Saturday, the 1st of July, 2023

• Brush: Semogue Owners Club boar, Taj white handle
• Razor: Chiseled Face Titanium Legacy
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (63)
• Lather: Cella - Crema Rapida
• Post shave: Stirling Soap Company - Bash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Lavender, Interrupted

LG OFFICIAL.

I probably don't have to write that for the bot to pick it up, but oh, well.

So I did not get the razor completely new to me honed before the Games, so I miss out on today's special challenge. I guess I'm taking a laid-back and fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach to the Games this year. This morning I picked up my newest razor; the last one I bought. Similarly, I selected the newest brush, newest splash, and newest perfume (the blade is just one of the ones I've been using for a while now).

Of course today's theme is to use a new lather product, and Cella fits the bill. I picked up a tube of Cella's crema rapida to try out. It's not bad. I got a good shave today, at least as good as with, say, Cremo, although I have to say I much prefer the lather from a nice soap. I also have to say while this is advertised as a brushless cream, it's a much better shave if I work up a nicer lather with a brush, not just rubbing it with fingers.

Lavender, Interrupted is a great scent to follow the shave.

Sunday, the 2nd of July, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 26mm G5C #PREMIUMPLASTIC #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Karve brass Christopher Bradley, SB-C #CNC
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (20)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta
• Post shave: Talent Soap Factory - Toki
• Fragrance: Talent Soap Factory - Switchback

Don't have a cow, man. Or a pig, or duck, or buffalo, or deer, or donkey, or horse, or worm, or goat, or chicken... has anyone used beaver fat in shaving soap? Don't have a beaver either, man. Just murder those fruits and vegetables. Today's shave was brought to you by the cruel crushing of many nuts, the dastardly dismemberment of fruit, and the senseless slaughter of leaves.

I therefore also selected a synthetic brush, using the fine G5C knot from AP Shave Co, in a "raspberry" ebonite handle. After the shave, I picked a splash and perfume from another company selling vegan products, Talent Soap Factory.

I dunno that anyone markets "vegan" razors, but I'm pretty sure no animals were harmed in the making of Karve's Christopher Bradley... it's also probably the closest to the dominant label color on the soap.

It was a quite nice two pass shave, although I did carelessly open one very small weeper on my neck in first pass, alas. Then, I also completely forgot about the challenge by the time I started my shave. I was using both sides of the DE, to my detriment.

It also turns out this is a pretty interesting scent combination. I didn't plan it, but it kinda works. I may have to try this out again after the Games are over... as much as I dislike the alcoholic splash, I do like the scents.

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

Monday, the 3rd of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20106 #TOLL #HOLLOW #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Gillette C1 1957 flare tip Superspeed #BRASSING
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (21)
• Lather: Moon Soaps - Amaretto Speciale
• Post shave: Stirling Soap Company - Gin & Tonic
• Fragrance: January Scent Project - Horla
• Passes: WTG, XTG, ATG
• Coffee: None
• Tea: Scottish breakfast
• Music: Marc Almond - Friendship

Today's feature is my first purchase from Moon Soaps. The scent is very almondy and very rich. It gave me a very good shave, and seems to be a fine product. The tub says "shaving cream," not "soap," and that may have suggested that I should load more than usual. Well, I loaded a lot more than I needed: I think I ended up with enough lather for three good shaves.

The bulky head on the Superspeed is not my favorite, but I got those hairs right under my nose just fine. No nicks, no cuts, no weepers, as it should be. "Amaretto" suggests liqueur, and with a boozy frame of mind, I picked a Stirling's Gin & Tonic toner to follow the shave. The scents don't necessarily go together, but I could see these drinks being shared by good friends in times of joy, or sadness.

When picking a perfume, I went in a different direction. Especially after seeing today's challenge, and reading u/RedMosquitoMM's post below. Horla indeed has almond in its notes (which I'd forgotten), and I agree is a challenging fragrance to like. Well, at least in the open. Everything is quite well-blended, and yes, a rich & creamy scent. The notes, however, do not mesh so well to my nose. I feel like there's a conflict in there, some rancorous disagreement. Between whom, I'm not sure... maybe just between me & this perfume.

Spring-Themed Shaving Science: a Failed First Attempt to Investigate the Water:Soap Ratio in a Shaving Lather

First published: 04 July 2023

Abstract

There has been considerable discussion on r/Wetshaving of the importance of using sufficient water when building a lather for shaving. Here, I made an attempt to examine if my usual judgement by feel actually gets close to what may be the optimal ratio for today's soap.

Discussion

Today's challenge is "science." Now, science, of course, is not measurement, no matter how precise. Science is a process where you test a hypothesis through experimentation and prouduce evidence to support or contradict it. I am aware people colloquially use "science" to describe any kind of research whatsoever, but today I will not condone it. If there is no experiment, it cannot possibly be science. If there is an experiment, then it might be science, even if you're not measuring precisely.

Therefore I think "shave like it's a science experiment" should mean experimenting with your shave to test a hypothesis, regardless of the precision of your measurements. When considering what hypothesis I might test within a single shave, I believe my options are limited. Most would be best tested via many shaves. Not only do multiple trials allow the identification outlier data, but also reducing variables to a single independent variable: even within a single shave, each pass will be different, and different parts of my face are different.

Also, of course precision in measurement is helpful, even crucial, depending on what you're testing. I'm not arguing it has no place in science, merely that it is not a sine qua non.

I settled on the question of whether I am still not adding enough water to make an optimal lather, despite all the discussion in this forum on the topic over the last few years.

Equipment

• Brush: Omega 20102
• Razor: Gillette NEW long comb
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (64)
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Save the Earth
• Post shave: Murphy & McNeil - Ogham Stone
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - 42

Methodology

Normally, when shaving I never measure the soap or water precisely, I judge the ratio by feel: id est, does the lather "feel" wet enough as I work the lather on my face? As I conceived of the experiment immediately before the shave, and am concluding it just after, there was insufficient time to determine a baseline measurement of soap & water.

