a-year occurrence, sure. My family already thinks I’m nuts. Might as well lean into it.

I finished the shave using the gone-but-not-forgotten Coffee Spoons from Storybook Soapworks. I actually picked up this set from Inna’s collection on Murphy & McNeil. I wasn’t fortunate to know or interact with Inna, since I started shaving after he passed away, but it seems like he was loved and respected in this community. I’m glad his collection now lives on in the hands of those in the hobby he loved. The scent of Coffee Spoons is just black coffee, which I appreciate. That’s how I drink my coffee, so while the sweetness of Gemutlichkeit smells delicious, I respect the simplicity of Coffee Spoons.

For the fragrance, I’m using Halloween Man X. And it’s okay. It’s a warm scent with mostly coffee notes, but it also has some bullshit cardamom, lavender, and lemon. I’m okay with the inclusion of whiskey, cinnamon, leather, tonka and amber. Hell, even incense is okaaaay. But I don’t want those first three in my coffee frag, they don’t complement the scent of coffee at all and the #FOF would be better without them (MOIMO).

For the #photocontest, it’s not surprising that I’m including the best drink in the world: coffee! It’s really only appropriate today.

For today’s “10 Questions with…” segment, I have Ron Weide from Chiseled Face Groomatorium. He made the soap I used today, as well as the razor. My first introduction to the Legacy was when u/J33pGuy13 was kind enough to have a passaround, and after literally 1 shave, I decided I needed to add my own Legacy to my arsenal of razors. It looks great, handles beautifully, and shaves wonderfully smooth while being extremely efficient. Ron was kind enough to give a lot of really interesting insights into his business and perspective on where things are trending. Thank you u/chiseledface for taking part. Really appreciate it!

10 Questions with… Chiseled Face Groomatorium

1. So, you have Chiseled Face, Stubble Buster, LA Shaving Co under the Groomatorium umbrella, and each one is a little different. If each of your brands were rival gangs, which one would win in an all-out, no holds barred street fight?

As much as I love all my 'children', Chiseled Face would certainly dominate in a street fight. It represents over 90% of my sales and has a dedicated following.

2. On top of making your own soaps/splashes/frags, you make your razors in house, and you print your own labels in house too. Is that for quality control, cost savings, or something else? Or all of the above?

Making everything in-house certainly involves elements of quality control and cost savings, but mostly, I love learning. The opportunity to master various disciplines and put a personal touch on my products is what makes this job incredibly satisfying.

​

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 9, 2023

• Brush: Smilez4Miles 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette New Long Comb #REGUS
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Irish Coffee Soap
• Post Shave: Apex Alchemy – Morning Glory Splash
• Fragrance: Thierry Mugler – Angel Men

Death before decaf, indeed. What the heck is the point of decaf coffee anyway?? I don’t trust it. And I don’t trust people who drink it. But you know what I do trust? People that put whiskey in their coffee, like the folks at Catie’s Bubbles! This was actually one of the first full size tubs I bought after starting down this wetshaving road and as soon as I open the tub of this soap, it puts me in a good mood. I mean, two things I love: coffee and whiskey, in one soap! Sign me up!

Can I go on the slight tangent about coffee? Is that allowed? I hope so, because I’m about to! I live in the Northeast United States and Dunkin Donuts are everywhere. I literally have 3 within walking distance to where I live. AND DUNKIN DONUTS SUCKS! WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL BUYING THIS SWILL? I understand that at one point, it was the only game in town, and that’s just where you had to go, but there are sooooo many better options available today! The donuts are so bad that they’ve officially dropped the “Donuts” from their name and officially go by “Dunkin”, but it’s not like their coffee is any better. Dunkin Donuts coffee is just like having sex in a canoe – They’re both fucking close to water. I’m going to urge the 2 people who are likely reading this – stop supporting this garbage and support your local coffee shop instead. The coffee will be better, the service will be better, the pastries will be 1000X better, and you’ll be supporting a local business person that cares about the stuff they sell. There. Rant over. It’s so frustrating to me when I see a line outside Dunkin and then a small coffee shop with a superior product has tumbleweeds blowing by it. It really grinds my gears. And if you live in a place that doesn’t have Dunkins everywhere and have no idea what I’m talking about: (1) consider yourself lucky and (2) I apologize for a rant that you can’t relate to.

