LGSOTD 29-July

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Declaration Grooming B16 #SHD 
• Razor: Charcoal Goods - Everyday #CNC   
• Blade: Wizamet - Super Iridium 
• Lather: Sir Henry - Sandalwood   
• Post Shave: Sir Henry – Sandalwood AS

I don't see Sir Henry so that much, certainly in the UK, but it's very nice and their Sandalwood is actually my favourite, followed by Kentucky Rain. Nice easy lather, lovely scent and non-alcoholic splash which obviously makes it a lot easy to acquire! 

For the challenge of the day, my favourite general reads have been /u/Priusaurus ' interviews, sometimes informative, sometimes amusing but always a good read. /u/Crisp_Mango deserves an honourable mention, everyday coming up with new lyrics deserves a shout out, very inventive. 

FOF I'm genuinely not sure, not being able to understand it myself, I would always struggle to know whether what someone is saying is on the nose or a load of rubbish. 

Best picture, this is truly challenging. There have been so many good ones over the course of the event. I think for myself it would be a toss up between /u/gcgallant for Almond day, another by gcgallant on day 25 and finally /u/chronnoisseur420 for day 11, I think this one just wins out for me, the lime background with the water splashes just really caught my eye. 

The best post, I'm not sure I should call it that as it's closer to stomach turning, would be /u/hugbckt and Day 18 and going the extra mile for the daily challenge, absolutely grim but shows absolute dedication to the cause. 

It's been an entertaining run, and I'm hoping myself and my gear arrive at tomorrow's destination in one piece and I have access to WiFi for my final shave tomorrow. 

Hope everyone has a grand day. 

Cheers

Marc

#ROTY  #PhotoContest

Sat Jul 29 2023

• Prep: Coffee, hot shower
• Razor: Merkur - 34C HD
• Brush: Perfecto Badger
• Lather: Rocky Mountain - Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Pinaud - Clubman AS Lotion

Bought this soap in a group of soaps on the zar a while back. Hate to admit it but I am so congested right now, so I can't smell anything. But the lather was very nice and very cushioning.

As far as the best posts I can't really comment. But I sure enjoyed Mr. Scrub. u/Enndeegee

ROTY

• Brush: Van Der Hagen Boar Brush
• Razor: Van Der Hagen 85mm Safety Razor
• Blade: Tiger Platinum
• Lather: Noble Otter - Monoi De Tahiti

ROTY

Lather games day 29

• Prep: Warm water
• Brush: APSaveCo - 28MM G5A SHD
• Razor: Henson AL 13 Medium #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette - Minora
• Lather: Proraso - Red
• Post Shave: Proraso - Red
• Post Shave: Osma - alum block

Proraso is classic and everyone is used in life. I can make a jokes but the truth is they are so popular and for this price you have great product. In fact I lake much more Proraso Red sandalwood scent then TOBS Sandalwood. But I give all my proraso collection to one friend. And now I borrowed it for today. Slick and make Lather really fast but dry my skin. Like I say in my early posts I shave to indulge my self for relax and pleasure. And I'll prefer Gentleman's Nod, Stirling, Spearheaded, B&M, Chiseled face for my shave.

I can write only about me. And this is not because I am one egoistic megalomaniac just because this month I have to much work. Two big projects plus my everyday work. Every free second this month I dedicated to Lather games. Even at work I write or filming. Literally sacrifice part of my sleeping time and I don't have time to see what other participants do even MrTangerinsky. That's why I'll share my favorite and not so favorite moments of this journey . I gained experience in this month more then half year before. To shave with different style razors and soaps that usually I am not gonna buy. Trying to make something interesting to me and to you. I have so much fun and cursing. Stupid rookie mistakes and unusual situations. Like idea to steal guitar feather and go on red traffic light or use gun lubricant for shave. One of my favorite video is "military laboratory" I laugh so much during the filming. And cursed so much when I realized that have to write first aftershave not alum block. Thank God ( and merciful judges ) this mistake was corrected. But other will cost me a lot. When I try to make aftershave with vodka and coffee. Was nice idea and good for video but really shity aftershave. And this is not the real shit!!! After That at evening I use Holly Kow "Iced tea" because this "moonshine after" doesn't work and didn't edit the post. Stupid rookie mistake and this is my only regret this month. I was mad at me when forgot lavender aftershave but I manage the situation and buy one. Was mad but not so mad like day 9. And jinx day when I was nearby small waterfall and everything goes south. I hope you have fun reading my misfortune. But you never see the stupid video me stirring with toilet brush Stirling's Deton8. I'm pretty sure Ron like ex ranger will appreciate it. I think this is the time to thank to all people that read my post and comment. To judges give all this efforts! And to my friends from my shaving club! Ivo Borisov, Tzvetan Vujarov, Vasil Katzarov, Ivo Atanasov, Dimitar Gerasimov and famous MrTangerinesky. Without them I never be able to cover all 30 days!