I shall instead pick an arbitrary amount of soap to start with (0.8 g) which I expect to be sufficient for the shave. I'll then gradually add water a few grams at a time and work it in, judging first by appearance in the bowl, and then by working the lather on my face, adding more water until I "feel" it is ready. This should mimic my normal routine well enough to start at the same baseline.

I'll then complete the first pass and note in qualitative judgement how the shave feels. I'll then add more water to the lather remaining in the bowl, lather my face again, and complete the second pass, noting any qualitative differences in how the shave feels. This process shall be repeated for the third pass, although if the lather feels far too wet in the second pass, I may decide to add more soap in addition to, or instead of, water, for the third.

Results

For the initial preparation, I found with 0.8g soap, approximately 19.3g of water approached what I consider a "normal" feel appropriate for shaving. This gives my first pass a water:soap ratio of about 24. I had soaked the brush well before the shave, and made sure to squeeze out as much water as I could: I wanted the bristles fully soaked so that they would not absorb any water from the lather, but I also did not want to throw off my water measurements by letting an unknown amount remain in the brush.

The first pass felt good, while it was a little tuggy, that is to be expected when using a blade which has been used for sixty three prior shaves. The "drippiness" of the lather may also be relevant: the lather gathered around the razor's head while shaving, and would drip off only when a large amount had gathered (enough to fully obscure the base plate). However gently shaking the razor will also cause most of the lather to drop off.

Before the second pass, I decided to add about 10% more water: I added 3.0g to the bowl. And only after doing so, realized my mistake: I failed to weigh out how much lather I had built, nor how much remained. Therefore I no longer know the ratio, because I no longer know how much soap or water remains of what I had initially added. If I had removed one third of the lather for the first pass, the water:soap ratio might now be approximately 29. But this was not measured.

Still, I shall press onward. The second pass lather is noticeably wetter than I usually shave with. However it is not wholly unfamiliar; since my usual process is not precise, I will sometimes add enough water to reach approximately this same point, I think. While shaving the lather will easily drip off the razor head without accumulating much. The feel of the shave is still quite normal however. It is less tuggy than the first pass, but that is to be expected as the stubble is shorter by this point.

Before the third pass I added yet more water, 0.9g, to make the lather wetter still. Indeed, as I lather my face again, it is now dripping down off my face and neck where I spread it by gravity alone. Again, if I suppose half the remaining lather was used, the water:soap ratio might now be about 33. Also, while I thought it would be sufficient, 0.8g was too little soap for this shave. I had sufficient lather for the third pass, but only by scooping every last bit out of the bowl. Thus my estimate of one-third of the total being used for each pass.

During the shave, I again perceieve no significant difference from what I would normally expect. This pass feels slightly rougher, but that is to be expected in a pass against the grain.

Conclusion

The methodological failure to measure the amount of lather built, or how much was used in each pass, invalidate any guesses at the ratio when adding more water after the first pass.

Still, within the bounds of a single shave, I did not notice a significant difference in the quality of the shave as additional water is added. Here the limitation of performing the experiment within a single shave also reduces the quality of the data and conclusion: it would be better to judge the quality of each pass with each ratio. While I certainly could have prepared three different lathers for this shave, I chose not to, due to time constraints.

Based on the lack of significant qualitative differences noted between passes, beyond what would be expected by the different nature of the passes, I would conclude that this soap has a fairly wide range of optimal performance.

But as is often written, more research is needed.

Wednesday, the 5th of July, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 24mm Gelousy SHD Badger #SHD
• Razor: Gillette triangle slot, fat handle Tech #REGUS
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (22)
• Lather: Cremo - Cremo Original
• Post shave: Old Spice - Original
• Fragrance: Coty - Gravity

While the Cremo, Old Spice, and Gravity all came from a department store, that's obviously not true for the hardware. Well, it's possible eighty years ago the razor was bought from a drugstore or similar, but that's not how I got it.

Cremo Original does not have a great scent. It's not terrible, but it's kind of a medicinal soapy scent. There's something I might characterize as a "fresh" element, but this would never be a favorite. At least, not after using much more interesting, varied, exploratory, and strongly perfumed shaving soaps.

That said, the shave itself was nice. I rejected the instructions on the tube and used a brush to lather it up. The lather is much, much better if you do this. And the Rubie in a Tech gave me two quite nice passes.

After the shave... ugh. There's no ingredient list on the bottle, but I bet this Old Spice is nothing but alcohol and fragrance oils. I hate it. And the scent is... not much to speak of. I'm not quite sure if there's a hint of citrus left, or if it's all gone and I'm just imagining it. The spice is muted, and it's still an OK scent, but there's good reasons this only comes out of the closet once a year, for the Lather Games department store day. Gravity is a little better, although it's not particularly interesting, it's not a bad scent at all.

On today's challenge: I don't think I have an inner perfumer. I know what I pick up on from many scents isn't the same as others, and I have a real tough time picking out most specific notes. If designing an ideal scent for now, I wouldn't try to build something around a sense of place, or a person, or to explore an aspect of an accord. I'd just try to build something I'd love to smell over and over and over again.

I'd probably start by building something centered around strong floral notes. Probably rose. Maybe backed up by a couple others... geranium, lavender, violet, I dunno. There's room for experimentation here, maybe with some top floral notes and some lasting longer in the middle of the fragrance. A woody (sandalwood, oud, cedar), slightly spicy (cardamom, black pepper) base would be good, maybe with a hint, just a hint, of vetiver. I'd probably try to work in a certain... I dunno how to describe this, but there's a "headiness" to some perfumes I like, that I think would work well here (Gravity does have a bit of this). I don't know if this is attributable to a certiain note, or ingredient, but if I were a professional, I'd probably have some experience with the fragrance oils to pinpoint where it comes from.

I'll admit this is already sounds quite similar to Chatillon Lux's Rose Santal, or Zingari Man/Byron No. 1. But depending on where it's at, I'd like to experiment with herbal or fruity notes to try to take it in a different direction.

