Post 'Tuesday Lather Games SOTD Thread - Jul 25, 2023' of challenge 'SOTD photo scavenger hunt'

LGSOTD 25-July

• Brush: Chisel and Hound - Brazier AP Gelousy #SHD
• Razor: Wolfman - WR2 1.25   
• Blade: Wizamet - Super Iridium  
• Lather: Noble Otter – ‘Tis The Season   
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – ‘Tis The Season AS

Christmas in July, wow I didn’t actually know that was a thing beyond the original movie, I had to Google it and got lost in wikipedia. Seemingly it’s spreading across the world and becoming yet another ‘movement’, who knew, certainly not me, guess I get to use the phrase ‘bah humbug’ early this year.  Saying that though, at least today gave me an excuse to bring out the NO set, bought for this past real christmas but it saw only a handful of uses, shame really.  It’s nice, a little reminiscent of a car air freshener, but it’s actually enjoyable.  One brief note on the setup pic, I bloody hate that elf, 3 years we've had to find a ridiculous number of different hiding places because this child has a memory like a steel trap, damn elf! 

Now for the challenge, this could go a couple of ways.  I could go the easier route and just use my left hand, there’s no real challenge in that one though.  The razor mainly guides itself and with a straight I use both hands anyway.  The other, I could ask the Mrs. I considered this one for a while and thought why not, let's see what she says.  So I sidled up to ask her whether she’ll shave me…I think I could have phrased that better and put it into context first but never mind.  After a very puzzled look and a brief explanation she kindly accepted. I then had to clarify further that she had to use her left hand, a little less sure but after first laying out the terms that any injuries I suffer from shaky hands are of my own doing she was still in, so in for a penny in for pound!  So as my special guest star, welcome Mrs Crossan1983's hand. My choice of razor could have been a bit better, the gap is large ish and she’s not overly familiar with DE’s beyond the crap no name one use I used for the #RAINBOW tags, but I was slated to use this anyway, so this could be fun.  

Can't share the video, but here are a handful of stills, the first couple with the look of shock is that she seemed to take the advice of shave the lather literally, the razor barely touched my skin.  I'll be absolutely honest, we had to stop at one pass, that one pass took 20 minutes, only my first forays into straights took that long. We had to keep stopping, one for her hand to stop shaking, several times because we were laughing and unsurprisingly, given the time it took, I had to reapply (the lather wasn't my best). But after all that I can safely say I won't be asking the Mrs to shave me again unless I'm in a coma, awful finish. That was good for a laugh so thank you for the challenge. 

Hope everyone has a closer shave than me and a cracking day. 

Cheers

Marc

#ROTY #PhotoContest

July 25, 2023 – Lather games day 25 – AKA Northern Quebec is still on fire – happy xmas in July!

• Brush: r/wetshaving Zentih MOAR BOAR 31mm
• Razor: Blackland Vector
• Blade: Feather Pro (AC) (9)
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir

Needed a head shave today. Tusk is always in order for that. Santa Noir checks all the boxes for today’s theme, so why not dickhole it? I like matchy-matchy if that’s not already apparent. For my first pass I treaded very carefully with my left hand (non-dominant) and actually succeeded without harming myself, or the cat. This vector is so damn efficient that if it were not for touch-ups and my fastidiousness to get a perfect head shave I could have maybe left it at one pass with the wrong hand. Who am I kidding? Definitely needed to finish things off right.

Merry summer Christmas, or something like that…

#PhotoContest

2023-07-23 What is Winter?

• Brush: Maggard Razors - Black Resin Handle Tuxedo
• Razor: Henson AL13 Medium #CNC
• Lather: Noble Otter - Northern Elixir
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Frozen Tundra
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

Christmas in July:
To quote the product description from Noble Otter: "Man, fuck summer! Summer is scorching death that will kill your children! Elixir is all about winter! Bring back the cool winter air!

