u/iamhonestlylying's SOTDs for challenge 'Lather Games 2023'

July 1, 2023

• Brush: Maggard’s 30mm Synthetic #CHONK #TOLL
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Ted Pella Injector Blades
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Tempest
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Atomic Holiday Splash
• Fragrance: Azzaro – Chrome EDT

So this is my first ever SOTD and I hope I do it right. I haven’t participated much in on this sub, other than asking questions here and there in the Daily Questions Thread since I started wetshaving around Christmastime. But… I love a good competition, so I’ve read the rules and caught up on some of the old Lather Games threads. Looking forward to joining in the fun and seeing how everything goes.

The theme today is “Bonjour, Lather Games”, so I’m going to use this opportunity to say “Bonjour r/wetshaving!!” So far, I’ve been extremely overwhelmed with this competition, but think I’ve filled out my calendar the best I can. The community here has been extremely generous sending me sample smooshes and answering all of my questions since I started.

My shave today is thanks to u/Priusaurus, who sent me a sample of Tempest. I do have to admit, I’m not a fan of the scent of this one. It’s too damp and seaweedy, which I think the soapmaker was going for, but that means I learned I don’t like scents like this. Good to know!! I used Barrister & Mann’s Atomic Holiday for two reasons (1) the ozone and labdanum in the splash kinda match the soap a little bit and (2) the fruity sweetness of the splash washes away the grossness of the Tempest. Finally, I used Azzaro Chrome, which shares a lot of similar notes to Atomic Holiday, like bergamot, citrus, and pineapple. Ended up smelling great, despite starting off with seaweed soap. #FOF

This was my first time using an injector and it was okay. Almost seemed like I was shaving with a less efficient, single bladed cartridge. It didn’t give me as good of a shave as a regular doubled edge razor, but that could be because I’m not used to it. I can’t see myself reaching for this again anytime soon. I’m in a good rhythm with my DEs and starting to mess around with straights, so I don’t have any desire to go back to the closest thing to a cartridge possible.

In conclusion, I didn’t like the soap I used or the razor I used, but I’m smelling good thanks to the splash and fragrance. So, I’ll call that a win!

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 3, 2023

• Brush: Frank Shaving 20mm Synthetic Silvertip #FAUXFUR #RUNT #SMOLL
• Razor: Star 1912 #TWINS #BRASSING
• Blade: GEM Blade
• Lather: Cella - Almond
• Post Shave: Murphy & McNeil – Slainte: St. James Splash
• Fragrance: Tumi – Kinetic

Good shave today. Cella seems one of those brands that has been around forever and still does the same thing year after year after year. It’s not broken why fix it? If you’re a great company, you don’t need to keep up with the trends of today. Look at institutions like Blockbuster, Sears, or Plymouth Car Company. No need to change! Is Cella out of touch? No it’s the shavers who are wrong… Because of this, I’m sure Cella will be around for another 124 years. Why bother updating something when everyone else in your space is innovating around you?

So yeah, Cella is an old soap from Italy who’s original recipe dates back to 1899. It smells like almonds and actually didn’t do a bad job. As far as performance, it got the job done, although I can’t say I’m gonna reach for this sample again anytime soon. So, thank you to Maggard Razors for offering samples because I would not want a full sized tub of this stuff. After the shave, I used Slainte: St. James Splash, which has vanilla and butterscotch to go good with the almond from Cella. And to close it out, I used Kinetic from Tumi, which also has strong vanilla scents. #FOF

If I’m being honest, I’m looking forward to shaving with a double edge again tomorrow. These Gems are okay, but I like DEs much better. We’ll see how things and challenges progress, but I don’t think I’ll be using a single edge again for the rest of the Lather Games. On the other hand, this teeny tiny brush I used today did a stellar job! It’s super soft and handled making a nice lather of Cella without a problem.

For the challenge, over the last several months, I’m sure I’ve asked dumb questions in the Daily Threads, but u/RedMosquitoMM gave me really good guidance when I asked about scents. I’ve seen him give other people helpful guidance and suggestions as well. So thank you, RedMosquito. Appreciate all the answers!

July 4, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi 22mm Badger #WEDONTNEEDNOSTINKINGBADGERS
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird #CNC
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Noble Otter – Rawr Soap
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Rawr Splash
• Fragrance: Giorgio Armani - Code

Happy Spring! The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the bees are buzzing. Spring is in the air… In July… Okay. Mentally, I’m channeling Spring today, and fortunately, I have Noble Otter there to help me out. Their spring-time scent, Rawr, smells amazing and has a cute little backstory about kids yelling RAWR to try to scare their dad when he got home from work. The soap smells great and Noble Otter was one of the first artisans I used after I fell in love with my wetshaving starter pack. Can't recommend this soap enough

It is spring in a shave – Bergamot, orange, dandelions, cedar, vanilla, and musk. The bergamot and dandelions really show through to me. (Sidenote: Did you know every part of a dandelion is edible?) I had an aunt that used to make dandelion wine and it was delicious!

I used Armani Code as my fragrance because it shares bergamot with Rawr and also smells like spring and citrus. They go great together and the Code really built on what Rawr left behind. #FOF

This was my first time using this brush is it has some serious stank to it. Like, a wet dog. Who is also homeless. And has been dead for a few days. And it wasn’t that soft either. I got in cheap from Yaqi and it shows. Hopefully once the funk comes out it, and it breaks in a bit, it will turn into a decent brush, but even if not, I got a hashtag out of it. I have a really nice Gelousy from AP Shave Co and this brush is clearly not in the same stratosphere as my Gelousy.

SCIENCE!

• Put 6 ounces of warm water in a mug and soak the brush for 10 minutes
• After 10 mins, remove an almond size chunk of soap from the jar (use an actual almond from yesterday’s shave if you have one for size comparison)
• Press the soap into the sides of a shave bowl.
• Swirl the wet brush into the bowl, occasionally adding a milliliter or two of water at a time until a nice lather builds up. This should take 2 minutes or so.
• The key to a good lather is hydration, so don’t be shy adding water. When in doubt, add water. If that doesn’t work, add soap.
• Rub the lather on your face and shave. Dipping your razor into the mug to rinse it off, when needed. The shaving part is the easy part. Let the razor do the work and don’t put any pressure on the blade.
• The razor should remain sharp for anywhere from 3 to 15 shaves, depending on your whiskers and your technique.
• And finally, if you have any questions about the science of shaving, or science in general, post a question on facebook. I’ve found that many of the people I went to high school with ended up being becoming science experts over the last 3 and a half years. It’s extra impressive because these are the same people who struggled with school when I knew them, so kudos to them for learning something new in their spare time when they aren't cashiering at the Walmart in town. It’s never too late!

