LGSOTD 02-July

• Brush: Simpson Chubby 2 Synthetic Bristle #PREMIUMPLASTIC #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Wolfman - WR3 OC 0.50 #CNC #(ICan'tBelieveIt'sNot)ButterTheToastDay 
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE 
• Lather: HAGS - Undertow
• Post Shave: HAGS – Undertow

The HAGS vegan undertow is very good, I’ve had a couple of HAGS sets pass through my hands but this is the only one that remains. It’s not particularly unique, being one of a million Aventus ‘inspired’ scents, but it is just pleasant in and of itself. As a side, whether stork counts as food for the photo scavenger hunt is debatable, at the very least it remains on the vegan theme, or at least that's what my Mrs said (and subsequent googling showed) when she asked me what the hell I was doing snapping a pic of my shaving gear and a block of (not)butter in the middle of the dining table! 

I intended the slim for today just so I had something a little on the mild side after the rolls yesterday but the daily challenge must be adhered to, well at least where I can, so out comes the WR3. I have a handful of SE razors (mainly GEMS) but this is a cracker. After participating in the passaround in the UK I had to get my hands on one, despite some comparisons I've seen to droids which made me chuckle, I loved it so beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. So, in went the Google form and the wait began. Luckily the wait was short but I'm glad Tara's patience wasn't, with more than a handful of back and forths, a stunning razor with a gap that, luckily, was perfect for me landed on my doorstep. James really does amazing work. 

Great shave, smooth and smelling good. 

Sadly my ability to lyricise is sorely lacking but kudos /u/Crisp_Mango, truly inventive, well done! 

Hope everyone has a grand Sunday.

Cheers

Marc 

Ps. I have no idea whether this is the way to put links in or shout out to other users, I'm truly a reddit ludite. But if nothing else these games will be a lesson (and a giggle). 

ROTY

PhotoContest

July 02, 2023

• Brush: Beard and Blade Supply Co. - 22mm Classic Synthetic

OLDWORLD

• Razor: Gillette - King C Gillette
• Blade: Feather (3)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Tres Matres
• Post: LÚCIDO - After Shave Lotion

Lather Games off to a great start yesterday! I think I saw a lot of ROTYs - that was kind of amazing.

Nice sunny hot summer day here. Not much going on. I had a good workout in the gym followed by a quick shower and shave. I got a really good lather today and very decent shave result. The scent is great too.

Edit: almost forgot in the last second to only use the one side of the DE razor. I wonder if my shave tomorrow will be affected - I did not make a note of what side I used.

Hashtags #photocontest

Music
“Like a Brother” - hey, nothing Spotify / YouTube

Lather Games Day 2- Veggin' Like Legends

• Prep: Hot Shower - Preshave
• Brush: Shore Shave 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: EldormR Industries MM24
• Blade: GEM - PTFE (11)
• Lather: Razor Emporium - Citrus Shave Soap
• Post Shave: Razor Emporium - Citrus Splash

I don't have many veg soaps in the collection. I could have used SV's Tundra Artica today, but it felt just waaaaayyyy too fancy for a Sunday. So out came the Razor Emporium Citrus soap and splash. Razor Emporium actually makes a strong performer of a soap in a veg base so I didn't feel like I was going to have to perform a blood sacrifice this morning to the Djudges.

Today's Challenge- (Note to Djudges- Thanks for giving us a heads up on the next day's theme. It makes it a little easier to prepare as opposed to rolling out of bed and thinking "Oh fuck, how the hell am I going to pull this shave photo/video off without the wife thinking I've lost my mind yet again) This is an Easy Mode Challenge for sure. The MM24 (aka The LG Butterknife) can be heard scraping stubble off through the whole house. My dogs run into the kitchen wondering what crunchy food item might hit the floor for them. But, alas, disappointment reigns for my canine kids as they realize it's just their dad scraping his face again.

#PHOTOCONTEST

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

• Razor: Blackland Vector Ti #CNC

• Blade: Feather Artist Club Pro

• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Lycanthropy

• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger - Aspen

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Fox in the Flowerbed

Today's Theme: Picked out a vegan base soap with Southern Witchcrafts. Great soap from a great soapmaker.

