June 5, 2024

DIFFICULT LOVE: THE ADVENTURE OF A WET SHAVER

(theme: Canned Shave Goop)

photocontest - Hobbies (Movies)

Prep: shower with Mario Fissi 1937 Firenze - Royal Musk soap

• Brush: Proraso (Omega rebranded) - Professional Brush - Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Bic - Monolama disposable
• Blade: Bic - Monolama - integrated blade (1)
• Lather: Mario Fissi 1937 Firenze - Crema da barba rinfrescante
• Post Shave: Denim - Musk Aftershave
• Fragrance: Denim - Musk EdT

A long and busy day, I am posting late and I apologize for the decreasing quality of my English.

Happy to have involved my GF, who helped me with today's pic's set dressing by making the paper wedding arch and the stylized yellow bus.

Let's jump into today's story about the difficult love life of mass market products in a world dominated by plastic and multi-blades.

BIC = BEN'S INNER CONFLICT: A STORY ABOUT DIFFICULT LOVE IN THE TIME OF SUPERMARKETS

-> click here for the real story of the Graduate

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: REVERSE LATHER ROUTINE

As I usually shift between Bowl- and Face- lathering, I decided to subvert my routine and reclaim my shaving destiny by taking it into my hands.

This was my second time using Mario Fissi's Crema da barba rinfrescante, a puzzling product that presents itself as a hard soap (in a commendably recycled cardboard box), while being labeled as a "cream".

During my previous shave with it, I scraped some of the dry soap and put it in a bowl to try to lather with a brush.

This time, I energetically rubbed the soap bar with my own two hands so as to cover them with its oily and alnost sticky proto-cream, then I used the Proraso Professional boar brush (Eur 3.73 at the same supermarket where I purchased the Fissi Crema da barba) to lather it frommy hands.

The resulting foam was (same as last time) full of bubbles and not particularly reassuring. On the other hand, the shaving experience with the humble Bic 1-blade disposable (Eur 1.18 for a pack of ten) was incredibly effective, and THE POST-SHAVE WAS AS GOOD AS WITH MOST TOP ARTISAN SOAPS. Seriously, this is uncanny.

I feel vastly unequipped to decode this cheap soap from a mass-market company I had never heard about until a few weeks ago. I'll need to further investigate the mystery of this "cream" that appears as a solid bar, makes a very ugly lather, and then performs way beyond its league. Very happy to have used just my hands and the most no-BS boar brush I could find, to get the most "hands on" experience (literally) I could conceive.

After the intense palm lathering (one palm for each one of the two passes), a side effect is that my hands benefitted from the moisturizing properties of the soap, returning to a state of softness that reminds me of my pre-adult life.

FOF WRITEUP

Today's products were all selected on the base of their availability as mass-produced goods that are available at local supermarkets here in Florence, Italy, so the pairing options were limited from the start.

I started with a pre-shave shower with Fissi's soap bar "Royal Musk", a nice citrus/green/musk accord, and then used the Floid Vetyver Deodorant Stick, which provided a generic but pleasant, consistent and persistent citrus/green accord.

The lather was nominally featuring Vetiver and Lemongrass essential oils: while I could smell them both from the hard soap bar, once lathered they were almost non-perceivable from my nose.

After many decades wondering what is the scent of "The man who don't have to ask, ever", I used today's LG theme as an excuse to finally find out the truth about the legendary Denim Musk.
The AS alcohol splash, available at least three different supermarket chains, cost me Eur 3.90.
The EdT, available only at one of the three stores I scouted, cost Eur 6.49.

While lacking any functional properties beyond, well, being alcohol-based, the AS splash punches waaay above its weight, offering a clean citrus/green/musk accord, with a short but impeccable evolution from the bright top notes to the surprisingly nuanced synthetic musks.

The EdT tries to add some woody/spicy complexity to the drydown, with a result that ends up being so bland and generic that it's almost unnoticeable (yet, luckily, not annoying) to my nose.

The Mario Fissi Royal Musk soap bar combined with its Vetiver and Lemongrass Crema da barba sibling, and Denim Musk AS provide a seamless and excellent pairing: for a cumulative price of less than 10 Euros, it's possibly the most affordable good scent pairing I ever experienced.
On the other hand, the Denim Musk EdT is ok, but I'd rather apply more AS (which has a decent staying power, and a less brooding scent), than buy again the EdT, which had the counter-productive effect of covering the citrus/green and musk duality with an underwhelming woody spiciness.

FOF

ROTY

June 11, 2024 - PRIMAVERA!

photocontest

Theme: Bokeh Balls (plus some marbles, the closest approximation I could think of to the 10-points "real thing" here)

• Brush: Black & Yellow Merit 99-5 by Heritage Collection Shaving / AP Shave Faux Boar Synthetic 24mm #FRANKENBRUSH #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Muhle Hexagon - DE89
• Blade: RK - Stainless [2]
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Sunrise on LaSalle - Artisan Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Sunrise on LaSalle -
• Fragrance: Guerlain - Vetiver - Eau de Cologne (vintage bottle)

"Primavera" is the Italian word for the Spring season.

Wikipedia informs me that it comes from Latin ver-, which in turns comes from a Sanskrit word that means "shiny", or "splendid".

