July 1, 2023 - Bonjour, Lather Games

• Brush: AP Shave Co - Ivory Purple 26mm G5A SHD Premium #SHD #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Valet Autostrop #SELFSHARPENING
• Blade: Feather FHS-10
• Lather: 345 Soap Co - Rocky Mountain Tree Line
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Alive
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Confluence

Welcome to Lather Games 2023, or as my wife calls it, that silly shaving contest you did last year. It’s not silly. Sure, I spent lots on things for it, got some smooshes too, but at least I placed 26th and got a set of Summer Break Soaps - Valedictorian. Didn’t get RoTY, but I did get a previous RoTY soap in a PIF. I can use that and feel winner adjacent.

On to the show err shave….

There were lot of firsts today for me. First time using the Valet Autostrop, Feather FHS-10 blade, a 345 Soap Co shaving soap, and EdP from Chatillon Lux. I picked up my 345 Soap Co soaps (2 more to try in September) because of my fondness for Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. I lived north of CO in Wyoming from age 5-15, but my grandmother and a great aunt lived in Colorado, so we were visiting there several times a year. My dad had a single engine Cessna when I was young, so under 2 hours to visit my grandma in Boulder, or about 3.5 to visit my aunt in Crested Butte. My father, cousin, brother, sister and myself are all alumni of CU Boulder. When I learned about a soap company in Colorado, I had to get some. The other scents I got were White Buffalo and Estes Park.

Ok, long introduction, really on to the shave. First this new brush from AP Shave Co, a good amount of backbone, but very soft tips. I like it a lot, and it will move into my regular rotation. The soap lathered up pretty quickly, but was a bit bubbly at first. More water and stirring fixed that. I found that the Valet with its steep angle to the head felt more like shaving with a Schick injector or GEM MMOC. It definitely has a similar feel to the MMOC and the aggressive feeling with a new blade. Some blood was sacrificed to the gods in the form of weepers on my jawline. The scent of Tree Line is a citrusy evergreen. Looking for things to go with it I thought Alive would kick up the citrusy green and give me a splash of chill too. It isn’t hot, but very warm and humid today.

For the fragrance, I got myself a sample pack from Chatillon Lux and Maher Olfactive to supplement the other fragrances I have. Adding 22 samples to my other EdPs and EdTs gives me a lot of choice to pair with the soaps. I haven’t planned out all, but will be making what I feel is either a good compliment or even contrast to the shave scents. CL Confluence is almost all trees. I chose it to go with the evergreen of Tree Line. Tree Line has a stronger citrus than evergreen/pine, so Confluence took the tree scent to 10.

Sprayed some Confluence.

I’m not in a pine forest.

I just smell like one.

Now time to read the rest of today’s posts.

FOF