LG23-18: Spooky Season
- Brush: Sawdust Creation Studios 26mm High Mountain White
- Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
- Blade: GEM (30)
- Lather: Oz Shaving - Woodchopper - Shaving Soap
- Post Shave: Talent Soap Factory - Wolf Mother
- Fragrance: DSH - Bois Fumée
- Passes: WTG, XTG
- Coffee: West Java. Cijapati, Garut - v: Typica. Tim Tim. Catimor - p: Triple picked. Washed.
- Music: The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative - Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
- LG Tags:
#FOF
While it's gross, uncouth, and a stain on the quiet dignity that governs every aspect of the Lather Games, here's a photo of my stubble unceremoniously discarded in my sink. Behold the lonely whiskers, shorn from their home and left to wonder what left them in this fitful state. Was it something they said? Were they not perky enough? What if they had been bigger? They cry, "We can be better!", but the damage is done. Their fate was sealed minutes ago. Now they sit, with nothing but their thoughts, dreaming of the handsome face they lost to time's relentless blade. Nature is cruel and I am crueler.
However, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the shave.
When I first read today's theme details, "woody spicy accords" immediately made me think of Oz Shaving's Woodchopper. The brand’s first scent, meant to "evoke a night stroll through the trees," is pure dry woods and spice, unsullied by any hint of sweetness. Rare is the outdoorsy scent without the greenery, wood sap, balsam, moisture, loam, and dirt of the forest, or a squeeze of citrus to lighten things up and suggest patterned sky through rustling leaves. The shaving soap label even reduces Woodchopper’s scent description down to sandalwood, cedar, and pine. The lightly-smoked cardamom note is what stands out to me; it’s got more character than the layered woods and makes that accord more than pencil shavings. It also makes Woodcutter feel autumnal. And while a strong blend of sandalwood and cardamom is common in attars, I’m still getting used to its creamy-camphoraceous aroma.
Woodchopper’s setting and “hint of campfire” prompted me to build the rest of my shave around those flickering flames in the woods at night. For my aftershave, I selected Wolf Mother, a “grownup” campfire scent featuring a boozy fruit accord and warm amber-patchouli base. Smoky fruit wine and a sweet marshmallow accord are upfront, and I barely notice the listed wood notes, making Wolf Mother an ideal combination with Woodchopper. The soap has plenty of woodiness to go around. Rounding out the clean-burning bonfire at the center of this scene are a few rolls of my Bois Fumée vial. This nostalgic third addition to DSH’s Bois series is a hyperrealistic woodsmoke scent painted by smoldering birch tar and cedar. Cozy myrrh and frankincense mix with the barest suggestion of caramel to make the campfire feel right there in front of you, warmth on your face, smoke floating off into the night. Because Bois Fumée smells more like the real thing than a perfume, I need to try it layered, adding the rasp of primal fire and smoke to cleaner bosky perfumes. Combined with Woodchopper and Wolf Mother, it renders the warm, glowing campfire via 8K Holodeck.