ROTY

July 29, 2023 – Sandalwood Sandwich

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Badger #composite #shd
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy #cnc #rainbow
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (1)
• Lather: Red House Farm – Sandalwood & Bourbon
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – Traditionalist
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive – Waking Dream

Had to think a bit about this setup and it took a few tries but I put it together. For #fof all three of these scents have a sandalwood note in them, prominent enough to be be called out in the descriptions. And it progresses so that the sandalwood is up front in the soap, moves to the middle of the pack in the balm and then plays base note to the iris in the EdP. Overall a pretty good, but nontraditional progression. Sandalwood up top, sandalwood in the middle, and sandalwood on bottom. Hence, sandalwood sandwich.

Since this is u/j33pguy13’s CFL, a quick note him, shaved great. Smoother than expected, no irritation. Needs some technique work on my part. I see what people mean about the pineapple handle being slippery. It’s also beautiful. I love the flame treatment (#rainbow tag). But also not sure I can justify $350. Sure could get a non treated one, or the aluminum. But why half ass anything. Maybe in a few years.

As I’ve been doing my #photocontest ties in with the challenge. It’s vegetable themed and my prediction to win this whole thing is a vegetable… Wait that doesn’t sound right. Point is I included am onion in the picture for a reason. I’ve said it before, I think u/onionmiasma is running away with this thing. He’s been on point the whole time. And while it’s unclear to me if he’s gonna lose 2 points on wildcard Wednesday for not using things marketed as posts and frags (thus blowing the 30 of each bonus) he’s still crushing it. (I think the WCW rules extend to post and frag but not sure.) Just look at the legendary post category on the portal, it’s got more onions than a Philly cheese steak. As for individual challenges hard to say he didn’t own wildcard Wednesday either. I gotta hand it to him even if he did one up my kids kitchen shave. Outdoor day, crushed it. Hell I don’t even remember the challenge for autumn, but his 10 pass on the road shave should be it’s own challenge.

There are of course other competitions. Obviously I hope to pull off #ROTY but who knows. Getting some serious competition from u/pridetwo, u/whosgothepudding, and others. Should have upped my game earlier.

And #photocontest is anyone’s game. I didn’t start this intending to take 30 photos and hit all the themes but I did (even if I used #photochallenge on day 7, so only 29 count.) Many people haven’t been declaring themes so there’s probably only been about 5 to 10 in contention for that prize. But a ton of great shots for the best shot.

And then there’s #fof. Let’s be real, I apologize to judges for my posts there. I’ve been participating but mostly as a way to focus my themes and force myself to spell them out. I’ll be dead last on that. I’m not even sure I understood the assignment enough to take a guess at who’d win.

1 more then the board is set and we just wait for the reveal.

July 29, 2023

​

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: Declaration Grooming B13 Butterscotch
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy Aluminum
• Blade: Personna 74 (8)
• Lather: Taylor Of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Floid - The Genuine
• Fragrance: None

​

I'm a big fan of classics and staples. There is probably nothing more of a staple or classic than TOBS Sandalwood. I know the judges are probably rolling their eyes at something so basic, but I genuinely enjoy it. Whipped up with my new B13 that I'm enjoying, it provides such a luxurious experience. I decided to finish up the shave with another classic; Floid. It is slightly cooling, which is perfect for summer, and smells like what your Grandfather's Grandfather would wear. But still very enjoyable.

