01JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Baron w/AP Shave Co 26mm SynBad knot
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [3]
• Lather: Bundabeard - Bosbouer
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co - Executive Man

Well here I am at my first ever Lather Games! I gotta say I'm pretty excited to see what everything will be like, and even more excited to discover some new stuff!

Segue into today's shave:

Bundabeard Bosbouer...well where can I start with it. This is my new to me product, which I regret not trying sooner now that I've used it. While it didn't have much residual sickness it lathered easily. I whipped it in the bowl after face lathering to see how it'd go and man I was pleasantly surprised. It's got a really clean scent to it, which made me feel like it was the perfect "right before bed" shave. The soap comes from South Africa (cool!) and the scent description on the site reads:

"Bosbouer is a fragrance that has light and fresh woody notes. I tend to 'visualize' smells and this one takes me to the scene of someone having a 'Kondensmelk koffie' at a camping site somewhere in the vast plantations of Mpumalanga, not far from a fresh mountain stream slowly snaking its way over rocky faces and moss banks, and into leaf-filled ponds where you will later spot your mirrored reflection in the water when casting your baited line to catch a fine fresh fish (FFF) for a stupendously glorious breakfast that lives in memory for years and years. Hot towel, shave in the bush, Bosbouer balm to round it off. Legendary stuff."

On top of that the soap is using a black clay base, which isn't something I'm very knowledgeable on, or bases in general really. But the cleanliness of the smell took my hand straight to Executive Man for my post shave since I felt it would pair nicely, and in my eyes, it does.

I've been utilizing my new to me GEM Pushbutton the last few days, and it has proven to be one of my favorite razors in my growing collection. No doubt I'll find something new but for now I'm obsessed.

Now to the brush: AP Shave outdid himself with the SynBad knot. It's my first non-Oumo/TGN Synthetic that I've used so far, and is also my first fan knot I've used (although first use was not today), and it's in the first handle I made to match a soap (I made it to match Stirling). I'm a huge fan of the way it feels, and look forward to more knots from AP.

All in all, good day 1 for me I think. I look forward to what the rest of LG has in store!

02JUN2024 AHOY!

SailorSuit Shave

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Genesis V1 w/TGN 26mm Synth 3 band #COMPOSITE #FRANKENBRUSH #FAUXFUR #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: EldrormR Industries - MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [4]
• Lather: Black Ship Grooming - Thomas Tew
• Post Shave: Arianna and Evans - Amaro del Capo

AHOY, LG Contestants. This is your resident 2nd Class taking the 1MC for a few quick ship-wide announcements. Thomas Tew was dropped off on the last UNDERREP, you'll be able to tell from the Orange and Sandalwood scents currently making their way about the decks. The ship's store is currently out of relevant post shaves, as such if you wish to match with Mr. Tew you'll need to get Arianna and Evans' Amaro del Capo. CCS has informed me that RAM has no more GEM blades, so we have cannibalized parts from the Pushbutton for use with the MM24. The parts should be on order soon, for more questions regarding this please report to Supply. At the end of last deployment the Genesis V1 was born, and the one in the picture was used to memorialize a gift my daughter gave me when I pulled into port. Finally, shipmates, the CO has asked me to announce that we will be making port tonight around 0000, conditions on the pier are smelly, almost of Onions. Good luck to all of you, and I'll see you on the deckplates. LS^2 out.

I dont know how to do this challenge so I'll just add in a dinosaur joke: What do you call a dinosaur wearing a cowboy hat and boots? spoiler

ROTY

03JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Marquess w/25mm Paragon Boar
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [5]
• Lather: Bundubeard - Afternoon Tea
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo

Well I have reached am impasse. I did not participate in smoosh trading, (probably due to my laziness/stupidity/'tism), and therefore didn't have any sponsor soaps that were non-beef tallow. What I did have, however, was Bundubeard (again). So as my research has shown, Afternoon Tea is made with Sheep Tallow! Worked out in the end.

What to pair it with? Lather Games or not, Mammoth Monday must continue! Mood Indigo it was for me. It was my first time using this, and I must say as with all HoM products, I was impressed. It isnt the usual scent I go with, but it worked for me nonetheless.

