u/SamIAmShepard's SOTDs for challenge 'Lather Games 2024'

June 1 Lather: Henry et Victoria - Amande

• Brush: AP Shave Co Cashmere 24mm Emerald Green
• Razor: Gillette Proglide Shield
• Blade: cartridge
• Lather: Henry et Victoria - Amande - Soap
• Post Shave: - Black Mountain Shaving - Nantahala - Splash toner (witch hazel base)
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Agua Fresca sample - Edp

I probably am taking on too much in attempting to participate in the lather games this year. The 60 hour week job, three kids, a dog and two cats. But it’s just too much goofy fun not to give it a go. So here I am.

TODAY’S THEME: I have not used this soap before. I am a lather freak. Software is my deal. I got a handful of razors (about 8 or 9 I think), about 12-15 brushes, but probably 125+ tubs of soap and almost as many aftershaves. Plus samples. It was not easy to find a soap I hadn’t tried before. In fact, I didn’t have anything I hadn’t tried, so I grabbed this sample from Maggards a few weeks back. It smells like Cella. Or more specifically, I’d say it smells quite like Moon Soaps Amaretto Speciale. Almond/Cherry. Only has 6 ingredients, but the base was just fine. Nothing to write home about, but it does the job just fine.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I have not used a 5-blade cartridge razor. And it sucked. This is not a disposable. Prior to DE shaving, I used an electric razor or a disposable Mach 3, and before that, those 2 blade Gillette disposables – I believe they were called, “Good News”? This is the first use of a cartridge razor. It’s not disposable. Five blades. Awful. What the hell do I need 5 blades for? Never before, never again. It was not the lather that left my face so itchy. It was this damn pro glide shield.

SPONSER SPOTLIGHT: AP Shave Co. I have 2 of their brushes. This Cashmere and a Synbad. Both are great synths. This one feels like a makeup brush. No scrub, but great when I crave a gentle lather application. The emerald handle is nice.

Happy Lather Games, all!

June 2 Lather: Chiseled Face - Trade Winds

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Bocote Fanchurian v22 Badger
• Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Trade Winds - Soap
• Post Shave: - Black Ship Grooming - Davy Jones- Aftershave Splash
• Fragrance: Noble Otter- BarrBarr - Edp
• Lather Bowl: Captain’s Choice Copper Bowl

Finally posting my morning shave after a 12-hour work day. On a Sunday. Sigh.

TODAY’S THEME: These first two days are the only days I expect to use a sample. The final 28 shaves should be off full tubs. I recently finished my B&M Bay Rum sample. The only other traditional Bay Rum I have is by He Who Shall Not Be Named. I have a tub of that in the back of my closet I got from a friend after I gave away my other tub of it a couple of years ago. I figured I may get negative points for using it and didn’t want to celebrate it, so I pulled out my sample of Trade Winds. Definitely nautically themed. And an homage to Old Spice. It’s actually quite nice, and I should probably grab a full tub of it. I really like it. I’m not a fan of clove, so I stick to the bay rums and old spice homages without the clove. Chiseled face, although not often considered in the top tier of soap bases, is an excellent soap, a little goes along way, and provides great slickness. Nothing at all wrong with it. I kept the nautical theme going with Black Ship Grooming’s Davy Jones splash. Which smells delicious.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I wasn’t able to partake in the lather games last July, as I was out of town for the first 10 days of July. But I did read the wrap up. And recall that Priusaurus called the victory early on. I also recall that his first place prize was a declaration grooming brush. When I started wet shaving a few years ago, I focused mostly on software. Really didn’t have any high-end brushes. My most expensive brush was probably 35 bucks. This past year, after the discord pass around of a DG knot, and Priusaurus’ choice of a brush as the first place prize, suggesting that a high end badger makes a real difference in a shave, I decided it was time to add a good badger. So I grabbed this C&H Fanchurian for about $180. I’ve since added two more because it indeed makes a difference in beard prep. And feels so damn luxurious. Cheers, Priusauris.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: I love Noble Otter. Orbit was my second ever artisan purchase. And I have five different full trifectas. I sure wish I had Plunder for this shave. But I’m pretty sure Plunder was phased out a few years ago just as I was getting into wet shaving. But BarrBarr goes with just about anything. And complemented Trade Winds and Davy Jones wonderfully.

