u/Priusaurus's SOTDs for challenge 'Feats of Fragrance 2023'

July 1, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co Candy Stripe 24mm Boar/Badger Mix #MISTURA
• Razor: Roman Empire Shaving Poseidon Shavette #RAINBOW
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Highland Springs Soap Company - Found Cherry
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Black Cherry Splash
• Fragrance: Coty – Raw Vanilla
• Music: Warrant – Cherry Pie

And… Here. We. Go.

Day 1 of this month-long extravaganza I’ve been waiting a year for. Last year was my first Lather Games and it was all fun and games and I placed a respectable 18th place. It was actually higher than I ever expected I’d finish, and I was (and still am) ecstatic with my prize from Barrister and Mann. Last year’s games were when I first really started to feel like I was part of this community. Sure, I posted a little bit here and there, and got good shaving advice, but I never paid much attention to the faceless user names or who was posting what. And I certainly wasn’t inserting myself into anything. Then, the Lather Games changed that, it was fun to mix it up, participate in the stories, and I proudly won the side contest of defending Cosmo’s daily use of Midnight Stag. And it was fun. Now this year, the fun and games are over. It's time to go to work. From this point forward, The 9th Annual Lather Games will forever be known as: The Lather Games: Priusaurus’ Revenge. The gloves are off and I’m playing for keeps.

I’m not going to be as insightful as u/RedMosquitoMM, and I’m my antics aren’t going to come close to u/djundjila in 2021, and I can’t recreate u/CosmoBarber’s 2020 performance. But I don’t need to. I’m going to out-work, out-write, out-interview, and out-shave every last person in this competition. No point will be left on the table. No post will be mailed in. And no challenge won’t be accepted. I’m calling my shot on day 1. Not only am I going to win this damn thing, I just may bring home a perfect score in the process. So be warned, r/wetshaving community: from this point forward, you’re all playing for 2nd place.

Wait – Did Priusaurus say “out-interview”?? You damn right I did. As part of my 2023 Lather Games efforts, I’ve reached out to all the artisans we know and love (and a few that many don’t), and will be including a series I’m calling “10 Questions with…” in the vast majority of daily posts, asking them about themselves and their business.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s reflect on how far I’ve come since the last games. This time last year, I owned 3 razors, 2 brushes, and I could fit all my soaps in a toolbox. This year, I’m at 3 dozen razors, over 15 brushes, and I’d need a giant snap-on tool chest to fit my soap collection. If this is the rabbit hole, I’m gonna need that rescue crew that got those Chilean Miners out of their cave-in to come get me next. However, one thing is staying the same: Last year, I made a commitment not to match scents the entire games, and this year I’m doing the same damn thing. With the exception of Dickhole Day, I won’t be matching anything. I can and own many, many, many matching sets, but I’m #ridingwithItchy for the entirety of The Games. No dickholing here. And that's a promise.

Even with all the growth and progress I’ve made since last year, there’s still a LOT I haven’t shaved with. I still haven’t used a slant razor, never tried an artist club razor, and I’ve never tried a shavette. One of those ends today. I picked up a Roman Empire Shaving Shavette and took it for its maiden voyage today.

I’m also using soap from an artisan I never used before: Highland Springs Soap Company with a scent called “Found Cherry”, which is a dupe of Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry with notes of Black Cherry, Tonka, and Almond. It has a delicious sweetness to it and almost smells like cherry vanilla ice cream without being cloying at all. Found Cherry is almost like Moon Soaps' Amaretto Speciale’s little brother with the Tonka in there to tone it down a notch or two. The smell was very enjoyable. It lathered up great and provided me a nice slick cushion to glide this new shavette across my skin. Anyone that knows me, knows I’m not super picky when it comes to soaps. I really feel like 99% of modern soaps can produce a good lather, and HSSC is no different. I enjoyed using their soap.

The AP Shave Co Boar/Badger mix is my absolute favorite AP Shave Co brush that I own. The knot has the perfect amount of scritch from the boar, with the softness of the Badger to even it out. And his handle looks amazing and feels great in my hand.

I paired Found Cherry with Stirling’s Black Cherry Splash, which smells more like cherry flavored cough medicine, than the delicious cherry from the soap. Then I sprayed on Raw Vanilla for a really nice #FOF combination to balance out the fake cherry from the splash.

Challenge:

I’ve used straights in the last year, which prepared me for my first time with a shavette. This wasn’t as smooth as a straight, but only having to navigate 1.75 inches of blade instead of 3 inches of potentially beheading myself allowed me to be more precise, which I actually liked. But that’s where the advantages ended. The blade wasn’t as smooth, and it didn’t feel as comfortable in my hand as a straight. Like anything, I’m sure with practice it’ll be fine. The good news is, I didn’t cut or nick myself at all, so I have that going for me.

To close out of my essay of the day:

10 Questions with… AP Shave Co.

AP Shave Co is no stranger to our community and is a proud sponsor of these Lather Games, as well as the dude who put together the brush and handle I used today. Andrew was kind enough to play along with my shenanigans. Thank you u/apshaveco! Really appreciate all you do for this community and taking the time to answer these questions:

1. How did you get started selling shaving brushes? What was the process like when you were getting started?

My friend actually got me started by referring me to r/wicked_edge*. From there I got pretty obsessed with the hobby, found a product that wasn't being made readily available easily (what I went on to name the tuxedo) and the rest is pretty much history. Getting started I just sold knots on Etsy, slowly as my name got out there I diversified my product line and built out a full website.*

2. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting AP Shave Co?

Hmmmm this is a really good question. I don't really have one answer that stands out, but I think the biggest lesson I've learned is to just be patient. I'll have so many ideas, so many additions to the lineup, and so many raw materials that I think are awesome, that it all can't be done at once. Taking things one step at a time has proven to be a successful model for me and it also helps me better understand what the "majority" likes, as we all know this hobby can be very YMMV so what I think is great may not be what others see as great.

3. Have you used every type of knot AP Shave Co sells?

Yes. Always. That's the core value of my business. As a hobbyist, I only sell what I'd use personally. If it's not quality and tested by myself, it's not going in the AP Shave Co. lineup. It's my reputation on the line every time I release a product and I take that seriously.

4. If you had to use only one brush/razor/soap/aftershave for a month, what would you pick?

Oh man, this is a tough one. It really depends on the month, but here's what I've been feeling recently:Brush: AP Shave Co. Layered Comfort Aluminum Handle (Bronze) x Muhle 25mm STF Razor: Triangle Slot Tech (Made in Canada) with a Titanium Handle Soap: Chiseled Face Trade Winds Aftershave: Chiseled Face Cryogen Aftershave (love my menthol!)

(CONTINUED IN REPLY TO THIS POST)

July 2, 2023

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps – Berwyn – 26mm Synthetic Cashmere Knot
• Razor: EverReady 1912 #TWINS #BRASSING
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Catie’s Bubbles – Saturday Morning Soap
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Gemutlichkeit Splash
• Fragrance: Thierry Mugler - Angel Men
• Music: Lionel Richie - Easy (Like Sunday Morning)

Day 2 – Don’t have a cow, man Day. It’s crazy how far vegan soaps have come. There was a time when it was thought that it was impossible to make a vegan soap that performs as good as a tallow-based soap – and it would be absolutely unthinkable that there could POSSIBLY be a vegan soap that performs (gasp) better than any tallow based soap.

But I sort of get it. How often is the vegan option ever as good as the traditional option? Anyone that’s ever eaten Vegan Bacon knows the answer to that. Now, imagine if someone made a vegan bacon that tastes exactly like real bacon... Imagine that just for a second. Because, 10 years ago, that’s exactly what Chris Cullen did with Catie’s Bubbles. It was thought to be impossible to make a good vegan soap and Chris saw this as a challenge (his words) and took the shaving world by storm with his soaps, making the naysayers forever regret challenging him to make a good vegan soap (my words). Catie’s Bubbles said to hell with normal convention and somehow made the equivalent of a Beyond Burger that ACTUALLY tastes like a real burger. His vegan soaps are phenomenal and perform just as good (or better than) many of the tallow soaps out there. In today’s world, you can have a damn fine vegan shave. I know it because I did it today. My soap is vegan and my brush is synthetic (and so soft!)

Today, I used the most fun Catie’s Bubbles scent I have – Saturday Morning! It smells exactly like Fruit Loops. Childhood Memory unlocked every single time I open this tub. As part of my #ridingwithItchy Lather Games commitment to not dickhole a single day, my scents are completely opposite, yet go great together. Gemutlichkeit is coffee with chocolate chip cookies and sugar roasted chestnuts. And let you ask you, what goes better with Fruit Loops, than a nice cup of coffee with a side of cookies? Sorry Wheaties. This is a Breakfast of Champions! To round out my #FOF, I’m wearing Angel Men by Thierry Mugler. It’s warm and has the sweetness of caramel with vanilla notes. It smells absolutely amazing and is exactly what my gourmand loving self needs. To me, sweet smelling, gourmand scents are like steroids to WWF Superstar Scott “Big Poppa Pump” Steiner in the 1990s. I get my power from them and I just cannot get enough… But I digress… Absolutely stellar shave today.

For the challenge I made sure I used one of my Gems. Last year, I didn’t have one, then I used an MMOC for AA and I went on a yuuuuuuge Gem kick. While nothing beats my Blackland Sabre, but I’m knocking the #HASHTAGS out of the way as soon as I can, so EverReady today and Gem tomorrow!

I'll give a little peek behind the curtain over here at Priusaurus HQ. Since Saturday Morning smells like Fruit Loops, a few days ago I decided to buy a box of to incorporate this sweet, sugary Food of the Gods into my SOTD pic. I usually wake up earlier than my wife, so I used this time to perfectly set up and take my #photocontest SOTD pic. I was very proud of the result, cleaned it up, and went about my morning of enjoying a little peace and quiet before my twin toddlers wake up.

A few minutes later, my wife woke up and started her morning routine and she noticed the box of Fruit Loops. Now, that's not the type of cereal that we regularly have in our house, so she asks "Why'd you buy Fruit Loops?"

Me: "For The Lather Games."

Mrs. Priusaurus: "Ummmm.... Okay. Do I want to know what Fruit Loops has to do with your shaving competition?"

Me: "You tell me. Do you?"

Mrs. Priusaurus: "The kids wake up in 20 minutes and I haven't had my coffee yet. I just want to tell you I hope you win and let me know if I can help you with your little games at all."

For all you single shavers and shavettes out there, find yourself a ride or die like that! While I don't love that she called this month long extravaganza my "little games" she's still supportive and doesn't question my nonsense or stifle my creativity. She let's this peacock fly free. #keeper

Now, for our daily interview: With a great variety of scents and superior performance, Catie’s Bubbles offers, it’s no surprise they are one of the OGs of the shaving world. And Chris was kind enough to participate in my “10 Questions With…” series. Thank you to u/c_bubbles for taking the time to play along and here’s to 10 more years!

10 Questions with… Catie’s Bubbles

1) Your shave soap is awesome. Everyone knows that. There are two very small details beyond your soap quality and scents that I really, really like about your offering: You offer 2oz soaps, which allows your customers to try more of your soaps without committing to a “full size” tub. And you pour your 4oz soaps in a 8oz tub (and 2oz in a 4oz tub) to allow for loading the brush in the tub without making a mess. Are you surprised more artisan soap companies don’t replicate these approaches?

Every soapmaker has different approaches to their businesses. Some offer no samples, some offer samples of the scent in little vials of an aftershave, some will send "sniffies" (basically a q-tip dipped in the fragrance blend), and other variations. I'm a one person operation so tiny samples are too time consuming for me to offer and the 2oz jars serve multiple purposes since a 4oz soap is not TSA compliant so they also work well as a safe option for air travel. As for the oversized jars with the extra headroom, that was partially a response to the biggest complain people had when I was filling the same jars to the brim with over 8oz of soap......they made a mess but now the mess is contained.

2) The name, “Catie’s Bubbles”, is named after your daughter. How often do people get mixed up and think Catie runs the business?

I've gotten many emails addressed to Catie and I've even seen a video or 3 on YouTube where they think she's me.

3) What does your daughter think about the business now? Is she providing free labor for you? How much longer until you’re working for her?

She used to tell everyone who would listen that she was THE Catie of Catie's Bubbles, that's cooled off a bit as anything Dad does is embarrassing to a 15 year old. She makes herself as scarce as possible when any production is going on but I will occasionally get her to help me make runs to the post office. She wants her future to be in the performing arts and is even attending a special high school for it so I don't think she'll ever take over the reins.

4) When you’re shaving, how often are you using Catie’s Bubbles products vs. other artisans’ shave products?

I've got a ton of products from other vendors but most of my shaves are with my own creations. Occasionally I'll dig out a jar of Mickey Lee's, Talbot, or one of the old White Label B&M soaps (still think that was their best base) but it's on the rare occasion I'm not doing QC or evaluating something I've been working on.

(CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 3, 2023

• Brush: Oumo Pandora – 28mm Badger #SHD
• Razor: GEM 1912 #TWINS
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Moon Soaps – Amaretto Speciale Cream
• Post Shave: Talent Soap Factory – Fantasy Donut Splash
• Fragrance: Valentino – Born in Roma Yellow Dream
• Passes: WTG, ATG
• Coffee: Acoustic Java – Burundi Turihamwe
• Grinder: 1Zpresso JX-Pro Manual Coffee Grinder – Setting 28.
• Brewing Method: Hario V60 Pour-Over
• Additions to Coffee: 10mg Collagen
• Breakfast: Overnight Oats with Chia Seeds and Blueberries
• Daily Yoga Session: Yoga with Adriene – Full Body Flow
• Color of the Day: Green
• Music: Dean Martin - That's Amore

HAPPY ALMONDAY EVERYONE! Today, I get to use one of my absolute favorite soaps, so I’m so pumped about it. Moon Soaps Amaretto is the Gold Standard for Almond/Amaretto soaps. There is such a delicious sweetness to it as soon as you open the tub. The scent is so, so, so good. The smell of sweet almond is combined with dark cherries, and buttery biscotti. F’ing Yum! It’s like taking a delicious trip to Italy in shave form! I’m the self-proclaimed Gourmand King, and this soap is one of the best.