CHALLENGE

Shave in “a” kitchen. Doesn’t have to be MY kitchen, ay? Then how about I shave in my niece’s play kitchen? You wanna get nuts, let’s get nuts. Pretty much immediately after I saw the challenge posted yesterday, I texted my sister “Hey – You gonna be home tomorrow? I need to borrow XXX’s play kitchen.”

“WTF?”

Now, I’m sure she’s wondering WHY I, a grown man, wants to borrow her daughter’s toys, but I don’t want to embarrass myself by saying it’s for an internet shaving game. So instead, I tell her my kitchen is broken and I need to use her daughter’s.

Then she asked me if I was high. That’s none of her business. “Are you going to be home or not? Maybe around 11AM?”

“Sure.”

Bingo. This morning, I head over to my sister’s house with my shave gear, hoping she didn’t have the time to set up an intervention. When I see her, I come clean. She’s going to figure this out sooner or later. She thinks I’m crazy but my niece already thinks I’m the fun uncle, so no problem there. I set up my stuff on the kitchen to take my picture. And go to the real sink to get water in this tiny, sink. Then I see the hardwood floors. And I also see my sister look at me. Shit. I did not think this through. I make an absolute mess when I shave. FORTUNATELY, this tiny kitchen is portable so we bring the kitchen outside. I load up the tiny sink with water and soak my brush. I make small talk with my small niece while we wait. Then I start the process. Load the brush, lather my face, and start to shave, using my phone’s selfie mode as a camera. My little niece got a kick out of it, and my sister… Well.. She’s just glad I don’t have a drug problem, asking to play with her daughter’s toys. Fortunately, it’s a nice day and shaving outside was a neat novelty. Plus, an outdoor kitchen is always known as something luxurious. Now I can see why!

No complaints with Catie’s Bubbles. The Morning Glory aftershave goes great with Irish Coffee, because, well, they’re both coffee scented. Morning Glory is a little bit sweeter and smells like someone ordered a “Regular Coffee”, which is a coffee with 1 cream and 2 sugars. I don’t know how or why a “Regular Coffee” isn’t just a black coffee, but I’ve already gone on one rant in this post and my blood pressure can’t stand another one. I finished everything off using Angel Men, by Theirry Mugler because it is a sweet vanilla, coffee, and caramel scent with a bit of earthiness to it. Not something I could see myself wearing every day, but perfect for a day dedicated to coffee! #FOF

July 9, 2023 - Tea Time

• Brush: Rubberset 49-3 #ANCIENT #TOLL
• Razor: Razorock Eco #RAINBOW
• Blade: Crown Half DE
• Lather: MacDuffs Soap Company - Royal Earl Grey
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Cheshire Splash
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Sun Soaked
• Tea: Harney and Sons - Earl Grey Supreme

#FOF

Today’s Theme:

Earl Grey is my favorite type of tea. The fragrant bergamot and black tea is a fantastic combo. I got the MacDuffs Royal Earl Grey in a PIF last year. I also got the splash, but I have other plans for that. Barrister and Mann’s Cheshire is one of my favorite scents. I hope the EdP is available sometime. Not sure if it has been offered in an EdP before, but fingers crossed it comes out sometime in the future. I don’t have an Earl Grey fragrance, but I found tea scents in a couple of my samples.

