u/2SaintsDude's SOTDs for challenge 'Lather Games 2024'

June 1, 2024 - Bonjour, Lather Games

• Brush: AP Shave Co - TUXEDO full synthetic
• Razor: SHICK - Eversharp Injector vintage 1945
• Blade: SHICK - single blade injector
• Lather: AA Shaving - Waipiti
• Post Shave: 345 Soap Co - Rocky Mountain Tree Line Splash
• Fragrance: Goodfellow & Co - Cedarwood & Geranium Cologne

I want to first and foremost give a huge thanks to u/OnionMiasma for the AA smush. He is officially my favorite soap pimp and go ahead call me a whore I don’t care! Also recognizing u/mitosismonkey for the PIF for beginners which I was super lucky to get. He jump started my wetshaving addiction/obsession.

SOAP - AA is new to me and I must say it was fantastic. The lather came easy which at my age nothing else does. It was fluffy, moist, warm…..hmmm….so nice. Okay anyways the scent was superb got lots of cedarwood on it.

RAZOR - Also new to me. Didn’t think an old geezer razor would shave so well but it did. Now to be honest every razor I put in my face shaves well because of years of hard work accumulating adipose tissue have made my face resemble a watermelon. All smooth angles babe…

THE REST - Well I suck balls (not literally because that would be weird saying outloud ha…ha.. ha…) at pairing fragrances so I saw cedarwood in the soap and decided to use anything else that had cedarwood as an ingredient and worked really really well !!!!!!!! Which kind surprised me immensely like a big schlong hitting your face out of nowhere. Deeply disturbing surprise NOT literally by the way just so we are straight here.

Overall great start !!! I think…?

June 2, 2024 - Ahoy, Lather Games

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: GEM #FLIPTOP #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: GEM - Personna
• Lather: HAGS - Megalodon
• Post Shave: HAGS - Megalodon Splash
• Fragrance: HAGS - Megalodon Edt Rollerball

SOAP - There is nothing out there on my limited experience that has this scent. It’s warm and amber ish!! Lathers really well regardless of brush.

RAZOR - GEMs oh GEMs I tell you. It’s like that bipolar ex-girlfriend most of us have had that you absolutely hate but can’t let go and always go back for more!!! Yeah it hurts me and makes me bleed but answers my calls late at night and asks me to come over. Dang it I fall for it again!!!

THE MYTH, THE LEGEND, THE THEME- So when a man calls on everyone that he is going to win the whole enchilada (LG2023) we all think = Bluff. Calling your shot it’s a MYTH! Many have boldly proclaimed stardom and no one has come through. Well he did! When the Myth becomes man the MAN becomes a LEGEND! The Legend is u/priusaurus. The Bar had been set so high few can reach it.

Okay well for today’s Nautical theme I used a soap that literally has a Megalodon (another name for a big F%#% shark) in its label and a scuba diver looking at it. I can only guess the diver is shitting on his suit seeing this 60 foot monster coming at you!

No scuba for me just shaving.

June 3, 2024 - Where’s the Beef?

• Brush: Aurora Grooming - Synthetic #SHD #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Gilette - Super Adjustable 109 #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG1889
• Post Shave: The Holy Black New York - Galleon Splash
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon - Old Glory Edt

SOAP - Sweet LEATHER LATHER! Now that’s a mouth full to pronounce. How is this soap non-tallow and so leatherish! Big shoutout to u/onionmiasma for the smush. Super easy to whip up specially using my Aurora super dense brush from u/TheBunnynator10001 - dude your brushes rock! More on Mr. miasma later.

RAZOR - I bought this son of a gun for $5 bucks at a state sale and after couple hours of cleaning and disinfecting the 109 comes back to life. Now does it shave well like an adult film stars butler? I don’t think so but still pretty good. Speaking of adult film stars …. Nawhh let’s skip that story for another day…

THE THEME- u/onionmiasma!!! I must say when I actually google what the name means I was stumped! Why onion scent 🧅? Well to be honest I like everything onions! Raw, grilled, smoked, French style, rings, so good I wanna rub it everywhere…. Oh yeah…. Wow okay sorry where was I? Oh yeah deep respect for this dude! I am participating in LG2024 thanks to him. Thanks man!!!

Now I tied everything LEATHERY scented from soap, to splash to Edt and boy did it pay off. My work colleagues complained a crap load! “Oh it’s so strong my eyes hurt!!” I told them all to suck it! Real men smell like old couches and thick cow hide.

June 4, 2024 - K.I.S.S.

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: The Holy Black New York - Coconut Creeper
• Post Shave: Captain’s Choice - Eucalyptus
• Fragrance: Bath and Body Works - Eucalyptus + Spearmint

SOAP - The Holy Black name should be changed to The Holy Molly Black!! This was a scent my BFF u/curbside_champ smushed me and the title fits the soap. It’s a soft soap that lathers really really well and smells like everything coconut-ish. Then I start to feel some tingling which gets colder and colder and BAM!!!! I can’t feel my face!!! What was it like well let me put this way! You know when you are trying to teach your little one how to swing a golf club and he does the perfect rotation right into your balls!!!! That’s the creeping effect. So if you enjoy your friends or someone you don’t necessarily care about creeping up behind you to sucker punch your cohones (Spanglish for BALLS) then this soap is for YOU my friends!!

RAZOR - To be honest I didn’t necessarily feel anything because my face was literally frozen and it’s not even frozen day. So as far as I could tell it went smooth. My nose told me lots of coconut in the vicinity so that fits the theme.

THE THEME- Coconut extravaganza, could not smell anything else. Since everything was frozen why not complement it with more cooling products hence the eucalyptus splash which cooled things even further! Finalizing with a cooling fragrance spray which was very soothing…. I think!! Did I mentioned my eyes were watering!!!