Relevant Post-Shave and Fragrance: (All are on-theme)
Similarly, the Frozen Tundra description says a bunch of words about football that I don't understand, leading up to "the scent and feel of earth in winter."
Finally, in u/mammothben's incomparable eloquence, "Santa Noir loves Christmas like an exquisite and expensive prostitute from the wilds of Canada." After that, though, I got confused by the sequence of words "soft woody" and lost concentration.

I don't know, I'm tired.

#photocontest
Photo: Water. Cold, hard water.
In honor of the two weeks out of the year during which we momentarily pretend that the sun it's not trying to destroy all life on the planet (Wait, you guys get more than two weeks? So, like, 20 days?!)
To achieve this, I put some water in a comal and stuck that in my freezer. That's a comal, by the way. I didn't really think through how I was going to get the ice out, but a few seconds with the back of the pan under running cold water popped it right out.

Speaking of thermal stuff, here's a neat thing about aluminum: it's a ridiculous heat conductor. That's why you can put stuff in the oven on aluminum foil, and just grab the foil with your bare hands. That's also why the razor just melted itself cozily right into the ice.

And then why not plop that slab of ice right into the bathroom sink, incidentally working in last year's Menthol Day challenge. I know, it doesn't quite say "this guy needs therapy; look at that desperate call for help" like filling a tub of ice (I kid), but... I don't have a bathtub!

#FOF
My overall impression of Northern Elixir is that the peppermint is pretty overpowering, but I'm also not a big fan of peppermint, so take from that what you will. I admit, though, that it ties in quite nicely with the lavender and eucalyptus, the latter of which blends in with subtlety against a backdrop of similarly hard-to-detect cedar.

Frozen Tundra is exactly what it says on the tin. I suspect another mint (is it in the same line as the snowman-punch scents?), and then whatever the earthiness is brings it, uh, down to earth in such a way that the suspected mint isn't too prominent. And if I'm wrong about mint, then, uh, nevermind.

Santa Noir isn't really comparable to the others, but it independently fits with the theme (obvs). It's a glorious scent that I kick myself for barely missing getting a full bottle of. I normally think of it as being generally season-agnostic while being especially suitable for the corresponding holiday, but I'm feeling expecially Christmassy with it blending with the other scents.

Challenge Accepted: Ah, yes, the ol' reliable Lefty Day. I expect a number of shaves performed with wives', children's, and dolls' left hands. I would have tried to enlist my cat, but I don't know which is her dominant side and she refuses to answer my questions.

But back to the topic of reading comprehension: Wouldn't you know it, just yesterday u/sdrdddy wrote an explanation all about what makes the Henson perfect for Lefty Day, locking in that blade angle even for the most maladroit of shavers!
In fact, I had already chosen the Henson for Left Day for exactly that reason. Am I getting better at the left-handed shave? Maybe, but it's still utterly impossible to lather with the left hand. Humanly impossible. Anyway, here's another intentionally-out-of-focus timelapse in a mirror, in which the lather is done with my dominant hand and the shave with the other.

The Henson actually gets me a remarkably smooth shave most of the time, today included. If I do u/AirBudRuler's Easy August thing, this will be the razor.

great shot

July 25, 2023 – Christmas in July, Secret of Santa

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 22mm Faux Horse w/ Ruby Ripple Handle #fauxfur
• Razor: Gillette Slim #dial
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (3)
• Lather: Siliski Soaps – Santa’s Pipe
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Santa Paula
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Rose Santal

Ah Christmas. Wonderful time of the year. So great it’s starting to sneak up sooner each year. I see Christmas stuff for sale before Halloween now, usually at Sam’s. So Christmas in July may end up being accurate in a few years at this rate.

