June 4, 2024 – LG Day 4 – K.I.S.S.
- Brush: Omega Model 10048 Pro 48 Chrome Handle Boar #HOLLOW #TOLL
- Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM
- Blade: AccuTec Pro Premium
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Almond Creme
- Post Shave: Cella – Lozione Dopobarba
- Fragrance: Bon Parfumeur – 901: Nutmeg, Almond & Patchouli
Marizpan. One note.
Marzipan is primarily made from almonds, hence the name: Almond Creme. (It’s worth noting that marzipan is neither a creme/cream, nor does it contain cream, so the latter half of the name is rather silly.) If you were to take a good huff of a fresh tub of this soap, you might say out loud to the customer’s at Maggard Razors, “Say! This doesn’t smell like almonds at all! Brad Maggard is a fraud, and so is Rod Stirling! Lock them up, I tell you!” However, there was no fraud committed, nor was there a mistake at the Stirling factory/compound/roaster/household. Almond Creme owes its cherry-like aroma to benzaldehyde, a chemical compound naturally found in almonds. Interestingly, this same compound is also present in cherry pits. So, in a backwards sort of way, if you were to bake a clafoutis, you would be equally as surprised to find the flavor more almond-like than cherry. None of this is particularly relevant, but I seem to have niched myself into a corner of providing fun facts as part of my SOTDs.
Now, if you dive further into my shave, you’ll notice that I don’t keep it simple (stupid) in my post or frag. This is primarily because I don’t own a one-note frag (does one even exist?), nor do I own a one-note aftershave. There was a clear thread going on when I planned this, however. Cella, the grandpappy of almond soaps, created a lozione dopobarba (aftershave) with a bafflingly different and not particularly complementary scent. This isn’t like when Will of BaM made different scented products that were meant to pair beautifully, and then got ran out of town. Quite the opposite. Cella is still beloved, at least among the boomer markets, and the soap and post shave seem to have each been created with complete disregard of the other. So, almond soap, “relevant” post shave, at least per the folks at Cella. Now is where the screw up occurred. On paper/in theory, my frag is relevant, and I believe should be considered as much for the purposes of djudging. However, “901: Nutmeg, Almond & Patchouli” is not the pairing I would recommend. Firstly, my sample of Almond Creme seems to have magically given up all its cherry delights and has absorbed the scents of the other Stirling samples I haphazardly threw in with it. Secondly, as noted, Cella aftershave does not smell like almond (or even cherry). It’s a masculine, barbershop-like, rather stereotypical and inoffensive cologne smell. Which is fine. I like it. But it’s weird to use after an almond soap. Lastly, this frag also does not smell like almond. It smells like the version of patchouli that you smell when entering a hippy-dippy shop that immediately gives you a headache, and then someone threw some warming spices into your face as they leave through the same doors you just walked through. TL;DR: soap that doesn’t smell like almond followed by barbershop splash followed by aggressive hippies. #FOF
I’m too new to the hobby to have fond memories of bases past. I could be like some of the folks at the Ranch and wax poetic about the days of Reserve and complain about how Omnibus funk is an affront to nature, but I don’t actually feel that way. I accept that the Base Race will go on, even though it is a neverending race to the bottom. My favorite base is Highlander because it’s so easy to use, to the point of being foolproof. But 20.1 was also great. I don’t know if either Doug or whatever SBS’s base is called have ever changed. Tusk is rad, as is Darkwing. Stirling sheep base is fantastic, but I’ve never had a bad shave with their standard base that couldn’t be chalked up to user error. All artisan bases are good. We are ultimately slowly destroying ourselves. The end is nigh.