It's a time of new beginnings, a powerful symbol that I immediately appropriate, as I mean this post to represent a fresh new start after a constructive clarification with the judges.

Let's just put on some Vivaldi ~~telephone wait~~ classic music inspired by Spring, and jump to today's frags.

As this is my first time using Sunrise on LaSalle, I wanted to experiment the soap + AS combo to appreciate the common thread as well as the differences.

Also, I wanted to continue yesterday's good-vibes celebration of collaborations, as my choice today is for one of the many collaborations between DG and Chatillon Lux.

The soap lathers impeccably and hits the mark in evoking a flower market, and "reflect the early morning hours of freshly cut flowers, with their dew-laden sweetness and vibrant freshness". Spot on.
Extremely mind-opening that this mental image is evoked through a feat of olfactory alchemy: the main note is, in fact, not floral but fruity. Mainly one fruit, a pear, transmuted into a floral orchestra. What a great symbolic resonance to the impermanent and transformative essence of the Spring season!
Love it both viscerally and conceptually.

The AS, as it's common, features a wider range of facets - some of them a bit disorienting to my nose.
To me, it evokes a ripe pear skin scent, as well as a less "round" scent, possibly evoking the slightly "dirty" smell of pear flowers. It's not off-putting, but my brain keeps searching for a clearer analogy, only to settle on a mental association with an aspect of the scent of Pyrethrum, the (former) name of a variety flowers also used for insecticides. It's not a bad smell, but it's unfortunately a bit distracting to me.

Today's fragrance is a vintage bottle of Guerlain's Vetiver: the top citrus notes are muted by the effect of time, but the drydown feels more complex and, again, "dirty" (in this case, with an intriguing leathery/tobaccoey accord) than the one of current formulations.

The transition from SoLS to GV worked even better than I expected: both evoke a clean accord with a green element, and then surprise you with mysterious transmutations that reveal an unexpected complexity beyond the easygoing façade.

#FOF

#ROTY

June 12 2024 - FIELD OF CREAMS

#photocontest

Theme: Baseball

• Brush: CREAM & Wine Merit 99-4 by Heritage Collection / AP Shave Co. Pure Bliss SHD Premium Synthetic 24 mm
• Razor: Rex - Konsul #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Voskhod - Teflon Coated [2]
• Lather: Acqua di Parma - Barbiere - CREMA soffice da rasatura
• Post Shave: S.M. Novella - CREMA pre-dopo barba
• Fragrance: Murphy and McNeil - Barbershop De Los Muertos 2 Solid Cologne

American newsletters inform me that I should hurry with my carts checkout, as the Father's Day discounts are about to expire. I am moved by how online stores really care about my attention for family-related festivities. There's no better way to show affection that to buy some stuff.

Following Father's Day rules (yes, I committed to keep following the rules), for my lather and AS I diligently used two local brands that are older than me.

Accidentally, they also happen to be mention their adherence to the CREMA category, Italian for cream. The first word in my brush description is also CREAM. As this creaminess seems to be important to someone out there, I even tried to find a fragrance that came in cream form: as deodorants are not eligible, the closest approximation I could find was a "solid" (actually kind of soft lip-balm consistency) cologne.

Today's photocontest scavenger theme is baseball, which as you all know is Italy's national sport: depicted in today's photo is a snapshot from tonight's amateur leage game, together with my shaving gear. Yes, I do follow the American habit of regularly taking my shaving gear out to public arenas. I am well aware that you are nothing but a sore loser if you're not taking your gear out and shave in public while watching people trying to grab or bat each other's balls.

Thanks to American cinema, I also learned that a father/son relationship will never be fulfilling unless you spent a lot of time playing catch in your backyard. Grabbing balls is really essential if you want to live up to your potential.

Another American pastime that is super-popular here in Italy is showing off our own shaving den: man, what fun that is! It's even more popular than staring at each other's dicks while talking about your preference in cream.

As requested by the judges who don't even want to get paid for the privilege of looking at such mind-opening photos, here's my metonymic picture that reflects the chaotic spirit of my shave products collection. It feels so rewarding to share some sexy visuals! Words are boring, but a lifetime is not enough to enjoy all the shaving den pictures that can be found in the world!

Now, I have to interrupt this celebration of Uncle Sam's values in the overseas consumeristic domains, to say a few words about the topic of fragrances. I know, it's not as sexy as grabbing balls and peeking into each other's bathrooms, but you don't really have to read it if you don't care.

My lather, Acqua di Parma crema soffice da rasatura, is a surprisingly good reflection of the Acqua di Parma Colonia scent, including the bright topnotes: compared to the muted AdP balm I used on day 3, this was actually very centered and expressive in terms of scent. And it even performed more than decently, even if I had no clue about the appropriate level of hydration, and eventually just started shaving hoping for the best: it all went way better than I feared.

On the other hand, Santa Maria Novella pre- and post- cream was an olfactory disappointment - possibly because it's a few years old. Not much to say here.

More recognizable scent notes were provided by the BDLM2 Solid Cologne, which is allegedly inspired by Tom Ford for Man (according to the manufacturer's website). Fragrantica mentions no individual Man, but plural Men. In any event, I am not familiar with the original fragrancel. The dupe, while offering a very convenient form factor with its lip-balm-like tube, feels generic and ultimately meh.

Acqua di Parma was the star of the day.

