Post 'Monday Lather Games SOTD Thread - Jul 24, 2023' of challenge 'SOTD photo scavenger hunt'

July 24, 2023 – It’s best to give and receive

• Brush: AP Shave Co. Cashmere
• Razor: Gillette Superspeed
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (2)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw – Masquerade
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Shire
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps – Valedictorian

Today is soap swap day, so here’s some soap graciously provided to me by u/worbx as part of his Lather Games 2023 pif. It’s my first time using Wholly Kaw and it should close out my sponsor points. Yay! Curiously, looking at my schedule it’s almost all smush trades from here in out. That’s the nature of the game and fitting I think to close out LG with help from all of you. And with that I’d like to say a few nice things about several people here. The challenge says to say something nice and I’ll be doing that via some thank yous.

u/newtothethis: thanks so much for helping us all through leg day. Was there blood? Yes, but far less than if you hadn’t taken the time to post your tips.

u/j33pguy13: thanks for dragging me out of my lurking to join in this group. It’s been a ride. And thanks for getting me the moar boar in the end, even if I found the hidden sock puppet detection feature in latherbot. u/onionmiasma: Thanks for being consistently entertaining for my first lather games (even if you did 1 up my kids kitchen shave.)

u/admirable-nobody-946: Thanks for being generous and hosting us at your job for an evening. I had dinner with my parents this weekend and there still very confused “so you never met this dude in person before?” “nah but he seemed nice.” (hey onion, take him up on his invite it’s fun.)

The Djudges are gonna be tagged to hell today, so I’ll spare them the ping (except J33p above) and say thanks to all of you for your time and effort into this. It’s a great example of how this sub rocks.

I could go on and on. This sub is full of great people who are beyond generous, with time, hardware, software, etc. And that’s before you start in on the artisans who hang out here too and get roped into making meme soaps (u/rocketk455) or PIF away new sets with interesting (and often hilarious) story based side contests (u/Mammothben) just to name a few. I may be relatively young, but I’ve been around the internet since it’s early days, so I know people are gonna come and go and come back again, but hopefully the generousness vibe of this place doesn’t change too much.

Enough of the emotional stuff #fof time: I carried the tobacco note though this entire shave, but in different forms. The more muted, blended tobacco in masquerade. The light summery tobacco in Shire and the more straight tobacco in valedictorian. Overall a great progression of I do say so myself.

For #photocontest an entry into the story category. Can you tell my daughter composed this? I turned her loose with a directive to tell a story with the Babrie kingdom delivering the gift of wetshaving to stuffy land. And after some description of what an old kingdom gift exchange looked like she arrived at this. And I placed the gear.

OK #ROTY folks 6 more.

2023-07-23 I Bequeath thee!

• Brush: Yaqi Metal Timberwolf
• Razor: Muhle R41
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Hallows
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen

Relevant Post-Shave and Fragrance: Varen, like Hallows, highlights oakmoss and vetiver.

Literally just this past Friday, I went to my local supermarché and was bewildered when I heard from the store's speakers: Jingle Bell Rock. Why were they literally playing Christmas music in July? No idea. Was it someone trying to convince themselves that it's not as ungodly hot outside as it is? Maybe, but I can only imagine that that would make it seem hotter once they inevitably had to step into the blazing death called "outside".

Christmas in July's Eve: The benefactor who generously provided me today's lather, aftershave, and razor is u/loudmusicboy. I had long been curious about this scent, perhaps largely because of the multitude of variations in its artwork that I'd seen pop up from time to time.

#FOF
I'm a fan. With strong oakmoss, it doesn't seem too far off from Varen. It's undeniably darker and "cold"er, which is unsurprising considering that Varen is still a fougère, and is brightened by floral notes. I could do without the cocoa of Hallows, and labdanum is on my "find out what this smell is" list. Nonetheless, both are strongly grassy (which, in the case of Varen, I feel a fougère should be). All that said, I don't know what a swamp smells like or even how likely it is for there to be swamps in Boston, nor what "perversely elegant" means.

But that wasn't the main highlight of the PIF. No, the PIF in question was mainly the razor. Well, this one and the MMOC that a PIFd on. u/loudmusicboy wanted to provide the experience of this aggressive razor to someone unfamiliar, and that he did. Holy hell, this is aggressive. Far more so than the MMOC, I feel. Quite simply, the Muhle R41 is a rough ride. I feel like the blade hovers in razor, loose and wild and ready to slice my skin off. It's like a shavette at 90 degrees. Now that it served here in the Games, I'm likely to pass it on forward to a new owner.