As a company, Moon Soaps is one of the best, too. I touched base with Melody and Zack for my 10 questions series, but for those that don’t know, Zack is a butcher and has everyone in his shop save the fats from the rib meat (and only the rib meat because that what he says produces the best soaps) to use to make soaps. On the label it says “From the Butcher to the Barber”. How badass is that?? Before I get to the interview, more on the shave: Great lather and great smells coming from the soap, which is actually more of a cream, because with Moon Soaps, they have several different soap bases, depending on the soap. Pretty much every soap they offer has its own unique recipe and consistency. The cream offered a luxorious slickness and softness and my skin felt so good after using it. Have I mentioned how much I love this soap?

For the post-shave, I continued my quest to #ridewithItchy every single day of the Lather Games. No matchy-matchy here! So, I kept things sweet, because I get my power from sweet scents, I used Talent Soap Factory’s Fantasy Donut to bring a little glazed donut scent to this Amaretto party. I wish the scent strength of the splash was just a notch stronger, because it’s good, but light.

And finally, for my #FOF fragrance, I stuck to sweet and I kept on the Italy theme and went with Valentino’s Born in Roma. It’s like a perfumy Gingerbread. So, we got Amaretto Soap, Donut Splash, and Gingerbread frag. Thank GOD I’m only smelling all this and not actually eating all this, because today’s shave has type 2 ‘betes written all over it. For an ordinary person, this would be a little much for a hot, humid July day, but I’m not an ordinary person, so I LOVE it.

My #photocontest entry is Space, because my wife’s engagement ring has a meteorite inlay in the band. Like her, it’s absolutely one of a kind and OUT OF THIS WORLD.

For the daily challenge, hats off to u/RedMosquitoMM. Last year was my first Lather Games and you showed me what a winner posts like and how a true winner conducts himself on the sub. You’re informative, helpful, and respectful to everyone. I can guarantee after I win this year, I will not be nearly as humble or gracious as you were last year. In honor of Red, I’ve included my passes, coffee, brewing method, breakfast, daily yoga session, music, and color of the day in the headline of my SOTD because I’m pretty sure that’s everything that he includes in his posts. In one big way, Red is similar to the artisans behind Moon Soaps, because in both cases, their attention to detail is top notch. Making Red a top-tier champion and making Moon Soaps a top-tier artisan.

The details that Zachary & Melody they put into every aspect of every soap is impressive. I don’t think there’s another soapmaker out there that does what they do – render the tallow in house, create the scents in house, design the labels in house, package and ship everything in house, and use a different soap base for pretty much every soap. Literally everything they do is in house. They have 9 different scents and don’t release new scents on a schedule. They wait to get it right each time. And in talking to them, they are some of the most pleasant people in the business. They stay in their lane and don’t mix it up on reddit, so I can’t tag them, but THANK YOU MELODY AND ZACK for playing along with my shenanigans and being so open about your business.

10 Questions with… Moon Soaps

1) One of the more interesting things I know about your company is that Zachary is a butcher and the tallow you use for your soaps comes from his work. What happens to the tallow that you folks can’t use?

Can’t use? That’s never happened. We are always struggling to find the time to render down more!

2) I’ve often thought that using tallow in soaps is actually more “green” because it ensures that there is less waste coming from the meat industry. Tallow, which would exist with or without soapmaking, would otherwise be thrown away. Now it is being used and not wasted. Is that a fair assessment to make?

Sort of. 20 years ago fat was an actual commodity that was boxed up and sold to meat markets to use for various applications. Now, all fat needs to be inspected by the feds if it is to be sold… a process that is too expensive and frustrating for the little money to be made from its sale. Most slaughter houses and packing plants just throw it out and let a tallow company dispose of it for them. In our case, my shop saves all the good rib fat for me as steaks are trimmed- a great way to keep quality control and its green.

3) Between the two of you, you do everything from rendering the tallow, to designing the scents, to designing the labels, packaging the product, sending everything out, and obviously making the soaps. All of these take a lot of skill to do on their own, yet you do them all! What is the most challenging part of running every aspect of your business in house?

Probably the most challenging this is juggling family life and the need to turn off the business mind and just be with the family. As an entrepreneur you’re always thinking about new things and trying to remain relevant. You’re correct, we do handle every aspect of our business ourselves. I think the hardest part for me is the photography, even though I took several semesters of photography classes in high school & college haha! We would love to work with other people to help grow and express our concept. Zack and I both have an art background so the creative aspect has always been the foundation of Moon Soaps.

4) You currently have 9 shaving soaps for sale. Which is each of yours’ favorites and which is your best seller?

(Melody) Probably, my personal favorite at this moment is our newest scent Bixby. Our fan favorite is Amaretto; a scent has been used for over ten years. We are still thrilled when we hear reviews from customers loving it! (Zachary) I’m pretty into Astoria right now. That one hasn’t left my countertop since its release.

​

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 4, 2023

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts X John Butcher 24mm "Mark" Brush with Tuxedo Synth Knot
• Razor: Gillette SuperSpeed #REGUS
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Grooming Dept – Soap (Kairos 2022)
• Post Shave: Lather Bros – Flora Colussus Balm
• Fragrance: Jimmy Choo – Flash
• Music: Dream Theater – Another Day

Happy 4th of July to everyone out there and a Happy Independence Day to my fellow American Shavers & Shavettes. For Americans, today is a day to celebrate declaring our independence from England by eating hot dogs, lighting off fireworks, and hopefully ending the weekend with the same number of fingers as we started with. And for r/wetshaving, we celebrate by shaving with spring-time scents! Today, we have florals, grasses, and petrichors. Oh my!

Today, I shaved with Soap soap by Grooming Dept, in the Kairos 2022 base. I specify that, because this Soap soap’s scent notes are white florals, rose, and fresh air, HOWEVER Grooming Dept has released a few different soaps called Soap, so things can get a little confusing. The good news, however, is that white florals and rose are spot on for a spring-time theme. When I smell this soap, the first adjectives that come to mind are fresh flowers and clean. I’m immediately hit with floral characteristics as soon as I open the tub and it continues on as I give it a good lather. It’s like I’m walking down a path of a botanical garden. I literally contemplated taking a Claritin thanks to the abundance of florals in this soap (note: I did note ACTUALLY consider taking medication because of the soap’s scent. By “literally” I meant “figuratively”). The soap smells great and performed wonderfully.

My commitment to #ridewithItchy and not dickhole for every day of the Lather Games continues, as I finished the shave with Flora Colussus, because what is the best way to finish a floral shave? With the COLUSSUS OF FLORALS! I actually don’t love this balm. I bought it randomly because it was on sale and it smells good, however, it is mentholated and it makes no mention of that on that front of the package or in the product description. The first time I used it, I thought my face was about to burn off. Seriously, I actually thought I was having an allergic reaction, but nope. I checked the ingredients and sure enough: Just menthol. The product description says “Besides healing and nourishing your skin after a shave, it also offers great relaxing and calming feeling for those stressful days.” Ummmm… It wasn’t calming or relaxing when my face was unexpectedly melting off! So, a note to all the artisans out there: Please make it abundantly clear if/when you add menthol to your products. I need to mentally prepare myself for that sort of thing.

For today’s fragrance, Jimmy Choo’s Flash was the perfect #FOF pairing. It was like Soap’s better-looking twin. It’s floral and perfect for Spring Day (in the Summer). If I had to literally (figuratively) take Claritin for Soap’s lather, then I’d definitely literally (figuratively) take Flonase after spraying this one on. Smells wonderful, like I’m walking in a field of flowers. It’s Spring in a bottle and you don’t need allergy medicine to enjoy it.

I was very fortunate my white roses are currently in bloom, because it made for a pretty good #photocontest pic. At first, I tried to perch the soap, razor, brush, balm, and frag in the bush and take a pic like that, but the branches couldn’t hold it, and I kept pricking myself on the thorns, so I cut off a few roses, and sprinkled on a few petals for good measure. Made for a better pic plus far less pain for me. #winwin

DISCLAIMER: I won this soap, “Soap”, through this PIF by u/GroomingDept. It has in no way influenced my opinion of the soap, “Soap”.

For today, we have a science challenge. And who doesn’t love science?? We’re here, discussing shaving on the internet thanks to science. You know the expression that “baking is a science and cooking is an art”? Well, yeah, I’ve always been better at cooking than baking. When I bake, it drives my wife crazy because I’m not the best a measuring things. If I have a 12 ounce bag of sugar and a recipe calls for 4 ounces, I’ll just eyeball out a third of the bag. And apparently that’s frowned upon. And like my cooking style, my shaving style also goes more by feel. So, a challenge like this is somewhat of a… Well…. Challenge. But, no one said the Lather Games was going to be easy! So, let’s cook I start of the shave by soaking my brush in warm water while I take a shower (about 10 minutes). After the shower, I go immediately to the sink and turn on the hot water, I replace the brush soaking water with fresh hot water again and fill up the sink while loading from the tub (approx. 30 seconds). Take the brush and swirl it in the soap tub until a decent lather starts up, then bring it to your face, and start to build a nice lather into your skin. Continue doing this until the lather has a nice sheen and the bathroom sink, counter, and mirror are covered with lather that went flying off the brush. The bigger the mess, the better you’re doing. When all is said and done, loading from the bowl will use a little less than a gram of shave soap. As far as the shave itself goes, the sharpness of the blade will decrease by approximately 7% after each pass. Upon completion of the shave, wipe everything down and tally up how much water you used. My sink faucet operates at 2.2 GPM, and I let the sink fill up for approximately 30 seconds while lathering. Fortunately, the water is already hot, so we don’t need to account for losses from getting the water hot, so I’m confident I used less than 1.5 gallons of water for my shave. Then, of course, I needed another 3 gallons for clean-up. All things considered, the shave took 13 minutes, 26 seconds. Yes, this is all standard, and no, I didn’t measure a damn thing, but who says science needs to be exact or accurate??

For today’s interview, I have the dude who made the shaving brush I used today – Stephen Joiner of Dogwood Handcrafts. I feel so fortunate that I just recently acquired one of his brushes and I really need to have him create a custom one for me at some point in the very near future. So, r/wetshaving’s favorite brushmaker was such an amazing sport with this request. I sent every artisan 10 typed out questions and u/Phteven_j asked if it would be okay to record a video instead. Ummmm… Hell yes it would! Originally, I thought maybe I’d type out his answers, then I watched his video. So, Stephen answered all of my questions and more in this 27 minute video. Thank you so much Stephen! You have no idea how much I appreciate you doing this. Since this is video format, I’m going to include the questions I sent him below with timestamps to his answers, but honestly, watch the whole thing. It’s insightful as all get-out and Stephen goes on a great tangent or two. Such a great dude to do this. And Fuck Mojo Handcrafts (you’ll get this once you watch the interview).

Ten Questions with… Dogwood Handcrafts

1) Have you always had a knack for creating? Whether it be art, or things that are functional, or the functional art that you’re known for today?

:50

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 5, 2023

• Brush: My hand
• Razor: Schick Hydro 4 in 1 Groomer
• Blade: Schick Hydro 5
• Lather: Gillette Foam
• Post Shave: Harry’s - Post Shave Balm
• Fragrance: Liz Claiborne – Curve for Men
• Music: Gillette – The Best a Man Can Get

In a weird way, I’ve been looking forward to today. I haven’t shaved with canned goop since I picked up wetshaving almost two years ago. Even last Lather Games, I used Cremo with a DE razor because I didn’t want to go back. But now, for the first time, I realized if I want to truly be dedicated to the Lather Games, we have to go back. So I’m going back. I’m going back to a simpler time, when I didn’t have to decide what scent profile to use on a given day or what razor I felt like using today.

Shortly after I got the hang of shaving with a DE and using shave soap, like so many from r/wicked_edge, I declared to myself “I’m never going back” to shaving with canned goo and I got rid of any and all of that shave stuff I had. For today’s shave, I went down to CVS and bought a travel sized Gillette Shaving Foam. Off the jump, the scent was kinda reminiscent of my dad in my childhood. It was light, basic, and kinda fresh

The razor I chose for today is perfect for the man (or woman) on the go. It’s a half trimmer and half cartridge razor. It’s actually called a “4-in-1 high performance styling tool that Shaves, Edges, Trims, and Hydrates.” I’ll concede that it does shave, but aren’t edging and trimming the same thing?? And how the hell does this thing hydrate?!? Unless it has a button that shoots out moisturizer, I’m calling shenanigans on the hydration factor. At any rate, it’s at least a 2-in-1. Have you ever felt the need to trim your sideburns before or after your shave? Or when you get out of the shower, do you ever look at your sideburns and think, “damn, I gotta trim this back”? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this is the perfect razor for you! Toss in a AAA battery and you’re good to go! This is perfect for the person on the go who also uses a 4-in-1, Shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, and moisturizer shower gel!

The foam actually felt okay on my skin, but the razor was a catastrophe. It was so big and awkward, sure it’s nice to be able to trim any and all hair back at a moment’s notice, buuuuuttttt…. Is it really necessary? Who’s to say? I say no, but I’m only one man. After this shave, I can safely say, I’m never going back to cartridge razors, and if I do, it’s not going to be this monstrosity. I finished the shave off with Harry’s Post Shave Balm, which actually wasn’t bad. Felt fine and smelled okay. And then for the fragrance, I dug deep into my memory of working at CVS when I was in high school in the late 90s/early 00s. Out of all the fragrances, we sold more Curve for Men than just about any fragrance in the cabinet. Spraying this on brought me way, way, way back to a time of JNCO Jeans with a pocket big enough for my Disc-man, and a flannel shirt tied around my waist. Ahhhh… Those #FOF memories.

For today’s challenge, I’m sticking with my love of gourmand. I need someone to make a S’Mores scent: Marshmallow, Graham Crackers, and Chocolate. There’s a pre-blend out there, but it includes smoky firewood, and I don’t want smoke in my gourmand. I also dream of someone making a scent that smells of coconuts, the beach, and aged wood, then adding a touch of Ginger and calling it Gilligan’s Island.

For the #photocontest, I put all this shit in a hole so I can bury it and hopefully never see it again.

Just because I’m not using a world-class artisan today, doesn’t mean I’m not gonna include an interview. So I went to Gillette’s website and started a live chat. So, without further ado, here is:

10 Questions with… Wendy from Gillette’s Live Chat

Wendy: Hi I'm Wendy. How may I help you today?

1) Me: Hi Wendy - I'm thinking about switching to the King C. Gillette Double Edge razor, like my grandfather used to use. Can I get a better shave with a double-edge razor?

