LGSOTD 18-July

• Brush: Simpsons - M7 Manchurian   
• Razor: Blackland - Tradere  
• Blade: Wizamet Super Iridium
• Lather: Ariana & Evans - Revolution
• Post Shave: Ariana & Evans - Revolution
• Fragrance: Viktor Rolf - Spicebomb

A woody-spicy scent and one that I've always loved ever since catching a whiff in Debenhams years ago, and more importantly the Mrs loves it as well! I went looking around for dupes to get my grubby mitts on and it was only when one of my fellow forum members suggested this one. Would never have linked them based on the artwork, but took the leap and glad I did. Tomorrow's selection would probably be on the nose for this category but decisions had to be made.

Decided to run with the Tradere OC today, nicely efficient and will perhaps give me the best chance of getting a decent showing.  Love this tradere, I wasn’t around when the original came around so being able to give it a bash with Blacklands recreation was brilliant.  On top of that, the recent announcement of a final run and the opportunity to get my hands on parts has allowed me to get an order in for the SB baseplate, can’t wait for that to arrive on these shores.

Now for the challenge of the day, this one is genuinely pathetic. Yesterday's shave was incredibly efficient, so growth today wasn't massive, but I still had a go. Though the Mrs now thinks I'm absolutely batshit, end of the shave tried to half open the plug, whoosh good chunk went down the sink, couldn't stop the loud expletives, wife comes rushing into the bathroom to check what's wrong and I whinge that it's gone down the sink. The look of utter bewilderment will stay with me forever. 

Edit: I had to explain the challenge after I'd finished, which she thought was disgusting and insists we're all off our rockers, but was more concerned that the bathroom wasn't respectable...she's an odd one. I'm definitely going to have to tell her about tomorrow's ahead of time.

Hope everyone has a grand day.

Cheers

Marc  

ROTY

PhotoContest

Spooky Season

• Brush: Zenith B8
• Razor: Weck Sextoblade Med Prep #YTho
• Blade: Kismet Rostfrei, Polymer beschichtet (2)
• Lather: Zingari – Nocturne
• Post Shave: Zingari – Nocturne – recovery splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Autumn Ash

Oh, good old u/MajorMinceMeat and his Atlas Challenge. This is one of the crazier stories of our sub IMO: MMM (back then a daily shaver) decides one day to create this challenge for the non-daily shavers, hypes it to the max, and decides in the last moment that he has better things to do than dealing with it. Somehow, three years later, Atlas is still a thing, and yet again I'm finding myself trying to determine the best way to show Mighty Atlas shouldering his burden of tonsorial detritus in an SOTD picture. This is wild to me.

I narrowly avoided having to shave my head or something (legs are reserved for never skip leg day), because I almost forgot about the challenge, and my proof of participation shown in the SOTD picture is from the very last stroke of the first pass, i.e., the last chance for saving stubble of photographically relevant size.

Nocturne and Autumn Ash shave a lot of the same idea of autumn, a smoky harvest time scent (relevant post and frag), and they play very nicely together, but they are very different scents. It seemed frankly like an uninspired pairing in my spreadsheet, but now that I used it again, I kinda love the combo.

Interesting(?) titbit*: when googling "Autumn Ash" without "Southern Witchcrafts", the first hit I get is from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showing the mugshot of a Sexual Offender/Predator called Autumn Ash.

The theme for today's #photocontest is light sources. The light source for this shot was my beaming grin after reading this.

* Yes, titbit.

Jul 18, 2023 - Spooky Season

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Chisel & Hound Chocolate Drop 26mm v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Gillette NEW DeLuxe (1930) #BRASSING #REGUS
• Blade: Gillette Platinum [11]
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows - Soap
• Post Shave: MacDuffs Soap Company - Haunted Cabin - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain - Eau de Parfum

Hallows is marketed as a spooky, late October scent and I can't argue that it fits that description. Unlike the other two scents used today, it works pretty well anytime. Hallows is such a great scent, and Excelsior is still a great base. The lather this morning was phenomenal.