Again I swapped the GEM blade back to the pushbutton for yet another excellent shave! And since I was using a smoosh in the old spice mug, I had to go with a taller handle. This time I opted for the newest shape I've released, the Marquess! Big thanks to u/jwoods23 for making me think about getting boar knots, u/EldrormR for supplying me with my first boar knot, and my own dumbass for becoming obsessed with them. I can't believe I ever had a prejudice.

Day 3 complete. I am so fucking tired today it's not even funny and I ALMOST didn't participate today. But the show must go on.

Edit: almost forgot. I don't have any alum blocks. Boo. Don't worry, not only have I been contemplating where I went wrong, I am also contemplating basically every life choice I've ever made to get me to this point.

ROTY

04JUN2024 K.I.S.S.

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Baron w/26mm SynBad Fan
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [6]
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Barber Shop

Well it's KISS day. I spent a lot of the day worrying that one of you degenerates was going to break into my house and try to make out with me, but then I read the description...

I opted for Stirling's Sandalwood. As a huge fan of all scents Sandalwood related it was EXACTLY what I was going to want out of my soap today. It smells almost sweet and woodsy at the same time which made it even more of what I was looking for. This soap took me straight to Hawaii. Unfortunately, I don't have the Sandalwood splash :/ (ohhh noooo), which meant it was time for another favorite of mine. Barber Shop. Ohh I just cannot get enough of it. Smelling like a fresh haircut is possibly one of my favorite things EVER. One of the things I absolutely love about this hobby is the variety of smells involved (this also happens to be my daughters favorite parts. Imagine getting a new soap and suddenly a 2 year old is in your face going "daddy I smeww?")

For hardware: duh, I used my matching Baron, and the 26mm SynBad Fan from AP Shave Co. is probably one of my favorite knots currently. It's soft but has the backbone I always want, and the splay is perfect for my face. Again using my GEM Pushbutton which I basically only use at this point. After 5 shaves with it, it's become my favorite razor. Even surpassing the Karve Christopher Bradley which is shocking.

All in all, today's shave was 10/10. As for today's challenge..........yeah I know nothing of soaps. I'm really slacking on these daily challenges. I refer to my comment yesterday, about how I am questioning my entire life.

ROTY

05JUN2024 Canned Shave Goop

• Brush: None
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [7]
• Lather: Barbasol with Aloe Vera
• Post Shave: AA Shaving - Moonlight

I want to start with this. I hate you all. First of all, Barbados. Absolutely not. Second of all, feet. Fuck no. I have really nothing more to say about my shave today. -1000/10. Fuck this theme and challenge.

Edit: I didn't realize I needed to use a brush. I hate myself and I'm not redoing it.

ROTY

Dude shaved with his feet. Pretty flexible.

Also has aversion to feet.

Dude shaved with his feet. Pretty flexible.

Also has aversion to feet.

06JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Baron w/25mm Paragon Boar
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [8]
• Lather: AA Shaving - Moonlight
• Post Shave: AA Shaving - Moonlight

I had a fuckin video made but im on a 24 hour shift at work (duty, yay military service) and cell service is horrid in military buildings so. I'm kind of stuck without for now. I went with the Scotch Whiskey scent of AA Shaving's Moonlight. Not only is it on theme but it is legitimately one of my favorite soaps. The Aftershave is really nice. It's light and doesn't burn the living hell out of you when you use it. This GEM blade is really getting some use, I'm gonna see if I can use it all month at this point, until I have to use a different razor for a challenge or something.

The new Baron I turned the other day was super worth the wait of using extra resin from previous pours (I don't waste anything) to turn. It ended up looking insane! Gave me some ideas for future pours actually. Hopefully tomorrow when I get out of here I can actually upload the video, and no. There's no feet this time. Sorry!

OP gets wrecked by bad cellphone service and the military's lack of support for our mission critical shaving competition. A future classic video is lost to the sands of time.