July 5, 2023

• Brush: None
• Razor: Harry’s – The Winston #RAINBOW
• Blade: Harry’s Cartridge
• Lather: Nivea - Sensitive Skin Shaving Gel
• Post Shave: Nivea - Sensitive Skin Post Shave Balm
• Fragrance: Lacoste L.12.12 Bleu

I remember when I first “upgraded” to Harry’s I thought I was the shit. I got rid of the plastic Gillette Fusion and went to this super high-quality metal (with rubber grippies) piece of art. Boy was a naïve fool at the time. It’s metal, its cartridges are German-engineers. This thing SCREAMS high quality. And because I wanted nothing but the finest for my skin, I used Nivea products for sensitive skin. This was my set-up for years and years and years and years. And today, regressed back and I have to admit, I’m embarrassed I ever thought this was high quality. Like, at the time, I honestly thought I had reached shaving enlightenment with this set-up. I now want to hide my head in shame when I think back to those days.

I used this exact set-up for a long time, so it was sort of like riding a bike. I hadn’t gotten around to tossing this stuff out yet, and it’s a good thing, for two reasons: (1) It gave me the perfect set up for canned goop day today and (2) it made me realize how far I’ve come since I last used this stuff 8 months ago. Using this today helped me realize I can throw this stuff out and never, ever, ever look back. It wasn’t a bad shave, per say, but it definitely wasn’t a good shave. The fragrance I used, Lacoste Bleu, is readily available at pretty much any drug store and is a “nothing special” fragrance to me. The description says clean, sensual & masculine and I say its generic, overpowering, and nondescript. #FOF

If anything, today’s shave made me sad for the millions of people out there that still shave like this. My only hope is one day, they all decide to look and see what else is out there and discover wetshaving. Because there is a better way. And that better way is the way all of our grandfather’s shaved. And today’s shave really proved that to me.

Challenge:

If I need to design a fragrance, I’m going with stuff that everyone has heard of. When I first got started wetshaving, I was extremely frustrated at all the scents that I had no idea what they were (bergamot, ozone, tonka, etc). So I’d like to go back to basics for the every man idiots like me that don’t know scents. So I’m going with Lavender, Lemon, with a tiny sprig of Mint. I think that would be a great summertime scent.

July 6, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co handle with DS Cosmetic Horse hair brush #HORSESASS
• Razor: Blackland – Blackbird #CNC
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia Soap
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Druantia EdP

If today is Olfactory Overdose Day, then I might need someone to call me an EMT because I’ve overdosed on Southern Witchcrafts! When I’m not participating in Games of Lather, I’m not a huge fragrance person. I’m the type of person that has a few fragrances that I rotate through, so I’m relying heavily on samples to get me through the 30 fragrances in 30 days. And I’m glad I am, because Druantia is absolutely delightful and I’m not sure I buy a sample EdP without the Lather Games scoring system pushing me it expand my horizons. It’s really cool to smell how the scent changes between the soap, splash, and fragrance. It only gets better and better and better with each stage in the process. I think it’s more of a winter scent, so not exactly seasonally appropriate, but it’s woody with a tiny bit of sweetness to it. This scent warms my heart on this already hot and humid July day. #FOF

Stacking! This was a fun little challenge. I think using the sample EdP is definitely an advantage, but my tower likely isn’t as high as other peoples stacks, so that balances out (pun intended). Lessons Learned:

• The Blackbird’s geometry and weight really helped me out here. Originally, I was going to use a different razor today, but with the challenge to stack, I thought the additional heft might help me.
• The cap on the aftershave is slightly convex (or concave? I always get those mixed up – but it wasn’t flat). Taking the cap off the aftershave made this stack possible.
• Horse hair is flexible enough where the razor could easily just plop down in there and stay put (again, thanks to the weight of the Blackbird).
• The flat bottom of the Blackbird made a perfect stoop for the sample EdP.
• Next time, take the blade out of the razor before doing this. I sliced my finger open because I was an idiot and tried to catch it as it was falling. Also, it sliced a few hairs on the brush.
• Luckily, I was already in the bathroom, so I had Band-Aids at the ready and this brush sucks anyway, so the blade cutting a few hairs doesn’t bring a noticeable difference.

July 7, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co Brass Handle with 20mm AP Shave Co Gealousy Knot #SHD
• Razor: Gillette – Travel Tech #JETSETTER
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Spice
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Bay Rum Splash
• Fragrance: Paco Rabanne – 1 Millon

Teeny Tiny Shave today where everything is a sample, so I busted out the tiny Travel Tech to fit in with all the software.

When the time came to pick a spicy scent, I looked toward u/cowzilla3’s official rankings of Old Spice Dupes and selected the one with the highest score, Barrister & Mann. Well, technically, it’s tied for first with The Holy Black, but I wanted a sample size, so B&M it is! Now, I don’t have the nose (or level of dedication) that Mr. Zilla does, so I can’t compare this to other Old Spice scents, in terms of oldness or spiciness, but this is a very nice, spicy scent. And if The Cow says it’s the best one, who am I to argue?

I decided to pair this with Stirling’s Bay Rum Splash, or as I call it, liquid fire in a little jar. Damn does this splash have the sting of a wasp or what? Whenever I use this splash, I feel like Kevin McCallister using his dad’s aftershave for the first time. There must be something in this splash that doesn’t agree with my skin because this is the worst Stirling Splash for me, but I LOVE the scent, so I power through the pain to show my dedication to the Lather Games. After the shave, I used 1 Million by Paco Rabanne, which is a fresh & spicy fragrance, so everything was a little extra spicy today. #FOF

For the challenge, my other hobby is playing “middle-aged man” softball. Twice a week, in the spring to til the fall, me and my buddies play in a fairly competitive softball league. We’re been doing since we graduated college and it is a great way to regularly see my friends and sort of stay in shape by jogging at a bit more than 50% speed in 60 ft increments. We’re sponsored by the local bar, so after every game, we go out and they buy our first round of beers, while we proceed to buy food and multiple rounds. It works out for them – they buy our uniforms every year and give us 2 rounds of beer a week, and in exchange, we give them thousands of dollars of food and beverage sales. So often, I hear about difficult it is for adults to get and maintain friendships and this has been a great way to stay in touch with friends to keep a sense of community around me. We took a couple years off in 2020-2021 #thankscovid, but when we got back at it last year, it was like we never missed a beat. Except that we all got fatter. Such is life, I suppose.

July 8, 2023

• Brush: DS Cosmetic Boar/Badger Brush #MISTURA
• Razor: Star Silver Star #UNICORN
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Maggard Razors – London Barbershop Soap
• Post Shave: Maggard Razors – London Barbershop Splash
• Fragrance: Prada – Luna Rossas Ocean

When I first started wetshaving, I was told two things: Start with the Stirling Starter Pack and buy everything else from Maggards. And I’m really happy I’ve listened to both pieces of advice almost exclusively. Maggard’s has everything anyone could want under one virtual roof. Well, I suppose it is an actual roof, but I’ve never been there, so it’s pretty much a virtual roof to me. But I digress, I don’t think anyone wants to get into a discussion about whether or not we should consider Maggard’s an e-commerce retailer or a brick-and-mortar retailer. We’re all here to praise the company that is Maggard Razors. They have everything anyone who is into wetshaving could want. And if they don’t sell it, it probably sucks anyway and you don’t actually want it.