Today's Challenge: #(ICan'tBelieveIt'sNot)ButterTheToast Day

The Blackland Vector Ti is a very enjoyable SE razor that uses artist club blades. Definitely a bit of a learning curve for me because of how sharp AC blades are, but after trying out some more aggressive DE razors (and that GEM MMOC yesterday) recently I'm much more confident with the Vector than I was when I first bought it a couple months ago.

My theme for today's shave: Animals #photocontest

So today I wanted to explore the idea of animals and how they can be part of the consumption aspect of our hobby, so each of my fragrance choices carry some animalistic theme in their design: Lycanthropy (being a werewolf), Lucky Tiger (well, tigers), and Fox in the Flowerbed (well, foxes),in addition to the Roosevelt badged C&H brush. To be quite honest, these scents clash and are quite dissonant. Lycanthropy being a classic SW scent, it's musky and earthy. Lucky Tiger's Aspen is a basic "blue" cleaning scent. And Fox in the Flowerbed is a very nice floral fragrance that just smells generally "pleasant" to my nose. I wasn't able to have the introspective epiphany about my relationship with animals that I was hoping for, but not every day is going to be a step forward on the path to enlightenment.

I picked Over the Hills and Far Away by Nightwish for today's listening. Absolute banger of a power metal album, and one of my favorite tracks ever. I thought there was a wolf on the album art when I picked it out which would have gone with my Animals theme, but I'm realizing now that I was thinking of a Sonata Arctica album. Oh well, great tunes nonetheless #FOF #ROTY

July 2, 2023

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps – Berwyn – 26mm Synthetic Cashmere Knot
• Razor: EverReady 1912 #TWINS #BRASSING
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Saturday Morning Soap
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Gemutlichkeit Splash
• Fragrance: Thierry Mugler - Angel Men
• Music: Lionel Richie - Easy (Like Sunday Morning)

Day 2 – Don’t have a cow, man Day. It’s crazy how far vegan soaps have come. There was a time when it was thought that it was impossible to make a vegan soap that performs as good as a tallow-based soap – and it would be absolutely unthinkable that there could POSSIBLY be a vegan soap that performs (gasp) better than any tallow based soap.

But I sort of get it. How often is the vegan option ever as good as the traditional option? Anyone that’s ever eaten Vegan Bacon knows the answer to that. Now, imagine if someone made a vegan bacon that tastes exactly like real bacon... Imagine that just for a second. Because, 10 years ago, that’s exactly what Chris Cullen did with Catie’s Bubbles. It was thought to be impossible to make a good vegan soap and Chris saw this as a challenge (his words) and took the shaving world by storm with his soaps, making the naysayers forever regret challenging him to make a good vegan soap (my words). Catie’s Bubbles said to hell with normal convention and somehow made the equivalent of a Beyond Burger that ACTUALLY tastes like a real burger. His vegan soaps are phenomenal and perform just as good (or better than) many of the tallow soaps out there. In today’s world, you can have a damn fine vegan shave. I know it because I did it today. My soap is vegan and my brush is synthetic (and so soft!)

Today, I used the most fun Catie’s Bubbles scent I have – Saturday Morning! It smells exactly like Fruit Loops. Childhood Memory unlocked every single time I open this tub. As part of my #ridingwithItchy Lather Games commitment to not dickhole a single day, my scents are completely opposite, yet go great together. Gemutlichkeit is coffee with chocolate chip cookies and sugar roasted chestnuts. And let you ask you, what goes better with Fruit Loops, than a nice cup of coffee with a side of cookies? Sorry Wheaties. This is a Breakfast of Champions! To round out my #FOF, I’m wearing Angel Men by Thierry Mugler. It’s warm and has the sweetness of caramel with vanilla notes. It smells absolutely amazing and is exactly what my gourmand loving self needs. To me, sweet smelling, gourmand scents are like steroids to WWF Superstar Scott “Big Poppa Pump” Steiner in the 1990s. I get my power from them and I just cannot get enough… But I digress… Absolutely stellar shave today.