Today’s Challenge:

Pics in the albums linked above. This is my second time shaving in the kitchen. Last year I wasn’t as comfortable using the microwave or stove for a mirror, so I used a handheld mirror last year. This year I wanted to really embrace both the fragrance theme and challenge using more kitchen things. First, I got together my mise en place. I brewed a small pot of Harney and Sons Earl Grey Supreme, and got ready to shave. Luckily the relatives visiting stayed out of the kitchen. I wanted to make my lather using the scrub brush, but knew I didn’t want that brush on my face. While I started the lather, I gave this ancient brush a soak. I measured out a half teaspoon of lather, and put it in a mixing bowl. I hydrated with a splash of the Earl Grey tea. I started trying to build a lather, but the soap just got picked up by the bristles and got stuck at the base of the brush head. When you have a problem making lather, more soap and more tea. It didn’t work this time. I used the measuring spoon to scrape out as much soap as I could from the brush. Out came the Rubberset 49-3. That tall loft and kind of whippy bristles started quickly making a thick base lather. More Earl Grey to the mix. Then some more again, and kept adding water until I got the soft creamy latherI wanted. With the dark soap and using tea to hydrate gave me a lather that looked a bit like pancake batter. After a hard failure with the plastic scrub brush, I had successfully made my lather. Normally I make my lather in a small cereal bowl from IKEA, but this mixing bowl, with too much soap, rapidly built up enough lather to shave my whole body.

Ok, time to shave. I had wet my face while I was building the lather, and for such a stiff and brittle feeling brush when dry, full of lather it was very soft and flexible. It had a very nice feel, and I kind of understand now why a barber would use such a tall loft. I got this Hulk green Eco last year. It has a crazy amount of exposure on the blade, but the gap to the safety bar is pretty small. It is the loudest razor, other than a GEM, that I have ever used. Shave quality was not great. Maybe it is the cheap Crown half blades I got with the razor It could be the big exposure allows a bit of flex in the blade. Probably why I don’t use it more. The ergonomics are closer to a GEM, so the feel of shaving felt normal. The feedback quieted down by my final pass. The quality of the shave was pretty meh. My face though feels great. I think the MacDuffs base is really good and so is the Barrister and Mann splash.

Today’s Fragrance:

I don’t have a fragrance that is an Earl Grey, so I started going through the descriptions of my samples to find a complimentary scent. I first found a scent with tea, but it really fit a day later this month. Back to the list I found what I wanted. It has chamomile, black currant bud, and orange bigarade in the scents. Perfect compliments to a tea. I used to get a black current tea for an iced tea. The bigarade is a sour orange, so it really brings out the bergamot. The first scent I got was the orange. It really added to my Earl Grey. Later I got the Texas cedar and I think the amber. It works very well with both the soap and splash. I’m quite pleased with the result. I got my daughter to tell me what everything smelled like to her. The soap smelled fruity, the splash she said “Ew, it smells like tea”, and the fragrance smelled like cinnamon. With her success rate in the past, I was surprised she thought Cheshire smelled like tea. There are three citrus scents in the soap, so she actually got 2 out of 3. Her nose is doing a bit better today.

Haiku #9

I love Earl Grey tea,

Bergamot is good for you,

And it smells great too.

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.

LG23-09: Death Before Decaf

• Brush: Rubberset 400 26mm Soft Tuxedo #HOLLOW
• Razor: Schick Krona #UNICORN
• Blade: Voskhod (5)
• Lather: Gentleman's Nod - Musashi - Shave Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Clusterfig - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Marissa Zappas Perfume - Smoked Jasmine Black Tea
• Passes: WTG, XTG, ATG
• Coffee: Lavender Latte
• Music: Yosi Horikawa - Wandering
• LG Tags: #FOF

During last year’s Games, I made the mistake of shaving in my kitchen using household cooking gear. I learned two important lessons. Lesson the first: silicone utensils will hold onto the scent of Stirling Green for days. Lesson the second: Mrs. Mosquito is not a fan of Stirling Green scented foodstuffs. Putting this critical knowledge to good use, I shaved in the kitchen, but exclusively used stainless steel (measuring spoon) and wet shaving equipment—minus our trusty vanity mirror, which is no stranger to the Lather Games.

