u/souleater7173's SOTDs for challenge 'SOTD photo scavenger hunt 2024'

June 1, 2024

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 26mm G5C #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Rolls Razor #FOREVERSAFETY
• Blade: Rolls Razor
• Lather: AA Shaving – Moonlight
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavanille
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Indigo

Lather games, so let's start with the lather. I'm using a smush generously provided by u/archsoup. I got good performance with this, even though it exploded in the envelope and was probably half of what I'd normally scoop out for a bowl lather. It was thick, surprisingly low cushion, and very high on residual slickness.

I decided to pair the moonshine theming of this soap with an elegant night out at the speakeasy. Lavanille is pure luxury, constantly making me think I should be out on the town while wearing it, and Indigo is the inside of a speakeasy with blueberries. Love it.

Now, the elephant. To meet today's special challenge I'm using the only style of razor on the list that I've never tried before. This razor fucking sucks. I think I ripped more hairs out of my face than I cut off. If this soap was any less slick I would definitely be soaked in blood right now.

Today's photo brought to you by trash. I've been called crazy for not throwing away these boxes and smush envelopes in a timely manner, but today it pays off. I really just wanted to show off that the smush exploded in the envelope and thought trash was a fun way to do that. Also the trash is where this razor belongs. #photocontest

June 2, 2024 - It's a wet one folks

• Brush: Zenith 31mm MOAR BOAR #SUBBROOSH #OLDWORLD
• Razor: Blackland Razors Vector Lite #CNC
• Blade: Schick Proline
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Bay Rum
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Bay Rum

It was a scorcher here today, and I couldn't think of a way to make any of my frags work, so we're doing a no frag late night cold water shave. I really like Barrister and Mann's Bay Rum, so that's how we're hitting the theme today. I took this lather extra drippy and got a fantastic shave with the Vector's Lite plate. It has definitely replaced the regular plate as my go-to razor.

To honor u/priusaurus I did my best to be the nicest most helpful person to everyone I saw out and about today. He's always so helpful in discord or on here if you have a question that he can answer, and he was super generous with smushes this year. I'm not using one today, but I have one lined up for later in the games. People like him are the reason our sub is as fun and welcoming as it is.

Photo theme for today is The Elements: Water. #photocontest

June 3, 2024 - The birds are watching

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Declaration Grooming B10 #FRANKENBRUSH #SHD
• Razor: EldrormR Industries Two-Toned MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - Rougere
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co. - Rougere
• Post Shave: Osma Alum
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Rose Santal

This is the darkwing re-release of Rougere, so we're in duck fat heaven to be on theme. Splash connected by way of "it's literally the same thing" and frag connected by the rose note. I really love Rose Santal, it's one of my favorites, but I want a Rougere frag so bad.

This shave was great. Darkwing always delivers with the super slick lathers, and this gave me one of the better GEM shaves I've had to date. I normally only pull out the Osma if I get a shave with tons of weepers. That wasn't today, but I used it anyways just for y'all. The things we do for each other.

Photo theme today is Animal (not alive). My late grandfather used to spend his retirement making wooden birds, and this is one of them. It watches me shave every day and keeps an eye on my brush collection. #photocontest

June 4, 2024 - Primary

• Brush: Maggard Razors 30mm Black and White Synthetic #TOLL
• Razor: Henkotsu Kamisori #KAMISORI #STR8SNOB
• Lather: Eleven Shaving - Blue Spruce
• Splash: House of Mammoth - Sonder
• Fragrance: Abbate y La Mantia - Isacco

I bought Blue Spruce specifically for one note soap day, and I'm really glad I did. The scent is so pure, and extremely representative of the trees it's trying to capture. The lather was good. I wish it was slicker, but it has lots of cushion and lathered really easily.

Now you might be wondering what any of these scents have to do with each other. Well, it's a good thing I'm not doing feats of fragrance because I don't think there's anything. What they do have is a connection through branding and artwork. They are each labelled in one of the primary colors. Blue Spruce is blue, Sonder is yellow, and Isacco is red. So boom: relevant soap, post shave, and frag.

The discontinued base I miss the most is Softheart. I bought a tub of Figarose in Softheart a couple months ago and that instantly became my favorite tub of soap, I wish I could buy three more tubs. My current favorite soap base is a tie between Darkwing and CBubs Premium. It's pretty much impossible to mess up either of these when lathering. Premium is the slickest soap I've got, and Darkwing is the king of face feel post shave. I've had more Darkwing shaves without any alcohol splash feedback than I have fingers. This stuff is legit. If you force me to pick I'll pick Darkwing, almost entirely because it lets me use Rougere.

Today's photo theme is Fill the Frame. Please judge the photo linked in the title. #photocontest

The following images and links are justification for the scavenger hunt hashtags. Product listing for the brush to show 60mm loft. Image One showing that the razor is 7/8 at it's widest. Image Two showing my DublDuck, which is a round point, and the Henkotsu, to show that the Henkotsu is not a round point.

June 5, 2024 - Cactus

• Brush: Simpson 13mm Wee Scot #SMOLL #RUNT
• Razor: Schick Injector Type I #STAINLESSLESS
• Blade: Eversharp Schick Injector Blades
• Lather: Barbasol Soothing Aloe
• Post Shave: Noble Otter Rawr
• Fragrance: AXE Fine Fragrance Collection Black Vanilla

First up, Barbasol is definitely canned goop. Calendar theme check. Second, my entire software line up for today's shave was purchased at a grocery store, so relevance check. Now for the fun stuff.

The two biggest problems with goop, in my eyes, are that it dries out my face like crazy and that it's really sticky. It tries to make up for both of these things by being very very very cushion-y, but in the end I don't think that really makes up for the dry and sticky. So, in order to reverse lather, since I'm normally a face lather guy, I dumped it in a bowl and started adding water. I worked in water very, very slowly until it was somewhere between stiff peaks and dripping, but closer to stiff peaks. In total I probably added, max, 30-40 drops of water, trying really hard not to overwork it so that it all evaporated. And, y'all, I'm incredibly annoyed to say that it actually kind of worked.