All the rest was as memorable a fun as a sport that makes a big deal out of balls-grabbing since you early childhood. Too bad the day is almost over, and tomorrow we'll have to move to different challenges!

#FOF

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 13, 2024 - BASHING THE WAVES ABOVE THE DUPE DEPTHS

photocontest

Theme: Water vehicles (Painted sailboat by TTAAP, Yellow Submarine figure, BASH dupe boat)

• Brush: Alpha Brush & Shaving Co. - T-400 Blue Shaving Brush with 24mm Synthetic Knot #RESURRECTIONBRUSH
• Razor: Henson - AL-13 Medium Blue #CNC #RAINBOW
• Blade: Gillette - Silver Blue [4]
• Lather: Stirling - BASH - Maggard Meetup 2023 sample soap
• Post Shave: Stirling - BASH - Maggard Meetup 2023 sample aftershave
• Fragrance: Rogue - Bon Monsieur - sample

NEEDLE DROP

BASH!
Ah-ah
Sailor, I'm dupe-averse

BASH!
Ah-ah
You shave without a fuss

BASH!
Ah-ah
You're not typical

BASH!
Ah-ah
Stirling is usable
Lathers for everyone of us
With ease for anyone of us
AS is all 'bout drydown
Every man, every woman, could use the dupe-y BASH!

INTRO

First time for me using Stirling: found it super intuitive to lather, although (understandably, given the lower price per tub) just not as stellar as other artisans' top bases.

I lean dupe-averse, and strongly prefer official collabs between perfumers and shave artisans, but I can understand "applied" dupes of beloved frags when there's no official equivalent in the soap/AS world, although I believe that credit is, in any case, always due, and that artisans are way more deserving of respect when they're not exploiting other creators' work.

However, I try to keep in mind the dupe-evoking paradoxes I shared on my entry on day 2.

THE SCENTS

I am not familiar with Maison Francis Kurkdjian Grand Soir, allegedly the fragrance inspiration for BASH.

Opening the plastic wrapping around the simple I got a whiff of a pleasant amber-vanilla accord. Once lathered, the smell got reduced to a faint hint.

I am happy I dickholed because the AS provided the most unusual experience: at first, you get a strong volatile, fragrance-less alcohol kick. Once it evaporates, the drydown reveals the amber-vanilla accord, and the vanillic notes keep doing a little minimalistic dance, bouncing between the slightly more "dirty" facets and the more rounded and gourmandy ones.
It's like a stripped down version of Catie's Bubbles Miracle, without the Bergamot and Lavender notes.
A pretty long-lasting one, to the point where after a couple of hours I started to feel the need to wash it off, because I don't like scents that overstay their welcome. I would be super curious to try the prestigious model fragrance, Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Grand Soir, to see if from its "Real Deal" heights it does provide more complexity, uniqueness, etc.

My fragrance choice for today's shave goes into a completely different direction: as I used my only declared fragrance dupe (which I bought mainly to test its "solid" form factor) in yesterday's SOTD, today I wanted to continue my celebration of official "originals" that reflect the work of creative perfumers.

Bon Monsieur (which is also available in soap/tonic form as a collab with Zingari) is an official Rogue creation. However, if you are familiar with Drakkar Noir, you may find a striking resemblance.
The twist here is that instead of being a cheaper surrogate, Bon Monsieur is a more expensive and sophisticated reinvention - like when a couturier take inspiration from street fashion and then designs something unique, which looks a bit like the original, but feels totally different.
Someone (whose name bizarrely is not u/cowzilla3) mentioned in the Fragrantica comments that Bon Monsieur smells like Old Spice. I have no frame of reference to comment on that. I'll just say that Bon Monsieur is just the quintessential lavender/wood aromatic fougere.
It's excellent, but for some reason I can't rationalize I don't feel like wearing it, so I won't go beyond sample size.

FOF

SPECIAL CHALLENGE, PLUS BONUS MATERIAL (BONUS MATERIAL COMES FIRST)

As I was planning to use a 2017 piece by Florentine street artist TTAAP for today's photo background, I contacted them to ask for clearance to publish the sailboat featured in my SOTD pic. I mentioned how there are all kinds of soap label art, and ended up making the examples of the two different versions I saw of B+M Passiflora over the last couple of years: the older black/red/white "heart" label, and the new minimalistic black text on magenta background that almost feels Vignellis-inspired.
After this conversation, and having smelled u/BostonPhotoTourist's Passiflora, TTAAP ended up sketching three alt versions of a Passiflora label, that I'm happy to share here even if they are not an entry for today's challenge (all choices were made by the artist only, I cannot take any credit besides sharing my Passiflora trifecta).

Back to today's challenge, my concept for a label for BASH is here in two variants, obtained thru a digital collage of a vanilla pod trapped into an amber ball. These are just concept sketches, not mockups of complete labels with Artisan and Product name.

