u/pridetwo's SOTDs for challenge 'Rookie of the Year'

• Brush: Omega 10098 #TEXASPIGSTINKMASSACRE #TOLL

• Razor: GEM MMOC #BRASSING

• Blade: GEM PTFE

• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - History 101

• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Hindsight

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Unconditional Surrender

Daily Theme: New All The Things - I have never used a Summer Break Soaps product, a GEM razor, or a boar brush. The GEM was a freebie from j33p a couple months ago that I never got around to actually trying. I will not be using it again. This Omega brush is straight up fresh with no break-in or prior use.

My theme for today's shave: History

For the first day of lather games I wanted to put together a fragrance progression that helped me contemplate ~~what exactly went wrong in my life that I'm entering an online shaving competition~~ how the history of shaving ties to the history of the United States. The Civil War was a monumental turning point for the USA, and History 101 keys in on smells and themes of the Civil War era, and Unconditional Surrender . But thinking in more recent terms, I feel that the COVID pandemic will also be remembered as a pivotal moment for the country, and so having Hindsight's hand sanitizer-forward scent profile anchor the shave it helps me put the events of 2020 into context with other monumental events in American history like the civil war.

The album Destiny by Stratovarius is an album with deep significance to me, as it was my first foray into power metal (introduced to the titular song Destiny via a Final Fantasy 8 AMV on early youtube that led me to downloading the rest of the album on Limewire). The album takes on heavy themes of predestination, free will, and inter-generational strife, and puts out a message of hope and empowerment. That I can rise above all of the challenges of life by taking an active role in choosing my own destiny. Also, it's just an absolute banger of an album. #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm #COMPOSITE

• Razor: Blackland Vector Ti #CNC

• Blade: Feather Artist Club Pro

• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Lycanthropy

• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger - Aspen

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Fox in the Flowerbed

Today's Theme: Picked out a vegan base soap with Southern Witchcrafts. Great soap from a great soapmaker.

Today's Challenge: #(ICan'tBelieveIt'sNot)ButterTheToast Day

The Blackland Vector Ti is a very enjoyable SE razor that uses artist club blades. Definitely a bit of a learning curve for me because of how sharp AC blades are, but after trying out some more aggressive DE razors (and that GEM MMOC yesterday) recently I'm much more confident with the Vector than I was when I first bought it a couple months ago.

My theme for today's shave: Animals #photocontest

So today I wanted to explore the idea of animals and how they can be part of the consumption aspect of our hobby, so each of my fragrance choices carry some animalistic theme in their design: Lycanthropy (being a werewolf), Lucky Tiger (well, tigers), and Fox in the Flowerbed (well, foxes),in addition to the Roosevelt badged C&H brush. To be quite honest, these scents clash and are quite dissonant. Lycanthropy being a classic SW scent, it's musky and earthy. Lucky Tiger's Aspen is a basic "blue" cleaning scent. And Fox in the Flowerbed is a very nice floral fragrance that just smells generally "pleasant" to my nose. I wasn't able to have the introspective epiphany about my relationship with animals that I was hoping for, but not every day is going to be a step forward on the path to enlightenment.

I picked Over the Hills and Far Away by Nightwish for today's listening. Absolute banger of a power metal album, and one of my favorite tracks ever. I thought there was a wolf on the album art when I picked it out which would have gone with my Animals theme, but I'm realizing now that I was thinking of a Sonata Arctica album. Oh well, great tunes nonetheless #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Omega 63171 #WEDONTNEEDNOSTINKINGBADGERS

• Razor: Henson AL-13 #RAINBOW #CNC

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Almond Creme

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Gratiot League Square

Today's Theme: Almonday - ~~all 3 of my~~ my lather and post shave scents contain almond notes to varying degrees. (see update below)

Today's Challenge: 2022 LG Winner Appreciation Day - You'll have to check my SOTD photo and decide for yourself

My theme for today's shave: Sweetness #photocontest

So although I've done the Almond Creme/Almond Leather combo before, today I thought about sweetness both in fragrance and in my personal life. Almond is traditionally a sweet scent that everyone always compares to cherries or marzipan, and Stirling's Almond Creme is pretty much exactly that. Sweetness overload with very cherry forward. Almond Leather is a great complement to Almond Creme because of how the leather dries down and mellows out the sweetness without clashing against it. What I did not expect was that upon applying the Gratiot League Square frag I smelled like Cherry Coke. Very unexpected but not altogether unlikeable. This will require further testing after lather games.

For hardware, I borrowed my fiancee's Henson for the rainbow hashtag since it's a colored razor and also kind of matched the almond color theme. Super autopilot razor that kind of feels like I'm using a cartridge razor. Can definitely see this being counterproductive to good technique but it's a really easy razor to use. The omega brush is a cheapo badger and the first badger brush that I ever got. Honestly aside from the scritchiness of the hairs, it's a perfectly serviceable brush, especially for 1-pass shaves.

For music today, I continued with the theme of sweetness and picked out my old Backstreet Boys CD. Pretty much all the songs are love songs or love-adjacent, but it's honestly one of the more classic boy band albums of the era and I'm glad I still have it after all these years. All I Have to Give sounded like the sweetest love song when I was younger, now I listen to the lyrics and think "yep this is the anthem of broke sad bois" #FOF #ROTY

Update: I just reread the scent notes on GLS and looks like Almond is nowhere to be found. I'm still not sure why it smells like Cherry Coke to me and I'm even more confused now.

• Brush: AP Shave Co Lemon Drop Handcrafted Shaving Brush Handle w/ 28mm Gelousy SHD Fan Knot #SHD

• Razor: Gillette Super Adjustable #DIAL

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Le Pere Lucien - Rose de Pushkar

• Post Shave: Thayers - Rose Petal

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Rose Santal

Today's Theme: April Showers Bring May Flowers - My soap, post shave, and fragrance are all rose-dominant (floral), and I don't know what u/Madflava81 is talking about but roses typically bloom starting in May from my experience so roses count.

Today's Challenge: Science or something - I didn't come here to GUTL like a nerd. I happily concede today's challenge. Marco Method Magic for lyfe

My theme for today's shave: Roses

So today I borrowed my fiancee's soap and brush and found out she's been demolishing this tub of LPL like a champ. Roses are a scent that I closely associate with my mom's house where she always had a bunch of rose bushes in the backyard. Her rose bushes were never particularly fragrant but they bloomed spectacularly. I also remember receiving a sample-size vial of Bulgarian Rose perfume (brand unknown) from a family friend when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old. It came in a wonderful wooden case in the shape of a small round flask and I remember it being the sweetest rose scent that I have yet to encounter in my life. For today's fragrance progression I find LPL's Rose de Pushkar is a "clean" rose, Thayers' rose petal witch hazel is a nice easy floral rose, and CL's Rose Santal is a nice deep rose scent backed with a little soapiness from the sandalwood.