Now to be honest I don’t known anything about soap bases. BUT I did win a tub of Australian Private Reserve/Storybook Soapworks Carnivale in a PIF from u/walden last year. I must say this is one of those things when you find one of kind and then turns out it was never meant to be!!! Oh the one that got away!!! I still miss you Jessica! Wait was that her name? Maybe Jenny. Ah shit!

So…. anyways, it lathers well and comes to find out it was out of production way before I got it. The closest review I read about the composition of the soap base was in this group back in 2019! Oldy but goodie!!

My Fav soap base right now would have to be whatever Ben from mammoth is using! Embrace is killer!!

Ya’ll shave on….

June 5, 2024 - Canned Goup

• Brush: Rubberset - 153 sterilized
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: Barbasol - Thick & Rich Cream
• Post Shave: Duke Cannon - Aftershave Balm
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon - Naval Supremacy

SOAP - What in Mary mother of Jesus was I thinking!!! There is no lathering this GOUP and to make matters worse I attempted to face shave using my left hand the whole time. Which I never do!!! New discovery here folks - I suck using my left hand at anything.

So I unquestionably did not remove all my whiskers! Got a few weepers and to add insult to injury my matching splash just burn it all to hell!!! My face is on fire, I am bleeding, everything is burning and to think this was my normal routine before I started wetshaving!!!! So yesterday I felt like I got kicked in the balls and today it’s just a massacre! Oh the humanity folks. Could it get any worse??? Maybe!!! But as they say “Lather Games must go on”

RAZOR - I like this Shick TTO. But using my left hand to shave with it is like trying to unfasten a bra with your eyes close - impossible! Am I right guys!!! I mean… wait… am I the only one?

THE THEME- So since I was going shopping for a shaving soap why not get the rest of the setup. Dollar tree for the Barb, Walmart for splash, Lowe’s for fragrance. All local and all pretty shitty. But hey it made everything cohesive. Was it worth it? Oh yeah…..

June 6, 2024 - Thirsty Thursday

• Brush: AP shave Co. - Tuxedo 24mm synthetic Black & Butterscotch signature series
• Razor: GEM - Gold Macromatic “Bullet Tip” vintage
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Smash
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Smash Splash
• Fragrance: Henri et Victoria - Cognac and Cuban Cigars

SOAP - What is there to say!!! It’s from Ben and he is a master of making things AWESOME! There is tons of bourbon on this and I love my bourbon. If you are marry then yo’ve learned to love a good strong whiskey. You know who you are brother and Ben knock it out of the park on this one. This soap starts with bright notes of peach and cane sugar, lingers into hedione, and has a strong finish of tobacco and bourbon.

RAZOR - Why did I choose this razor? Well cause I was trying to make my Oscar contention piece of course!!! Did I know that the only other blade out there rougher than this hunk of metal maybe Death’s Scythe itself!!! Possibly!! But it did give my small cinematic Oscar winning film the visual sound effect it needed.

THE THEME- As previously mentioned I produced, directed and had the leading role in this cinematic master piece. Oh and I was also the sound director and special effects expert. This wasn’t my best lather but I wanted the audience to feel the blade slicing all those evils away!!! Was it a love story or comedic horror? You decide! For me it was art and a lot of reading how to cut videos on your phone. Damn thick sausage fingers!! Makes life so much more difficult!

Now let’s talk about my Favorite influencer! Wait did I mentioned how I tied all my scents as strong drinks! Anyways I don’t really have a favorite but my buddy u/curbside_champ sent me this video once and I laugh for hours after reading the comments. I may suck at shaving but there is always someone out there that will make me a star!!!

June 7, 2024 - Vetiver You Want

• Brush: Aurora Grooming Custom - 30mm TGN (The Golden Nib) Silvertip SHD (Super High Density) knot
• Razor: Gillette - SuperSpeed 1967 Vintage
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: Martin De Cadre - Vetyver
• Post Shave: Armani- Emporio
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon - Huron

SOAP - Well not a very lustrous soap. Hard as it can be but it did lather okay. The Vetiver is definitely there in fact as obvious as this may sound it’s pretty much all my nostrils picked up!!

To be honest I think the soap did well as it did because of my brush. u/TheBunnynator1001 made it and it’s an absolute beast of a brush. I wouldn’t be surprised if I put cold milk in my shaving bowl and whip up butter with this bad boy!!

RAZOR - An oldie but goodie I picked up in a garage sale. Has an aluminum handle I think because it’s really light. It does the job and I paid $3 whole dollass….yo!

THE THEME- I didn’t like this theme at all!! I don’t shave ATG, my whiskeys don’t like being inconvenienced, my skin complains, just overall not a good feeling at all. But whatta hell I got it done and honestly it was exactly what I expected. Uncomfortable as hell!! Oh and I got to match all things Vetiver. The aftershave is an old Armani splash with the main scent being Vetiver as well as DC Huron for my frag. My face is still very aggravated even after the balm. We will see what happens throughout the day.

June 8, 2024 - Small Business Saturday... but in June

• Brush: AP shave Co. - Tuxedo 24mm synthetic Black & Butterscotch signature series
• Razor: Gillette - Parat 1940s TTO
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: Maggards Razors - Orange Menthol
• Post Shave: Stirling - Margaritas in the Artic
• Fragrance: Goodfellow No. 09 - Cypress & Grapefruit

SOAP - Well let’s just say there is a lot of orange!! Lathers really well but I didn’t get a lot of menthol at first but it kicks in eventually.

RAZOR - This Parat is very mild. Glides well, not aggressive at all in fact you may have to do at least a couple passes to really get a BBS shave.

THE THEME- Let me start by saying this was my most straight forward setup so far. It’s straight forward all the way through! Orange soap, lime splash, grapefruit fragrance = Citrus overload.

I have had many ridiculous reasons for buying shaving shit I shouldn’t. My last order was one of those. I place an order from Maggards last year for LG2023 and they sent me a couple of samples for free and one of them was Angelique. I like it so much I reorder and got the full tub just to receive it a week later and regret not getting the rest of the set up. So I ordered the splash and Edt in the same day. So in summary I placed three orders for the same scent in a period of three weeks!! 🤦‍♂️ Was it worth it!!! Oh yeah…..