​

For today's challenge, /u/MrTangerinesky has been killing it. The effort he puts in is unparalleled. But not to discredit anyone else. There have been some amazing posts. Like shaving in a certain restaurant. I think I did pretty well for my first Lather Games, think I'll have a legit shot for ROTY, but think I'll miss out on the regular standings on account of missing a couple of daily challenges. It's tough to actually quantify the contents without access to the data, but the djudgeme portal has been amazing. Seriously props to the mods for setting all of this up and putting in countless hours in daily, and shout out to all of the other contestants for putting up such good quality posts!

​

Until tomorrow!

#ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: dubl duck Duchess Hair Shaper #YTHO

• Blade: Personna Hair Shaper Blade

• Lather: Captain's Choice - Sandalwood

• Post Shave: Proraso - Red

• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Santal Auster

Today's Theme: Sandalwood - I'm pretty sure a soap named sandalwood works for sandalwood day. Djudges ran out of ideas by the time they got to day 29 huh?

Today's Challenge: Do our homework day. - So I've actually got some people in mind that I'd really like to highlight.

First of all, /u/ginopono with the Pei Wei Asian Kitchen shave was not only incredible in his own right, but also inspired /u/Priusaurus to get kicked out of a Thai restaurant on coconut day. Absolutely incredible stuff and I must say that public shaves have been off the hook this year's LG.

Then /u/onionmiasma has been absolutely crushing it on the regular with both humorous and high-effort shave posts. I think people are heavily sleeping on his shave at the Bean he did a couple days ago. We're all getting tired over here as the end of LG draws closer, meanwhile onion be like "I didn't hear no bell"

/u/tangerinesky and /u/djanovshaving have been the greusome Bulgarian twosome all month long too with absolutely hilarious shaves and great interactions with the whole community. I genuinely believe that /u/djanovshaving might be one of the top rookies in this crop of rookies. /u/tsrblke has been a top tier contestant alongside myself and djanov in the rookie class, and I really do enjoy his interactions both around the subreddit and on discord.

And while everyone saw /u/Crisp_Mango kick off lather games on an absolute tear, you'd be forgiven for being unaware that he has quietly been collecting Legendary Post points at a pretty steady rate as well.

And last year's winner /u/RedmosquitoMM has been quietly killing it all month long too. No victory laps for him!

LG Top 5:

1. /u/Priusaurus
2. /u/Crisp_Mango
3. /u/onionmiasma
4. /u/mrtangerinesky
5. /u/RedmosquitoMM

ROTY Top 3:

1. /u/djanovshaving
2. /u/tsrblke
3. /u/pridetwo - because I'm humble like that.

FoF Winner: /u/chronnoisseur42O - I don't know if anyone else has noticed his fragrance combinations, but they've been hot fire all month.

My personal pick for top post of LG: /u/ginopono shaving in a Pei Wei Asian Kitchen

My theme for today's shave: Sandalwood yo

On the eve of this year's Lather Games' final day, it ends for me much the way it began - with a miserable and bloody shave using a razor type that I've never touched before. I could blame it on using Personna blades instead of Kismets, or on the choice of hair shaper instead of a sextoblade, but let's be honest. It's a skill issue. I won't be doing Austere August so my shot at intense honing of my weck/hair shaper skills is out of the question for the immediate future, though I may do a couple practice runs on my cheeks to get used to using a folding straight razor.

This lather games has been so much fun to compete in, and I've really enjoyed getting to know more of the community throughout the month's shenanigans. Thanks again to everyone here and elsewhere that have helped make Lather Games what it has become.

I'm a noted sandalwood hater, I think it's one of the most boring scents out there and completely overplayed. It's the Hoobastank of perfumery. Santal Auster is a nice, deep, resinous sandalwood scent though.

I listened to Iced Earth's The Blessed and The Damned, it's a collection of their most well known songs with some live tracks sprinkled throughout. Great album, great band. I always tear up a bit at Watching Over Me. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

July 29, 2023 – Month of Lather Day 29

• Brush: DS Cosmetics Carrot handle w/ 26mm 2-band Badger + Synthetic mixed knot
• Razor: Rex Supply Co. Ambassador XL Adjustable
• Blade: Rapira Swedish Supersteel (3)
• Preshave: Proraso – Eucalyptus Oil and Menthol
• Lather: Proraso - Sandalwood with Shea Butter
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Varen Balm
• Music: Hedley - Almost Over