Now after writing about it, I wish I had the chance to experiment a bit. I should look for a perfumery class or one of those kits with different fragance oils, maybe.

Thursday, the 6th of July, 2023

• Brush: Zenith 502BC #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Maggard Razors V3A
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (65)
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime
• Post shave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime

First, the challenge: this trio of stacked items was unfortunately the best I could do, and have time to take a picture. Every configuration I tried with more in the stack came tumbling down before I could take a picture. And I decided to quit before I broke the glass bottles.

The lime in Sea Spice Lime pops quite nicely, in all three products here. The spice adds some great complexity, and the sea spray is a nice touch in the opening. I cannot quite tell you where the oakmoss is, but I'm sure I'd notice if it were removed. No wonder this stays in the Lather Log top scents.

Then, later, after looking at u/Tonality's stack, I guess I can do slightly better.

Friday, the 7th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega Pro 49, red handle (10049)
• Razor: Timeless ALSB45
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (23)
• Lather: Noble Otter - Joker
• Post shave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Spiced
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Lavande Poivre

Joker is a well-blended scent, but when I open the tub, and also when lathered up, the cardamom pops out to greet me. I, at least, find it a prominent note in this scent. ... I guess we'll see, if the djudges agree. I'd say the sandalwood is also fairly prominent; it's what I notice after the cardamom. Honestly, the rest of it is pretty well blended to my nose, and as I often complain, I can't always pick out specific notes. Just two, here.

What better to follow a spicy shave than Spearhead's Seaforth! Spiced? Indisputably spicy, I also love the citrus in the opening here. I think I also like the aldehydes? I may need that perfumery class to understand exactly which notes those contribute. And I finished off the scents today with the peppery, lavendery, Lavande Poivre. Hopefully a fitting tribute to spicy notes.

On today's challenge to talk about your hobbies, I'm a very casual hobbyist, I think. I'm occasionally casually into running, but I've kinda dropped it this year. I'm casually into cooking... but I've been making mostly just variations on tacos this year. Have you tried beet tacos with mustard? I found this surprisingly good. Much better than the turnip tacos; while I like the alliteration there, they're just not that good. I love listening to music, but haven't picked up an instrument since I was 13 or 14. That probably doesn't qualify as a hobby. I suppose I might qualify as a casual gamer, but I probably haven't played what you have. I'm also a bit into weird health-related stuff... mostly centered around diet, nutrition, and things like fasting. I guess I'm a little all over the place.

Saturday, the 8th of July, 2023

• Brush: Maggard Razors 24mm synthetic, marble resin handle
• Razor: Maggard Razors V3
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (24)
• Lather: Maggard Razors - Northern Moss
• Post shave: Maggard Razors - Orange Menthol
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Lycanthropy

All of the non-Maggard brand items in today's shave were still at least purchased from Maggard Razors. The razor and brush were in the starter kit I bought from them. I don't have any Maggard-brand perfumes, but I have bought a few through their shop, including Lycanthropy.

Lycanthropy is... challenging when first sprayed. The mix of notes in the opening is not pleasant, at least not to my nose. However, once it settles down a bit, it's quite nice. I'm not sure what blows off quickly... looking at Southern Witchcraft's page, I see they list fir tree, lilac, musk, mildew, moss, Egyptian jasmine, palo santo, white sage, and ozone.

Ozone might be what I don't like about the opening, but honestly I don't smell ozone when I smell this. Even on open. Maybe I need to pay more attention to that opening the next time I use it. At one point I think I was down on the juniper, but today I notice the juniper sticks around a while, although it's not as intense after a couple hours. The juniper I like. And I think it's especially good with what I can smell of the fir note, and what I think is the moss, musk, and mildew notes under that. There's a dankiness in here that I believe would come primarily from those, anyway.

I'm trying to imagine "white sage;" I'm sure that contributes to the jumble I smell in the opening, but I cannot pick it out. Palo santo I had to look up, but it seems this would be another woody note, along with the fir.

I suppose I should tag this #FOF, since this is the most in-depth I've gone on talking about scents in some time. Although I'm sure this goes at the bottom of the list of entries there.

The daily questions thread is great. Well, today it seems to be about 95% shitposting, but that's still fun to read through. I feel a bit sorry for anyone not a regular who stumbles on it today. But the actual questions and discussions that come from it are often quite good. I put up an actual question today, which may well be lost in the noise for now.

Sunday, the 9th of July, 2023

• Brush: Zenith 502BC
• Razor: Maggard Razors V3
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (66)
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Chaotic Neutral
• Post shave: Barrister and Mann - Leviathan
• Fragrance: Storybook Soapworks - Visions & Revisions

Declaration Grooming's Chaotic Neutral is a nice tea and woods scent, to my nose. Declaration writes that the notes are, "in no particular order:" amber, oak, cardamom, patchouli, black tea, sandalwood, bourbon, tobacco, clary sage. Man, some kind of "sage" sure does show up in a lot of things. I also can't pick that out here. I think I can find the bourbon, and maybe a hint of tobacco. But mostly this is woods & tea.

I followed this up with a coffee (and leather) splash, Leviathan. I do like how the coffee comes out in the splash. Finally, another tea scent, Storybook Soapworks' Visions & Revisions perfume (with a handwritten label, as this was bought in the final closeout sale, presumably all the regular labels were already used). As Storybook is long gone, I resorted to the Internet Archive to get the notes: bergamot, orange, and lemon on top of a dark black tea and earthy lavender base, Visions & Revisions was intended to be a "citrusy Early Grey" scent.

So then I made myself a cup of Earl Grey. The perfume isn't quite the same; Twinings is a less floral Earl Grey, but the perfume does go well with the tea.

Monday, the 10th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20106
• Razor: Gillette late model English Tech
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (25)
• Lather: Dr. Jon's - Pan's Pipe
• Post shave: Wholly Kaw - Rebelle
• Fragrance: Dr. Jon's - Pan's Pipe

What would life be without the sound of music? Or the sound of musak? It would be very dull, indeed. And what could be a better choice than a tribute to one of the most ancient musicians of legend, Pan?