June 9, 2024 - Shave and a Haircut

• Brush: Z Feidu - Barber Brush #HORSEASS #MISTURA #TOLL
• Razor: Gillette - SuperSpeed 1967 Vintage
• Blade: Personna Platinum
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Daddy Longlegs
• Post Shave: Barrister and Man - Seville Splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Man - Seville Edt

SOAP - This is another new one to me and shout to u/onionmiasma for the smush. I get lots of musk, amber, a bit of rum.

NOW about the shaving brush! This was kind of a gag gift to me. Coworker found out I was into wetshaving and decided to make a joke! Well it worked out cause this was the perfect combo to get me more help in these games. It’s crazy floppy and terribly difficult to get it wet which is super weird. I was able to lather with it but it was not easy to apply a consistent and even amount to my fat face! And as they say “misery likes company” I went and got another one and sent it to my BFF u/curbside_champ to see what he would do with it! They must have shave a lot of the horse to make this beast! I mean this thing is massive but not sure if practical?

RAZOR This is one of my fav Gillette and it’s a work-HORSE!! (See what I did there with the whole horse thing and brush lol…) Very mild and efficient!

THE THEME- It has been a long time since I have taken a quiz where I knew nothing of sorts. Well I did some cross referencing to see if I could match some scents but I still sucked. My score was 47% (15/32). Yes I sucked but actually did better than I thought to be honest since this is my second year wetshaving. I was just typing as fast as many scents possible and see what sticks lol…..

June 10, 2024 - Happy Together

• Brush: Parker Safety Razor - Chrome Handle Silvertip Badger
• Razor: Schick - Krona TTO DE 1960s
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Cerberus Fougere
• Post Shave: Noble Otter Soap Co - Cerberus Fougere Splash
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli Collaboration

SOAP - This is a Fougere soap packed with tons of variety! Scents like spicy-sweet woody star anise, balsamic fruity notes of Egyptian geranium, orris, and herbaceous woody lavender! Wow I have no idea what any of that means but does it sound Boujee? Yes it does because it is very fancy.

That’s what happens when you get three celebrity soap makers like Declaration Grooming, House of Mammoth, and Noble Otter all together magical things appear. I was lucky enough to get a smush from u/curbside_champ because I missed the limited release….I was sad.

Now because it’s collaboration day I also got a small sample of the splash to Matchy Matchy my scents and used the Fragrance collaboration from Declaration and Chatillon Lux. Score!!!

RAZOR - I went back to my shick today because the personna platinum is really comfortable right now on that razor. It’s weird that every time I change a new personna blade the first few shaves are a bit uncomfortable then it gets better as I go through more shaves. Very odd.

THE THEME- Since it’s collaboration day the first song that splooge into my mind was FAME by David Bowie, John Lennon and Carlos Alomar released in 1975.

It has an interesting history because the written part was where the collaboration happen but according to Bowie this was the results of some litigation issues he was having with his manager which came as a result from getting famous.

Turns out this crazy popular song to this day became one of his least favorite because of all the negative emotions it carried. In essence after Bowie’s death in 2016 this song became one of four to be included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll (Wikipedia told me and I thought it was cool so I’m sharing wit’yall)

Bowie would later describe fame as “not that rewarding and that the most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants”! But if you don’t wait in line then you can’t mingle with everyone waiting!!! Damn you Fame!!!

June 11, 2024 - Spring Showers Bring May Flowers

• Brush: Zentih - MOAR BOAR r/wetshaving exclusive 31mm #SUBBROOSH #OLDWORLD #HOLLOW
• Razor: Bulimica - Safety Razor #ZAMAC #RAINBOW
• Blade: Bulimica - blades
• Lather: Noble Otter - Rawr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Rawr Splash
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Rawr Edt

SOAP - Noble Otter makes amazing quality soaps as we all know it. RAWR is no different. This spring scent is just FUN. It’s also the only scent I know (no connoisseur here) that has dandelions as a scent note so yeah cool right!!

RAZOR - I got this from big internet retailer because I had some credit accrued from a return! It was pretty cheap and matched the color of my setup. Shaved was very mild and I used their blades which to me didn’t seem very sharp. Had to do three passes to get it smooth. Maybe too mild of a razor but hey I didn’t pay anything. The hardest part was explaining to my wife why I bought a RAINBOW 🌈 razor!!! I got home and she was all up in my face interrogation style demanding to know if I was hiding something from her! I, again, had to tell her about LG2024 in which she responded saying “oh yeah the chat group you watch other grown man without shirts shaving!!!” as she walked away.

THE THEME- This was the trickiest and most rewarding photo shot I did! I got up super early and waited just after the sunrise for the right lighting before the sprinklers activated. The grass was damp but not wet and I went to the most flowering bush in my yard (Trachelospermum Jasminoides - weird name for star jasmine) to get the background just right. Had to wait about 10 min to get a passing snail in my shot to make it even more spring_ish. It worked out okay. The green grass with the green white flowers bush matched all the green RAWR labels and the moar boar stood like a phalic/obelisk pedestal! Perfection….

June 12, 2024 - CREAM

• Brush: Green Shave Boar Brush #RUNT #SMOLL #HOLLOW
• Razor: Bulimica - Safety Razor
• Blade: Bulimica - Stainless Steel Blades
• Lather: Castle Forbes - Lavender Essential Oil Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavender Splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Lavender Interrupted

SOAP - I have never used a cream before and didn’t known what to expect. But thanks to my hook up u/curbside_champ I got myself some LAVENDER-Y_NESS cream and complimentary scents. So the obvious first impression is how soft they are. Not only extremely soft but also very aromatic. Now it could be this one cream from CastleForbes that is stronger than the others but I was getting lavender slapped in my face at every pass.