Challenge: The 2023 Lather Games Scoring Hot Strategy Tip noted "The point spread between the top five players was less than three points", so missing one LG SOTD virtually guarantees being out of the running. Scanning the DJudge Portal, I noted that roughly half of the participants posted SOTD posts for every LG day, and of the daily posters, around 20 were chasing every point. Having done my homework, now it's time to answer the challenge:

• Lather Games Frontrunners: u/OnionMiasma, u/Priusaurus and u/Crisp_Mango. The amount of preparation by Priusaurus and Mango puts them near the top. Onion's posts are consistently the most enjoyable read for me so if I have to pick one, he gets the nod.
• Feats of Fragrance Frontrunners: u/RedMosquitoMM and u/chronnoisseur42O. I learn something about fragrances every time I read one of RedMosquito's posts, and Chronnoisseur has been playing Fragrance Ninja by silently impressing me with his frag knowledge.
• Photo Contest Frontrunners: u/ginopono, u/jwoods23 and u/raymoonie consistently posted thoughtful, eye-catching photos.
• ROTY Frontrunners: u/pridetwo and u/tsrblke and then it's the rest of us rooks.

Daily Theme/Shave: Proraso Sandalwood is by far my least favorite Proraso product. I don't like the smell and the lather is meh, yet here we are (next Games I need to be smarter than this!). Remembering Proraso doesn't respond well to my current lather-building technique, I went old school and kept the lather pasty. I continually rehydrated the paste with my off hand and ended with a DFS. To reward my nose for having to tolerate the Proraso Sandalwood smell, I finished with Varen. #ROTY

Day 29 - Sandalwood Saturday

• Brush: Maggard Razors - Black Resin Handle Synthetic Shaving Brush
• Razor: Merkur - 34C
• Blade: Astra - Green
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Sandalwood Balm
• Fragrance: Dossier - Woody Sandalwood
• Fragrance: Home mix - 1% Javanol

I bathed in the smell of Sandalwood today. I started the day with Fu-in Sandalwood. Then shaved in B&M Sandalwood soap and balm. I recently bought a palette knife to scoop soaps, I now play with my soaps like I am stirring plaster. Cleaning the knife, re-scooping a few times, and then leveling out the scoop. Turns out I am a man-child. haha

For the fragrance, I went with a Santal 33 Dupe. I recently tried another dupe, and it was way different, less floral. I have no idea what the real Santal 33 smells like now. Anyway, I bumped up the Sandalwood with a spray of Javanol.

ROTY #FOF

July 29, 2023 - Sandalwood Saturday

• Brush: Stirling 24mm Boar

• Razor: Blackland Razors Blackbird

• Blade: Gillette Platinum (1)

• Lather: Proraso - Sandalwood - Cream

• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Original

• Fragrance: Stirling - Sandalwood - EdT

Daily Challenge/Write-Up:  

Have to be a little short and sweet today, because I'm traveling.

These games have been an absolute blast. First I'd like to call out the djudges- it's a lot of work putting this together and reading about all our stupid antics.

On to who I think should win-

#photocontest - I'm uncomfortable naming names since I'm a judge here, but in my mind there are two clear frontrunners. I'm excited to see who ends up winning.

#ROTY - This to me feels super clear. u/tsrblke seems like the clear favorite here. He's been super engaged, and I'd also expect him in the top 10 overall.

#FOF - There are two that I feel like are clear standouts here. Between them, I can't choose a winner. Either u/RedMosquitoMM or u/chronnosieur42O

The games overall - I've made it no secret that I've been playing to win. In my head, there are a handful of people right there competing for the crown.

u/priusaurus called his shot day one, and has probably been the most consistent player since then. He regaled us with interviews, history lessons, shitposts, and everything in between. If I were putting money on who wins, he gets my nod. My play was better because I was constantly trying to outdo him, with limited success.

u/Marquis90 was a slightly quieter (no open feuds or calling me out) player, but no less consistent. Hilarious posts like his ice shave, the stack challenge… day in and day out great posts.

u/Impressive_Donut114 - for great, well-done, and succinct videos every day

Some others I'd like to recognize for particular contributions to the games:

u/MrTangerinesky - the lion still doesn't care what the Mountain Goat has to say, but watching his videos has been entertaining, if shocking at times.

u/newtothethis - thank you for teaching us how to leg shave, and for continuously injecting humanity into this mess

And most importantly-

u/ktturtlesue - for your ideas and putting up with my stupidity the last 20 years. I may have dialed it up to 11 this month, thanks for being willing to laugh at me rather than be annoyed.