Although I didn't get either until after Dr. Jon's had closed up, I liked Pan's Pipe enough to snag one of the last bottles of the eau de parfum. I do not have the splash, but Rebelle works as another musically inspired choice for today's aftershave.

I didn't get to post this until very late in the day, and I'm running out of time for the challenge! ... oh, man, those flowers around the edge are killing me. And this half-lit, half-sillouette of Pan... this is going to look terrible. Man, I'm missing last year's art challenge being on Small Business Saturday. Drawing a big maple leaf was quite simple! Today, I even couldn't keep the background rays consistent from a centerpoint... that was bad tool choice, though, as I used a thick, opaque straightedge which obscured the part of the drawing underneath it.

Argh.

Tuesday, the 11th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega Pro 49, red handle (10049)
• Razor: Baili BR177 #RAINBOW
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (67)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Company - Clementine
• Post shave: Chatillon Lux - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Sonder

Taste the #RAINBOW. Or at least part of it, up to yellow.

Clementine is a lovely bright orange scent, and Stirling's stellar soap gave me quite a nice shave today. The Baili... was OK. It did pretty well with the old blade, but the match isn't the best. The razor is nice and cheap (about $5 or $6 I think, or at least that's how much I got it for a couple years ago), but doesn't give me the nicest shave. A couple years ago u/velocipedic wrote a nice review of it, praising it as an excellent entry point to DE wetshaving due to its price. I agree... but there are much nicer razors.

A different citrus is featured in each scent this morning, although the Clementine and Yuzu aren't too far apart. But the lemon in Sonder is quite a ways down the road.

Wednesday, the 12th of July, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Tuxedo
• Razor: Gillette English "flat bottom" Tech
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (68)
• Lather: The Goodfellas' Smile - Savage
• Post shave: Siliski Soaps - Simple Skincare face cream
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Company - Boat Drinks

The Goodfellas' Smile "Savage" shaving soap, in their AJ-1 vegetable formula, has the ingredients:

Aqua, stearic acid, cocos nucifera oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Parfum, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Alpha-Hexylcinnamaldehyde, p-tert-butyl-alpha-methylrocyl

It just comes in as #3 in this list, but cocos nucifera is indeed the coconut tree. And the lather did indeed whip up into a very fluffy mix today.

You know what else has coconut (extract)? This Siliski face cream. Although it's a lot lower in the list of ingredients; here the cocos nucifera fruit extract is #13, following such things as polyglyceryl-6 distearate, niacinamide, caffeine, and more.

You know what else has coconut (or at least a few molecules to recreate elements of the scent)? Boat Drinks, the perfume: the notes are banana, coconut, rum, frangipani, and tangerine.

And dang, but I wish I hadn't forgotten about the challenge during the shave.

Thursday, the 13th of July, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 24mm Gelousy SHD Badger
• Razor: Fatip lo Storto
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (26)
• Lather: Signature Soaps - Danum
• Post shave: Australian Private Reserve - Ozymandias
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Company - Dunshire

Danum is "fragranced with a careful balance of patchouli essential oil." Very patchouli, so I think very "hippie dippy." The weapon of choice today is Fatip's lo Storto. It's been a minute since I used the slant.

The soap is fine, but I feel like at least on this first use, it was lacking some slickness. The Fatip slant was quite nice, and the soap is fine, just not great. It deserves a few more shaves, at least. It may not be an all star but it was a good shave, and I do like the patchouli.

I don't have much else which is big on patchouli... or from the UK... and so I end up picking something at random, something from down under: the Ozymandias splash from Australian Private Reserve. And again at random, a sample of Stirling's Dunshire perfume.

As for music, man, I just don't know. I don't know that any music really goes with a shave. I mean there, in the moment, with the lather, and the blade, the focus is on the method. Sure, you might wake up with a song going through your head, but then it's replaced by the song of the of the razor against the hair.

It's just about cutting it down.

Friday, the 14th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20106
• Razor: Gillette travel Tech
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (27)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
• Post shave: Declaration Grooming - ? (Puzzle 2019)
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Company - Haverford

OK, confession time: I'm not really a menthol-head. I can appreciate a little menthol, and I've actually started adding frost drops to a lot of lathers this Summer. But even some of Stirling's regular mentholated soaps are a little much. I got one sample of a "glacial" soap and it was... too much.

So I don't know what I was thinking when I got this sample.

You can see little crystalline structures in the soap. It is, as advertised, very cold. But... now I wonder if using more menthol more often is building up a tolerance. This really isn't as bad as I remember my glacial sample being. Oh, no, am I becoming a menthol lover?

I did take the challenge today: first pass was ATG on both cheeks, and most of my neck. It was... irritating. I did the one pass mostly ATG, then a second cleanup pass. There's one spot on my neck which is prone to irritation, and it was bugging the hell out of me after today's shave. So... no, this is definitely not the way.

We had a thunderstorm roll through today. Winds up to 70MPH, I think. It did a ton of damage, and my power's been out since. I have enough juice left to post this, at least.

Saturday, the 15th of July, 2023

• Brush: Semogue Owners Club boar, Taj white handle
• Razor: Blackland Era, Level 3 OC
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (69)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Le Grand Chypre
• Post shave: Wholly Kaw - Chypre Rose Concerto
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Lyssa

I woke up this morning to find the power's still out here. They say there's crews working around the clock to repair the storm damaage, and there's a lot more to do. It's the longest outage since... 2017 or 2018 I think. At least it's not terribly cold or terribly hot here. At least I don't need electricity to shave, just water. Although today's challenge would require electricity... my phone battery is not dead, but since the power's out I'm trying to conserve the battery, now that I have to charge it somewhere other than my wall.

