01-08 An easy-going month with Mammoth
- Brush: Yaqi 'Purple Haze' w/ 24mm Mew Brown knot
- Razor: 1953-54 Gillette 'Aristocrat Junior'
- Blade: Gillette Nacet (1)
- Lather: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Soap
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm
- Fragrance: Proraso - Wood and Spice - Cologne
Hi, hello, how are you. It's been a while, hasn't it?
My last SOTD post here, let's see, was on… 30 November, 2022. Huh. Well, I suppose some apologies are in order. You see, there was that whole issue with the rabid bear, having to save the world over the weekend and– okay, let's cut the shit. I've been absent, and for that I am truly sorry. Life got in the way, I fell behind, and soon enough I didn't think I could hack it with the cool kids anymore. Another reason was probably the fact I settled into a nice daily driver, pared my soap rotation down to just a dozen tubs, and all in all stopped experimenting, buying or advancing in the hobby. I found what I liked, and that was that.
Now, that's not really a great excuse, but it's what I got. I've been thinking/planning to come back, but always forgot or put it off for some reason, and after I missed this year's Lather Games (I mean, why hold them in the dead of our winter, sheesh - don't you know Australia is the centre of the universe?) all hope seemed lost. But u/MrTangerinesky called me back with the allure of Austere August, and I dutifully dragged my sorry ass back for a month of daily posting.
With the lengthy preamble out of the way, let's get into the how and why.
I'm doing two challenges this AA, and they are Mammoth Month by u/InfernalInternal / u/LaTuskFamilia, and the Unchallenging Challenge by Old Spice connoisseur u/cowzilla3. How did I manage to do both, when the latter's rules clearly states I can't? What can I say, I'm a sweet-talker…and already made an attempt on Cowzilla's life in the past, so we have history.
Suppose I better explain myself, then?
Let's just clear my sink-side shave station real quick…
And there we go.
So, the non-challenge. Cowzilla urges us to use our "easiest-to-use set of products" and I agonised a bit over what that would entail. However, I quickly pieced together what would be my most uninvolved, no-issues, comfiest shave experience, and you bet your ass it involves House of Mammoth. u/mammothben has put together something truly special with the Tusk base. It lathers like a dream. It doesn't condemn you to the deepest circle of hell for using too little water, or too much, or for swirling your brush the wrong way. It has a divine level of slickness and leaves your face feeling tip-top. And the smells - oh, the smells. Mood Indigo (it's just Indigo, nowadays) is like a comfy blanket for the face. It's a night drive from the city to the countryside and back, it's at once mysterious and familiar, it's just damn good. Same goes for the balm. I've had this set since my very earliest days in the hobby - in fact, Mood Indigo was my first-ever Bazaar purchase, I think - and I don't think I'll ever let it slip out of the rotation. Plain and simple, it was a no-brainer choice for the 'unchallenge'.
On to the hardware: I've got a few razors in my collection, many of which I've got a fair bit of experience with. There's my daily driver, the Karve Christopher Bradley with the OC F plate, but that thing bites more than the aforementioned rabid bear I had to fight last Spring. There's my previous daily, the Fatip Lo Storto Originale (the 🦊). There's a bunch of others that are great, but not what I'd call fuss-free or easiest-to-use. But then there's the Aristocrat Junior. These things are a pain in the ass to date (just check Mr Razor's website), but rest assured it gives the most easiestest shave I've got on offer. It's TTO - of course, because who wants to fiddle with three pieces and a blade while covered in soap? That's not very easy-mode. It's mild - of course, because who wants to get nipped while enjoying the luxury of a Mood Indigo shave? It's just all around a great little unit, and if I think about it too much more I'm going to sell the rest of my gear and marry this Aristocrat Junior, so let's leave it at that.
When it came to a brush to use for this whole month, I couldn't not use a Yaqi Mew Brown knot. They're the epitome of easy - cheap, so easy to replace; synthetic, so foolproof, smell-free and soft as a pillow; and…uh…the brush fits the colour scheme of Mood Indigo? I don't know, things don't always have to come in threes. I just couldn't look past this one for my easy-mode setup. It's no wonder this thing is my travel brush and comfort pick.
Blade: It's a Nacet. Accessible, wicked sharp, never had a bad one, it's easy-mode. Nuff said.
Frag: I wanted something I don't mind using every day, and Proraso's Wood and Spice cologne is just that. I do legitimately wear it 4 out of 5 days, because the flask is $50 so I can afford an extra spritz without breaking the bank. It doesn't last as long as your designer scents, but who cares when you can re-up for less than a penny? Easiestest pick here.
And, uh, I think that's it? Let me know if I've forgotten anything, judge overlords. I hope I made my case clear for why I think this is my easy-mode setup.
A few more things for housekeeping: I'm going to be doing this AA in Nightmare Mode, in line with the Mammoth challenge, but I hardly ever change my blades anyway, so I don't think this'll be a massive issue. For proof, here's a video of me unwrapping the new Nacet blade...well, trying to. It had to be a two-parter before I stitched it together in post, and even then I nearly sliced myself open in the process. Opening up a new blade pouch is hard with just one hand!
Lastly, here's some hashtags needed for the bots to do their botting: #UNCHALLENGE #MammothMafia23
It's good to be back, folks. Keen to see how you've all been doing.