I got a good shave. It wasn't the slickest, but it was MUCH better than normal goop. My face was still dry, but it was a little better than normal goop. It was still decently cushioned too. If you've got any goop defenders in your life, have them try this and you might get them to start seeing the benefits that soaps can get them with more hydration.

All that said, I'm glad I have access to grocery store NO to fix the dry face problem by using what is still my number one alcohol based splash. The fragrance today was a gift from one of my students. I've talked about my soap and frag collection in an effort to seem like a normal human being (it didn't work), before, and they got me this as a joke because of the times where I've complained about the hallways all smelling like Axe. Now I just need to throw away the can so that I can use something else for Frugal Friday.

Today's photo contest theme is cactus. I have the aloe scented barbasol so I put all my stuff in an aloe plant and took a picture. Easy. #photocontest

June 6, 2024 - At least they didn't call it sweet tea.

• Brush: AP Shave Co. AP 400XL Brass /w 30mm SynBad #RESURRECTIONBRUSH
• Razor: Weck Sextoblade #WECKONISTA
• Blade: Kismet Hair Shaper
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Iced Tea
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Cheshire
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Saint Julep

The soap is inspired by a drink (even if it's a lesser form of the drink, more on that shortly). The balm and frag are both also drinks, so there's our relevant linkage for the day. Now for the shave.

I've been one to malign the performance of this soap base in the past. In the past it has given me less than stellar shaves, with minimal slickness, not much cushion, and a really dry feel post shave. I don't know what the hell I did differently today, but today's lather was spectacular. Perfectly slick, tons of residual for when I stupidly go back over a spot, still not the most cushion but the slickness makes up for it. I still felt a little dried out after the shave, but nothing the balm couldn't fix. Cheshire as always was phenomenal, and I really love the smell of Saint Julep, even if it only lasts for like 2 hours.

My complaint with this soap, especially now that I apparently understand how to lather it, is actually its name. As a certified southern boy if I showed this to my neighbor and said "this is supposed to smell like iced tea" I'm pretty sure they'd die laughing. Way too much citrus, not enough sugar. The saving is grace is that it's not called Sweet Tea. If it was this scent and called Sweet Tea I think I'd have to throw hands. Gimme that good old fashioned sugar water that tastes like tea please.

For today's daily challenge I am going to pass on the video. I really need to retain at least some plausible deniability for real life me not being attached to this account in case it gets found by one of my students. So, in lieu of a video, I'm going to talk about my favorite wet-tuber, /u/mrtangerinesky . You can find his channel here. Now a lot of you might think this is a weird pick, considering his channel is entirely in Bulgarian and I do not speak Bulgarian. However, he more than makes up for that with super calm videos, a large variety of hardware and software to help me build the fomo urges, and good enough video quality that I can see what good lathers look like in soap bases I haven't tried yet. I always watch every video he posts all the way through. A good video is a good video, even if I don't understand the words. He's better than /u/VisceralWatch because I say so.

Today's photo theme is Black and White. I've started carrying my SotD around with me in a bag while out running errands looking for some of the harder to get themes. No luck today so going with another theme I can do at home. I'm actually pretty happy with this picture. #photocontest

June 7, 2024 - Onions I guess?

• Brush: Zenith 28mm B36 Copper Scrubby #HOLLOW
• Razor: Blackland Razors Vector (OC)
• Blade: Schick Proline
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - 322
• Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - 322
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Bull's Blood

To satisfy the theme we're going with 322 and some nonsense levels of vetiver. The splash is self-explanatory. I'm using this frag because it is by far the most challenging scent I've tried. It pairs nicely with the challenging scent I've tried to shave with.

Premium is one of the best bases out there for sure. Amazingly slick, which is great because for the daily challenge I decided to do a head shave, ATG one pass only. Vector is still the best head shaving razor I own, and am glad I have the OC plate for this challenge.

Today's photo theme is Onion. Because a challenging setup needs a challenging vegetable (I guess?). Trying to get the onion to stay on the brush was a fun challenge as well. #photocontest

June 8, 2024 - Back to First Principles

• Brush: Maggard 30mm Black and White Synthetic
• Razor: Henson Shaving AL13 Mild
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: Maggard Razors - London Barbershop
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Seville
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Weinstrasse

This entire shave is the majority of my very first ever Maggard Razors order. I bought all of this, plus the corresponding soap for Seville and a set of Cheshire, completely sight unseen as my first ever foray into wetshaving, so there was at least a little cohesive thought put into choosing these items.

Shave went well. The soap base that Maggard uses I would describe as fine. It was slick enough for three passes and I didn't need to overload for this way too big brush. Seville pairs with everything barbershop, and Weinstrasse was great for a nice walk outside after the heat finally died down.

I don't keep receipts, so I don't have an exact price, but that very first Maggard order was definitely north of $200. It was this Henson razor, two brushes, two sets of soap/splash from B&M, around 15 samples (counting soaps and splashes), this bottle of Weinstrasse, and like 10 different tucks of blades. I don't recommend anybody else do this for the hardware. I don't really use any of this stuff anymore. The Henson is draggy and was very quickly replaced with a nicer razor, and the brushes both see very little use in the face of "nicer" synthetics that I have collected since buying them. I do recommend that new shavers go to Maggard and order a truckload of soap samples. I'm still working through that bucket, and adding more to it, almost three years later.

