• 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

DAY 2 LATHER GAMES! HAVE A VEGAN BURGER!

• Prep: Water
• Brush: DS Cosmetics 30mm Tuxedo Knot
• Razor: OCMM
• Blade: GEM PTFE (15)
• Lather: Good Fellas Smiles - Sea Citrus
• Post Shave: Good Fellas Smiles - Sea Citrus Splash
• Fragrance: Bvlgari - Aqva Amara

PIC OF IR DIDN'T HAPPEN

INTRO

Oh man was I happy to hear about today's Daily Challenge, especially after yesterday #skindonor (warning false advertisement). Moreover as soon as I saw the challenge for tomorrow I knew what had to be done.... Let's get right into it!

DAILY CHALLENGE

Yes I shaved with the OCMM and why was I happy to hear about it? Well I did shave with it for 29 days through the whole of June and if I fell in love with the razor after the first few shaves(which were before Retro June, a challenge we made in the Bulgarian group), now consider it one of the best razors ever made!

Like many others today I probably used the OCMM. But why? Well we all know why. There is one person who's at fault for this! And his name is u/EldrormR ! I first purchased one of his awful two toned handles to put on a ER24, or MM24, together with a standard OCMM. He was such an asshole he sent me the stuff even before I paid, I was having money issues and told him I will send him the money at the end of the month, and then he can send them. But noooooo, he had to send them earlier, what a dick!

Later when I told him I really love the OCMM and I would like a fancier one, he found me one(look at it, it's horrible) for a super good deal and again sent it before giving him any sort of monetary compensation, I mean who does that. I tell you who.... People like Eld, awful people...this is why I decided to do write an Ode towards him. Here it is(I had some help from Schiller):

ODE TO ELD

Joy, beautiful sound of cutting

Father of the GEMS,

We enter our bathroom, bearing your craftsmanship

Heavenly One, thy GEM-liness!

Thy craft unites us

Where DE divides us,

All shavers become brothers,

Where thy gentle GEM abides.

Whoever has succeeded in using a GEM

Found out it’s to be a shaver’s friend,

Whoever has won a GEM PIF,

Add his to the party roster!

Yes, whoever also has just one GEM

To call his own on this r/Wetshaving forum!

And he who never managed it should slink

Weeping from sorrow above his sink!

All r/wetshave'rs shave of joy

At the wash basin they enjoy .

All the OCMM, all the ER12/24,

Follow their trail of sharpness.

Kisses that result in the greatest of smoothness,

A friend, proven in truthness .

Gladly, as his work ships

through the land and over the seas

Package, shavers, it’s coming your way,

Joyful, like a new toy with which to play!

Be embraced, Everyone!

His love to all the wetshaving world!

Do you sense him?

Amongst the stars he resides!

EldrormR is thy name which unites!

Now a bit of seriousness. Eld really is an awesome guy and his love for the hobby and GEM razors in particular is probably the biggest I've seen. I was infected with that love and myself now enjoy GEM razor(s) much more than previously! I enjoy them so much that some body parts may get jealous.

A bit about the razor itself. OCMM is definitely the most effective razor I've ever used, and when one gets ahold of the angles, it shaves smoothly like butter, even daily shaves can be managed quite easily, but much slower cause you need more caution. My only gripe is that I tried shaving a 10 day(give take) beard and the razor clogged like crazy, you had to open the clamp constantly.... but other than that it is sublime!!!

THE LATHER(F-ING FINALLY IT'S THE LATHER GAMES)

I think I've only used a GFS soap once before and definitely was not amused... but it fit the calendar and you know, mix and match. It's a vegan base, and it's ok, doesn't take much water, but that's normal for Italian soaps. I'm really not the biggest fan of Italian cosmetics. The scent was kind of nice though, you can feel the sea and the citrus. Gives me a reminiscence of how fried calamary smell in Greece, we have a joke about Calamari Rhodope here in Bulgaria, if anyone is curious, DM me, cause it's NSFW... But yeah, a straightforward smell, nothing special. Soap did dry my skin a bit, but that's kind of normal from what I've tried from them.

