June 4, 2024 – 2024.06.04 – Lather Games Day 4: K.I.S.S.
- Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts Matte Black with 26mm UHD Independent Fibre Knot #SHD
- Razor: Aylsworth Drakkant #CNC
- Lather: Eleven – Organic Sweet Orange
- Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps – Bell Ringer
- Fragrance: Imaginary Authors – Sundrunk
Daily Theme: K.I.S.S.
Theme justification: Eleven Organic Sweet Orange only has one note: “100% pure, organic sweet orange.”
Relevant Post Shave & Frag: Everything in my shave today was citrus. The soap is orange (linked above), the aftershave is Grapefruit, Mango, Orange, Lemon, Lime & more, and the frag scent ”[allows] the cool citrus to wash your worries away” and has citrus notes.
Scavenger Hunt Justification:
Razor facts: The Alysworth Drakkant is made of CNC-machined 316 stainless steel. See /u/Engineered_Shave’s post here.
Brush facts: The “26MM Independent Synthetic Knot – Bulb (UHD)” is listed is listed as Ultra High Density. Compare that to the non UHD bulb, here
Daily/Special Challenge: Base War Stories
I joined the hobby/sub only a year ago. As a result, I missed most of the Base War drama. I’ve heard the horror stories from the elders, though, just like how my grandpa would tell me stories about his time in the war. Well, actually that’s not true. My one grandpa that saw actual combat never spoke about it, and my other grandpa was a peace-time Air Force who served as a librarian while he was stationed in Las Vegas. He got out right before Vietnam. Some of the stories I’ve heard from y’all, though, are something else. Lots of drama going on during those days.
I’ve been lucky enough to try a couple discontinued bases, though, and I have to say my favorite of those is Declaration Grooming’s Bison base. Of the current crop of fantastic bases, I think Darkwing has a slight edge over everything else for me. It’s fantastic stuff. This is not to say that any of the other artisans that are popular around here are bad, of course.
Frag description
Sundrunk might be my favorite fragrance from Imaginary Authors. I purchased a sample pack that came with 9 different frags. Some were winners, some were not. Sundrunk is what I reached for more often than not out of the pack. It’s just a light scent that hits you with the honeysuckle right out of the gate. Reminds me of the times when I was a kid and we’d eat the honeysuckle plants in my Aunt’s yard. It then dries down to a more standard citrus note which has a calming impact on my brain.
Side note: one of the listed notes of sundrunk is “First Kiss.” Yeah, I don’t get that here. I think the IA perfumer and I had different first kiss experiences.
Now onto the shave!
Eleven seems to be relatively new to the this sub. I think a lot of us grabbed our first products from them during the sale where the soaps and splashes were 50% off. While the base is not my favorite (as described above), it is good. It produces a nice slick lather. I also appreciate the simplicity of the scents. Sometimes you just want something that’s easy.
For the aftershave, I had to make it a little more citrus-y. I, unfortunately, did not have any more oranges in my kitchen, but I did have some lemon juice. SBS Bell Ringer already gives me a little burn, so why not knock it up another notch? How bad could it be?
Well, I mixed together the lemon juice and Bell Ringer. Please ignore: 1) the mess on my vanity, and; 2) my wheezing. My nose is currently clogged and I have a bunch of drainage going down my throat. It ended up looking like this. The moment of truth…
Surprisingly, no added stinging. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but this is not a Kevin McCallister moment. I honestly feel like it neutralized some of the sting that I typically get with Bell Ringer. The only thing I now notice is that I smell like a lemon. Thankfully it’s not too strong and is fleeting. Sundrunk will stand out despite the added lemon.
Totals:
Razor Hashtags: 5/10
Brush Hashtags: 5/10
Hardware Sponsor Points: 1/2
Software Sponsor Points: 3/16
Number of Lather Brands: 4/30
Number of Lather Scents: 4/30
Number of Post Shaves: 4/30
Number of Frags: 4/30
Contest Hashtags:
#FOF
#ROTY