Photo contest theme today is Money. Fitting for the daily challenge. I liked the thought of this shave being presided over by some "friends," thus the photo only including the faces from the money. I really cherish all the memories, friends, and acquaintances I've made through this hobby, and this was a fun way to evoke that metaphor. #photocontest

June 9, 2024 - A tale as old as time

• Brush: Chisel and Hound LG Brush Synth
• Razor: Karve CB (SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Noble Otter - Barrbarr
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Barrbarr
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Barrbarr

Had to rep the otter for barbershop day. Can't really split this and Seville into a 1 and 2 for barbershop scents for my taste. They're so different, yet so evocative of the same imagery. Relevant post shave and frag by way of a trickhole.

Great shave today, these Wizamets have almost immediately become my favorite blade for this razor, they're so smooth it's crazy. The otter always gives a great lather, and I have yet to find somebody to topple them from the alcohol splash throne.

I got a simply phenomenal 10/32 on the quiz today. I've always sucked at the latherbot game in the discord, that suckage appears to have translated. Kudos to anyone who did well.

Photo contest theme is Time. it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense with this soap, but, personally, this is one of the first sets I ever bought. So every time I use it I get to reminisce about the past. #photocontest

Congratulations, you've been entered into the "Best Shot" photography contest.

Judge comment: unlike the use of dark undertones and the understated clock. Time is slipping away throughout our rich lives as displayed by the simplest of mechanisms"

June 10, 2024 - Animalia

• Brush: Chisel and Hound 26mm V20
• Razor: Dubl Duck Goldedge
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Civet
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Cerberus
• Fragrance: Zoologist - Civet

This soap showed up just in time to use it for this theme. It's a collaboration between Chiseled Face (who made the soap) and Zoologist (who made the scent). The frag today matches the lather cementing the collaboration, and the post shave is another animalic collaboration software that paired quite nicely with Civet.

In traditional Chiseled Face fashion, this soap explodes on the lather. It needs like zero water to give a super voluminous, cushiony lather that is a joy to shave with. In the past I've struggled with slickness from this brand, but I really wanted to continue the animal theme with the Dubl Duck, so I had to hydrate it quite a bit. Happy to report it was plenty slick for the shave, but still leaves a little to be desired from the post shave feel. The otter more than makes up for that. Got a fantastic shave today, easily one of my best with a straight. There's still one trouble spot that I can feel isn't quite done all the way, but nobody would ever notice looking at me. Working on the skin stretching has been the key to steadily improving with this razor.

It's really incredible how evocative some of these Zoologist frags are. Civet continues to make me super antsy and energetic. It honestly makes me feel like I have to hyper focus on what's happening around me and that I can't afford to miss out on anything. It gives you a drive that you can't afford to ignore, very fun scent to wear.

Let's put that feeling into overdrive with some Rancid. Here is Olympia, WA off the album ... and out come the wolves. I thought the forward drive of this song was very fitting for the way that Civet makes me feel.

Today's photo contest theme is Wood. This is a little baby Arabica plant that I've got growing in a pot until I can transplant it into something bigger. Was very fitting to pair this plant with Civet when Luwak coffee is essentially just a civet pooping out coffee beans that we then roast and then brew. #photocontest

June 11, 2024 - Magnolias in the dirt

• Brush: AP Shave Co AP400XL 30mm SynBad
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Noble Otter - Lonestar
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Lonestar
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Lonestar

My favorite part of spring, living down here, is walking the dog and just being absolutely assaulted by the scent of Magnolia flowers. Lonestar nails the experience of the outdoors down here absolutely perfectly, balancing the magnolia with sage, hay, and other grassy notes. Post-shaves are relevant by trickhole.

I don't really know how much more praise I can give the otter before somebody starts saying I'm a paid shill. Top tier soap, best splash bar none. I guess you could complain that the fragrances don't really evolve much throughout the day. However, I'm not going to do that because Lonestar is the best scent in wetshaving. I stand by that claim.

Today's daily challenge tied in nicely with the photo contest. I went with the theme of The Elements: Earth. Lonestar is colored like the clay dirt down here in Texas, but unfortunately I don't have that. What I do have is this big rock that matches that same kind of bronze-y color. We're coordinating that reddish-orange bronze color through the packaging of the software, and the choice of brass hardware. It's just a nice coincidence that the SynBad knot also has the kind of bronze-y fibers. I picked this specific rock because of it having that defined split between light and dark, and then tried my best to line up the software containers along the line in reverse color. I really like this picture. #photocontest

June 12, 2024 - I'll show you mine since you showed me yours

• Brush: Prometheus Handcrafts w/ 26mm Oumo Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Razors Vector (Lite)
• Blade: Schick Proline
• Lather: Proraso - Green Tea and Oat Sensitive Skin Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Two Kings
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Soft Lawn

This is one of the first lather products I ever bought, back when I started shaving my head. I almost immediately swapped it to soaps, but it worked ok today. Post Shave and frag are on theme for being fresh, clean, inoffensive scents to pair with the Proraso Green Tea scent. I really enjoyed smelling fresh and floral all day.

Shave went well. Got a good lather after really working the cream. This was the perfect brush for it. Started with way too much water so I had to really work the brush on my face to work out all the air bubbles. Anything stiffer and I definitely would've gotten some brush burn.

Den tour. Starting with most of the brushes, going to a lot of the splashes these really need some damn labels, next up is pic one and pic 2 of some generic storage, then you have the unofficial storage called the sink, and lastly the treasure trove of soaps. I hope you all enjoyed this foray into my great shame. In real talk, the vast majority of the hardware I own was purchased from you fantastic people, and I really appreciate how the community enables each other to try new things.