THE AFTERSHAVE

Really didn't expect the splash to have some oils in it, second day where I'm surprised by an aftershave. It did a good job of hydrating my skin after the drying up from the soap. It's nothing special in general.

​

#FOF

Bvlgari - Aqva Amara

Why did I choose this fragrance for today? Well it's simple, while GFS gives you strong citrus with hints of a sea breeze. Aqva Amara plops you on the sand puts a fan next to you so you can experience all the sea smells tenfold and when you start to enjoy it someone comes up to your face and spritzes you with a citric extract. It really is a great representation of being on the beach under the shade of an umbrella(those beach ones) and sipping a wonderful cold orange cocktail cooling you off.

EPILOGUE

Everything is going great so far, I hope I managed to give a good tribute to one of the forum's great guys who has sparked love for razors long before us and am waiting for tomorrow's day, lather and challenge!

• Daily Lather Themes: 2/30
• Daily Challenges: 2/30
• Hardware Scavenger Hunt: 2/20
• Hardware Vendor Points: 0/2
• Software Vendor Points: 0/13
• Software Vendor Bonus Point: 0/1
• 30 Different Soap Brands Point: 2/30
• 30 Different Soaps On Theme Bonus Point: 2/30
• 30 Different Post-Shaves Bonus Point: 2/30
• 30 Different Fragrances Bonus Point: 2/30

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)

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.

July 2, 2023 - Cheers!

• Brush: Böker -Synthetic #COMPOSITE
• Razor: Razorock – Eco
• Blade: Permasharp (3)
• Lather: Henri et Victoria – Absinthe
• Post Shave: Epsilon – Scottish Spirit
• Fragrance: Polo – Blue

Cheers
Santé
Sláinte
Kanpai
Prost
Salud
Skâl
Saúde
Cin Cin
Kāmau
Noroc
I Sveikata
Наздраве!
Gesondheit

FOF

As my Softwares sub-theme was Drinks and booze, starting with the awesome Absinthe. Its very dominant in Anise, which is also common in a lot of liquor around central europe and even to middle east, namely Ouzo, Raki, Sambuca and many others. Anise smells very similar to licorice to a lot of people and thats why this soap is in my collection. I love the scent and it fits the cooler summer days very well. Next on my bar tour through my shaving den is u/Teufelskraft Epsilon Scottish spirit aftershave. Its dominant in whiskey notes. Woods, smoke and spices like clove, cinnamon and again anise are among its notes. Slàinte mhath! All is rounded up with patchouli to make it wearable. I did not get much of the sweeter spices, but alot of the woody patchouli notes. Suddently my bar tour takes me from the greek shores with Ouzo to an english upper middle class club. We leave the linen shorts in the suitcase and dress up to fit in among striking men. To find a booze fragrance is not an easy task, so i watched out for fragrances with ingredients which would fit into a nice drink. We stay in the english club, but switch drinks to a spicy Gin-Tonic. Polo blue starts boozy in the first seconds, then is dominant in cucumber, which is a possible ingredient in a Gin-Tonic. Once we took a few sips, we get curious about other ways to drink Gin. Its the last one for the night. Polo blue offers me herbs like Basil, also known as the Gin basil smash. It’s time to leave the bar now. Whats left is a maskuline scent thats not too dominant, not exciting, but great for your day to day life.

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

• Prep: Shower
• Brush: AP Shave Co G5C #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Schick L Type Injector
• Blade: Ted Pella PTFE Injector
• Lather: Omega - Eucalyptus
• Post Shave: Geo F Trumper - Eucris
• Fragrance: Floris - No. 89

I had originally planned on doing a James Bond themed shave today, but after checking my HC&C Bond last second, one of the last ingredients was silk, so I had to change it up. I planned on using a different razor as well but with today's challenge being an SE razor, I improvised. I also had a brush I wanted to use for this, but it hasn't even shipped yet. So in a way, I feel like I'm having a cow.....man.