For the challenge I made sure I used one of my Gems. Last year, I didn’t have one, then I used an MMOC for AA and I went on a yuuuuuuge Gem kick. While nothing beats my Blackland Sabre, but I’m knocking the #HASHTAGS out of the way as soon as I can, so EverReady today and Gem tomorrow!

I'll give a little peek behind the curtain over here at Priusaurus HQ. Since Saturday Morning smells like Fruit Loops, a few days ago I decided to buy a box of to incorporate this sweet, sugary Food of the Gods into my SOTD pic. I usually wake up earlier than my wife, so I used this time to perfectly set up and take my #photocontest SOTD pic. I was very proud of the result, cleaned it up, and went about my morning of enjoying a little peace and quiet before my twin toddlers wake up.

A few minutes later, my wife woke up and started her morning routine and she noticed the box of Fruit Loops. Now, that's not the type of cereal that we regularly have in our house, so she asks "Why'd you buy Fruit Loops?"

Me: "For The Lather Games."

Mrs. Priusaurus: "Ummmm.... Okay. Do I want to know what Fruit Loops has to do with your shaving competition?"

Me: "You tell me. Do you?"

Mrs. Priusaurus: "The kids wake up in 20 minutes and I haven't had my coffee yet. I just want to tell you I hope you win and let me know if I can help you with your little games at all."

For all you single shavers and shavettes out there, find yourself a ride or die like that! While I don't love that she called this month long extravaganza my "little games" she's still supportive and doesn't question my nonsense or stifle my creativity. She let's this peacock fly free. #keeper

Now, for our daily interview: With a great variety of scents and superior performance, Catie’s Bubbles offers, it’s no surprise they are one of the OGs of the shaving world. And Chris was kind enough to participate in my “10 Questions With…” series. Thank you to u/c_bubbles for taking the time to play along and here’s to 10 more years!

10 Questions with… Catie’s Bubbles

1) Your shave soap is awesome. Everyone knows that. There are two very small details beyond your soap quality and scents that I really, really like about your offering: You offer 2oz soaps, which allows your customers to try more of your soaps without committing to a “full size” tub. And you pour your 4oz soaps in a 8oz tub (and 2oz in a 4oz tub) to allow for loading the brush in the tub without making a mess. Are you surprised more artisan soap companies don’t replicate these approaches?

Every soapmaker has different approaches to their businesses. Some offer no samples, some offer samples of the scent in little vials of an aftershave, some will send "sniffies" (basically a q-tip dipped in the fragrance blend), and other variations. I'm a one person operation so tiny samples are too time consuming for me to offer and the 2oz jars serve multiple purposes since a 4oz soap is not TSA compliant so they also work well as a safe option for air travel. As for the oversized jars with the extra headroom, that was partially a response to the biggest complain people had when I was filling the same jars to the brim with over 8oz of soap......they made a mess but now the mess is contained.

2) The name, “Catie’s Bubbles”, is named after your daughter. How often do people get mixed up and think Catie runs the business?

I've gotten many emails addressed to Catie and I've even seen a video or 3 on YouTube where they think she's me.

3) What does your daughter think about the business now? Is she providing free labor for you? How much longer until you’re working for her?

She used to tell everyone who would listen that she was THE Catie of Catie's Bubbles, that's cooled off a bit as anything Dad does is embarrassing to a 15 year old. She makes herself as scarce as possible when any production is going on but I will occasionally get her to help me make runs to the post office. She wants her future to be in the performing arts and is even attending a special high school for it so I don't think she'll ever take over the reins.

4) When you’re shaving, how often are you using Catie’s Bubbles products vs. other artisans’ shave products?

I've got a ton of products from other vendors but most of my shaves are with my own creations. Occasionally I'll dig out a jar of Mickey Lee's, Talbot, or one of the old White Label B&M soaps (still think that was their best base) but it's on the rare occasion I'm not doing QC or evaluating something I've been working on.

(CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 2, 2023 – Lather Games day 2 – AKA Meat is murder

• Brush: AP Shave Co Synthetic
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Clog Pruf
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (12)
• Lather: Dr. Jon’s – Propaganda
• Post Shave: Dr. Jon’s – Propaganda

My choice for todays shave is Dr. Jon’s Propaganda. It’s a shame that the Dr. Is no longer, I enjoy their products. Propaganda leaves me smelling like a corinthian leather apholstery factory, and I love it!

u/VisceralWatch GEMnabled me way back when by lending me and then Ultimately selling me my (now) favorite SE razor, the ClögPrüf. Umlauts notwithstanding, this is by far my favorite GEM razor (I have many). It definitely #ButtersThatToast each time I use it, and today was no exception. A smooth clean shave. The razor seems to get shinier after each use – probably because I sweat brasso, but that’s a story for another time.

Shave on, comrades!

#PhotoContest

https://open.spotify.com/album/5DM1qCdgGt2zbknnsVn1Ca?si=fWgcj-CSQWOqfldMFjXQMA

Good use of theme, and an interesting composition.

2023-07-02 This is a ~~Cow~~ Bull-Man

• Brush: Omega 343178 Synthetic #FAUXFUR #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Micromatic Open Comb (MMOC) (1st Generation)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth

Challenge Accepted: I've called the MMOC a gentle giant before, a label I straight-up stole from u/EldrormR because it's accurate. I used this for last year's August MMOC challenge, during which time it served me well, and I am become fan.
I'm definitely out of practice, though; I think I can count on one hand, with a few fingers left over, the number of times I've used it since. At the very least my approach to today's shave was a bit cavalier. I realized this during, but did not correct it either enough or soon enough to save my skin. Then again, the mystery blade that's been sitting in the razor—out in the open for some indeterminate amount of time—probably didn't help.
Don't do that, kids; don't use a questionably-old blade.

Relevant Post Shave and Fragrance: Trickhole, plus relevant brush and bowl! I painted that bowl with a minotaur motif over 20 years ago, and never has it been more apt!

Free disclaimer: This Labyrinth set was bestowed upon me by u/phteven_j last year as a Lather Games reward. The news that he would not be involved in the Games or podcast this year was a surprise and disappointment to many, but I get it. The Games are exhausting enough as a participant, I can't imagine what orchestrating and running it would take.

Brush: I haven't been able to confirm whether that model number, 343178, is right, but that is what it purported to be when I bought it, and I haven't found any evidence to the contrary (and not for a lack of searching), so that's what I'm calling it. Also, I think I'm obligated to point out that I purchased it for the low price of $0.00. It wasn't gifted to me, it wasn't a PIF, it wasn't even a promo or freebie; rather, I purchased it from an online store for that listed price. Zero was the price that the brush cost, and the price of the payment was zero.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But also, it is a synthetic brush, making it fit right at home for today's theme!

#photocontest

Photo: Story/thematic

Okay, I gotta talk about the Minotaur for just a second. We all know the story represented in the photo: Theseus (pictured), with his boat of questionably-continuous indentity (not pictured), heroically slew the fearsome, half-man-half-bull~~-half-pig~~ Minotaur (pictured) in his labyrinth (pictured separately, with the bowl). But I recently came across this summary of the myth, and it is... something else! Here's my further-condensed version:

Poseidon gave a fancy bull to Minos of Crete to help Minos become king, under the condition that Minos would later sacrifice the bull back to him. Minos reneged on sacrificing the bull, so Poseidon had Aphrodite make Minos' wife, Pasiphaë, fall in love with the bull.

Right, so Pasiphaë is in love with a bull. That's weird, right?. What's weirder is that Pasiphaë then had Daedalus (you know Daedalus, father of Icarus, flying too close to the sun and all that) fabricate a hollow cow suit that she could wear in order to....

And then she gave birth to the Minotaur!

What the fuck, right? Then again, this is the same general body of mythology that brought us Leda and the Swan, i.e. a popular subject of porny Renaissance art in which Zeus and Leda conceive Castor and Pollux while Zeus is in the form of a swan. Yup.

