July 1, 2023 – Bonjour Lather Games

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16 #SHD
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite #CNC
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Wholly Kaw – Rebelle
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Shire 2

Shorter with higher skill is better than longer with no skill. True in the bedroom (edit: or so I read*) and true of this years Lather Games writeups.

My goal was to not spend money on this years games so I don’t have any new type of hardware, but, Wholly Kaw was a new lather for me. I purchased some WK off a Facebook BST when I first started – Man from Mayfair and King of Oud – and both smelled so bad off the tub I was convinced the soap was rancid and I threw them directly in the trash; I felt like if I tried to sell them a more veteran shaver than me would call me on it.

Rebelle, though, was a great scent. A nice warm and inviting tobacco smell that paired nicely with the brighter, more cheerful Shire 2. I typically don’t like tobacco, but both of these were excellent – Rebelle would make a great cool weather shave while Shire 2 shines in Spring and Summer.

FOF Haiku of the day:

Linked by Tobacco

Thankful neither is rancid

Smoking will kill you

Edit: haiku looked weird. Hopefully it's fixed now.

Have a great Lather Games, y’all!

July 2, 2023 – LG Day 2 – Vegan

• Brush: r/wetshaving Zentih MOAR BOAR 31mm #chonk
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb #brassing
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Labyrinth
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Seville

Phteven is maker of all things excellent and that includes he and Courtney’s vegan base. Soft and creamy, Labyrinth lathered up like a dream, no tallow needed.

While the base was vegan, the brush was not – it was a whole lot of hog. Rounding out at a whopping 31mm, this thing lathered up Labyrinth with ease and gave a super smooth and moist base which was absolutely necessary because of the SE challenge of the day.

I won a PIF of this old and worn MMOC from u/OnionMiasma last July and consequently used it to win DJ’s AA side challenge – but, like, I still hate it. 2 passes was all I risked and even then I had a nice little throat nick. How you monsters enjoy MMOC razors is beyond me; but, I digress.

Alas, my summer cold is in full swing and I could barely smell Labyrinth or Seville, but, the scent notes tell me that they should at least be loosely connected by some citrus; Labyrinth clearly a darker and more subtle citrus scent with Seville rocking that orange right out the gate.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Paired here by citrus

Subtle connect it may be

Can’t smell anyway

July 3, 2023 – Almonday 2023

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Cella – Milano Crema Da Barba
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Behold the Whatsis!

Cella: “smells great, weak performance.” Hopefully those words are rarely (never) said of me.

I have a love/hate relationship with almonds. The smell is great, they often taste great (especially when chocolate covered), but, there comes a time with almonds for me where they will very suddenly shift from excellent to abhorrent and there’s no telling when that moment will come – it just happens. Thankfully, I suppose, because they are a nut for the 1%, we don’t buy them too often so I rarely push my consumption to the brink.

I did dream (have a nightmare?) the other night that I had to have a tooth extracted and now that I remember it they were lifting the tooth up to look for something underneath it. Maybe it was an almond. I don’t know why, nor do I want to relive it – I’ve had a tooth pulled as an adult and it’s horrific. I’ve also had a root canal where I felt the whole thing – so, there’s that.

What does this have to do with shaving with Cella, you ask? Well – almonds, if you’re not careful, will break your teeth. So – be careful out there, fellow shavers. If you thought the only risk in this hobby was financial ruin, think again – there are broken teeth to be had.

Whatsis works well with this – they’re connected by the cookies in my brain. Sugar cookies in Whatsis and Almond cookies are the overwhelming, mouth watering, soul grabbing scent I get from Cella.

To be honest I don’t really understand what makes a good Haiku, but, I like thinking about the scents and connecting them to weird things and hopefully I get better as I go – you know, aiming at nothing will help me get better. I have perused some “high quality” haikus, but, again – I don’t understand what makes them high quality so here we are.

As for u/RedMosquitoMM - what a legend. As a fellow Wisconsinite it brought me great pride to know that I reside within a 2.5 hour radius of such a legend. It can seem, at times, like Wisconsin has a reputation of simpletons; no more. We are home to the reigning LATHER GAMES CHAMPION - thank you, fine sir, for bringing it home. Soon, like the Lombardi Trophy before it, I suspect these games will enshrine this man with a champions Mosquito Trophy as he deserves.

FOF Haiku of the day

Almonds are funny

Can’t milk them but can drink them

Fresh cookies in hand

Edit: I don't know why my Haikus won't stay formatted without the spaces in between, so - let me know if you know.

July 4, 2023 – Spring Science

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Alive
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Neon Sun

I graduated with a minor in Biology and, well, I do not love doing science or writing reports. On the final day of exams my last semester of college I wrote on the top of my Biology test, “I need X% on this exam to graduate” and while I did not know Dr. Buiser personally, I am so grateful that I got what I needed on that exam – whether it was my hard work studying or his generosity I will never know.

Anyway – I did some science and took some notes on it and now here we are. I proposed that I would get a good shave this evening and, well, I did. I know that’s not how science works, but, frankly I don’t care. I put my smush of Alive (<1g and my scale doesn't go lower than 1g so we're rolling with it) in my Georgetown Scuttle with 3mL of water on top. The scuttle was filled with water at 116 degrees F(reedom units) and sat there for 3:33:77 while I showered. My Dogwood B16 was then filled with an additional 22g of water and I lathered it on up. I didn't count the swirls. That's stupid. Shaving is as much art as it is science and I live in a world where the two can dance beautifully together. Lather was perfect, anyhow.

The scent on this ol' smush was not strong because my summer cold is still lingering and my nose is sus, but, I did appreciate the green notes and think this scent would really shine in splash form and u/USS-SpongeBob said it's a spring scent so it must be. I paired it with Neon Sun because Neon Sun is a bright scent like Alive (I think) and I love Neon Sun so it worked.

Part way through this “experiment” I wondered to myself, “why am I even doing this? Who cares about this tiny project. The judges have to read this, over and over, to what end?” I do not have an answer. Someone after me can come along, hypothesize, do some data, whatever. Call me a cynic; science it – I don't care, I'm not going to.

Solid shave, though – face feels great to end a very long and sweaty day.