Challenge Accepted: While I can't say that I've caught every post, I can say that I've been paying extra attention to the participants mentioned below:

u/loudmusicboy, who has not only a seemingly relevant username, but also some impressively hairy shoulders and a remarkable debonair and distinguished-looking dog.

u/2SaintsDude and u/partyman97_3, one of whom now has u/loudmusicboy's MMOC (no idea which one, but they both got an MMOC), and both of whom are first-time Games participants.

u/Marquis90, though he doesn't know this, inspired me to search for and discover a non-alcoholic pastis (it's Ricard Pacific, it's wildly expensive to get in my neck of the woods, but it's deliciously close to the "real" thing).

u/OnionMiasma, in addition to exhibiting what I can only describe as a fanatical dedication to LG shenanigans, has been notably engaging among Games participants, which I think is the most commendable thing in the Games.

u/djundjila—who was the victor of my first Games and at that time conspicuously kept a running tally of his own score, which I suspect was motivated by non-existent transparency in scoring at the time—has provided a way not only to make the Games possible, but has worked to ensure an unprecedented degree of participants' confidence in scoring.

All of the djudges, especially the one djudging this. But also the anonymous 1 or 2 who graciously helped me with my small scoring concerns.

#photocontest
Photo: Light sources, because why not throw a bunch of loose LEDs in the skull's mouth?

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

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Tallow + Steel - Shag

• Post Shave: Pinaud Clubman - Musk

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Soft Lawn

Today's Theme: Christmas in July's Eve - I received this smush of T+S Shag from /u/tsrblke 's PIF, many thanks to my fellow ROTY competitor!

Today's Challenge: Community Tribute Day - So today's community tribute gives me a lot of options. I could double down on the love for /u/tsrblke who has steadily become a familiar and friendly face in the community, and who I've greatly enjoyed interacting with on the subreddit and on discord. But no, I won't tribute to him.

I could suck up to the djudges and show love to /u/j33pguy13 who has become as good of a friend in the wetshaving community as I could have possibly expected. He's welcomed me into this hobby and helped me explore many software products I would have otherwise never had access to, and also helped my 49ers brush get a top tier B5 knot. But no, I won't tribute to him.

I could shout out to community mainstays like /u/iamsms and /u/visceralwatch who have generously trusted me to borrow some incredible razors from them, and /u/iamsms in particular who was the first to invite me to join the IRC chat which started my whole slide down this wonderful rabbit hole. But no, I won't tribute to either of them.

I could shout out to other community members like /u/unitedstatesghost who pulled the trigger on a shitty Minions brush for the lulz and continues to be a great contributor around the wetshaving sphere. But no, I won't tribute to her.

My tribute today, is to /u/scorpio93x. This one goes out to you

My theme for today's shave: I'm Immature and Unashamed

So for today's shave, I knew I was going to use the T+S Shag smush from /u/tsrblke, and as I browsed my spreadsheet of post shaves and fragrances, I noticed I could do something that would make my inner 12-year old happy. Shag. Musk. Soft Lawn.

For music, I picked Sonata Arctica's Winterhearts Guild because talking about it yesterday and listening to their album Silence got me in the mood for more Sonata Arctica. A really great power metal album that I hold near and dear to my heart. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

Jul. 24, 2023 - u/Worbx Appreciation Day

• Brush: Omega 10049 Boar

• Razor: Blackland Era SB LVL 3

• Blade: Derby Premium

• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - Excursion

• Post Shave: Osma - Alum

• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - 福 (Fú Dào)

Todays shave is sponsored by u/worbx as literally everything used today came from him. The razor, blade, brush, alum and fragrance all came from his Adventus calendar PIF last year and the soap came from his pre-LG Smoosh PIF where he generously gave out smooshes to everyone who entered.

I just want to take a moment and spell out how incredibly generous he is. The Adventus Calendar PIF is probably one of the top 5 most generous PIFs I’ve ever seen in this sub. There might be a couple more out there price wise but the thought and effort of this gift was incredible and I hope to return that to this sub. In case you missed it here is the album of what that calendar consisted of. 24 bags of items to be opened one a day during December 1-24th!