EDITed for clarity and typos

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 15 2024 - I CAN FEEL IT COMING IN THE AIR TONIGHT

Needle drop: the theme of Near Death Experience reminded me of how the song contributes to evoking a sense of impending doom in Michael Mann's Miami Vice (2006).
A previous incarnation was already in the original 1980s TV series.

photocontest

Theme: Air (Air as lack of anything else: Air in the sky, Air in a bottle, Air in the almost-emty tub, Air in the Sea breeze in Sea Spice Lime, Air in the windy notes of Uitwaaien)

• Brush: Simpsons - Chubby 2 - Synthetic 27mm
• Razor: Rex - Konsul #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Voskhod - Teflon Coated [2]
• Lather: Simpsons - Lime - Ultra Glide Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Seaforth - Sea Spice Lime - sample
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Uitwaaien - sample

Years ago I got a complimentary tub of Simpsons Lime Ultra Glide Shaving Cream together with the order of a Simpsons Chubby 2, my first synthetic.

Among my tubs, this is the NEAREST TO DEAH, as my SOTD pic shows.

Scent is simple but nice, a Lime one-note.

I decided to pair it with Spearhead Seaforth Sea Spice Lime AS splash, which I wanted to review after yesterday's experience with the Sea Ice Lime soap. This helped me understand that there are indeed some "synthetic" edges (more metallic than plastic, I guess) to the lime top note, possibly related to the sea air breeze deliberately evoked among the scent notes (ozonic component?).

In any case, the drydown binds it all together, and the lather -> AS progression felt really rewarding.

For the fragrance at the end of the shave, I had a couple of options, and in a daring moment I picked Uitwaaien. I remembered it had iris and oceanic notes, together with seaweed and driftwood, and wondered if there was any chance of it being an intriguing counterpart to Sea Spice Lime.

The short answer, for me, is no: there's some cedarwood in Uitwaaien's drydown that screeches against the whole Sea Spice Lime experience. The fault is all mine, I tried to pair the two fragrances on the basis of a vague conceptual analogy, wihout paying sufficient attention to their respective specificities.

Lesson learned. Maybe.

FOF

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: As Simpsons' shaving cream is advertised as "Ultra Glide", I accepted the challenge to use as little water as possible, fighting all my instincts. I deliberately under-lathered, adding too little water, and not getting rid of the air bubbles. Proof here, for the perverts among you. Using the Konsul helped getting a 2-pass shave done, in this joyless shave. I removed my stubs and didn't get cut, which is a testament of the forgiving quality of the products I used. I want to be a team player, but am not sure I understand the point of "challenges" like this.

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 18 2024 - That is not dead which can eternal lie

#photocontest

Theme: A bucket (of blood)

• Brush: Alpha - Outlaw 28mm G5 knot #PREMIUMPLASTIC #SHD #TOLL
• Razor: Merkur - Futur #ADJUSTABLE #FLIPTOP
• Blade: Feather - New Hi-Stainless
• Lather: Maol Grooming & Talbot Shaving - Heliopteris - Artisan Shave Soap - sample
• Post Shave: Dr. Jon's - 8th Dimension - Aftershave tonic
• Fragrance: JMD Jean Michel Duriez - L'illusiomagiste - Sample

WARNING WARNING WARNING

As solicited by the Lather Games rulers, this post contain mentions and depictions of cuts that go beyond safe hair removal. The following includes, but is no way limited to, NSFW and potentially triggering texts and pics.

Reader discretion is advised

If you feel urges of “purging” or cutting your skin, please take note of the following resources, and consider talking to a qualified health professional.
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/skin-picking-disorder/https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/self-harm/getting-help/

TODAY'S THEME

My tribute to some shaving and fragrance companies that are no longer in business:

• The soap is signed Maol Grooming and Talbot Shaving, two artisans who often collaborated on great soap + AS offerings
• Dr. Jon's, whose 8th dimension AS was released as a limited edition for 2019 Black Friday
• Jean-Michel Duriez, a French perfumer who launched his own brand after decades of working for big international houses, made it to the 2018 Perfume Guide by Luca Turin & Tanya Sanchez, and was announced as shutting down in 2021

TODAY'S SPECIAL CHALLENGE

I have no beef with anyone on r/wicked_edge.
I am not familiar enough with the posting style that I seem to be asked to mimic.
But "mama raised no quitter": today I am here to fully comply to the judges requests.
I understand that the goal is get the best shave ever with the most badass gear I have. No compromises.

You wanted Feather? Sure: got a brand new one, sharp as a scalpel.
And I picked my Merkur Futur, the Face Mauler.
Shaving is all about aggressiveness + efficiency.
What's better than Japanese medical technology combined with German heavy metal engineering?

So, forward to the objective. DFS?
You didn't say "amateur day challenge".
Today I'm gonna shave until there's no more sound feedback from my razor.
The Futur & new Feather combo provides that special toast bread scraping sound that I had previously felt only with my MM24.

After the first pass WTG, I got just a couple of red spots, as inferred in this pic.
But I remember some WetTuber guy saying that it's ok to get cut.
Must persevere!

After nineteen other passes (especially on my left side, where hair seems to be a bit more rebellious), I got the cleanest shave since I've been born. I know that in the past I objected to be asked to share pics of my shaved body parts, but I now understand, gotta be proud of accomplishments such as today's.
As requested, here's the evidence.

THE SCENTS

No dickholing today, but an effort to provide kind of an olfactory memorial.

The ceremony begins with the Heliopteris, a solar and clean fougère inspired by Ancient Egypt suggestions, and with notes that seem to care about reflecting the North African theme(Egyptian geranium, Egyptian coriander, Atlas cedar).
Helios, the sun, may appear to die at the end of each day, but its death is not eternal: a new dawn, a new day, a new life are waiting.