FOF Haiku

Alive is apples
Neon Sun is retro lime
I smell freakin' great

July 6, 2023 – Canned Goo

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Barbasol
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Ghost Town Barber

Look, I wanted to hate this crap, but, listen – I didn’t. It’s not that I would go back, artisan soap is so much better. But, like, this wasn’t terrible. My skin didn’t melt off, I don’t have terrible burns, the shave was relatively smooth, and the scent is mild and nostalgic enough to be fine. I had a debate with myself while I shaved – what would I give up if I was forced: DE razors in favor of cartridges or artisan soap in favor of canned goo. The answer is I would take carts and artisan soap (RIP my wallet on those replacement blades), becuase this stuff just isn’t as smooth or moisturizing or enjoyable as all the soap, but, it’d suck to do that. I don’t ever want to go back.

GTB crushed the follow up, though, and I now smell great.

I will say, though, it was very quick and convenient to just have it all ready to go – no prep, nothing. Just squeeze it on my hand, rub it on my face, and boom, shaving.

If I were to come up with my own scent, say I placed high enough in these games – I would be completely screwed. I am terrible at this stuff, but, if I was forced – I would want a hybrid scent: HoM Sonder with Chatillon Lux Admiral with an ode to Creed Island Water. I know – that’s a lot, but, I like the bright green of sonder with the stellar smoky dry down of Admiral and I want my wife’s reaction to be the same as when I use Island Man (Island Water). So – that’s me.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Barbasol is fine
Brings back some fond memories
My dad used this stuff

July 6, 2023 – Sonder Tri and All the Yellow

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Sonder
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Sonder
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Sonder

Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. I’m sure u/mammothben knew that when he titled it – he’s a thoughtful guy who considers others well. I strive to be similar and, after shaving with Sonder for all of August last year I grew in my affections both for this scent and for the concept of Sonder.

The scent opens beautifully with a complex yet light citrus and then settles down into a soft blend of sandalwood and something green. It tickles the olfactory bulb in all the right places and, in spite of using it for 30 days straight for AA, I have not grown a single percent tired of this scent. It is outstanding.

As for Sonder, well, much could be said about the concept but it is a one that each of us should become familiar with – it’ll help you grow in compassion and empathy in every relationship you have from your own child (who you usually adore) to the neighbors who continue to shoot off fireworks on July 6th (a full two days after they should be done). It takes work, you’ll mess up and forget, but – it’s freeing to realize that just because someone tells you off doesn’t mean they hate you – maybe they had a bad morning or their parent has a chronic illness or any number of things that probably aren’t about you. It changes the way you interact with your spouse because yes, you do forget that they’re a person with a whole life, too – and their life isn’t just about you. It’ll change how you parent – your kids are people, too! And, lastly – it’ll change how you approach these lather games; you’ll understand the judges have way too many posts to read and you don’t have that much interesting stuff to say, anyway – so you’ll mercifully shorten them up.

All that said – consider Sonder. Learn it, live it, let it impact your interactions with all varieties of people. Yes, even the ones you loathe.

And here’s the stack that includes my brand new Summer Break handle (Dundy) that just came in today courtesy of u/rocket455 – it’s got a motherlode in it for now but is worthy of a much better knot than this! My son, who loves yellow, took 1 look at it and immediately exclaimed, "when I'm big and shave, I'm going to use that brush!"

FOF Haiku of the day

Bright shining greenscape
Intoxicating my nose
Could use this always

July 7, 2023 – Fremen Friday

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: MacDuff’s Soap Company – Christmas Cabin
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Tis the Season

First off, I love Dune. Not the movie – I haven’t read that – but the book. It took me 3 tries to finally get through it, but hot dang the payoff is so good. If you’re wondering whether you should enter into the land of the Fremen for a few hundred pages, then answer is you should. I save my reviews of the following books so as not to spoil, but, start by reading Dune and then decide if you want to continue. Seriously, just do it.

I also love spicy scents, but, spicy scents do not love me… until now. MacDuff’s Christmas Cabin smells like it’s going to obliterate my face – like Melange did as the spice must flow – as a side note, judges, don’t watch that whole video. It’s long and dumb but the link added flair. Anyway – I did one pass, then two, and then three, all the while fully expecting a fire in my pores that would have me taking a second shower to wash it away – yes, I’ve done this before with spicy scents. But the burn never came. Thank goodness. Overall, a great shave. For obvious reasons I don't have a spicy aftershave, but, Tis the Season fit well in the Christmas vein.

FOF Haiku of the day

The spice must flow now
If only to torch my face
The cabin softens

My other main hobby is board games! Having kids put a damper on this for some time, but pre-kids my wife and I played board games 1v1 several times a week and we’d have other friends and family over a few times a month. We have a decent collection that is mostly on those shelves, though there are some others floating around the house. Some of my favorites (linked to BoardGameGeek profile pages) are Pandemic Legacy – we finished up Season 0 with my 2 brothers last Fall and too long ago and it is the best board game experience I’ve ever had, we played Season 1 with one of my brothers in like 2014 or 15 and are now playing it again as the group of 4 as we work through each season and it is so difficult and also so stressful and also so fun and challenging, and, when we finish season 1, we’ll move on to Season 2. My wife and I started Season 2 once with one brother shortly after we had our first daughter, but life was too chaotic and it just fizzled out. 7 years later, I’m glad we’ve restarted the series because they are so dang good. We’ve recently really enjoyed a more chill gaming experience where we compete alongside each other but not as much head to head in Wingspan. Other games at the top of my list include things like Le Havre which is a sort of worker placement euro game that requires you to think dozens of turns ahead, but still be flexible enough to turn your plans on a dime if a better option becomes available or your plans are taken by someone else; I really enjoy Shadows Over Camelot as another cooperative game, but unlike Pandemic this adds the element of a traitor towards the end of the game to keep things interesting (though sadly I think this one is out of print); Agricola is another worker placement type euro game that is a lot of fun, though a bit less in depth than Le Havre. We also really enjoy playing some lighter and quicker two player games like Lost Cities, Bohnanza or Bohnanza the Duel, Patchwork, and 7 Wonders Duel, among others. Killer Bunnies is a game of chaos and silliness that we bust out when we’ve got my siblings together and occasionally play with just the two of us, too. When we first started gaming more regularly we were broke and in college, but it was one of our favorite things to go the local game shop every few weeks and pick up a new expansion for the game and then spend the next few days playing over and over and over.