Haunted Cabin has a sweet, syrupy vibe, that while done well, really makes it fit squarely in the Autumn seasonal category. The pumpkin note worked supremely well with Samhain, and overall, I can't complain about any of these scents.

The New DeLuxe may be a scary looking razor at first, but the long open comb teeth make it a gentle shaver. For all it's efficiency, it's not aggressive at all.

Atlas Shaves Challenge: I don't understand this challenge, but here you go, weirdos. The longer hairs are from also shaving the back of my neck. I can provide a picture of my toenail clippings as well if anyone is interested.

#photocontest evil forces (chaos tokens)

Rating: 4.5/5

Edit: Razor verification for brassing on the top cap and a serial number instead of a date code.

July 18, 2023 – Lather games day 18 – AKA death becomes her

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Tooth Fairy B14
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Voskhod (2)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Autumn Ash
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Desairology
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Gravefruit II

Strange day today. Rainy and gloomy and I have to go say goodbye to a loved one who is dying. TMI perhaps, but really kind of fits today’s theme for me. Anyways, SW soaps are great. Autumn ash actually paired nicely with Desairology. Adding a spray of GraveFruit II makes it perfect for today’s mood and a full Southern Witchcrafts shave. Too dark?

Similar to not showing you a picture of my poo, I will not show off a picture of my beard trimmings. Why would I do such a thing? SMH Please enjoy my SOTD pic instead.

#PhotoContest

nice model use

2023-07-18 Halfway Happy

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps - Custom
• Razor: Rockwell - 6S
• Lather: London Razors - Coffee & Contemplation
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria - Cognac & Cuban Cigars
• Fragrance: For Strange Women - Decadence & Debauchery
• Blade: Astra - Platinum (2)

Relevant Post-shave and Fragrance: Ampersands & Alliteration!

Spooky Season: In case it's not immediately evident how Coffee & Contemplation (C&C) fits the theme, the below is from the original description; it was explicitly marketed for Fall:

Being a little on the heavy side, we think this scent is going to be perfect for the upcoming cooler, Fall months.

#FOF On paper, it makes sense: Russian leather (which is also relevant to the show), cedar, and amber come together with the coffee headliner for a darker scent, with a sweet side introduced by cocoa, vanilla, and coconut...

C&C smells like Tootsie Rolls.

It took me a little while to figure it out; I had decided that it smells like a kid's bag of candy, and thus appropriate that it's indirectly Halloween-themed. More specifically, though: Tootsie Rolls.

Cognac & Cuban Cigars comes in strong with the former part of its name, or at the very least that's brought to the forefront when layered on top of Tootsie Rolls.

Will the fragrance provide any respite? Yes. Despite the brand, Decadence & Debauchery is marketed as a unisex scent. I was pleasantly surprised by it, but tobacco in a scent's list always gets my attention. Immortelle and violet provide a floral prominence, which is deeply darkened by tobacco, myrrh, and amber. It doesn't quite tip it toward masculine as much as I'd prefer, though. I do detect the blood orange and bergamot, and I don't find it off-putting—rare for me, because I loathe orangey notes.

Challenge Accepted: This challenge is disgusting.
This is something people do for Atlas Shaves? That's the thing where you go for increasingly long periods without shaving, yeah? Yeah, no thank you. I had a daily-shave streak for a really long time. Then, a week in the hospital reminded me that one of the biggest reasons that I got started with DEs—trichotillomania—is still very much a thing with me. I don't know if we have any other trichsters in here. If you're unfamiliar, though, see that big ol' bare area on my jaw and cheek? I pulled that all out of my face without even realizing I was doing it. But I digress.