RAZOR - Same ridiculousness as yesterday but I wanna to give another shot but still sucked. So moral of the story You get what you pay for!!

THE THEME -Well I don’t have a shaving Den to brag about to be honest. It’s small and flaccid!! My DEN that is!!! I am working in getting it bigger and girthier!! My Den that is!!! I have gotten lucky in having people close to me friends and family know what to get me on holidays and birthdays! Shaving gear! Oh yeahhhh…..

June 13, 2024 - ** Dupelgänger**

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: BAILI - Classic 3-piece DE
• Blade: BAILI - Platinum Swedish Blade
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Deep Blue Sea
• Fragrance Stirling Soap Co. - Deep Blue Sea Solid Edt

SOAP - Hey it’s common knowledge nowadays that some of Rob’s lustrous soap bases are dupes of popular fragrances. This being one of them!! It’s a Creed Aventus dupe and boy is it good and so much more affordable that I got’s myself the whole enchilada my friends!!! (Translation: I got the whole set for cheap!)

RAZOR - Another Chinese imitation knock off. Follows the theme here of all things dupe! Not particular a great razor but for $9 bucks I’m not complaining. Then I have Deep Blue Sea which is a dupe of Bleu De Chanel. So all things considered these dupes made today one of the better shaving days so far!

THE THEME - I suck at drawing (aside from bathroom stall art) and today’s art for my soap label wasn’t necessarily cosmically exciting. So I gave it a go. Started slow on the basic lines! Big shout out to u/bmac92 for my Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen! It worked like a charm.

Here is the final product. So when you compare to the real thing it’s okay. You know like barely passing home-mec class in high school!

June 14, 2024 - FRIGID FRIDAY

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Margaritas in the Artic
• Fragrance Duke Cannon - Midnight Swim Dark Water

SOAP - COLD, COLD, COLD So when I decided match everything together for today’s shave I didn’t take into consideration that my face would scream at me!!! I was compounding cold with colder splash and F%^*ing colder with the Edt. Didn’t help that all my set up was cold in temperature from sitting in the freezer waiting for me to take the perfect shot!!! But in my defense I had to get a pic of frozen bacon and I was actually surprise to find frozen lobster!!! And to my surprise I didn’t know we ate organic broccoli! Who knew!!! So I hid the lobster so I don’t have to share it and took the ice cream with me to work!! Breakfast of champions!!!

RAZOR - Oldie but trusty!! Nothing new here. Oh and wait big thanks to u/curbside_champ for DC dark water.

THE THEME - I have never been really good at Jenga. I lose every time!! Damn coordination my only weakness!! Well THAT and lack of crying! Anyways I tried to make a big ass tower and this is what I came up with. I mean it’s no Burj Khalifa but I got up there! STACK PICTURE!! My wife commented that she has never seen such a big structure in this household and I wasn’t sure what she meant by that!! Whatever….

June 15, 2024 - Near Death Experience

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Royal Forest Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Leviathan
• Fragrance Stirling Soap Co. - Executive Man

SOAP - You know how it is when you get your first car and it’s a hand me down but you are excited because it’s your first car! Then after a while using it you want something different and better and so you get a truck and forget about the Toyota Tercel! It just sits there since you can’t sell it due to all the emotional attachment you have but you don’t really want to drive it cause the truck is so much better. Well this is TOBs for me. When I first got it I used the crap out of it. I was so excited to be wetshaving then I discovered all these other younger, better looking, in shape soaps that didn’t nag at me or give me shit for not taking the trash out in time!!

Soooo… I upgraded and left TOBs until today when I realized it was there all along and I just didn’t give it enough time to get to know it. But now things are different and shaving with it is not the same, it’s familiar but different and awkward and I wish it was like it used to be but it can’t cause I have moved on. So I use it and put it away again because the memories just adds to my loneliness and makes me sad.

RAZOR - Nothing knew here. BUT TOBS Royal Forest has lots of musk so I did matched it with a splash that had a lot of musk on it like leviathan. AND since I needed something of a frag why not throw in executive man which is a dupe of creed A and hence a big chunk of musk on it as well. Yes long road there but it matches?

THE THEME - I learned from some of the veterans here how to properly add water to my lather! Well today on order to stay on theme I added almost no water! It was the longest shave of my life. My razor kept getting clogged and before I knew it the lather on my face had dried! I finally crossed the finished line and my face felt like the Sahara! Which is how it always felt when I was shaving with the market goop. I had to add so much lotion afterwards still feels like it’s going to crack. As they say “No Pain No Lather Games”.

June 16, 2024 - Father’s Day

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Gillette - Flare Tip Super Speed 1950’s
• Blade: Gillette - Super Blues
• Lather: Gillette - Shave Gel Island Breeze
• Post Shave: Brut - Signature Scent Splash
• Fragrance Brut - Signature Scent Cologne

SOAP - Gillette is old! Like super old! So does that makes their shaving gel any good? FAT NOOPE! It’s awful and then some. I mean there is no hydrating your skin with a foamy gel filled with chemicals. But the brand label is old and today OLD is Theme! So I am pairing the rest of my set with old like Brut which is what my father used to use! What does it smell like? Well it smells like the color!!! Green. I don’t think you could make anything that would literally smell like a color and they nailed it. Green and old.

RAZOR - Another oldie from the 1950’s TTO. Shaves like a hot knife on butter.. clean as a whistle….

THE THEME - Why leg day on FATHER’s DAY?? Why??? Well this is not my first rodeo but right when it’s hot and sticky and humid! Okay pre shave and I set myself up HERE! And went to work. I wear my shorts low so not a big deal there. Thank goodness this was a one man show cause let’s say if we had to shave our backs then another person would have to get involved and logistics would be tricky. HINT…HINT… maybe next year who knows. FINAL RESULT!!