Kids changed how we game, mostly because we have so much less time, but it’s great that they’re finally at an age where we can start introducing them to kids versions of games and they’ve begun to build their own collection with games like Quacks and Co. and Flash Point: Fire Rescue being their current favorites alongside the classics like uno, war, and Sleeping Queens. My middle child and only son would play a board game from the moment he woke up until the moment he went to sleep and I love it.

It’s such a great hobby that challenges your brain, brings families together, and has so many options to find something that you love. Highly recommend it! I love to talk board games so if you’ve got questions, hit me up!

July 8, 2023 – Mag Day

• Brush: Semogue SOC Boar
• Razor: Gillette Tech Fat Handle (1938-1945) #REEGUS
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Maggard Razors – Mango Sage Tea
• Post Shave: Thayers – Lavender

Love me some Maggard Razors. Reliable, consistent, kind – there’s a reason every other vendor of shave wares wants to be them – but nobody comes close.

I thought I had some Maggard soap from last year floating around but I did not. Fortunately, u/redmosquitoMM came through in the clutch and, as he lives only a few hours from me, was able to have a smush at my door in just a couple of days (you’ll see him pop up again tomorrow, too – the man is a legend). I really enjoyed this new to me scent, I got more sage than mango, but, the mango/tea softened into the sage and it was a really enjoyable slightly greenish citrusy scent. I have nothing that remotely comes close to pairing with this and I wanted to smell it dry down a bit so I just used my Thayer’s this go and, well – it was my daughters birthday party today and the scent of soap fades quick so honestly I have no idea how it dries down – I wasn’t paying enough attention with all 20 people in my house. But – the shave was great, performance was smooth, etc. etc.

I did use the vintage Gillette today and generally I struggle with it and get some razor burn, but, I went with two passes today (I had just worked out and immediately shaving after workouts always leads to awful razor burn) and I am happy to report it was an excellent experience! This bad boy, per Razor Emporium’s pics, seems to be a 1938-1945 variety but it has no date code and earns me that luscious 0.1 point. Ya love to see it.

I love the DQT and have benefited from it greatly. I still have a ton to learn from more veteran shavers and use that thread often enough, but it’s also fun to have accumulated enough knowledge to be able to help newbies in a limited capacity and have some slightly educated opinions on questions that pop up. My response today is all about my favorite post in LG history. This community shows it’s excellence via the DQT thread time and time again – so welcoming, helpful, and kind.

Anyway – have a great night, y’all!

FOF Haiku of the Day

Maggard soap today
Mango Sage Tea lathered
Excellent, if fast

July 9, 2023 – Coffee Soap Sucks

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Oz Shaving Co. – Tik Tok
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Shire 2
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Shire

I love coffee. I hate coffee notes in shave products. Leviathan – awful coffee. GEMÜTLICHKEIT – Awful coffee. Oz Co Tik Tok? Awful coffee. It doesn’t matter what else is in the soap, the coffee scent overwhelms and ruins the whole experience for me. What’s weird is I love coffee – the smell of the beans, the smell of the brew, the flavor – hot coffee, cold brew, coffee ice cream, let me at it. Coffee in shave products? No. Nope. Nerp. Negative. Hate it. Loathe it. Don’t want it.

That said, Oz Shaving Co. Soap was new to me and performed just fine. u/RedMosquitoMM sent me a smush in his “saving the day” smush envelope that arrived yesterday and it’s my first go with this base but I enjoyed it. I won’t buy this one in particular because, well, coffee in soap sucks, but – I wouldn’t shy away from this base – it was irritation free and smooth.

I paired it with Shire 2 largely because Tik Tok is a Tobacco/Coffee mashup and Shire is a relatively strong summer tobacco and I knew I could overwhelm the terrible coffee scent off my face with it. I didn’t want to risk a weaker product that would incorporate the coffee and ruin a scent for me. It was a success – after I splashed and sprayed shire I made Tik Tok disappear. Thank goodness.

I forgot all about the daily challenge so I did not shave in my kitchen, sadly.

Gear was all solid, though! The Motherlode is perfect for whipping up smaller amounts of soap – it lathers like a dream, even if it’s cold and dead inside.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Delicious coffee
Hot and Steamy in my cup
Stay out of shave soap

Edit: forgot to add the post shave products

July 10, 2023 – Music Monday

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – Paganini’s Violin
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Barrbarr

Paganini is great – the story is fun and the soap is clean! This isn’t a scent that I would buy to stock in my den, but, if it was gifted to me and I had a set I wouldn’t be sad about it.

The thing is, I’m sure Paganini was great – he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for some skill. But, let me ask you, have you ever heard of Johnny? Because he defeated that same devil who gave Paganini his skill. So. Good luck against Johnny, ol’ Pags. Seriously though, Charlie Daniels is an absolute legend on those strings.

Overall, solid shave this morning. I don’t have any single scented splashes or frags to go with the simple Paganini’s, but, this scent to me feels very “barbershop adjacent” so I went with a build on the scent – Pags, BarrBarr, and GTB. Smells good in the end – the lemon kind of ties both the simplicity of the laundry-ish scent of Paganini and the smokier shop of GTB together. Overall a very winning combo.

I should have used a less HD brush as the amount I had left in my sample was very small, but, I just eeked out three passes with the B16 and it worked. Blackbird lite was as smooth as ever and of course, as for the whole games, my Georgetown GUTL Scuttle has been stellar.

My 7 year old is already a legitimately better artist than me, but, here’s how I would concept a new label for Paganini’s Violin – I’m sure Will is going to steal this so I’m already contacting a copyright lawyer.

July 11, 2023 – Summer Blues

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Cannonball!
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Cannonball!

Cannonball! has got to be the scent of summer, every summer. The fine folks at SBS totally nailed this scent and using it any time of year transports me right back to summer at the pool. It helps that when I purchased this last year I regularly used it before going to our local waterpark – I love tying scents to memories as much as I can control it, anyway.

Excellent shave this morning. I wish there was an EDP to go with this set, but, there is not. The suffering we endure, am I right?