#FOF

Lather/Post Shave/Fragrance: Where was I? Oh, Labyrinth.
Anyway, it was the description of "wet stone" that first piqued my interest in Labyrinth. I'm kind of fascinated by those "non-scent" descriptions, i.e. that refer to things that don't really have any true scent or don't generally have a smell associated with them. Granted, how well this falls into that category is dubious, because wet stone may very well have a smell, depending on such things as may be on the surface of the rock, or perhaps anything in the water. It follows, too, that any generic wet stone in one's geographic area—say, Tucker, GA—may be distinctly different than what I'm familiar with here in hrmnhmrmgbrn...

I can't say whether it smells like any damp rocks of Georgia, but I can see it. What it actually reminds me of, though, is Stirling's Ben Franklin. Granted, I may be pretty far off because it's been a few years since my nose has been exposed to that.

I feel like I might be grasping at straws to draw some kind of similarity from the ingredients, but you've got the myrrh of Labyrinth and the benzoin of Ben Franklin, both tree-based resins. There's a strong temptation to relate myrrh to Ben Franklin's frankincese, but I can't tell you if those have any olfactory similarities.
I never claimed to have a refined olfactory palate.

If it were a color, I'd say it would be a desaturated, medium-light brown. Wait, that sounds like a bad thing; I don't mean it to be!
I struggle with thinking of the kind of ~~occastion~~ occasion for which this scent would be well-suited. It is not a date scent. It does not strike me as something to be worn to any kind of formal event, or even to work at an office job.
...
It does actually seem like it would be appropriate for an archaeologist. Does that make sense? I don't know any archaeologists.
Or maybe in a dark library, or something like an alchemist's lab, perhaps some tome of cryptozoological anatomy...
Actually, in my mind, that sort of image may fit right in with Southern Witchcrafts' brand.

great thematic shot and use of a model

July 2, 2023 – MM24 in transit.

• Brush: Body Shop Synthetic #runt #smoll #ANCIENT
• Soap: TOBS - Tobacco Leaf
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Shire
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Romance in Middlesex County
• Razor: Gillette Superspeee taped on one side
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (7)

Well this day came too early. I just picked up an MM24 that won’t arrive until Wednesday. So I had to make do with the taped up SuperSpeed. Doing this I realized how much I’ve incorporated flipping my razor into my routine. It’s basically muscle memory at this point. Regardless I got a good shave.

This was my first use of TOBS which I did not realize was a cream. There’s no ingredients on the sample but the TOBS website says all their products are vegan. The shave itself was ok but man was my face dry after. Normally I can distinguish post feel.. But now I understand.

This brush is odd. I found it in a drawer. I remember buying it with their cream to make carts bearable, deciding it didn’t. Growing a beard then finding it again when I started wetshaving, deciding it was kinda crummy (rough and no splay) getting a maggards Synth and during all this time never throwing it out. Well it’s time has come.

On to #FOF: The shire plays off the tobacco notes in the soap (though the soap was not what I expected for a tobacco) And as I mentioned the discovery sets only get you a little over 2/3 of the way so I’m backfilling. All my tobacco frags are earmarked for better days so I thought I’d continue the intended progression from tobacco to lighter spring tobacco mixed with air and grass go the fruits and florals of RIMSC and… It didn’t really work. It’s not bad, they are (edited this should read "aren't") totally clashing but they don’t blend. Oh well. But there was also a subtle second reason for this choice. My choices spell out my initials. (I actually swapped my frag to make this happen.)

And to #photocontest I’m still not sure how many of these I’m going to take. But as I mentioned in practice LG we’re a family of weirdos so we all goof along in each other’s hobbies. My kids especially love helping with photography and smelling my new soaps. So for the architecture theme we used their train setup which is full of buildings (some custom made for this shot) and they composed the shot. Which is why it’s a wide angle, because “it all has to be in there dad.” they wanted to be in it too but the wife and I nixed that because we’re putting less pics of our kids on the interwebz.

Lastly, shout out to all my fellow 23 #ROTY. Let’s have some fun!