As for today’s theme, I’m surprised many contestants are pulling out their coffee-scented soaps, because tea scents are where it’s at. In my case, jasmine tea.

Musashi is the first Gentleman’s Nod soap I’ve used in the current C4 base and I can finally recommend their soaps based on performance. I don’t know if my samples were duds, or they had been mistreated before they got to my bathroom, but my previous experience with this brand was…not good. I remain a huge fan of the original Jackie scent (baseball diamond grass, sandalwood, zesty bergamot), but I couldn’t get those samples to lather no matter how much soap I used. I’m getting off topic here, but the moral of the story is this new base is wonderful and Musashi lives up to that performance.

Taking a different tact than other wonderful wet shaving tea scents (Cheshire, 42, TNEV), Musashi is “developed around a heart of Jasmine Tea,” and aims to replicate a walk from coast to mountain in historical Japan. It nails the brief. The lovely jasmine-infused tea is blended seamlessly with yuzu citrus, Asian pear, and fir. The floral tea is prominent, but doesn’t dominate, instead connecting the disparate elements into a cohesive image; the citrus and woods take Musashi out of gourmand territory by introducing depth and texture. I should pick up a sample of the fragrance and see how it progresses throughout a wear. I bet it indeed suggests a journey from coast to peak.

I reinforced the jasmine tea note with my aftershave and fragrance. I’ve mentioned before that Clusterfig is my favorite wet shaving scent; it’s a complex blend of emerald green fig, semi-sweet fruit (tart apple and lemon), and a sly addition of resinous amber, made intoxicating by its floral component. While the violet and orange blossom are important, a strong jasmine is the highlight, balancing out what could have been overly sweet and fruity. Clusterfig is deceiving that way; the fig is the focus, but the composition as a whole is a heady floral, making it a perfect bridge back to my fragrance. Marissa Zappas’s take on jasmine tea is malty black instead of green, lightly smoked, served outside on a cool morning. Part of “the Garden Collection,” this fragrance is all about the jasmine—sometimes indolic, persistent throughout, and perfuming the air far beyond the steam rising from cup and saucer. The tea is less obvious. There are lovely cereal notes buttered by orris, I pick up faint incense and sage if I smell my wrist, and a more straightforward black cuppa is there at the heart.

DAY 9 LATHER GAMES! I DON'T DRINK COFFEE AT HOME!

• Prep: Water
• Brush: DS Cosmetics 30mm Tuxedo Knot
• Razor: Forkette
• Blade: Nacet(1)
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Irish Coffee
• Post Shave: Macduffs Soap Company - Royal Earl Grey splash
• Fragrance: Rochas - Moustache

PIC OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN

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Video(sorry judges, tried to be short)

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SOAP+SHAVE+SHENANIGANS

Well compared to last year where I lived in the student dormitories now I am renting a wonderful spacious apartment, AND IT HAS A KITCHEN!

I was thinking, what crazy contraption can I make to shave with, sadly nothing came up so I used my forkette #FORKETTEBABY. Could have probably made a spoonette but it doesn't quite have the same ring to it, maybe next year I can staple a blade to something...

But even though I decided using a forkette, when it rains it pours... To make this divine tool of shaving you just need to tape together two forks, but I had basically run out of tape and it being sunday, didn't have many options to go and find some more..... I used my 2 cm of tape and then tried binding it with some string... It was a total failure as you can see in the video, for which I do apologize....

Anyways I was wondering how else could I pimp out my shave. During the last year I've used several liquids to make lather with, including beer and motor oil. All have been done with this work horse of a brush, I use it for such occasions cause it's cheap and replaceable. So today I brewed myself some black loose leaf tea and used the tea itself to make the lather in combination with Cattie's Bubbles. It turned out great, I even included some of the loose leafs for an exfoliating effect, you know cause these days when people hear EXFOLIATING, they wet their pants from excitement....