June 3 Lather: Grooming Dept. - Amare

• Brush: Semogue 1305 Boar
• Razor: Henson AL13 - Medium
• Blade: Astra SP
• Lather: Grooming Dept - Amare - Soap
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Amber Bomba - Splash
• Music: Disco Duck - Rick Dees

TODAY’S THEME: No beef tallow here. Only Duck. This base is quite nice. My favorite bases typically include beef tallow. But the duck is solid. Scent is also nice-a kind of tropical. This is my only Grooming Dept tub (I PIF’s away my tub of Tobacco Oud). Good soap.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I don’t use Osma/Alum. But I tried it. Twice. It made my face sting and go red. Which is weird, because no soap or aftershave has ever done that. Must be the salt or whatever, I don’t know. Reaction both times was enough to toss it.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: I don’t have much Wholly Kaw. I have a King of Bourbon set (assumed I was getting a whiskey smell, but it is a bourbon vanilla). And an Amber Bomba set. I quite like them both, though. Especially the Amber Bomba. I nominated it for scent of the year last year, and then found out from someone else that it was actually a dupe and not an original, which bummed me out a little. But a scent is a scent. And Amber Bomba is a nice date night option. Warm, sensuous.

Quote of the Day: “If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.”

—Douglas Adams

June 4 Lather: Ethos - Lavender Supreme

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Amethyst Fanchurian v22
• Razor: Karve Overlander
• Blade: Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India)
• Lather: Ethos Grooming Essentials - Lavendar Supreme - Soap
• Post Shave: - House of Mammoth - Beloved - Splash
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Beloved - Edp
• Music: Lavender Blue - Sammy Turner

TODAY’S THEME: This soap feature 1 scent note. Lavender. 100% essential oil of lavender sourced from a grower in Provence, France. That’s it, nothing else. In my opinion, this is the best pure lavender scent from an artisan soap maker. It’s a little pricey, at 40 bucks a tub, but if you like lavender, trust me, you need this. I kept the lavender going with House of Mammoth’s Beloved, which is a gorgeous spring/summer with lavender at its core.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: My favorite discontinued soap base is easily Barrister and Mann’s Soft Heart. So luxurious. I actually find it produces the slickest lather of any soap I have. Maybe it’s the combo with my water, but I found it slicker than even Omnibus. The only reason I can think why Will didn’t produce more soap in the soft heart base, is because it takes a lot of soap to make a lather. I acquired a tub of Paganini‘s Violin in the Soft Heart base a couple years ago off the Bazaar, as part of a larger software purchase. It was almost full. I’ve probably shaved with it 10 times, and the tub is now half gone. I’m just guessing maybe the lack of shaves per tub might’ve pissed a lot of people off. For myself, I don’t care. 20 shaves per tub with this base? Worth it to me. I’ll use the rest of the tub sparingly. My favorite current soap base? Omnibus. That shit just takes water forever. Slick, amazing post-shave feel. There is a slight graham cracker smell to the base that I’m not a huge fan of-it’s not an off-putting smell, it’s just that it’s part of every B&M scent. Maybe I’m picking up on something that’s not really there, but it smells that way to me. But Omninbus is just hella good!

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: I own a Blackland Blackbird in titanium. Sadly, I wasn’t able to use it for today’s shave because I lent it out to a buddy who is threatening to not give it back to me lol. It’s an amazing shaver, as everybody knows. I typically like mild razors. And I even had the Lite plate for a while. But I found that the range of angles provided by the Blackbird allowed me, once I found just the right angle (quite shallow), to approximate a Lite shave with the Regular plate. For anyone thinking about purchasing a Blackbird, I would just recommend the regular plate. And a lot of practice to find the sweet spot specific to you. I found that this razor comes with a long learning curve.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“To make a perfume, take some rose water and wash your hands in it, then take a lavender flower and rub it with your palms, and you will achieve the desired effect.”

—Leonardo da Vinci

June 5 Lather: Nivea Men Sensitive Shave Foam

• Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3 Synthetic
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Platinum
• Lather: Nivea Men Sensitive Shave Foam
• Post Shave: Thayer’s Facial Toner - Witch Hazel - Unsecented
• Fragrance: Spearhead Seaforth! - Sea Spice Lime - Edt
• Lather Bowl: Captain’s Choice Copper Bowl
• Music: Shaving Cream - Buddy Bell

TODAY’S THEME: With a family of five, there’s always a can of canned goop somewhere in the house. Found one in the hall closet. This is easily my least favorite day of the lather games. Not a fan of stuff. But I added a bit of water to it, maybe even more than a bit, and it wasn’t…terrible. Not as slick as a good artistan soap, and not nearly the Post-shave feel either. But it did the job just fine. I won’t be shaving with canned goop again until the next lather games. The Thayer’s was actually nice. Decided to keep the drugstore theme going. Not sure how much it really does, but it felt good going on.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: When I started wet shaving a few years ago, I used a bowl exclusively. Over the following few years, I gradually shifted to become primarily a face latherer. So today, I went back to the bowl. I sprayed a shit ton of foam into the bowl. And then started to add water. Swirled the T3 around in it. And added more water. At the point I could tell it was going to break down, I stopped and applied. The added water actually helped a lot and the lather wasn’t awful. But I’m happy to return to my soap tomorrow.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Spearhead. I have 3 full trifectas. SSL, Black Watch, and Roman Spice. The first two are likely in my favorite 10 all-time scents. With SSL a contender for #1. So I wrapped up the synthetic smelling shave with some sea summer spicy stuff.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Death leaves cans of shaving cream half-used.”