Today's photo contest theme is Hobbies. Please judge the photo in the title. My other big hobby is collecting slide rules. The one in the image is a pocket rule made by Pickett model number N600-ES. Astronauts on the original Apollo missions were kitted out with a model very very similar to this one so that they could double check rough calculations on the fly. I have talked before (and will again these Lather Games) about coaching the Calculator contest for the school where I teach, well a huge fun fact is that, for a very, very long time, Texas hosted a Slide Rule contest. Students would compete to do calculations as quickly and accurately as possible for nerd fame and glory. While I have plenty of Slide Rules that are just collectors items, I also have a whole set of plastic ones (like this), that I keep at school and use to host my own version of the defunct Texas contest with my students. The reward is still just nerd fame and glory, but at a smaller scale. #photocontest

June 13, 2024 - Two Sads One Happy

• Brush: Bundubeard Black Kudu 30mm Silvertip
• Razor: Harry's Razors Green Handle #RAINBOW
• Blade: Harry's Razors 5 Blade Cartridge
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Trismegistus
• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Trismegistus
• Fragrance: Hermes - Terre d'Hermes

This was one of the first dupes I bought that I didn't know was a dupe. Post shave is relevant by being the same scent, frag is relevant by being the scent that this shaving software is trying to dupe. They definitely have the same heart, but the frag has a lot more liveliness to it than the soap. That said I really like the scent of the soap, so it's going to stick around a long time.

The first thing I am sad about, this shave went well. Kind of like the canned goop shave, I can't help but feel there's at least some merit to the modern cartridge razors. They're completely brain dead, and if you get a slick enough lather (which milksteak always does), it's really hard to have a bad shave. However, you can absolutely hate that the cartridges are SEVENTEEN FUCKING DOLLARS for an 8 pack. That's obscene.

The second sad is my photo contest picture. Today we're going for the theme DIY. This is absolutely a theme grab for me. This picture sucks, but at least it's on theme. You can find the photo linked in the title. #photocontest

The happy is my attempt at the Trismegistus label. I'm pretty happy with this came out. Was using a stock notes app on my iPad and an apple pencil. Missing some of the finer details of the coloring around the edges of the label, but I'm really happy with the buffalo head in the middle.

Lastly, to justify the rainbow tag: the razor is green. Please don't make me go find one of those blue and orange gillette carts and do this again. I don't know that I could handle it mentally.

June 14, 2024 - a bucket for my tears

• Brush: AP Shave Co 26mm G5C
• Razor: Karve CB (SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Arctique
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Arctique
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Seville

This shave was so cold I'm surprised the tears didn't freeze on my face. I swear this stuff gets colder every year. The splash was especially diabolical today. This splash on EdC is also mentholated, so I've got cooling in all parts of the shave.

I really don't remember Arctique being this bad. I legit had to stop after two passes because I just couldn't keep going today. The peppermint smell also really messed with my head today. First ever headache from this soap, but I'm blaming this one on the lack of sleep and not on the soap. Seville really helped mellow things out, the citrus played real nice with all the mint and helped extend the cooling past just my face.

I tied today's photo contest theme (a bucket) and the daily challenge together. My stack lives on a bucket. A bit of a cowardly stack, I really don't trust the curved bottoms of the splash bottles, but it is a stack nonetheless. #photocontest

June 15, 2024 - yarr harr is that a shitty photo I see?

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Declaration Grooming B10
• Razor: Blackland Razors Vector (Lite)
• Blade: Schick Proline
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Sonder
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Spice
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Sundrunk

This is the tub I used for Austere August last year, and I would say it has about a third left to it. I don't really understand how I did that using the MOAR BOAR for an entire month, unless I'm chronically underloading. I think I'm chronically underloading. It is by far my tub closest to dead. Post shave is relevant because it is my splash that is the closest to dead. There's like a couple millimeters of splash left at the bottle and every time I think I've killed it I didn't. JUST DIE ALREADY. Sundrunk is here to bridge the scents. The orange zest really helps tie the old spice dupe with the lemon in Sonder, while the rhubarb helps get into the unique florals in the scent.

Today's shave sucked. Y'all are jerks for making me do pasty ass lather with a good soap. I should not have used the lite plate for the vector. It clogged too fast, and was way too sticky to be effective.

Photo contest theme is Pirates. I'm in the middle of putting together some shipments from my bst post on the discord, and the pirate ship logo was screaming at me to go with pirates today. So here it is. This photo sucks a lot. The light coming from the background is super overwhelming the already weak light coming from the rest of the room and it just looks bad, but it's on theme. #photocontest

This entire photo is very funny to me and isn't a real candidate for best shot, but I'm making it one in part because it's self-professed as shitty.

June 16, 2024 - call me pagliacci

• Brush: Maggard Razors 30mm Black and White Synthetic
• Razor: Henkotsu Kamisori (traditional right hand grind)
• Lather: Mauer and Wirtz - Tabac
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co. - AG 1889
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Yesterday Haze

I am 32 years old, and yet somehow I let you people convince me to be your on demand clown, catering to your every shaving whim. Well, I hope you're happy with what I have for you today, because I am actually quite happy with how this turned out.

This tub of Tabac is relatively new to me, this is only my third or fourth time using it. This stuff lathers so easily. The lather is incredibly consistent. It's very slick, and that comes with plenty of residual slickness. It's not really the most cushion-y in the world, but that is ok in my book considering how slick this stuff is. The scent is growing on me. It definitely smells like an old folks home, but I'm ok with that considering how good the shave is.

I paired it with AG 1889, because the last time I wore that splash to work a student asked why my classroom smelled like her retired dad's office. Old goes with old. Yesterday Haze rounds out the scent profile, bringing some much needed freshness with still just a little bit of that dank fruitiness that makes you wonder if you spent all of yesterday picking fruit. Everything here calls out the old in some way.

Now. The clown in the room. Me. I shaved my legs because the king just couldn't get enough of having me jump around like his little puppet catering to his every whim and fancy. And yes, you are reading that correctly: I used my kamisori to do it. It actually worked really, really well. (None of the following images contain blood or nsfw content, just legs.)

I started with these, the standard hairy, white guy legs. Then got started with the kami. You know that feeling when you finally use a tool the way it was intended? That's exactly how I felt this entire shave. I'm not saying that the kamisori is intended to shave legs, but the whole point of this style of razor is to shave other people. When I've used it to shave my own face it's incredibly awkward. I can't get the skin taut enough, the angles are bad, it skips around instead of cutting. There was none of that here. Every angle was perfect (even the backs of my knees); keeping the skin taut was a breeze so the razor glides absolutely perfectly (no tugging, skipping, or jumping here); and there was never that feeling of "man, I wish I was using something else to do this" like I get every other time I've shaved my legs. Here are the results of the left leg, and here are the results of the right leg. Did I miss a few spots? Sure. Do I feel like I never want to do this again (like I bemoaned last year)? No. This shave actually makes me want to try this again. This was a good experience, and it makes me so mad that I had to be y'all's dancing clown to get that.

Photo contest picture is linked in the title. Theme is The Elements: Air. There is both Air in the picture, and so much more air around my legs now that there is no hair. I'm taking the easy option here. Sue me. #photocontest

Video Evidence, it's like 20 seconds, of the straight leg shave. Please disregard the heavy breathing.

June 17, 2024 - tobacco et donuts

• Brush: Simpson Wee Scot
• Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom Tech
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Roam Two
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Valedictorian
• Fragrance: Abbate y La Mantia - Garibaldi

Breaking out the sample of Roam Two in the new vegan omnibus for this shave. I really get the tobacco out of the scent, so we're pairing it with Valedictorian and Garibaldi (two very tobacco forward scents).

I don't know why I chose to use the Wee Scot for this shave, but it worked. Here's some proof of the knee lather. It was able to make just enough lather for two passes and not one bit more. The new vegan formulation of Omnibus is absolutely legit. It's right up there with the other top tier vegan bases for sure. Super duper slick. Seems just as water hungry as regular Omnibus too. The scent on Roam is starting to grow on me, but today was really just a fantastic coincidence/excuse to break out Garibaldi. This scent is so good.

Photo contest theme today is Donuts. This dozen donuts did not last very long, I'm glad I had help to eat them today. #photocontest

June 18, 2024 - what's a little crack between friends

• Brush: Zenith Copper Scrubby 28mm B36
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (Brass, SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Australian Private Reserve - Coeur de Vert
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Teacher's Pet
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Lavender, Interrupted

What's up guys, today we're trying something new. I've never ever used a pre-shave. Here on W_E, we like to embody the spirit of going big and going bold in everything we do, so for today's pre-shave I decided to melt down some of my soap and apply it to my face in wax form to really get my skin prepped to lather with this scrubby brush. Step one, take about 1/4 of your smush and put it in a plastic spoon (plastic is important, it tells you if you're getting the soap too hot). Step two, grab your handy lighter and melt down some the soap. Step three, allow to cool slightly, then massage into your skin. Step four, bowl lather as normal. Gotta say, I'm unimpressed with the results. Other than the 1^st degree burns, this form of preshave in no way enhanced my shave. The soap was still amazingly slick, and provided plenty of cushion for the blade after sloughing off the burnt skin with this super scrubby brush. I recommend everyone give this a shot at least once. Thank you for reading my shave of the day, and I hope everything learned a little something about warm pre-shaves.

In all seriousness, I didn't do this. This idea seems far fetched even for the Wicked Edge of old. That sub has come a long way from the days of blood and gore in every post, and now contains some seriously informative content in more cases than not (I just wish I could find any of it behind all the random one-off posts).

I want to give a huge shout-out to /u/oswald_heist for this smush of APR Coeur de Vert. I really, really liked this soap base even though the scent turned out to not be my thing. A second huge shout-out to /u/JoboozeRum for lending me this Karve CB. I decided to use the plate I already have on the aluminum to get started testing it out.

For theme and relevancy sake: APR is defunct. I paired it with SBS Teacher's Pet because that scent is no longer produced (please bring it back), and I felt like the darker apple scent provided a good bridge to the frag. I chose Lavender, Interrupted as the frag to really dirty up the fresh, green Mousse de Saxe lingering from the lather. These paired together much better than I could've hoped.

Photo Contest theme is The Elements: Fire. I had a dumb idea of putting the spoon I scooped the smush out of the paper with over a lighter to really evoke the crack imagery we tend to joke about with some of these unobtanium soaps. I think it worked. #photocontest.

June 19, 2024 - the grass is always greener

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ Declaration Grooming B10
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Bell Ringer
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Bell Ringer
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. - Montrose Beach

SBS is based in Nebraska, which was a Union territory at the time of the Civil War. So theme met. We're going matching set on the aftershave and topping it all off with a couple dabs of Montrose Beach to really round out the summer-y shave for the day.

Bell Ringer is easily one of the best scents in my collection. Everyone constantly talks about how great the base is. But for the life of me I just cannot get it to work. Even if the lather looks superb it is always not slick enough, or I've just added too much water and it all falls apart. After some diagnosing in the discord, the conclusion seems to be that my hard water is causing the problems. So after the lather games I'm looking forward to trying this soap again with some distilled water to see if that helps.

This is day two of me getting to try out the brass Karve CB, and I'm really enjoying the heft so far. I'm still using a blade gap that I already own in aluminum while I get used to the weight, but I'm looking forward to jumping up in the next day or two.

Photo Contest theme for today is Grass. I've taken every picture so far this month, including this one, spur of the moment immediately before or after shaving. I think I'm finally out of themes I can do that with. So the real adventure begins tomorrow. Wish me luck. #photocontest

June 20, 2024 - am i doing this right

• Brush: Chisel and Hound Lather Games Synthetic
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-C)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving - Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving - Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime
• Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving - Seaforth! Sea Spice Lime

This stuff is as citrus-y and summer-y as citrus and summer get. You want lime? This has lime for days. Relevance by trickhole.

Day two of trying out this brass CB, and I'm already convinced I need to upgrade to one of these heavier metals. The difference in thought required to not use pressure is night and day, and it's way easier with the heavier razor. Tomorrow I'm going to start trying out the larger gaps.

Today I shaved outside. I spent this entire shave wandering around my yard because if I stop moving for one second I get attacked by mosquitos. But moving around means having to dodge dog poop. So this shave was performed while hiking around my yard, staring down at the ground instead of my face, and while having the life force sucked out of me by parasites. Why do we go outside again?

Through all of that nonsense, the Highland base performed amazing as always. Super slick, great post shave face feel, great cushion. There's nothing left to say about the scent in Sea Sp/Ice Lime that hasn't already been said. It's fucking phenomenal. If I had to dump my entire shave den except one soap this is probably the scent I would keep (but I would buy a tub of SSL in highland first).

Today's photo contest theme is Bokeh Balls. Please judge the photo in the title. I don't know if I did this right. The youtube tutorial I watched was about getting the camera to focus on something close to it while the lights are far away (or vice versa), and that's pretty hard with a fixed focus iPhone camera. But this is my best attempt. It looks like it worked to me. There's going to be somebody with a real camera who does this theme the justice it deserves and then some. I'm just here to learn new things. #photocontest

June 21, 2024 - today is for the birds, but i'm inside sticking plastic together

• Brush: AP Shave Co 26mm G5C
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-D)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Varen
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Fougere Classique

Both of these scents are fougere's so we're on theme and relevant. No frag today because everything I have would be a really, really bullshit stretch argument and I don't feel like making a judge read that.

Got a great lather out of Varen today, probably could've gone for a tad more water, but it was plenty slick and drippy. Fougere Classique is a personal favorite scent. This is one of the few splashes I have a backup bottle of.

A limerick for /u/Enndeegee:

Last year I tortured you with coffee milk tea
This year you get off scot free
I went to the tea shop
to get my usual cup
but they only had Earl Grey for me

You lucky bastard, don't have to suffer through another year of me torturing you with weird coffee tea drinks. In all seriousness, I'm really glad you participate as much as you do. The lather games wouldn't be the same without the scrub list.

Today's photo contest theme is Birds. I got ahold of this Lego Kingfisher set finally and spent most of this evening after my shave building it. The picture shows what it'll look like once it's done, and you can see how far I got tonight. Looking forward to finishing it tomorrow. #photocontest

June 22, 2024 - apparently you can carve a cucumber

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ 25mm Muhle STF #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-D)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Braeburn
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Screamin J

All three of these products are on theme today. So we've got relevance by spicy/fall theming. Boonana is explicitly marketed as an Autumn scent. Braeburn mentions "it's a bastion against the coming cold," which, paired with the fact that it's an apple scent made in the US screams that it was intended to be used as a fall scent. Lastly Screamin' J is just spicy in all the best ways. It really tied together the fresh apple of Braeburn with the spices and other fruitiness from Boonana.

Everyone knows that SW soaps perform awesome, so let's talk about the stuff I used today that was new to me. The D plate for the Karve is noticeably different from the C plate, and I'm struggling to get a good shave on my neck with it without irritation. I think it's something I'll be able to fix with practice, but it doesn't make me think good things about the larger blade gap so far.

This is my first time using the Muhle STF knot. I set it a day or two ago, and finally got to use it today. This is probably the best synthetic knots I've used to date. It splays great. The backbone is middling enough that you don't have to mash the thing into your face but you don't crush the knot into your face with the lightest pressure like a Motherlode. The tips are extremely soft, and the knot has effectively no scritch unless you really mash it. Love it.

For the daily challenge I carved an eye into a cucumber so that I could make my pic also meet a photo contest theme. I probably should not have used a GEM blade to do this, far too unwieldy.

Photo contest theme for the day is Eyes. I carved an eye into the cucumber. I'm just trying to hit themes at this point man. #photocontest

June 23, 2024 - donuts again?

• Brush: Zenith 28mm Unbleached Boar
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-D)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Talent Soap Factory - Cakehole
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - The Noir et Vanille
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - A Whiff of Wafflecone

Huge shoutout to /u/Priusaurus for today's soap smush. This stuff is pure cake batter. Very gourmand. The frag is also very gourmand, I got to spend all day smelling like an ice cream parlor, and I loved it. Lastly the splash also meets our gourmand criteria as a tea inspired scent featuring black tea, vanilla, and, for some reason, strawberries extremely prominently. I really don't understand why this isn't a strawberry scent when it's a main component to my nose.

Today's shave went well. I'm getting better with the D plate on this Karve. This is my first time using TSF, and the base is good enough that I want a tub, but it's not so good I'm willing to buy a random scent. Going to have to find one that really captivates me and Cakehole is not it. I hate this scent. This is what cakes should smell like, not people. This is weird because I absolutely love A Whiff of Wafflecone. I think it's something about Cakehole being a thing that just smells like cake, where Wafflecone evokes a mood and experience. Wafflecone is better at being a metaphor, while Cakehole is just cake. I hope that makes sense.

I shaved in my kitchen. It went fine. I'm used to shaving without a mirror at this point thanks to these challenges. It also helps that I normally shave without my glasses on, so it's not like I can see myself in the mirror anyways.

Today's photo contest theme is Sugar & Sweets. We're double dipping on the donuts to hit this theme, but this time I've got fancy donuts. I oringally was going to use the doll shaped like a person to create a serial killer scene, but they didn't have any with eyes at the donut shop this afternoon, so they don't look enough like people for that. Oh well. #photocontest

June 24, 2024 - all aboard the USS Wetshaving

• Brush: Zenith 31mm MOAR BOAR
• Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom Tech
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: DentonMajik - Hot Laguna Nights
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - 42
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Jitterbug

A while ago, I won a pif for this razor from /u/BossHoggins10. In that package he included the soap sample that I used today. So huge shoutouts to the Boss Hog for today's shave, both lather and razor. This post shave was pif'd to me by /u/jeffm54321 a very long time ago. I love this scent. It matches up well with the soap as a fresh scent. Lastly, I picked this frag because, to my nose, it smells very very very similar to 42. So we're going with some summer-y florals and citruses this evening and I'm quite enjoying it.

The shave went well. I think I've pretty much decided that boar brushes should always be bowl lathered for my face. All my boar struggles don't seem to exist when I bowl lather them, so that's going to be my tactic moving forward. This soap base was pretty good. It lathered very easily, the slickness left something to be desired, but there was plenty of cushion to make up for that. I'm sure there's somebody out there for whom this is their favorite soap base, but I'd rather it be slicker.

I really want House of Mammoth to make a rose centric scent. I know that he would do that note justice, and tusk is an awesome base. So House of Mammoth is my vote for the next sub exclusive.

Today's photo contest theme is Water Vehicles. I don't have access to any full sized vehicles so I made a paper boat, christened it the USS Wetshaving, then set it afloat in my sink. This picture was a huge effort in timing. Race against the clock for the paper to waterlog andd then sink, for it to be facing the right way, and for the razor leaning up against the splash to not fall over. I went through 5 or 6 boats before everything worked in my favor. I feel like this idea was a good match for today's lather theme as well. This community is very good about sharing with each other in order to enable us to try new things we've never tried before. The USS Wetshaving is my metaphor for that community pillar. #photocontest

June 25, 2024 - a taste of the dragon's hoard

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ 25mm Muhle STF
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-D)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Noble Otter - The Night Before
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

Full Christmas shave on this glorious 25th evening of June. All three pieces of software are marketed at christmas, making them both thematic and relevant to one another.

Head shave tonight. Noble Otter is probably my favorite base for head shaving. It's very easy to load and gets super slick very fast. It's also really hard to over water, which is good because it's really easy to use way too much water on accident while headshaving. Because of the daily challenge I shaved wearing a mask. It was fine? It basically just meant that I couldn't really enjoy the smell of this soap. This puck is already low on the scent strength and the mask didn't help. One thing the mask may have contributed to is that I cut my ear with one of the blade tabs tonight. First time I've ever done that. Need to pay more attention to where the ears are with the exposed tabs on this razor I guess. I actually have to avoid them now.

I'm so glad I shaved at night with this post shave though. I used the frag this morning before going out, and I think I finally understand what it means for a scent to be season specific. The heat made me absolutely hate this scent today. Wearing this all day really sucked. That said, I do love the scent, so I'm glad I got to use the post shave at night when it's not ruined by the heat of the day.

Photo contest theme for today is Darkness. My dog likes to sleep under the bed on days where it's really really hot outside. This is the coolest room in the house, and I guess that is the coolest spot in the room. I recently bought a big tub to store soaps in so that I could better organize the closet with just the soaps I'm using for whatever season it is. You can't see it in the image, but right behind the dog is that tub of soap. In my head he's the dragon protecting the literal hoard of gold in the dark dungeon known as "under the bed." #photocontest

(I took the blade out of the razor before putting it anywhere near my dog. He was never in any danger, i promise.)

June 26, 2024 - it was a shave I guess

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Tuxedo
• Razor: Gillette Red Tip
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Ocean Potion - Sunscreen SPF30
• Post Shave: OFF! - Unscented Insect Repellant
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - A City on Fire

I hope I beat everyone to the sunscreen. Post shave is relevant because I’m getting prepared to do things outside all day and there are so many god damn mosquitoes out here. Fragrance is relevant because, in the vein of outside activities, family is doing a bbq today so I might as well smell like smoke the rest of the day too.

This shave fucking sucked. I did one pass at home before going out to get this picture for the photo contest. I put some sunscreen onto the brush then painted it onto my face like I would with a cream. The slickness kind of worked? But you get one swipe and that’s fucking it. No going back for me here at all. I used my mildest razor so that I would guaranteed have no cuts to irritate when I splash bug spray on my face instead of aftershave. Fucking worst thing ever here.

To clean out this brush I’m going to do a couple dish soap lathers then let it dry out real good. I don’t know what else yall expected from this daily challenge.

Today’s photo contest theme is Baseball. There was a little league baseball complex on the way to my family’s house so I stopped for a picture. I think it works. #photocontest

June 27, 2024 - this is my prius

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ 25mm Muhle STF
• Razor: Karve Christopher Bradley (brass, SB-D)
• Blade: Wizamet
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Watchman
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - King of Oud
• Fragrance: Zoologist - Camel

Relevance for the software is through all the pieces being on theme today. The Watchman is 19 notes, King of Oud is 14, and Camel is 18. From a scent perspective, King of Oud and Camel play really nice together with the emphasis on oud, incense, and rose working together between them.

This challenge was a bit of an easy one today. I am right handed for everything that matters, but I almost always shave with both hands for the purpose of getting angles. To meet the challenge I just forced myself to shave left handed for the entire shave. As an added challenge I did a full three passes, which is something I almost never do for skin irritation reasons.

I love this soap. I really need to use it more often. The lather is great. It's really slick throughout the shave, but I do wish is had slightly more residual slickness. I hate this splash. I LOVE the scent on King of Oud, but I hate this splash. It's somehow the driest liquid I've ever put on my skin. I have to use so much to get my whole face rubbed in that it can't be cost effective to use this stuff. That said, the face feel like 10 minutes after using the splash is phenomenal. There's clearly something in here doing good work even though I hate the experience of using it.

Today's photo contest theme is A Prius. Specifically this is my prius. It lives in a photo on my iPad hosted on Toyota's website. Isn't it such a great Prius? I really enjoy owning my Prius. #photocontest

June 28, 2024 - lamb chops?

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Tuxedo
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Electric Sheep
• Post Shave: Myrsol - Agua Balsamica
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Joker

The daily challenge and being thematic are all rolled into one today, so let's get started. Here's a pic of the whole shave setup.