Soap Theme Justification  

Sandalwood Saturday - I think Proraso Red is many people's first exposure to Sandalwood. However, as Sandalwood goes, it's not my favorite. 

Post-Shave and Fragrance Relevance Notes  

• Today’s theme is “Sandalwood”

• All three are primarily sandalwood scents. The splash has some bergamot added to brighten it up, but I am a walking sandalbomb today.  TBF, I preferred being a Lavender bomb, especially because I find sandalwood scents to land better in cooler months

July. 29, 2023 - SOTD 

• Prep: Splash of warm water
• Brush: Oumo O4 Venus SHD Badger Brush 26MM
• Razor: West Coast Shaving Multi Titanium Collection Razor
• Blade: King C Gillette
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co - Vanilla Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Nivea Men - Sensitive Soothing Aftershave Balm

ROTY

July 29, 2023

Prep: Proraso - Refrescante Preshave Cream

Brush: Spiffo! - Steinway

Razor: Rockwell 6s R6 Plate

Blade: Astra - Platinum Green (2)

Lather: Noble Otter - Monoi De Tahiti

Post Shave: Clubman Aftershave Splash

#ROTY

July 29, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co A4 26mm
• Razor: Leaf Elite
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum (1)
• Lather: Haslinger – Sandelholz
• Post Shave: Captain’s Choice – Sandalwood
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Sandalorian

Didn't get around to trying the original Haslinger base, but the newer one works quite well. Somewhat difficult to lather without pulling out of the container I have it in, since it is a much smaller puck than average these days. A nice sweet and light take on sandalwood. Captain's Choice sandalwood is a very straightforward scent, but Sandalorian is a masterpiece. A fruity, funky Sandalwood, and the dry down is amazing.

I have not been as engaged as I hoped I would be this year. With the games moving to July and an unexpected job change I have not had nearly the bandwidth that I would have liked.

That being said, I have really enjoyed u/Priusaurus interviews with the various vendors, and once again u/OnionMiasma for engaging (or attempting despite my lack of time/effort), being entertaining, and just generally a stand-up guy.

#ROTY

• Brush: Simpson Classic #1 synthetic brush
• Razor: Karve Shaving Christopher Bradley
• Lather: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood Aftershave Lotion
• Fragrance: Catie's Bubbles - Blugere EDP

ROTY

1 shave remains…

More Maggard samples for today's shave. Very pleasant sandalwood scent that sits right in the goldilocks zone for Scent strength in my mind.

For the challenge:

Winner of the lather games: u/OnionMiasma Best of luck bud! I really felt you went above and beyond. One of my favorite posters without a doubt.

Fears of Fragrance: u/RedMosquitoMM

Photo Contest: u/chronnoisseur420 had some great photos.

Lots of great posts and it was a blast participating in my first lather games!

Honorable mention to u/tsrblke who gets my vote for roty. Great guy and a great set of legs.

July 29, 2023 – Sandalwood Saturday

• Brush: Paladin Chief 26mm Satin Juma Smoke
• Razor: Blackbird Ti
• Blade: Astra SP (2)
• Lather: Castle Forbes – Cedarwood and Sandalwood
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon – Sawtooth

The Soap/Lather: Having not used this sample of cream in over a year, it is definitely harder than it should be. That said, it still lathers up beautifully. Castle Forbes, from what I’ve sampled, has the best shaving cream base. The scent of this soap definitely presents both sandalwood and cedarwood with little else to distract you.

The Shave: The lather from this cream helps to provide a smooth and effortless shave. Really no complaints today. I followed up the shave with Sonder splash and my Sawtooth frag.

Theme: Castle Forbes needs little explanation as sandalwood is in the name, but let me explain the aftershave and frag a little more. While Sonder isn’t an extreme burst of sandalwood, it does provide sandalwood notes and the flowery notes fit right at home alongside both sandalwood and cedar. The sawtooth continues the woody notes and rounds out any rough edges to the scent combination.

