u/sahenders's SOTDs for challenge 'SOTD photo scavenger hunt'

Jul 9, 2023 - Death Before Decaf

• Prep: Coffee
• Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Monster Dark 26mm SHD Gelousy Knot
• Razor: Karve Shaving Co. Christopher Bradley Aluminum, SB-E #RAINBOW
• Blade: Perma-Sharp Super [3]
• Lather: HAGS - Memento Mori - Soap
• Post Shave: Westman Shaving - Dark Man - Aftershave Lotion
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Embrace - Eau de Parfum

The name of the theme today made me think of Death Wish Coffee, which I haven't tried, but I've always liked the name of the company. Going with Death and Coffee for the theme, I used Memento Mori and Dark Man, which are both bold, rich coffee fragrances. Memento Mori leans into the sweet chocolate and rum notes at the start, but adds complexity with coffee and sandalwood. Dark Man opens strong with coffee and settles into earthy and woody notes like nutmeg, sandalwood, vetiver, cedar, and incense. Both excellent scents that pair very well together. I finalized the shave with HoM Embrace; a lovely, warm scent with a beautiful coffee note.

The Karve CB is always a great shaver for me, but not having a full mirror to shave with this morning made things a little more difficult. Shaving in the kitchen has been a staple of LG, and my family has just accepted these types of challenges at this point.

For the #Rainbow tag on the razor, I'm hoping that the red base plate is enough to pass it.

Of course, I had to start the morning with a really good cup of coffee, so I used the French Press and documented some of the preparation:

• Coffee to Water Ratio: 1:12 (23g:270ml)
• Grind: 5
• Temperature: 93°C
• Time: Bloom for 30s / Steep for 3m 30s

#photocontest coffee

Rating: 4/5

Edit: formatting

Jul 10, 2023 - Musical Monday

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Wild West Brushworks Matador 26mm Sweet Spot Badger Knot
• Razor: Gillette Red Tip Super Speed (1957)
• Blade: Voskhod [3]
• Lather: Dr. Jon's Shaving Soap Co. - Runaway - Soap (Vegan)
• Post Shave: MacDuffs Soap Company - American Vintage - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Fake Yellow Light - Eau de Parfum

Musical Monday started with the sweet cherry, spice, and leather notes in Runaway (á la Cherry Bomb); leading into the nuanced tobacco, mahogany, and worn leather of American Vintage; and finally the bold leather, tobacco, and nutty amber notes of Fake Yellow Light.

Musicly, Runaway honors Cherie Currie and Joan Jett of the band Runaways, while American Vintage is a "tribute to classic guitars and late night gigs." Fake Yellow Light is an homage to Ten by Jimmy Eat World.

The classic Red Tip Super Speed was so smooth with the Voskhod today, and gave such a great BBS. I'll definitely be using this combo as part of my regular razor rotation.

#photocontest leather

Rating: 4.5/5

Jul 12, 2023 - IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE

• Brush: AKA Brushworx Orange Resin 26mm Tuxedo Knot
• Razor: Gillette English Flat Bottom Tech #REGUS
• Blade: Feather Hi-Stainless [13]
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Santa Paula - Soap
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Druantia - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Monarch - Eau de Parfum

The Chiseled Face website warns that Santa Paula is orange trees, not oranges. It's also an amazing scent. I've had this sample for a while, and was never compelled to use it. However, it fit the running orange scents in the fragrances today. From woody, bitter orange to earthy, orange to powdery, orange, the shave software today worked together better than expected.

Chiseled Face's Tallow soaps contain coconut oil, and produced some FLUFFY goodness.

The Feather blade in the FBT was ready to be binned. I should have swapped it after the first pass, but I stuck it out for the shave.

Reverse Lather Challenge: depending on the type of soap determines how I usually lather. If it's a hard or firm soap, then I will typically tub load and face lather. Croaps and soft soaps, I will typically portion out, start a lather in the bowl, and finish hydrating the lather by face lathering.

Samples usually dictate bowl lathering. To unnecessarily complicate the process this morning, I opted for starting by hand lathering, but also skipped loading the bowl altogether. This had the undesirable effect that soap doesn't stick to the palm of the hand well and large soap pieces flaked off into the lather. I managed to work the pieces back into the lather, and added more hydration while face lathering. It's not an Uno reverse, but rather a wild card.

#witchcraftswednesday
#photocontest oranges

Rating: 3.5/5

Edit: phrasing

I like oranges.