I selected Omega Eucalyptus shaving cream as it's one of my favorites when I'm in more of a rush, as it lathers in seconds, and it's very cheap.

Trying to keep it as the James Bond theme I had in my head, I went with the razor from the film Live And Let Die, and in the novels, Bond used Trumper's Eucris, although I believe it was the hair tonic and not the aftershave, although its been some time since I've read through them. Novel Bond did however wear Floris No. 89 after the author himself.

While the character of James Bond certainly loves his meat, it makes him almost the antithesis of today's theme, but in reality, to get fit for Bond, Daniel Craig had a diet that was heavily plant based; totally cutting out the tallow (not counting cheat days) Since non-tallow soap is only one day this month, he has definitely had 1 day in a month of not eating anything with animal byproducts; full circle

#(ICan'tBelieveIt'sNot)ButterTheToastDay #ROTY #FOF

July 2, 2023 - Don’t Have a Cow Man!

• Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving Exclusive 31mm Moar Boar #CHONK #OLDWORLD
• Razor: MM24 #BRASSING
• Blade: Persona GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Traditionalist
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Valedictorian
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Treachery

Day two of the Lather Games, and I already am feeling very unprepared. I have my lathers planned out, but left most post shaves and fragrance tbd. I have a couple “cheat code” post shave products that are unscented or mild enough to go with anything, but I’m trying to be creative and build up on the lather base. I don’t have a lot of vegan soaps, so my choices were limited. I went with The Traditionalist to get an LG sponsor and vegan soap. I looked up the notes on The Traditionalist and decided to lean into the tobacco. Off the soap, I don’t get much tobacco, but when I smelled the Valedictorian splash, I felt it echoed the base notes of the soap and played up the tobacco. The fragrance from Maher Olfactive - Treachery took the tobacco note from the splash and ran away with it. I am getting a strong tobacco scent with warm spices. I think it brought it around full circle to the soap, as I do get a hint of spices and pepper from it. I’ll give the scent matchups a B+/A-. Right on the edge there, but not perfect. I think they did well together, but the mild scent off the sample of soap really left a lot of room to match with other things I have. Noble Otter - Plunder would play well with it. That choice would lean towards the spice more.

For the shave, the choice was easy. What better to butter the toast than a MM24? That Ever Ready Shovel Head seems to be the perfect configuration to amplify the sounds of the razor mowing the stubble. Even on finishing passes and buffing, it has loud, crunchy feedback. Good thing it is a pleasure to shave with. Not sure how well the brassing shows in picture, but the edges of the head are devoid of plating, and the top has thinned to where the plating looks like a slight wash over the brass. The yellow of the brass is shining through the nickel (or chrome?), giving it the appearance of low karat gold.

For the brush (not pictured), what more can be said about the beast that is the Moar Boar? I think I am around 50 shaves in with it. The brush is getting pretty soft now, but still is a hungry pig. I scooped twice what I normally would, and the brush could have taken more. I did get enough loaded that I could get lather out of it, but wasn’t releasing much at the end. Probably should have used the cashmere brush to be more vegan, but at least the lather was.

Second Haiku for the fragrance.

Big tobacco scent,

Like at Eads News in Boulder,

Alas, it’s gone now.

#FOF

Day 2

• Prep: Wholly Kaw Green Tea Deodorant
• Brush: Maggard Razors Black Resin Handle Synthetic Shaving Brush, 24mm
• Razor: 1920s Era Gem 1912 Head Knurled Handle Single Edge Razor #BRASSING
• Blade: Husky... again, ugh. Don't judge me, I want the SE point
• Lather: Wholly Kaw Vor V vegan base
• Post Shave: Wholly Kay Vor V splash
• Fragrance: Wholly Kaw Vor V EdP

I am a big fan of Vor V. The combination of raspberry and darker scents is fantastic. The vegan base is THIRSTY. I am done with those blades. haha. My neck can't handle it another day. Sorry, I am not as articulate as some of you.