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us here at Gillette. I am happy to assist you by sharing information on this product with you today. The King C. Gillette Double Edge Safety Razor features: Our Iconic heritage-inspired design, A single-blade razor designed for edging sideburns and strong beard lines to help you achieve your perfect look, Long-lasting sharp blades for ultimate precision - Thin sheet of high-quality stainless steel coated with platinum for durability and an anti-friction coating for comfort, Closed comb head for the best control. When we design our products, we do extensive research and consumer testing to create features that we think you will love. We know that preferences can vary from person to person, though, so we really appreciate your taking the time to reach out.

2) Is it difficult to learn how to shave using a double-edged blade?

I am happy to share with you how to shave with this product. One moment while I collect this information. First, choose a razor that feels good in your hand. Weight is important, as you do not want to apply any pressure. You should let the razor do the work. To shave with a safety razor, do the following. Shower or wash with warm water, then lather shaving cream over your face and neck. Hold the razor guard at a 30° angle to the skin. (You may not be able to keep the razor at this angle around the nose, ears, and chin.) Hold the razor firmly to guide it in the direction of the shave without pressing too hard. The weight of the razor should be pressure enough. Make the skin tight by flexing your facial muscles into appropriate positions or using your free hand to stretch the skin away from the direction that you’re shaving. Start shaving in the direction of hair growth. If necessary, apply more shave cream and shave lightly against the direction of hair growth. The coarser and thicker the hair, the shorter the strokes you will need to use. Use short, choppy strokes when shaving around the jaw and chin. Rinse your face, pat dry, and apply an aftershave product to the skin. I am happy to share a few additional tips: We recommend you change the blade on a specific day each week. A blunt blade can ruin your shave. If you’re new to using a safety razor, take your time. You will not master the technique on the first shave.

3) How long does a typical Fusion, 5-blade cartridge last vs. a blade for a double edge razor?

The lifetime of a blade depends on various factors. How tough and thick your hair is; How often you use the razor & on which areas of the body. How well you rinse the razor. To get the best shave, we recommend you change your blade at the first sign of blade dullness or discomfort. If you can't remember when you last changed the blade, that probably means it's time for a new one. https://gillette.com/en-us/products/beard-care/king-c-gillette-double-edge-razor You can view or purchase this product right from our website. This product would ship to your home with free shipping.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 6, 2023

• Brush: Zenith B16 24mm Boar #OLDWORLD #HOLLOW
• Razor: Gillette – Fatboy #DIAL
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. – 40 Soap
• Post Shave: Chicago Grooming Co. – 40 Splash
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. – 40 EDT
• Music: Prince Swanny - Stacking

I have mixed feelings about today. On the one hand, Chicago Grooming Co.’s 40 is one of my favorite scents. It’s inspired by Tom Ford’s Fucking Fabulous, which I have never smelled, but I can confirm that 40 is absofuckinglutely fabulous. But on the other hand, I want to #ridewithitchy for every day of the Lather Games because matching your soap to your aftershave to your fragrance is indeed bad, sad, and boring. But the Lather Games Djudges bestowed this upon us today, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Today is the only day I’m going to match scents, so I’m sorry to the #FOF judges for being uncreative and lame today. My hands are tied. The good news is the scent is awesome. It’s a perfect balance of leather & tonka with a subtle sweetness coming from vanilla and almond and a slight floral of lavender and sage. It is so, so good. If there’s one scent that I don’t mind dickholing to, it’s this one. This scent is my go to when I need to smell good in a formal setting – weddings, funerals, trips to the dollar store, or important meetings… Things like that. I have to leave the house today for work today, and I’m happy the stars aligned with my schedule and I’m smelling ~~remarkable~~ Fucking Fabulous on a non-work from home day.

For my #photocontest, I’m doing light sources because this product deserves to be in the spotlight and I thought adding my desklamp to the stacking would make for a cool pic.

And of course, everyone’s favorite challenge (that we missed last year): Stacking! I was originally going to use a 3-piece razor today, buuuuuttt I figured the butterfly doors from the Fatboy would act as a better stand to balance stuff on, plus the weight and girth of the Fatboy would make for a decent base. Also used this Zenith brush because it is the lightest one I own (thanks to being #hollow) plus it matched the color scheme I was going for. After many falls, I have to say thanks to Chicago Grooming Co for using a well-made splash bottle. The thing literally hit my hardwood floor about 10 times. The first time, my heart skipped a beat. Mostly because I hadn’t shaved yet and I needed to use it today, but also the thought of breaking a bottle of splash on my office floor would make me incredibly sad... But my perseverance prevailed and I was able to balance everything for just long enough to take a couple pics before everything came crashing down. Hopefully this challenge doesn’t serve as a metaphor for my 2023 Lather Games performance – Strong presentation, and trying so hard to hold everything together just long enough to matter, then everything comes crashing down behind the scenes. Could actually be said for my life, as well. Big yikes! ANYWAY, let’s move on…

For my interview today, I chatted with Vida Perez from u/chicagogroomingco. She’s one of the absolute best in the business. You ever get the sense of “I really don’t know this person, but I could absolutely be friends with them”? That’s what I got going back and forth with Vida. She’s so nice, down to earth, and completely got what I was going for with my questions. Thank you so much for playing along, Vida, and making amazing stuff!

10 Questions with… Chicago Grooming Co.

1. It took me far too long to connect the duck dots in the naming of Canard and Darkwing. So, I ask you, as a cartoon duck aficionado: How do you think Scrooge McDuck is able to swim through all those coins?

Loooolll (thanks for that laugh) Scrooge McDuck has been around a long time and practice makes just about anything possible. Plus, I hear ducks are slippery little buggers.

2. On a roadtrip, who should be in charge of the music playlist? The driver or the passenger?

Always the passenger BUT you gotta have some trust in your co-pilot otherwise that playlist might have you rethinking your whole trip.

3. You clearly put a ton of effort into making products that will make your customers’ skin feel good. Other than skin care, what do you do to make yourself feel good?

Hair care! I went from COMPLETELY bald to rocking a lovely poufy head full of hair. Gotta take care of the locks.

4. Of the different scented products you’ve made, what’s your favorite scent that you’ve released?

Hmm, man this is always a tough one...Pucker… Probably because it's so darn fresh and clean

5. It’s not a secret that you are the one making the products for House of Mammoth, how much of you time is spent making and developing your own stuff vs making products for Ben (or others?)?

Lately most of my time is spent in production for House of Mammoth but I have plenty of time for CGCo and other creative pursuits. Around a drop, things can get hectic but after that everything calms down again. It's all manageable.

6. How often does someone think they’re hilarious and hit you with a “Livin’ the Vida Loca” reference? Did this question count as one?

Oh goodness when that song came out EVERYONE thought they were so clever. I got REALLY good at giving a meanie faced hard stare. Nah, you're fine. It was a long time lol

7. What’s the best Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago?

Giordanos, argue with your momma (please don't argue with your mother). I'm sorry Mrs. [Priusaurus’ Last Name], I didn't mean it like that!

8. Women have much larger area to shave, and (generally speaking) women tend to put a greater emphasize on skin care and self-care, yet the wetshaving “hobby” a male dominated. Keeping that in mind, my question is: Why do Chicagoans still call the Willis Tower the Sears Tower?

*Cackle*

Because you just don't go around changing things simply because someone bought something. I mean, seriously!

9. What's next on the horizon for Chicago Grooming Co?

EDP samples, collabs... A little of this, a little of that ... Good times to be had all around

10. How does Chicago Grooming Co. differentiate itself from other shaving soap companies out there?

My goal has always been to make very high quality products accessible to as many people as possible. Whether it's shaving soap, hair care or personal care products, I believe everyone should have an opportunity to try some of the good stuff and I'll continue to do exactly that as long as I can.

July 7, 2023

• Brush: Terrafirma Soapery - Mallee Burl and Resin Shaving Brush Handle w/ 28mm G5C knot #COMPOSITE #FAUXFUR #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Chiseled Face – Legacy #CNC
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Spearhead Shaving - Spiced
• Post Shave: Terrafirma Soapery – Chesapeake Bay Rum Splash
• Fragrance: Antonio Banderas - Spirit
• Music: Spice Girls – Spice Up Your Life

Thank God Dickhole Day is behind us and I can feel free to Spice up my shaves without having to match scents. My quest to #ridewithitchy for every day this month and not match scents at all continues after a bad, sad, and boring day yesterday. After yesterday’s dickhole day, do you know what I want? I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want. I want to shave with Spearhead Shaving’s Spiced! And looking ahead at the Calendar, looks like at lot of great shaves are coming up! Ain’t No Stopping Us Now!

Spiced is a delicious blend of Mandarin, Aledhydes, Carnation, Anise, Cinnamon, Clove, Cardamom, Benzoin, Tonka, Vanilla, Baby, Sporty, Scary, Posh, & Ginger. Carefully crafted by Shawn Maher to resurrect the old Seaforth brand, this is one of my favorite, favorite soaps. Last year, I shaved with it on Desert Island Day (and wrote an awesome wetshaving inspired song to the tune of “Spice Up Your Life”). I didn’t record it like u/Crisp_Mango, did this year, but the lyrics are there, even If U Can't Dance to it. Over a year later, and this is still one of the best soaps for me. The Spearhead base is awesome and the scent is strong, but not Too Much. And when we are lucky enough to shave with a great base AND a great scent, and then those 2 Become 1 and we are lucky enough to shave with this masterpiece.

I always shave with the grain, then zig-a-zig-aaahhhcross the grain for a wonderful two pass shave that gave me a Baby-smooth face. After the shave, I used Chesapeake Bay Rum Splash by Terrafirma Soapery, who included this sample in with the brush handle I bought from him. It’s a beautiful Ginger color and left my face feeling wonderful. The scent of the splash is more on the sweeter side of bay rum scents I’ve tried, but still gives plenty of spice. It can sometimes be Scary using a new product, but I’m happy I gave this splash a try.

I wasn’t feeling too Posh today, so I’m using Spirit by Antonio Banderas to close out the shave. It’s a nice spicy scent that left me feeling strong, independent, and full of Power - a great #FOF! It’s classy enough for the boardroom, but still being light enough if you’re going to the gym to be Sporty with your buddies after work. At this point, you probably want me to Stop with the Spice Girls references, so let’s move onto the Challenge.

For the #photocontest, we have some peppers because it's spicy day and vegetables are good for you!

CHALLENGE

I actually posted about this on the sub last year, but I’ll post it again for those who didn’t see it, weren’t around, or just forgot. One of my favorite hobbies is antiquing, which has some parallels to wetshaving: Finding vintage things, breathing new life into a long-forgotten item or tradition, and appreciating the past. If I'm stressed, I love walking around a few local antique stores around me.

Here's a before and after of one of my antiquing finds/projects.

Some time ago, an old cast iron kerosene water heater caught my eye, and I was not entirely sure what I was going to do with it, but knowing it would never been a water heater again and it was too interesting to end up in a scrapyard. When I brought it home, I let it sit for a few days, and I thought I'd try to turn it into a lamp. I had never made a lamp before, but this seemed like it could be a fun project. So I just started taking it apart, bit by bit, while researching how to make a lamp. I used steel wool to get the rust off, polished it up with a cast iron polish, painted the lettering copper, and learned out how to wire a lamp, even making the on/off switch a blue valve. I added a gauge that serves no purpose, other than looking cool, and put everything together.

Finally, here's the finished product: the there is a flickering bulb at the bottom that simulates fires, representing the flame that used to be there to heat water 100 years ago and here's it with the door open, showing off the copper coils that water used to travel through to be heated, and now my electrical wiring travels through.

This is such an appropriate challenge for today, because for today’s installment of “10 Questions with…”, I have Dennis from Spearhead Shaving. He knows a thing or two about breathing new life into something that is long forgotten, and he was kind enough to take part in my shenanigans and give some really good, thoughtful answers to my questions. And he’ll finally answers the one question we’ve all wanted to know: WHO IS DENNIS’ FAVORITE SPICE GIRL? All that and more coming up below!

In all seriousness, Dennis is such a great part of this community and his soaps are top-notch. Thank you for playing along with this, u/IronBeard_SYS! Really appreciate you taking part in this series. Without further ado, I present to you:

10 Questions with… Spearhead Shaving

1) What's the meaning behind the name "Spearhead Shaving?"

My grandfather was a Captain in the 3rd Armored "Spearhead" division in WWII. He was also an avid wet shaver, never missing a day of shaving.

I was doing some biographical research into him when u/wegianwarrior posted a picture of his vintage Khaki Set. I liked the design for my own work travel - especially knowing that my grandfather probably used the same case at some point. So when I decided to recreate it I thought Spearhead would be a nice homage for a vintage-inspired product.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 8, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi – Evil Zebra #TOLL
• Razor: GR100B #KAMISORI
• Blade: Feather – Professional SoftGuard AC Blades
• Lather: Maggard Razors – Mango Sage Tea Soap
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Mountain Man Splash
• Fragrance: Giorgio Armani – Code
• Music: Snoop Dogg, Fabolous, Dave East - Make Some Money

Happy Maggard Day!! Maggard Razors has become the premiere place to buy any and all shaving related items. What started as Brad Maggard renting a space to service straight razors has turned into a small Mecca for those of us who consider our daily grooming routine a hobby. I still haven’t been to the storefront in Michigan, but I’m hoping the stars align and my schedule allows me to go to the World Famous Meet-Up next year. Being able to meet so many artisans, talk with those on the sub, and sniff so many products sounds like a wonderful time for me and an awful time to be my bank account.

There are other places to buy shave stuff, but none reach the level of Maggard's when it comes to service, selection, or knowledge. If you email them, odds are it will be Brad who responds. This community is a better place because of Brad's small business. So I'm happy to continue to support his small business and hope one day it becomes a large business.

I actually just Googled what the definition of "small business" is: it's 500 employees!! Holy cow! That's a lot bigger than I expected. If that's the case, I'm not sure Brad would want to grow that much. But if that's what he wants, that's what I want too. And if not, I hope he keeps chugging along and doing things the right way.

So lets take a ~~minute~~ entire day and raise a glass to one of the guys who enables us the most: Brad Maggard!

Today, I used the Maggard’s House Brand Mango Sage Tea Soap. I this is a wonderful, slightly sweet scent that is perfect for a July day. The Mango is there to lift the soap up, the sage brightens the scent, while the tea bring everything back down to earth. It’s a great, well-balanced scent and the soap performed brilliantly. It provided a smooth slick lather that was easy to build.