Yeah that was not fun. Razor kept getting clogged and took forever. Okay ready for the day so my kids can make fun of me all day for shaving my legs! Happy freaking Father’s Day!

June 17, 2024 - DON’T HAVE A COW MAN

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles - BARNEGAT BAY
• Post Shave: HAGS - Isla Muerta
• Fragrance Goodfellow & Co. - No. 07 Spiced Ginger & Rum

SOAP - You know it always amazes me how vegan/veggie/non-animal soaps perform! Does it compare to animal derived? Maybe? I don’t know but seems to be right there at the same level. This soap is bay rum that is super strong and to match it I am using a spice bay rum splash and frag. By the time I got out of the bathroom I was yelling ARR-MATEYSS to everyone. I was ready to wear an eye patch at work and looted the staff room fridge! AHOY MATEYS!!!

RAZOR - Nothing new here.

THE THEME - So I got to show off my smooth legs yesterday and now I get to do it again today! NICE!!! Right leg first!! Then left leg!!! I take these pics while I am shaving and realize there is a border to where my shorts go up to!! Hilarious! Jungle, demarcation zone, then flat lands. Got to say lathering on my smooth knees was a tiny bit weird but hey it could be worse. I must confess at the end this was a knee slapper of a good time!

June 18, 2024 - RIP IN PIECES

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Australian Private Reserve - Carnivale
• Post Shave: 345 Soap Co. - Aces over 8s Splash
• Fragrance Demeter - Funeral Home Fragrance Oil Roll On.

SOAP - It’s sad that these guys are not around anymore. What a great soap. There are notes of brandy, wood, dried fruits, some spices… overall very nice. Lathers up really well.

RAZOR - Trusty Shick which I am using until the blade gets dull. It’s a personna so it will be a while.

TODAY I matched my set with all things DEAD. Carnival died a while back. Aces over eights splash is about “Wild Bill” Hickock who was shot in the back of the head during a legendary 5-card stud game. In his hand forever known as the “Deadman’s Hand” with two Aces, two 8s, and a mystery fifth card. He was known as a great lawman so 345 made a soap about it (I’m using the splash). And to close out the set I got a special fragrance to wrap the whole thing. Funeral Home is one is those scents that either makes you wonder why certain things smell familiar or it brings horrible flashbacks because it sure does smell like the name. After I rolled it on my neck I myself had a flashback of standing in front of an open gasket starring at my uncle’s dead body and I wonder back then what that leathery, slightly sweet and moldy smell was coming from. Sooo yeah…. probably the last time I put that on!!! Chills!!!

THE THEME - To be completely honest I have a fat watermelon of a chin! There are no sharp angles. Things just slide off my face so in all honesty I have NOT cut myself THAT hard as to have blood dripping down my neck! HERE is my proof!! In essence I have not taken a pic of any cuts I have had because they were small tiny knicks. I did cut my finger handling a blade when I first started wetshaving which I applied super glue to cover it up but end up getting infected and then a trip to urgent care for them to drain yeah it was MESSY!!

Player uses actual roll on funeral home fragrance to round out their RIP day shave.

June 19, 2024 - **JUNETEENTH**

• Brush: AP shave Co. - Tuxedo 24mm synthetic Black & Butterscotch signature series
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Club Yanka
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Club Yanka Splash
• Fragrance: Wholly Kaw - Rebelle Edp

SOAP - Yanka is a good but unusual scented soap. It captures that weird mix of club scene scents from people spraying their best stuff in hopes of impressing the opposite gender. The Siero base is a fantastic combo of water buffalo and donkey milk! Speaking of donkeys…. Well more on that later… Now since it Juneteenth I went straight to the source and asked Sri where he makes his stuff = Princeton Junction, NJ!! So I matched the rest of my setup to NJ. Big thanks to Sri and Wholly Kaw!!

RAZOR - The blade is starting to tug a bit. The end is near…

THE THEME - Well folks today I am portraying the reality of being a married responsible adult (most of the time) doing silly things to win shaving gear! The other side doesn’t understand the sacrifices that must be made in order to accomplish the daily challenge and getting a NO SCRUB! I’m sure most of you can relate in enduring the ridicule, self steam bashing, demoralizing, shameful torture we put ourself through for the spirit of the games. But do I get the familial homestead support of my emergency contact for all things in life at the most needed of times? Do I get the encouragement to produce epic responses and absurd pics for the sake of entertaining the judges? Do I get any love???

I GET THIS!!!

June 19, 2024 - SUNNY DAYS

• Brush: Aurora Grooming - Custom 30mm TGN (The Golden Nib) Silvertip SHD (Super High Density) knot
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Spearhead Seaforth - Sea Ice Lime
• Post Shave: Spearhead Seaforth - Sea Ice Lime Splash
• Fragrance: Spearhead Seaforth - Sea Spice Lime

SOAP - Spearhead makes an amazing base and soap is no different! Since it was a brisk sunny morning I decided to pair the rest of my set and make it a spearhead morning shave.

RAZOR - Did pretty well all things consider!!!

THE THEME - Well I woke up early to a beautiful sunny morning! Disclosure here I am fat so hiking outside is not my cup of tea so I decide to venture out to see if I could find a proper short outing in which to shave!! I quickly realize that I would need water and found myself in a conundrum! Will I have to bring water with me as I stroll the hills (not really hills just my backyard). Then the shaving GODS answered my prayer and the sprinklers turned on right in front of me. Well whatta heck! Let’s do this!! So I used the sprinklers to shave. Got my brush ready!!

Placed some soap in my bowl and added water!!!

First passes were a little tricky!

Cleaned my razor.

Realized that sprinklers shot water really hard so got soap all over me!

Another pass on the other side of my face and neck!! Beautiful sky!!

And rinsed my face nature style. Well not counting the sprinklers…sort of. And manage to get a SH%^T ton of water up my nose!

Aside from that it was great until I saw my neighbor looking at me as I walked back to my porch! Smile and keep walking was all I kept thinking!!!