We then leap to the AS, an audacious 1980s throwback to the 8th dimension: since its creation, it was a Scent from Beyond, seducing the nose with a warm wood accord, but shocking the skin with a mentholated cooling effect. Totally different style and experience with respect to Heliopteris, but the overwhelming woods have no trouble making you forget the sunny fern of the lather.

Finally, another woody sensation - this one by a French perfumer who was tired of the "quick explosiveness" of commercial fragrances, and wanted to create scents that were mostly about the drydown.
L'illusiomagiste is the kind of cedar-vetiver accord with a hint of citrus that I can easily fall in love. This is not the first time that I wear it, and today I am still loving it. However, more often than not, I become maddened by "undying" drydowns.

After a long time smelling the same notes, my brains starts to impatiently ask for something different, more mobile, more lively.

The idea of something ending is discomforting, but at the same time, we are even more scared by the prospect of being in the presence of an undying creature?

#FOF

Note to the curious: if you travel to Italy and are up to a visit off the beaten path, check out the old anatomical wax models in museums such as La Specola in Florence. Also check out the website of the University of Cagliari collection of waxworks by Clemente Susini, where you may recognize someone familiar.

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 20 2024 - Summer Solstice Sun Seeking Hike

#photocontest

Theme: Grass

• Brush: Muhle Travel Brush - Synthetic #HOLLOW
• Razor: Bic single blade disposable
• Blade:  Bic single blade disposable [1]
• Lather: Eleven - Sicilian Lemon (smush by u/OnionMiasma)
• Post Shave: Murphy & McNeil and Black Mountain Shaving - Nantahala aftershave (sample)
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Sun Soaked (sample)

Today's weather forecast was for an overcast sky, high humidity, and max temperature of 37°C/98,6°F.

Not a Sunny Day, not the ideal day for a hike.

But I'm no quitter blah blah: woke up an hour earlier for an AM hike to one of the hills that surround my city.

Today's SPECIAL CHALLENGE forced me to revolutionize my plans.
The Eleven - Sicilian Lemon kindly provided by u/OnionMiasma fit the Citrus-forward Theme Requirement, and was also easy to take outside for a hike.

Everything else I had planned to use today was not as minimal as I now needed.

The special challenge made me decide that the rest of the hardware and software had to be something that I could carry in my pants' pockets, without forcing me to carry a bag during the hot humid morning hike.
I wanted the hike to be enjoyable and meditative.
No luggage. Literally and metaphorically.

The prospect of a hike into nature immediately inspired me to grab the Nantahala AS sample, because of all the outdoor references in the official description for the scent.
My previously selected pairing, T+S Sicily, would have been more connected to the "Sunny Days" theme as well as to the "Sicilian Lemon" lather, but my full AS bottle refused to go out for a hike, also claiming that all this Summer / Citrus association is vastly unnatural. Google up when the majority of Sicilian lemons and oranges are harvested, and start questioning the criteria behind the arbitrary decision to associate Italian citrus and Summer. Just to double check, after the hike I went to my greengrocer and asked what citrus they had: lemons from Argentina, oranges from Spain.

There was also no way to bring with me the envisioned large bottle of my favorite Citrus-forward chypre. So I quickly browsed my samples collection and picked Sun Soaked, hoping that through powers of synesthesia it would have provided the Sunny-ness that was absent from my actual view.

FRAGRANCE WRITEUP

Sicilian Lemon is a rigorous and straightforward "restitution" of a green lemon scent. I particularly appreciated the vaguely herbaceous (almost, but not really, smoky) note, that made it more vegetal than gourmand. It reminded of Limone Verdello, the Sicilian variety that actually does mature during the Summer.
Hats off to Eleven for actually picking a citrus scent that has an actual connection with Summer.

The transition to Nantahala was perfect: after the citrus top notes, the AS opened up to the rest of the accord, providing no contrast to the actual experience of being outside for a hike.

This was my first experience with Sun Soaked, and I must confess that it took me completely by surprise.
The accord is not just citrus/neroli forward, as the amber and chamomile notes are making their "rounding" presence felt from the very beginning. This is not a background citrus cologne, it's a main player who requires your full attention, a properly "mature" scent, also in the sweet / "ripe" sense of the word (in Italian we use just one adjective, "maturo", for both meanings). I would've sworn I could smell a mossy chypre drydown, but I see no mention of such notes in the official writeup, nor on the Fragrantica page.

A fitting Baudelerian correspondance to the serendipitous, off-the-beaten-path nature of my experiences today.

Baudelaire, which rhymes with Fougère.

See you tomorrow.

