LGSOTD 16-July

• Brush: Chisel and Hound - Manga V16 #SHD 
• Razor: Koraat - 6/8 Ebony Scales #ALLNATURAL #STR8SNOB   
• Lather: Ariana and Evans – Barbiere Classico  
• Post Shave: Ariana and Evans – Barbiere Classico AS
• Fragrance: Ariana and Evans – Barbiere Classico EDP

Newly acquired A&E Barbiere Classico is an excellent scent. Used it a couple of times so far and chuffed to bits. One of the few suppliers that I can get alcohol splashes and EDPs via direct ordering. Top that off with the cracking Koraat lead to a wonderful shave, though I prefer full hollow over near wedge (exception being my 72-V). I do want to get my hands on another when I get back from holiday in August, currently thinking double concave full hollow, barbers notch with a rounded point and a bit of spine work. Undecided on scales yet, but we'll see. 

Now for the challenge, meme day. Here's my effort and one that came to mind when I thought back to when I first started out. Though I obviously knew what it stood for, it still left scratching my head and thinking why bother. Of course as I gained experience I realised it was absolutely necessary, live and learn. 

Hope everyone has a cracking day. 

Cheers

Marc

ROTY

PhotoContest

July 16, 2023

• Prep: Noble Otter - Lonestar - Bath Soap
• Brush: Chisel & Hound “Rosewood Elegance” v14 Fanchurian
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (SB-D)
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Noble Otter - Barrbarr
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Spice - Aftershave

Hashtags #photocontest

Music
“There Is This Thing” - Reginald Chapman, Foxygen Spotify / YouTube

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Daily challenge:

Alright, let’s do this. Everyone’s favourite razor this year. Ah, that’s too easy…. how about this one? Yup, we all been there. Oh, here’s another one: when your love for Nordost just gets a little bit unhealthy…. What?

It’s been a funny year hasn’t? Sometimes the memes kept writing themselves - literally. Like that time a wetshaver bypassed security for British Royals simply by going to the pharmacy to pick up shaving supplies. Speaking of shaving supplies... are MOAR BOAR owners feeling that big brush energy? Is the brush getting you into trouble with your special lady friends?

The FOF contest is going to be interesting this year. We got some very talented people here, folks. And finally, for those who are doing the Raw Hoggin’ challenge this year - just keep it to shaving, yeah?

edited formatting

2023-07-16 Barbershop

• Brush: West Coast Shaving - Two Tone Synthetic
• Razor: Henson AL13 Medium #CNC
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - No. 11
• Post Shave: Floïd - The Genuine
• Fragrance: American Crew
• Blade: Feather (5)

Challenge Accepted: The word "meme" is not so narrowly defined as to refer only to image macros or whatever templates, and I don't think so lowly of the djudges to think they would assume as such.
A recently-surfaced meme that remains fairly persistent on reddit lately is that of AI-generated images of John Oliver. Now, I'm not about to shell out for a year's subscription to Midjourney or the like, so instead I managed to create these horrible atrocities. The AI models that produced these clearly know about prominent Oliverian features, such as his glasses, but they seem to have trouble with the idea of "safety razor", "DE razor", or permutations thereof, and the finger-like appendage in that first one is nothing short of horrifying.

#FOF
What is a barbershop?
The only answer I've been able to find to this question is: whatever the hell the scent-creator wants! No argument here. But it confuses the hell out of my sniffer.

My first impression of No. 11 is that it's very close to London Barbershop of Maggard, which I previously lauded as the cleanest scent in my nose's experience. It's similar enough that I have wondered if it is the same and just hits the nose differently due to the soap's base. I am led to dismiss this idea, though, because No. 11 is said to be based on a specific other barbershop scent, the notes of which differ quite a bit from that of the pre-blend. Shows how much my nose knows!

Meanwhile, I found Floïd The Genuine described as "a barbershop classic," and I'll take whoever's word for it. Maggard's description says it's "an explosion of spices with citrus [...] that will transport you to the aromas of traditional barbershops". You betcha, marketing person! I do agree that it is strong in the spice department, but its similarity to No. 11 ends at the "barbershop" association.

Meanwhile again, this American Crew stuff is something that I was given a long time ago in an, "I don't want this; you have it!" kind of way. It as long enough ago that all I can find in regard to its scent thereof is that it's "a clean and subtle scent that combines spicy and citrusy notes." You got it, pardner. Based on that, I can say with moderate confidence that the fragrance shares the spicy and citrusy aspects of the barbershop aftershave, and the clean-ness of the lather.