Player uses his sprinkler system to shave.

June 21, 2024 - ** Fougère Friday**

• Brush: Zentih - r/wetshaving MOAR BOAR 31mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Fougère Angelique
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Fougère Angelique Splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Fougère Angelique Edt

SOAP I wasn’t always a fan of Fougeres until I sampled this collab and it was love at first sight! It’s a super strong intoxicating scent that not only caresses your face initially but bites you in the end. Cat lovers anyone? I’m a big fan of strong scents that last all day since my disgust with my own body smell so the stronger the better.

RAZOR - Blade is still kicking !!!

THE THEME - It’s Fougere Friday so here is my sad attempt at using every first letter from today’s theme!

Finally a day that I can rest.
Otherwise I wouldn’t be my best .
Unwind I will today .
Get out and play .
Except for today’s shaving test

Relax and chill my peeps .
Enjoy a shave with no weeps .
Friends we are almost there .
Results I hope to be fair .
In these last couple weeks .

Do your best in this competition .
Although I have this admonition .
You better follow the rules .
Stop being fools .
So polish your submissions .

June 22, 2024 - ** SPOOKY SEASON**

• Brush: AP shave Co. - Tuxedo 24mm synthetic Black & Butterscotch signature series
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Autumn Ash
• Post Shave: HAGS Artisan - Ritual Splash
• Fragrance: Wholly Kaw - Timmermann Red Label 1869 EdP

SOAP This Vegan base soap is very comparable to other artisans out there. Same level of silkiness and slickness. This soap is a bit Smokey and sweet so to elevate these notes I used ritual splash which also has a big sweet smoky back bone. And top it all off I went with WK timm red EdP which also has a sweet Smokey tone to it! (Shout out to u/curbside_champ for the ritual sample)

RAZOR - The blade is still holding on for its dear life!

THE THEME - I LOVE dissecting stuff since I was young. Bugs, lab animals, anything that can be taken apart I wanted to try it. In essence Halloween was at the epicenter of fun since it’s okay to be gross!! BUT unfortunately I can’t find any damn pumpkins around right now so my local market offered me the next best thing. A melon! Don’t get me wrong I love melons. So sweet and succulent! You can juggle them and caress them, oh so much fun!! So I put my carving skills to the test using an old razor blade.

Pretty tricky at first PIC2.

And I finally had my FINAL RESULT!!

I think it sums it all up on how I feel so far doing all these challenges!! 🤣🤣 And following the theme of spookiness I couldn’t just let the corpse go to waste so on to the morgue it went!! FINAL RESTING PLACE!

Stellar carving.

June 23, 2024 - ** SWEET SUNDAY**

• Brush: Aurora Grooming - Custom 30mm TGN (The Golden Nib) Silvertip SHD (Super High Density) knot
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Crumiro
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Voices
• Fragrance: The Holy Black New York - Almond Biscotti

SOAP At first glance this soap brings a lot of sweetness. It’s also very dry and hard. But smells sweet. That’s what it is suppose to be right? Sweet!!! Hmmm okay so I needed something sweet to match and why not HoM Voices. It’s sweet sticky rice at its best!! Then to finish the setup I got sweet Holy Black Almond Biscotti which complement the sweetness of the crumiro and the sweet sticky rice. Making all things sweet in this sweet Sunday morning!! Wow that was a lot of sweetness!!

RAZOR - My personna blade is almost done for! Hold on little buddy just a few more days till the end! Oh and shout out to my sweet BFF u/curbside_champ for the voices splash sample.

THE THEME - So this challenge comes at a time where I was suppose to do the dishes and I got busy and then I had to squeeze a shave in! So don’t judge me if there are dirty dishes on the side. Plus this soap is hard to lather. On the plus side of all this I got to use the faucet snake to pressure wash my face clean! Hurray !!!!! Now I’m ready for the scorching Sunday heat!!

June 24, 2024 - Christmas in July

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Woodshop
• Post Shave: First Line Shave - The Weight
• Fragrance: First Line Shave - The Weight Edt

SOAP Summer Break makes awesome stuff so it’s no surprise here of how nice this soap really is. I must say the main scent I get right off the bat (pun intended) is Bourbon. I do get the woody notes as the shave goes on but the whiskey is really pronounced so I decided to pair it with a whiskey rich scent like FLS the weight! Lots of whisky there which complemented so well I finished the shave with the Edt as well.

RAZOR - Still alive and kicking!!!

THE THEME - So I got this soap smush from u/curbside_champ so big shout out to him. I also got the a sample of The Weight from him like a year ago and liked it so much I went and bought the whole set! Big fan of bourbon here. In fact u/curbside_champ is the main reason I follow this sub and started wetshaving in the first place back just over a year ago. We have known each other for a while and he saw that I was planning on getting a laser hair removal procedure in my face so i wouldn’t have to shave anymore. Why?

Because I HATED shaving! It was ingrown hair galore, rashes, inflammation, dryness, then the itchiness aftermath. He noticed my agony and told me there was a better way. In my mind the better way was laser all my whiskers away!! He mentioned this new niche of trend making a comeback call wetshaving! I was like you mean barbershop style with sharp blades next to your neck! NOPE!!!! All I could think was “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” and Johnny Depp slicing throats!!

But after multiple attempts to convert me in finding the holy grail myself he actually bought me my first brush, soap & splash (stirling) set. Gave me instructions on how to prepare the correct lather and introduced to me r/wetshaving which I could get help in all things related to wetshaving.

I got hook to wetshaving like a crack addict. Long story short and a few months later I was doing a shaving competition for a whole month. And for the first time in my entire life I find myself sad that I don’t grow enough facial hair to be able to shave twice a day!

Thanks u/curbside_champ you rock!