Challenge:

• Overall Winner: I think u/Priusaurus will likely ascend the throne as the king of the hill this year. His posts were well done and challenges effectively handled. He was likely compelled into doing more than he planned due to the ongoing feud/competition with the equally impressive u/MrTangerinesky, but that’s just my speculation.
• ROTY: As much as I would like to claim this title, it is not mine to take. I am more than capable to admit defeat to u/tsrblke. His posts consistently hit the mark and provided a basis from which to djudge all other ROTY posts.
• FOF: This can only go to u/RedMosquitoMM. The eloquent explanations and flow of the scent descriptions consistently take you to a place where you feel like you are right there with him on a scented journey.
• Photo Contest: While I admittedly haven’t tracked every photo taken, u/chronnoisseur42O definitely stood out in my mind. That Lavender day shot was just killer.
• Videos: While there were a number of videos that were full of humorous shenanigans, u/Impressive_Donut114 provided a consistent set of videos that were well edited, entertained, and provided a complimentary musical background.
• Most Disturbing Shave: This probably needs to go to u/hugbckt. I hope to never see another man drink his shave water again.

I could go on and on talking about a number of other competitors. I have really enjoyed reading the threads and watching the videos. One more day to go.

#ROTY

7/29/23

• Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving Exclusive MOAR BOAR (31 mm × 57 mm bleached boar)
• Razor: Thiers Issard "Evide Sonnant" 6/8, Extra Hollow Round Point
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Traditionalist
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth Aftershave Toner

This is my first time trying something from Zingari Man. I got this smush from the generous u/J33pGuy13. The scent is really nice. There's definitely a traditional feel to it. A powdery sandalwood blended with musks and spices. The performance I thought was really good. Honestly, better than what I was expecting. It was easy enough to whip up a thicc and slick lather.

I got a trick of labyrinth in mid LG and I immediately fell in love with this scent. It paired really well with The Traditionalist. The sandalwood in both sticking out more while being sweetened up by the Myrrh and lavender. I can't wait to trickhole this set.

As far as leaders in LG, u/MrTangerinsky, u/OnionMiasma and u/Priasaurus are definitely leading the pack. u/gcgallant has provided some amazing content for the photography contest. u/djanovshaving and u/pridetwo are crushing roty. u/RedMosquitoMM is delivering on FoF, as you would expect.

#ROTY

July 29, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 26mm G5C
• Razor: Blackland Vector
• Blade: Kai Captain Titan Mild (AC) (17)
• Lather: Zingari – The Traditionalist
• Post Shave: Zingari – The Traditionalist

Today’s shave has the honor of being the only set that I borrowed from somebody I know in real life. I normally really don’t like sandalwood scents, and I’m sad to report that trend continues. Performance was great, hated the scent. Can’t wait to get rid of this stuff. No more super obvious sandalwood for me, thanks.

To win the whole shebang I’m guessing OnionMiasma. They have the most legendary post points, and has consistently created my favorite posts all month. I haven’t been following FOF at all, so I’m going to guess RedMosquitoMM, based purely on name recognition. I’m guessing HairyKopite for the Photo Contest. Their picture of Cannonball with the little model swimmers is still my favorite, all time, SotD photo. The challenge didn’t ask, but I’ll give a guess anyways. I’m pegging chronnosseiur420 or trsblke for rookie of the year.

My bike is in the shop for the next couple days, so I’m sad to say that my LG biking journey ends at 111 miles. Going to include a reflection on my progress for the month in tomorrow’s post.

Tags: #ROTY

July 29, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Stump 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Sir Henry’s – Black Tie LVS Soap
• Post Shave: Sir Henry’s – Black Tie LVS Splash
• Fragrance: Diesel – Only the Brave Street

I recently learned what sandalwood smells like and I enjoy it. It kinda smells like a lot of typical “masculine” fragrances. Like if something doesn’t smell manly enough, let’s throw some sandalwood in there to make it more tolerable for the masses. And that’s kind of the impression I get with Black Tie LVS. The LVS stands for Lavender, Vanilla, and Sandalwood. The lavender shows through right away and it is tied to Vanilla, but underneath that tasty floral sweetness is the sandalwood to turn the volume down a little bit. It’s a really nice scent the checks a lot of boxes and I think I can use something like this year round. I finished the shave with Diesel – Only The Brave Street because it’s woody and spicy, so I thought it would help bring out the sandalwood from the Black Tie LVS. And as it turned out, I picked up a stronger scent of vanilla in the cologne that I didn’t smell when I sprayed this tester before. Funny how I expected one thing, but when I layered this cologne on the splash, it seemed to almost change or morph into the aftershave I was wearing. #FOF