Relevant Post-shave and Fragrance: The lather and aftershave are both ostensibly barbershoppy, and the fragrance shares the clean/citrus/spicy accords of each.
Not to mention the fragrance is vaguely-defined, much in the spirit of "barbershop".

#photocontest
Photo: Games
I don't think I've ever stepped foot in a veritable barbershop, so all I really have to go on is in media-depictions. I haven't seen the Barbershop movies, though. I did see an episode of iZombie that featured a barbershop, and it had a whole theme around gambling. I think I might indeed associate gambling with the general depiciton of that kind of barbershop, so here we are: Gaming.

July 16, 2023 – A trip to the barber

• Brush: Omega 40033 24mm #oldworld #hollow
• Razor: Gillette Superspeed
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (7)
• Lather: Noble Otter – Barrbarr
• Post Shave: Zingari – The Wanderer
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Gratiot League Square

Barbershop day. My den is actually full of various takes on this scent. From the more modern like Hygge, to the interesting takes like Ghost Town Barber, to this more traditional take from noble otter.

It’s a great scent and was good to use today. Though I mixed up too many variables and not even the magic of GUTL could save me. I normally use this brush for face lathering CF soaps, but for some reason it just screamed “barbershop” to me, and so I loaded too little. So less a grand unified face and bowl lather and more unification across multiple loads. I got a good shave.

For #fof, obviously The Wanderer is a barbershop, the classic preblend from crafters choice. And I’m ok with this preblend. It smells good and goes with my myriad of barbershops in my den. Gratiot League Square is interesting to me. Interesting in part because the area described is very much my old stomping grounds, hanging out, at a friend’s house who lived in that area, going to the resturants, ordering local pizza. Wandering you might say. I can imagine old barbershops in the area, but much like the old hardware stores they have given way to the entertainment district inside/adjacent to the neighborhoods. The charm is still there even if it’s a little different. And the scent itself plays well with the barbershop scents (but what doesn’t play well with those?)

For #photocontest, got myself an entry for “The law” actually plays well with FOF above since I’ve been pulled over in that area before for the crime of… Trying to drop off my friend late at night. Anyone with kids the same age as mine will recognize Chase, the annoying cop in the pawP Patrol.

So will my fellow #ROTY bring it with the memes this year? I’m tired from a concert and spent my energy on yesterday’s video. But here’s a meme about our dens. Sorry I don't have a ton to overload you with. Gotta get packing (can't forget my calender and soaps!)

But since song parody is a meme of the LG this year and I was at a concert and have a song stuck in my head, here’s one to the tune of Eric Church’s “Drink in my hand.”

Lather up

Mow it down

Slicken your face with soap from a cow

No need to complicate it, I’m no wicked edge man

All you gotta do is put a blade in my hand.

You make me go "ow ow ow" when you nick like that

You got that little weeper there playing peek-a-boo on my neck

If you wanna good dress me, baby here's the plan

All you gotta do is put a blade in my hand.

Lather up

Mow it down

I got 4 days growth worth of stubble to plow

That hair on my face is calling “shave me man”

All you gotta do is put a blade in my hand

OH! That hair on my face is calling “shave me man”

All you gotta do is put a blade in my hand.

Edited: in a moment of inspiration had an idea for a verse. Edited 2, changed "not a wicked edge man" to "no wicked edge man" because it fits the tempo better.

July 16, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. – Blue/Clear Handle with Oumo 26mm Horse #HORSEASS
• Razor: C.V. Heljestrand 6/8 Straight #STR8SNOB
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Picture Day
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Beloved
• Fragrance: Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy
• Music: Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue

We’re over the halfway point and I feel like the best is yet to come from everyone. From me, there’s more interviews, more memes, and more over the top ridiculousness. Hopefully no more ice bath shaves, but if u/MrTangerinesky comes at me again, he’s getting the smoke again. I’m not above doing a month of Spite Shaves.

Today, I shaved with Summer Break Soaps’ Picture Day (RIP in Peace). Gone too soon. Barbershop scents can be tough because it seems like every single soapmaker has “their own” barbershop, yet so many just use Crafter's Choice™ Barber Shoppe - EO & FO Blend 123. Seriously, go to this Thirsty Badger Dupe list, and type “barber shoppe” in the search bar. And that’s just the ones they know about!! Boring! Maybe SBS thought the same thing because Picture Day is now uNoBtAnIuM. Did I do that alternating letters thing right? Sucks because I really enjoy this soap, buuuut, life goes on. Well, not for Picture Day…. But you get the point.