I got this brush for like, $12. The only other brush I have that even comes close to that is my Chisel and Hound LG special, but it was about $5 more than the Yaqi, so Yaqi it is for today's shave.

I'm honestly not sure what kind of Tech this razor is. I know it's got a stamped diamond baseplate, so it's not British, but that's about it. even at their most expensive MSRP, controlled for inflation even, this is by far the cheapest razor I own (that isn't a cartridge since those were against the rules for today).

Next up I used the cheapest blade I have, which is this Astra. At about $0.15 per blade, it is almost half the price of my preferred Gillette Silver Blues and Wizamets.

For lather Stirling will always win this, because I refuse to buy any of the truly cheap stuff like Arko. It is completely absurd the value present in a full tub of Stirling when considering the quality of the product. Way, way, way too good for how cheap it is. (Side note, if y'all haven't tried Electric Sheep yet, get on that. This stuff is wild.)

For the post shave I went with this sample I have of Myrsol's Agua Balsamica. This was the cheapest stuff in my collection at a price of around $0.16 per milliliter. I really like this splash formula and just ordered a whole bottle. Thank god I ordered a different scent because I really hate how much this smells like roast dinner...

Lastly the frag. Thanks to u/kerblimeyskal for sharing this with me. I really enjoy this frag, which is a scent sampler for Joker in a solid cologne formulation. I am using that solid cologne to determine the price, because as far as I can tell they never sold this scent in EdP. Which means, dear reader, that this fragrance costs $0. In the past, it looks like Noble Otter has offered free samples of their scents in solid cologne form (proof of that here and here (this is their FAQ page, if you go to "Product" then "Can I get a Sample" they mention giving out free samples of scents via solid cologne)). So with no MSRP, that means this is the cheapest fragrance I own by a very large margin.

Relevance in software achieved by everything being on theme.

Today's photo contest theme is Steampunk. Please judge the photo linked in the title. To achieve Steampunk, I called my shave setup a bunch of punks, threw them in jail, then steamed up the jail real good, then took a picture of these punks in their steamy prison. This is absolutely a correct interpretation of what steam punk means and I will accept no arguments. #photocontest

ps: I tried writing the word "Punk" into the steamed up glass, but it was completely illegible so I had to change picture locations.

June 29, 2024 - sandal you say?

• Brush: Zenith Copper Scrubby 28mm B36
• Razor: Everyday Shaving Stinger
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - Retreat
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavender
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Santal Auster

In the spirit of doing the judges homework, I decided to test out a new daily challenge for this theme next year. I lathered in a sandal. I took the gram of Retreat that I saved after selling the tub earlier this month, spread it through the heel of the sandal, and then lathered it up (see title photo). It's precision loading in a sandal, what's not to like? (Fun fact, it's the sandal. The sandal is what's not to like.)

Both this soap and this frag are headache triggers for me, so I'm taking advantage of shaving at night by going to bed as soon as I finish this post. The soap is a very wood-y sandalwood, that feels like it's going for that fresh chopped wood scent. Santal Auster on the other hand is definitely going to a richer, creamier scent with some more depth and variety while still accentuating the sandalwood. I decided to try and bridge that gap from woodsy to rich and creamy with the absolutely gorgeous B&M Lavender. This stuff does a fantastic job making these two disparate scents play nice together as the scents transfer from soap to splash to frag.

Now, for the actual daily challenge. I think the following people are going to win the various contests this month.

• Photo Contest: /u/Crossan1983, some of the consistently best photos I've seen all month.
• Feats of Fragrance: /u/Hugbckt, amazing fragrance write ups. I can almost smell him through the screen.
• ROTY: /u/bmac92, it's almost unfair how much more prepared he was for these games than the other rookies. The fountain pen ink shave was one of my favorite posts this whole month.
• Overall Winner: /u/MrTangerinesky is going to win it all. I have faith. He chilled out a bit from last year's over the top insanity, and I think that has only helped him. His posts are required reading every day. Other people would deserve to win too, but I think MrTangerinesky has played the best game all month.

Today's photo contest theme is Humor. I lathered in a shoe, what more do you want? Please judge the photo linked in the post title. I think I'm supposed to get the container of the soap into the picture in some way, so I took a photo from before I got everything set up, but since I just put the smush in a random container I don't think it really helps. So, again, please judge the photo linked in the title, it's my best attempt at today's photo theme while still, I think, including the relevant pieces. #photocontest

June 30. 2024 - it’s too hot for this

• Brush: Yaqi 26mm Tuxedo
• Razor: Gillette Flat Bottom Tech
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Bundubeard - Kletterkees
• Post Shave: Myrsol - Don Carlos 1972
• Fragrance: Zoologist - Elephant

Today’s shave brought to you by a large number of places. I live in the US. This brush was made in China, this razor was made in England, the blade was made in Russia, the soap was made in South Africa, the splash was made in Spain, and the fragrance was made in Canada. We’re celebrating the international phenomenon that is hair removal today.

Software relevance was achieved by everything meeting today’s theme, but the scents work ok together too. I’m still not 100% sure what the fruit actually is for this soap scent, but I’d say it smells like very, very ripe apples. The citrus in Don Carlos cuts through that to make everything smell a bit more fresh. And then the magnolia and tea in Elephant really impart some floral greenery to the whole thing to get me through the rest of today.

The final photo contest theme I’ve gone for here is Soccer. I rode my bike up to a nearby park and found a soccer goal, then got to work balancing things into the netting for a picture. I think it’s fitting that the most popular international sport gets to represent my international shave. #photocontest

Congrats to everybody who played the games this year. It’s a lot of work to come up with ideas for every day and then even more work to execute them. Thanks again to the judges for all their hard work, which puts the rest of our contributions to shame. Looking forward to the community torture of whatever straight razor challenge Austere August is bring us right around the corner.