For music today, I chose Social Distortion's Love, Sex, and Rock and Roll. Great album that is very much a masculine take on the feeling of longing. It felt like a good complement to a shave progression that was a masculine take on rose scents and I quite enjoyed rocking out to the raspy voice of Mike Ness. Happy Fourth of July, God bless America, please celebrate safely and I wish everyone a great day regardless of where in the world you are located or are from. #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Mis Manos

• Razor: Gillette Fusion

• Blade: Gillette Fusion Proglide

• Lather: Barbasol - Soothing Aloe

• Post Shave: Lubriderm - Fragrance Free

• Fragrance: Ralph Lauren - Polo Sport

Today's Theme: Canned Shave Goop - Barbasol Soothing Aloe and Lubriderm lotion are widely available pretty much everywhere around me. The Ralph Lauren Polo Sport was widely available in department stores and malls 15 years ago, I don't shop in malls or department stores often anymore so I'm not sure if it's still around, but it was way back when.

Today's Challenge: Channel your inner perfumer

Scent Name/Theme: Islay Single-Malt

Scent Description: The Isle of Islay is home to some of the most historic scotch whiskey distilleries and is known for a specific flavor profile of bold, smoky, and peated scotch whiskeys. Removing the boozy notes, the flavor profile also translates excellently to a masculine scent profile. Best enjoyed with a glass of Ardbeg or Bruichladdich.

Scent Notes

Top: Jasmine, Black Tea, Lime, Sea Spray

Middle: Smoke/Creosote, Loam Topsoil, Peat

Base: Maple, Caramel, Vanilla, Burnt Sugar

My theme for today's shave: Shave Like an NPC #photocontest

So I put together this shave thinking I'd be all critical of normies and how they have inferior shaving regimens but as I actually went through the shave I realized that this was basically exactly how I shaved when I first started shaving but better. I didn't know that adding a bit of water to the barbasol and working it into your whiskers instead of just plopping it on top of your face would result in better slickness and raised hairs. I didn't know that watching for grain direction would help. I just didn't really know how to shave at all, and I wouldn't really learn how to shave well for another 15 years or so.

But thanks to this community and other online resources I've developed pretty decent technique and have found that shaving can be enjoyable and therapeutic. So instead of being critical of others, I am grateful instead. Thank you to everyone here, thank you to the artisans and companies that make wonderful shaving products, and and thank you to others around the internet who create resources to help people learn how to shave in a more enjoyable way.

Barbsol soothing aloe and lubriderm are basically unscented, and the Polo Sport frag is basically peak late 90s/early 00's mall frag scent. I legit coughed when I sprayed the Polo Sport on. I just need a chain wallet and some heelies and I'd fit right in with that era.

The album for today's shave is actually one I found at Best Buy when I was a teenager and really into Linkin Park. It's got a live version of My December on it that's just the best thing ever, and I wish it was more widely available even though it's basically just the Hybrid Theory tracklist. #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Vie-Long Cachurro #HORSESASS #OLDWORLD

• Razor: Gillette Old Type #REGUS

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Maurer & Wirtz - Tabac Original

• Post Shave: Maurer & Wirtz - Tabac Original

• Fragrance: Maurer & Wirtz - Tabac Original

Today's Theme: Olfactory Overdose - Tabac soap, aftershave, and eau de cologne

Today's Challenge: Stacking Day - Vertical stack

My theme for today's shave: Nursing Home Sadness #photocontest

So first things first, I had /u/tsrblke tagged in today's brush hashtag section of my LG spreadsheet and I'm not sure why but I'm leaving it there, he's pretty cool.

Alright, with that out of the way, let's talk Tabac, misery, and what it's like growing up in a care home family business. Most of us have read the nursing home sadness copypasta at this point, but I think it'll help to put in perspective why it smells like that. First off, the powdery floral scent from the carnations in Tabac is what really pulls in the rash-preventing wipes and powder that nursing homes homes use to keep your grandparent bedsore-free. Then the neroli, lemon, and bergamot bring forward the memories of Lemon Pledge cleaner that nursing homes use for glass surfaces. And finally, the pine tree needles and aldehydes are reminiscent of Pine Sol cleaner that nursing homes use for pretty much everything else. In truth, the tobacco flower is doing very little heavy lifting in this memory association for most people. Maybe just the faintest whiff of it to remind people of the stressed out Filipino caregivers who sneak the occasional cigarette break once all the residents are generally pacified.

My family owned a small care home business for all of my formative years and then some, so I grew up helping out around the care home, I did anything and everything from lifting residents who fell out of their bed at night back into their hospital beds to clearing out old dressers and walkers that the family of the deceased had no use for, and even occasionally helping hold up the residents who needed to be cleaned more thoroughly than a bed bath could accommodate. It's a grim business, you watch people deteriorate physically and mentally until they die. And you watch that happen over and over for years. So when Olfactory Overdose day came up and I realized my only viable option was to use a Tabac trifecta, I honestly dreaded the prospect. It was a generally unpleasant shave, and the Old Type that I used for "theme" purposes as well as hardware hashtags didn't help.

But the worst part of this shave wasn't the soap scent that reminded me of hearing residents with sundowners' scream out for their families to help them because they had no idea where they were. The worst part of this shave was the absolute garbage-tier Vie Long Cachurro horse brush. Worst animal funk I've ever dealt with and I used it totally raw in this shave. Zero backbone, glue stuck to some of the hairs. Just a bad time in every way. Doesn't matter; acquired LG points. #FOF #ROTY

Edit: Oh right, music. I picked Ozzy Osbourne's Tribute, a live recording of one of legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads' best shows. There was a "boomer metal" idea going into the album choice, but it really is an incredible recording and also something of a piece of history as it documents the peak of one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Edit 2: putting this here since robodjudge is an imperfect being: /u/tsrblke

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Henri et Victoria - Absinthe

• Post Shave: Clubman Pinaud - Osage Rub

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Saint Julep

Today's Theme: Fremen Friday - H&V's Absinthe soap prominently features anise and "spices" so it should cover the "spicy" theme for today.

Today's Challenge: So one of my other hobbies is Gunpla/model kit building. I'm by no means an expert, but I enjoy it quite a bit and always have a good backlog of kits to build. To be quite honest, the appeal is more in the building process than it is in having a finished model. I find the repetitive action of cutting, sanding, and coating each piece relaxing, and it's very satisfying turning a big box of plastic pieces into something with actual design intent. One of the funnier terms in the hobby is "nippers" which are just little clippers used for cutting pre-molded parts off the plastic "runners", and just like how Feather blades have a reputation among wetshavers for being especially sharp, God Hand nippers have a reputation for being exceptionally sharp (but also somewhat fragile). Check out my daily picture below for some of the kits that bring me the most joy!