#FOF

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 21 2024 - Fierce Fool's Fire Fougère Friday

• Brush: Alpha Brush & Shaving Co. - Bully Boy 28mm #TOLL
• Razor: Muhle Hexagon - R41
• Blade: Muhle - Stainless Razor Blade [2] 
• Lather: Tallow + Steel - Baygère
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Beaudelaire - Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Rogue - Fougère l'Aube (sample)

#photocontest theme Prius

There was a Prius, Latin for Previously
Posting he enjoyed, even quite deviously
Forward he pushed, never did tire
Until one day he went on fire
This was poor Prius, burn did he greviously

SOTD

A Royal Fern at the time of Baudelaire
Inspired so many, all named Fougère
Three were their faces: ball, bottle and tub
Trickhole I didn't, I ain't no scrub
u/Enndeegee mind me, I need the Bear

FRAGRANCE NOTES

Is it too spicy? I asked of Baygère
Trust it you need to, don't you despair
There was a balm, all Mousse de Saxe
Very persistent, talc to the max
Best was Rogue's dawn, brightest Fougère

#FOF

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 22 2024 - Courgette O' Lantern wakes up in the woods and goes Bananas as the Fog Cowers on Hallows

#photocontest

Theme: Wood

• Brush: Black & Yellow Merit 99-5 by Heritage Collection Shaving / AP Shave Faux Boar Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Henson AL13 - Medium #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY #CNC #RAINBOW
• Blade: Treet - Carbon Steel [1]
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Hallows - Aftershave Splash
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - The Fog Cowers (sample)

LET'S START TO TALK ABOUT FOOD

Pumpkins (or "Zucche", in Italian) are mostly an Autumn sight.

During the Summer, they are harvested while they are still young babies: not a full-blown Zucca, but a small Zucchina, also known internationally as Courgette.
The freshest ones are sold together with their flower, which you can use for many recipes.

Then, there are also the round courgettes, harvested while they are still young, just like the long ones. These are sold without flower, so that no protruding element will distract from their promising roundness.
Because of their soft skin, they are destined to be carved, stuffed with other ingredients, and then baked in the oven. A google search will reward you with plenty of options.

THE STORY OF COURGETTE O' LANTERN

Born under the Summer sun, a round courgette was harvested together with her sisters and cousins, all looking the same, all looking forward to the same baked destiny.
The following morning, they were all in a box on the shelf of a greengrocer in the big city.

Throughout the day, all her companions got progressively Picked Up and went away with their new human partners. By the time the greengrocer closed shop, our round courgette found herself left over, all by herself in the big empty box. Suddenly, a deep soothing voice with a sexy foreign accent resounded in the darkness of the closed shop: "What are you doing up here all alone?"

"It's just a matter of time, my partner should be picking me up any minute now..."

The courgette's skin was suddenly reached by a sensuous smell. At first, the sweet scents of flowers and vanilla made her nostalgic for her past life under the sun. Then, a darker accord started to creep in, with notes of tobacco and something boozy, something forbidden...

In the darkness, young courgette barely saw the shape of the tall yellow stranger leaning on to her, then felt a sharp cut on her soft skin, and lost conscience.

She woke up light headed and surrounded by the warm embrace of a variety of woods - some smooth, some rugged. A faint smell of lemon was lingering in the air. "Am I finally meeting my destiny, am I on a chef's chopping table ready to be transformed into a human meal?".

"Your transformation is a thing of the past" - the voice was coming from the branch of Fir that was almost surrounding her with its soft yet spiky embrace - "Can't you feel this smell in the air?".

All around her, beyond the faint lemony resin of the Fir, another sweet yet dark scent was lingering around her soft skin. If the tall yellow stranger at the greengrocer's had seduced her with intoxicating notes of vanilla and booze, this time there were notes of cocoa, and then aromatic green/woody notes of vetiver and cedar.

While trying to smell all this, Courgette felt something different on her skin.

"You have been touched by the Magic of the Rotting Blade", explained Fir. "You are now one of us. Not living, yet not dead".

Courgette's desperate scream was muffled by a thick Fog that was starting to Cower in the woods. The air was filled with more moss and musks, as well as heady flowers from somewhere Beyond.

"Today is All Hallows, the day of the Unliving" said a familiar voice. Round Courgette suddenly noticed that a whole pack of bananas where surrounding her, all lit by an unnatural light.

One of the strangers was still yellow, untouched by decay. She immediately realized it was the same yellow tall stranger who had approached her at the empty green grocer, on that lonely night. The other bananas, however, showed the black streaks of having trespassed the threshold of ripeness.

"Embrace your destiny, you little zucchina" - said Tall Yellow Stranger. The Magic Rotting Blade gave you a new purpose. Your undead name will be Courgette O' Lantern. From now on, your immortal duty is to forever glow in the darkness, luring other fruits to this unholy ground, where they will join us for the rest of eternity"

"But what is this place?" - asked Courgette, with her last glimpse of sanity.

"Just shut up and shine, my dear, you must learn to shine and wait"

"Wait for what?"

"The only thing worth it. The Next Coming of the Once and Future King!"

"Who?"

"They call him the Grave Fruit. That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die"

#FOF

#ROTY

LG SOTD Jun 28, 2024 - Frugal Friday

• Brush: Proraso (Omega rebranded) - Professional Brush - Boar #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Bic single blade - disposable
• Blade: Bic single blade - disposable [1]
• Lather: Proraso - Sapone da barba barbe dure - (Red cream soap)
• Post Shave: Proraso - Crema liquida dopobarba Anti irritazione - (White balm)
• Fragrance: 4711 - Original Eau de Cologne

Here in Italy, Proraso shines a success story that has been continuing for over a century. Its parent company, Ludovico Martelli, takes the name from the Martelli family, who started the company in 1908 and are still in charge of it (currently at the 4th generation, I believe).

