June 28, 2024 – Cheap! Cheap! fun! fun!
- Brush: Omega 40033 24mm #hallow
- Razor: Gillette Tech
- Blade: Bic Chrome (1)
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Lightish Red
- Post Shave: Aqua Velva – Ice Blue
- Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. – Deep Blue Sea
Today’s title references commercials for a local frugal liquor store. It's all about the money saving. Now I added it up, and no surprise, among all the stuff in my den, Stirling remains the value leader. Honestly, it wasn’t even that close. Next closest was the Daveli Farms soap, but by the time I got it had increased to $9 for a 3.5 oz puck (with no tub!) Stirling is just a hair cheaper (I did a rough calculation and normalizing to Stirling tub, DF would be about $15, just over the Stirling price). Additionally, Daveli also had a mandatory $3/item shipping cost. Now, normally I wouldn’t include shipping in my calculation, but if the cost is mandatory per item (and it doesn’t cost $3, to throw an extra puck in the bag mailer it came in) then it probably needs to be counted since no amount of buying spreads the shipping out. Given that it’s more like $12/3.5 oz which is way over Stirling price. Plus, Daveli no longer sells shave soap as far as I can tell (they no longer have any web store presence. They appear to still sell bath soap on site, so who knows.)
Plus, as I noted at the time in my review, Stirling was just better. So, win/win. Not surprisingly, my den is full of Stirling stuff. Yes, I have more Mammoth, but whenever I order coffee from Stirling (which is quite often) a sample or full tub finds its way into my cart. Which is how I ended up with this tub of Lightish Red. I couldn’t pass a on a ~~Halo~~ generic shooter soap. (Seriously love the helmet on the label.)
For these reasons and more I will always stan u/stirlingsoap to everyone who stumbles into the DQ thread asking where to get started. Rod excels at what he set out to do: make a good product at a fair price. I could shave with Stirling for the rest of my life and my wallet would be better off for it. (Speaking of which, I have a Stirling Wallet! They’re awesome, get one! Thanks, sub Secret Santa!)
Everything used here is cheap. For #fof, I paired up a bunch of cheap, color themed things, Lightish Red, Aqua Velva Ice Blue ($5/bottle) and Stirling Deep Blue Sea ($27 for a full botte). I’m certain this is the cheapest stuff in my den, but none of it is bad. The progression from woody, to minty, to aquatic also worked pretty well!
Because I have to use the cheapest stuff, but the rules specifically state “no cartridges” I pulled out my tech. It was $0.49 new according to the internet, which adjusted for inflation is about $5. I originally thought I was going to need to use that shitty $7 Walmart Badger again, but no! As it turns out my Omega Boar, purchased from London Razors, was only $6, making it the cheapest brush I have. Saved by a cheap, but not bad boar. Lastly blades. Had to do some digging, because I have a lot of random blades, but at about $0.19-$0.20/blade the Bic blades sent to me by u/bmac92 are my cheapest on hand. To put all this in perspective, If I used 3 Stirling tubs a year (my estimated usage), 2 bottles of Aqua Velva (WAG, I have yet to finish 1), 50 blades, cheap brush, Tech, it’s just under $65 for the first year of shaving. Brush and Tech carry over, so closer to $55 in year 2+. That’d buy me 32 Harry’s Cartridges, with no soap or splash. Not even a year’s worth. All the inexpensive gear can be seen, per the challenge, in the SOTD pic. (I didn’t include EdT in this calculation because it’s not really necessary to shaving. But you could throw in a Stirling EdT, a steal at $27, and that is probably less than your yearly canned goo cost. Or take the money you saved and buy fancy cologne).
Now a frugal shave would not be a shave in my fancy renovated bathroom. No this, bathroom with its semi-custom sinks and cabinets is not frugal, it’s what a coastal elite would do. Where to go then? My kitchen isn’t high end, but not really frugal either. No, there’s only one frugal shave spot in this house. It’s not outside, I have a fancy patio there. Nope, it’s down at the basement utility sink. The cheapest utility sink I could find at Home Depot. No mirrors, they cost money. Yes, sink is dirty. It’s a utility sink.
Finally, #photocontest, I’ve got a toy boat for water vehicles. How does it tie in? Well, if I had more frugality, maybe I’d be able to afford a real one. I’m limited on expensive hobbies, so for now, the toy is all I get.
Edited for note: Savvy players may rememeber I used Arko last year. that was a smush, it is long gone. This year I did not trade for "cheap smush" to force my calendar. I did what the den said.