My theme for today's shave: Green Smells, Three Ways

So for today's shave I wanted to do variations on "green" smells. Absinthe has a green-ish smell from its namesake liquor. Osage Rub has that Salon Pas mentholated pain relief patch smell. And Saint Julep has the wonderful smell of walking through a healthy grove of trees with thick grass underfoot. Great shave overall today and I'm glad to be back using my normal Muhle Rocca after a bit of a gauntlet to start the lather games.

For music today I picked one of my nerdiest metal albums (to vibe with busting out my gunpla kits) Symphony of Enchanted Lands Part II from Rhapsody before they changed names to Rhapsody of Fire for copyright reasons. I love this album primarily because it features Christopher Lee (the guy who played Saruman in the Lord of the Rings movies) throughout the album. He does some narration, some singing, and a little bit of dialog, and it's wonderful that he would do this kind of project with an Italian power metal band. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Maggard Razors - Mango Sage Tea

• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Thé Noir et Vanille

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - O, Unknown!

Today's Theme: Small Business Saturday... but in July - Used the Maggard Mango Sage Tea soap, and it's a pretty delightful scent. Mango and Tea off the puck, sage heavy when lathered. Very easy to lather up, good amount of structure and whips up pretty quickly.

Today's Challenge: DQT Appreciation Day - DAE PAA BAD? Also neck picture!

My theme for today's shave: Tea

Yes, I know, tomorrow could have been tea day, but it won't be so boohoo to me for making my LG calendar more complicated than it needs to be. For today's shave I decided to have a Tea-themed shave. The Maggard Mango Sage Tea is pretty light on the tea, off the puck it gives mango milk tea boba drink vibes, but loses most of the tea once it's lathered up. Noble Otter's Thé Noir et Vanille reminds me most of a strawberry herbal black tea - the kind that has dried fruit and black tea leaves mixed together - with a hint of rose petal on the finish, and I could see it being a very fancy herbal tea finished with rosehips. Wonderful scent. And finally, Imaginary Authors' O' Unknown! is the most tea-forward scent of the bunch. It's pretty much straight up strong black tea and I quite like it.

For music, I picked Skeletons in the Closet by Gamma Ray. Absolute banger live album, and Kai Hansen's voice + guitars really shine. Incredible energy from the band and the audience comes through in the recording. What does it have to do with tea? Nothing really, it's just a great album. Could I have picked a british metal band to at least pretend like there's a link to tea? Sure but you're not my real dad. Dale. Can't tell me what to do. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: AP Shave Co 30mm Synbad #CHONK #FAUXFUR

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Hoffman's Shaving Co. - Affogato

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Rumble

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - 1904

Today's Theme: Coffee - everything in today's shave has coffee notes to varying degrees

Today's Challenge: Shave in the kitchen day - It was a bit odd shaving in the kitchen sink since I don't have a mirror, but it was rather nice just looking out into the backyard and relying on feedback from my razor and my skin to guide me on where to shave. Honestly I got a pretty darn good shave out of it, though I may have fucked up my sideburns a little.

My theme for today's shave: The Morning After

So for today's shave, I pulled together all my coffee-adjacent scents, and thought about coffee, my memory associations with the smell, and how the people in this hobby tend to talk about coffee. IRC gets super sexual about coffee all the time, and /u/mammothben describes Rumble as a sexy scent (that will definitely get you laid, if you happen to meet up with /u/rocketk455), so I decided to go all in on sexy coffee, which to me means it's the morning after. Affogato was basically straight up creamy coffee and worked very well for a soap scent, and while Rumble is definitely sexy I find it to be like a new Corvette - really only sexy to other dudes. Lastly CL's 1904 is a great coffee-ish scent that picks up a lot more of the lime note than I expected, though the drydown definitely gets to coffee and cardamom.

And for music, I picked out the sexiest goth metal album (yes, that's not an oxymoron) I have - Prey by Tiamat. It's actually a super mellow album that's definitely got the right rhythm throughout the course of the album for a steamy 45ish minute lovemaking session.

Also, ogre mug, because Shrek is love. Shrek is life. And it's all ogre now. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Clix E-Z-Flo Razor #UNICORN

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Rebelle

• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Rebelle

• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Treachery

Today's Theme: Musical Monday - WK's Rebelle is tangentially related to David Bowie's song Rebel Rebel, though I can't elaborate further because WK never did either.

Today's Challenge: Draw a soap label - I drew Rebelle, but better

My theme for today's shave: Fight the powah

I'll do my writeup in a little bit, gotta finish my morning coffee #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

Edit: OK I'm at work now so let's do this. So for today's musical challenge, I went through my rolodex of soap scents and realized one could probably do 30 days of Barrister and Mann soaps for all of the lather games themes, but I settled on Wholly Kaw's Rebelle which features David Bowie's starman getup on the label and is ostensibly inspired by his song Rebel Rebel which is a banger of a tune.

So when thinking about what fragrance to pair with it, I thought hey rebels, treachery, thematically it's about fighting the current established order. Fragrance-wise the two couldn't be farther apart. Rebelle is easy on the nose, enough so that I kept wondering if it was a dupe of a mainstream fragrance. Treachery on the other hand is challenging. The pipe tobacco scent comes on thick. It doesn't smell like a cigar shop, it smells like you stuck your nose directly into the pouch of some fresh stanky pipe tobacco.

Music-wise, I picked Stratovarius' self-titled album. This album came out after a particularly tumultuous and drama-filled era for the band, and each song is basically the band doing their self-healing in public. It's about feeling crazy because of external pressures, fighting to stay true to oneself, the feeling of alienation, and the power of group unity.

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Zingari Man - The Watchman

• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Trade Winds

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Every Storm A Serenade

Today's Theme: Sunny Days - my lather, post shave, and fragrance are all explicitly aquatic fragrances.

Today's Challenge: Color Coordinated - I could not make this work under the stipulations that the djudges set forth (no samples) without causing a cascading failure of my entire lather games calendar, so instead you get a shitty black and white instagram filter picture of only samples. Pic below.

My theme for today's shave: Ocean Voyages

To be honest, specifically "Summer" seasonal soaps aren't really my jam, so I was actually really looking forward to working in a completely aquatic fragrance profile instead. For me, the ocean has been something I've always been physically close to, and has been something of a constant source of spiritual peace in the least crunchy way. I just really like being around the ocean. But last year I moved to my first landlocked region, and it's been totally disorienting knowing that there's no ocean nearby. No sound of lapping waves or salt spray to help clear my mind if I need it. So that's been a bit of an adjustment for me, and this shave actually was very comforting in that it really made me feel like I wasn't so far away from the water even if none of the scents specifically smell like the ocean.