07JUN2024 vet-the hell-iver

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Aristocrat w/27mm SilverTip
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [9]
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles - Retreat
• Post: Catie’s Bubbles - Blugére

ATTENTION SUBJECTS OF THE CABAL

For too long, you have been lied to about the amount of vetiver required to make a soap “vetiver.” The cabal has been keeping you down, making you think that it needs to be prominently featured in the scent description. Well guess what. None of those fragrance descriptions are INCI compliant, none of them except Saponificio Varesino use the traditional top/middle/base note structure that is commonly accepted. Most of these so-called “artisans” want you to believe that scent descriptions are a creative writing exercise. Well, most of them are lawyers, accountants, and camp counselors, and they deride soapmakers like Gentleman’s Nod who engage with actual aromachemistry firms that employ thousands of chemists and invest millions of dollars in research as “big perfume.” This is a false construct. My time is limited, as THEY are closing in on my location as I speak. I urge you to read this and take it seriously, as serious as anything could ever be in this subreddit. The very foundations of the hobby may depend on it.

Vetiver is not a cure-all for mediocre fragrance compositions, and properly made vetiver-oriented fragrances employ restraint. This is not the ambroxan olympics or the iso-E dumpster. This is a plant lovingly called “Sunshine” that has been in use by the French perfume houses since 1809, introduced early on by monumental houses like Guerlain. It is not something to be abused, and Retreat treats vetiver with appropriate reverence.

The cabal WILL disqualify this post for daily theme, because they DO NOT want you to comprehend the magnificence of this delicate grass. They want to keep you blinded by heavy-handed scents that resemble wheatgrass juice more than it resembles the historic Kus Kus fragrance of 1800s New Orleans - a founding mother in the lineage of vetiver fragrances. So I call upon you to OPEN YOUR THIRD EYE. See with EYES unclouded. Do not let them blindfold lady JUSTICE. The scales are in your hands, and the djudges fear your united voices. u/nocturnx told me that the TRUTH was NEAR, but he re-entered stasis after a momentary resurrection, undoubtedly due to the pressure of the Cabal’s lust for control over you. THEY did not want you to see how monumentally important it is to exercise restraint with vetiver. But now you know, and the power is in your hands.

Also, Blugére slaps harder than my step-dad.

ROTY

Edit: Fuck that guy u/TheBunnynator1001 and his sub-par work. Don't buy it.

09JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG24 w/26mm Paragon Synthetic
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [10]
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Wanderer
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Wanderer

As you can see, a clear Barbershop scent.

Zingari Man's The Wanderer creates an amazing smell that makes it rather hard to beat in the Barbershop department while also giving a clear ode to the Italian Heritage of Barbershop ideals, with Sego meaning Tallow, and Zingari itself being the feminine Italian word for "Gypsies". Funny enough making Zingari Man an improper-ish name, but still an amazing brand. And when I say amazing, I mean AMAZING. Heather has done a fantastic job of making this brand and the scents therein very memorable.

Naturally I had to use my matching LG24 today, and not only that, my Pushbutton (yet again duh) with a GEM blade for the now tenth time lmao. Still going strong, and no nicks or scratches today! For the 10th use in a row this blade is definitely holding strong.

I did not participate in the challenge today as I am slightly mentally challenged already. I would not have passed this challenge to save my life. I hope you guys enjoyed today's theme as much as I did!

ROTY

11JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Viscount w/25mm Paragon Boar
• Razor: Karve CB [SB-C] #CNC #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: MacDuffs Soap Co - Spring Cabin

Ahh spring time. The time of cleaning, the time of mosquitos, the time of...wait why do I like spring again? Oh yeah

I Don't.

In the south spring is a hot, humid, mosquito filled hellscape where all the idiots are driving to the beach, drinking, then driving home putting everyone else's life at risk. Crime goes up, people do dumber shit, and I sweat through every shirt I own, making it the most uncomfortable time of year. Getting into an overly hot car, even after letting it run first to get the AC going and circulating.

But hey, at least the flowers are blooming, right?

People who like spring/summer are crazy. Spring--

This soap? This razor? This brush?