As for the side challenge, I think my custom Dogwood matches this pretty dang well – no, they colors aren’t identical, but, hear me out; that handle is a cannonball into my kids’ three favorite colors and yellow, pink, and purple are a heck of a lot like blue and orange so if I were you, sir judge, I would count it – it may not be a perfect color match, but it is a perfect match of the heart.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Summer pool time fun
Cannonball pleases each one
Chlorine fruit and fun

July 12, 2023 – Coconut Hump Day

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – A Midnight Dreary
• Post Shave: Thayers – Lavender
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth – Beloved

This beauty of a scent was scent to me as a smush from u/OnionMiasma and I’m not sure why it’s not yet in my collection. It’s so good – such great depth without being overwhelming. A true masterpiece by Mr. Catie’s Bubbles.

The challenge for today messed this soap up for me, though. As a proud utilizer of the GUTL I can lather even the smallest sample of soaps like a dream. Unfortunately, in an effort to not even flirt with missing this challenge, I decided to hand load and face lather. That smush may look like a sufficient amount in my hand, and, it was – if I had a way to load it better. But, I didn’t – and so it fragmented and was awful. My lather was atrocious as a result. Thin, in short supply, barely effective. Ended up with 2 passes with the very forgiving 34c, so, no nicks or cuts to speak of but not my favorite shave of these games.

Paired this with Beloved because it felt adjacent, anyway. Something about the sweetness of the wooded honey offsetting the depth and darkness of Midnight Dreary and as I sit at my desk this morning they’re playing together quite nicely.

FOF Haiku of the day

A pairing of depth
One bright the other gloomy
Cooperation

July 13, 2023 – Patchouli Sucks

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Tallow + Steel – Shag
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

My intention was to take a quick shower, shave, write this up, and go to bed. It’s been a long day and I’m tired. But, well, Shag is absolutely awful so I had to switch some of those things around. My long day got longer as I was forced to shave and then shower like some kind of monster.

u/tsrblke ran a very generous PIF and smushed a bunch of this out last month to help those of us in need of a Patchouli scent. I had assumed he was just being kind. I now know that he’s just a wise man and wanted this forsaken soap out of his house and this was an easy way to do that while looking like the good guy. Well, sir, I’m onto you because what you sent to my house is nothing short of an abomination. Literally as bad as a turd covered in burnt hair - nothing like desire.

It lathered fine and my shave was smooth as efficient. I used a synthetic brush because there is NO WAY I want that stank on a badger, letalone a badger as nice as a B16 or V19. No, sir, that will not be happening.

So, shaved, should have held my breath, then showered and scrubbed that garbage off my face. Upon exiting the shower, I found my wife’s favorite scent – Island Man – and splashed that on me. No one should have to smell that horror, let alone the woman I love most. Island man is clean, delicious, and delightful – it could not be more opposite than Shag, thank goodness.

Anyway. I do appreciate the smush being sent and this is the beauty and pain that is the lather games – never would I have ever learned how bad something can be if it weren’t for this beautiful competition; and, well, that’s both a beautiful and painful reality.

I was considering something nice to play during this shave, but, I realized that the most appropriate song to go with this shave in particular would have to be I hate everything about you. I dedicate this to you, T+S Shag. You’re awful. And yes, I know this song is about being conflicted and hating everything about someone and yet loving them. To be clear, the only line that applies in this situation is “I hate everything about you.” But, it’s true. And, this song takes me back to high school and unlike many of you I look back fondly on those days. My life certainly didn’t peak in high school, but, I have some great memories with some great friends and music like this from the early 2000s really plays on the feels.

FOF Haiku of the day

Patchouli is nast’
Island Man puts up the mast
Antithetical

July 14, 2023 – Cry-ogen

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Chiseled Face – Cryogen
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Cryogen
• Post Shave: Stirling – Glacial Unscented Balm

I’m crying. I shaved 10 minutes ago and here I am, crying. I can’t stop it. It’s not sadness, or anger, or pain – it’s just – I’m crying. This unholy trinity comes on slow but strong. My oh my – I thought it was going to be fine. I saw the crystals and I know there’s so much menthol in here that if Ron adds another measure the soap falls apart. Still, I was so brazen I shaved with cold water. Foolish boy. Here I sit, menthol leaking from my pores, snot from my nose, and tears from my eyes. This stuff packs a punch.

As for the quality? Well – somehow the CF base is still among the easiest and quickest to lather, even when it’s loaded with all that menthol. Smooth shave, easy.

As for the challenge, well, I forgot. See – I was planning it all out, I got out of my cold shower, I was ready to boast about how the Blackbird Lite is undefeated in smoothness and it wasn’t an issue. Then, as I was building my lather, the last 1000 shaves came into play, my mind drifted to the fact that my daughter broke her arm tonight and I relived that, and wouldn’t you know it I finished a whole first pass before realizing what I had done. I did shave the second pass against the grain and the third across the grain, but, I don’t think that’ll net me any challenge points.

So, like the rest of my evening, this shave was quite discombobulated. What can you do, such is life, on and on.

FOF Haiku of the day

Menthol smells real clean Some hate it, but not this guy Will my wife? We’ll see.

I still don’t understand Haikus and these rarely have a lot to do with in depth details of the scent so I’m surely not going to win any FOF prizes, but, if I’m honest I’ve really enjoyed coming up with these 17 syllables every day.

User uses daughter's broken arm as excuse for missed challenge. (Dismissive gavel sound)

July 15, 2023 – War is a Chypre!

• Brush: Maggard Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – The Four Horsemen: War
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux – Admiral
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Admiral

Chypre is bar far one of my least favorite categories, so, I wasn’t that excited about this day being on the calendar. And, given that I am really trying this LG to not get a ton of smushes and not spend any money (read: use what you have) I knew that I would have to use that smush that u/zimora sent me as a funny prank several months back. My poor mailman was probably very confused as to why this little greeting card envelope smelled so bad, but, whatever. Here we are. Zim is a good guy and a good friend and his contribution to this lather games nets me, you know, a few more points towards my mediocre showing.