I used Stirling’s Mountain Man aftershave splash because the bergamot and tea go great with the tea in the soap. And it also has an orange note that I thought would complement the mango from the soap. Because oranges and mangos go together like peas and carrots.

For my fragrance, I went with Armani Code because it’s bergamot and lemon notes would play nicely with the tea and citrus fruits from the soap/splash. If the soap and splash were like peas and carrots, this fragrance was the mashed potatoes. Everything was brought together for a #FOF win and I am feeling fresh to death.

For the #photocontest, I have wildlife! I saw a rabbit in my backyard, grabbed my shaving stuff and took a pic just quickly enough before he ran off.

CHALLENGE

Ask a question? The challenge is to ask a question? Aren’t the challenges supposed to be… A challenge? Here’s a link to the thought provoking question I asked.

I absolutely recognize that some challenges are easier than others and the challenge announced tomorrow could very well be “Shave blindfolded, while balancing on one leg, humming the theme song to ‘The Golden Girls’, and wearing a tutu” so I’m just gonna take the W with this challenge and mentally prepare myself to shave my legs in a couple weeks.

Continuing on with my “10 Questions with…” Series, I touched base with Brad Maggard, founder of the World Famous Maggard Razors. He gives a lot of insight into is business and the wetshaving industry as a whole. This one is definitely worth a read! Thank you so much for taking part, u/undream22!! So, let’s get into it:

10 Questions with… Maggard Razors

1) You started your store in 2012, what did you see in the marketplace that made you think this was a good idea?

Service was always the driving force that got me thinking about renting a space that wasn't my garage. At some points in 2011-early 2012 I would have 20, 30, even 40 straight razors waiting for work in my queue. The store idea didn't really come until AFTER I had rented a space in our downtown to move my workshop to so I could be more efficient at servicing straights. I figured - if I was there working, why not have the door open and sell a few items? Of course, that part snowballed, so, I kind of "fell into" the market - it was not a calculated effort to open a store.

2) At the time, did your friends and family think you were crazy to open a store dedicated to shaving like our Grandfathers?

Everyone thought I was nuts. But, my first storefront lease was $350/mo, and at the time I was doing $1500/mo in service and $1000/mo in ebay sales (pin kits and various selling of vintage razors). I knew if I got myself out of the house/garage and into a heated space so I could focus on pumping out a couple more razors, the bills were paid. Thank goodness I did this - as who knows what would have happened had I stayed at home.

3) If you had to guess, how many straight razors have you honed over the years?

I'd have to estimate around 6,500. tough to say. At one point I was averaging 4/day (1200+/yr). Things have significantly cooled off in the SR market---and now I might average 5 a week (250/yr)

4) If your storefront had a theme song, what would it be?

No clue. lol!

​

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 9, 2023

• Brush: Oumo - Imitate finest two band 24mm synthetic
• Razor: Chiseled Face - Legacy
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Gemutlichkeit
• Post Shave: Storybook Soapworks – Coffee Spoons
• Fragrance: Halloween – Halloween Man X
• Music: Frank Sinatra – The Coffee Song

Today might be my favorite day of the Lather Games. I love trying different coffees from different regions and brewing them in all sorts of ways. Fun Priusaurus Fact: Every year in December,I do “12 Days of Coffee” with my wife and brew coffee 12 different ways in the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Thus, my weakness for coffee soaps isn’t too surprising. And Gemutlichkeit is one of my favorites because it takes coffee and then adds more gourmand sweetness on top of it. As the self-proclaimed Gourmand King, this is right up my alley. I have no idea how to pronounce it, and I have to double check the spelling every time I type it, but Gemutlichkeit is top notch.

Fun challenge today. Shave in the kitchen day?? LEEEEEETTTTTTS GOOOOOOO!!!!!

I looked around my kitchen, looking for something to take my shaves to the next level. And I spotted her. In all her glory. My KitchenAid Professional 600. And I started to wonder… Could I? … Should I? I’m usually a face latherer, but can I use this expensive kitchen gadget to bowl lather? I HAVE TO try. But how? The dough hook! I could somehow attach the brush to the hook. And when you want to attach something to another thing. Duct tape! I used orange, because it’s more fun and I thought I’d be able to see it better if something went awry. I took a scoop of Gemutlickeit, and rubbed it in the mixing bowl. I put my modified brush attachment on the mixer, razed the bowl… And… Turned that son of a bitch on!. I learned if I put it on a setting above 6, the brush starts to come off lather flies everywhere. For those that want to try this at home, setting number 4 seems to be the sweet spot. It didn’t take long to whip up a nice, shiny, beautiful lather.

The shave itself was great. Clean-up and set-up were a pain, so I can’t see myself regularly including my KitchenAid mixer into my daily shave routine, but for a once-a-year occurrence, sure. My family already thinks I’m nuts. Might as well lean into it.

I finished the shave using the gone-but-not-forgotten Coffee Spoons from Storybook Soapworks. I actually picked up this set from Inna’s collection on Murphy & McNeil. I wasn’t fortunate to know or interact with Inna, since I started shaving after he passed away, but it seems like he was loved and respected in this community. I’m glad his collection now lives on in the hands of those in the hobby he loved. The scent of Coffee Spoons is just black coffee, which I appreciate. That’s how I drink my coffee, so while the sweetness of Gemutlichkeit smells delicious, I respect the simplicity of Coffee Spoons.

For the fragrance, I’m using Halloween Man X. And it’s okay. It’s a warm scent with mostly coffee notes, but it also has some bullshit cardamom, lavender, and lemon. I’m okay with the inclusion of whiskey, cinnamon, leather, tonka and amber. Hell, even incense is okaaaay. But I don’t want those first three in my coffee frag, they don’t complement the scent of coffee at all and the #FOF would be better without them (MOIMO).

For the #photocontest, it’s not surprising that I’m including the best drink in the world: coffee! It’s really only appropriate today.

For today’s “10 Questions with…” segment, I have Ron Weide from Chiseled Face Groomatorium. He made the soap I used today, as well as the razor. My first introduction to the Legacy was when u/J33pGuy13 was kind enough to have a passaround, and after literally 1 shave, I decided I needed to add my own Legacy to my arsenal of razors. It looks great, handles beautifully, and shaves wonderfully smooth while being extremely efficient. Ron was kind enough to give a lot of really interesting insights into his business and perspective on where things are trending. Thank you u/chiseledface for taking part. Really appreciate it!

10 Questions with… Chiseled Face Groomatorium

1. So, you have Chiseled Face, Stubble Buster, LA Shaving Co under the Groomatorium umbrella, and each one is a little different. If each of your brands were rival gangs, which one would win in an all-out, no holds barred street fight?

As much as I love all my 'children', Chiseled Face would certainly dominate in a street fight. It represents over 90% of my sales and has a dedicated following.

2. On top of making your own soaps/splashes/frags, you make your razors in house, and you print your own labels in house too. Is that for quality control, cost savings, or something else? Or all of the above?

Making everything in-house certainly involves elements of quality control and cost savings, but mostly, I love learning. The opportunity to master various disciplines and put a personal touch on my products is what makes this job incredibly satisfying.

​

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 10, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi – Barbershop Boar 24mm #SMOLL #TEXASPIGSTINKMASSACRE
• Razor: Schick – Krona #UNICORN
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Boat Drinks Soap
• Post Shave: Dr. Jon’s – Tangerine Dream Splash
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann – Electric Mayhem
• Music: Jimmy Buffet – Boat Drinks

Growing up, my mom would always say that “Music is food for the soul”. Well today, my soul is HUNGRY! Three different music related products, all with scent notes that go well together, with a poorly drawn label, and killer interview coming up today. But first, I’d like 6 sentences to touch on the importance of music, before we move onto shaving things. Music connects people and brings a sense of community, which is so, so, so important to everyone. As human beings, we NEED connection to other people (which is why r/wetshaving is awesome). If you’ve ever gone to a concert where everyone is singing along and living in the moment, and you can feel the music inside you, then you know what I mean. It’s absolute magic and can bring a sense of euphoria that is unlike anything else. When I’m at a great concert, that dopamine rush is better than any other substance known to man. If you haven’t gone to a concert of a band or artist you love in a while (or ever), do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a night out - you won’t be sorry. Now, back to our regularly scheduled shaving:

I love sweet scents, but even for me the Jimmy Buffet inspired Boat Drinks scents is kind of pushing the envelope. If this scent was actually a drink, one would be enough for me. During the shave, I felt like a Parrothead at one of his concerts, so Stirling nailed the vibe of the scent. But I’m gladly in for a two-pass shave today. I’m #ridingwithitchy every day and not matching a scent all games, so I chose Tangerine Dream for the splash because (1) it’s musical and (2) the tangerine actually makes for a pretty good digestif after the Boat Drinks sweetness. And for the people, I chose Electric Mayhem because (1) it’s named after one of the greatest musical acts of all timel and (2) the yuzu and plum played well off the tangerine & vanilla in the splash for a really spectacular #FOF. I’m smelling great and ready to party like it’s 1999.

Why, oh, why is today the drawing challenge? I suck at drawing and I was lucky enough to choose one of Stirling’s more complex labels today. But goddammit, I’m tried my best. And that’s what matters! I “took my turn” with my daughter’s crayons. My twins are almost 3 and they can be very possessive, so I had to give these back the second I was done using them.

DISCLAIMER: I didn’t pay for this bottle of Electric Mayhem. I won it as part of last year’s Lather Games Prize, but that did not influence my opinion of the awesomeness that is Electric Mayhem.

#photocontest – Technology. The fact these two tiny devices wirelessly connect to my phone and deliver awesome quality music into my ears is a modern marvel, as far as I’m concerned.

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For today’s interview, Rod Lovan from Stirling Soap Company was kind enough to take part in my Lather Games games. Rod doesn’t need any introduction. I’m going to guess every single person reading this has used and is familiar with Stirling Soap. One of the best soaps out there. Period. And one of the best people out there. Without him, the sub’s exclusive, MOAR BOAR brush would’ve just been a dream, but with his help, it became a reality. So, thank you u/stirlingsoap – for everything you do and for answering all my questions! I’m happy to present to you:

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10 Questions with… Stirling Soap Co.

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1) Of all the different scents you offer, which is your favorite?

It changes all the time. I work with so many scents that olfactory fatigue is a major issue, and no matter how much I may like a scent, I'll need something new all the time. Right now, it's the West Indies Lime scent.

2) How much of your business is shaving products (soaps/splashes/balms) vs. everything else (the lotions/body butters/bath soaps/edts/coffee/etc)?

We sell more bath soaps than anything else, but the shaving stuff is still driving the train. We wouldn't be as well known if it weren't for shaving.

3) Unsurprisingly, the coffee you roast is also very good. What is your preferred method of brewing coffee?

Thank you! It's world class coffee, and I'm not just saying that because Mandy is the roaster. I typically do a pour over

4) Of the different coffee roasts you offer, which is your favorite?

If you made me choose just one from our current offerings, I would probably choose the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe.

5) Are you a black-coffee sort of guy or do you take it with cream and sugar or flavoring of any kind?

Black coffee, or a latte with nothing but steamed whole milk. I hate sugar in coffee, and flavored coffee gives me a headache.

6) If you could sit down and get a coffee with any person in the world, who would it be?

My wife, Mandy. I'm pretty easy like that.

7) If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?

For relaxation, anywhere with a beach. I love the Caribbean, but would love to visit the South Pacific one day.

8) Where do you see the wetshaving industry trending over the next few years?

I'm hoping and praying that it grows, and breaks out of the plateau it's been stuck on the last few years. I'm going to be putting all of my efforts into reaching people who don't know wetshaving is a viable option. The industry can't continue to rely on selling shaving software to people who already have enough to last a lifetime.

9) I read that last year, you started to offer health/dental/vision insurance, on top of other benefits, such as a 401k plan and above average wages to your employees. How has that impacted your business? Are you currently feeling the pain of the labor shortage that we so often hear about? We're adjusting. Adding the benefits helps us to keep good employees longer, and it's the right thing to do given how much we've grown in the last 11 years. We wouldn't be where we are at without the help of our employees, so I want to make sure they are able to meet their financial obligations and take care of themselves and their families. We're not feeling any pain at the moment, but we were. We've become extremely selective in who we bring on, and it someone is not pulling their weight or making things harder for their co-workers, they typically move on quickly.

10) How does Stirling Soap Company differentiate itself from other shaving soap companies out there?

Our pricing structure. I keep things priced at what I'd be comfortable paying. I'm not cheap, but I also appreciate the feeling the comes from getting good value for my money.

July 11, 2023

• Brush: TerraFirma Soapery – Deep Blue Spalted with Oumo Best 3 28mm Color Synthetic
• Razor: Roman Empire Shaving Shavette
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Central Texas Soaps – Padre Island
• Post Shave: Pinnacle Grooming – Virgin Island
• Fragrance: Nautica - Blue
• Music: Zac Brown Band – Island Song

Summertime and the livings easyyyyy. I absolutely LOVE the vibe of today’s shave because I’m all about living that island life. The soap description for Padre Island is: “When summer finally arrives in Texas, going to the coast is usually on everyone’s mind. Notes of mandarin, sand, and ocean mist. It reminds me a little of suntan lotion. As soon as you smell Padre Island you’ll be yearning for your next vacation.” And it is absolutely true. With twin toddlers, I’ve learned vacations with kids aren’t vacations at all. They are parenting in a different location that add more stress and complications than we have at home, with four times the meltdowns! Kids! They’re great! And if you’re really lucky, you’ll have twins, like I did! But seriously, kids are…. Anyways… Island vacations: Need one. Want one bad. And this soap smells like one. If I can’t escape my day to day life, this soap is the next best thing.

I continue to #ridewithItchy and not match anything, so for the splash, I used Pinnacle Grooming’s Virgin Island to stick with my island life theme of the day. The scent is a dupe of Creed Virgin Island Waters and the image on the bottle is probably stolen from the internet. It’s a lot sweeter and fruitier than the Padre Island soap, but still quite pleasant and has my dreaming of lying in a hammock and drinking a drink out of a coconut, while listening to the waves lap against the sand.

