June 24, 2024
- Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts - Gold/Blue/Black - 26mm Mags SHD Badger
- Razor: Chiseled Face - Legacy
- Blade: Wilkinson Sword
- Lather: Noble Otter - Orbit Soap
- Post Shave: Elysian Soap Co – Shaved Ice Splash
- Fragrance: Kenneth Cole – Mankind Rise EdT
From Merriam-Webster (the dictionary people):
Exclusive (ik-ˈsklü-siv) adj. 1 a: excluding or having power to exclude; b: limiting or limited to possession, control, or use by a single individual or group. 2 a: excluding others from participation; b: snobbishly aloof
On a day to celebrate community, togetherness, and gifting things to each other, here the judges go sowing division amongst wetshavers everywhere. Now, I am fully aware when I get into Lather Games mode, I can come across as brash, arrogant, insufferable, intolerable, egotistical, pompous, conceited, braggadocious, smug, and possibly a tiny bit self-important. I think self-awareness is key to life, and I am nothing, if not self-aware. I am not going to be everyone’s cup of mountain dew during the Lather Games. I get that. However, today, I hope r/wetshaving realizes that I will, once again, be the one who stands up for what is right. I’ll be the one to take the heat. The one who is critical of the judges, on the behalf of the little shavers everywhere who have never won the Lather Games but are trying their best out there.
Why the desire for sub-exclusives? Why do we want to exclude others from the certain joy that comes with a carefully crafted scent? Is our hobby not niche enough that we need to separate ourselves into “us” and “them”? Those who belong and those who don’t? Why can’t we be inclusive, instead of exclusive?
Has anyone out there ever been excluded from something? Whether you weren’t invited to a party? Or didn’t make the school basketball team? Or not being able to buy bomb-ass scented products because you didn’t know r/wetshaving existed? Now, I’ve never personally experienced anything like that, but I’m sure it isn’t a good feeling. So today, I propose we do away with sub-exclusives! First, we exclude people because they aren’t part of our little shave group, then what other reasons are we giving for excluding people? Dare I speculate?? Excluding people because they aren’t part of “my group” is wrong and it’s a slippery, slippery slope and I won’t stand for it!
So today, I’m speaking up for those who can’t speak up for themselves. We need to include people, not exclude them! Lest we forget:
First, they excluded r/wicked_edge, and I did not speak out - Because I was not a member of r/wicked_edge.
Then, then they excluded Shave Dad, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a member of Shave Dad.
Then they excluded The Brotherhood of The Holy Black, and I did not speak out – Because I didn’t get tattoos of a shaving brand tattooed on my body.
Then they excluded r/wetshaving – and there was no one left to speak for me.
So, join me, in saying: We’re done with sub-exclusives and we’re moving forward together with sub-inclusives! Who's with me!!!???!!!???
Now, I must get off my soapbox and onto my grooming routine: First off, thanks to u/Tetriside for this smush of Orbit. Orbit is designed to remind its users of clean, cool, outer space. I love a lot of what Noble Otter makes, but Orbit didn’t really do it for me. Instead of making me feel like Matt Damon in The Martian, it honestly just kinda reminded me of the dish of potpourri my mom kept in our house when I was a kid. It’s probably the Eucalyptus and Rose notes, but it did not scream outer space to me. Granted, I’m not an astronaut and admitted don’t know what space smells like, but I’m guessing there’s no Eucalyptus there. No surprise, it’s performed wonderfully and the cooling agent gave it a refreshing kick - but the scent wasn’t for me. It’s probably because it just doesn’t remind me of space at all. I used Elysian’s Shaved Ice Splash because is mentholated and shares Eucalyptus as a scent note. Quite honestly the scent of Shaved Ice smells more like clean, cool outer space than Orbit does. The splash is minty, fresh, clean and… Out of this world! (sorry, I had to). My fragrance was Kenneth Cole’s Mankind Rise. From the first spray, I immediate got a whiff of eucalyptus to tie the whole experience together, then the rest of the fragrance was like my interstellar space ship landed in a forest. It’s a woody aromatic scent that’s not bad, but not really something that is especially unique either. It’s fine, but nothing special I like the fragrance to be the special scent to carry me through the day, and this just kinda was there. Overall, while the scents of today didn’t bring me my favorite shave this month, a galaxy away from the worst. #FOF
Oh, and if Summer Break Soaps and Southern Witchcrafts ever do a combined-sub-exclusive-dual-release of a fragrance that share all the same exact scent notes, but the two scents are each unique to their brand/vision/style, please disregard everything I said in the first half of my SOTD and sign me up for a set of each. I think u/rocket455 may have mentioned that at some point? Or maybe is was u/phteven_j? I don’t know… Maybe I dreamt it? But I would love for it to happen.
Soap Theme Justification: Tetriside was so kind to send this to me.
Relevant Post Shave & Fragrance: Eucalyptus in everything. Bonus Eucalyptus fun fact: Eucalyptus is the only thing that Koalas eat. Everyone knows that. But did you know that they will also only eat the leaves off the branch. If Eucalyptus is on a plate or in a bowl, a koala won't recognize the only food they eat as food. It has to be coming directly from the branch or they won’t touch it.