CHALLENGE

If u/Priusaurus doesn’t win, we riot, right? That is how this works, right??? I recognize I may be biased because he sent me smushes, but I don’t think so. The interviews were a great way to hear from the people that make the stuff we use, but he didn’t stop there. It seemed like every day he was shaving somewhere new or doing a new shtick. A lot of people did funny stuff and a lot of people were informative in their posts, but he was a great mix of everything. I looked forward to his antics and the content of his posts. I can’t say that for anyone else.

For #FOF: I have a feeling it’s not me. This was my first Lather Games and I was in way over my head here. I saw the challenge and figured there was no harm in trying it, but it seems like the consensus is u/RedMosquitoMM is gonna win. Based on the post of his that I’ve seen, that seems about right.

For #ROTY: I haven’t been paying attention at all. Sorry team. I missed the ROTY announcement before the Lather Games started and never looked back.

For #photocontest: u/gcgallant has had some great pics.

July 29, 2023 – Penultimate

• Brush: Chisel and Hound “Acer Pearl” w/ V20 Fanchurian
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword (1)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Sandalwood
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Dammusi

Fairly straightforward shave, I used a sampler from Stirling for my Sandalwood. The only pronounced Sandalwood in my collection right now is in the LEA Classic cream so I wanted to nice big straightforward sandalwood smell. Unfortunately I don’t think I got that off the Stirling puck. Still great performance and my new Chisel and Hound brush really likes these Stirling soaps and is totally coming along as I use it more. Since I don’t have a splash with sandalwood and the puck soap really didn’t give me much but a great lather , I splashed on Dammusi because I have only gotten to use it once since LG started, plus Chicago Grooming Cos splashes just work so well with my skin.

For the challenge I just wanted to recognize u/enndeegee , though while not a player in the games I’ve really enjoyed their work scrubbing and no scrubbing the competition. I know I’m not going to win the damn thing but I at least know I’m at not a total scrub in this arena of my life. Their work also helped highlight some posta I may have missed. Also, was helpful suggesting a tech or superspeed in the DQ day thread. I made my trade happen slim for a tech and I’ve been real happy. Todays shave with the tech I received was one of the better DE shaves I’ve had.

For players, u/mrtangerinesky ha really made me laugh. I hope u/rebdoomer wins the the second ROTY award, I’m a sucker for brevity and consistency. Also I really enjoy when people of positions of power or judges or rule makers can be upset when someone is clearly not following the rules or meeting the expected behavior of a group/game but also meeting the minimum requirements. Not sure if this is an intended disobedience or contrarianism but I see you u/rebdoomer and I like your style.

This has been a blast. Thanks to all the players and so much to all the judges. Really this is fucking awesome.

Cheers! 🤙

ROTY

JULY 29, 2023

• Brush: Stirling Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Gillette - King C. Chrome
• Lather: Castle Forbes - Cedarwood & Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Captains Choice - Sandalwood Splash

Why is Castle Forbes so expensive? Is it the amount of time this company has survive the ages! Is it the scent flowing that has captivated a mass audience? Is it the ingredients they use? I am still in dismay because I could smell the cedar and all but it was not anything special! I would argue HoM, Stirling, summer break had more memorable of lasting scents. Was my sample bad? Possibly either way maybe I was expecting more. Am I turning into a soap snob??

DAILY CHALLENGE: Well I feel that I am not qualified enough to give a true response for todays challenge. I may be bias and to be honest I am not even sure what all the parameters really are. Case in point I am still learning the terminology and have to search words here and there to understand what some of the posts mean. So here is my utterly and completely bias opinion. I would argue that u/priusaurus is at the head of the pack but u/onionmiasma could be a close second or maybe u/redmosquito. For ROTY is either u/curbside_champ or u/tsrblke . Ya’ll have a good weekend.

ROTY

Jul. 29, 2023
Brush: AP Shave Co G5C
Razor: Karve CB
Blade: Astra SP Green
Lather: TOBS - Sandalwood - Cream * Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

I been loving u/MrTangerineSky SOTD posts. He’s been killin it.

ROTY