Today I shaved with Maggard’s London Barbershop. I’m not sure what makes this scent specifically British, but right ‘o old chap! Chip-chap-cheerio, amiright? This soap and splash combo is perfect for the bloke who wants a classically good shave with a splendid scent. I bought a sample of the soap, but a full splash because I figured Barbershop goes with just about everything, and blimey, I was right! I lathered up the soap this morning, and bloody hell, did it create a brilliant lather that I quite fancied. And the best part is the Maggard branded soap only costs a few quid. And then the splash and the cologne left me feeling fresh and smelling great in my flat. After I sprayed on a couple spritz of Luna Rossas Ocean, I felt absolutely smashing! All my mates would agree this was a great scent combination. Anyone that says otherwise is either just being cheeky or they are just crackers! And that’s no poppycock! #FOF

For the challenge, I’ve grown accustomed reading the Daily Questions Thread, well, daily and have asked a bunch, so I’m happy to participate once again. Here’s my contribution of the day.

Cheers!

Used London Barbershop and spoke in "British" for a paragraph.

July 9, 2023

• Brush: Smilez4Miles 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette New Long Comb #REGUS
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Irish Coffee Soap
• Post Shave: Apex Alchemy – Morning Glory Splash
• Fragrance: Thierry Mugler – Angel Men

Death before decaf, indeed. What the heck is the point of decaf coffee anyway?? I don’t trust it. And I don’t trust people who drink it. But you know what I do trust? People that put whiskey in their coffee, like the folks at Catie’s Bubbles! This was actually one of the first full size tubs I bought after starting down this wetshaving road and as soon as I open the tub of this soap, it puts me in a good mood. I mean, two things I love: coffee and whiskey, in one soap! Sign me up!

Can I go on the slight tangent about coffee? Is that allowed? I hope so, because I’m about to! I live in the Northeast United States and Dunkin Donuts are everywhere. I literally have 3 within walking distance to where I live. AND DUNKIN DONUTS SUCKS! WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL BUYING THIS SWILL? I understand that at one point, it was the only game in town, and that’s just where you had to go, but there are sooooo many better options available today! The donuts are so bad that they’ve officially dropped the “Donuts” from their name and officially go by “Dunkin”, but it’s not like their coffee is any better. Dunkin Donuts coffee is just like having sex in a canoe – They’re both fucking close to water. I’m going to urge the 2 people who are likely reading this – stop supporting this garbage and support your local coffee shop instead. The coffee will be better, the service will be better, the pastries will be 1000X better, and you’ll be supporting a local business person that cares about the stuff they sell. There. Rant over. It’s so frustrating to me when I see a line outside Dunkin and then a small coffee shop with a superior product has tumbleweeds blowing by it. It really grinds my gears. And if you live in a place that doesn’t have Dunkins everywhere and have no idea what I’m talking about: (1) consider yourself lucky and (2) I apologize for a rant that you can’t relate to.

CHALLENGE

Shave in “a” kitchen. Doesn’t have to be MY kitchen, ay? Then how about I shave in my niece’s play kitchen? You wanna get nuts, let’s get nuts. Pretty much immediately after I saw the challenge posted yesterday, I texted my sister “Hey – You gonna be home tomorrow? I need to borrow XXX’s play kitchen.”

“WTF?”

Now, I’m sure she’s wondering WHY I, a grown man, wants to borrow her daughter’s toys, but I don’t want to embarrass myself by saying it’s for an internet shaving game. So instead, I tell her my kitchen is broken and I need to use her daughter’s.

Then she asked me if I was high. That’s none of her business. “Are you going to be home or not? Maybe around 11AM?”

“Sure.”

Bingo. This morning, I head over to my sister’s house with my shave gear, hoping she didn’t have the time to set up an intervention. When I see her, I come clean. She’s going to figure this out sooner or later. She thinks I’m crazy but my niece already thinks I’m the fun uncle, so no problem there. I set up my stuff on the kitchen to take my picture. And go to the real sink to get water in this tiny, sink. Then I see the hardwood floors. And I also see my sister look at me. Shit. I did not think this through. I make an absolute mess when I shave. FORTUNATELY, this tiny kitchen is portable so we bring the kitchen outside. I load up the tiny sink with water and soak my brush. I make small talk with my small niece while we wait. Then I start the process. Load the brush, lather my face, and start to shave, using my phone’s selfie mode as a camera. My little niece got a kick out of it, and my sister… Well.. She’s just glad I don’t have a drug problem, asking to play with her daughter’s toys. Fortunately, it’s a nice day and shaving outside was a neat novelty. Plus, an outdoor kitchen is always known as something luxurious. Now I can see why!

No complaints with Catie’s Bubbles. The Morning Glory aftershave goes great with Irish Coffee, because, well, they’re both coffee scented. Morning Glory is a little bit sweeter and smells like someone ordered a “Regular Coffee”, which is a coffee with 1 cream and 2 sugars. I don’t know how or why a “Regular Coffee” isn’t just a black coffee, but I’ve already gone on one rant in this post and my blood pressure can’t stand another one. I finished everything off using Angel Men, by Theirry Mugler because it is a sweet vanilla, coffee, and caramel scent with a bit of earthiness to it. Not something I could see myself wearing every day, but perfect for a day dedicated to coffee! #FOF

User shaves in his niece’s toy kitchen, involving both said child and the user’s sister in Lather Games insanity.

User shaves in his niece’s toy kitchen, involving both said child and the user’s sister in Lather Games insanity.

July 10, 2023

• Brush: Semogue Owners Club #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Valet Autostrop #SELFSHARPENING
• Blade: FHS-10
• Lather: Hoffman’s Shaving Company – Phantom 309 Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Beloved Splash
• Fragrance: Boucheron – Pour Homme

I was all ready to go for today’s shave with a great set-up, and then I saw the challenge posted yesterday. Tough day to be a dude with a free sample without a label. I thought about changing soaps to accommodate a better picture, but that would involve a chain reaction to my carefully crafted calendar, so I decided to continue to use Phantom 309. Luckily, the internet exists and I was able to look up what the label is supposed to look like. Then I recreated a MSPaint version of Phantom 309’s actual label. Boom! See if you can guess which one is the actual label and which is my creation.

Phantom 309 is a song by Red Sovine from 1967, that I had originally (mistakenly) thought was going to be 409 by the Beach Boys. Boy, was I in for a surprise when I listened to Phantom 309 on youtube and I got the dollar-store version of Johnny Cash and not the upbeat tunes of Brian Wilson. Live and learn. Phantom 309 tells the story of a hitchhiker that gets picked up by truck driver and come to find out, (SPOILER ALERT) the truck driver ends up being a ghost. 👻 Weird song, but I wasn’t around in 1967, so I’m not sure what was considered “normal” then. At any rate, it’s music and taste in music is subjective. Hell, even Nickelback sold like a billion records.