The fragrance choice today was easy. I wanted to complete the lineup with all three Vor V products. It is a little ambery for a hot summer day, but the raspberry and spices will pair nicely with my day. Farmers Market, then the office to catch up on some work, followed up with some afternoon drinks.

(ICan'tBelieveIt'sNot)ButterTheToastDay #ROTY #FOF

LG23-02 - Don't have a Cow, Man!

• Brush: Maggard Razors 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Edwin Jagger DE86
• Blade: Astra SP (24)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Desairology - Shave Soap
• Post Shave: Dr. Jon's - Blood Oath - Aftershave
• Fragrance: DSH - Become the Shaman
• Passes: WTG, XTG
• Coffee: Traveling and therefor whatever's in the Mr. Coffee
• Music: Brightblack Morning Light
• LG Tags: #FOF

Today's theme is one of the more utilitarian days on the Lather Games calendar, but it's one of my favorites, because it's a useful reminder of how good vegan shaving soaps are these days. When I first started getting into the hobby, I had this inaccurate misconception that tallow-based soaps were inherently better than their vegan alternatives. That's simply not true.

The Southern Witchcrafts soap base is arguably the very best evidence of this; it's slick, kind to the skin, a breeze to lather, and quick to rinse off, all at a modest price-point. On top of the soap quality, the perfumery is intentional, varied, and opinionated—what the very best artisans bring to the table. I really should use their products more often, because I'm delighted every time I do.

For today's SOTD I started with the brand's unusual take on barbershop scents. I love how Desairology starts with some expected notes—musk, a bit of citrus, oakmoss—and then interprets the scent of a barbershop through the lens of ritual and apothecary, applying poultices and balms, burning holy resins and smudging white sage. Desairology competes with Valley of Ashes as my favorite Southern Witchcrafts composition and defines the barbershop category for me with just a few other wet shaving standouts.

I just have the one razor with me in my travel kit (an Edwin Jagger DE, my very first) so I couldn't Butter the Toast, but I happily simplified my shave and stuck to one side of the blade. Spinning the razor around always feels like an unnecessary pain in the butt anyway.

Continuing with the idea of chanted rites, protective sachets, and the power of ancient medicine, I sprayed on some aftershave from my sample of Blood Oath. Dr. Jon's was one of the other wet shaving artisans producing top-tier vegan products up until a few months back; it's a shame they had to close up shop and I wanted to make sure I included the brand in my Lather Games calendar. Unfortunately, while Blood Oath is a perfect thematic match to Desairology and an interesting scent, I'm happy it fades quickly. I don't mind its medicinal, herbal qualities, but I think it's a combination of ho wood and marjoram that smells overwhelmingly musty to my nose and the citrus isn't the bright, cheery, easy-to-love zest of solar citrus. Still, it's on theme for both the Lather Games and my SOTD.

I finished up my shave with a perfect segue and ideal capstone. Like Desairology, Become the Shaman highlights burnt palo santo incense, enhanced a bit by "copal, tobacco, and sappy milkweed." I enjoy it's straightforward progression and dramatic imagery—I can see the scene in my mind's eye. Dawn is at her best when working in a conceptual, avant garde mode.

July 2, 2023 – LG Day 2 – Don’t Have a Cow

• Brush: Stirling Two-Band Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Gem MMOC
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
• Lather: Dr. Jon’s – Anne Bonny
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Gin & Tonic
• Fragrance: Arquiste – The Architects Club

Today was almost my first significant error of the Games. The soap I had chosen definitely had tallow in it, because I neglected to read beyond the first like three ingredients in my flurry of last-minute planning. Thankfully I double checked this morning, and we pivoted!