In this razor, the blade still isn't a rough shaver, but today I needed almost a full fourth pass of cleanup. Which is a bit much. Le Grand Chypre (in Excelsior) of course gave me a great shave. And the bright resiny citrus was a nice scent. I also have this floral Chypre Rose Concerto splash, which is, at least to my nose, not much like le Grand Chypre. It is still bright, at least. Less bright, but also very floral, and I'm sure not at all a Chypre, is Lyssa. This goes quite well after Chypre Rose Concerto, and is a great scent.

I suppose my favorite "wettuber" right now would be HD Shaves. He's a nice dude, the kind of guy who'd give you a thumbs-up for your shave, unlike the harsh judge u/VisceralWatch. ;)

Sunday, the 16th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega Pro 49, red handle (10049)
• Razor: Gillette thin cap old type
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (70)
• Lather: Black Ship Grooming - Two Bits
• Post shave: Dr. Jon's - Runaway
• Fragrance: Talent Soap Factory - Wolf Mother

Oh, man, we're more than halfway through the Games already? Where did the first half of the month go? It's also my third day here without electricity. They claim they're still working on it, but my side of the street may be at the bottom of the priority list.

So if the name of today's theme is "shave and a haircut," including the folloup "two bits," what better soap for today's theme than the one actually named "Two Bits?" It's another use from an old sample tub, and... not a favorite barbershop scent of mine. I have another Black Ship sample I should get out after the Games are over. The soap is great, and I even got a better shave with this blade than I did yesterday, maybe even with a little less cleanup?

I don't have a barbershop splash, so instead I picked one from another company which produced only vegan soaps, Dr. Jon's. Runaway has an interesting mix of notes; the cherry on top is unexpected. I decided to follow this with a perfume from another company which produces vegan soaps, Talent Soap Factory's Wolf Mother.

Monday, the 17th of July, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi Professional 24mm badger
• Razor: Gillette gold "fat handle" post-war Tech #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (28)
• Lather: Storybook Soapworks - Carnivale
• Post shave: Highland Springs Soap Company - Eclipse
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Cerberus

I'm now in day four without power. They say they're working eastward, and will be back making repairs in this area tomorrow... but at this point I'm no longer optimistic. This is the longest outage I've experienced since 2007, I think. Or maybe that was 2008? I forget now, but it was a many years ago.

Anyway, it's a good thing I'm not relying on an electric shaver! Today's shave is all about software collaborations. Carnivale is a scent produced by Australian Private Reserve (RIP), put into soap by Storybook Soapworks (the company is also gone, but the owner not deceased, at least as far as I know). It's a lovely scent, and I really regret not getting the perfume when it was available. This is a soap which lathers up fast, although I'm not in a hurry today, and the shave was great.

After the shave, I turn to another APR collaboration, this time with Highland Springs Soap Company, Eclipse. It's a much darker scent, befitting the name, and also much more potent. Even the soap is quite a bit more potent than Carnivale. Finally, another dark scent, albeit with a spot of bright fruit, Cerberus. This one didn't involve APR, but was a three-way collaboration between House of Mammoth, Noble Otter, and Declaration Grooming.

As for the challenge, I still have never bought alum. Well, not for myself, anyway: I have sent someone else alum I bought, but not used alum, oh, no. You know that stuff's dangerous. And even though I don't do it often, nicks happen on occasion. I mean, if I wouldn't reuse a bandage, why would I want to reuse alum, when it would get bloodied after a nick? I don't think I need it for feedback: my skin will certainly tell me, even without alum, if I've overshaved. So, what's the point?

Tuesday, the 18th of July, 2023

• Brush: Zenith 502BC
• Razor: Gillette travel Tech #JETSETTER
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (29)
• Lather: Murphy & McNeil - Magh Tured
• Post shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Labyrinth
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Fougère Gothique

I, uh, decided to spare the honorable djudges a picture of lather with cut hair in it.

Magh Tured is allegedly an "homage" to Tom Ford Oud Wood. Murphy & McNeil describes it as "spicy and woody," and that was enough for me to pick it today. Although now that I look, Fragrantica describes Oud Wood as an "Amber Woody fragrance." Amber may be categorized as an "animalic," and Oud Wood is not present in their "woody spicy" category.

Well, crap. Am I arguing myself into a DQ today? I hope not. Even different batches of the same fragrance by the same producer can differ, and dupes might vary a little as well. I'll also point out that despite how the fragrance is categorized, the #3 accord in Fragrantica's ranking for Oud Wood is "warm spicy," while "amber" is #8, below even the #7 accord "fresh spicy." The notes for Oud Wood include cardamom, Sichuan pepper, vanilla, and tonka bean, all of which are indeed spice notes. As I perceive the scent from the soap, I'd say I do not find neither amber nor the spices particularly prominent.

Therefore, given their own profile of the fragrance, it sure looks like this could as easily be categorized "woody spicy" as much as "amber woody." One of the characteristics they note for "woody spicy" is "warm, bitter spices," with pepper as an example... cardamom fits this profile, as does Sichuan pepper, even if vanilla and tonka bean do not.

I'm posting this pretty late in the day, so I dunno if anyone will catch this, but please, if you've smelled Magh Tured or Oud Wood, please weigh in. Am I off my rocker here?

I'll also tag this #FOF so there's another post near the bottom of that stack.

In other news, I finally have electricity again! No more visiting the public library to keep things charged, or trying to be judicious with the hotspot data usage.

Oh, and I shouldn't forget the splash or perfume today. While I'm not going to make the argument that Labyrinth could also be a "woody spicy" fragrance, I do think the scent goes quite well with what remains of the soap scent after the shave. And of course Fougère Gothique is expressly an Autumn scent. Overall it's a good setup, and I got a good shave today.

Wednesday, the 19th of July, 2023

• Brush: a clean sock
• Razor: Gillette thin cap old type
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (71)
• Lather: Speick - Soothing Lavender
• Post shave: Storybook Soapworks - Hook
• Fragrance: La Curie - Faunus

OK, I bit on today's challenge. But it turns out I hate the lather sock. First of all, I had to use an insane amount of shaving cream. Like, maybe five times what I should be using for the shave? Second, it took forever to lather it up. I think I spent like half an hour just trying to get a decent lather out of this. And a cream should be faster to lather up! Good grief, I'm glad this was on cream day.