And for the fragrance, I picked Nautica Blue mostly because blue fit the color scheme I was going for and it also fits the nautical, island theme of the day (and the bottle looks like a sail). As soon as I sprayed it, the time machine in my mind was taken back to drinking in my college dorms, instead of living the easy life on the beach somewhere. Damn, I guess I wore this scent too much when it came out in 2005, because it IMMEDIATELY reminds me of playing beer pong, listening to Dem Franchize Boyz, and saying, “I’ll just wake up early tomorrow and bang out that paper.” Dammit. Just ruined the whole vibe of my #FOF island day. Funny how scents can do that... It’s certainly not a bad scent, but it was my go-to in college and boy oh boy was that memory still attached to my temporal lobe. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go the beer store and pick up some Natty Ice.

I think the challenge is self-explanatory today. The color scheme is blue and island themed.

For the #photocontest, I have history! Within my SOTD pic is a bullet that was fired during WWI and recovered in a field in Ypres, Belgium. Every year, there is an “iron harvest” when the farmers in that area plow their land in the spring. They continue to find all sorts of old munition, bullets, shrapnel, mortars, etc. from the war to this day. It is such a regular occurrence, they have a process for disposing of unexploded mortars by simply placing them in the telegraph pole and the Belgium Army will come by to take them and safely dispose of them by doing controlled explosions. Nothing to do with today’s shave, but I thought it was an interesting fact.

The brush handle I used today is from TerraFirma Soapery on Etsy. And not only did it perfectly go with my blue, nautical, island life theme of the day, it also looks great and is super comfortable in my hand. I’ve purchased two brush handles from him, and u/keener1000 was kind enough to agree to take part in my daily Lather Games interview series. So go and check out his shop. He has a lot of nice and very reasonably priced handles available, and he seems like an all-around good dude. So, today, I’m happy to present:

10 Questions with… TerraFirma Soapery

1.) How did you get starting making and turning shaving brush handles?

It's a bit of a long, disjointed story but here it goes. I started wet shaving in 2015. I've always been a tinker-er and maker, and liked the idea of homemade gifts for my family. I was also starting to follow the wet shaving communities on YouTube and reddit, where I found Douglas's (PAA*) video on making bay rum aftershave. Lush was getting popular back then too and I figured I could make similar products at home for gifts. I started making aftershaves, bath bombs, sugar coffee scrubs and bath soaps and shaving soaps (hence the name) and giving them to family and friends for Xmas, birthdays, mother's days, father's days. I also started collecting brushes, my first fancy one was from BrushGuy, a green and gold resin one with a luxurious badger knot. A few years went by, I moved back to the east coast (navy...) And I bought a home with a 10x20 shed in the backyard. I continued falling down the YouTube rabbit hole and stumbled onto Dogwood Handcrafts brush making videos. The process and products mesmerized me and that became my new obsession (if you can't tell already I'm a bit of a scatterbrain, to my wife's endless dismay). I bought some resin, mixed up a few blanks and turned two brushes on a homemade lathe (a DeWalt drill screwed into the blanks). Needless to say I was proud of my creations, and still use the "nicer " one to this day. I fell down the lathe and woodworking rabbit hole, 4-5 lathes, 100 or so finished brushes and hundreds more in various states of completeness. It's been a journey.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: PAA is on the sub’s DO NOT BUY List

2.) Okay. I have to ask: Soapery is part of your business name… But… I don’t see any soaps for sale on your page. Is this a joke that is going over my head or did you change your business model somewhere along the lines?

I touched on this above but I can always say more. Currently it's been more of a vestigial part of our name. I love making soaps and the science behind mixing oils, butters, fats and lye to get the desired slickness, bubbliness, creaminess and hardness was so much fun to experiment with but I just don’t have the time or a good setup for it at the moment. I do batches here and there for my family when they ask, but not as much as before. I plan on getting back into software at some point, at least part time, maybe when I retire in a few years.

3.) There’s a quote I love from Jurassic Park, where Ian Malcolm in on the first demo tour, and they haven’t seen anything yet. He looks at the camera monitoring them taps it and says, “Eventually you do plan to have dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour, right?”… So my question to you is: Eventually do you plan to sell soap from your soapery?

Like I in my origin story in question 1. The short answer is yes, I would like to sell my soaps. During my time making soaps I think I stumbled my way onto a damn good shave soap recipe that I'd like to make more of and share with the world. It's not a question of whether or not I could sell my soaps, just whether or not I should at this time. The idea of selling soaps scares the crap out of me, like a TRex chasing after a little jeep. The legalese required and my worries about adverse reactions, lye pockets and a litany of other things that could go wrong make me hesitant to dive deeper into the software game again. Hopefully soap will slip its way back into my business model.

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(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 12, 2023

• Brush: Stirling Soap Company – 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Gillette Travel Tech #JETSETTER
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Abbate y La Mantia - Don Jose Soap
• Post Shave: Hoffman’s Shave and Soap Co. – Road Trip Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Samhain EdP
• Music: The Clash - I Fought the Law

Alright boys and girls. I’m going to Tarantino this SOTD post a little bit: I’m going to start at the end, then go the beginning and tell you what happened leading up to the end. Sound good? Good.

I got asked to leave the restaurant I was shaving at.

Now that I have your attention, today started out as a pretty normal day. I was kinda bummed because for the first day in these Lather Games, I didn’t have an interview to bring to the people of r/wetshaving. The why doesn’t matter. I hoped I would, but an artisan backed out of an interview, so I shifted my calendar around a bit and that left today with no interview. And while I’m trying to bring the heat to every single post I make, I realize the interviews are kinda my secret sauce for this year. And since I didn’t have one today, I wanted to go CocoNutty on Coconut Oil Day. And being inspired by the likes of others in the sub shaving in public, I thought that sounds like a fun challenge. I’ve never wetshaved outside of the comfort and safety of my own home, so I wanted to live on the edge a bit. But where could I shave? It’s not kitchen day. It’s Coconut Oil Day. So, I go on Google Maps, zoom out and type “coconut”, and there’s a restaurant called Coconut Thai Café that is not too far from me. Bingo. I could feel my heart beating faster just thinking about it. I’ll go there and shave.

I gather up my travel shaving gear, get in my car and drive to downtown Wellesley, Massachusetts, timing my visit for right when they open, because I want to ensure I get a table and it’s hopefully not too busy. Lucky me, when I arrive, there’s a few tables with people already seated inside, but outside is completely empty. This bodes well because I make an absolute mess when I shave at home and I’d feel bad making a mess inside the restaurant. I go in, ask the waitress for an outdoor seat and check out the menu. Since it’s Coconut Oil Day, I ordered the Coconut Soup appetizer, then the Coconut Pineapple Yellow Curry with Chicken, which was delicious. The lovely waitress brought my check over, I paid and then it was go-time. I pulled out my travel shaving kit with everything I’d need, and even learned from u/OnionMiasma’s mistake and brought my own warm water in a Contigo travel mug (not pictured). I usually face lather, but it didn’t take long to complete the challenge and build my lather in a bowl today. Then I quickly start to spread the lather over my face. I’m immediately hit with the scent of coconut and banana, which continues to be incredibly on Coconut theme for the day where the soap just needs to be made with coconut oil. This is without a doubt the worst lathering job I’ve done since I first started wetshaving. My excuses are as follows: (1) I’ve never used this soap before (2) my heart is RACING and I’m trying to move as fast as possible (3) since I was outside and wearing sunglasses, the selfie mode of my phone was really hard to see and (4) I had NO IDEA this soap was mentholated until the brush hit my skin. I was already in a stressful situation and then my face started to unexpectedly burn – absolute disaster - but I’m determined to power through. A got a somewhat serviceable lather and start to go to town with this tiny travel razor (another mistake, when shaving quickly and nervously, I wish my razor fit in my hand a little better, but a hashtag is a hashtag). And right as I finish my first pass, I capture my face just as my waitress comes out to ask what I’m doing. My heart beats faster and it drops way down into my stomach, past the Coconut Pineapple Curry and Coconut Soup. Remember that feeling as a kid, when you were caught doing something that you knew you shouldn’t be doing, but did it anyway? That’s what I felt. I could feel my face turn beat red - which was possibly from the surprise menthol in the soap, but likely because of my immediate and severe embarrassment.

Quick aside: As a straight, white, male, who is approaching the age of 40, I realize I’ve lived with certain privileges throughout my life. Generally speaking, no one is ever suspicious of me. Add in the fact that I’m dressed somewhat nice and clean cut, I never expected anyone to actually ever come say anything to me. I was wrong. If my worst nightmare was getting the police called on me or something, this was a second.

I tell her I finished my lunch, and I realized I hadn’t shaved yet today and I’m heading to a meeting. And she politely asked that I please choose a different place to groom myself, other than her patio, next to the front door, where people walk in and out of her restaurant. Fair. But she doesn’t realize the stakes of the Lather Games. I quickly determine it best to not take the time to explain that the people of Pei Wei let u/ginopino shave there without incident. It’s clear to me that Coconut Thai Café is no Pei Wei. And then she said “I think it’d be a good idea for you to leave now.” And I agree. I apologize and clean up after myself, wiping down the table better than I ever clean my bathroom at home. And as I’m packing up my things, I make sure I give the Road Trip splash a good shake and apply it to my face before walking back to my car. I opted not to push it with the EdP right there. After I packed up my things, the waitress did tell me that I was welcome to come back anytime, just not if I shave there. And once again, I thought that was fair. I tell her the food was delicious and we part ways.

As I walk away to my car, I can’t help but smell the sense of accomplishment of my first public shave and first time being asked to leave an establishment while it was light out. I can also smell the scent of Road Trip, which went great with the soap, as well as my lunch. Road Trip has a lot of notes, but I mostly pick up Rum, Banana, Pineapple, Coconut Milk, Vanilla & Nutmeg. It’s really well done and perfect for the Coconut & Banana soap, as well as the Coconut Pineapple Curry I ate for lunch. And when I got to my car, I sprayed myself with a couple spritzes of Samhain, which is sweet, rich, and delicious like Road Trip, sharing Vanilla & Nutmeg notes. The self-proclaimed Gourmand King strikes again for a great #FOF win.

A few lessons learned: (1) going to a full service restaurant probably wasn’t the best idea (2) while going before the lunch rush made things less awkward because less people were there, it also meant less people were there so the staff had nothing else to do, (3) the “staff” was likely the owner or the family member of the owner, who cares far more than just a regular hourly employee would (4) shaving outside had pros and cons, but selfie mode was kind of a challenge to get used to (5) the Travel Tech, while convenient for traveling, is a pain in the ass to handle, (6) great success because I finished the shave, but ultimately, it would have been nice to NOT get asked to leave.

Before I head home, I decide to close out Coconut Oil Day, by getting a Coconut Milk Latte from Dunks. I’m usually a black coffee sort of guy, but I wanted to treat myself today. I earned this. I got it Salted Caramel flavored, because I was thinking there were caramel notes in Samhain, but in looking at the scent notes now, I realize I’m smelling caramel where there isn’t any. Whoops! The latte is still delicious anyways.

Of course, #photocontest them is society, because this restaurant is on a very busy street and I’m sure many people drove by my shave today and I learned that not everyone in society appreciates shaving in public.

July 13, 2023

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts X John Butcher 24mm Tuxedo Knot
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Elysian – Patchouli Peach
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Smash Splash
• Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana - K
• Music: The Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches

Happy Hippy Dippy Baloney Day! After an eventful day yesterday, I decided to shave in the comforts of my own bathroom again today. Being asked to leave the place your shaving is no fun, and I’m in no hurry to repeat that experience again anytime soon. Here, no one will ask me to leave – other than my wife or my kids, but let’s not get into that right now.

Instead, let’s get into some Patchouli! I’m generally not a big fan of straight up patchouli. It’s a bit too earthy/musky for my liking. However, when it’s combined with other scents, it can really bring a nice characteristic to a party of other scents.

Today, I’m rocking with Patchouli Peach from Elysian Soap Shop today. I first found out about Elysian about 8-9 months ago, I’ve since become a fan of what she makes. In my interview today, I chatted with Shannon from Elysian, and while she has a lot of gourmand scents (which I am all about) the one I used today, Patchouli Peach is not gourmand at all. This one is nice, bright, spicy, and fairly complex. The patchouli does a great job of toning down the sweetness of peach notes and then there’s a little bit of Pink Peppercorn & Ginger to spice things up a little bit. Very, very nice for the Summer, when the living’s easy.

I decided to ride the Peach wave and use Smash, by HoM and B&M. The splash elevates the Peach Game from the soap and is absolutely wonderful. It brought a wonderful, sweet finish to patchouli-perfuminess of Patchouli Peach. To put a nice bow on the scents for the day, I ended up using K by Dolce & Gabbana, which has some citrus notes to complement the #FOF of today’s Peach-A-Palooza I experienced during the shave and also sits on a base of patchouli to bring today’s theme home.

DISCLAIMER: Did I pay for this soap? Nope. Shannon sent it to me gratis. I’ve bought multiple sets from her and was originally planning on highlighting her Maple Coffee scent (which I did purchase from her) on “Death Before Decaf” Day. So, we did the interview, and all was well. When I thanked her, I told her I planned on posting her interview on July 9th when I used Maple Coffee. And she asked if I could use a different soap because that was a seasonal release and she would send me a scent that she currently has for sale if I’d use that instead. I thought about it, and looked at the calendar, and thought about it again. And I told her that (1) I’m not a shavefluencer (2) no one listens to my opinion, so don’t expect any uptick in sales whatsoever, and (3) I’d have to disclose I didn’t pay for it. She was fine with all that, so here we are. I absolutely, 100% love what she makes and her sending me a free soap doesn’t change that.

PS – By accepting a free soap, does that make me an influencer now? Make sure to SMASH that like and subscribe button!

For the #photocontest it’s fruit. Kind of an easy choice with Patchouli Peach & Smash.

And today’s challenge is one I do every day. Every SOTD I do in the Lather Games, has a relevant musical selection. Today, I included Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America because I started with Patchouli Peach and ended up taking it from there.

And now for my interview today, I chatted with Shannon Logan, from Elysian Soap Shop. I first came across her because she had a bunch of scents that called to me (like Maple Coffee or Salted Caramel) and I blind bought a set or two. I loved the scents and the performance. It’s been cool to see her company already grow and watch her grow as an artisan, offering more complex scents now, and she’s also using high-walled plastic tubs now vs the tins she started with. Huge win for those that like to load from the tub, like me. She was excited to participate in this series and provides a lot of good insight for origin story, as well as telling us what kind of Peanut Butter she prefers. I’m happy to present to you:

10 Questions with… Elysian Soap Shop

1. How did you get started making shaving soaps and fragrances?

During the pandemic I saw the fragility of our supply chains and just-in-time delivery and started wondering what kind of business could operate only on local supply chains alone in case of a major disruption. I felt that soap was the most resilient because you can make it simple using only two ingredients like olive oil or tallow, or as complicated and fancy as you like with butters and oils imported from around the world. Also, people always need soap, so learning soapmaking seemed like a really useful skill to acquire.