Edited: this post was DQ'd because I effed up formatting but replaces it for u/wallygator88 and FOF.

July 2, 2023 – LG 2: Don’t Have a Cow

• Brush: Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb
• Blade: GEM (35)
• Lather: Black Ship Grooming – Captain’s Reserve
• Post Shave: Apex Alchemy Soaps – Champagne and Strawberries
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – EMP

Cell reception at the campsite, so LG posting can continue! Now to awkwardly explain to my fellow campers and friends why I’m out here shaving in the bush and posting it on the internet… mixed results and enthusiasm, but people got a kick out of it.

Black ship is not my favorite base, bit airy for me, but still serves its purpose just fine. As a Bay Area native, vegan folks and food offerings are plenty. And although vegans in my experience are not typically frat boy club goers, that is what sort of links my shave scents together today. Captions reserve and EMP of course both being creed aventus dupes, the basic b**ch cliche of scents. Seems like most artisan fragrance makers despise it at some level, yet most find a dupe at some point or another making it into their line up. So today I channel my inner vegan frat boy club goer, get my aventus dupe, have my champagne and strawberries in the VIP club room, only to coat myself in yet more aventus nectar. I’ve honestly never smelled the original, so don’t hate me, but I sort of enjoy the EMP. Quite fruity and smoky, and works well with the fruit forward apex alchemy. Extra smoke from the morning fire. #FOF

Synthetic brush today too, cause you know, no harming animals. I still sort of suck with GEMs, and I think I may used mine for AA then retire it to the shelf. Also, had to borrow u/mammothben patented lather plate (SFW if you’re ok seeing faces) with Nalgene to get the shave going this morning. #photocontest (scenery). SOTD photo please, not lather plate.

soap brands 2/30, post shave 2/30, frag 2/30, post/frag linked 2/30, software sponsors 0/15, hardware sponsors 0/2, razor hashtags 1/15, brush hashtags 0/15, photo contest 2/30, daily challenges 1/25, special challenges 1/5

July 2, 2023 – Vegan Day

• Brush: Dogwood Badger
• Razor: Mongoose – Mongoose SE
• Blade: Schick Proline (5)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Arcane Abyss
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Arcane Abyss
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Arcane Abyss

So Vegan day just so happened to land on the day I was doing the most English thing possible. Watching the cricket, cooking roast beef on the BBQ in the rain so I thought I would capture it in my picture as that must tick a box or two on the Photo Contest.

The software today however was vegan and I would imagine most of the posts today will feature Southern Witchcrafts as for me they are a top tier base and being vegan is just a bonus for many.

This Trickhole (although the brush being a Dogwood Arcane Abyss would make it a matching 4 piece so not sure what that makes it) was from my first PIF (Hosted by the Grand Master Of Stag Himself u/phteven_j ) win shortly after me first LG a couple of years ago. I’m a big aquatic fan and this one is brilliant, and being SW it couldn’t just be your normal run of the mill scent. For me this scent is a warm jumper (sweater for you non uk folk) that you put on after a day at the beach while you are sat around an open fire on the shoreline, it’s has a real warmth to the scent that I really enjoy.

Today’s challenge was a winner, most of us head shavers love a SE and I went with the Mongoose today. It’s big, bulky, not overly pretty (yup we are still talking about the razor) but boy it gives a great shave.

Have a great rest of your weekend guys.

photocontest

Well composed, and on theme for both the tag Vegetables and relevant for the daily theme.

July 2, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co Lemondrop 28mm SynBad
• Razor: GEM MMOC Gold Gen2 #BRASSING
• Blade: Personna Gem PTFE (7)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Peach Karma - Cream
• Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
• Post Shave: Ariana & Evans - Peach & Cognac - Aftershave

2 passes. Bowl lather. Excellent shave.

---

I definitely would have used Peach Karma and my trusty MMOC more than once this summer. What a joy to use them together today.

I purchased Peach Karma when I saw it released in the summer of 2021. As a huge fan of Wholly Kaw tallow soap products, I wanted to see what Sri would do with a vegan cream. I like fruity, citrusy scents in the summer, and this one is a nod to the Tom Ford Bitter Peach fragrance, so it wasn't much of a gamble for me. And, of course, after trying it, I loved everything about it. This is one of two travel creams that I take with me. On travel, I put some of it on the brush, then face lather. Today, though, I took the time to bowl lather it; carefully alternating adding water and agitation. The result was a beautiful, light and silky lather that felt wonderful on the skin. And I love the fragrance. I really should try Bitter Peach at some point.

The MMOC is an old friend. Unlike many folks, this razor was a love at first use experience for me. I have another one in chrome that I should PIF, but this gold one is staying put with me. I used it in last year's Austere August during which I developed the 2-pass shaving pattern that I used today. The gold plating on this razor is starting to wear off in areas. In the photo, I've oriented the razor so you can see two such areas on the top cap.

Enjoy your Sunday! I'm off to stream F1.

Theme: Don't have a Cow, Man! #photocontest

July 2, 2023 – LG23 Day 2: Don’t Have a Cow, Man! But how can I make butter for my toast?

• Brush: Maggard Midnight Blue G5 26mm #PREMIUMPLASTIC #FAUXFUR
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Preshave: Golden Irish – Spreadable Butter
• Preshave: Turano – Pane Turano
• Lather: Zingari – The Traditionalist
• Post Shave: Proraso – Sandalwood
• Fragrance: Guerlain – Santal Royale

I think I was having a cow. In the dream I had Friday night. Right before the Games. We were anxiously awaiting the start of the Maggard Meetup. The opening event was some rando motivational speaker that I had no idea about why he was there. It was motivational, alright. I couldn’t actually see what was going on, but we all were hyped up. By the buzz in the next room, things were getting exciting and that is where I needed to be. But why?? Inside the cavernous, empty room were presumably Brad Maggard and hippyish, black-plastic-spectacled person named Andrew, who spoke with an accent and half-way resembled a supervisor I had at a job 30 years ago. What the…!?! I paid good money for this?!? I got pretty bent out of shape about it. Right away Brad changes his tone going into sales pitch mode. As if to reassure me, he says to, “follow the maze,” whatever the hell that means. Passageways open in the walls and the already grayish room goes dark and that’s probably when the dog kicked me in the back as she was hogging the covers. Again.

So much for waking up in the middle of the night to check the opening of the Games.

What a difference a day makes. This morning was night and day over the plucky skin donation from day one. Like a stout team of oxen pulling a sharp plow through an unturned field, so did the u/EldrormR Industries MM24 cut through the plot of whiskers on my face. And that field, when planted, did produce the bountiful acres of flowing ryegrass upon which the herds of Kerry cattle did happily graze. And the milk those happy cows produced was churned into sweet, creamy goodness that melteth in the crannies of the toast upon which it was spread this joyful morn before my shave.

This morning is almost entirely a PIF shave: Soap from Maggard Meetup, Splash from the Ohio Meetup, Fragrance from the u/scarpux traveling box of samples (which will travel again!) The sandalwood journey from start to finish was exquisite and I particularly enjoyed the opening notes of the Guerlain Santal Royale which I found to be reminiscent of the benzenous sweetness of gasoline as it gave way to a green woody essence.

Here’s to a happy shave and perusing last year’s posts by u/RedMosquitoMM to pay an appropriate tribute tomorrow!

EDIT: forgot my damn hashtags…again. #photocontest

July 2, 2023

• Brush: Omega s-brush

• Razor: Edwin Jagger EJ89

• Blade: Astra SP (Green)

• Lather: La Toja

I guess it is not a popular choice, but for a vegan day I use the La Toja. BTW it is one of the best sticks I have used.

Frankly speaking, I prefer tallow soaps and dairy products in my daily routine.

Tags: #ROTY #photocontest scenery

Don't have a Cow, Man!