After their recent acquisition of the Floid brand, historically associated to "the" aftershave product used by Italian barbers, the company is (today more than ever) a living monument to the Italian contribution to professional shaving.

At the same time, the products they supply to professional barbers are also available to the general consumers, not only through professional vendors, but also through super-accessible channels like supermarket and skincare/household products chains, and for very sustainable prices. Class, elegance and professional quality made accessible to the everyman. To me, this is the best expression of Italian values.

PROFESSIONAL, INDEED

I stepped into a barbershop of the Blues Barber mini-chain (three addresses in Florence, only use Proraso shaving products), and inquired about shaving options.

My first idea was to use the same cheapest products I own, but applied from the hand of a professional barber. I wasn't sure it would've qualified with respect to the LG rules, but ended up not needing to bring up the question to the judges. The barbershop was fully booked until next week.

One day, I will try one of their shaving options: Italian shave (Eur 20), American shave (Eur 30). Differences are related to the number of warm towels used during the prep phase, and inclination of the chair during the shave. But today's not that day.

A CLOSE SHAVE COMPANY

"Hi, my name is MudAccording, I am participating to the Lather Games. As I realized your HQ are less than 30minutes from where I am, can I come take pictures for my SOTD?"

For brevity, I will spare you of my subsequent explanation of what the Lather Games are.

"Dear Mr. MudAccording, unfortunately our company policy does not allow for outside persons to come and take pictures inside our premises".

Really gracious answer, considering that I was a random unknown dude pestering them with the request to get last minute access to their manufacturing building, so as to snap some pictures and then post them anonymously in a Reddit sub. I wouldn't have let me access the building!

Even more graciously, to answer my curiosity about visuals that could remind the historical roots of the company, they sent me digital pictures of two of their vintage ad campaigns, that I am sharing here and here.

SHORT CHRONOLOGY

They also helped me put together a basic chronology of their products:

• 1948: pre-shave cream
• 1960s: shave soap
• 1970s-1980s: canned shave foam, Colonia, postshave lotion
• early 2000s: postshave balm
• from 2014: beard care products

PRORASO PRODUCTS, PRORASO BUILDING

On top of all this graciousness, they also told me I was welcome to pick up a little something they left for me at the entrance of their building.

This is where the energy of all the LG contestants entered my conscience. I was no longer MudAccording, I was just a vessel for the whole r/Wetshaving community, and I was called to act by its highest standards. A sudden thought: lathering inside the Proraso premises, with my own Proraso products. Backup: lathering in front of the building, outside the gates.

I packed my shaving gear in an inconspicuous bag and got to the Sacred Source of Italian shaving products.

The address points to a group of factory buildings. After trying to get into the wrong building, owned by a luxury fashion brand, getting stopped by security and rerouted to the correct entrance, I was THERE.

I went to desk at the entrance, introduced myself and said I was there to pick up something.
"Sure, there it is"
"Oh, just a sec. Can you keep it for a few more minutes? Is there a restroom I could use before I leave?"
"Sure, over there"

TODAY'S CHALLENGE

As requested, I took a photo of my money-saving SOTD.

I don't really care about how much money I saved today. Money is important, but once one has secured the means to survive, other values are worth being considered as a priority.

I was happy to shave with Proraso, because they are classy yet accessible, and therefore inclusive. Their scents are great. They have been my first wetshaving products, and while some artisan soaps are better performing on the technical level (and at a much higher price point), Proraso always gave me a sense of non-snobbish homely comfort.

Similarly, 4711 is an unparallaled cologne for its price point, and resonates with memories of my childhood.

#ROTY

ROTY

SOTD Jun 29 2024 - Limits, Control, Will

• Brush: Alpha Brush & Shaving Co. - Bully Boy 28mm #TOLL
• Razor: Henson - Al 13
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet [1]
• Lather: Grooming Dept - Sandalo Nobile - sample
• Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - Retreat - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Acqua di Parma - Sandalo

More often that I'd like, I am quasi-anosmic to (the various reconstructions of) the scent of sandalwood.

I wish it wasn't like this, but it's the way my brain is wired.

More often that I'd like, while trying to tackle an issue I do not understand (but wish to sort out), I am not able to communicate effectively, and the void of misunderstanding becomes filled with fear and anger from people I have no beef with.

I wish it wasn't like this, but it's the way my brain is wired.

We are all wired a little differently.

I have been happy to participate to the Lather Games because I am usually not a daily shaver.

Also, I do not usually have the habit of trying to connect my shave to some broader themes.
I tried to have fun thinking and writing my posts. Some people liked them, some others didn't, and that's life. Judges complained about posts length. I replied that I didn't mind being DQ for length: I am who I am, and overall I can't claim that I managed to express myself in a more judge-pleasing way. That's on me, and I will live with the consequences.
For me, it was important to discipline myself to go all in, every day. Not to win against other people, not to please everyone, but to work towards a purpose that was meaningful to me, sharing posts that I was hoping could've been meaningful also to some others.

I guess it's like when you go jogging: some people (myself included) do it to improve themselves, not to win competitively against others.

On the latest Air Bud Rule Podcast, I understood that also u/airbudruler promotes the enjoyment of doing things for ourselves.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE: GIMME THE PRIZE

I cannot claim to know better than the judges who's most deserving of the various prizes.