For today’s theme I chose Santa’s Pipe. I mean it just screams Christmas in the name. Now, as far as I can tell the type of pipe is not specified, but given another magical Christmas character, Frosty the snowman smoked a corn cob pipe, and I live in Missouri, home of a corn cob pipe company I’m inclined to believe Santa also smoked such a pipe. And in honor of this, not only will I shave with my non-dominant hand for the challenge, I have brought out my old cob pipe for this shave. (picture is neck up, so SFW-ish) Alas, I have no pipe tobacco anymore so I’ll have it just keep it for a phantom smoke. Add a red brush for Santa’s jacket and this is a Christmas themed shave. Even has a present. A loaner razor from u/Chronnoisseur420 so I can get a bit of a point. I set it to 1, did 2 left hand passes, turned it to 2, did a 3rd and ended up with a surprisingly good shave, even if I had trouble finding the angle. Not sure I’ll switch to an adjustable, but it was fun for one use. Glad the shave went well because it's not like tomorrow's will be enjoyable.

For #fof, the soap gives me peaches and cherry when lathered and that and the EdT go surprisingly well with the citrus in Santa Paula but they all also have a theme. All of their names contain the word “Santa” in the name. Just ignore the extra L. Continuing my trend with the Chatillon Lux scents, these tie a bit into my own experience. This scent is described as being inspired by Henry Shaw’s travels before returning to Saint Louis. It’s a testament to the impact of Shaw’s legacy in STL that Shawn has not one but 2 scents that can be traced back it him in some way. (The other being YRP, which is inspired by “Shaw’s Garden” what the Missouri Botanical Garden was called for years of my youth.)

For #photocontest, I’m running out of ideas. So here’s “Royalty.” anyone with kids my age will recognize the child versions of the queens of Arendelle, Elsa and Ana. Could have chosen any of my daughter’s Disney princesses, but for the winter themes I went with the ice queen. And put them in front of our Christmas tree with my son’s adult Elsa version (he’s a copy cat of his sister sometimes and wanted in on the fun l) for good measure.

Keep slogging my fellow #ROTY well have winner soon.

Edit almost forgot hardware tags.

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

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Whispered Myths

Today's Theme: Christmas in July - well Santa Noir has a santa hat on the label so I think we're good here.

Today's Challenge: Leftorium Challenge - I'm left handed. Most people in my life know this. What you don't know but likely could have guessed, is that I was dropped as a baby. No brain damage on record but I did break my right wrist, so all my fine motor skills development went to my left hand even though my right hand has all the power and would likely have been my dominant hand. So today I shaved using only my right hand.

Why did I use the a very efficient razor like the Blackbird instead of something a bit safer like a tech (like how /u/AdWorried2804 so smartly chose)? Well I'd like to say it's because I ain't no scrub. But truth be told it's because I took my SOTD photo before I checked the daily challenge and I don't do retakes. Small nick on my upper lip but otherwise an OK shave after my brain adjusted to moving the razor around with my other hand.

My theme for today's shave: Santa's Not Real

For today's shave, Santa Noir was an obvious choice, and I wanted to contemplate the role of mythology in our lives, so Whispered Myths from Imaginary Authors felt appropriate. Being that we're all of shaving age here, I think it's safe to assume we're all aware of Santa Claus' mythological status, the history behind sinterklass, saint nicholas, krampus, and the whole holiday's pagan origins. If not, then oops.

I do find that these shared mythologies which we attribute context and causality to the regular events in our lives are something that not only simplify things, but give us all an opportunity to share joy. Whether it's Halloween's spooky ghosts, Christmas' Santa Claus, Easter's bunny, or any other of the holiday-adjacent mascots that give context to our lives, I find great joy in being able to let go of being so firmly rooted in reality and just enjoying the fantasy of some holiday mascot becoming real for one day a year.