Phantom 309 (the soap, not song) has Bergamot, Leather, Lavender, Geranium, Cypress, Sandalwood, Suede, Spiced Musk, and Tobacco. It’s actually quite nice. Phantom 309 (the song, not soap) has a hitchhiker, a cup of coffee, and a ghost who drives a big rig. Beloved (the splash) shares Bergamot and Lavender with the soap and is similar, but much lighter and brighter than Phantom 309. And closed it out with Boucheron Pour Homme (the fragrence) shares the same Bergamot and Lavender connection. All-in-all, good shave. #FOF

July 11, 2023

• Brush: Boti Totem Pineapple Swirls with Green Tuxedo 25mm Synthetic Knot
• Razor: Schick Injector #RAINBOW
• Blade: Ted Pella Injector Blades
• Lather: Ariana & Evans – SoCal Hipster Soap
• Post Shave: Ariana & Evans – SoCal Hipster Splash
• Fragrance: Al Haramain - Amber Oud Gold Edition

I love this scent so much. It is absolutely perfect for a hot summer day. The tropical vibes are real and it just like the description says it is a “fantastic fresh, warm weather scent.” I like everything about this soap and splash. Off the puck, its strong pineapple, but as it lathers up, the scent evolves into something more complex and delicious. I haven’t tasted this soap, but I kinda want to taste this soap. Smells absolutely edible.

The fragrance today is perfect after shaving and splashing with SoCal Hipster. It’s sweet and fruity like the soap/splash and even a little tropical, since the main fruit scent I get is pineapple. The scent is light and refreshing. Great for a hot summer day. After today’s shave routine, I’m feeling hot & summery today. #FOF

CHALLENGE

I think I nailed it. The knot of the brush has green tips, which didn’t really show up as good as I hoped in the photo, but it’s supposed to represent the pineapple on the label of SoCal Hipster. I used my Schick Injector today for the 2nd time because it matched the color scheme and I realized I missed the rainbow hashtag last time I used it. I’m pretty sure the yellow-orange handle counts for that and even if it doesn’t it’s spot on for the color scheme of today!

July 12, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co – Complete Brush – Slim Brass Handle 20mm Gelousy Knot
• Razor: Gillette – Executive Fatboy #DIAL
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Henri et Victoria - Cognac & Cuban Cigars Soap
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria - Cognac & Cuban Cigars Splash
• Fragrance: Burberry - Hero

Coconut oil isn’t something I’ve ever though too much about, especially in my shave soaps, so looking at the ingredients of the various soaps I have was a fun exercise. Especially the samples, since they don’t list their ingredients on these little labels. For today’s shave, I landed on Cognac and Cuban Cigars by Henri et Victoria. Right away, I was hit with the scents of… Well… Cigars and Cognac. A little much for a sleepy Wednesday morning, if you ask me, and if my boss questions why I smell like booze and cigars, I’m gonna send him to you!

I had to google what the addition of coconut oil does to shave soaps. Apparently, it has a lot of benefits, but overall it helps form a rich, creamy, slick lather that isn’t irritating. It also said that it is a good moisturizer, but then another source said it’s drying, so I’m getting mixed signals like I’m at a middle school dance again. Not sure who to believe, but it’s only on my face for a little bit, so I question how much it could either dry or moisturize in such a short period of time to begin with. And if you're relying on a shave soap to be your moisturizer, you're already doing it wrong.

The soap and splash were good, and I finished everything off with Burberry Hero, which is a woody-spicy cologne. I don’t think Cognac and Cuban cigars counts as “woody-spicy”, but I think it kinda possibly should. It has cedarwood and spicy tobacco, so that may be enough for me. The woodiness of the cologne worked quite well with the Cognac & Cuban Cigars. They are clearly different scents, but it felt kinda like they are supposed to go together, like one played off the other. A great combination! #FOF

CHALLENGE

I’m not much of a bowl latherer ever since I started going down the brush rabbit hole. The more I get high quality brushes, the longer I want each of them to be on my skin. My thought process pretty much is: why pay for a premium brush if most of its time is spent in a bowl anyway? So today, it felt a little wrong using this fabulous APShave Co brush with their wonderful Gelousy knot for a bowl lather. It was still a great performer, but it feels like a waste. However, the Lather Games judges tell us to do something and by golly, that’s what I’m going to do!

July 13, 2023

• Brush: Frank Shaving – 20mm Silver Tip Synthetic
• Razor: VC & Co - Diamondine 5/8 Straight #ALLNATURAL
• Lather: Declaration Grooming & Chatillon Lux – Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli
• Post Shave: Dr. Jon’s – Rose of Phrygia Splash
• Fragrance: Gucci – Guilty EdP Pour Homme

Today, I’m feeling like a flowery hippy. Flower power rise up! If I’m being honest, I actually don’t get a ton of patchouli in this soap, but if I’m talking to my Lather Games judge: “HOLY MOLY THERE IS SO MUCH PATCHOULI IN HERE!!!!” But the thing that matters is: Shawn Maher, who developed this scent thought there was enough in Patchouli in here to highlight it in the name, so that should more than cover the theme of the day. Is it better to trust the word of the guy using it or the guy who created the damn thing? Exactly.

I’m still not 100% comfortable with straight razors, but I’m trying to get as many scavenger hunt points as possible, as well as expand my shaving horizon, so I took my time and did okay with this straight. No major cuts or anything and actually had pretty good results. I have no idea if the wooden scales are original or done by someone else, but it does feel really cool in my hand. I like it a lot more than the plastic scales on my other straight razors.

Before buying this sample, I didn’t know what Yuzu was, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never smelled one in real life, but the interwebs tells me it’s a tart citrus fruit that is: sweeter than a grapefruit, more bitter than an orange, more tart than a lemon, and is light and refreshing. Okay. Now that that picture is painted, I have to admit, I mostly smell Rose from Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli. If I close my eyes and try REALLY hard I can make out a slight citrus, but Rose is the star of the show with this soap. And for that reason, I finished the shave with Rose of Phrygia. Had to google Phrygia too: it’s an ancient district in west-central Anatolia (modern day Asian Turkey) between the 12th century BC and the 7th century BC. They apparently had a massive rose garden in Macedonia named after King Midas. Unsure if that King sold mufflers and did oil changes as well. I AM sure, however, that this splash goes quite good with the Yuzo/Rose/Patchouli. The splash has an earthiness to it that makes the splash so much more than just rose scents.

And finally, to bring this home, I sprayed on Gucci’s Guilty, which features Fresh Rose, Hot Chili Peppers, and Cedar. This is a really nice fragrance to go with Rose of Phrygia & Yuzu Rose Patchouli, because of the common Rose connection, but I can’t see myself wearing this on a regular basis. It’s a bit too floral for my liking on a regular day. #FOF

CHALLENGE

For my song of the day, I choose Kiss from a Rose by Seal. I know I should probably pick something more related to patchouli like Phish or the Grateful Dead…. But I really get a lot of Rose from Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli so I’m going with roses all day! I remember loving this music video as a kid because it had clips from Batman Forever, which was a bad Batman movie, looking back, but I loved anything Batman as a kid. Still do.