For today's music, I picked Lemuria by Therion. It's part of a 2 album set they released alongside another album named Sirius B, and both albums carried a theme related to the title. Lemuria is historically an Atlantis-adjacent "lost continent" theory, so many of the album's songs center around nautical myths in addition to the usual smattering of mysticism that Therion likes to write songs about. If you're a fan of Dethklok's Thunderhorse then you owe it to yourself to listen to Three Ships of Berik, Part 1: Calling to Arms and Fighting the Battle which is basically an unironic version of the same song. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Catie's Bubbles - A Midnight Dreary

• Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag

• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Crystal Moon

Today's Theme - It's so fluffy I'm gonna Die: Oh look, the soapmaker of my lather product is today's sponsor spotlight. Catie's Bubbles uses coconut oil as a primary ingredient so yeah.

Today's Challenge: I almost always lather with my scuttle, so today I did a face lather. It worked. That's about all I have to say about face lathering, it works.

My theme for today's shave: Late Nights

So for today's shave, it's the last shave I get to do from the comfort of my own bathroom before I hit the road for a 4-day weekend trip that's going to be full of late nights. I wanted to think about the different types of late nights, so CB's Midnight Dreary, CF's Midnight Stag, and Maher Olfactive's Crystal Moon are three different takes on late nights that I hope to enjoy on this trip. Midnight Dreary's mellow, sweet, and calming scent is the kind of night where everyone stays up late just hanging out talking or watching movies together. Midnight Stag is the kind of boys' night smell where a bunch of stinky idiots take over every place they go. And Crystal Moon is that late night walk through an unfamiliar but welcoming place at a time where it's just you and the cool night air.

For music, I picked Sonata Arctica's Reckoning Night for the album title association. It's also just a great power metal album with songs about heartbreak, heartbreak, more heartbreak, and a song about a horrific reverse Pinocchio situation. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Naked Armor Mahogany Wood Shaving Brush #SMOLL #RUNT

• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech #JETSETTER

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Turtleship Shaving - Patchouli

• Post Shave: Chatillon Lux - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Yuzu/Rose/Patchouli

My theme for today's shave: Patchouli

I'm traveling for a buds stag party and shaving in between outings so no thoughtful writeup today. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Naked Armor Mahogany Wood Shaving Brush

• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Spearhead Shaving Co. - Seaforth! Sea Ice Lime

• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Co. - Seaforth Sea Spice Lime

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Falling Into the Sea

Today's Theme: Sea ice Lime has a nice cooling agent

My theme for today's shave: Aquatic Citrus, overall a good fragrance progression. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Naked Armor Mahogany Wood Shaving Brush

• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Grooming Department - Chypre D'ananas

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Passiflora

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Sun Soaked

My theme for today's shave: Fruity Tooty

Pineapple chypre and other fruity smells. Still on the stag trip so I'm a bit wrecked but I will not miss my LG streak. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Naked Armor Mahogany Wood Shaving Brush

• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Lancaster Razor Works - Barber Shop

• Post Shave: Lancaster Razor Works - Barber Shop

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Agua Fresca

Today's Theme Shave and a Haircut - Two Bits: Lancaster Barber Shop is a nice clean barbershop scent, but barbershop scents aren't really my thing. Good shave though.

Today's Challenge: So I heard you like memes

My theme for today's shave: So Fresh and So Clean

Getting back from the stag party today, writeups will be back to their usual cadence tomorrow. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Cerberus

• Post Shave: Declaration Grooming - Cerberus

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Memoirs of A Tresspasser

Today's Theme: Happy Together - I chose Cerberus for today's collab theme for all the reasons several others chose this soap. Unlike those people though, I used the aftershave liniment which carries the scent exceptionally well for a pseudo-balm.

Today's Challenge: Osma Day - I have Osma, but it is not the Osma that everyone else gets. /u/j33pguy13 harangued me for buying "lame unscented soap that dries your skin" but who's laughing now. I rubbed this puck of alum shaving soap on my skin in the usual portion of a shave routine where others would rub alum stones on their skin. It was ok. I did not lather it, so DQ police can buzz off. I simply rubbed Osma alum crystals on my face.

My theme for today's shave: Guard Dog

So in the myth of Cerberus, the three headed dog guards the entrance to Hades. Though it's generally supposed to be a big, scary guard dog, pretty much every time cerberus shows up in media it's actually quite a good boy. Cerberus in pop culture reminds me of my own dog, who's 75 pounds of pure muscle with a big ol' head. He can be a bit intimidating to people who aren't familiar with big dogs, but he's a total meatball and very sweet. I do feel better leaving my fiancee for a weekend when I know she's going to be with our big meatball of a dog. Maybe Hades just felt safer with a big dog around too.

Memoirs of a Tresspasser felt like it'd be a fun nod to the guard dog motif and it's a nice scent that kind of reminds me of Gratiot League Square. For a "collaboration" themed album I picked an old compilation album that has a bunch of songs from random small time bands. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Hallows

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Hallows balm

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Yesterday Haze

Today's Theme: Spooky Season - Hallows is straight up a spooky scent, and Yesterday Haze features fig which actually ripens from June all the way through October (and even into November for some varieties)

Today's Challenge: Atlas Shave Day (aka why do the djudges put themselves through this day day) - I'm not proud of this but here you go

My theme for today's shave: Dank Trees

Hallows is very much a dank, October forest type of scent, and with IA's Yesterday Haze I wanted to top that scent off with a very nice green tree scent. It was actually a delightful combination that took my mind off the recent heat. Up until I realized we were doing a community service thing at work which meant I had used a fall scent and thick balm on a day I'm going to be outside and sweating. To be quite honest, it wasn't the worst. Shaving with BaM soap is always easy on the skin, and the balm was great too. And I was mainly picking weeds and raking leaves, so I basically went from smelling like musty woods, to smelling musty woods.

Halloween is actually a holiday I have kind of a mixed affection for. I don't like horror movies much, big costume parties really aren't my jam, and it always seems to be kind of an ordeal that doesn't work out very well for me. This past year was the first time I lived in a house on my own, so it'd be the first time I was the one handing out candy to kids. Well I stocked up on full size candy bars and got a cool storm trooper costume ready to go. Fewer than 10 kids stopped by, and apparently everyone walked a route around the edge of the neighborhood instead of through the middle where I live. sadtrombone.mp4

For music, I picked Helloween's Time of the Oath. Great power metal album that's just a lot of silly fun. Definitely worth checking out. Though Keeper of the Seven Keys pt. 2 really is their magnum opus. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Champion Ankle-High Sock

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: D.R. Harris - Marlborough

• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Autumn Ash

• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Red Skies

Today's Theme: CREAM - D.R. Harris' Marlborough is specifically a cream on the label even though it's harder than milksteak.