For music, I picked Therion's Secret of the Runes album which is basically just symphonic metal about different aspects of Norse mythology. Great album that - in conjunction with Deggial - really helped shaped the direction of the band ever since they transitioned away from black metal. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

July 25, 2023 – LG23 Day 25: Sapo’s Christmas in Djuly Revenge

• Brush: AKA Brushworx “Mr. Green J33p” Oumo ACE 26mm
• Razor: Gillette Contract Tech
• Blade: Astra SP (Green) (4)
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir

My friend Sapo was a bit unnerved that he was not mentioned in the Week 3 Lather Games Podcast. He makes his return to ̶e̶n̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶e̶n̶g̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶j̶u̶d̶g̶e̶s̶ help me with the Daily Challenge

Merry Christmas in Djuly! Christmas is always bittersweet for me. It harkens back to 1977. In December that year I lost my grandfather. My shaving buddy, if you will. Whenever we visited I got to watch him shave with his Remington Electric and I was always the recipient of a splash of English Leather. That included when he visited us, as he brought it in his travel kit. Fast forward to 2007 and it was in December that I lost my grandmother. Thankfully I still have memories, fleeting as they may be.

Today’s shave is a fantastic trio from u/mammothben and came out at Christmas time last year. A well done tribute to pine, if you ask me, and a great shave despite the vengeful outcome from Sapo.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s annual visit to Djonut’s Djelicatessen!

Edit: #PHOTOCONTEST LIGHT

How festive...

Jul. 25, 2023 - Ye Old Christmas!

• Prep: CeraVe - Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Mighty Duck v19 Fanchurian

• Razor: Gillette Ranger Tech

• Blade: Personna P74 (1)

• Lather: Noble Otter - ‘Tis the Season

• Post Shave: Osma - Alum

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Memoirs Of A Trespasser

All it takes is one glance at this tub to know it fits todays theme! Noble Otters label art is incredible and this is no exception! The otter dressed up as Santa is perfect. This was the first time I’ve used this after picking it up on a great sale, it completely takes me to Christmas sitting next to the tree. The pine sticks out on top with a great sweet raspberry and vanilla undertone. Memoirs of a Trespasser just boosts the vanilla and wood of this soap and brings me to December. December is exactly where I want to be right now because it’s 93F today and I’m sweating my balls off smelling like a Christmas tree…just perfect 😂

I had planned on using a different brush today but after seeing todays sponsor I swapped to this brush. This is my only “nice” brush and I am absolutely in love with the v19 knot! I know it’s not a hand tied knot but it’s a huge improvement from the two band badger I had before!

I distinctly remember this daily challenge from the past 2 Lather Games and my experience from today is very similar. The actual act of shaving went pretty well, slower than normal but only one tiny bleeder. Lathering with my left hand was an absolute nightmare! Something about that circular motion to load the brush just doesn’t click for me.

As a part of my #photocontest theme of #history I broke out my only vintage DE along with the vintage P74 blade I just acquired! This was the first time using the P74 and it lives up to the hype! Super smooth shaver and I’m excited to get to see the longevity of these blades!

For my Lego part of the pic. This particular item complied with the r/askhistorians rule of being at least 20 years old! I got this Rock Raiders lava monster in a set for Christmas in 1999! I recently ~~raided~~ was given a bunch of legos from my childhood. My parents have held onto two giant boxes of legos for all of these years and (thanks to me being the only one to give them grandkids so far) I got them! Edit: Link with proof of age of this set.

July 25, 2023

• Brush: Oumo Warhammer Iceberg 27mm Meri-2

• Razor: Gillette Aristocrat US (1948-1951)

• Lather: Murphy and McNeil - The Great Bear - Soap

• Post Shave: Murphy and McNeil - The Great Bear - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon - Toner

2 passes. Face lather. Good shave.

---

The Great Bear is intended to be a winter soap that marks the winter solstice. It is a collaboration between Murphy & McNeil and Black Mountain Shaving. Here's [ a little ] of what Black Mountain Shaving says about the scent:

For thousands of years, Winter has been a time for celebration and fellowship. [blah, blah] One such celebration occurs on the Winter Solstice known as The Long Night of Storytelling. People gather under the stars sharing ancient tales and wisdom, including the legend of The Great Bear (Nyah-gwaheh). [blah, blah]

I like this scent a lot but did not get much time with it today. I had to rush to get my shave done because my schedule was packed. I took less than 10 minutes from placing brush to soap until my final swipe with my cleanup towel. Each pass was started by creating what u/sgrdddy calls a slurry lather -- a very wet, very slick face lather created with a minimum of loading from the tub. My actual shave result is excellent but the overall shaving experience was marred by my need to rush. Closeness was BBS on the easy spots and near-BBS on the difficult ones. I mean, why do I even bother with straight razors?