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Ambrosia Maple #Composite
• Razor: Schick Type B Repeating Magazine Razor #Brassing #IllFuckingDoItAgain
• Blade: Schick Vintage 20 Injector Magazine (2)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw – Dulci Tobacco
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Valedictorian
• Fragrance: Tom Ford – Tobacco Vanille

Dulci Tobacco was my first vegan product by Wholly Kaw (The bison in the background of the SOTD pic have not been harmed in any way), and I love the scent of it. Sweet and gourmand, it's the starting point for a little tobacco scent excursion, followed by earthier, smoky Tobacco of Valedictorian, and the drier fuller Tobacco scent of Tobacco Vanille. This one sparked joy.

While it doesn't have the satisfying toast buttering sound of the GEM SEs, the Schick Type B is one of the coolest SE razors in existence. You basically get a year of shaving out of a full magazine, a total nerd snipe for a mechanical engineer like me.

For the #photocontest, I'm shooting for the Pets theme. Now, we don't have pets of our own (the closest I have to a pet is Djunior), so we had to go visit our tax payer-funded pets at the local zoo.

July 2, 2023 – Day #2 of the Lather Games

• Brush: Muninn Woodworks purple burl AP Shave Co. 24mm MiG
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Clog Pruf #BRASSING
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Gravefruit II
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Gravefruit II

Don’t have a Cow, Man! What I do everyday when I open this and look at the bottom theme, which is for tomorrow, and think I effed up today.

I used my set of SW Gravefruit II which was the first full tub of artisan soap that I bought after my sample pack purchase from SW early 2022 when I got into wetshaving and was bored with MWF. An incredible base and scent from creative genius Courtney and /u/Phteven_j, Grand Master of Stag and PIFs so complex I only understand type 3 numbers and something happens (sorry, don’t know Courtney’s username). Commonly referred to as the best vegan base, it is nothing short of one of the best bases, period. When I started to dabble in AS this year, it was a clear choice that I needed the full set of this scent before I couldn't get it any longer. And of all that I have tried, it feels the best. No sting required. Still keeping an eye open for the OG SW/APR so if anyone decides to make a terrible decision and get rid of it, hit me up.

Happy to be theme for the daily challenge today too. Slow indoctrination by the GEM cult. A good lather is key to a good shaving experience, and SW + GEMs made it happen today. #(ICan'tBelieveIt'sNot)ButterTheToast

Hope my first non-toilet bowl photo is not terrible #photocontest

Jul. 2, 2023 -To Moo or not to Moo, that is the question

• Prep: CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. 2 Band Synthetic

• Razor: GEM MMOC #BRASSING

• Blade: GEM PTFE

• Lather: Soap Commander - Courage

• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger - After Shave & Face Tonic

• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Unscented Balm

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Cobra and The Canary

Day 2 and unfortunately I have to pull out this Soap Commander soap to fulfill the theme, I don’t have an issue with vegan soaps on principle but this one just doesn’t live up. I recently used this soap and was reminded of how mediocre it is. There are some absolutely great vegan soaps out there! I could’ve pulled out a Southern Witchcraft or Catie’s Bubbles soap and had a much nicer experience today but I already have those brands elsewhere in my calendar so here we are!

#(ICan’tBelieveIt’sNot)ButterTheToast day sponsored by u/OnionMiasma. I got this MMOC in a PIF from him last year with the requirement of using it during AA. Had a great August taming the beast and it helped kickstart my GEM collection! I had a fair amount of choices for todays razor and almost grabbed my MM24 (my favorite GEM) but decided to use the MMOC instead. Working to get some hashtags going early on and this one has more brassing on it!

For my #photocontest submission of the day could there be anything other than a cow in the picture? The only question is what day does it qualify for? #Food? Not really, I eat my fair share of beef but not sure this really works here. #Pets? I know people with pet cows but also have had packs of ground beef in my freezer labeled “Beaufort” so this doesn’t work either. That leaves the #WildAnimals tag for today. Yes I know that cows have been domesticated and aren’t totally “wild” anymore but I would say this qualifies. The only little issue is the Note saying “alive only” but seeing as that is a note and not a rule I’m opting to ignore that in my quest for greatness! #AirBud Also tried to pull in other items in my shave with the Lucky Tiger aftershave and The Cobra & The Canary fragrance!