Deepest apologies to jeffm, but bay rum is not my favorite. I have this soap which was a hand-me-down from my FIL’s collection, and it’s one of the dusty, back-of-the-shelfers that I only pull out occasionally. It’s not that I dislike bay rum, but I don’t crave it — and with all the other options I have…well, it gathers dust.

Due to this, I didn’t have an easy grab for my pairings. Looking at the cover of the soap tin, the process of elimination occurred. West Indies Bay? Nothing. Black Tea? I got rid of my only tea-centric splash as I didn’t like it. Dark Rum? Nope. Lime? That. That I can work with.

Most of my other limey splashes are already booked for later in the Games, but Gin & Tonic has the added bonus of also being booze-themed. Although the lime in G&T seems a bit artificial and cloying to my nose, it doesn’t clash with Anne Bonny by any means. The thing I miss most from this splash is actual gin. I don’t get much for juniper or really any botanicals that cause gin to be my liquor of choice. Thankfully, I have The Architects Club to help me out. Thought a vanilla frag at its core, it does give me the “cool dry gin opening” as advertised. This opening was lovely when upon its initial hit, and now that the vanilla has really started to show, it accentuates the sweetness of the rum and the lime that are lingering from my shave. This #FOF was a good reminder to me that I can trust my intuition a bit more when pairing scents. They don’t have to share an obvious note or be in the same family to work together. I panicked when TTS went down, because it was my biggest help in pairing scents every day. Now, I realize that this was, in a way, a gift to me — a lesson to trust my gut, try things out without overthinking, and just go for it.

Now I want a Gin & Tonic.

July 2, 2023

• Brush: Boti Stump Hybrid with 28mm Synthetic #COMPOSITE
• Razor: GEM 1912 #TWINS
• Blade: GEM Blade
• Lather: LA Shaving Soap Company – Vanilla, Eucalyptus, Mint
• Post Shave: Hawaiian Shaving Co – Pepamina Alani Splash
• Fragrance: Versace – Eros

Two days posting in a row! It’s so impressive to me that so many of you post every single day, whether there’s a Lather Games or not. At two days, I’m at my longest streak ever! Wahhhoooo! As Freddy Mercury would say: Don’t stop me now!

And my debut Lather Games is off to a roaring start. Thanks for u/jeffm54321, I’ve now realized there is a rookie side contest that I somehow missed the announcement of and didn’t include #ROTY in my post yesterday. Ooopsssss. Oh well. Can’t change the past and can only go up from here.

I used a vegan soap today from Los Angeles Shaving Soap Company. I guess vegan soaps are more rare, but I have a confession to make: it took me months of wetshaving before I realized that there was a big difference in the ingredients of shave soaps. Like, I knew every artisan had their own formulas or whatever, but I never put any thought into: is this soap made using dead animal fat? Literally had no idea that’s what tallow was until like 3 or 4 months ago. I guess I’m just blessed to start wetshaving now and not 15-20 years ago like a lot of the old-timers here. So yeah, I never had any preconceived idea that vegan soaps were bad or inferior or whatever. Hell, I’ve been using vegan shaving gel since I started shaving, so really, tallow lathers are more unique to my face! The hardest part of today for me was going back and looking the ingredient list of all the soaps I’ve acquired over the last 8 months to see what was vegan. Fortunately, this sample from LA Shaving Soap Company is Vegan.

The mint in this soap actually reminds me of toothpaste. Right off the sample, if I close my eyes, I’d swear I’m smelling Crest. When I shave with it, some of the vanilla and eucalyptus shows through, but not nearly enough to attract a koala bear. Mint is still the star of the show. For that reason, I went with a Splash from Hawaiian Shaving Company, called Pepamina Alani, which translates to Peppermint Orange. Aloha, my good people – I can speak Hawaiian. In my opinion, this is much more balanced. The peppermint still shows through, but the orange provides a really nice addition. Since I had mint on mint with the soap and splash, I had to use a fragrance that had mint listed in the scent notes, so I went with Versace Eros. There’s a lot of scent notes listed for Versace Eros, and quite honestly, I’m not sure I can actually smell the mint in it. To me, Eros smelled like a pretty standard, going-out-on-the-town cologne. Not bad as all, but I wouldn’t call it unique, by any stretch. Overall, I had a good shave. #FOF