That said, War (which Will himself says is a Chypre, if you haven't heard) has been locked up in the envelope in a zip-loc for months – never to be smelled for fear of it’s terror. But here’s the thing – it’s not that bad. T+S Shag from Patchouli day was waaaaay worse. I’m sure the scent is stronger on the splash and I am sure my wife wouldn’t like it – hence pairing it with Admiral – but – it was bordering on something pleasant at points as I lathered it on. I did double scrub my face in my post-shave shower for fear of the abomination appearing in the middle of the night as my wife lay next to me, but, for those brief 6-8 minutes, it wasn’t that bad.

Admiral is amazing and does well to cover this up. I can still smell War underneath the Admiral, but, honestly they play pretty well together.

Overall my shave was pretty meh. I shaved before I showered so I could scrub off the stank so my face wasn’t soft and I nicked myself a few times, but, it’s fine. Par for the day kind of thing going on here.

I didn’t take a video, because, well – it’s been a long 24 hours and a rough day of kids’ attitudes and my own bad attitude as a parent so I needed to just shave and be done – War was enough of a stretch. But, I will say that Kevy Shaves is the GOAT. Something about his voice and presentation is just so relaxing. I hear Fitjar soap is not that great, but, ever since I saw him use it early on I’ve wanted to grab some. But, of course, nobody could compete with our own u/VisceralWatch who perfectly encapsulated the loss of thrill feeling earlier this summer that I’ve experienced for the past few months. I want it back, and maybe the impending trip to Mags will bring it back. I don’t know.

Anyway. Have a great night you fine people.

FOF Haiku of the Day

War is a chypre
It is really not that bad
Would not buy it though

July 16, 2023 – BarrBarrShop

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Noble Otter – Barrbarr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Barrbarr

Finally, a good shave.

A few hours ago my wife turned to me and said, “you gotta do something about that smell in the bathroom.” It’s been nearly 24 hours and the B&M War stank is still freaking there. I was foolish and thought it was semi-pleasant and would be fine. But it just literally never ends.

Thank goodness for BarrBarr, though – the GOATed Barbershop scent. My wife is much happier with how this smells.

BarrBarr is a fixture in my den and won’t be going anywhere – as such, I ditched GUTL tonight and went for a tub lather. You know, it’s not bad. In some ways it was easier. I’m not abandoning the Georgetown by any means, but, maybe for those soaps I know I’ll never sell I might add a little tub lathering here and there. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

I’ll give this shave a solid 10/10. Smooth, clean, the declaration was in perfect from today. Great load and lather, the works.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Lemon Zesty Dream
Clean Citrus Powder Heaven
Nothing touches this

July 17, 2023 – Admiral is goated

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Declaration Grooming B16
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (0)
• Lather: Declaration Grooming – Admiral
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux – Admiral
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Admiral

We’re leaving on a 12-13 day trip tomorrow so this post will be brief – still some last minute details to take care of!

There isn’t a better collab out there than Declaration and Chatillon doing Admiral. The only thing that could make this glorious trifecta better is if they would bring it back in Milksteak. It’s just that good.

Osma is luxury and while I’ve moved away from fully slathering it on my face after every shave because the painful feedback is not worth it, when I do get a little bleeding I’m very glad I have the Osma around. To avoid the terrible-ness that is that feedback, tonight I added it after my aftershave and that seemed to tone it down just a bit, which was a nice change.

Went with the Dogwood/Declaration B16 for another collab in this one and, as always, just excellent. I know it’s hotly debated, but, it’s hard to imagine something beating B16.

Anyway – that’s all for now, folks, have a great night!

FOF Haiku of the day

Admiral is best
wife loves that smokey river need that Milksteak tub

*July 18, 2023 – Spooky Season

• Brush: r/wetshaving Zentih MOAR BOAR 31mm
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts – Gravefruit II
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Sonder

Southern Witchcraft has some of the more deeply complex scents on the market and I’ve struggled to find something of theirs I really love. Gravefruit 2 is probably my top choice, but I’m not sure I could handle the richness of the scent for a whole day. Solid shave this morning – smooth and clean. Not a ton of stubble for the daily challenge because my shave yesterday was in the afternoon and my beard still grows about as slow as possible, but, hey – it’s something.

The worst thing about a slow growing beard is that it’s fast enough for there to be annoying itchy stubble every day or two, but it’s so slow that to attempt to grow it out would result in disaster.

Anyway – paired Gravefruit (“a highly-nuanced scent profile that is perfect for crisp Autumn weather”) with Sonder in a juxtaposition of citrus scents. They’re dancing nicely together on my face. Maybe that’s my struggle with SW scents – I prefer brighter notes to the darkness that is SW. They are well executed, I like Phteven and Courtney and all their work (Dogwood++), my nose is just sus. Grapefruit and Sandalwood explicitly link these two scents and I like it!

Anyway – driving the family to Michigan today. 7+ hours with 3 kids in tow should be… an adventure?

FOF Haiku of the day

Dark meets bright this fall
Sonder and Gravefruit pair up
Grapefruit, Sandalwood

July 19, 2023 – Running Sock Cream Day

• Brush: Darn Tough Running Sock
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Cremo – Original
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Mountain Man

First, just why? Second, I went for a 4 mile run (ok yes it was two 2 milers back to back, but I had to pee and the house we’re staying at in Michigan was the perfect stop). Gravel roads are some of the best to run on – so much easier on these knees. It’d also help if I lost another 20 pounds, but what’s the fun in that.

Anyway, I tell you this not because I’m flexing the run (just look at the time, it’s not worth flexing) – but to give you the back story of the sock I used to lather. 4 miles in some stinky running shoes before soaking, creaming, rubbing, soaking again, and finally settling for a not so bad first lathering. First pass went A-OK.

Then, the sock just ate my lather and I didn’t bring that much with so I couldn’t just keep loading the sock up. So pass two looked like this and by the end this was what I had for pass 3 which, needless to say, did not go well. I spared the photos because this is not r/wicked_edge, after all. We’re dignified over here, remember?

How am I supposed to explain one cream filled soaking wet sock to my wife when she does laundry tomorrow? I can’t tell her I rubbed that thing on my face, how humiliating.

Overall, the shave sucked. Big shock. I don’t generally enjoy shaving post workout because it leads to razor burn and now you Neanderthals thought it would be fun to make me lather with a sock. Just listen.