July 14, 2023

• Brush: Boti Stump 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Star – Silver Star
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Captain’s Choice – Nor’easter Soap
• Post Shave: Captain’s Choice – Nor’easter Splash
• Fragrance: Issey Miyake - L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme EdT

Real talk: Who enjoys menthol? Like, who are the crazy people seeking this stuff out? I struggle to see why any sane person enjoys the feeling to coldness on their face. Maybe it’s because I live in the Northeast United States and the winters are brutal, and I seriously dislike the feeling of cold, but why is this a thing? I’m just glad the Lather Games is happening in July, but if it was occurring in January, I’d probably sit out Frigid Friday. Okay – That’s a lie. I’m too competitive to sit anything out. But I wouldn’t like it!

I’ve never used Captain’s Choice before, but this soap smells cold as soon as I open the top of the sample tub. They supposedly scented this like amber, spicy berry, lavender, and citrus. Not sure why they’d include stuff like that in a scent named after Winter storms. I’ve lived through enough Nor’easters to know that they don’t smell like berries or lavender. They smell like the diesel fumes coming from plows, with a hint of body odor of people crowding the grocery store to stock up on bread and milk. And don’t forget about the sweet scent of seasonal depression that comes from the sun rising after you get to work and the sun setting before you leave the office. F all that. And I don’t know who the people who make Captain’s Choice are, but if you’re going to make a scent and name it after a Blizzard’s little brother, at least make it so it smells like a real Nor’easter!

For the cologne, I chose Issey Miyake - L’Eau d’Issey. It’s citrusy with aquatic freshness and I thought the citrus would go good with the citrus in Nor’easter. And I wasn’t wrong. All sorts of great smells today, even if it doesn’t smell like a real Nor’Easter. #FOF

CHALLENGE

I was originally going to shave with a straight today to pick up a hashtag, then I saw the challenge and said “F THAT NOISE”. Shaving against the grain with a straight is a challenge for me on a good day. Starting off with that. No thanks. I’ll pick up that scavenger hunt item later in the Games. Used this vintage Star Silver Star and went against the grain first, then with the grain for a two-pass shave. Honestly, wasn’t as bad as I feared.

July 15, 2023

• Brush: Boti Totem Pineapple Swirls with Green Tuxedo 25mm Synthetic Knot
• Razor: Wade & Butcher – Extra Hollow Ground 7/8 Straight #STR8SNOB
• Lather: Grooming Dept - Chypre D'Ananas
• Post Shave: Central Texas Soaps – Cowboy Spice Splash
• Fragrance: Mont Blanc – Starwalker

This Chypre is D’ananas! D-A-N-A-N-A-S! I said this Chypre is D’ananas! D-A-N-A-N-A-S! Shoutout Gwen Stefani for making sure I never misspell bananas ever again.

With a name like “Chypre d’ananas”, I honestly expected there to be banana notes in this soap. But no bananas – Just pineapple. Along with his friends Bergamot, Grapefruit, White Flowers Accord, Oakmoss, Cedarwood & Patchouli. But I guess Chypre d’ineapple doesn’t have the same ring to it. I would honestly love an explanation as to what this name refers to. Does anyone know? It’s actually pretty funny, West Coast Shaving AND Pastuer’s Pharmacy spell this soap wrong on their websites. Clearly some people need to listen to more Gwen Stefani!

The scent is nice and the soap performs nicely. I made sure I had an extra watery lather because I used an open blade again today. Gotta collect all the hashtags I can! For the splash I used CTS – Cowboy Spice because it has citrus and is a woody-spicy scent. Wasn’t perfect for the scent of D’Ananas, but it was a nice one-two punch. And for cologne, I used Mont Blanc Starwalker because it’s a nice step up from Cowboy Spice. Starwalker is a woody, citrus, fresh spicy cologne with a badass name. Smelling great after the shave and feeling even better. #FOF

CHALLENGE

As much as I’d like to show my face to the people out there, I actually better not because of the type of work I do. If a goofy video of me shaving got out, it would be great for my career. Which is weird to say, because it’s stupid, but the firm I work for has pretty strict guidelines about publicly facing internet posts. So instead, I’ll tell you who my favorite wettuber is. I actually asked this question when I was first getting going and Michael Freedberg is a great one to watch. I was also pointed in the direction of CosmoBarber for his lathering technique video and I like his style too. Neither one is over the top or fake excited, which is all too common in youtube. They seem like real dudes who are there, talking to a friend. And I like that.

July 16, 2023

• Brush: DSCosmetic Boar/Badger Mix
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Apex Alchemy – Cutthroat Soap
• Post Shave: Apex Alchemy – Cutthroat Splash
• Fragrance: Montblanc – Explorer

Barbershop is one of those scents that I loved when I was first starting wetshaving, but then I realized that so many that are pretty much carbon copies of each other. And EVERYONE has a barbershop scent and I can’t get excited about any of them anymore. Even Apex Alchemy, who has a really fun line-up of scents, have a Barbershop. The businessperson in me wonders who is buying all these barbershop scented items? And why are so many soapmakers doing what everyone else is doing? Someone must be buying them, right?

The lack of originality is almost painful to watch. As barbershop scents flood the wetshaving market, they’re drowning out any semblance of uniqueness and creativity. How many times have we found ourselves surrounded by soaps, splashes, and colognes, each offering a scent that seems all too familiar? “We want to evoke the memory of a classic barbershop…” AND SO DOES EVERY OTHER SOAPMAKER! The sameness of this barbershop offering really stifles one the one best parts of this hobby – scents that are truly unique!

Apex Alchemy’s is okay as far as barbershop scents go. Not the best, and not the worst either. It’s not as powdery as some of the other ones I’ve tried and the splash almost has a subtle fruitiness to it, which is kind of unique in my experiences with Barbershops. I paired the Cutthroat soap and splash with Montblanc – Explorer because it’s big on bergamot, like Cutthroat, but then has some Sage & Pink Pepper which partner really nicely with the fruitiness from the splash. #FOF

CHALLENGE

Here’s a meme I came with inspired by the Lather Games. When I first saw the calendar, I was so overwhelmed and I actually used a spreadsheet to keep everything organized. I took it one day at time, bought a shit-ton of samples, and got couple smushes from the community and I was off the races. No clue how I’m gonna do compared to everyone else, but posting daily has made me feel more like I’m participating in the subreddit and not just occasionally asking questions. This has been a fun ride so far and I’m looking forward to the 2nd half!