Today, I’m really happy to be using Picture Day. It’s a great barbershop style scent. It’s a little floral, a little earthy, and a little powdery. It’s really a well-balanced scent. No surprise to any of us, because Summer Break only makes top-notch stuff. I decided to pair it with Beloved from House of Mammoth. It’s heavy on the Lavender and shares a touch of Bergamot with Picture Day, and has a woodiness that goes great with the oak moss and patchouli from the soap, but is a good bit sweeter, thanks to Beloved’s immortelle absolute (which smells like honey), but it’s a good combo. And to finish the routine for the day, I sprayed on Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy. It has an obscenely not creative name, but it also shares bergamot, mint, and lavender notes with the aftershave to make a nice #FOF combination.

For the challenge. You want the memes? I got the memes. I thought about doing a some memes dedicated to my Spite Shave, but I’ve already proved my point to MrTangerinesky. Then I thought about dedicating that Chapelle meme to either u/cowzilla3 for Old Spice Dupes or u/Enndeegee for Spice Girls gifs. But then, I opted to stick to something we can all agree on. Something we can all unite with: 10 memes about how awful PAA is. But I'm not done! I have one more meme left in my tank... Quite possibly the most impressive meme for meme day that's ever memed:

Bringing a Meme Soap to life.

That's right! Remote Learning is becoming a reality. The inmates are running the asylum and I'm leading the charge for Doritos Soap and Mountain Dew Splash. You're welcome, r/wetshaving.

For the #photocontest, I’m going with Story/thematic as Joker finally has the jump on Batman. Robin is trapped under a giant bottle of splash and Batgirl is trapped under a frag! How will Batman escape??

And of course, I have an awesome interview today! I talked with Kyle from Summer Break Soaps. For me, SBS is about fun and nostalgia. Taking us all back to a time when this were… Simple. And all of Kyle’s scents tell a story or evoke a feeling. That is not easy to do. And on top of all that, Kyle is one of us, posting in the Lather Games threads, tossing out gifs and memes like it’s nobody’s business. This is a great interview that you won’t want to scroll by and I’m so glad Kyle decided to take part. Thank you, u/rocketk455! You are a great part of this community!

10 Questions with... Summer Break Soaps

1) As a student, Summer break is no question the best break, yet Spring Break seems to get the most hype. Why do you think that is?

I've basically been in school for 30ish years now. In all that time I've noticed a lot of patterns. One of those is that the month of February absolutely sucks. Teachers and students are tired, its cold, days are short, and summer is so so far away. Spring Break comes along at the perfect time to provide hope that summer is in fact getting closer and that the weather is finally getting better.

2) I would always wait until like the last day of Summer Break before school went back into session to try to bang out the entire summer reading list (shoutout Cliff Notes for saving me on more than one occasion.) What percent of students do you think actually do the summer reading?

Honestly, I don't think anyone around here even bothers to assign summer readings because absolutely no one would do them. You and your Cliff Notes might be the only person in the history of always that actually at least kind of did the readings.

3) When you aren’t using your own soaps/splashes, what are your other favorite brands/scents to use?

Several years ago when I was a peak thrill I decided to mostly limit my purchases to only brands that have a presence here on r/wetshaving. After SBS, Declaration is a solid 2nd place as far as amount of stuff that I own. I very much enjoy all other Reddit artisans as well.

4) Which is your favorite SBS scent that you’ve released?

It’s interesting how the answer to this has changed. The answer was always Picture Day previously, but I've kind of gotten tired of barbershop scents. Right now, it is probably Woodshop. I just really enjoy how that came together especially since it was years and years in the making. I also really like International Studies.

5) Real talk: How many people do I need to get to committed to buying a set of Remote Learning for you to do a limited run?

Making small batches of soap is a huge pain, but you find me 10ish or more people to buy it, and I'll make it.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

Jul. 16, 2023 - Going to the Barber

• Prep: CeraVe - Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: Omega 10049 Boar #HOLLOW

• Razor: Weck Hair Shaper (Translucent Blue Scales) #RAINBOW

• Blade: Personna

• Lather: Zingari Man - The Wanderer

• Post Shave: House Of Mammoth - Z (uncool) Balm

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Telegrama

Memes first because I know that’s all anyone cares about today.