As to the challenge. I have used both hands to shave for 10+ years. It started during my first serious bout with straight shaving. I have no issues using my non-dominant (left) hand because it feels totally natural. In fact, with a safety razor (DE and SE), my left hand does more shaving than my right because my right hand is more convenient to use for skin stretching those difficult areas on my face.

A real challenge for me would be to do a straight razor shave with one hand. I don't have any facial growth. It would be a challenge to use one hand for a straight shave and not lose a lip or an ear. Using either my right or left would be equally awkward, but for this challenge, the obvious choice would be my left hand. As you can tell from my setup, I wimped out and used a DE today.

The theme for my photo contest entry today is Space. The Great Bear is also called Ursa Major. That's right. The star constellation. Stars are in ... space. So, I do have space-adjacent items; a 3D-printed model of a spacecraft, and an engineering model (not space-qualified) of a spacecraft attitude determination and control system (also called a guidance, navigation and control system). I could not figure out how to make these work as a part of a SOTD photo composition, and I like to try to make photos that are shave-related and on theme for both Lather Games and the photo contest.

#photocontest

great shot

July 25, 2023

• Brush: Zenith – B16 24mm Boar
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co – Christmas Eve
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia EDP
• Music: Gene Autry – Here Comes Santa Clause

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas in July, but in June, but in July! We have a very special treat for you today: shaving with SHAVY CLAUS! Ho! Ho! Ho! I turned my bathroom into the North Pole, put on a Santa Suit, stuffed a pillow in the belly, and got to shaving!

Here’s the video! (Because I used music that is copywritten, that video is blocked in “certain countries”, and since it doesn’t say WHICH countries, I uploaded a second version without the fun Christmas music in case the first one is blocked in your region).

I’ll give you a little peek behind the curtain here at Priusaurus HQ. My Christmas decorations are stored in my basement and my bathroom is on the 2nd floor of the house. So, I made about 78 trips up and down stairs this morning. And for those that don’t know, I have twin toddlers that are almost 3. For some reason, they don’t yet grasp internet shaving competitions, so I had a hell of time trying to explain to them WHY daddy was making multiple trips from the basement, up two flights of stairs, carrying the Christmas decorations to the bathroom. If you look close, you can see the sweat glistening on my face when I get close to the camera, thanks to the stairs and donning the Santa Suit. I had to get this video done relatively quickly because my wife didn’t want our bathroom crowded with Christmas decorations all day. IDK what her issue is – It’s the Lather Games!!

Christmas on Christmas on Christmas today. Santa Noir is a great Christmas scent – It’s warm and inviting – it reminds me of Christmas night, after all the guest have left the house. It’s the perfect scent for the Holiday season. I used Stirling’s Christmas Eve, which has similar evergreen notes, but also has a nice spiciness to it. To finish off the routine, Druantia from SW, again it’s woody and spicy, but I get a touch of sweetness from it, which is absolutely delightful.

For the challenge: Easy-peasy. Check out the first video I posted of my first ice tub bathtub shave, and one can clearly see I’m using the opposite hand today. No sweat at all!!!

For the #photocontest: Gaming. Included my Xbox 360 Controller, as well as a couple video game themed Christmas ornaments.

For today’s installment of “10 Questions with…” I was able to get in touch with, the ever-elusive, and rare voice on the sub, Ben from House of Mammoth. You see, that’s a joke because Ben is one of us! I can make funnies sometimes. House of Mammoth needs zero introduction to anyone reading this. Ben crafts unique and wonderful scents, and has one of the absolute best soap bases in the business. He is literally one the best in the world at this, but don’t take my word for it: Ask his Golden Pear! Yes, the dude won in the Artisan Category of the Art and Olfaction Awards. That is a BFD for those in the fragrance world. When I decided I wanted to do this interview series idea, Ben was literally the first person I asked. Fortunately, for everyone, Ben was gracious enough to take the time to play along with my silly series of questions – So THANK YOU u/mammothben, for your willingness to take part, as well as being such an integral member of this community. You make this hobby, and the world as a whole, a better place.