July 17, 2023

• Brush: Boti Totem Pineapple Swirls with Green Tuxedo 25mm Synthetic Knot
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: House of Mammoth with Barrister and Mann – Smash Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth with Barrister and Mann – Smash Splash
• Fragrance: Tiffany & Co – Love

Smash came out pretty much when I was getting started wetshaving and I believe was the first full size set I bought after I ran through my first stirling sample. So this one will always be a winner for me. I’ve since learned that the guy behind House of Mammoth is a really stand-up guy. Donating a portion from each sale to charities. On every tub, it says “End Human Trafficking” and I think it’s awesome this guy uses up valuable space on the products he sells to help stand up for people that can’t stand up for themselves. My hat’s off to Mammoth Soaps for seemingly doing the write thing, even when no one is asking you to. It doesn’t hurt that his soaps are absolutely fire! And he worked with Barrister and Mann for this release, who I also really like. Together, they created an absolutely wonderful soap and scent!

I paired this set with Love from Tiffany & Co because I thought the warm woody nature of Love would be good with the bourbon from Smash, because, well, bourbon is made in wood barrels. It’s a good scent and a nice, inviting combination. It’s also fitting because I LOVE Smash! #FOF

CHALLENGE

I’ve never used alum and don’t think I need it. Honestly, if my starter kit came with it, I may have given it a go, but from what I saw what people on the internet were saying, the consensus seemed to be that it was unnecessary and honestly, I think I’m doing just fine without it.

July 18, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Stump 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co – Wayoh Soap
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co – Wayoh Splash
• Fragrance: Azzaro - The Most Wanted Parfum

Woody Spicy on Woody Spicy on Woody Spicy. That’s the theme of my shave today! I’m not sure I ever much paid attention to the term “Woody Spicy” before, but I realized I have quite a few scents that would be considered woody spicy. If nothing else, I’ve learned a TON about fragrances thanks to these here Lather Games. I’ve also bought a ton of samples to fill out the calendar, and I’ve really liked so many things that my wallet is going to be hurting when this is all said and done.

Chicago Grooming Co’s Wayoh is a dupe of Viktor and Rolf’s Spice Bomb, which is “woody spicy” and Azzaro – The Most Wanted is also woody-spicy, so they go perfectly together! Wayoh has a teensy tiny bit of sweetness in there and The Most Wanted is darker, but they are both extraordinarily similar. #FOF

Since today is in honor of Autumn, Pumpkin Spice, and Halloween, I’m going to present to you: My list of the Top 10 Most Underrated Halloween Candies to get as a trick or treater. Remember coming home from a long night of trick or treating dumping out your bag and finding you got a bag full of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, or M&Ms? Sure, those candies are all delicious, but getting a fun-sized Snickers bar on Halloween is like getting a Barbershop Scented Shave Soap: BORING!

So here is iamhonestlylying’s Top 10 Most Underrated Halloween Candies:

10) 100 Grand

9) Sour Patch Kids

8) Dots

7) Skittles

6) Rolos

5) Swedish Fish

4) Sugar Babies

3) Reese’s Take 5

2) Mike and Ike’s

1)Reese’s Pieces

Honorable Mention: Those fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls. Specifically the Vanilla Ones, however, my mom wouldn’t ever let us eat anything like that on Halloween because they weren’t hermetically sealed and she was convinced someone would put a razor blade in them. So I'm not including them on a Halloween candy list but they are 🔥🔥🔥🔥

CHALLENGE

Ummmmm. I’m a little weirded out right now.

July 19, 2023

• Brush: Adidas Ankle sock
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Geo F. Trumper – Coconut Oil Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Clubman – Citrus Musk Splash
• Fragrance: Azzaro - Chrome Sport

You know, here I was thinking now that I got my open blade hashtags out of the way, I’d be on easy street. Then I saw the challenge for today and I thought it was weird as hell. Then I tried the challenge for today and I didn’t enjoy it. For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone ever decided to do this. In every post I’ve done so far, I think I always lead with the shave, then end with the challenge, but this one was so intertwined, that the challenge has to come first.

It was a bad day to be a guy with a tiny sample of Geo F. Trumper, that’s for sure. Used this whole MFer on the challenge and honesty could’ve used more. I didn’t get a good lather, didn’t enjoy it, and I can’t see the point. But, since this is my first Lather Games, I’m assuming there’s some story here and legend behind it, so I’m just rolling with it. After I built my “lather”, I switched the gold Fatboy to its most mild setting and gave it a go. I haven’t had a shave or lather this bad since I first started wetshaving. I really hope this fraction of a point ends up pushing me into the next spot or something, because this one was not enjoyable.

For the scents of the shave, since the Coconut Oil Shaving Cream smells sweet and tropical, I used a citrus aftershave splash thinking it may smell like a tropical drink or something. Wrong. I bought a few samples of Clubman aftershave because they were cheap. And now I know why they are cheap. The scent of this one didn’t quite meet my expectations. There’s a tiny bit of citrus hiding in this aftershave, but I wouldn’t say it smells good. For the cologne, I used Azzaro – Chrome Sport, which is also a citrus scent. Fortunately, the fragrance smells a lot better than the aftershave did. My plan of doing like a complete tropical, citrus drink didn’t quite go to plan, but at least I tried. #FOF

July 20, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Stump 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Prom King
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Prom King
• Fragrance: Jean Paul Gualtier - Le Male

Pssst. Guys. I wanna let you in on a little secret. Even though this soap and splash is clearly for Prom Kings, Summer Break Soaps doesn’t even verify you were a Prom King when you buy the soap. This guy just uses the honor system!

Before I bought the soap in the spring, I was nervous because I was never crowned Prom King, but I came up with a convincing photoshop to submit to SBS as proof. But his site never asked for proof. At the very least, I expected one of those check boxes to verify that you aren’t a robot, but saying “Check here to verify you were royalty in high school.” But nothing. They just let ANYONE buy this stuff.

Note: I haven’t tried to purchase Valedictorian yet, so I can’t verify if they check at all for that one at this point in time. I thought about adding it to my cart too, but didn’t want to get caught too deep in this web of lies I’ve created. Ughhh…. I need to lay down.

Before I do, I feel like I need to let the judges know the Prom King is dupe of Le Male, so I used both today for a wonderful smelling shave. Thank god it didn't smell like my actual prom night. Lord knows I don't want to smell like cheap vodka, axe body spray, and fumes from my POS car's engine. I'll take the scent of Prom King every day of the week! The shave itself was meh – more on that below. #FOF

CHALLENGE

I’m beginning to think that the organizers of the Lather Games don’t actually want us to get many good shaves in this month. One of the best things I read when I was first getting started was this post. Really helped me get into the right state of mind for this stuff. So today, I under-hydrated and while it wasn’t bad, per se, it wasn’t as good as I’m used to.