Telegrama reminds me of a barbershop without being a “barbershop” scent. The talc and linens scent pair really nicely with that theme scent. It’s one of my favorite samples from Imaginary Authors and one of their longer lasting scents. A bunch of their stuff just dies the instant it hits my skin so I’m glad that I like the ones that last! The Wanderer was a smoosh that I got a while ago and forgot about. I REALLY need to clean out my sample drawer and use up some of them.

Rounding out the barber experience today with a barber style handle and shavette. I haven’t ever found a place that will give you a shave but from what I hear shavettes are what they use due to the sterilization requirements for true straights. One day I’ll find somewhere that does!

I asked my son to build a barbershop today for my #photocontest Urban/architecture submission. I think he did a great job! We made it with a little apartment on top!

July 16, 2023

• Brush: Brad Sears Scotsman XL 28mm Super Badger
• Razor: Filarmonica 14 Doble Temple Gen 1 (Straight Shave 271)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Seville - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Seville - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayers - Lavender - Toner

2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.

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Seville + Brad Sears + Fili 14. How could that not equal an excellent shave?

I'm going memeless today.

The photo theme for the day is Technology. Pictured surrounding today's setup are some of my whetstones (Japanese waterstones and a coticule) and a leather strop. These items highlight two technologies that relate to the traditional barbershop shave experience; abrasion and burnishing. Humankind has been shaping items by rubbing them against rocks for a very long time. The obvious association for the barbershop is straight razor honing; shaping the edge by abrading it. I'd guess busy barbers did this about once a day. The strop does not remove significant amounts metal the way a whetstone does. Instead, its purpose is edge realignment by moving it back into shape. My impression is that a barber uses a strop before, and during, each customer's straight shave.

#photocontest

nice composition

July 16, 2023 – Shave and a Hair Cut, Two Bits

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Coprolite B15 #COMPOSITE #CHONK
• Razor: Gillette NEW SC #REGUS
• Blade: Astra SP (Green) (10)
• Lather: Ariana & Evans – Dos Dalagas Barbera
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming – Epiphenomenon
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann – Seville

Me, and I’m sure others, a couple months ago when the calendar released. Which makes sense, we all want to be prepped, planned, and have our own routines, but I think some take it more seriously than others.. Even the djudges tell us on the podcast to up our game, while complaining posts are too long.. Look, it’s getting hard to be creative everyday and do new things.

Meme day, however, does bring out the creativity in folks /s, despite some low hanging fruit and rehashed ideas. Or the obligatory FUCK PAA.

After several years, there’s no way to hide the chaos that is lather games from significant others. I’ve shared a lot of pictures with my GF, but I think made a grave mistake.

I’ll keep the #FOF short. Dos Dalagas is a middle of road barbershop, not super citrusy but it’s there, not too powdery, but it’s there too. Epi is talc and powder heavy to me, probably what these folks smelled like. Seville packs a citrus, and it’s Gods barbershop for a reason. I’m also partial to the heavy lavender and rosemary component, 2 plants I have loads of in the garden.

For my #PHOTOCONTEST (extinct animals), I have literal 2million+ year old bacteria in my brush. Maybe if you get super sciencey, you’ll note a fossil is dead, or possibly just a ~~rock~~ mineral, but they contain traces of organic material- aka extinct poop animals.

Little poop brush history and generic shave vid here.

soap brands 16/30, post shave 16/30, frag 16/30, post/frag linked 16/30, software sponsors 8/13, hardware sponsors 2/2, razor hashtags 9/15, brush hashtags 8/15, photo contest 16/30, daily challenges 14/25, special challenges 2/5

great use of lego

July 16, 2023 – Lather games day 16 – AKA barberiffic

• Brush: Dogwood Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Vector
• Blade: Feather Pro (AC) (8)
• Lather: Zingari – The Wanderer
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Hygge

Almost didn’t make it today. But a lovely head shave on a Sunday night with the Wanderer, Zingari’s barbershop offering and of course Hygge splash from House of Mammoth. Sublime. Love the barbershop scent and every different artisans take on it.

#PhotoContest

• Brush: Naked Armor Mahogany Wood Shaving Brush

• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Lancaster Razor Works - Barber Shop

• Post Shave: Lancaster Razor Works - Barber Shop

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Agua Fresca

Today's Theme Shave and a Haircut - Two Bits: Lancaster Barber Shop is a nice clean barbershop scent, but barbershop scents aren't really my thing. Good shave though.

Today's Challenge: So I heard you like memes

My theme for today's shave: So Fresh and So Clean

Getting back from the stag party today, writeups will be back to their usual cadence tomorrow. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY