July 4, 2023 – Month of Lather Day 4
- Brush: DS Cosmetics Queen Red handle w/ DSC 24mm SHD G7 Synthetic knot
- Razor: Razorock Game Changer .68-P
- Blade: Gillette Platinum (2)
- Preshave: Proraso – Eucalyptus Oil and Menthol Cream
- Lather: Ariana & Evans – Siam
- Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Unscented Balm
- Fragrance: Jo Malone – Myrrh & Tonka EdC
- Music: Paul Hertzog - Streets Of Siam
Daily Theme: I'm a Wisconsin native (and proud Cheesehead) but have lived the last two decades in Southeast Asia. Being close to the equator, my work home (Singapore) doesn't experience seasons. Instead there are two periods (Rainy Period, and It's Too F-ing Hot Period). Between them (in early Spring to those in the Northern Hemisphere who actually experience seasons) orchids bloom. The scent of orchid is everywhere. Happily, the first scent I noted when I opened A&E Siam was orchid. A lemongrass note also jumped out (lemongrass is a popular ingredient in Asian food). Within the menagerie of other scents I noted another familiar scent but couldn't figure it out. My wife came to the rescue and informed me it was ilang-ilang. Ilang-ilang? What the heck is that? I asked. It turns out ilang-ilang is a tree native to my wife's home country (Philippines) that flowers in the spring. Wikipedia informs me that Ilang-ilang is Tagalog (a Philippine language) for ylang-ylang, and an essential oil with a strong floral fragrance is extracted from its flowers. A&E Siam may not be the quid essential spring scent to many, but where I reside it is as spring as it gets.
Daily Challenge: I'm a Precision Loading convert and like everything else in my shaving process, I live by the science. I start by caressing (yes that is the appropriate scientific term) exactly 1.50 grams of soap into the lather building receptacle. I apply 1.50 ml of lubricant to my lather building tool and start agitating the soap-coated receptacle with my tool. After exactly 69 seconds the tool begins to dry and more lubrication is required. Another 1.5 ml of lubricant is applied and another 69 seconds of agitation ensues. This lub-agitate cycle is repeated until achieving lathering ecstasy. The shaving part is a bunch of non-scientific mumble-jumble you can learn about by watching YouTube videos. I gotta go. I need a cigarette....
The Shave: Today was the best shave so far during the Month of Lather. All props go to A&E with their VR1 base used in Siam. When transitioning from bowl to face lathering I accidently added too much water to the brush, but instead of the lather turning to a watery mess it became creamy and super slick. An effortless two-pass BBS was the result. Scent familiarity aside, I enjoyed the collective fragrance of Siam and will add to my SAD list. #ROTY