I used one of a two GEM razors I have. Fortunately, I actually (unintentionally) have a set of twins. A couple months ago, I was at an antique shop and they had some of these 1912s, but since they were from different companies, I thought they were different. And they were like $5 each. As it turns out, Gem and Star made the same exact razor under each of their brands. Weird, but the world was a different place a hundred years ago.

July 2, 2023 – LG Day 2 – Vegan

• Brush: r/wetshaving Zentih MOAR BOAR 31mm #chonk
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb #brassing
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Labyrinth
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Seville

Phteven is maker of all things excellent and that includes he and Courtney’s vegan base. Soft and creamy, Labyrinth lathered up like a dream, no tallow needed.

While the base was vegan, the brush was not – it was a whole lot of hog. Rounding out at a whopping 31mm, this thing lathered up Labyrinth with ease and gave a super smooth and moist base which was absolutely necessary because of the SE challenge of the day.

I won a PIF of this old and worn MMOC from u/OnionMiasma last July and consequently used it to win DJ’s AA side challenge – but, like, I still hate it. 2 passes was all I risked and even then I had a nice little throat nick. How you monsters enjoy MMOC razors is beyond me; but, I digress.

Alas, my summer cold is in full swing and I could barely smell Labyrinth or Seville, but, the scent notes tell me that they should at least be loosely connected by some citrus; Labyrinth clearly a darker and more subtle citrus scent with Seville rocking that orange right out the gate.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Paired here by citrus

Subtle connect it may be

Can’t smell anyway

July 2, 2023 – Don’t Have A Cow, Man!

• Brush: Summer Break Sheridan w/ 26 mm Synbad
• Razor: GEM 1912 #TWINS #BRASSING
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (6)
• Lather: Henri et Victoria – Cognac and Cuban Cigars
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Tobacconist
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive – Treachery

I wanted to make a Chick-fil-a joke about cows. However, all the images of cows say “eat more chicken,” which isn’t vegan 🚫 🐔 .

Challenge: used a SE. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tag both razors, but its twin will be used tomorrow. Here’s a closeup of the brassing.

I prefer natural hair brushes. However, a synthetic knot fells more appropriate for vegan. So, I figured now was a good time to get a hardware sponsor.

I was originally planning to use Phoebus Lilas for this shave. But, in the midst of a tiny meltdown over which soap ingredients are truly vegan, I changed my plan and grabbed the sample that says “vegan soap,” instead. Although I received confirmation that Phoebus was safe, I stuck with this, as it was easier to pair complementary fragrances to (I don’t have many floral frags). Cognac and Cubans is the most cigar-like soap I’ve smelled. It smells of spicy, cured tobacco leaf reminiscent of smelling a strong, dark, stogie. I don’t really get any cognac. I hadn’t used this in a while. I remembered liking the fragrance. I forgot about the frag burn 😳 .

Tobacconist is sweeter, and much less spicy. I smell vanilla and get a floral impression. It’s probably just the balm, but I got a clay note as well. This one is lighter and more balanced, but I kinda miss the big, in your face, tobacco.

Treachery: I love this fragrance! It’s decadent. It’s bold. It’s sweet. It’s spicy. At first smell, it’s predominantly boozy with a bold whiskey note that’s smooth yet strong like a barrel proof dram. The whiskey blends with a caramel-like sweetness, with a hint of vanilla. Spicy tobacco offers some contrast and comes out more fully after the dry down. The tobacco in this feels more like pipe tobacco than a cigar. It becomes more spicy over time, with traces of chocolate becoming noticeable. It’s dessert, an after dinner aperitif, and a leisurely smoke.

#FOF