#photocontest
Photo: The Law
Yes, it is a picture of a lawman (Hopper, if you're familiar with the show). But I thought to myself, "What real, physical thing represents the law, so that I can do better than just an image for the photo theme?"
Handcuffs! 100% bona fide handcuffs... of a sort. And it happens to tie in perfectly with Decadence & Debauchery.

Before you get too carried away with your imagination thinking about that, let me draw your attention to the miniature recreation of Steve's bat from the show. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, after giving it a non-boring color and pattern, risking an unfortunate encounter between my kitchen counter and a drill, and the finished product, cat for scale.

Congratulations 🎉 you've been selected for the best photo contest 😊

Reason: pretty cool aesthetic

July 18, 2023 – Fall into Lather Games

• Brush: Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Parker (1)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Boonana
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Gatlinburg
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Confluence

Autumn day. Before I picked this I checked the description. While all the SW scents seem autumn llke, wanted to be sure. Description says “This no ordinary banana scent – it is a complex and rich blend of dark and spicy accords that are perfect for autumn.” Works for me. Blame u/j33pguy13 for me liking this scent, it was a smush he sent. I bought a whole tub.

My #fof is a bit interesting here. Went with Gatlinburg, another autumn scent. Ended with confluence, which, while fresher than the others still has a cedar undertone that ties everything together nicely I think. Shawn is right about the importance of confluence in stl and I’m bringing it to lather games by mixing up my vendors, mixing my vacation with lather games, and apparently meeting fellow sub members on the road. Shout out of u/admirable-nobody-946, who graciously hosted my family for a few beers last night. A confluence of reddit and vacation was not in my original plans when I started this month but it was a lot of fun. We both discussed how nice everyone here is, so if you get a chance to meet up sometime with others do it!

On to #photocontest, say hello to my dead azalea in the plant category. Dead stuff fits SW so we’ll I couldn’t pass on the visual here. It only just died I’ll replace it in… Autumn! Just confluence of life and lather games everywhere here.

For the challenge, the judges have some wierd kinks but… Uhh here’s the Pic. I’m in a hotel so I had to sneak this shot in the shared bathroom before my wife jumped in the shower and I had to explain myself. https://i.imgur.com/7VtETSK.jpeg

OK #ROTY let’s… Uhh I’m out of confluence jokes. Let’s mix it up.

Jul. 18, 2023 - 👻🍌🍌

• Prep: CeraVe - Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: Zenith 506U XSE unbleached boar

• Razor: GEM Junior

• Blade: GEM PTFE (18)

• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana

• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Autumn Ash

• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana

BOO! I didn’t scare you did I? Don’t worry I don’t have any videos of drinking lather today, just spooky decaying banana soap that is perfect for autumn. Or perfect for u/j33pguy13’s autumn I should say because banana is not really my thing. This soap is so much more than just banana thankfully, Southern Witchcrafts put their signature touch on this scent transforming the sweet banana into something deep and dark.

Paired it with Autumn Ash because it fit with the theme, not only is all of my software a fall/Autumn scent but all made by SW! Their scents can be a bit polarizing and difficult to grasp at first, especially for people like me with sus noses. Their vegan base is absolutely top notch though and not “just for a vegan base.” It will hold its own against any base out there which is a testament to the work they do!

Todays Daily Challenge proof I’m sorry judges for the pain you have to suffer through today.

I really enjoyed making todays #photocontest picture of Light Sources. I was trying to show off light without actually showing what was actually making the light.

July 18, 2023

• Brush: Stirling Soap Company – 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain
• Post Shave: 345 – Bana-O-Rama Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Boonana EDP
• Music: Hocus Pocus – I Put A Spell On You

It’s Spooky Season and in honor of that, I have history lesson that will eventually make sense for my shave today: The Salem Witch Trials were a series of false accusations and mass hysteria that occurred in 1692-1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. Accusations of witchcraft ran rampant across the town, and in total over 200 people were accused of witchcraft, 30 people were found guilty and 20 were executed, and another 5 died in prison. Of the 20 people executed, 19 were hanged and 1 man was pressed to death.