I released my first bath soaps in January of 2022 and I sent one to a friend of mine. She told me she had the best shave of her life. So, I thought, why not create a men's shaving soap as well? The wet shaving community found my shaving soap and since then I've pretty much been on a wild ride.

2. The dictionary tells me “Elysian” means relating to or characteristic of heaven or paradise. A little confident in your soaps? 😉

When I was thinking of names, I wanted to evoke the feeling people should get when they use my soaps--a pleasurable and uplifting experience. From the overwhelming positive feedback I've gotten, my confidence has definitely grown a lot since the beginning.

3. I’m such a lover of gourmand scents, so your soaps are right up my alley and I’ve really enjoyed the soaps of yours that I’ve purchased. How do you decide which scents you are going to make?

Like Willy Wonka: pure imagination.

4. Speaking of gourmand, what are your thoughts on making a pepperoni-pizza scented shave soap?

I'm Italian-American and this is blasphemy.

5. You’ve been in business about a year and a half. What has surprised you the most since starting Elysian?

I had no idea there was this global revivalist movement around wetshaving. I was pleasantly shocked to discover this huge subculture of men and women who enjoy traditional grooming rituals so much. As far as hobbies go, this is such a wholesome and positive one--how can you not love it?

6. How has the reception of the wet shaving community been since you’ve started your company?

Better than I could have ever dreamed.

7. What’s your best-selling soap? And does that surprise you?

Cherie Tobacco, and no that doesn't really surprise me. It's a smell many of us associate with pipes and tobacconists and being around our fathers and grandfathers.

8. Pick one: Crunchy Peanut Butter or Smooth?

Crunchy.

9. When you’re not making soaps, what do you like to do for fun?

Hike with my dog, take naps, and bake.

10. How does Elysian Soap Shop differentiate itself from other shaving soap companies out there?

My goal is to bring dignity back into self care rituals, elevate the shaving experience, and honor timetested traditions. What makes Elysian different? My labels aren't flashy or edgy, I wanted a timeless collectible look because I plan on Elysian being around a long time. This is also why you won't see me jumping on trends or making dupes of existing fragrances, I want to create new experiences that will hopefully become classics. I pay more attention to customer service and spend less time on advertising. I want l customers to feel like a prince (or princess) when they order something from me.

July 14, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi – Evil Zebra 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Zingari Man – The Socialite
• Post Shave: Lucky Tiger - Aspen
• Fragrance: Boucheron – Jaipur Homme
• Music: Foreigner - Cold As Ice

Brrrrr…. It’s cold in here! There must be some menthol in the atmosphere! It’s Freeze Your Face Off Frigid Friday. Today, we have a day dedicated to being frigid, so let’s ice this shit up today! When I was thinking of what to do for today, I was talking to Mrs. Priusaurus:

Me: “I need something fun to do for our menthol theme day. Something to make my post stand out. Not sure how to show a best show the coldness of mentholated soap.”

Her: “Can you even see menthol?”

Me: “No…. But you can see ice.”

And that’s when this idea was born.

Because I don’t want to be remembered for just doing interviews every day, or getting asked to leave restaurants for shaving in them, I decided to bring the heat to this shave. And by heat, I mean cold. And by cold, I mean shaving in an ice bath. Since a gag like this could be easily faked by just taking a picture or two and calling it a day, I’m including a video as proof of this stupid idea. And sitting here, a few hours later, I can definitely say, this was a stupid, stupid idea. Warning: A lot of NSFW language was said throughout this video and it was all inadvertent. Sorry to all the children watching. In the interest of time, I sped my shave up 1.5x, because I really only wanted to use the video as proof that I was dumb enough to actually do this. I’m not trying to become the next geofatboy or ScoobyShaves with this one. But if you want to see a dude suffer in an ice bath, while trying to shave, and struggling to put together coherent thoughts because his brain and appendages are frozen, do I have a video for you!

Not one 10-pound bag... Not two 10-pound bags... But three 10-pound bags of ice! 30 pounds – that’s 13.6KG for those not in America – of icy, cold, torturey, goodness. Hey u/Marquis90 – Get.On.My.Level. And final temperature reading of 36.7F – that’s 2.6C for those not in the USA. I not only froze my face off, but I think I may have frostbite.

Not gonna lie. Mistakes were made. I thought it would be extra fun to make lather on a bed of ice chips, but that just made the lather too watery, so I abandoned that idea after the first pass. If I had unlimited time and a tub to load from, it could have potentially worked better, but given the icy circumstances, my pain threshold, and just using a sample jar, the ice-bowl lather was a bad idea. Also, I’m pretty sure the two bags of ice would have had the same effect. I probably didn’t NEED bag number three, but now I can say that while u/Marquis and I had the same idea, I went 3x as hard. Also, I have a MASSIVE headache right now. Apparently, that can happen with ice baths. AND BTW, there are people out there that do this on the regular! Ummmm… No f’ing thank you. #neveragain #itsbeen6hoursandimstillcold

Let’s talk about the shave: The first pass was a bit to watery, as we’ve discussed, but the 2nd pass was great. The Socialite smells like a gin and tonic with lime. It’s extraordinally unique and phenomenal. I’m glad this was not the first time I used this sample because I really didn’t get the chance to enjoy it much for this go round. The menthol is present but not overpowering (but that could be because the rest of me was freezing). This is such a refreshing scent. Perfect for summer. The Lucky Tiger Aspen splash sucked. Smells like a hospital room and looks like Windex… But it has menthol! And to close out the ice bath shave, I sprayed a couple spritzes of Jaipur Homme by Boucheron. Originally, I picked this frag because Aspen says has “a fresh, spicy aroma”. WRONG! But I didn’t know that until I put it on my face. Jaipur Homme actually has a nice spicy amber scent to it and was just enough to cover the smell of the splash. Most days, I want the frag to compliment the splash, but today, the great feat for this fragrance to do is eliminate the stench of Aspen. #FOF – not every day can be a winner!

Originally, I was going to use a different razor today, but then I saw the challenge and when going against the grain first, in a bath of ice, I opted to go for the mildest plate on the Rockwell 6s. Call me wimp, but we aren’t yet halfway through the Lather Games and I’m not about to make my face and neck look like a r/wickededge post on day 14. No thanks. Live to fight another day. Shaved Against the Grain, then with the Grain for a extremely cool two pass shave.

And for #photocontest: Water. In its solid form.

And, of course, we have an interview today! I was fortunately enough to touch base with Heather Melton, the founder of Zingari Man. Zingari Man’s soaps are great, and her post shave products are even better, in my opinion. I have yet to find a post-shave balm I enjoy more than her unscented balm. I use it most every day. Heather was kind enough to take the time and put some real thought to my questions. Thank you so much u/ZingariMan (but really a woman). I really appreciate you taking part and thank you for being such a great member of this community. I’m so looking forward to seeing what you release next!

10 Questions with… Zingari Man

1) How often do people assume that Zingari Man is owned by a man?

ALLLLLL the time! I actually have "but I am really a woman" under my reddit name because of this. I’ve tried posting on the lady wetshavers sub and was mansplained by a man that women do not need a man telling them how to shave or what to use. Ummm hello sir, I have a lot of personal experience here haha. I have been called bro more times than I can count. But I just laugh at it anymore, it is an easy assumption.

2) What is your favorite scent that Zingari Man has put out?

My all time favorite scent would be Watchman. I believe it has been out for almost 3 years now and I love it as much as I did when we released it. Shawn Maher really did an amazing job nailing exactly what I wanted in that scent. The runners up would be Coconut Nanas and Mousse Illuminee.

3) Where do you get inspiration for the names you come up with for each scent?

I like to tell a story and make scents about a person/job/action. I want the copy, label and scent to tell a story and use all 3 to pull it together. The Watchman, for example, is a dark and stormy aquatic. We paired that copy with the lighthouse and a stormy coastline visual on the label. But the lighthouse has to have someone that works it, aka The Watchman. The hard part is when I make a scent that I really like but It was not intentional(no plan) so I have to create something that will go with it. I have a group of testers that is great with giving ideas and helping me brainstorm if needed.

4) If you had to live the life of one of your scent names, which one are you choosing?

Hmmm... let's see. The Royal would be nice. Being pampered and having all the wine I can drink sounds pretty tempting. The Watchman sounds exciting but I think my fear of heights would be an issue. So I am going with The Explorer. We have always been an outdoor family-camping, hiking, archery etc so I think that would be a great fit.

*We’ve named this scent for he who dares to venture into the unknown in search of new takes on tired ideas, in search of novelty in the familiar: The Explorer.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 15, 2023

• Brush: Sunsoaps Maple Walnut – 26mm Motherlode
• Razor: Chiseled Face - Legacy
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – Le Grand Chypre
• Post Shave: Elysian Soap Shop – Patchouli Peach Splash
• Fragrance: Guerlain - Vetiver
• Music: Mai Yamane – Don’t Bother None

First things first – Thanks for u/worbx for the smush for today. I own a LOT of B&M, but I don’t have Will’s Chypre. Really appreciate you sharing this. I have an interview with Will Carius from Barrister and Mann, but we have a lot to unpack first…

Before I get to today, I need to set the stage. Yesterday, I posted a super cold ice bath shave for Frigid Friday and included a couple friendly digs at u/Marquis90. We both had the same idea to shave in a bathtub full of ice, and I had more ice, and less water in mine. I thought it’d be funny to tag him and let him know. THEN u/MrTangerinesky came in from the clouds and inserted his COMPLETELY WRONG opinion about which ice bath was more difficult. Honestly, I think some of the menthol he put on his balls somehow found it’s way up into his skull and turned his brain to mush. So today, I shaved in my bathtub. Again. In a Spite Shave, dedicated to u/MrTangerinesky, using a method he thought would be more difficult. Watch me do both and see which one I look more uncomfortable in.

After a brutal, frigid shave yesterday, today was an easy full bathtub shave with only one bag of ice, and more water, like u/MrTangerinesky thought would be difficult. Wrong on every count. The softness of a Motherlode knot and the smoothness of the CF Legacy and only one ice bag was like shaving on easy street for this video. Today was the perfect day to use Barrister & Mann as well. Big fan of a lot of what Will puts out and Le Grand Chypre is no different. It’s fresh, with a little floral earthy perfuminess to it and slightly fruity nature to it, which is why I went with Patchouli Peach from Elysian to finish the shave. It’s a little fruity, with a floral perfumy nature to it. Then to close out the scents, Vetiver from Guerlain to bring everything back down to Earth and compliment, yet tone down the fruit notes from the splash for a great #FOF day.

DISCLAIMER: Elysian Soap Shop sent me this sample size splash because I’m on my way to becoming a world famous shavefluencer. #dontforgettolikeandsubscribe

Daily #photocontest. Took a picture with a mobile phone in it.

As far as the challenge, I posted a video yesterday of the ice bath shave, and I’m posting a sequel video today for my Grand Chypre Spite Shave today, dedicated to u/MrTangerinesky. I spend about 90% of the time explaining just how wrong he is. Spite Shaving may be my new favorite way to shave! And look out u/VisceralWatch, I’m coming for you! Just wait until I hand out TWO stickers to everyone I meet that say, “I met Priusaurus and he gave me two stickers!”. You’re move, HDShaves. Still using the free face filter app (which barely works) because I still want to remain somewhat anonymous, even though half of you probably have my name and address by now. I figure most influencers use filters in their videos, why can’t I? Make sure to SMASH that like and subscribe button! And once we reach 100,000 subscribers, we have an AWESOME PRIZE PACK from our sponsors that I’ll send to one lucky subscriber!

PS – Thanks for (hopefully) being a good sport u/MrTangerinesky!

For the interview, I talked with this unknown artisan that call themselves: Barrister and Mann. Give them a shot, I think they may have a future in wetshaving. Okay… That was a joke! Get it? Because Will Carius is well known to everyone in the community. MOIMO, but Barrister and Mann makes the absolute best soap base in the business. There are a lot that are really, really excellent soaps out there, but Omnibus just does it for me. This community is what it is thanks to Will. His willingness to continuously improve and be willing to take risks is what makes B&M one of the best. I’m really happy that Will was willing to take part in this series. Thanks so much, u/BostonPhotoTourist, really appreciate it!

10 Questions with… Barrister and Mann

1) Why the 2nd “n” in Mann? Ever regret not really going for the gusto and making it “Mannn”?

It was just a stylistic device from the fact that I originally envisioned the line to be geared toward men. Point of fact that that that's still functionally true, hard though I have tried to shift it into a more unisex space over the years.

2) One thing I really admire about you is you aren’t afraid to try new things and experiment with scents. You’ve said you don’t want everyone to like every scent you make. Do you have any scent notes that you won’t work with?

I used to say synthetic amber/ambergris notes, but several of my more recent designs have incorporated Norlimbanol, and Lavender, Interrupted contains a decent quantity of the synthetic ambergris material Cetalox. So not anymore, I suppose.

3) I heard you say that your mother actually names most of your soaps. When do you decide that it’s your turn to name one?

It's really just whichever of us comes up with the idea that the two of us like more. She has named things like Nocturne, Adagio, Solstice, Dickens, etc. I've named things like Hallows, Leviathan, Beaudelaire, Seville, etc.

4) Has there been a scent release that stands out to you as unexpectantly successful, where it sold faster or far more than you expected? If so, which one?

Probably 42. I guess I didn't realize how popular Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy actually is, so the reception caught me a bit off guard. We've leaned into it in the years since, of course, but that first release was a bit of a surprise.

5) When I was researching questions to ask Brad Maggard, I stumbled across this comment you made about Colonial Drug in Cambridge, before you even made shaving soaps. Colonial Drug has since moved locations, but have you been back there since you’ve built Barrister & Mann? I'm envisioning you going in today, slamming your soap on the counter ala Matt Damon, and saying "How do you like them apples!"

Man, that thread is a blast from the past. I've only been in their new location twice, shortly after they moved, and was not further impressed.

6) When you aren’t using your own products, what software do like to shave with?