Today's Challenge: Lather with a sock - so just because the challenge is to lather with a sock doesn't mean we have to hurt ourselves doing it. I picked a clean sock that had longer fuzzies on the inside, turned that sucker inside out, got a big ol dollop of Marlborough cream on the toe section of the sock, and started to work on face lathering. It worked pretty well, though I definitely under-hydrated my lather out of impatience.

My theme for today's shave: Marlboro Red 100's

So when planning today's shaving software, I thought I could do sort of an homage to the cigarettes I used to smoke in my younger days - Marlboro Red 100's. Awful cigarettes that were terribly silly even for cigarettes because of the extra long and skinny shape, but they were kind of my crutch for a period in my life where I really needed something to lean on. The Marlborough scent was kind of just a generally pleasant scent, while Autumn Ash is exactly maple creosote. But what surprised me the most was when I applied Red Skies, it kind of mingled with the Autumn Ash's creosote smell to resemble Southern Witchcrafts' Valley of Ashes.

For music I picked Children of Bodom's Are You Dead Yet. Great metal album that was derided by some CoB fans at the time for being "too slow" but in retrospect was unfairly maligned.

I'm also starting to realize that I'm doing the photo contest totally wrong, but I'm going to keep doing the tag anyway. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - 40

• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Wowzers

• Fragrance: Chanel - Allure Homme Sport

Today's Theme: Duppelgänger - 40 is a dupe of Fucking Fabulous by Tom Ford, Wowzers is a dupe of Guilty Black by Gucci

Today's Challenge: Water Day - A wizard's lather is never pasty, nor is it watery. He lathers precisely as he means to. So I defaulted to the pasty lather for today's challenge, which was kind of a bold choice since I was using the famously efficient Blackbird for the first time today. Honestly the shave went well, but I had to keep rinsing the blackbird after almost every stroke to keep it from clogging. By the end of the shave my neck was shedding dry soap flakes.

My theme for today's shave: Mainstream Perfumery

So for today's shave I wanted to do an exercise in mainstream perfumery. Tom Ford, Gucci, Chanel, these are all names that fit right at home in any department store and are known all around the world. 40's scent is really pleasant and generally somewhat floral to my nose. Wowzers smells like "artic cool" deodorant. The bottle of Allure Homme Sport is a fragrance I've had for somewhere between 15-20 years now and while I don't wear it often it's a crowd-pleasing citrus aquatic. Overall, it's a very pleasant fragrance progression, but I also don't feel like I have my own identity in these fragrances. When I put together a fragrance progression I usually want to express some sort of feeling or facet of my personality, but with this shave it felt like I was putting on someone else's smells.

For music, I picked the most mainstream metal album I have, Iron Maiden's Brave New World. It's a good album in its own right, and some really fun songs, but also not my favorite, I like Dance of Death better personally. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: LA Shaving Co - Topanga Fougere

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Fougere Angelique

• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Fougere Nemeta

Today's Theme: Fougeres - it's all in the names baybeeee

Today's Challenge: I have 2 haikus for you today

Fougere Haiku:

From the forest floor,

Bounty of earthen delights,

Apes together strong

Bonus Haiku:

Home of nourishment.

Is it running? Go catch it!

Refrigerator.

My theme for today's shave: Fougeres and Ferns

I'll get the writeup up in a bit, kind of a busy morning today. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

Edit: OK writeup time. The fougeres in today's shave were all fairly bright smells with significant citrus notes, very different from something like a Fougere Gothique. Seems like everyone likes to use the "if god gave ferns a scent it would smell like Fougere Royale" quote when doing their fougere scent descriptions, but frankly ferns do have a scent and it's not citrus-based.

I did really enjoy today's shave though, the LASSCO base isn't exactly the same as the CF base as far as I can tell, but it whips up a good lather very easily. The soap's consistency was a lot softer than I expected, almost as soft as milksteak but I don't know if that's because I have it in the sample container or what.

Ferns remind me of a hike I did with my mom in the seattle area when she came to visit me there a few years ago. Beautiful thick forest and the trail was littered with ferns on either side. Our trailhead started on the side of the road and we did a couple miles down to a quite rocky beach that had a great view of Mount Olympus (not the greek one). It's a special memory for me because those kinds of days where you're far enough away from cell service and the rest of the world that you can just enjoy spending time with a loved one.

For music today I picked Elements, Pt. 1 by Stratovarius because it's an album that's near and dear to my heart as it helped me through some of my younger years. Fast music with a positive message with tracks like Eagleheart, Find Your Own Voice, and Learning to Fly. Definitely recommend this album to anyone interested in power metal.

• Brush: AP Shave Co 30mm Synbad

• Razor: Sharpend Barber Salon/Straight Cut Throat Shaving Razor Shavette Wood Handle Real+Blades #ALLNATURAL

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Chiseled Face - Banana

• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - A Whiff of Waffle Cone

Today's Theme: Berries - Banana is a berry

Today's Challenge: Never Skip Leg Day - I need my leg hair, so instead I used a SE shavette for the very first time in my life. To shave my armpits. Jank-ass chinesium half-DE shavette and I didn't even get the blade aligned in the thingo correctly. I get the need for before/after pics for verification, but I do not envy the djudges today.

My theme for today's shave: Banana Split

So putting together my shave today, I knew I'd be doing banana for berry day. What I did not anticipate was taking a shitty shavette to my pits then smelling like banana nut bread from my pits, but I splashed that alcohol free aftershave into my pits and wafted the Whiff of Waffle Cone all day long. Started the morning with a Bananas Foster pancake and ending the day with a delicious banana pudding ice cream banana split. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Noble Otter - Northern Elixir

• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving Co. - Seaforth Black Watch

• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Admiral

Today's Theme: What is that enchanting aroma? - The specific combination of Northern Elixir and Black Watch is what my fiancee calls "the sexy soap." She doesn't pay particularly close attention to the specifics of this wild and wacky hobby of mine, but if I use one without the other she's totally unimpressed, whereas the combination of the two is her absolute favorite on me.

Today's Challenge: Lather Audit - So I'm a strong believer that the zero-bubble greek yogurt crowd is severely under-hydrating their lather. But if you must, you're welcome to poke fun at my lather.

