July 5, 2023

• Brush: Isana – Synthetic #Ancient
• Razor: Razorock- Eco
• Blade: Permasharp (4)
• Lather: Palmolive – Classic
• Post Shave: Balea Men – Ultra sensitive aftershave balm
• Fragrance: Armani – Code

This day is always a walk down the memory lane. Little Marquis (well, not so little, probably 1,90m tall), had to figure out how to shave. My parents are divorced, and my dad was not there for my first shave. But i learned from him that you need a brush and some cream. His choice of cream was Palmolive. I got a cheap synthetic from our local drug store and started to face lather with the cream. I had no idea how the final result should look like, if my lather was good. What I liked was, that I used the same product as my dad and it had that distinctive smell that reminded me of mornings in his flat, where I sat close to the sink, brushing my teeth, while he shaved. Whenever I use Palmolive I think back to those days. Except today. I dont know for how long I have that Palmolive cream now. This tube… I remember I had it in 2019 when I had my last cartridge shave. And I am pretty sure, that the tube was already years old back then. The brush is also the same one I bought with 16 with its original hair. Its sitting in the dark of our bathroom cupboard for years now. When I lathered everything up, it did not have that simple, but fresh smell of Palmolive. It was like dirty water, like a wet dog. I played a bit around with the amount of water to get a good lather. It was more difficult than I remember, or I had little to none claims what I wanted from a lather. I just knew that I can trust the brand. Used the Razorock Eco today as it feels closest to a cardridge razor to me. In the end, I still had a great shave. The lather quality was good and it did not leave me with that squeaky soapy feeling. As aftershave I bought this balm on the weekend. I wanted to be on theme and use something mass produced. Something my dad would also use. He has sensitive skin and avoids alcohol in his products now (but I remember that he sprayed perfume right into his face). I also decided to listen to Genesis during the shave, as he had a CD in his car and still talks about them and Pink Floyd. The aftershave was okay. Felt a bit like my cheap moisturizer cream.

FOF

As Fragrance I wanted to use somethng my dad could also use. It should be somethig mainstream. Thats why I came up with Armani code but after I used it, I realized that I chose the wrong fragrance. I thought about Baldessarini. I wanted to use a scent made for men in their best age. What I got was some scent that seemed to be popular in the ‘Fuckboy’ community during my time where I wore One Million. Both target audience were boys who just finished school and went to their first club nights and hoped to be successfull with the other gender. But although Armani Code is among those mainstream schents, its not bad per se. I find it very difficult to distinguish whats in there, but it is sweet and makes you feel very comfortable. I guess I should have bought that more than 10 years ago. Can totally see that this fragrance would have gotten some compliments. Its for the more reserved boys. Those who aspire to be a gentleman, but know that they are young and have things to learn. I am looking forward to show the scent to my gf. I think she will like it.

Daily Challenge: Our challenge is to create our perfect scent. Let me ask a question first! For what occasion? Let me ellaborate. Just yesterday, we had spring day. There are scents that are seasonal, some are not even made for our type. Like the Armani Code I used today, I am growing out of it, but I ll be using fragrances this month that make you look forward to age. I like to mix and match things to the weather, modd/ energy level, and activity I ll be doing that day.
Lets get into more detail for this challenge.
There are days where I am on the office, hacking on my keyboard and maybe having a meeting. I ll also go to the kitchen to eat some food. So the perfect office scent needs to be non offensive but I also want to have a good presence. For that I choose citrus and bergamot as head not, leading to cedarwood, a little vetiver and musk. Lets call that scent “Corpo”
But I also like to go out, eat some ice in the sun, drink beer in the old town, sit by the river, do a barbeque. For that I need something that lifts my mood up. I want Lime, Yuzu, a hint of vanilla and ginger. I want to be a Surf Ninja
Next, I am ofter attending Magic the gathering tournaments. On one of my first tournaments, I had really bad draws for 3 matches ina row and lost every match. Then I started to eat licorice and my hands were bonkers. I won the next three matches. Since then I have a ritual to infuse my body with licorice before a tournament. Licorice tea, licorice honey, licorice soap and aftershave. On the tournament I eat Anise candy and more licorice. It gives luck, so do I believe. Thats why I need a soap for that occasion. Anise in the front, fading to licorice. I think that should be enough. Maybe some cedarwood and patchoulli, but thats optional. Lets call it Luck in your hands.
Last, I go to the gym about 4 to 5 times per week. There I need motivation. I pump myself up by listening to metal. My playlist consists of songs with keywords like ‘blood’, ‘iron’, ‘kill’, ‘steel’. Here I want toxic masculinity in a bottle. I want leather, smoke, gunpowder, hot iron, blood, ash. We could name it Manowar.
And god damn, we need this as a fragrance.