Now, once I did get a lather, it was fine. Maybe a little suboptimal, but OK. Sure, I suppose with practice I could do better, but man, my first brush lathers were, like, orders of magnitude better.

Speick is a good cream, with a nice lavender scent. And the old type razor gave another good shave with this blade. Hook is an interesting scent... honestly, today I ended up getting some chlorine off it, I think, as it wore on later in the day. Faunus is a fun little scent, and kind of, sort of, thematically linked to Hook, perhaps only in that they're both evocative of fantasy settings.

Thursday, the 20th of July, 2023

• Brush: Semogue Owners Club boar, Taj white handle
• Razor: Chiseled Face Titanium Legacy
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (30)
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - Excursion
• Post shave: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Heather
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Company - Ramblin' Man

Looking at the challenge today... I have misgivings. I dunno, I think I usually use quite a bit of water, and I remember shaves being worse before I increased what I use to make the lather. Well, let's give it a shot. I can go pasty today. I scooped from the tub, smeared the soap on the bottom of a dry bowl, picked the brush up out of the soaking cup, shook most of the water out of it, and made the lather. No more water was added than what little bit remained in the brush after shaking.

The lather clung to the razor like... it was hanging on for dear life? Maybe. I dunno quite how to describe it, but it's been a while since I've shaved with lather this dry. The lather still was not quite dry enough to stay on the razor after a simple rinse; even what water was left in the brush was enough that it all came off just under the faucet.

All said and done, it wasn't a bad shave; no cuts, no nicks, no weepers. I got three good passes, but I kinda think my face doesn't feel quite as nice afterwards as when I use a nice wet lather.

The soap, Excursion, is of course, a dupe of Yves Saint Laurent's la Nuit de L'Homme. The splash, Seaforth! Heather, is not actually a dupe, but is somewhat related; it is a reimagining of an old Seaforth! scent. I'd call it an homage, although here I mean something different than how "homage" is usually used in the description of dupe scents. The perfume, Ramblin' Man, is a proper dupe of Creed Himalaya, and all these scents are quite nice today.

Friday, the 21st of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20102
• Razor: Fatip lo Storto
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (72)
• Lather: The Los Angeles Shaving Soap Company - Blackfern
• Post shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougère Nemeta

First use of Blackfern,
A fresh fougère in Summer,
It is a nice scent.

As blades get older,
Slant razors shave me well,
Nice and comfortable.

All today's software
are fougères, although they sit
far apart indeed.

Nemeta evokes
A still, ancient, hidden site;
Always Autumn here.

Player writes haikus / but he needs to learn to count / six is not seven

Saturday, the 22nd of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega Pro 49, red handle (10049)
• Razor: Gillette NEW long comb
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (73)
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - 322
• Post shave: Catie's Bubbles - 322
• Fragrance: Wholly Kaw - Vor V

Catie's Bubbles' 322 is a berry nice vetiver scent, with patchouli, oakmoss, and a touch of blackcurrant on top. I don't think there's a strange time here: while blackcurrant does not have "berry" in the name, I think is obviously a berry fruit, in a classic size and shape. The aftershave lotion (splash) I think has a little clearer blackcurrant note than the luxury cream soap.

And for the perfume, while it turns out raspberries are not botanical berries, but an "aggregate fruit," it does have "berry" in the name, and the floral fruity perfume is a nice pick to follow the earthy 322.

It turns out I didn't have the juice for today's challenge.

Sunday, the 23rd of July, 2023

• Brush: Semogue 2000 Hereditas
• Razor: Gillette triangle slot, fat handle Tech
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (31)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Denarius
• Post shave: Wholly Kaw - Denarius
• Fragrance: Storybook Soapworks - Shaken

What has got me the most compliments? Well, I don't think anyone's ever complimented what they can smell of whatever lather I used. But I have heard a compliment after using just Denarius balm (no perfume on top). It is a pretty strongly scented balm. And I happen to have the matching soap, which I will use along with the balm. Very few other post shave scents get comments of any kind.

But Shaken also gets a lot of compliments. Between these two scents, I don't have all three products, so I cannot use a trifecta of a compliment-garnering scent, but these two are definitely at the top of my den, at least as judged by other people (those who let me know about it, anyway).

Both of these are kind of rich scents: Denarius is "leather, vanilla, clary sage, geranium, patchouli, ionone woods, anise," and is "our interpretation of Mousse de Saxe." That bit right there, I suspect, is what makes it appealing. It's why I bought it. Mousse de Saxe is a very appealing accord.

Shaken is "gin, tobacco, carnation, gunpowder, paper money, sandalwood and musk." An homage to Ian Fleming's James Bond, I can only imagine it really does embody the character. Doesn't everyone love Bond?

Monday, the 24th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20106
• Razor: Gillette late model English Tech
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (32)
• Lather: Grooming Department - Encens Agrumes
• Post shave: Barrister and Mann - The Full Measure of Man
• Fragrance: Australian Private Reserve - Santal Noir

All today's software was PIFs. The soap I got from u/wallygator88, expressly for use in last year's Lather Games. It's a nice scent, and I like using it outside the Lather Games, as well! The balm was a PIF (along with the matching soap) from u/SasquatchAteMyFamily, who I haven't seen around here lately. But I still use and appreciate it! The perfume was part of a PIF from u/B_S80.

We have a very generous community here, and I'm lucky to be a part of it. Oh, wait, did you want to hear something about someone specific? Hmm. How about a few specific someones?

You know what comes after the Lather Games? Austere August. And several side contests. I may not participate anymore (the same setup for the whole month is just so boring), but it's really great to see people setting up challenges, and prizes, to encourage people to go for AA.