The man who was pressed to death was a dude named Giles Corey – an 81-year-old farmer who was accused of witchcraft, and refused to plead guilty or innocent. You see, at the time, if he entered a plea, he would stand trial and his estate would be forfeited to the government when he was found guilty. He knew he’d be found guilty, because, well, everyone was found guilty of witchcraft in those days. If he didn’t plea, there couldn’t be trial, and his estate would be passed down to his family. In order to FORCE him to enter a plea, the Sheriff (along with the people of Salem) stripped Giles naked, laid him down, put boards on top of him, and put heavy rocks and boulders on the boards. They were going to keep putting more rocks on top of him until he pled, so he could stand trial. Giles was a G and was steadfast in his refusal to plea. When the sheriff asked him to enter to plea, Giles only responded with: “More weight” - Like I said, Giles was a fucking G - and the sheriff complied and continued adding more weight. After 3 days of torture, he died under the weight of all the rocks and boulders.

According to local legends, the ghost of Giles Corey appears and walks in his graveyard when a disaster is about to strike the City of Salem. There were reports that his ghost was seen at the Howard Street Graveyard, where he was pressed to death, the night before a great fire in 1914. It was also said that he put a curse on the Sheriff the pressed Giles (who died of a heart attack at 30), as well as every Sheriff to take that position thereafter for the next 300 years. Every single sheriff, since the one that pressed him, had either died in office with heart problems or retired due to a blood disorder. This happened until they moved the Sheriff’s office OUT of Salem in 1991. Spooky shit.

So, Priusaurus: This is interesting, but what the hell does this have to do with your shave today? Well, today, I took a trip up to Salem today to shave with Giles Fucking Corey for Spooky Day.

First, I went to downtown Salem and said hello to their statue to Samantha from Bewitched and snapped my SOTD #photocontest for Urban/Architecture. Downtown in a densely populated city counts as Urban, right?

I then went to Giles Corey Memorial down the road a bit. It’s settled nicely on a small lake where a couple people were fishing. There’s a marker for our boy Giles and his wife, Martha (who was executed 3 days after he died), as well as a display for them. I plopped down right in front of Giles marker, took out my stuff, got a good face lather going and got to shaving. It was hot and humid, but quiet and peaceful. For my 2nd public shave of the Games, this one went a lot better. Loaded up right from the tub and had a relatively quick, two pass shave using one of my favorite soaps. I do miss not using a mirror with a public shave, but I like to travel light. No one kicked me out, but a couple dudes with fishing poles walked by and side-eyed me. Like two dudes fishing on a Tuesday afternoon have any business judging a guy shaving in front of a dead witch’s memorial.

Samhain is a perfect fall scent as far as I’m concerned. I have the trickhole, but since I’m #ridingwithitchy and not matching any scents all game, I got creative and used 345’s Bana-O-Rama Splash. To me, the Samhain smells like a baked good, kinda like a banana bread without the banana. Sooooo… I added the Banana with the splash! Boom! Tasty. Now with all that Banana, I had to finish everything off with Boonana by SW to complete this awesome #FOF. But not here. I went to the scene of the crime. Where Giles was pressed to death and said to be still haunting. I went to the Howard Street Graveyard in Salem, and sprayed my Boonana on there, and paid my respects to ensure no ghosts followed me home. Boonana is so, so, so much better and more complex than Bana-O-Rama. Bana-O-Rama is a fun, almost meme scent, wheresas Boonana is dark and sophisticated, while still having the sweetness of a banana that is just past it’s ripeness. Man, Boonana is so, so good.

For the challenge… Ummmm… WTF? Not sure which Djudge wanted this one, or which personal collection this is going in, but here you go. I didn’t use a sink today, thanks to the Spooky Giles Corey shave, but I dumped my whiskers on some paper towel for you weirdos.