The scent on Cremo is fine. Cremo describes it as a citrusy smell and I guess I get that – it really just smells like the Cremo base with a little bit of citrusy lemon mixed in. I did sniff the Silver Water & Birch variety today and that was nice. Not $10 nice, but, nice. Mountain main will pair with about anything and it worked well here to cover up any sweaty sock stench, plus my wife likes it.

Anyway – the Merkur 34c performed well, I tried to learn from some earlier participants and use a nice, mild razor. I don’t know that it really helped such a dry shave experience, but, using a feather in a Blackbird would have been worse, I guess.

Anyway. Screw you, creator of this challenge, I hope you get awful sleep tonight (and nothing more because really it’s not that bad and I’m not a monster like you)!

FOF Haiku of the day

Sweaty Running sock
Citrusy cream spread thinly
Thankful no sweat stank

A well written and documented chronicle of the disgusting running sock.

A well written and documented chronicle of the disgusting running sock.

July 20, 2023 – Still better than canned

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. (Formerly Oleo Soapworks) – New City: Back of the Yards

This poor knot is a Fanchurian v19, widely regarded as one of the greatest off the shelf knots ever sold. Go back and click that link again and look what you made me do. Must I be punished for lathering well? Apparently, because this lather was stinking dry. A brush should not stay formed in that shape with any kind of decently moistened lather. Just look at this mess.

Two thoughts, though. One, when I first started out and watched some youtube shavers (honestly don’t remember who), I thought my lather should look like this – thick, sticky, under watered, and just generally crappy. Two, honestly this was still better than using canned cream or gel. Way better. Maybe that’s a testament to Oleo/Chicago (this is my first experience with Vida’s stuff – Mammoth notwithstanding) and maybe it’s an indication of just how awful canned cream really is. Probably a bit of both, really. The timing worked out well on Chicago Grooming Tribute day – a bit fortuitous there, I suppose.

Aside from a small nick on my chin this shave really wasn’t that bad. I enjoyed New City – the undertone of leather is not something I’d usually really want, but, this blended really nicely. I paired it with another dupe, my wife’s favorite: Island Man. These two scents have basically nothing in common, but as I sit here post shave I think I smell great. The deep richness of the Tom Ford plays really well with the lighter and more tropical Creed.

FOF Haiku of the day

Dupleganger day
Tributes or rip off you say
Either way, smells great

Edit: forgot markdown mode. fixed formatting.

July 21, 2023 – Fougere Friday

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Company – Seaforth! Heather
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Mountain Man

Heather is for sure my favorite “pure” fougere – it’s just clean and crisp and doesn’t overdo anything. Blugere is also excellent, but, that’s for berry day and as far as fougeres go, Heather is a better one, MOIMO.

Heather has nothing to do with the Sponsor Spotlight Heather - but, it works out that they share a name and while I have yet to keep a Zingari product in my den, Heather makes the best post shave balm (sego) in the game.

Got this smush from u/RedMosquitoMM a while back and the scent had faded a bit, but, by the third pass it seemed to be coming into its own as I continued to lather it and I again appreciated the subtlety of it. I almost purchased a tub and splash this morning – someday. Mountains have ferns and my wife likes Mountain Man so the pairing worked.

Overall the shave was a really solid end to a great family day. We’re in Michigan and have a few days here to just enjoy our time. We hit up Maggard this morning, then had a picnic at a park in Adrian, went mini-golfing with the kids for their first time ever, bought some local cherries, blueberries, and some vegetables, and then had a relaxing late afternoon into evening. What could have been a blah day at the house turned out to be a great family adventure.

I’ve written a Haiku every day this month as part of these games and I assume they have earned me virtually 0 additional points throughout because I still don’t understand what makes a good Haiku, but, I’m having fun with them. So, today, I’ll write two.

Challenge Haiku:
Maggard by morning
Mini golf by afternoon
Today, a great day

FOF Haiku of the Day

Heather beats them all
Clean, crisp, green, and quite nuanced
Catie takes the cake

July 22, 2023 – I will skip leg day, thanks.

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Blugere
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Tis the Season

Today I shaved my face, again, and only my face. Sorry people – it just wasn’t happening. It’s too big of a week in my family life to be dealing with the fallout of shaving my legs, pits, etc. – so, I’ll chalk this up as a family sacrifice (well worth it).

As face shaves go, this was a good one. Smooth, easy, smells great. Blugere is an amazing scent that hits all the right notes. The blueberry up front is delicious and as it dries down it just continues to get better – it’s like a nice rich blueberry with some woods mixed in. Love it. Tis the Season is the other most berry scent I have with Raspberry being the very front note and I, too, love this scent. I strategically used it last year to tie it to Christmas memories, so, that helps – but it’s a great scent. Every time I wear it my wife says I smell like cotton candy. I get more raspberry followed by a sweet musk, but, either way it’s a double winner around here.

v19 and BB Lite performed admirably as is to be expected.

FOF Haiku of the day (what, did you think these would stop just becuase everyone else did one yesterday?)

Blueberry bottom
Raspberry on top, I say
Berries making love

July 23, 2023 – Compliments?

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

I don’t think I’ve ever got a compliment about how I smell from someone other than my wife. I’m very much ok with that. So – what does she compliment me most on? Island Man, and it’s not close. If I wear this, I hear “you smell good” or “have you used this before, whatever it is it smells good” or something along those lines. It’s not an aggressive compliment, it’s not really personal, but, like many of your posts indicate – that’s about as good as it gets. And, hey – for somebody who is not remotely interested in wetshaving wares to even express that much, I guess I’ll take it.

Solid shave. Feel free to rate my lather but it’s tough to mess up in that Stirling travel bowl. V19 performed admirably, as always, and the Merkur was smooth. I did manage to shave off the top of a little bump on my neck and it bled for a long time, but, I spared you the pictures. Remember – we have dignity over here on r/wetshaving. This isn’t that other shaving forum.

Anyway – solid shave today overall and, per my wife, I smelled at least “good.”