• There's u/EldrormR, u/djundjila, and u/Semaj3000, with the Month of Weckoning,
• Then u/InfernalInternal, with Mammoth Month,
• u/wallygator88 puts up the Midnight Stag challenge,
• u/cowzilla3 offers a tempting route easy route "unchallenging challenge,"
• And what's this, but u/EldrormR again, with another Raw Hoggin' challenge,
• And I feel like I should give u/djundjila another credit here for putting together the Djudge portal to help everyone running these contests keep everything straight.

That's a lot of awesome contests for August, fellas, and here's to you!

Tuesday, the 25th of July, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 24mm Gelousy SHD Badger
• Razor: Karve brass Christopher Bradley, SB-C
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (74)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir
• Post shave: Barrister and Mann - Eigengrau
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

sO, I'm right-handed. Shaving with my left hand is a fool's game. It's slow, awkward, and injury-forming.

I tried to make lather using my left hand. But after like five minutes... I decided to read the challenge again: it clearly says "shave with a non-dominant hand." "Shave!" Well, there you go: I can rules-lawyer a little bit, too. This doesn't say "lather with a non-dominant hand," therefore, I lathered with my right hand like normal. This is clearly not part of today's challenge.

But when it comes to the shave, well. Honestly, making the first pass with my left hand isn't bad. It's a little slower than normal, but it's easy to keep the razor on track. It's not until the second pass that things get awkward. Here, I need to start paying more attention to angles of attack, and it's here where, if, like me, you aren't careful, you'll end up going against the grain when you meant to be going across. It's the neck where this is a real problem, because I need to change direction a couple times. And my motor memory is in the wrong hand. So, that's a little rougher shave than I intended.

The third pass actually starts off better (probably because I start with my sideburns and cheeks), but again it just gets tough to keep things straight under my chin, and again on the neck. I end up nicking myself right under my chin, I think because I didn't have the right angle with the razor.

Overall... it wasn't terrible. But it also wasn't a good shave. Well, it was an interesting exercise. I'm glad that challenge just comes once a year!

And as for the theme, well, Santa Noir was an exclusive Christmas soap and perfume from House of Mammoth. It's a very Christmassy scent, in which the musk can be almost overpowering. Eigengrau is a Winter release from Barrister and Mann... "meant to be the inverse of L'Eau d'Hiver, the smell of moonlight on snow." It's also a great scent... but man, does that alcohol burn.

Wednesday, the 26th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20106
• Razor: Karve brass Christopher Bradley, SB-C
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (75)
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Blacksmith
• Post shave: Declaration Grooming - Cuir et Épices
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Damocles

I decided to pick up the same razor as yesterday. It turns out I get a much better shave with my right hand. Go figure!

Also... what the hell? Fifty seven shaves posted so far, and nobody used Noble Otter's Joker on Wildcard Wednesday? I initially thought I might use it today, but with my super-late posts these days, I figured there's no way I'd have been the first to post with it. Dang, I guess I should have left it in for today. Well, at least nobody else has used the Blacksmith today, either.

The soap, splash, and perfume all share some element of leather, and another of spice.

As for the shaving collection... almost everything is kept under the bathroom sink these days. Whatever I'm using for the last/next few days is out on the counter.

Thursday, the 27th of July, 2023

• Brush: Zenith 502BC
• Razor: Gillette gold "fat handle" post-war Tech
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (33)
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Homecoming
• Post shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavanille
• Fragrance: Wholly Kaw - La Fougère Parfaite

Lavender. I like a good lavender scent, but it's not one of my most favorite notes. There's a, well, I'm not quite sure how to describe it... a lot of lavender smells almost astringent to me, on its own, or at least in some where it's by far the most prominent. I'm not always in love when a perfumer turns it up (and thanks to u/curbside_champ for the video).

But I do enjoy lavender in many scents! Homecoming is one example of this. While lavender is by far the primary note here, there's a few others blended in, and it's a nice scent to shave with. It's a very good soap, also, and today's shave was excellent. The splash to follow, Lavanille, is a little less lavender forward, as vanilla is I think also a primary note, and the whole Mousse de Saxe accord is also quite prominent. But there's no mistaking the lavender, and this, despite the alcohol, burned quite a bit less than the Barrister and Mann Eigengrau splash did a couple days ago.

Shaving with my right hand may have helped here, too.

Finally, to continue the pattern of reduction, I picked a perfume which includes lavender, but where it is a minor note in the symphony: la Fougère Parfaite. Here I have to really work to find the lavender, and the overall composition is appreciated without being able to pick out each piece.

Friday, the 28th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega Pro 49, red handle (10049)
• Razor: Baili BR177
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (76)
• Lather: Arko - Arko
• Post shave: Stirling Soap Company - Coniferous
• Fragrance: Stetson - Original

This was a cheap shave. Cheap, cheap, cheap! Using Maggard Razors as my reference for everything I bought from them, Stirling for the splash since I bought that direct from them, and Amazon for the rest:

The Omega Pro 49 is only $9.99. The next cheapest brush I own is Maggard's synthetic, which is almost $12!

The Baili BR177 is no longer sold; I recall it being $6 or $7 regular price when I bought it; today the BR179 (same razor in a different color) is $9 regular price at Maggard Razors (but it is on sale right now!). I cannot find a source for prices on Techs in the 30s through the 60s... if my 1969 Tech cost $1, that could be as little as $8.07 today, so if Techs were cheaper than I think they were, it's possible this isn't actually my cheapest razor, at MSRP. But going by what Techs sell for in clean condition, it's pretty rare to find one for less than $10 today, so I'm going with my Baili.

Topaz blades are $1.50 per ten in a sample pack (this one is from a sample pack). Even Shark blades are more, at $1.25 per five in the sample pack (or $16 per 100, but I'm not buying one hundred crappy blades). But this blade was only 15¢. But get this: if I count per shave, after 76 shaves on this blade, that's less than one fifth of a penny per shave! You don't get much cheaper than that! But seriously, no matter how many shaves you get, this is a dirt-cheap blade.