++

-100000000/10 for Spring 10/10 for this shave

ROTY

12JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Viscount w/25mm Paragon Boar
• Razor: Karve CB [SB-D]
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: St. James of London - Mandarin and Patchouli
• Post: St. James of London - Mandarin and Patchouli
• Fragrance: St. James of London - Mandarin and Patchouli

Oh my, who do we have here? One of my favorite scents, in lather, post, AND fragrance. My I had to put down my book to do this one. Well we went with a classic cream today, with an amazing scent. The shave den tour is definitely not as great as others though. Don't just read it from me though, take a look!

ROTY

https://youtu.be/QOYfysZRxAE

Solid den tour video. Classical music and robe really sells it.

13JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Baron w/AP Shave Co. 26mm SynBad Fan
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [12]
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man

No, I totally did not use Executive Man because it was in the description...maybe.

Look, some of you know me enough to know I'm not insanely knowledgeable on scents, or what's a dupe and what's not, and especially not on bases. I'm really glad that information was provided in today's description because I would've been in a world of shit otherwise.

I also am, as u/OnionMiasma stated in the LG Judges podcast (not about me just in general), messing up pretty badly by not having this planned out and just going with the flow. That's right, everyone, I have committed the cardinal sin of not adequately preparing for LG. It's a lesson I have learned from and will correct myself on next year, (yep, I'm gonna do this again. I'm having much more fun than I anticipated).

All this stated and moving to my SOTD. Aside from Barbershop, Executive Man is (so far) my favorite scent by Stirling. Learning it's a dupe is kind of interesting to me. I know dupes are out there and are popular, but I'm just never aware of what is and isn't one. I also tend to ignore the paragraphs of writing on scent descriptions and look solely for the notes list. Am I wrong for that? Maybe. Who's to know?

It still remains a favorite scent of mine, and it would appear I need to research what it's a dupe of since I obviously love it.

What I will not love, is drawing a picture of the label. So I dont think I will. It's late, and I'd like to lay down for the evening. I'll take the hit to points today. As I stated, I didn't plan out my LG well enough to do great this year anyways. I'll do what I can, when I can, and have a blast doing it though!

Plus I enjoy looking at everyone else's pictures. Some of you are talented.

Some.

14JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming LG24 w/26mm Paragon Synthetic
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE [13]
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Royal
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Royal
• Fragrance: Zingari Man - The Royal

Well, I really fucked up today. I don't have a single scent with menthol. And I sat around for half an hour trying to get ANYTHING to stack but I just think I'm not made for stacking..

However, I did have products from today's sponsor. Products that I actually just got yesterday! I've been excited to try it and I have to say, The Royal may be a new favorite. Then again I think I just like scents with a little leather.

On the bright side of things, I may have found something to use when I run out of HoM's Almond Leather.

20JUN2024

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Nebula (r/Wicked_Edge Sub Brush) w/28mm AP Shave Co. Gelousy
• Razor: GEM Pushbutton
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
• Lather: St. James of London - Mandarin and Patchouli
• Post Shave: St. James of London - Mandarin and Patchouli

Sunny Days

Well I scourged my "collection" of soaps (if you can call it a collection), and the best citrus scent I had (from looking at just labels and without looking at the scent notes for everything because I definitely forgot) was Mandarin and Patchouli. Ohhhhh noooooo. I'm not complaining, I've said it before, I am MADLY in love with this scent.

Takes me back to my days in my hometown in NC, sitting in the kitchen with the light filtering in through the shades, my family all gathered around, grandma is cooking, and I'm eating an orange and smiling. Everything was much simpler. No bills, no real problems, just hanging out with family and friends enjoying the Carolina summer.

Except mosquitos. Fuck mosquitos.

I've since grown to hate the heat, summer, spring, all of it. I hate how negative I've become towards one of the most beautiful seasons. Probably because there's really nothing to look forward to anymore. Maybe with time, my attitude will change. It's another thing I need to work on.

But for today, I'll sip my brandy, relax, and enjoy the beautiful scent that is St. James of London's Mandarin and Patchouli. Lovingly applied with the r/Wicked_Edge Sub brush.

So much character in it, so much color, variety in knots. I can't imagine ordering a brush that I couldn't even choose different options for, or that would just look plain, bland, like everyone else's. I'm sure there are people who would opt for that kind of brush out there somewhere.

Oh well.

Have a great Thursday night y'all!

ROTY