—Haruki Murakami

June 6 Lather: First Line Shave/Black Mountain Shaving - Sutton Distilled

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Newsprint Fanchurian v22
• Razor: Rockwell 6S (plate 4)
• Blade: Gillette PermaSharp
• Lather: First Line Shave/Black Mountain Shaving - Sutton Distilled - Soap
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co - AG1889 - Magic Splash
• Fragrance: First Line Shave/Black Mountain Shaving - Sutton Distilled - Edp
• Music: Moonshiner - Bob Dylan

TODAY’S THEME: Whiskey. 🥃. From the Artisan: “This is a relentless and unforgiving whiskey.” Yup. And the EDP is absolutely glorious. Highly recommended for those looking for whiskey scent. I have the full trifecta, but to honor today’s sponsor, I used Chicago Grooming Co.’s AG 1889 magic splash. Surprisingly, it layered in between Sutton Distilled extremely well. With Bob Dylan‘s song, Moonshiner, off of the bootleg series volume 1-3, playing on repeat in the background, a fabulous 20-minute shave today. Nice base, amazing scent, stunning vocals (seriously, for those who think Bob Dylan can’t sing, listen to moonshiner).

Cheers.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Not gonna record a shave to protect my secret identity, but I’ll play. I don’t watch wetshaving YouTube videos any longer, but when I first started, I watched a ton of them as I was learning the ropes. In the spirit of IMCDB, here are my top five wetshaving Youtubers. Granted, I haven’t heard them all, but I watched a million a few years back.

1. IMCDB: I found him to be super engaging. Loved his lists. Devoured them. Skipped the PAA, but dug the rest. My scent wheelhouse didn’t exactly coincide with his; he was typically more into the fruitier scents, and I was more into the natural/earthy smells. But I still dug his lists.

2. Latherhog: He got me into Mammoth. Enjoyable, knowledgeable.

3. KevyShaves: who doesn’t like listening to that Scottish accent? Super engaging.

4. Greg Tardif: funny, goofy. This is a goofy hobby.

5. Michael Freedberg: The best. So helpful and informative. As I was starting out I learned more from him than any other YouTuber-about things like how to build a good lather, razor technique, etc. I think he and a couple of these guys are no longer YouTubers-too bad for those just getting into this.

I guess I’ll have to listen to visceralwatch.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: I have 2 sets. Armonia (gotta catch all of Ben’s smells) and the 1889 that I used today. Good stuff-the soap base is superb and Magic Splash is as good as it gets. How can we not be grateful for making Mammoth more widely available?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “They say whiskey will kill ya, but I don’t think it will.”

—Bob Dylan

June 7 Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows

• Brush: AP Shave Co Cashmere 24mm Emerald handle
• Razor: Karve Overlander
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann- Hallows - Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougere Nemeta - Edp
• Music: Hooray for the Riff Raff - Vetiver

TODAY THEME: In my closet full of soap tubs and samples, I don’t have one tub labeled “vetiver.”However, I dug deep, found this tub of Barrister and Mann’s HALLOWS. And realized it absolutely qualified for today’s theme.

In Barrister and Mann’s official scent description, VETIVER is always listed as the FIRST note.

“Taking inspiration from the swamps and churchyards of the city, we combine vetiver, oakmoss, black pepper, cocoa, labdanum, and cedar to produce a deep, cold scent suited to the chilly, bitter days of late October.”

Early reviews, like this one from Daily Lather

“The Sri Lankan vetiver starts to grab you. This is not your happy, bright green vetiver. This version is deep, full-bodied and complex.”

When Will was asked if he was bringing back a Vetiver scent on another discussion forum, his response was: “No, the only vetiver fragrance we will produce this year will be Hallows. Otherwise, they don't seem to sell well for us.”

My favorite description of Hallows on another forum: “To me, it smells like dark chocolate mixed in a vetiver-heavy stew.”