FOF Haiku of the Day

Tropical Island
Dupe or not, I don’t care much
Island Man: banger

July 24, 2023 – Tribute Day

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Zingari – The Explorer
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux – Admiral

First off, thank you u/RedMosquitoMM for the Zingari Explorer Smush – you helped me get all the software sponsor points with your last minute package back in week one. I appreciate that you are not a champion who hoards his wares, rather, you’re a champion who makes everyone better. Cheers, sir.

But, my tribute post is not for Ol’ Red. No, he got a whole day of that earlier. My tribute is to our beloved u/jeffm54321. What can be said about Jeff? So much. He is as snarky as they come and is a master at his craft, often blurring the lines between kindness and savagery so well you’re left reading his post in both tears of pain and of appreciation. Is he a crusty boomer who has seen things or is he Gen Z and in desperate need of therapy? Who can tell? I don’t think I want to know, there’s beauty in the mystery. Jeff, keep on being you. Stir that pot. Make grown men and women, here to learn about shaving and have a little fun along the way, sit and ponder questions like: “does this guy hate me? does he hate himself? is he funny? is he rude?” Continue to use that keyboard like the scalpel it becomes in your hands. You, sir, are a legend. Never change.

As for my shave, well, it was great. Smooth and easy 3 pass. I don’t like Zingari Explorer as a scent too much, the dry down isn’t for me, but, Admiral and Sonder will cover it up nicely and today was not about liking a scent so much as it was about using something given to me.

FOF Haiku of the day

Explorer dry down
Smells like expired stinky soap
My wife agrees, too

u/jeffm54321 Haiku of the Day
Jeff is a machine
Witty, savage, kind, between
Love him as he is

July 25, 2023 – Lefty Loosey

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Noble Otter – Tis the Season
• Post Shave: Noble Otter – Tis the Season

Growing up my dad taught me a very important phrase that has helped me countless times as I have done house projects or whatever – “Righty tighty, lefty loosey.” My shave could be summarized today as “lefty loosey.” Everything about this shave was loose – I felt like the razor was going to slip from my hand, the head wiggled because I’m so left-handed uncoordinated, and the whole shave just felt loose. Right handed? Tight. Crisp. Easy. Left? Not so much. For the first time in a looooong time I actually cut myself. It’s so hard to do anything consistently lefty.

That said, decent shave, but, not a great first pass. I under watered the first lather so it was kind of grabby. Grabby and loose is not a good combination for a 6am shave. My smush was small but the motherlode can whip up even the smallest of smushes into something beautiful by pass 2 and 3.

Tis the season is a scent that immediately whisks me away to Christmas time and I’m not complaining. Christmas with kids brought the magic of the season back in a unique way and I’ve loved it – cold weather and all.

I didn’t shave with my CH – though I have a bunch of times in the last week – but Cheers, Rob, you make great stuff and I love supporting your business!

FOF Haiku of the Day

Sweet Christmas Berries Whisk me back to Christmas Morn’ Musk, Apples, Magic

July 26, 2023 – Avocado Spray

• Brush: Hand
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil Spray
• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux – Admiral

My intent was not to shave with anything weird today, I was going to use the sample of CB La Terre Verte I got, but, well, that’s not in the spirit of the games. We’re staying at my cousin’s house for this week and a half away from home and she is what my wife would call “crunchy.” Everything is natural, organic, essential oil cleaners, etc. Their home is also very decluttered and simple – I’m amazed at how little they have when they have adolescent boys. It’s been a bit inspiring, actually, and we’re going to make some changes at home. Not to be fully crunchy, but, simplify some stuff, declutter some stuff, etc. I digress.

She has a lot of different oils in the house and spray avocado oil seemed like a decent bet for a slick shave.

It was not. For an oil that lubricates pans, it did not lubricate my face. So tuggy. Not smooth. Not an unpleasant feel on the face or post shave, but, very unpleasant with a razor dragging across it. Full 3 passes, couple nicks. Hand lathered because, well, there was no use trying to lather this stuff – it was more like spreading a very wet cream.

As for the Den Tour, here it is. This is more shaving wares than your average person will own in a lifetime, but, it’s just what I stashed with on this long trip. When I realized that I did not take pictures or record my den before we left on the trip (last Tuesday, woof) I had hoped that by some chance this day would be one of the final 2 days when we are back home. Alas, here we are, so you – like me – get the putneycj travel den on this tour. Some samples, some smushes, some frags, 3 razors, and 2 brushes. It’s not much, but it’s an honest travel kit.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Avocado Spray
Guacamole it is not
Unscented is best

Edit: haiku formatting

July 27, 2023 – “you’re literally dog-water”

• Brush: Chisel and Hound v19 Fanchurian
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Feather (DE) (1)
• Lather: Declaration Grooming – Champs de Lavande
• Post Shave Stirling - Island Man

One time I was gaming and a kid, no more than 15 years old, told me I was dog-water. That was weird, but, it stuck with me.

Tonight, my shave was “literally dog water” – kind of. I found this dog bowl in the back yard at my cousin’s place so rather than the Stirling dog bowl, I used an actual slow feeder dog bowl. Side note, my cousin and her family are due back to the house we’re staying in this evening at like 11:30pm local time and I was a wee bit concerned as I knelt on their back patio wearing just my boxers that they would arrive home early. It would have made for an epic post, but, like – how do you even recover from seeing your cousin and her husband for the first time in years like that? Anyway.

I began by rinsing my face from the spicket, smushing my smush into the bottom of the dog bowl, taking a manly “I shave outdoors” tough guy pic, soaking my brush in icy cold water, and building that dog water lather. It turned out to be a great bowl with a built in mirror for lathering – just swirl that brush around in there and pick up that smush – but I did get some weird blue stuff on my hand in the process. Whatever – this is part of outdoor shaving, amiright?

Shave was smooth as can be with no real issues to speak of. The fresh feather was sharp and easy and L&L (Declaration) whipped up a perfect Lavender Scented Lather – this base is for sure my favorite Declaration line based I’ve used. I did get a little motion sick trying to use that built in mirror, but, if you don’t shave by feel once in a while then you’re not really living. I tried to just stick my head under the faucet but that wasn’t going to get it done, so I just rinsed off in the 90+ degree heat and that cold water sure was refreshing. A little kick of tropical bliss from Island Man rounded out an excellent shave. Overall I give shaving outdoors with ice cold water in the extreme heat a 10/10.