The scent of the black tea did not intervene with the soap. Irish Coffee is much more of a sweet gourmand scent than what I would expect from coffee, mainly cause I usually drink my coffee black(if I decide to have one).

So the shave was quite successful in my opinion and so far tea has been the best substitute for water, to create a lather, don't try motor oil kids!

BONUS ROUND: AFTERSHAVE

Macduff never fail to amaze me with how consistently good their scents are! It's just wow, so fresh, yet deep! I've yet to see a weak Macduff scent, in terms of how well it's made. Still don't have a favourite, but I think that their Metheglin scent might change that(I love raspberries). But all in due time!

Why is it a bonus round? I WANNA GRIPE ABOUT THE DAMN BOTTLES!!!!

Other than A&E, I can't remember who uses these type of bottles, but in the future DON'T, PLEASE! WHY, why do you use these specific bottles, no matter how tightly you screw the cap on you can just at it the wrong way and it'll unscrew cause it clenched it's butthole too tight from your stare.... Seriously, it's probably the worst damn bottle that anyone can use to put their aftershave in....

#FOF

Similar to the Almond situation I was a bit flustered about what to use. My choice of fragrance is Moustache by Rochas. The Vanilla+Bulgarian rose accord paired up really well with the sweetness of Irish Coffee and also with the Lavender+Amyris in the aftershave by Macduff! And the spiciness really really gave it that cinnamon on top of coffee feel! The whole fragrance experience was similar to a warm hug during a cold winter day(pay no attention to the scorching temperatures).

• Daily Lather Themes: 9/30
• Daily Challenges: 9/30
• Hardware Scavenger Hunt: 10/20
• Hardware Vendor Points: 0/2
• Software Vendor Points: 5/13
• Software Vendor Bonus Point: 0/1
• 30 Different Soap Brands Point: 9/30
• 30 Different Soaps On Theme Bonus Point: 9/30
• 30 Different Post-Shaves Bonus Point: 9/30
• 30 Different Fragrances Bonus Point: 9/30

July 9, 2023 – LG 9: Death before Decaf

• Brush: Omega 10098 #HOLLOW #OLDWORLD #TOLL #TEXASPIGSTINKMASSACRE
• Razor: Gillette Slim #DIAL
• Blade: Astra SP (Green) (5)
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Irish Coffee
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Thé Noir et Vanille
• Fragrance: Olympic Orchids – Cafe V

Editors note: misspoke in the video, I said 30mm when I meant 60mm for Toll, this is for sure not a chonky boy, but has 65mm loft. Feel free to smash that ~~like and subscribe~~ fast forward and playback speed button.

I don’t own a ton of CB, but am always pleased when I use it. Even in todays shave using tea as the liquid, it preformed admirably. Irish coffee is well, an Irish coffee scent. It’s quite sweet IMO, which can be said of certain whiskies, giving that sort of caramelized vanilla note underneath the coffee. Thè noir et Vanille is awesome, and one of the few scents where I feel like I can lick out each of its 5 scent notes. Lots of floral and sweet (jasmine and strawberry) up front, with brightness form citrus (bergamot), and of course the distinct tea (black tea, or thè noir in French) and mellow vanilla. Cafe V from Olympic orchids is a much more intense, darker scent compared to the latter two. Hits you hard on the opening similar to leviathan, with rich coffee, woods, and leather. About an hour later it is much calmer, and smells more like your typical fresh ground beans turned into a cup of coffee. #FOF

As for the #PHOTOCONTEST (society). If making coffee and tea, and the act of shaving for that matter, aren’t everyday activities, then I don’t know what is. You don’t need to take my word for it, here’s NPRs How coffee influenced history. For most folks you could throw a rock and hit 47 Starbucks and several far superior local cafes, just sayin.