Enough on theme justification. This scent is imo one of Will’s masterpieces. Along with Leviathan, Vespers, Lavanille, and a few others. But some people hate it. For the newer folks around here, if you haven’t tried Barrister and Mann, or if you gave one a shot and gave up on it quickly, I’d strongly encourage you to have patience with Will’s scents. They are often not immediate hits for me. They grow on me. First whiff I am usually wondering what the hell he was thinking. 2nd whiff, eh, this is not too bad. 3rd use, hey this is alright. 4th, damn, this is pretty fuckin’ good. By the 5th time I’m wanting to buy backup tubs. To keep the vetiver theme going, I sprayed lightly a little Fougere Nemeta on my wrists. I got fall Vetiver up top and spring below.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I’ve never done a first pass against the grain. What the hell, why not? I pulled out my Karve Overlander in brass. Easily my best razor ATG. I was expecting the worst. You know what? This was a hell of a shave. I went ATG, WTG, ATG. I think that was the closest shave I’ve had all year. Zero irritation. Maybe Omnibus helped. Who knew. This is why we do shit like the Lather Games, I guess.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: Another reason to do the lather games – I get to find out about vendors I haven’t used before. I don’t have an Aurora grooming handle but after looking through their site, I’m now interested. I’ll get one this year. To honor Aurora grooming today, I grabbed my AP Shave Co. Cashmere brush. Looks like Aurora sells this knot.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“ME, MY THOUGHTS ARE FLOWER STREWN: OCEAN STORM, BAYBERRY MOON. I HAVE GOT TO LEAVE TO FIND MY WAY, I HAVE GOT TO FIND THE RIVER... BERGAMOT AND VETIVER RUN THROUGH MY HEAD AND FALL AWAY. "

—R.E.M., 'FIND THE RIVER'

June 8 Lather: - Maggards Razors

• Brush: Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: Henson AL13 Medium
• Blade: Astra SP
• Lather: Maggard Razors - Tobacco & Leather - Soap
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Massacre of the Inncoents - Splash
• Lather Bowl: Captains Choice Copper Bowl
• Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - Haverford - Edt
• Music: My Way - Sinatra

THEME OF THE DAY: Everything in the shave today, I purchased from Maggard Razors. The Tobacco & Leather is a fine sweet pre-blend. And this synthetic is quite nice and a bargain. Good shave all-around.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I checked out the Shop app on my phone, here is the list of all the things I have purchased from Maggard Razors over the past three years. Soap/Splash sets: Fougere Angelique, Fougere Gothique (twice), Khalifa, Alive, Seville, Stag, Executive Man, BarrBarr, Orbit (twice), Azure, Amber Bomba, Peach & Cognac, The Noir, Samhain (twice), YRP, Midnight Special, Massacre of the Inncoents (twice), Hallows, Autumn Ash, So Cal Hipster, La Piment de la Vie, Firefighter, Lonestar, Fougere Nemeta, King of Bourbon, Desairology, Watchman, Labyrinth, Leviathan, Explorer. Plus more than 50 samples. frags: Ghost Town Barber, Stag, Nemeta, Seville, Haverford, Varen. ZM Sego Balm, A&E Post Shave Serum. Maggards Synthetic brush. Captain’s Choice Copper Lather Bowl.

Hardware: Henson Mild, Henson Medium, Karve CB plus B,D,C plates.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: I always joke that I receive my Maggard order in the mail before I’ve even hit the ‘submit order’ button. They get that shit out FAST. And crazy great customer service. Thank you Maggard Razors.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“Mom & pop stores are not about something small; they are about something big. Ninety percent of all U.S. businesses are family owned or controlled. They are important not only for the food, drink, clothing, and tools they sell us, but also for providing us with intellectual stimulation, social interaction, and connection to our communities. We must have mom & pop stores because we are social animals. We crave to be part of the marketplace.”

—Robert Spector, The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy Are Surviving and Thriving

June 9 Lather: MacDuff’s Soap Co. - Old Strathcona * Brush: MOAR Boar 31mm * Razor: Chiseled Face Legacy * Blade: Gillette Nacet * Lather: MacDuff’s Soap Co - Old Strathcona - Soap * Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Hygge - Splash * Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Seville - Edt Shaving - Sutton Distilled - Edp * Music: Barber Shop - Tom Waits

TODAY’S THEME: From MacDuff’s scent description for Old Strathcona…

“My barbershop scent: a barbershop (as it applies to the perfumery world--the wet shaving world that word has a slightly different meaning) contains a strong “fougere” element (lavender, geranium, coumarin/tonka bean), a combination that was discovered by perfumers in the 19th century. Fougere has become a staple in the fragrance industry with many modern innovations that have continually revitalized the scent, keeping tradition alive while still moving forward.”

This base is top tier. And this is a fabulous barbershop.

CHALLENGE OF THE DAY: I only got 11/32. If it had allowed me to skip around, I would’ve gotten a ton more. But I had to go in order.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: I have three tubs of summer break soap. Cannonball, daydream, and woodshop. I also have the splash for cannonball. And I desperately tried to find it today to honor summer break in my Shave. But couldn’t find it, dammit. It’s somewhere around here. summer break has a fantastic soap base.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

“I must to the barber's, monsieur, for methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face.”

—William Shakespeare