July 21, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Stump 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Talbot Shaving – Heliopteris Soap
• Post Shave: Taconic Shave – Lavender Lime Splash
• Fragrance: Prada – Luna Rossa

The first sentence of this soap description is “ Heliopteris is my take on a Fougere”. So that checks off todays theme right off the bat! Then is goes on to say “The name Heliopteris is a mash-up of the words ‘Helio’, which means Sun, and ‘Pteris’, which is a genus of fern. Together, meaning Sun Fern.” I’m super happy they told us that because I was thinking this soap was named after a helicopter dinosaur. I created an artist rendering of what my brain thought it was right here. I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I did steal a dinosaur cartoon and just add a propeller to the top. But it’d be pretty sweet if those existed. Maybe they can workshop this idea for the next Jurassic World movie. And maybe a soapmaker can get to work on a soap dedicated to a helicopter dinosaur! With rockets!!! AND FLAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!

The connection between everything here is Lavender. The soap is like a woody lavender. The Splash is lavender lime. And Luna Rossa is Lavender and Clary Sage. Honestly not sure if there’s a difference between regular old sage and clary sage, but here we are. Smell nice to me! #FOF

CHALLENGE

Fougere smells real good

Helicopter Dinosaur

Does not exist yet.

July 22, 2023

• Brush: Maggard 30mm Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: 345 Soaps – Rumpkin Soap
• Post Shave: 345 Soaps – Rumpkin Splash
• Fragrance: Yves Saint Laurent – Y EdP

Did you know that a pumpkin is a botanical berry? It is! A berry is: simple, fleshy fruit that usually has many seeds. Pumpkin = berry. Everyone knows that (now).

This scent is… interesting…. The scent notes are pumpkin, apple, and bay rum. It’s basically a pumpkin spice bay rum. For the basic bitch pirate, I suppose. I picked this up because it was on clearance and I can see why. It’s a combination that no one asked for, or needed - kinda like those pick-up truck cars in the 1970s. But I’m glad I did, because I don’t have a lot of other berry soaps to pick from. I don’t reach for this set often, but it’s a must for berry day!

I matched this set with Y by Yves Saint Laurent because it’s kind of fruity with some spice, just like the soap and splash. Y has prominent Apple, Grapefruit, and Ginger notes, on top of more spicy base base. Can’t see myself wearing this daily, but it did pair nicely with the Pumpkin Spice Latte Bay Rum. #FOF

CHALLENGE

The big news is: I shaved my legs today. Here’s the before and after. It was a catastrophe! Used the biggest brush I had and got a good lather going, but it took FOREVER. In hindsight, I should have got clippers out to shave everything down first, because the Blackbird kept getting clogged or gliding over my hair. In hindsight, maybe a straight would’ve been a better idea? I’m not great with straights, but at least it wouldn’t have clogged. Of course, playing around with a slippery straight in a slippery shower is a recipe for disaster. I don’t know what I expected the Blackbird to do, but I was clearly expecting too much from it. The good news is, I got out the other side and have smooth legs now. I don’t think I like it, but competition is competition and hair grows back.

PS – WHY DIDN’T ANYONE WARN ABOUT SPLASHING SPLASH ON FRESHLY SHAVED LEGS. STUNG LIKE A SON OF BEESTING!!!! HOLY SMOKES MY LEGS WERE ON FIRE!!!!!! (Or was my technique just that bad and I had a zillion cuts on my legs?)

PPS - Much respect to the folks out there that do this on the regular. It was a lot more time consuming and challenging than I expected.

July 23, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Stump – 28mm Synthetic
• Razor: Star – Silver Star
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving – Spiced Soap
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving – Spiced Splash
• Fragrance: Hugo Boss – BOSS Infinite

I love, love, love, love, love this scent. When I first started down this hobby everything about this set called to me. The label and branding, the scent notes, the story, and the great reviews of the performance all made me blind purchase a full set. And I’m really glad I did! This soap and splash did not disappoint! It smells like a spice bomb went off in my bathroom whenever I use it. And whenever I use it, there’s a woman that I work with who ALWAYS compliments me. Guys don’t get random compliments too often, so I take notice of things like that. I remember years ago, I wore a pair of jeans and a striped sweater, nothing fancy, but nice-ish, and a girl who I’m friends with complemented my outfit. I wore that same set up nearly daily for like the next 2 years. Why? Because no one ever complements guys on stuff like this. When we get a complement, we take notice.

I used Hugo Boss EDP today because it’s a spicy fragrance with strong cinnamon notes, just like Spiced does. I’m feeling great, and I know if I went into the office today, I’d get a compliment from Susan. And that makes me happy. #FOF

CHALLENGE

Here’s my Lather

July 24, 2023

• Brush: Frank Shaving – 20mm Synthetic
• Razor: Star – Silver Star
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Zingari Man – The Merchant Soap
• Post Shave: Ogallala Bay Rum – Sage & Cedar Splash
• Fragrance: Cartier – Pasha Edition Noire

I was sent this smush of Zingari Man – The Merchant by u/Priusaurus. In the official smush trading post, Priusaurus commented an offer for anyone to reach out to him for a smush if they needed any and I did. He sent me two and didn’t want anything in return, even though I offered. If that’s the type of community this subreddit is, I’m really happy to be part of it!

The scent of The Merchant is a little sweet, a little warm, and a little spicy, so I used a splash that’s warm and spicy - Ogallala Bay Rum, Sage, and Cedar. I went on a big bay rum kick when I was first getting going and picked up nearly every Bay Rum scented product I saw. Don’t regret it, but I don’t reach for this splash often at all – It’s spicy and woody. Then, for the cologne, I went with Pasha de Cartier because it’s woody and spicy, similar to the splash, but inverse. #FOF

CHALLENGE

I gotta go with u/Priusaurus. Not only did he send me a couple smushes without wanting anything in return, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying his Lather Games posts. The interviews are great and his antics are top notch. I had no idea this guy that seemed so nice in the PMs would be going so over the top for Lather Games

July 25, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Stump 28mm synthetic
• Razor: Schick Injector
• Blade: Tedda Pella Injector Blade
• Lather: KShave Works – Jingle Bell Spice Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap – Christmas Eve Splash
• Fragrance: Kenneth Cole – Mankind Rise

Jingle Bell Spice is minty and sweet. It reminds me of this Peppermint Bark that my mom makes every Christmas since I was a little kid. I don’t see vanilla listed in the scent notes, but I swear it’s there. Or maybe I just associate the smell of Christmas and candycanes with that, so my brain is filling in the blank. Either way, it’s a really nice Christmas scent. For the splash, I used Stirling’s Christmas Eve. To me, this smells like a Christmas Tree Shop. And finally, the cologne, I used Mankind Rise because it is woodsy, like the Christmas Eve Splash. Everything I shaved with is a little bit much for a hot July day, but is perfectly in season for Christmas in July! #FOF

Challenge

I went back to the easiest razor I have, the injector, for the opposite hand shave. This is the 3rd time I’ve used it this month, after never using it. It’s such an easy, easy razor that it was perfect to use my opposite hand with. I took it slow, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

July 26, 2023

• Brush: Boti – Totem Pineapple Swirls with Green Tuxedo 25mm Synthetic Knot
• Razor: Star – Silver Star
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Stoney Acres Goat Milk Shave Soap – Barber Shoppe
• Post Shave: Clubman – Citrus Musk
• Fragrance: BVLGARI - Man Rain Essence

I was pretty confident I’d be the only one using this soap because (1) it’s from a local goat farm and (2) the performance is absolutely abysmal. Honestly, I’d rather use canned goo than this. It suck, suck, sucks, sucks, sucks. I had such positive feelings when I bought it. I had bought several artisan-type shave soaps and then I was this at a Farmers’ Market. I love buying locally made anything and finding someone local to me that made shave soaps seemed too good to be true. It was. This bubbles up quickly and seems to get a kinda sorta almost decent lather going, but then it’s a race against time to shave with it because the lather literally disappears off my just as quickly as I can put it on. It does leave behind a slickness that I’d qualify as “good enough”, but without much actual lather to protect my skin. I’ve used this twice before today and I’m glad I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it, because it came in handy for a day like this!