CHALLENGE: I pitched this last year, and I know ya’ll gonna think I’m crazy, but how about a Pinesol Scented Stirling Soap? Anyone!! Come on!!! That would be a super easy dupe for Rob to make!! Hey at this point I will take Fabuloso as well their Lavender scent is killer…. of germs. Well I have a feeling that this won’t be a popular opinion but I had to try it. I mean who doesn’t want to smell squeaky clean….

June 25, 2024 - Christmas in July part II

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co. - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Eleven Shaving Soap - Blue Spruce
• Post Shave: MacDuffs Soap Co. - Christmas Tree Splash
• Fragrance: Duke Cannon Supply Co. - Proper Cologne Sawtooth

SOAP: What better day for spruce scent than this hot Tuesday. Big shout out to u/onionmiasma for the Blue Spruce smush! This soap had a pine back bone but nothing overpowering! It’s subtle and gentle! So to complement my set I used an extremely pine scented splash from macduffs which cleared my sinuses I tell you! To top it all off used a pine driven fragrance sawtooth making me smell like a fresh cut Christmas tree. Delightful!! If only there was a Pinesol detergent scented deodorant out there to elevate me to pine nirvana.

CHALLENGE: So I have never shaved wearing a hat before so this is new to me. I must say the hardest part was trying to get a good photo. Didn’t seem particular comfortable due to the fact that my hair was still wet when I put my cap on but I ain’t a quitter. Lather up and took a photo and somehow I suddenly looked very…. what’s the right word….unabomber_ish.

Did all my passes as usual, the lather was on point, and cleaned up just in time for the wife to walk in the bathroom and look at me with a towel wrap around my waist and wearing a camouflage cap!! She shakes her head and says “ I’m not even gonna ask!!!” lol……

OP's look does not pass the vibe check.

June 26, 2024 - Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: AP shave Co. - Tuxedo 24mm synthetic Black & Butterscotch signature series
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: PINESOL - Lemon Fresh
• Post Shave: Fabuloso Multi Purpose Cleaner - Lavender
• Fragrance: Lysol - Disinfecting Spray

SOAP So I have been preaching and shouting for a PineSol shaving soap for over a year now. Since I haven’t found anything that compares I decided today to see what it would be like using the real thing!! For the sake of not getting fired decided that using the original formula would be too strong for work mode so opt to use the Lemon Fresh one. This way I wouldn’t leave my coworkers teared eye every time they talk to me.

So it turns out the liquid is super concentrated so a little goes a long way.I poured a bit in my bowl and gave it a go! The sweet smells of lemon, geraniol, citronelol, linalool, and tarpineol (WTF!!) pretty much filled my bathroom. It brought back great memories of walking into a fresh clean bathroom at target before everyone stars to shit on it! To my surprise I got bubbles!!!! I was creating lather goodness like a magical act of appearance! I quick spread it all over my face just to have the bubbles instantly disappear and the so sweet fresh lemon smell started to burn my nose hairs!! I took my razor and began chopping my whiskers and funny enough it was really slick! Almost too slick. A feeling of doubt crossed my mind like the moment when you have turned on the BBQ propane and let the gas out for 5 min because the lighter won’t spark and your mind has this epiphany of what’s to come!!! But it never did!! I finished the shave and my nose can’t smell anything and my lips are tingling like I just ate a cookie full of fire ants (fact) but my face doesn’t burn!! I wash it all off and weirdly enough I can’t remove the slickness away. It is almost like a film is left behind.

Well I must stay on theme so I paired all my set up with no other than Fabulous_o. I sprinkled a bit in my face and the chemical lavender filled my nostrils with something warm. Well I think it was a lavender since my nose was still burning from the shave. And to top it all off what’s more hygienic and bactericidal than Lysol. Ah what wonderful memories from when I used to come home during COVID pandemic and my wife would gas me from head to toe with Lysol!!! Side note here guys Lysol actually has a sweet taste and don’t ask me how I know!

CHALLENGE: Well this was done today and I highly recommend that if you want to kill two birds with one stone shaving with an industrial cleaner will not only clean the shit out of your face but inexplicably neutralize any bacterial odors your shaving brush may be harnessing. The main issue is figuring out the amount to use so you don’t pass out in the bathroom! Oh and a quick golden nugget here! Don’t use hot water cause it adds to the burn!

June 26, 2024 - *Information Overload*

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Navigator
• Post Shave: Zingari Man - The Navigator Splash
• Fragrance: Zingari Man - The Navigator Edt

THEME I must say this LG has been very instructional and educational for me. I have never learned so much about scent notes in my life. I also learned I know nothing about them after taking u/onionmiasma scent test. So in reading the some other soap comes to find out navigator has about 12 scents. This is what they stated on Heather’s (Zingari Man) website! Top notes: Bergamot, dewfruit, ozone, water, lemon Heart: Dry grass, Ozone, lilly of the valley, jasmine Base: Ambergris, musks, soft woods, green florals So overall lots scents and what better way to complement all these scents than used the same product for splash and edt so there you go folks!! Way too much information.

CHALLENGE: FULL DISCLOSURE!! Today’s shave took me 44 min!!! 🤦‍♂️.

I don’t use my left hand for anything. It’s there just to make me look symmetrical. I’m useless with it unless I am lifting something heavy, well not too heavy. So in order to fulfill today’s challenge I attempted to shave using my left hand. My first thought was to try something crazy!! Toe shaving anyone? Then realize I can barely touch my feet with my legs bent so scratched that idea. Back to my left hand. I used my left hand to lather and took like 15 min!! I got through but took me three passes to finally get it done. Finally I was done but goodness that took forever!!!

June 28, 2024 - Frugal Friday

• Brush: Ounabing - Green Shave Boar Bristles

• Razor: Bic - Sensitive 3 Disposable

• Blade: Bic - Sensitive 3 Disposable

• Lather: Proraso - Sapone di Barba Rinfrescante

• Post Shave: Proraso - Sapone di Barba Rinfrescante Splash

• Fragrance: Goodfellow & Co. - No. 9 Grapefruit & Cypress Men's Cologne.