I still have a jar of tallow Tabac; I haven't tried the new vegetal version. Great soap. Other than that, House of Mammoth products are terrific, but I don't buy much in the way of shaving stuff anymore. I have it EVERYWHERE, so it takes something truly remarkable to catch my interest.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 16, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co. – Blue/Clear Handle with Oumo 26mm Horse #HORSEASS
• Razor: C.V. Heljestrand 6/8 Straight #STR8SNOB
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Picture Day
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Beloved
• Fragrance: Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy
• Music: Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue

We’re over the halfway point and I feel like the best is yet to come from everyone. From me, there’s more interviews, more memes, and more over the top ridiculousness. Hopefully no more ice bath shaves, but if u/MrTangerinesky comes at me again, he’s getting the smoke again. I’m not above doing a month of Spite Shaves.

Today, I shaved with Summer Break Soaps’ Picture Day (RIP in Peace). Gone too soon. Barbershop scents can be tough because it seems like every single soapmaker has “their own” barbershop, yet so many just use Crafter's Choice™ Barber Shoppe - EO & FO Blend 123. Seriously, go to this Thirsty Badger Dupe list, and type “barber shoppe” in the search bar. And that’s just the ones they know about!! Boring! Maybe SBS thought the same thing because Picture Day is now uNoBtAnIuM. Did I do that alternating letters thing right? Sucks because I really enjoy this soap, buuuut, life goes on. Well, not for Picture Day…. But you get the point.

Today, I’m really happy to be using Picture Day. It’s a great barbershop style scent. It’s a little floral, a little earthy, and a little powdery. It’s really a well-balanced scent. No surprise to any of us, because Summer Break only makes top-notch stuff. I decided to pair it with Beloved from House of Mammoth. It’s heavy on the Lavender and shares a touch of Bergamot with Picture Day, and has a woodiness that goes great with the oak moss and patchouli from the soap, but is a good bit sweeter, thanks to Beloved’s immortelle absolute (which smells like honey), but it’s a good combo. And to finish the routine for the day, I sprayed on Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy. It has an obscenely not creative name, but it also shares bergamot, mint, and lavender notes with the aftershave to make a nice #FOF combination.

For the challenge. You want the memes? I got the memes. I thought about doing a some memes dedicated to my Spite Shave, but I’ve already proved my point to MrTangerinesky. Then I thought about dedicating that Chapelle meme to either u/cowzilla3 for Old Spice Dupes or u/Enndeegee for Spice Girls gifs. But then, I opted to stick to something we can all agree on. Something we can all unite with: 10 memes about how awful PAA is. But I'm not done! I have one more meme left in my tank... Quite possibly the most impressive meme for meme day that's ever memed:

Bringing a Meme Soap to life.

That's right! Remote Learning is becoming a reality. The inmates are running the asylum and I'm leading the charge for Doritos Soap and Mountain Dew Splash. You're welcome, r/wetshaving.

For the #photocontest, I’m going with Story/thematic as Joker finally has the jump on Batman. Robin is trapped under a giant bottle of splash and Batgirl is trapped under a frag! How will Batman escape??

And of course, I have an awesome interview today! I talked with Kyle from Summer Break Soaps. For me, SBS is about fun and nostalgia. Taking us all back to a time when this were… Simple. And all of Kyle’s scents tell a story or evoke a feeling. That is not easy to do. And on top of all that, Kyle is one of us, posting in the Lather Games threads, tossing out gifs and memes like it’s nobody’s business. This is a great interview that you won’t want to scroll by and I’m so glad Kyle decided to take part. Thank you, u/rocketk455! You are a great part of this community!

10 Questions with... Summer Break Soaps

1) As a student, Summer break is no question the best break, yet Spring Break seems to get the most hype. Why do you think that is?

I've basically been in school for 30ish years now. In all that time I've noticed a lot of patterns. One of those is that the month of February absolutely sucks. Teachers and students are tired, its cold, days are short, and summer is so so far away. Spring Break comes along at the perfect time to provide hope that summer is in fact getting closer and that the weather is finally getting better.

2) I would always wait until like the last day of Summer Break before school went back into session to try to bang out the entire summer reading list (shoutout Cliff Notes for saving me on more than one occasion.) What percent of students do you think actually do the summer reading?

Honestly, I don't think anyone around here even bothers to assign summer readings because absolutely no one would do them. You and your Cliff Notes might be the only person in the history of always that actually at least kind of did the readings.

3) When you aren’t using your own soaps/splashes, what are your other favorite brands/scents to use?

Several years ago when I was a peak thrill I decided to mostly limit my purchases to only brands that have a presence here on r/wetshaving. After SBS, Declaration is a solid 2nd place as far as amount of stuff that I own. I very much enjoy all other Reddit artisans as well.

4) Which is your favorite SBS scent that you’ve released?

It’s interesting how the answer to this has changed. The answer was always Picture Day previously, but I've kind of gotten tired of barbershop scents. Right now, it is probably Woodshop. I just really enjoy how that came together especially since it was years and years in the making. I also really like International Studies.

5) Real talk: How many people do I need to get to committed to buying a set of Remote Learning for you to do a limited run?

Making small batches of soap is a huge pain, but you find me 10ish or more people to buy it, and I'll make it.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 17, 2023

• Brush: Oumo Pandora – 28mm Badger
• Razor: Valet Autostrop – VC2 #SELFSHARPENING
• Blade: Feather FHS-10
• Lather: Storybook Soapworks & APR - Carnivale
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Bay Rum Splash
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Sni Mato
• Music: Spice Girls – 2 Become 1

Personally, I love the collaborations in this hobby. In many industries, someone that sells the same product as you would be seen as a competitor, but collaborations remind us that there is a mutual respect among artisans. There are many, many, many times where together they can develop something that is better than either one would produce on their own. Business-Buzzword-Bingo calls this “synergy”, but I call it awesome. It’s great to see our favorite artisans work together to develop the things we love. Everyone wins.

Today, I’m using Carnivale by Storybooks Soapworks & APR. Sadly, Dan from APR has passed away. And Storybook Soapworks is out of business. So, I really appreciate u/worbx sending me a smoosh. Because once it’s all used up, it’ll be just like u/MrTangerinesky’s chances of winning Lather Games: Nonexistent. To tie that theme together, for my #photocontest, I’m including an extinct animal: my fossil of a Phacops Trilobite from the Devonian Period. This little guy was crawling on the bottom of the ocean floor 400 MILLION YEARS AGO! Coincidentally, that’s approximately the last time u/MrTangerinesky had a worthwhile Lather Games Post….

The scent of Carnivale is interesting. It’s warm and kinda spicy and a little fruity. Smells like a fall fragrance to me. Almost reminds me of the craft fairs my mom used to take me to as a kid. To take those spicy notes to another level for my splash, I used the best Bay Rum on the market: Barrister and Mann’s. Actually, worked nicely together. Then, I was feeling kinda crazy and sprayed a little Sni Mato from Chatillon Lux on. I don’t think Sni Mato and Bay Rum have any scent notes in common, but from a #FOF perspective, they worked okay together. Sni Mato is floral, yet earthy, and on a base of cocoa and Bay Rum is obviously spicy. Anyone that’s ever consumed Cinnamon-Chocolate knows that’s a great combination, so it’s not THAT crazy these two scents would play well with each other. Floral-Earthy-Spicy is a great combo, IMO.

DISCLAIMER: I got this splash for free from last year’s lather games prize.

And as far as the challenge goes, I will do anything for Lather Games, but I won’t do that. I don’t own alum and have never used it. Never much saw the point or value from it. I’m trying to keep my face from drying out, so putting a salt block on it never made sense to me. If I was to ever, ever, ever, use alum, I would 100% buy Osma, the only luxury alum. Buuuutttt…. That’s not going to happen today.

And for my interview today, I have a dude who knows all about collaborations. Shawn Maher has worked with so, so many wetshaving artisans out there, as well as being the guy behind Chatillon Lux and The Maher Olfactive. I’d bet everyone reading this has used and loved the scent of several products scented by Shawn. I was so excited that Shawn agreed to take part in this series and play along with my questions. So, thank you so much, u/hawns! And Shawn – You likely missed the post, but I haven’t seen you sign up for our group buy for Doritos Soap and Mountain Dew Splash yet! For a guy who’s developed some of the most amazing scents in our hobby, you really missed the boat on this idea! ;-)

10 Questions with… Shawn Maher

1) I read that you got started in perfumery by blending essential oils to create a fragrance for a face balm you made for yourself. Most people would simply go to the store and buy whatever they have there, but you built something for yourself. Have you always been a do-it-yourself go-getter, like that?

Yeah, I've always kind of been like that. I used to be in a band where I wrote all the songs, booked all the shows, was in charge of scheduling practices and paying rent at the practice space and also was the one who had the van. Now, my main job (associate creative director of copywriting at an ad agency) requires me to learn new stuff all the time, including how retina and corneal surgery works, how welding and plasma cutting works, the scientific process for optimizing industrial janitorial services, and how shoes are manufactured, just to name a few. Plus, I was always the kind of student who got As and worked ahead when I found it interesting but got Cs and never did my homework when I didn't. But when something interests me, I go in whole-ass, never half-ass.

2) It’s actually stunning how many fragrances you’ve created within this wetshaving hobby of ours. Do you have one you are most proud of?

I would say the scents I'm most proud of usually aren't scents in shaving products since all the small nuances kind of get destroyed by the base. It's like trying to watch a movie on a screen covered in vaseline or watch something through a rusty screen, dirty windows and seven bushes. However, I would say La Petite Prairie would be the scent I'm most proud of that was made to be in a wetshaving product.

3) Spearhead Shaving’s Spiced (which you created) is one of my favorite scents. Who is your favorite Spice Girl?

I was in high school when the Spice Girls came out, and in band my trombone section thought it was really funny to annoy people by playing the instrumental hook for Wannabe. I always wondered if there was a reason why Scary Spice was scary other than because she's Black?

4) Do you have a tally of how many scents you’ve created since starting Chatillon Lux & Maher Olfactive?

I never remember them all, especially due to one-offs. It's probably been at least three dozen. Probably more, I would say, considering there are almost two dozen active scents in both lineups. Memory and organization have never been my strong suits. I like to think that's because I am always moving forward and never in the past...but probably just because I'm scatterbrained.

5) Do you have any scent notes that you don’t like working with or refuse to work with?

I'll work with anything, but I don't have the slightest interest in making scents that smell like what's already out there. So many people were pissed because they saw a coffee note in 1904 and just assumed it would smell like the generic sweet latte scent that so many people have done already. My brother in Christ, if you want that scent, then go with one of the ten million options that already exist. I don't know if there's a single note out there that I wouldn't work with. I think everything has its place if used correctly.

​

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 18, 2023

• Brush: Stirling Soap Company – 24mm Synthetic
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain
• Post Shave: 345 – Bana-O-Rama Splash
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts – Boonana EDP
• Music: Hocus Pocus – I Put A Spell On You

It’s Spooky Season and in honor of that, I have history lesson that will eventually make sense for my shave today: The Salem Witch Trials were a series of false accusations and mass hysteria that occurred in 1692-1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. Accusations of witchcraft ran rampant across the town, and in total over 200 people were accused of witchcraft, 30 people were found guilty and 20 were executed, and another 5 died in prison. Of the 20 people executed, 19 were hanged and 1 man was pressed to death.

The man who was pressed to death was a dude named Giles Corey – an 81-year-old farmer who was accused of witchcraft, and refused to plead guilty or innocent. You see, at the time, if he entered a plea, he would stand trial and his estate would be forfeited to the government when he was found guilty. He knew he’d be found guilty, because, well, everyone was found guilty of witchcraft in those days. If he didn’t plea, there couldn’t be trial, and his estate would be passed down to his family. In order to FORCE him to enter a plea, the Sheriff (along with the people of Salem) stripped Giles naked, laid him down, put boards on top of him, and put heavy rocks and boulders on the boards. They were going to keep putting more rocks on top of him until he pled, so he could stand trial. Giles was a G and was steadfast in his refusal to plea. When the sheriff asked him to enter to plea, Giles only responded with: “More weight” - Like I said, Giles was a fucking G - and the sheriff complied and continued adding more weight. After 3 days of torture, he died under the weight of all the rocks and boulders.

According to local legends, the ghost of Giles Corey appears and walks in his graveyard when a disaster is about to strike the City of Salem. There were reports that his ghost was seen at the Howard Street Graveyard, where he was pressed to death, the night before a great fire in 1914. It was also said that he put a curse on the Sheriff the pressed Giles (who died of a heart attack at 30), as well as every Sheriff to take that position thereafter for the next 300 years. Every single sheriff, since the one that pressed him, had either died in office with heart problems or retired due to a blood disorder. This happened until they moved the Sheriff’s office OUT of Salem in 1991. Spooky shit.

So, Priusaurus: This is interesting, but what the hell does this have to do with your shave today? Well, today, I took a trip up to Salem today to shave with Giles Fucking Corey for Spooky Day.

First, I went to downtown Salem and said hello to their statue to Samantha from Bewitched and snapped my SOTD #photocontest for Urban/Architecture. Downtown in a densely populated city counts as Urban, right?

I then went to Giles Corey Memorial down the road a bit. It’s settled nicely on a small lake where a couple people were fishing. There’s a marker for our boy Giles and his wife, Martha (who was executed 3 days after he died), as well as a display for them. I plopped down right in front of Giles marker, took out my stuff, got a good face lather going and got to shaving. It was hot and humid, but quiet and peaceful. For my 2nd public shave of the Games, this one went a lot better. Loaded up right from the tub and had a relatively quick, two pass shave using one of my favorite soaps. I do miss not using a mirror with a public shave, but I like to travel light. No one kicked me out, but a couple dudes with fishing poles walked by and side-eyed me. Like two dudes fishing on a Tuesday afternoon have any business judging a guy shaving in front of a dead witch’s memorial.

Samhain is a perfect fall scent as far as I’m concerned. I have the trickhole, but since I’m #ridingwithitchy and not matching any scents all game, I got creative and used 345’s Bana-O-Rama Splash. To me, the Samhain smells like a baked good, kinda like a banana bread without the banana. Sooooo… I added the Banana with the splash! Boom! Tasty. Now with all that Banana, I had to finish everything off with Boonana by SW to complete this awesome #FOF. But not here. I went to the scene of the crime. Where Giles was pressed to death and said to be still haunting. I went to the Howard Street Graveyard in Salem, and sprayed my Boonana on there, and paid my respects to ensure no ghosts followed me home. Boonana is so, so, so much better and more complex than Bana-O-Rama. Bana-O-Rama is a fun, almost meme scent, wheresas Boonana is dark and sophisticated, while still having the sweetness of a banana that is just past it’s ripeness. Man, Boonana is so, so good.