Alright, enough talking about his generous PIFs, next I can talk about his time and dedication to this sub. Every month he pours over the hot mess that is our SOTD threads and presents us with the Lather Log detailing what we used and highlighting the great brands we have here. As someone who once worked as a Data Analyst I understand how much work that takes, especially without a set standard for how we post our SOTDs!

Daily Challenge: in case you missed my subtlety above, u/Worbx is awesome!

Todays #photocontest theme is #Scenery showing off a look at my Christmas last year rolling in my gifts from u/Worbx.

You deserve one more Thank You u/Worbx!

July 24, 2023 – Lather games day 24 – AKA what about Hanukkah?

• Brush: Dogwood Badger
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Clog Pruf
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (13)
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – V
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Bare

u/JeepGuy13 sent me this smush of V some time back and today was the day to use it. What a delicious scent and the base is very slick easy to lather. Overall a great shave. Love that clog prūf too.

I truly appreciate this community. Unfortunately I have been quite a lame excuse for a lather gamer this year. Life is hard these days. Through it all so far this month u/OnionMiasma has been an uplifting voice who was even kind enough to make me a meme and send over a horrendous smush twice for me to complete my 30 unique soap brands quest. This man is a true contender for the top prize this year, that’s for certain.

#PhotoContest

July 24, 2023

• Brush: Terrafirma Soapery - Mallee Burl and Resin with 28mm G5C
• Razor: Gillette Super Speed
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Noble Otter - Thé Noir et Vanille
• Post Shave: Sir Henry’s – Lavender, Vanilla, Sandalwood Splash
• Fragrance: Tumi – Kinetic [--:-- GMT]
• Music: Garth Brooks – Friends in Low Places

In the announcement thread, the question was asked if someone in the games gave us a gift card and we used it to buy soap, if that counted. u/USS-SpongeBob confirmed that counts, so last year, my guy u/chronnoisseur42O hosted a post Lather Games PIF about hobbies due to his love of LEGO, and I was selected as one of the lucky recipients. Check out his amazing collection – it’s seriously impressive. The prize for this was a Maggard Gift Card, which I used to buy the soap I used today – Noble Otter’s Thé Noir et Vanille.

TNeV, as it’s called in shaving circles, is black tea, vanilla, and supposedly strawberries. I was very surprised to read that u/RedMosquitoMM smells a strong strawberry scent right off the bat, because I it’s not strong to me. However, anyone that reads his posts vs. mine will immediately know that my nose isn’t even close to the same stratosphere as his, so trust him on this. I get mostly tea and vanilla from TNeV. I stuck with vanilla for the post-shave and fragrance. Lavender, Vanilla, Sandalwood Splash from Sir Henry’s is nice and simple. Three nose-flavors blended together and make for a nice finish to TNeV shave. Finally for the fragrance, I went with Kinetic [--:-- GMT] from Tumi. It has a smoky vanilla scent to it and a touch of sandalwood that blends quite well with the LVS Splash for a great #FOF day.

For the challenge, there are so many amazing people on this sub and it’s impossible to narrow it down to one, two, or three.

u/chronnoisseur42O is a super nice dude – gifted me the PIF that I used for soap today – and is a Lather Games Powerhouse. His posts are always enjoyable and he’s going above and beyond in these games.

Of course, I have to give credit to my buddy u/OnionMiasma who has a brilliant knack for creative writing, and thinking outside the box – he’s definitely been pushing me to do better in this years Games. Nearly every day, I read his posts and I'm envious that he had a better idea than I had or I'm jealous of something he came up with. Oh yeah, and he also raised a bunch of money for the JED Foundation last year and is doing it again this year!. An absolutely solid human being and one I hope to get a beer with in real life in the future.

u/RedMosquitoMM has a wonderful ability to describe scents better than anyone else on the sub, and is always an absolute joy to read. And he gave into peer pressure and shaved his legs for leg day!

u/EldrormR pushes people out of their comfort zone to try boar brushes, MMOCs, and now a Wagaiaouzet thingy! He enables like no other and hasn't led me astray yet.

Of course, the LG organizers and djudges this year: u/USS-SpongeBob, u/wallygator88, u/Djundjila, u/walden, u/DoctorRotor, u/J33pGuy13, u/VisceralWatch, u/merikus, and u/EldrormR - you are all so giving of your time sifting through all of our nonsense, and I’m especially thankful for whoever has to read my extremely long posts, day after day after day - THANK YOU!