Jul 13, 2023 - Hippy Dippy Baloney

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Farvour Turn Craft Eye of Jupiter 27mm Motherlode Knot
• Razor: GEM Flying Wing Micromatic (w/ Guiding Eye) #BRASSING
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [15]
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Retreat - Soap
• Post Shave: Oaken Lab - Sanctum - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)

• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Santal Auster - Eau de Parfum

• Song: The Apples in stereo - Energy

Frankincense and patchouli combined with delicate floral notes defined the shave this morning. The 27mm Motherlode made easy work of the Catie's Bubble's base and produced a beautiful, shimmering lather. It's been a while since I've used the Flying Wing, but it gave a close shave.

Song Challenge: The song selection from The Apples in stereo is Robert Schneider's burst of sunshine in musical form.

#photocontest incense smoke

Rating: 4/5

Jul 14, 2023 - Frigid Friday

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Summer Break Soaps Hopper 28mm Boti Stone Middle Flower SHD Knot
• Razor: Blackland Razors Blackbird Ti
• Blade: Voskhod [4]
• Lather: Noble Otter - Orbit - Soap
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Kryptonite - Splash
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Sun Soaked - Eau de Parfum

Here at Luther Corp. we pride ourselves in developing novel methods of neutralizing new and increasingly more powerful threats to humanity. The latest threat that has captured the attention of the media are the exploits of the Man of Steel. However, there is no need to fear his powerful capabilities because our R&D team has discovered multiple ways to keep his powers in check:

1. He gains his powers from the light of a yellow sun, so trapping him in the cold, darkness of space will greatly weaken his abilities.
2. A rare mineral from his home planet will rapidly diminish his powers to provide us greater opportunities to take quick and effective actions against him.
3. If he completely absorbs the light of a red sun, like the one of his home planet, he will be rendered completely powerless.

Today’s demonstration showcases how our latest technologies have been distilled into everyday products. With common elements of synthesized cold and notes of cedar, the combined effects can be harnessed to help incapacitate this new threat.

ATG Challenge: TIL the TiBird is a capable single pass shaver. Going ATG on the first pass was not what I would call comfortable, but it did take down most of the growth. I managed only one small nick on my neck from the first pass. Comparing one side to the other, both sides ended BBS. This is not something I'd want to do everyday, but I guess if I was really in a hurry, only had a single day's growth, and needed a close shave, the TiBird would do the job.

#photocontest superman

Rating: 4.5/5

Jul 18, 2023 - Spooky Season

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Chisel & Hound Chocolate Drop 26mm v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Gillette NEW DeLuxe (1930) #BRASSING #REGUS
• Blade: Gillette Platinum [11]
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows - Soap
• Post Shave: MacDuffs Soap Company - Haunted Cabin - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain - Eau de Parfum

Hallows is marketed as a spooky, late October scent and I can't argue that it fits that description. Unlike the other two scents used today, it works pretty well anytime. Hallows is such a great scent, and Excelsior is still a great base. The lather this morning was phenomenal.

Haunted Cabin has a sweet, syrupy vibe, that while done well, really makes it fit squarely in the Autumn seasonal category. The pumpkin note worked supremely well with Samhain, and overall, I can't complain about any of these scents.

The New DeLuxe may be a scary looking razor at first, but the long open comb teeth make it a gentle shaver. For all it's efficiency, it's not aggressive at all.

Atlas Shaves Challenge: I don't understand this challenge, but here you go, weirdos. The longer hairs are from also shaving the back of my neck. I can provide a picture of my toenail clippings as well if anyone is interested.

#photocontest evil forces (chaos tokens)

Rating: 4.5/5

Edit: Razor verification for brassing on the top cap and a serial number instead of a date code.

Jul 23, 2023 - "What IS that enchanting aroma?"

• Prep: Klar - Activated Charcoal - Face Soap
• Brush: Trotter Handcrafts Space Portal 25mm Mühle STF
• Razor: Wolfman Razors WR4 (Aluminum)
• Blade: Feather Artist Club Professional [2]
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana - Soap
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana - Aftershave (Alcohol Free)
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana - Eau de Parfum

Banana two days in a row. Nice! Southern Witchcrafts' Boonana is the scent that has been the most complimented this year. It's always interesting the reactions I get when I answer their question about the name of the scent. They don't quite understand the spooky connection, and sometimes don't really notice the banana note until it's pointed out. Either way, this scent is amazing, and plenty of other people agree.

I decided today would be a good day to try out this new aluminum WR4 head that I used on the Razorock SS handle. I'm not sure if the balance was exactly right, but it's a remarkable shaver. I took it slow and used short strokes.

Lather Audit Challenge

Rating: 4.5/5

Edit: #photocontest banana

Nice shot. Good contrast.