My theme for today's shave: Small Coastal Towns

So with Northern Elixir and Black Watch already set up for today, the question was how would I tie it all together in a final fragrance? Well, despite Northern Elixir and Black Watch sharing pretty much zero scent notes, one of the things they do share is a sort of coastal vibe. Both remind me of cold mornings on the Pacific coast down in San Luis Obispo where the sea spray and rocky terrain mingle in heavy fog every morning. So I picked Admiral, which is more of a riverboat scent than a coastal scent, but kind of calls to mind the smell of a coffee shop's exterior. Yes, I know that sentence sounds like a ChatGPT response, but bear with me. Admiral kind of smells like the kind of small town coffee shop's exterior where you just know all they serve is lavender lattes and old books.

OK maybe I am just a confused robot, but today's fragrance progression really does take me back to getting coffee in a small town just off the Pacific Coast Highway somewhere between Monterey and SLO where the weather is rarely hot and the mornings are always foggy.

For music, I picked Sonata Arctica's Silence. My personal favorite of theirs, although Winterhearts Guild probably gets more play from their fanbase. Great power metal album that is all about pushing through hard times, heartbreak, and the inner machinations of a stalker. If that doesn't interest you then I don't want to be your friend. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Tallow + Steel - Shag

• Post Shave: Pinaud Clubman - Musk

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - The Soft Lawn

Today's Theme: Christmas in July's Eve - I received this smush of T+S Shag from /u/tsrblke 's PIF, many thanks to my fellow ROTY competitor!

Today's Challenge: Community Tribute Day - So today's community tribute gives me a lot of options. I could double down on the love for /u/tsrblke who has steadily become a familiar and friendly face in the community, and who I've greatly enjoyed interacting with on the subreddit and on discord. But no, I won't tribute to him.

I could suck up to the djudges and show love to /u/j33pguy13 who has become as good of a friend in the wetshaving community as I could have possibly expected. He's welcomed me into this hobby and helped me explore many software products I would have otherwise never had access to, and also helped my 49ers brush get a top tier B5 knot. But no, I won't tribute to him.

I could shout out to community mainstays like /u/iamsms and /u/visceralwatch who have generously trusted me to borrow some incredible razors from them, and /u/iamsms in particular who was the first to invite me to join the IRC chat which started my whole slide down this wonderful rabbit hole. But no, I won't tribute to either of them.

I could shout out to other community members like /u/unitedstatesghost who pulled the trigger on a shitty Minions brush for the lulz and continues to be a great contributor around the wetshaving sphere. But no, I won't tribute to her.

My tribute today, is to /u/scorpio93x. This one goes out to you

My theme for today's shave: I'm Immature and Unashamed

So for today's shave, I knew I was going to use the T+S Shag smush from /u/tsrblke, and as I browsed my spreadsheet of post shaves and fragrances, I noticed I could do something that would make my inner 12-year old happy. Shag. Musk. Soft Lawn.

For music, I picked Sonata Arctica's Winterhearts Guild because talking about it yesterday and listening to their album Silence got me in the mood for more Sonata Arctica. A really great power metal album that I hold near and dear to my heart. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts 49ers Custom w/ Declaration Grooming B5 28mm

• Razor: Blackland Blackbird

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Santa Noir

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Whispered Myths

Today's Theme: Christmas in July - well Santa Noir has a santa hat on the label so I think we're good here.

Today's Challenge: Leftorium Challenge - I'm left handed. Most people in my life know this. What you don't know but likely could have guessed, is that I was dropped as a baby. No brain damage on record but I did break my right wrist, so all my fine motor skills development went to my left hand even though my right hand has all the power and would likely have been my dominant hand. So today I shaved using only my right hand.

Why did I use the a very efficient razor like the Blackbird instead of something a bit safer like a tech (like how /u/AdWorried2804 so smartly chose)? Well I'd like to say it's because I ain't no scrub. But truth be told it's because I took my SOTD photo before I checked the daily challenge and I don't do retakes. Small nick on my upper lip but otherwise an OK shave after my brain adjusted to moving the razor around with my other hand.

My theme for today's shave: Santa's Not Real

For today's shave, Santa Noir was an obvious choice, and I wanted to contemplate the role of mythology in our lives, so Whispered Myths from Imaginary Authors felt appropriate. Being that we're all of shaving age here, I think it's safe to assume we're all aware of Santa Claus' mythological status, the history behind sinterklass, saint nicholas, krampus, and the whole holiday's pagan origins. If not, then oops.

I do find that these shared mythologies which we attribute context and causality to the regular events in our lives are something that not only simplify things, but give us all an opportunity to share joy. Whether it's Halloween's spooky ghosts, Christmas' Santa Claus, Easter's bunny, or any other of the holiday-adjacent mascots that give context to our lives, I find great joy in being able to let go of being so firmly rooted in reality and just enjoying the fantasy of some holiday mascot becoming real for one day a year.

For music, I picked Therion's Secret of the Runes album which is basically just symphonic metal about different aspects of Norse mythology. Great album that - in conjunction with Deggial - really helped shaped the direction of the band ever since they transitioned away from black metal. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: ZENRC Golden Bamboo Matcha Whisk #HOLLOW

• Razor: Razorline Razor Master Kamisori Shavette Straight Razor for Barbers #KAMISORI

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Ujido - Matcha Green Tea Powder

• Post Shave: B_Lab - Matcha Hydrating Facial Toner

• Fragrance: Le Labo - Thé Matcha

Today's Theme: Wildcard Wednesday - I think I went a little too hard on this theme. First, I decided to make my own whipped-cream based Matcha tea lather. So land o lakes heavy whipping cream and a whisk it is!.

I knew it was going to be a process to get my homemade whipped cream together, so that I worked on last night. It took me several tries of refrigerating, whisking, refrigerating, whisking, and more refrigerating and whisking before it left frothy cream consistency and started to resemble something close to whipped cream. When my fiancee got home she questioned my logic for the first time all month. The thing that finally didn't make sense to her? "Why aren't you using a hand mixer?" Well I don't have one, and didn't realize I should have one. So that's why I used a normal whisk.

Eventually it turned into proper stiff-ish peaks whipped cream, so I popped it into the freezer to save for this morning's shave. Well, apparently homemade whipped cream freezes way more than cool whip does. So while that thawed, I got to work on my matcha base. The matcha whisk I got worked great for the matcha powder and some water.

Once enough of the whipped cream had thawed, it was time to fold it into the matcha. It folded in easily enough and got to a nicely hydrated matcha whipped cream mixture that I was hopeful would shave decently.

Well I found that a matcha whisk makes a poor brush for applying the matcha cream to my face, so I resorted to applying it with my hand which gave me big evangelion vibes. Eventually I got my face covered with the matcha cream and it was time to have one of the worst shaves of my life.