THEME CHEAP, Cheap, cheapest! There is no better feeling than saving precious mula! I love the smell of a clearance item and who doesn’t. No free shipping!!! Forget it!! So in order the save myself some hard earned cash I visited my local dealers where I was sure to get more for less! Here is my breakdown:

Brush: Walmart - bought 2 for a better deal so cost per BOAR brush =$3.69
Razor&Blade: Dollar Tree - pack of three so cost per razor =$.42
Soap: Amazon - $10 bucks, they even tell you is $1.92 per ounce!!
Splash: Amazon- $14 bucks! It had to match so I splurge on the cost. Still $4.12 per Fl Oz.
Frag: Target - Got an Edt Sampler for $14.99. Comes with 4 so cost per vial = $3.75
Bowl: Amazon - Viking Revolution- $7.88

TOTAL = $21.78 for a complete shave plus hardware!! NOT TOO SHABBY!!! Well so not the complete cheapest way to go but I wanted a splash and frag that would complement each other. Goodfellow No. 9 has a big cypress scent which complemented the proraso eucalyptus really well.

THE SHAVE You pay for what you get!!! I like eucalyptus but proraso does a mild job at it. It’s more of a eucalyptus that has been sitting around for a while and gets stale! Not sure if such thing is possible and I am biased because I like super strong scents!! Lather was fine nothing special! It did the job well. The razor was an absolute torture!! I remember the days using a disposable and I can feel the ingrown hairs coming. It’s it going to be a fun rest of day. The splash had a little more life to it so it wasn’t bad. The frag was all worth it!! Tons of strength pack in this little vial and a couple spritz got the job done!! Was it worth the savings??? Oh yeah… Sure felt great to save so much money in my shave today. In truth I may add some of these items to my daily routine like the splash. But not sure when I will use the razor ever again…LG2025???

June 29, 2024 - Sandalwood Saturday

• Brush: Stirling - Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Schick - Krona 1960s TTO DE
• Blade: Personna - Platinum
• Lather: Captain’s Choice - Sandalwood
• Post Shave: Captain’s Choice - Sandalwood Splash
• Fragrance: Goodfellow & Co™ - No. 2 Juniper & Sandalwood Men's Cologne

THEME In my years of darkness before discovering wetshaving, fragrances were just something nice I put on in the mornings before work. Now, much more educated, I actually know what the fragrance is and sandalwood was something I enjoyed before I knew what it was. Cap Choice sandal is just that! Straight out sandalwood at its core. No fluff, butter-me-up, messing around stuff just straight to the point as far as I can tell! So for being such a blunt scent it is awesome if you like strong scents. The lather was thick and the scent overwhelmed my bathroom as the shave went on.

In order to keep things thematic used their splash as well and finished it with a more subtle and gentle fragrance from goodfellow. The sandalwood is definitely there but gets mellowed out by the juniper.

CHALLENGE: Well this is tough! Here are my best guesses!

Top prize: I think it’s going to be one of these three possibly -
u/Priusaurus
u/tsrblke
u/MrTangerinesky

ROTY: maybe u/bmac92.

FOF: possibly u/hugbckt , ~~ujwoods23~~

Photocontest:
u/chronnoisseur42O
u/curbside_champ
u/tsrblke

These are my best assumptions but this year the participants posts were a tier above! So it’s anybody’s game I believe.

June 30, 2024 - Bon Voyage, Lather Games

• Brush: Parker Safety Razor - Chrome Handle Silvertip Badger
• Razor: BAILI - Classic 3-piece DE
• Blade: Shark - Super Stainless Blades
• Lather: E&S Rasage - Oasis
• Post Shave: Proraso - Rinfrescante Eucalyptus and Mint Splash
• Fragrance: HAGS - Megalodon

THEME Noooooooo… Don’t tell me is over! I was having so much fun. Waking up super early or staying up late. Writing all day to make the challenge interesting for readers. It’s too soon… encore!!!! Well it has been fun folks but all good things must come to an end. I must say I have enjoyed this games way more than last year and that’s purely because I know way more than last year when I was not only a ROTY but new to wetshaving in general. Well truth to told I’m not as sad that it’s over but glad I hanged on till the end and what better way to end than have a very international diverse shave!

Let me start by listing the countries my gear is from: - u/2SaintsDude - Southern California USA - Parker Safety Razor Brush - India - Razor - China - Blade - Egypt - Lather - France - Post shave - Italy - Fragrance - Greece

SHAVE Now crazy enough Oasis is a very aquatic scent ideal for summer days. It is slightly spicy which I complemented using proraso which has a bit of a bite but very refreshing for summer as well. Finished off with Hags Meg which is very crisp and clean on the citrusy side of things which adds to the outside summer vacation by the poolside sipping a margarita type of feel!!

CHALLENGE: Today’s shave had such great potential! I always wondered about this French company that does artisan soaps and decided to try them. Now keep in mind I am a big fan of strong scents. If the scent I am using is not offending those around me then it’s not strong enough. I literally want people to ask me what the hell I have sprayed myself with - hence PineSol being a top note for me 🤣. Rasage is nice but way too frail. It leaves you wanting more which is a good business model but not very rewarding for me. Now could a splash or Edt contribute to the lack of luster? Possibly! The Proraso literally took over and I couldn’t distinguish anything else until the Meg which added this warmth that I know will last the rest of the day!

I want to thank the judges and all those involved in putting LG2024 together! I had a great time!

I also want to give special thanks to those amazing sub members that have made my LG2024 a reality like u/curbside_champ for the smushes and splashes samples! To u/onionmiasma - thanks for the soap smushes. u/priusaurus for TSF smush. u/bmac92 for the awesome fountain pen. u/TheBunnynator1001 for the awesome custom brush. In part thanks to all who have commented my posts and answered MY comments. You guys rock and AA here I come!!!