soap brands 9/30, post shave 9/30, frag 9/30, post/frag linked 9/30, software sponsors 4/15, hardware sponsors 2/2, razor hashtags 5/15, brush hashtags 8/15, photo contest 9/30, daily challenges 8/25, special challenges 1/5

Day 9 - Death Before Decaf

• Brush: 28mm Synthetic Badger Bulb Knot homemade handle
• Razor: Karve - CB
• Blade: Astra Green
• Lather: Grooming Dept - Mallard Corretto
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - The Noir Et Vanille
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - 1904

For today, I went with Grooming Dept's Mallard Corretto. I am a big fan of this soap and followed it up with other greats.

For the fragrance, I went with 1904. I couldn't think of a better fragrance for Death Before Decaf.

This was my first shave in the kitchen.

ROTY #FOF

July 9, 2023 – Coffee Soap Sucks

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Oz Shaving Co. – Tik Tok
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Shire 2
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Shire

I love coffee. I hate coffee notes in shave products. Leviathan – awful coffee. GEMÜTLICHKEIT – Awful coffee. Oz Co Tik Tok? Awful coffee. It doesn’t matter what else is in the soap, the coffee scent overwhelms and ruins the whole experience for me. What’s weird is I love coffee – the smell of the beans, the smell of the brew, the flavor – hot coffee, cold brew, coffee ice cream, let me at it. Coffee in shave products? No. Nope. Nerp. Negative. Hate it. Loathe it. Don’t want it.

That said, Oz Shaving Co. Soap was new to me and performed just fine. u/RedMosquitoMM sent me a smush in his “saving the day” smush envelope that arrived yesterday and it’s my first go with this base but I enjoyed it. I won’t buy this one in particular because, well, coffee in soap sucks, but – I wouldn’t shy away from this base – it was irritation free and smooth.

I paired it with Shire 2 largely because Tik Tok is a Tobacco/Coffee mashup and Shire is a relatively strong summer tobacco and I knew I could overwhelm the terrible coffee scent off my face with it. I didn’t want to risk a weaker product that would incorporate the coffee and ruin a scent for me. It was a success – after I splashed and sprayed shire I made Tik Tok disappear. Thank goodness.

I forgot all about the daily challenge so I did not shave in my kitchen, sadly.

Gear was all solid, though! The Motherlode is perfect for whipping up smaller amounts of soap – it lathers like a dream, even if it’s cold and dead inside.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Delicious coffee
Hot and Steamy in my cup
Stay out of shave soap

Edit: forgot to add the post shave products

July 9, 2023 – Death Before Decaf!

• Brush: Brad Sears Gonzo Handle w/ Manchurian Fan 24mm #SHD
• Razor: Gillette Old Type #REGUS
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Storybook Soapworks – Coffee Spoons
• Post Shave: Macduffs Soap Company – Imperial Earl Grey
• Fragrance: Ineke – Jaipur Chai

Here’s the base plate of my razor for proof of tag.

Didn’t do the challenge. I got home late. I was tired. I forgot. I already shaved. Don't have time to do it again.

Coffee Spoons isn’t a satisfying coffee fragrance. It smells like stale coffee grounds, and a bit like pencil shavings. The soap also isn’t very good. But, it’s unobtainium and comes in handy every year for the lather games. So, it’s worth holding onto.

I bought Imperial Earl Grey to compliment B&M Cheshire, which is also Earl Grey inspired. Imperial Earl Grey is bright, vibrant, and fruity. Bergamot and Mandarin orange burst with ripe flavor. There’s a note that smells like guava. The splash feels rich in skin food.

Jaipur Chai is very tea-like. It’s a subtle fragrance, and leans feminine. I smell notes of black tea, cardamom, nutmeg, and something earthy. It’s not as spicy as an American chai blend. I would prefer a stronger spice note to gravitate to. But, Ineke’s compositions tend to be understated.

#FOF