2023-07-27 Don't Get Assaulted Day
- Brush: Omega 343178 Synthetic #FAUXFUR #OLDWORLD
- Razor: Treet Starline
- Lather: Shannon's Soaps - Lavender Lemongrass
- Post Shave: St. James of London - Lavender & Geranium
- Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral
Free disclaimer:
I have no desire to get into whether certain soap-makers deserve the hate they
get around here. Parasitic business practices are pretty deserving. Being an
anti-vax psychopath is also pretty damn deserving, so I have not and am
unlikely to ever purchase anything from
Shannon's Soaps. I think this sample came from The Gentle Shave when I
got my brush for Raw Hoggin' last year, after which I smushed it in this tin
where it has since waited.
Also, the Treet razor was a freebie thrown in with a WSC order.
Lavendursday: The soap is indeed lavender-forward, alongside lemongrass.
Relevant Post-Shave and Fragrance:
The Lavender & Geranium obviously matches the Lavender scent.
Meanwhile, Admiral both features and is prominent (to my nose, at least up
front) in lemongrass, the other main element of the soap.
#FOF It's lavender. It's lemongrass. 'Nuff said.
At the time of receiving this sample, I was pretty pleased; I had just used
the lemongrass-prominent Port-au-Prince on Desert Island Day, and I was ever a
fan of lavender. I'm kind of over lavender. Have I ditched it for jasmine,
much like Yukon Cornelius' change of heart vis-a-vis precious metals?
Lavender is fine, but it's been done! To be fair, this paricular soap mixes
things up with lemongrass, which strikes me as a counter-intuitive combination,
but it's not terrible.
Moving on to St. James Lavender & Geranium aftershave, the most remarkable thing
about it is that it's a gel. It's a bit unusual, but my unverified assumption is
that it, like balm, makes an effort to be more hydrating than alcohol-based
splashes. Meanwhile, it unsurprisingly introduces another floral note to the
mix. I'm not really familiar with geranium, but it pushes harder into floral
than I think I care for. I think it's the geranium that ended up lingering
around all day, too, reminding me that I do not care for it.
Challenge Accepted: So stepping into the pure liquid agony that is the
outdoors isn't enough anymore, is it? Hard to say; you guys forgot to define
"nearby"! I went ahead and assumed that
my weird little "yard" doesn't qualify
for the challenge; I don't mean to argue that point, but as a thought
experiment: If I move to the other side of the outside wall, does the wall of
the building still count as "nearby", thus meaning that I'm not "outside"?
To avoid the question, I packed up a big ol' bag of water and headed to a
nearby park. I mean, it's several hundred
feet away, but it's still "nearby", so you figure it out.
Yes, "park." Rocks and dirt.
Obviously, I went before sunrise—because the fucking sun—which was, strictly
speaking, when the park was open. There 's a sign that says it's closed
from dusk 'til dawn, and dawn had begun, hence open.
I shaved in Pei Wei, and I shaved in a parking lot in Oro Valley. Neither
of those were as unnerving as this situation I found myself in this morning.
At this hour, your general passerby isn't
going to be a person you want to get near. That is, there's a decent chance
that it'll be a vagrant whose brain is in a, uh, altered state. Now, I don't
carry very often—partly because I don't feel the need that so many
stereotypical Americans do, and partly because I like form-fitting clothing,
so I don't tend to have anywhere to put one—but I armed myself this morning.
There was one old man who passed me by who seemed nice enough, but I have no
idea what that woman who snuck into the above photo was up to. In any case,
I got a couple of passes in.
#photocontest
Photo: Flowers
Those are lavender buds.