FOF Haiku of the Day

Lavender is bomb
Smooth, Creamy, Soft, and Gentle
Who wouldn’t enjoy?

Edit: Added Splash, oops.

July 28, 2023 – Cheapo day

• Brush: Summer Break Soap “Dundy” 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Gillette Tech Fat Handle (1938-1945)
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Dr. Selby – Lavender
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Island Man

Drove 300 some miles with kids in tow today back to the land of Chicago. We’ll finish the journey tomorrow morning, but, tonight’s shave – the final shave of this never ending trip – went about as well as a motel shave can. Dr. Selby with hard hotel water is not a match made in shave heaven, but it is the cheapest soap I have by far.

Dr Selby was given to me for free. See, I have a shaving Instagram with 151 followers so I’m a pretty big deal in this game. So, several months back, Big Soap sent me a free tub of this. At the time Maggard had just got it so I was excited because I considered buying it. All that excitement quickly washed away with use. The soap performs below average and smells like cheap motel soap. So, if you’re thinking of buying a tub, I wouldn’t. It’s green, though, so there’s that. Even if it wasn't free, this stuff is $14.99 for 125g of hard soap. On a price per gram that is the most inexpensive soap I own, but, given that it is a hard soap it is by far the cheapest soap I own on a per shave basis. I doubt I will ever run out of this, even if I give a bunch away.

I did shave with my cheapest razor and used a cheap sample of island man. And I used the cheapest brush I brought on this trip, but, if I’m honest I don’t deserve the challenge points. I’ve got cheaper stuff, I just left it at home.

Anyway, I won't waste more of your time with a long pointless post. I'm going to bed, instead.

FOF haiku of the day

Selby is cheap soap
Smells like a motel soap should
Would not buy again

July 29, 2023 – Sandalwood

• Brush: AP Shave Co Synthetic #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
• Blade: Feather (DE)
• Lather: Angora Soaps – Sandalwood
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Sonder

Fun Fact: When I first started in this endeavor to save money my first razor was an Edwin Jagger DE89 and my first “soap” was TOBS Sandalwood. I thought it smelled great, but, it burned the heck out of my face and I think I ended up throwing most of it out, honestly. I had a terribly inexpensive Omega Boar brush, too. Straightforward Sandalwood has never been my friend and this Angora wasn’t that different. It’s a soap (thrown in on a Black Friday deal) I’ve never used before in a scent that I steer clear of, but, it got me some theme points. Performance was underwhelming and by the back end of the 2nd pass I could feel the face burn start to kick in just a tad. It wasn’t overwhelming (nothing like Melange), but, it’s not exactly pleasant, either. Scent, ok not great – smelled like a very dry sandalwood which just wasn’t my favorite.

Paired it with Sonder and the underlying “creamy woody base” that is at least partly sandalwood and now I both smell and feel great.

The G5C got the job done and net me another brush hashtag. It’s not my favorite synthetic, I’ve come to appreciate much softer synths that aren’t trying to convince me they’re badger or whatever (they could not, anyway) – but – this whips up a solid lather and has much stronger fibers than the Motherlode that I have come to prefer.

Admittedly I have not read nearly as many posts this year as I would have liked, however, it’s been impossible not to notice u/OnionMiasma and u/Priusaurus and their relentless pursuit of victory. High effort post after high effort post, I’m sure the points that separate them at the top will be very small; it’s been a fun battle to watch and either would be a worthy champ – though I do think the edge goes to Onion.

Feats of Fragrance has to be u/RedMosquitoMM – I write Haikus but that dude gets into the real meat of what’s going on down in those little molecules. Mine are fun (for me), his are actually thoughtful and well done.

ROTY Feels like u/tsrblke to me – I would not know he was a rookie if it weren’t for the ROTY on his posts – really stepped up and having a great showing this first go.

Photo contest – well – no idea. I’ve barely looked at photos, I couldn’t even venture an educated guess. Shame, I know, I’m sure there are some great ones. My photo today (not in the contest) includes a picture of my own bathroom sink, finally. After a dozen shaves in these games away from home, it felt so good to shave in a familiar bathroom.

That said, here’s my Haiku:

FOF Haiku of the Day

Sandalwood was dry
Sonder softened, expanded
Creamy over dry

July 30, 2023 – World Traveler – Bon Voyage

• Brush: Simpson Badger Wee Scot #WEDONTNEEDNOSTINKINGBADGERS #SMOLL #RUNT
• Razor: Merkur 34C
• Blade: Feather (DE)
• Lather: Abbate y La Mantia – Crumiro

A world traveler I am not. I’ve been out of the US a few times – Mexico a couple times, Bolivia once, and the Bahamas on a cruise. So – not really well traveled. Today’s shave, though, is world traveled.

Crumiro hails from Italy. The Merkur 34c hails from Germany. The Feather is from Japan. The Wee Scot is from England (The Isle of Man)

Didn’t use a post-shave today because I don’t have anything that’s not from a US artisan. Not the greatest feeling to not use some sort of post shave, but, points are points and you gotta do what you gotta do at this point. The cool thing about the Wee Scot is that you can sample tub load and it’s really not bad. Then just paint that on over and over with some water until you have a usable lather. I wouldn’t use this brush every day, but, maybe on my world travels (see what I did there) I would take this along instead of a bigger brush. The Merkur is such an easy shave – really hard to mess it up, even with an ultra sharp brand new feather. Overall a very good shave.

Crumiro is such a good scent. Delicious warm vanilla spicy cookies. I think I said at last years games I would add this one to my list – it is true to the description and smells like fresh baked Italian cookies. I can’t vouch for the Italian portion, but, it nails the fresh cookie scent. The pricing on it, though, keeps me away. Someday maybe I’ll own a set, but, it’s not inexpensive by any means and while this would be a really great late fall and all winter scent it probably just isn’t in the cards.

These games have been fun, thank you judge(s) for all your hard work and for all you fine folks who were competing. Well done and I look forward to seeing you in AA and beyond!

FOF Haiku of the Day

Italian Cookies
Fresh, Warm, Vanilla and Spice
I’d eat a whole box

Bonus Haiku
The games are now done
Simple, complex, hijinks, bland
Fun was had by all