So fun fact, I've never used a kamisori shavette before. Or an Asco half DE blade. But they showed up together from ebay, so here we are. Sliced my right cheek a little, but the styptic pencil took care of that. Otherwise an awful, rough shave.

Today's Challenge: Den tour day! - I have cleverly arranged my main soap drawer to hide the majority of my shame. Then under the sink I have space set aside for only the highest quality stuff like APR, Fine (new base), and Van Yulay. Overflow space above my soap drawer for a couple extras that don't fit anywhere. I keep the current and upcoming razors just by my sink. And lastly, samples, frags, some overflow software, brushes/razors that I don't plan to use, and blades all go in the medicine cabinet.

My theme for today's shave: Matcha

I'm a big tea guy in general, it's one of my other rabbit holes of a hobby that I enjoy. I happened to have a bag of matcha from 2018, and when /u/j33pguy13 sent me a link to a matcha whisk as a joke, I knew I had to take the joke way too far and have a literal matcha shave, with matcha aftershave and matcha fragrance. Well, I did it. Your artisan soap bases have nothing on my 35% superfatted matcha whipped cream emulsion. Suck it /u/bostonphototourist.

Real talk though, this was a miserable shave. All the grease and none of the slickness. 2/10 would not shave, elbows too pointy. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Mickey Lee Soapworks - Jefferson Square

• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavanille

• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Telegrama

Today's Theme: Lavendursday - Jefferson Square, Lavanille, and Telegrama all prominently feature different flavors of lavender. Jefferson Square is an earthy, potpourri lavender. Lavanille is that creamy, Mousse de Saxe-laden lavender we all know and love. And Telegrama is a fresh, clean lavender that kind of reminds me of liquid fabric softener.

Today's Challenge: Shave Outside Day - As you'll see in the picture below, I set up and shaved outside on my backyard patio. I decided that just because I'm outside doesn't mean I have to shave like Bear Grylls, so I set up a nice little table and chair with my scuttle, water bowl, and shaving gear. I used my phone's selfie camera for a mirror and recorded a video so that the screen wouldn't turn off. If anyone wants to watch a 10 minute video of a random shirtless schlub of a man shaving quietly while the neighbor dogs bark, well, here you go. Djudges, don't say I didn't warn you, you didn't have to watch the video. There is no punchline. There is no secret message. It's just for anyone who really wants to watch me shave quietly outside.

My theme for today's shave: Lavender

I really enjoy lavender scents, so today was a really nice way to explore three different takes on lavender. I know, I could have done the feet juice frag for my fragrance, but I haven't used Telegrama before and I already know that I love Lavender, Interrupted. MLS Jefferson Square was a smush sent from /u/j33pguy13 and it was a very nice scent and soap. Lathered up well, and the scent opened up as I built the lather. The scent is very much like a potpourri bouquet - earthy, fragrant, but not sharp or creamy. Lavanille is that creamy lavender we're all well familiar with. Slight sharpness on the open, creamy on the drydown. Now Telegrama is a scent I've been excited to check out, and now I'm sad I was too late to get on the Noble Otter Telegrama soap/splash train. It's a really nice floral lavender that's just easy on the nose and very lovely.

No music today, I wanted to just enjoy being outside and relax a little. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Omega 10098

• Razor: Gillette Old Type

• Blade: Dorco ST-300

• Lather: Arko - Shaving Soap

• Post Shave: Aqua Velva - Classic Ice Blue

• Fragrance: Parfums Belcam - Nitro

Today's Theme: Frugal Friday - Arko, for the same reason everyone else picked arko. Because we're not sophisticated enough to use Derby shave sticks.

Today's Challenge: Frugal Friday - Alright so let's walk through this.

• Omega 10098 is a $10 boar brush, easily the cheapest brush I own.
• Gillette Old Type because inflation isn't real. Inflation can't hurt me. Now why don't you just get a job as a cashier and buy a house like your parents did. They're millionaires now and all you do is complain that things are expensive. Oh, you have a corporate job? And you rent from your parents? And they charge you 4x their 1980's-era mortgage payment for that rent? Well sheesh, maybe you shouldn't have taken out so much in college loans. Your dad paid his way through college by working at the campus book store part time.
• Dorco ST-300 is actually $5.50 for a 100-pack on Amazon right now, almost half the price of astra SP's. Buy now before prices go up or something https://www.amazon.com/Dorco-ST300-Platinum-Double-Blades/dp/B001MJSAJQ
• Arko - again, for the same reason everyone else picked arko. Because we missed out on La Toja thrill when prices were reasonable.
• Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue, was a decant from /u/j33pguy13 he sent me a while back because I'd never tried AV. I wonder if we paid USPS more to ship this decant than it would have cost me to buy it at the store.
• And now, the pièce de résistance of my frugal friday shave - my fragrance.

I actually was planning to use Southern Witchcraft's Valley of Ashes. At $22 for a 30ml bottle it's one of the best deals in artisan fragrances. I'd had it planned out for weeks. This was going to be the one nice part of my shave today! But then, as I was going through my LG spreadsheet yesterday afternoon and reveling in the recent shitlisting of my matcha lather post, it dawned on me. I had pivoted to Tabac for dickhole day and gotten the cheapest Tabac Eau de Cologne I could find online in order to limit my losses.

$17.31 for 150ml of geriatric misery. and it was already used on a prior day of our blessed Lather Games.

I played myself.

I fell to my knees in an arby's. I drove around downtown Denver begging (thru texts) /u/USS-Spongebob family for cheap juice. I cried out to the heavens "DOES AXE BODY SPRAY COUNT AS A FRAGRANCE" in the lather games discord channel. But alas, I had only one option: I was compelled to return to Walmart. I had accidentally gotten rerouted to a nearby walmart of which I was previously unaware when road work blocked off the usual back entrance to my favorite King Soopers when I needed heavy whipping cream for my matcha lather the night before wildcard wednesday. So now I knew where I could get some cheap stuff. But what would I get? Well, as I waited for the non-functioning "call attendant" button to summon a Walmart employee to unlock the glass case that housed their collection of sub-$20 colognes and perfumes, I saw it. My savior. $7.98 for 100ml of something called Nitro that blatantly displayed on the box that it was a dupe of HUGO. I'd never smelled HUGO before, but the bottle looked blue, and the AV decant was also blue, so I sussed out a theme I could pivot to. Toilet bowl cleaner. God bless walmart, and god bless America.

