June 4, 2024
I WAS MADE FOR LAVENDER

THEME: KISS : MY Assertion for today’s challenge is that LAVENDER IS THE ONE

#photocontest - Darkness

Prep: Shower with Barrister and Mann – Lavender (Cootie Killer liquid soap)

• Brush: Cream & Wine Merit 99-4 by Heritage Collection / AP Shave Co. Pure Bliss SHD Premium Synthetic 24 mm #SHD
• Razor: Rex – Konsul #ADJUSTABLE
• Blade: Gillette - Nacet (1)
• Lather: Ethos Grooming - Lavender Supreme
• Post Shave: Catie’s Bubbles - Lavender Mélange
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Lavender

Mmm, yeah, ha
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do

Tonight, I wanna give it all to you
In the darkness, there's so much I wanna do
And tonight, I wanna lay it at your feet
'Cause, frag, I was made for you and, frag, you were made for me

I was made for lavender, baby, you were made for lovin' me
And I can't get enough of you, baby, can you get enough of me?

Tonight, I wanna smell it in your scent
Feel the magic, there's something that drives me wild
And tonight, we're gonna make it all come true
'Cause, frag, you were made for me and, frag, I was made for you 

I was made for lavender, baby, you were made for lovin' me
And I can't get enough of you, baby, can you get enough of me?
I was made for lavender, baby, you were made for lovin' me
And I can give it all to you, baby, can you give it all to me?

-> MEMORIES OF LAVENDERS PAST

SHAVING WITH OCCAM’S RAZOR

“Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity”, says Wikipedia

That’s why I am using my Rex Konsul adjustable, nickname “Occams”, the ONE razor to ~~rule~~ replace them all.
Man it's good!

First time using the brush, it performed ok but I think I prefer G5 knots.

Ethos' F base is easy and reliable.

CB Aftershave splash provided the requested alcohol kick, “that unique feel of masochistic masculinity” that I was longing for after yesterday’s dry punishment with alum.

BASE WAR STORIES: THE ACE(S) OF BASE(S)

It’s only been a year since I started my exploration of soap bases, so all the ones I put my brush into tend to still be available.

Except Murphy and McNeil bear-tallow Kodiak, made in a limited early run : when the initial small batch of a scent gets sold out, my pain for the non-replicability of the scent / soap base combination is barely sustainable. Then I get distracted by the cringe-y wordplay on “bearly” etc, and my mind gets distracted by bad jokes and puns.

My favorite four aces from non-LE soap bases are the latest from HoM, CG, B+M and DG.
Wildcards: Mo does great stuff with AION, but similarly to Dimitrios from HAGS, he keeps tweaking his bases, to the point where I just got overwhelmed and gave up trying to keep track.

If you are asking me to KISS and tell, i.e. pick just one, think twice: well, my friend, you are entering a world of pain!

FOF WRITEUP

Before it got discontinued, I purchased all the remaining B+M Lavender liquid soap I could find, as it’s my favorite hand and body soap of all time.

As its scent was inspired by the discontinued Caldey Island Lavender, a fragrance that also features a vanilla note (similarly to Caron Pour un Homme, the first masculine lavender in perfume history), I decided that for today’s KISS I was going to use to use it only for the “bookends” of my fragrance journey.

You wanted simple? According to Ethos’ website, Lavender Supreme “contains only 100% pure Organic Lavender Essential Oil sourced from a grower in Provence”.

But me? I can’t say no to the thrill of complexity. Screw you Occam! (Actually, that’s what I do any time I adjust your settings). I mean, isn’t the one of the most remarkable philosophical feats of Catholicism to have so many people agreeing about the existence of multiplicity (in the specific case: trinity) in The One? Here we have “ a blend of 5 high end lavenders from around the world” (multiplicity) “Designed with the sole intention of being the ‘Ultimate Lavender Experience’” (The One!).

Ethos is perfectly nice, but frankly a bit generic and boring.

CB is more nuanced, but damn! It still misses something. What could it be?

Time to go back to B+M Lavender.
More than a dupe, the loving replica of an olfactive monument that was on the verge of disappearance, until it got discontinued again.

Now I see it, the perfumery truth that had been hiding in plain sight.

Vanilla.

In fact, is there anything simpler than that?

FOF

EDITED to add link and fix typos

ROTY