Sadly, no interview to post today, which is why you got a history lesson and spoooooooky Giles Corey tribute shave today.

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Hallows balm

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Yesterday Haze

Today's Theme: Spooky Season - Hallows is straight up a spooky scent, and Yesterday Haze features fig which actually ripens from June all the way through October (and even into November for some varieties)

Today's Challenge: Atlas Shave Day (aka why do the djudges put themselves through this day day) - I'm not proud of this but here you go

My theme for today's shave: Dank Trees

Hallows is very much a dank, October forest type of scent, and with IA's Yesterday Haze I wanted to top that scent off with a very nice green tree scent. It was actually a delightful combination that took my mind off the recent heat. Up until I realized we were doing a community service thing at work which meant I had used a fall scent and thick balm on a day I'm going to be outside and sweating. To be quite honest, it wasn't the worst. Shaving with BaM soap is always easy on the skin, and the balm was great too. And I was mainly picking weeds and raking leaves, so I basically went from smelling like musty woods, to smelling musty woods.

Halloween is actually a holiday I have kind of a mixed affection for. I don't like horror movies much, big costume parties really aren't my jam, and it always seems to be kind of an ordeal that doesn't work out very well for me. This past year was the first time I lived in a house on my own, so it'd be the first time I was the one handing out candy to kids. Well I stocked up on full size candy bars and got a cool storm trooper costume ready to go. Fewer than 10 kids stopped by, and apparently everyone walked a route around the edge of the neighborhood instead of through the middle where I live. sadtrombone.mp4

For music, I picked Helloween's Time of the Oath. Great power metal album that's just a lot of silly fun. Definitely worth checking out. Though Keeper of the Seven Keys pt. 2 really is their magnum opus. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

July 18, 2023 – LG 18: Spooky Season

• Brush: Mojo Maggard 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Karve CB SB B #CNC
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux (4)
• Lather: Storybook Soapworks – Carnivale
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Lyssa
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Samhain

Today, I went on a super lengthy hike, all the way to my side yard. I grabbed one of the shovels, a spade to be precise, dug a ditch, so I could do my SOTD for #PHOTOCONTEST. What's spookier than being buried alive... Then, I left the mojo buried under ground, where it belongs (kidding… I still needed to shave and I use it to dust my mountain of LEGO, it normally does not get shave privileges).

All software is fall themed today. Storybook/APR Carnivale is a perfect fall scent. To use their words, “Carnivale. Elegant Fall Molecules.”. Also described as “Carnivale is the story of festivals and celebrations that occur during the cool months of autumn.” I mostly get stone fruit, touch of spice, woods. It opens with dried apricot and plum and a hint of citrus, quickly enveloped by muscatel grapes – though not juicy per se. It’s supported by soft woods and mellow spices, non of which I’d pick out individually. There’s a slight dankness to it, the faintest whiff of jazz cabbage, and I’d know I’m something of a chronnoisseur myself.. Lyssa was dubbed zombie repellent, and is another clear fall scent (Oct 2019 release). It’s quite spicy, with sage and nutmeg leading the charge. There is a floral sweetness though, composed of rose, violets, and geranium. All resting upon a mossy, oud wood, and patchouli base. Lastly, Samhain (holiday on Nov 1st), the quintessential SW fall scent. Instead of making pumpkin spice a basic bitch, it’s wrapped warmly in a boozy bourbon. Sweet vanilla and tobacco, with just a touch of musk underneath it all on the dry down. #FOF

Here’s my Atlas Challenge, who I can say I proudly accomplished 2 or 3 years ago. Here’s a short normal vid of the shave. Getting them quicker, but remember playback speed is your friend.

soap brands 18/30, post shave 18/30, frag 18/30, post/frag linked 18/30, software sponsors 9/13, hardware sponsors 2/2, razor hashtags 9/15, brush hashtags 8/15, photo contest 18/30, daily challenges 16/25, special challenges 2/5

nice composition