My theme for today's shave: Office Bathrooms After They've Been Cleaned

Everyone is familiar with the Arko = urinal cake scent comparison. But have you considered that Aqua Velva and Nitro (the supposed HUGO dupe) both smell like that blue toilet bowl cleaning liquid that janitorial staff always leaves in the toilet bowls after they clean a stall? Well they do. So now I smell like a clean office bathroom. I'm not happy about it, but surprisingly my fiancee said I smell kind of good. I think she's just happy I didn't get to use Valley of Ashes. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

Edit: I forgot to talk about music. In honor of the HUGO dupe called Nitro, I picked Dark Passion Play by Nightwish which is the first album the band released after they kicked out Tarja Turunen. Dark Passion Play is a cheap imitation of what Nightwish was with Tarja. I don't know if they ever found their identity with the new singer, but I will forever cherish the Tarja era of Nightwish.

• Brush: Chisel & Hound Kuai Taper w/ V18 Fanchurian 26mm

• Razor: dubl duck Duchess Hair Shaper #YTHO

• Blade: Personna Hair Shaper Blade

• Lather: Captain's Choice - Sandalwood

• Post Shave: Proraso - Red

• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Santal Auster

Today's Theme: Sandalwood - I'm pretty sure a soap named sandalwood works for sandalwood day. Djudges ran out of ideas by the time they got to day 29 huh?

Today's Challenge: Do our homework day. - So I've actually got some people in mind that I'd really like to highlight.

First of all, /u/ginopono with the Pei Wei Asian Kitchen shave was not only incredible in his own right, but also inspired /u/Priusaurus to get kicked out of a Thai restaurant on coconut day. Absolutely incredible stuff and I must say that public shaves have been off the hook this year's LG.

Then /u/onionmiasma has been absolutely crushing it on the regular with both humorous and high-effort shave posts. I think people are heavily sleeping on his shave at the Bean he did a couple days ago. We're all getting tired over here as the end of LG draws closer, meanwhile onion be like "I didn't hear no bell"

/u/tangerinesky and /u/djanovshaving have been the greusome Bulgarian twosome all month long too with absolutely hilarious shaves and great interactions with the whole community. I genuinely believe that /u/djanovshaving might be one of the top rookies in this crop of rookies. /u/tsrblke has been a top tier contestant alongside myself and djanov in the rookie class, and I really do enjoy his interactions both around the subreddit and on discord.

And while everyone saw /u/Crisp_Mango kick off lather games on an absolute tear, you'd be forgiven for being unaware that he has quietly been collecting Legendary Post points at a pretty steady rate as well.

And last year's winner /u/RedmosquitoMM has been quietly killing it all month long too. No victory laps for him!

LG Top 5:

1. /u/Priusaurus
2. /u/Crisp_Mango
3. /u/onionmiasma
4. /u/mrtangerinesky
5. /u/RedmosquitoMM

ROTY Top 3:

1. /u/djanovshaving
2. /u/tsrblke
3. /u/pridetwo - because I'm humble like that.

FoF Winner: /u/chronnoisseur42O - I don't know if anyone else has noticed his fragrance combinations, but they've been hot fire all month.

My personal pick for top post of LG: /u/ginopono shaving in a Pei Wei Asian Kitchen

My theme for today's shave: Sandalwood yo

On the eve of this year's Lather Games' final day, it ends for me much the way it began - with a miserable and bloody shave using a razor type that I've never touched before. I could blame it on using Personna blades instead of Kismets, or on the choice of hair shaper instead of a sextoblade, but let's be honest. It's a skill issue. I won't be doing Austere August so my shot at intense honing of my weck/hair shaper skills is out of the question for the immediate future, though I may do a couple practice runs on my cheeks to get used to using a folding straight razor.

This lather games has been so much fun to compete in, and I've really enjoyed getting to know more of the community throughout the month's shenanigans. Thanks again to everyone here and elsewhere that have helped make Lather Games what it has become.

I'm a noted sandalwood hater, I think it's one of the most boring scents out there and completely overplayed. It's the Hoobastank of perfumery. Santal Auster is a nice, deep, resinous sandalwood scent though.

I listened to Iced Earth's The Blessed and The Damned, it's a collection of their most well known songs with some live tracks sprinkled throughout. Great album, great band. I always tear up a bit at Watching Over Me. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY

• Brush: Omega 63171

• Razor: Muhle Rocca R94

• Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum

• Lather: Australian Private Reserve - Lixiviant

• Post Shave: Rubicon Formulations - Old Spice Original

• Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana - Light Blue

Today's Theme: Bon Voyage Lather Games - the tub says "Handmade in Australia" and I'm in the USA

Tody's Challenge: World Traveler - I managed to get this one with the help from some friends (detail in my theme writeup).

Omega brush from Italy, Muhle Rocca from Germany, Bic Chrome Platinum from Greece, APR from Australia, Old Spice Original from India, D&G from France, pridetwo from USA.

My theme for today's shave: The Generosity of Others

As I contemplated the end of the lather games, I decided that possibly one of the best parts of this community is how generous everyone is to each other - with their time, their trust, and sometimes with their soaps. So my soap, post shave,and fragrance are all the result of someone being generous to me.

/u/zimora sent me the tub of Lixiviant on a whim when I mentioned in discord that I'd like to try APR one day. No questions asked, just offered up something so that I could try a bucket list worthy soapmaker. Thank you /u/zimora.

/u/undream22 saw me pining for Indian-market Old Spice splash because of the recommendation by /u/cowzilla3 in IRC and basically said, "I know a guy, and Old Spice sells better than artisan stuff anyway so I'll go drop five thousand dollars to make your indian old spice dreams happen." Thank you /u/undream22.

Lastly, for my fragrance, my fiancee has been supportive and accommodating of my shenanigans all month. Last night, when I told her I might need to go to the mall to pull an /u/onionmiasma and use a tester to get my daily challenge points, she volunteered her own perfume sample made in France so that I could complete the challenge without too much stress. Thank you.

So as the Lather Games draw to a close, I'd like to be a little introspective if you'll indulge me this. I'd like to congratulate everyone who participated, even if you didn't make the whole month or get all the points. You were part of what made this year's games special and you should be proud of that. Even when the competition was fierce, and our personal lives got so difficult that it felt like that we were all alone, we didn't stop moving forward.

Things got weird, and we rose above it. Some days, the Lather Games challenges felt like an exercise in self harm. Other days, the games were the only thing that kept us sane.

We all took on a little bit of each other, and saw each other as we hoped we could be seen.

Even the djudges, despite our attempts to bend the rules, were always happy to keep the games going and give us all something we could enjoy together. Even when they were certainly frustrated with us behind the scenes.

So as we all exit the lather games together, let's remember that we are (not) alone. We have each other in this community, and even if we get to the end of it all and turn into orange juice, we can still choose to rock out and choose to be happy when happiness is a choice and not a default.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. #photocontest #FOF #ROTY