What I can do is mentioning who I think has been most thorough in their determination to will their award into existence, writing in their posts about the moment they will receive the prize:

Main LG2024: Priusaurus

ROTY: Bacconchop

They will both have my applause.

Side category: #ROTY

LG 2024 Goodbye

• Brush: Alpha Brush & Shaving Co. - Bully Boy 28mm - CHINA
• Razor: Henson AL-13 Medium - Blue - CANADA
• Blade: Feather [1] - JAPAN
• Lather: Eufros - Atlantico - SPAIN
• Post Shave: HAGS for Yourshaving – Apocalypse - GREECE
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Embrace (sample) - US

Me: Italy

THE LATHER: ATLANTIC STORIES

Like many other things in my life, my adventures in the wetshaving world have been strongly connected to the ties that bind the two sides of the Atlantic together, in a relationship where differences are more of a value than a limit.

More than one of my LG posts this month have been related to this teme.

One of the cultural values I most appreciate from the Anglo-Saxon world is the idea of a social contract that allows different individuals to come together within a shared system of values. It's this contract among willing individuals that creates the institutional authority. It works much better than the passive-aggressive power relations among individuals that have no shared trust system. Especially in hi-stress situations, it's only human to regress to our core instincts, like fight or flight, control or submit, etc.

THE POST-SHAVE: APOCALYPSE

HAGS is a Greek brand.

While in modern culture we associate Apocalypse with a global catastrophe, the original Greek meaning of the word is "revelation".

I had initially planned to touch other topics, but I have to be honest and share what has been the most impactful revelation of the last month.

Trust me that if we wanted to find posts containing the string "roty", we would. However, we are looking for posts containing the string "#roty", and we do find them all. Those 14 remaining roty participants are welcome to appeal their cases like you are. J33p will decide about their cases, or not, as he pleases.

This is what u/djundjila replied to me in this post, after I offered in good faith to personally help with the hashtag problem that was affecting 10 out of the 15 ROTY players this year, for a total of 63 posts.

My posts about the systemic hashtag issue have been mocked as whingeing by u/enndeegee, and whining by u/djundjila. The latter clarified that he remains persuaded that if I can't fix my hashtags,

I have to conclude that people who mess up their hashtags consistently simply didn't care enough to double check

I have been struggling with similar previous answers for some time, then I had my own revelation: while I tried to put the utmost care in my entries, I really don’t care to comply to the sadistic requests of paranoid people who would rather mock me than contribute to help me understand, and constructively address an issue that has affected many users. When I volunteered to help, I was further called out as a whiner, and many people downvoted me.

I thought the Air Bud Rule was some kind of paradoxical joke, but I was faced with a harsh reality: there seem to be a tremendous and purulent wound that infects the relationship between the judges and the players. I was not there in previous years, and I don't know what happened.

While I remain sympathetic towards the judges for all the effort they have been volunteering, I take issue with the sense of entitlement, the downtalking, the mockery of requests or even offers for help.

One judgment that judges already shared with me about my persona is that I am a whiner.

Maybe I am.

And you know what? It's perfectly legitimate.

If you use your authority as a judge to publicly mock people, and leave actual hate speech float around without even replying to preserve the safety of the sub, well, there's a chance you may hurt people.

And hurt people may whine. You are free to downvote me, DQ me, ban me, do whatever you think will make you feel better than you are behaving. It won't help.

REVEALING THE BURDEN OF EXPERIENCE

I think I am older than most of the people who are writing here, old enough to own the fact that we are all more vulnerable than we would like to show.

As adults, we are always responsible for our behavior, even when it doesn't reflect the nice and easy-going image that we or our friends tend to keep. We can be good people overall, and still make horrible mistakes.

I have been online since the 1990s, I have seen the birth of the idea of flame wars, and I have developed enough antibodies to survive this shit. Possibly because I have around the internet for three decades, I will never downplay how easy it is to write aggressive posts that seem all fun and games, until the person on the other side, frequently a perfect unknown, gets hurt. It seems absurd to have to remind that online posts have real life consequences.

Beyond my personal misadventures with the stressed-out judges, the concern I'd like to share here is about the state of TRUST within this community. It's obvious that there have been serious trust issues floating around this sub well before I set foot here. Nervous and overwhelmed people can humanly become petty. I suggest to tackle the problem at its root, because my situation is just a symptom. The issues will keep hovering around even after I'll no long be here.

Another collective concern: in addition to the problems for "innocent" players that were not involved in any previous shenanigans, I point out the reputational damage to the sponsors.

If anyone asked me about the opportunity for a brand to be associated to the Lather Games, I would strongly discourage them, as it would mean to be in the hands of folks who volunteered for something that stresses them so much they become aggressive towards the players.

THE FRAGRANCE: EMBRACE

I committed to these LG to have a practical equivalent to one of life's biggest challenges: looking at yourself in the mirror, everyday, accept who you are, and try to improve on that.

I have been around long enough to know that sooner or later in life everyone feels the pressure of this challenge, and we all make mistakes. It's ok to be vulnerable and ask for help. It's only human to want to be surrounded by loving people, especially when others are channeling hate.

I would really like to thank u/mammothben for creating a fragrance that reminds us of the importance of showing connectedness and hugging each other, even in the worst circumstances.

A big hug to all.