The scent is eerily similar to Maggard’s London Barbershop. And by eerily similar, I mean they use the same preblend. Nothing special at all and too powdery for my liking. For the splash, I have Clubman Citrus Musk, which is also a less than stellar performer. I understand this stuff had its place, but I don’t understand how Clubman is still in business. I’ve tried 3 samples of their stuff, and it’s all garbage.

The fragrance I used today, was nice. I picked Man Rain Essence because, like the soap and splash, it has citrus notes and musk to link them all together. The cologne also has green tea and is a little woodsy, which I thought did a good job of picking up where the splash failed. #FOF

CHALLENGE

After scrolling through the dens of you guys, I feel very inadequate. Every soap and splash I own can fit into this white bucket. Samples and smushes from the community are what is getting me through these games. It’s wild to me to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes.

July 27, 2023

• Brush: Smilez4Miles 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Star – Silver Star
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Dr. Jon’s – Flowers in the Dark Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Lavanille Splash
• Fragrance: Paco Rabanne - Phantom

Lavender, lavender, lavender. I distinctly remember my mother having several lavender plants growing up and always making lavender tea with the fresh flowers. She would keep several ziplock bags of previous years harvests in them, each with a piece of duct tape on the bag with the year they came from on it. She SWORE she could taste subtle differences in the different years’ yields. This scent takes me back to those days.

My mom was sort of a hippy and used lavender like old Greek people use Windex. It was a cure all for any ailment one may be experiencing. Headache: lavender. Upset stomach: lavender. Stressed: lavender. Broken bone: Emergency Room, but we're drinking lavender tea on the way there. I'm not sure how much of that she actually believed, versus the fact that we had so much lavender that she just wanted reasons to use it. At any rate, the scent of lavender reminds me of my childhood and my crazy mom's loving, caring nature. So, for this reason, today felt kind of like a special shave for me. All the products I used today extremely lavender-centric. #FOF

CHALLENGE

I already shaved outside earlier the games, and I came home from work, planning to do it again. But there were severe thunderstorms and torrential downpours, so I had to wait until after dark to get it done. I told myself I didn't want to skip any challenges, so if a late night shave it how to do that, that's what I'm gonna do! Plus, it's kind of appropriate that I'm using Flowers in the Dark, well, in the dark. If I was more creative, I’d try to come up with a story that I wanted to shave at night, in the dark because of the name of the soap, but in reality, it’s because I had to wait for the rain to pass. Luckily, the spotlight in the backyard is pretty bright and the rain cooled the weather down substantially tonight. All-in-all - it's fun to shave outside.

July 28, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi – 22mm Badger
• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co – Hot Apple Cider Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co – Hot Apple Cider Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Samhain

When I started wetshaving, I told myself there was an initial investment, but I would end up saving money in the long run. That’s what the internet told me. Hell, I even have a very good friend tell me the same thing. And I feel deceived. But it’s so worth it.

Fortunately, I don’t have anything terrible in my shaving gear line-up.

For my hardware: I got this brush as a defect direct from Yaqi on Alibaba and is cost $7, shipping included. It’s not great, but I wouldn’t call it bad. This Gillette Travel Tech came in a vintage razor lot from Ebay, but I think original MSRP was like $.49 – Hell, even today, you can pick one up on ebay for like $10-15 bucks. I think I paid like $40 for a lot of 7 or 8 razors. I kinda landed on Gillette Silver Blues as my blade of choice and that’s all I have, so by default, those are the cheapest I have.

For my software: Stirling is by far the cheapest per ounce of any artisan soap out there. You get a whopping 5.8 ounces for $14.25 and the splash is $13.65. The fact you can buy a set for less than $30 AND the soap is massive is such a frugal win!

For fragrance today, I used a sample of Southern Witchcrafts Samhain. This has got to be the unsung hero of the wetshaving fragrance world. A bottle is $22! I picked up a few samples from them and I’m so happy with the quality, I absolutely will be buying a full size bottle or too.

For my scents of the day, Hot Apple Cider soap and splash combined with Samhain. Two great fall scents. In July. But I saw Pumpkin Beer at the liquor store the other day, so we’re not too early! #FOF

I have a rant about the seasons that beer gets released, but it’s 11PM and I gotta get this submitted and go to bed. Plus, I’m not sure if any judges want to read about how it’s bullshit I ordered my first summer beer of the year on March 5 and on July 8, I saw my first pumpkin beer of the year. THIS IS ASSININE!! WHEN DOES THE MADNESS END??? IS IT THAT HARD TO SELL A SEASONAL BEER IN THE SEASON IT IS MADE FOR??? WHAT’S THE RUSH TO BE THE FIRST TO RELEASE ONE??? UGHHHH…

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 30, 2023

• Brush: Semogue – Owner’s Club 24mm Boar
• Razor: Wade & Butcher – Extra Hollow Ground 7/8 Straight
• Lather: Proraso – Aloe & Vitamin E
• Post Shave: Master Soap Creations - Tabacchi
• Fragrance: Diesel – Only the Brave Street

It’s the final day! Somehow this month has both flown by and dragged on! I definitely feel like I understand the community better than before and have such an appreciation for the level of dedication some of you have for the games. I did the best I could, given the time I could dedicate to this. I hope I did good enough to get a prize, but the daily posting was fun enough if I didn’t. Austere August doesn’t seem like it’s my thing because I like variety too much, but kudos to those that do it.

For the sake of the final challenge:

Me: USA
Brush: Portugal
Razor: England
Lather: Italy
Post Shave: South Africa
Fragrance: France

Not my favorite shave of the games, and I wish I could've ended it on a high note, but the calendar asks and the calendar shall receive!

The scents of today are all connected because they are because they are all a little woody-spicy. There’s something I don’t love the scent of this lather, but I smells woody and musky to me. The splash is actually okay, it’s very tobacco forward, but has some warm, wood-spicy undertones to it. And Dior Sauvage is also spicy, but is a lot lighter than the scent of the splash. Not the best combination I’ve used all games, but not the worst either. #FOF

Great fun in The Lather Games and already looking forward to next year!