10 Questions with… House of Mammoth

1) First off, congratulations on The Golden Pear! My question is: What is your favorite fruit scent to work with?

I've never been interested in a pear scent but maybe I should give it a try.

2) Why did you name your company after an extinct pachyderm?

Drunk Elephant was taken, and a friend said, "how about mammoth?"

3) There are some scientists attempting to bring back the Wooly Mammoth, using DNA retrieved from fossils. Good idea or bad idea?

Good idea, it could solve the food crisis. Set a few loose in the cities, they should reduce the population by... enough.

4) Would you rather befriend 100 mouse-sized ducks or 1 horse-sized duck?

I prefer to keep my friend circle small, so the 1. I have over 180 staff names to remember this summer, I don't even try to remember the kids' or parents' names.

5) What was the first shaving soap that you ever used when you started wetshaving?

My first shaving memory was a toy shave set with a puck of soap in a cup. It was extremely drying.

6) Hypothetically speaking, do you think it’s scientifically possible to create a fragrance that smells like guacamole? You know, for science?

I've heard that avocado tastes like clean dick. Is that where this is going?

7) Of all the scents you’ve created, do you have a personal favorite?

My favorite is always the new one I'm working on. I've got an idea for a clean dick frag at the moment.

8) Flashback to 18/19 year old Ben. What music are you listening to at the time?

Bright Eyes probably.

9) When you’re not creating awesome fragrances and products, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I'm with my wife and son, usually outdoors and doing something that's free.

10) How do you differentiate House of Mammoth from all the other shaving companies currently out there?

By putting a lot of work into what we make, and trusting that our customers can tell the difference.

July 25, 2023 – LG 25: Christmas in July

• Brush: That Darn Rob B6
• Razor: Muhle R89 #TWINS
• Blade: Personna Super Stainless (1)
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Dickens Revisited
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Santa Noir

For starters, thanks to u/onionmiasma for the hardware loan for #TWINS. Never tried the EJ or Muhle. See it in use here by my cousin, Saint Spliffilous..

Santa noir is a nice evergreen scent, piney and green. Not just needle based, but a little sappy resin to give it some oomph. It’s crisp and clean. Underneath lies a creamy sandalwood base. Rudolph’s nose and reindeer musk are not super noticeable to my nose, but rather a brisk evening walk in a secluded forest. Dickens is based on BPTs favorite cookie, a recipe he includes during the holidays when purchased. Mama Ruth provided the recipe here too. It is a lovely cherry forward gourmand, sweet and buttery. Just a touch of citrus zest and holiday slice like nutmeg and cardamom to balance the sweeter fruit. #FOF

As for our #PHOTOCONTEST, history. Some quick backstory. This horrendously ugly ornament (I’ll let you spot it) is now well over 30 years old. Given to me by godparents as a baby in the late 80s, I remember it as a child in the 90s always finding its way onto our tree. It’s absolutely dreadful, but now as an adult I still put it on our own tree just for tradition. I included a couple other 20+ year old ornaments, for our r/history rule. Each year my parents would give me an ornament related to something I life. So for example, the soccer ball is for national soccer tournament we went to in NY (2001). Or I got a saxophone one (2000) when I started playing, a car for drivers license, champagne for 21 (those not quite 20 yet hence excluded). You get the gist, thanks mom and dad.

soap brands 25/30, post shave 25/30, frag 25/30, post/frag linked 25/30, software sponsors 12/13, hardware sponsors 2/2, razor hashtags 10/15, brush hashtags 10/15, photo contest 25/30, daily challenges 22/25, special challenges 3/5