And finally, my frenemy, u/MrTangerinesky – You’ve provided me with so much hilarious and cringeworthy moments over the last couple weeks. You’re may be a lunatic, but you’re our lunatic. 🤝🏻

The theme for the #photocontest is Royals, since the soap brand is a one of nobility. Took my SOTD pic in front of The King of Burgers. Because every King needs a Queen (and in case BK isn’t Royal enough for you) I also included a 3D printed Queen Elizabeth figurine for a prop.

For today’s 10 Questions with… I have: Cody from Noble Otter. He was very quick to respond to my interview request and gave a lot of really good answers to my questions. Thank you u/NobleOtter for agreeing to participate and play along in my shenanigans! Appreciate all you’ve done to grow this hobby of ours!

10 Questions with… Noble Otter

1) Does your Otter mascot have a name? I feel weird calling him, “your otter.”

We dont really have a name for him. We have called in Kai in the past, on a card for the Monoi de Tahiti release but we never really stuck with that. We kind of just left it open to allow the imagination of our customers to make the story.

2) Is your otter a sea otter or a river otter?

He is a river otter.

3) A lion is the King of the Jungle, are we to assume your Otter is the King of the Rivers (or Sea)?

Actually, we think of him as a royal family member but not the king. Kind of like a young member that just wants to go on adventures rather then but stuck to the throne.

4) If you could live as an animal (other than an Otter) for a week, which would you pick? Why?

Some type of bird. I love flying and would want to be a eagle or something that could just soar.

5) Do you have a favorite scent that Noble Otter has released?

This is really tough, I think Orbit is my favorite but TNeV and Hamami are also close seconds.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 24, 2023 – LG 24: Christmas in July’s Eve

• Brush: Zenith Titano
• Razor: GEM Junior
• Blade: GEM (35)
• Lather: Red House Farm – Sedona
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming – B Cubed
• Fragrance: Gallagher Fragrances – Behold, Patchouli

For starters. Thanks to u/teufelskraft (sp? they deleted account) for the zenith boar PIF, 1st one I started form new to break in. Thanks to u/oswald_heist for the GEM junior, my first GEM from a PIF. Thanks to u/grindermonk for the soap. I was initially going to use 9 Days up Nort Today but couldn’t find the PIF, I think he was so kind to just send me that one because I’d won/puchased a lot of his other soaps and tried a lot of his different bases, but just to be sure today I went with Sedona from this PIF. The B cubed was from u/el_charminman from the 50K PIF that I think originated here. In my messages it was labeled 50K PIF, but I know that one was done a bit differently. Lastly, my frag is a donor from either one of our Xmas, Xmas in July exchanges, or FOF winnings gift card, thanks!

With that out of the way, my linking theme for today is more PIF based, not scent based. However, for the sake of #FOF, Sedona comes of as juniper and sage heavy to me, even though it has woods and patchouli base notes. I almost get a winter fresh gum style smell from it, which I would not associate with its high desert smell description, but its what I get. I never tried the original BBB, but the Cubed is a sweeter bay rum, slightly floral, with a heavy dose of blackberry and still plenty of spice and rum. I opted to go with Behold! Patchouli from Ghallagher Frgrances since it sort of builds on that spicy accord. It opens with some tart citrus, but quickly moves to heavy patchouli and some warm amber, and is anchored by musky woody base.

As for appreciations, obviously everyone mentioned above. However, I want to shout out a few other people. First, u/onionmiasma for sending me smooshes, even after the first ones were swallowed by USPS, as well as some hardware to try out (tomorrow and next day). u/priusaurus and u/mrtangerinesky for providing some lovely entertainment these games, the former also some soap smooshes. u/eructate also lent me a razor these games, and I’ve won a PIF from him in the past. u/tetriside also came in clutch from trading this year. Lastly, here is where we also stroke the judges…um egos. So thanks u/djudjila, u/uss-spongebob, u/visceralwatch, u/wallygator88, u/j33pguy13, u/doctorrotor, u/walden, and u/eldrormr. Seriously LG is such a blast and I’m sure judging, Doing, portal making/sustaining, etc. is such a huge task, so thank you all.

For our #PHOTOCONTEST I went with masterpieces. Today seemed fitting since the people here and the artisans, the sub as a whole, are all awesome masters in their own way.

soap brands 24/30, post shave 24/30, frag 24/30, post/frag linked 24/30, software sponsors 11/13, hardware sponsors 2/2, razor hashtags 10/15, brush hashtags 10/15, photo contest 24/30, daily challenges 21/25, special challenges 3/5