It's no surprise that there's a lot of Arko on display today. Arko is $3.99 for a 75g stick: 5.32¢ per gram. My next cheapest soap (per gram) is, no surprise, Stirling, which is approximately 8.66¢ (assuming the jar is actually 5.8oz). However, Arko is unfortunately a far, far worse shaving soap. It's a drying, has zero residual slickness, but I will admit it gave a good shave today. Water is important! I think I used enough today. The scent... well, it's not great, but I don't hate it. If it were a better shave soap I might even use it more often. The quality of the lather is far more discouraging than the scent.

Stirling's Coniferous witch hazel & aloe is $9.95 per 200ml, or 4.975¢ per ml... on Amazon, Old Spice is $19.92 for a two pack, or 7.968¢ per ml. Dang. You know, I hadn't actually done the math before, but well done Stirling! I have no idea how you manage to sell this stuff so cheaply (well, I guess the alcohol splash is a little more costly).

Stetson Original is $13.73 per oz on Amazon... my other cheap perfume, Gravity, is $14.70 per oz on Amazon. It's a close call, but Stetson is cheaper (46.43¢ per ml under 49.71¢ per ml)! And, I think it smells better.

Overall... it was not quite what I'd call great, but this is evidence you do not need to spend much money at all to get a good shave.

Saturday, the 29th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 20106
• Razor: Gillette travel Tech
• Blade: Gillette Rubie (34)
• Lather: Red House Farm - Sandalwood & Bourbon
• Post shave: Storybook Soapworks - Shaken
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Company - Sandalwood

For me, Sandalwood Saturday is also Red House Farm appreciation day. This is u/grindermonk's brand, and he makes a fine shaving soap (many worlds better than the Arko I used yesterday). It gave me a nice, smooth shave today.

On the scents: there's at least a bit of sandalwood in everything today. Sandalwood & Bourbon is a fine scent, well balanced between the two core elements. It's a sweeter sandalwood here, I think, although that might be influenced by the bourbon, and it might seem drier without it. Shaken isn't exactly Sandalwood-heavy, but it's present. Just in the background, and to be honest, it's hard for me to pick out. So, I'll pick a perfume with a little heavier dose: Stirling's Sandalwood scent is a very sweet sandalwood with I think a little bit of spice in the accord. It goes nicely today!

As for the challenge... I haven't found time this year to keep up with the posts as much as I'd have liked. There's a lot going on! I did catch u/Priusaurus and u/MrTangerineSky's fake feud, the spite shave videos, and the driving shave. I like u/Crisp_Mango's songs, and u/Impressive_Donut114's daily videos. u/NewToTheThis's advice and scrubbing/no scrubbing for leg day was fun... u/Marquis90 has had a few fun posts I've caught (I'm a Link fan), and u/OnionMiasma's motor oil shave was a fun start to Wildcard Wednesday (and a little unbelievable he ruined u/MrTangerineSky's plan).

So, of what I've caught (I still need to listen to the latest podcast to catch up!) I'll give to u/Priusaurus: while he hasn't managed one every single day, I'm a big fan of the interviews, as it's a fun way to above and beyond the usual antics. They remind me of u/WiRey_GuY's origin stories.

As for the other contests... man. I'm even less sure. The photo contest has added an interesting element to all the SOTD pictures. I dunno about winner, but let's revel in recency bias as I point out u/jwoods23's picture today (maybe not least because he also ended up using the same soap I did).

For FOF, I'm honestly going to punt. But, u/RedMosquitoMM always has interesting thoughts, and of course placed second last year. Also, personally, his post got me to take a real second sniff of a fragrance sample I'd disliked, January Scent Project's Horla. So, why not nominate him to win this year?

Sunday, the 30th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 81054 #OLDWORLD #RUNT
• Razor: Baili BR177
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (77)
• Lather: Tabac - Tabac Original
• Post shave: Australian Private Reserve - Velours Noir
• Fragrance: Pierre Cardin - Pour Monsieur

Hi, I'm Matt. I live in the United States.

... wait, this sounds like the beginning of a third grade presentation on a foreign country. Well, I couldn't figure out how to start writing about today's challenge. But now you know where I live! At least the country I live in. And it took me a few minutes to put all this together this morning. I hadn't planned this out, but turns out I was able to complete the challenge with what I have:

We start off by picking a brush from Italy: the Omega 81054 is just barely a #RUNT, with a 20mm knot and 54mm loft (I love the high lofts on all my Omega brushes).

Next is a quick trip to China for the Baili razor, which was also my pick for Frugal Friday's theme. Today's shave was a little more irritating... I may have been a little off in my technique.

We definitely get these Topaz blades from India... although there's a bit of slightly confusing dual branding here. On one side it says T.M. Malhotra International, another says Laser Shaving India, which is apparently a subsidiary of Laser Shaving UK. The Laser UK site doesn't even list these, just Laser branded blades. It seems Malhotra is definitely the manufacturer, and I guess the Topaz brand is now owned by Laser.

For the lather we return to Europe, as Tabac comes to us from Germany... too bad this isn't a Tuesday, I suppose. Hmm, given that Tuesdays during the Games were the seasonal days, I suppose nobody made a Tabac Tuesday Lather Games shave.

After the shave, we have to go all the way to Australia, as I picked my last APR splash today. Velours Noir is, as is APR's signature, an complex vetiver scent with , where the vetiver is more smoothed out than any other vetiver-prominent scent I've got, but while smooth, this is still a very earthy scent. Black velvet, indeed.

Finally, it's back to Europe again for the perfume. Pierre Cardin is a French brand, and I bought this bottle of Pour Monsieur (or maybe "Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur"; I'm not quite sure if I should be using the brand again in the name of the perfume, but Fragrantica lists it that way) on the bazaar. And... this is from 1972? Huh. The scent, of course, I'm sure this particular bottle was made more recently.

In the end, it's been a fun ride! Good luck to all the contestants, you made it through!