For the challenge… Ummmm… WTF? Not sure which Djudge wanted this one, or which personal collection this is going in, but here you go. I didn’t use a sink today, thanks to the Spooky Giles Corey shave, but I dumped my whiskers on some paper towel for you weirdos.

Sadly, no interview to post today, which is why you got a history lesson and spoooooooky Giles Corey tribute shave today.

July 19, 2023

• Brush: My fucking sock?!??
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Taconic Shave – Tequila Lime Shave Cream
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria – Lime Splash
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Lone Star EDP
• Music: The Champs - Tequila

Man, I need a shot of Tequila after that shave. Using a sock to lather is a bad idea. Like an awful idea. This is coming from the guy that shaved in a bathtub full of ice. Now, it’s entirely possible (and maybe even likely) that my sock-lathering technique is bad. However, lathering with my sock isn’t something I want to perfect.

Today, I went to the beach for this shave for two reasons (1) I like to feel the sand between my toes in the summer and (2) because u/MrTangerinesky thought he could intimidate me by shaving next to a little river. A little babbling brook in the background is supposed to impress me? Bitch, please. You bring a river and I’ll bring the ocean! As my arch nemesis, u/MrTangerinesky, would say: VIDEO OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!

Despite the piss-poor sock lather, the shave was slick. However, it took way too long to build any sort of lather with a sock and sand was all up in my lather, so I only did 1 pass today.

I really enjoy this cream from Taconic – it smells like a margarita and performs great under normal conditions. I chose Lime aftershave because, well, lime is one of the two scents in the soap. Then for my frag, I picked Long Star, since it opens with a nice lemon scent, and lemons & limes are like best friends. The Lone Star then gets really nice with complex blend of floral and woody notes on an earthy base of oakmoss, leather, and hay. It’s nice to have a shave that starts with a relatively simple scent (margarita) then then the frag builds that into a complex #FOF summer experience.

As with a lot of my shaves this month, I have a few lessons learned:

1. Soaking my sock was a good idea, but I should have done a better job at keeping sand off the sock.
2. Sand is a good exfoliator, buuuuuuttttt…. Shaving with a mix of sand and sub-par lather is not ideal.
3. You need a LOT more cream for a sock shave than you expect. I started with this and had to go back to the tub two more times. These socks EAT lather.
4. Socks don’t make good brush replacements.
5. If you are going to use your socks to build a lather, bring an extra pair, so you don’t have to go sock-less for the rest of the day.

For the #photocontest: Sports with the baseball, since I asked Taconic who their favorite baseball team is.

For my interview today, I chatted with Nancy from Taconic Shave. Nancy, and her husband Howie have been slinging wetshaving products for 20 years - long before it was cool. Nancy was such a nice, nice person for this series that I feel absolutely awful publicly desecrating her product by using it with my dirty sock…. BUT… If I can get a serviceable lather using one of my socks, imagine the dreamy lather you’ll get using a brush!

10 Questions with… Taconic Shave

1) How did you get started making shaving creams, soaps, aftershaves, etc?

When we started our wet shaving business about 20 years ago, there weren’t very many good shave soaps available. The retail stores that were selling our Parker Safety Razor products were asking for an American made line of shave soaps and creams. The best ideas come from our customers and we were able to offer the right products at the right time. The wet shaving community was expanding rapidly at that time.

2) What was the first product you ever sold?

Our first Taconic product was a mandarin orange shave soap in a cold poured formulation which is much different than we’re offering today. Our products today have been formulated differently over time.

3) I’ve only tried your shave cream, and I will say it performs wonderfully. How do you compare your cream to your shave soaps?

Our shave soaps have very different formulas than the creams. You’ll have to try one! The shave soaps require a mug and a little more work to create a lather, but they deliver unbelievable glide and cushion thanks to some key ingredients like hemp seed oil and bentonite clay. They are also formulated with all naturally derived ingredients like the rest of our line. We are committed to making our products chemical free.

4) You're from New York. Dare I ask: Yankees or Mets?

Yes we’re from New York, and we’re Mets fans (with a high pain tolerance) :)

5) My sister-in-law has a tshirt that says “I love cooking with wine... Sometimes I even add it to food!” Is the recipe for tequila lime soap similar?

In some ways yes - it was always a fun drink and lime is one of our favorite natural scents.

6) Do you have a go-to drink you order at a bar?

Howie loves a good local craft beer. His favorite is Bear Naked Ale from the Adirondack brewery in NY. I always love a good glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

7) You offer 5 different scents of shave creams and 6 options for shave soaps. How did you decide which scents you want to offer in which form?

We asked our customers and our retailers which scents they would prefer. We have a close rapport with our customers and gathered preference feedback. For example, one of our later scents Excalibur started as a solid cologne and our retailers loved it so much they wanted us to grow the use of this scent with our other shaving and beard care products.

8) Of the scents you offer, which one is your favorite?

Mine is Lavender Lime (I just love the citrus balanced with a bit of earthy lavender) and Howie’s is Eucalyptus Mint for its cooling effect.

9) I noticed one of the ingredients of your Creams is honey. I've never made my own soaps or creams, but I have to imagine that's a somewhat unique ingredient. What does the addition of honey do for someone's lather/skin?

Honey is an excellent moisturizer for the skin and has really great antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It can also be helpful with razor bumps and adds additional glide.

10) How do you differentiate Taconic Shave from all the other shaving companies currently out there?

We have consistently stuck by our values to offer a broad line of wet shaving and grooming products, using the healthiest choice of ingredients that we would want to use ourselves (avoiding many common allergens such as nuts). We always choose to go with small batches, using only all natural and many organic ingredients that are locally sourced whenever possible.

July 20, 2023

• Brush: Farvour Handcrafts with Oumo Lotus Ace 26mm Badger
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Stubble Buster – Evocative
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Lavanille
• Fragrance: Joop! – Homme Joop!
• Music: Greta Van Fleet – Highway Tune

Before I discovered this wonderful world of wetshaving, which is so intertwined with fragrances, my go to was Joop. I’m was a JoopGuy. I didn’t wear it daily, but if I was wearing a fragrance, odds are it was Joop. It’s certainly not pricey, but I loved the sweetness to it – the vanilla mixed with the cinnamon notes was, and still is, just delightful. Given how much I enjoy gourmand scents, it’s no surprise I was drawn to Joop. Then I discovered that Stubble Buster made a shaving soap and splash that is a Joop-Dupe, I was sold and immediately bought a set. At the time, a tub of Stubble Buster was like $6 and the splash was $10. And it so, so, so outperformed that price point. Now Stubble Buster costs significantly more, but that’s a different story for a different day.

Being able to shave with a soap that smells like one of my favorite scents is such a wonderful benefit of the world of dupes. Even with a dry, pasty lather today, the shave was enjoyable because of the scent of Evocative (aka Joop). I finished the shave off with B&M Lavanille Splash because, while I love Joop, I like to mix things up #ridingwithItchy style. The soap and splash share that, oh so important, vanilla connection, but Lavanille is so much more complex that it sends my nostrils through a nice journey past Vanillaville, on the way to Lavenderland, Cedartown, and Muskcity, taking the Mousse de Saxe Highway to get there. To bring all those scents back home, I finished things off with the OG: Joop, himself. While the splash of Lavanille is a nice place to visit along this #FOF journey, the comfort of Joop does brings everything right back home. Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Tonka Bean – yum, yum, yum!

For the challenge today, my lather is usually pretty balanced. But it errs on the side of “well-hydrated”, so for today, I made my lather as dry as u/MrTangerinesky’s last romantic partner. And also, similar to u/MrTangerinesky’s last romantic partner, I left underwhelmed and extremely disappointed. There was a white, sticky mess everywhere, and I couldn’t wait for this experience to be over. And exactly like u/MrTangerinesky’s last romantic partner, I ended this escapade thinking: “There is absolutely no way I’m ever doing THIS again!”

For #photocontest: Masterpieces. Took this SOTD pic at the Danforth Art Museum, in front of this painting by Lawrence Kupferman.

For my interview today, I talked to Bob Farvour, of Farvour Turncraft. Bob made the brush handle I used today and it is one of my absolutely favorite brush handles I own. We often talk about function art and our brush handles are a great way to express that. Bob is such a great artisan who makes such wonderful brush handles in the Bourbon Capital of the World. If you aren’t familiar with his stuff, check out his Etsy store and read the interview below. There’s a lot of good stuff there, including his top picks for bourbons to try! I was really happy that Bob was willing to take part in this series. I’m pleased to present to you:

10 Questions with… Farvour Turncraft

1. How did you get started turning handles (and pens)?

I started restoring vintage ones first and quickly started wanting to get a lathe and make my own. This was in about 2009-2010. I grabbed a craftsman mini lathe and started turning them in a one car garage attached to a town house I was renting. I started selling them on Badger and Blade and back then it was easy. If you wanted a custom brush then, Rudy Vey was the only option. Then you could Make a brush, post it, and it was sold in minutes every time. I stopped for several years due to a move followed by a fire that burned up everything. I finally got around to buying another lathe in 2019.

2. Your brush handles are, without a doubt, functional art. How do you decide what colors/material/shape/pattern you’re going to work with on a given day?

There’s nothing elaborate about it really. Usually, I stand there staring at a drawer full of mica powders until something sounds good. Then other times, I might be sitting under the shade tree when an idea comes out of no where. Shapes I try to keep comfortable and simple. With resin pours I like to experiment, which can often fail.

3. Of the many, many brush handles you’ve made, do any stand out as your favorites? Or most challenging to make?

Most challenging for me is anything with a Cyanoacrylate (CA) finish, which pretty much means hybrids. I detest doing a CA finish but it sometimes is the only option. For favorites, I lean toward the classic and simple. My collection is quite boring. I love a plain ivory handle. But if I started picking favorites, I’d have a list a mile long before it’s all done. My current favorite is a Thuya Burl handle. I make mostly resin but I like wood more.

4. What software/hardware do you like to shave with?

I’ve been using a DE89 head on top of a Merkur 30B handle. Not long ago I got a Gamechanger and it has been pretty common in the rotation since.

My favorite soaps usually come from HoM or Noble Otter, although I use plenty of others too. I lean toward Barbershop scents but my fave is probably HOM Almond Leather.

Lab blues are my blade of choice.

5. You’re based out of Bardstown, KY, which is the Bourbon Capital of the World. Do you have a go-to, or under-appreciated, bourbon you would recommend?

Don’t get me started. Bourbon has exploded so much I could go on and on. Under appreciated, in general, is anything from Heaven Hill. Buffalo Trace gets a lot of attention, rightfully so, but Heaven Hill puts out a great lineup. Elijah Craig is a great option for folks that don’t want to pay a fortune and hunt around for something that is only marginally better. Most unicorns are overrated, and the best hidden value is Old Forester Rye.

The best bourbons that are easily available….

Elijah Craig

Evan Williams BIB

Evan Williams 1783

Russell’s Reserve

Knob Creek

But I put Old Forester Rye atop all those bourbons. $20 bucks a bottle.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 21, 2023

• Brush: Terrafirma Soapery – 28mm G5C
• Razor: Chiseled Face - Legacy
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Wholly Kaw – Fougere Bouquet Soap
• Post Shave: Spearhead Shaving – Heather Splash
• Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana - Pour Homme EdT
• Music: The Chainsmokers - Paris

Ahhh… Fougères. French for “fern”. I can’t say I’ve ever smelled a fern and thought “This. This is what I want to smell like all day.” Yet fougères are an absolutely delightful olfactory category. I mean, it’s not quite Les Doritos et Dew, but really, what is?

It may surprise some people to learn that despite being named after ferns, fougères typically consist of lavender, geranium, vetiver, bergamot, oakmoss and coumarin. Didn’t see fern on this list, did you? Typical France… I don’t understand why my grandparents left there to come to America. My ancestors, and family I still have over there, were always going above and beyond expectations. You expect ferns and boom! They throw lavender and coumarin at you. Expect the unexpected when dealing with France.

A lot of people think that the American culture is one of excess, I however, would say au contraire, the culture of the French is most is defined by their people going above and beyond. If someone in France wants toast, what do they do? Do they simply take 2 slices of bread and stick them in a toaster? No, no, no… Or should I say non, non, non? They take those pieces of bread, dip em in an egg mixture, add cinnamon, then toss that in a hot pan, and drown it in maple syrup, and then sprinkle some powdered sugar on there to be fancy. The French are the same people who said sex with one person just isn’t enough, we need another person in the mix to make a “Ménage à trois”. And let’s not forget about their famous nude beaches (just don’t expect to go in the winter). Need a new, fun way to execute someone? They invent the guillotine! And one of the most famous emperors, Napolean Bonaparte, wasn’t exactly known for being satisfied with what he had. When it came time to host the World’s Fair in Paris in the 1800s, they built a 1000 ft tall wrought iron phallus just because they could!

My point is that OF COURSE it’s the French to come up with a fougère. As a people, they just aren’t satisfied with the status-quo. They have to create new and wild combinations. And that’s exactly what a fougère was. Let’s call it fern, but really, it’s a little of this, a little of that, and enough herbs and spices to make Colonel Sanders jealous. And it smells damn good!

In honor of Fougère Friday, I’m going fougère on fougère on fougère. And it’s interesting to smell then one after the other, because they are so different from each other. First up: Wholly Kaw’s Fougere Bouquet. It’s a little woody and damp off the tub and opens up a little when I lathered it. Next up, Spearhead’s Heather is a lot sweeter and more herbal and lighter than Fougere Bouquet. Then finally Dolce & Gabbana frag is also an aromatic fougère and I’m getting more citrusy vibe in this scent than the other two. Each of the three bring their own uniqueness to the #FOF fougere party and luckily, they all left me feeling good and smelling great.

For the #photocontest: I’m going music. These headphones make me so happy. Still wired, too!

Haiku-Time!

Doritos are good
Mountain Dew is delicious
Buy Remote Learning

And a 2nd haiku for good measure, dedicated to u/MrTangerinesky, who is, what the French call, les incompetents:

Spite shave started war
Tangerinesky wants the smoke
He’s gonna get it

And, of course, I was lucky enough to connect with Sri from Wholly Kaw for my interview today. Sri puts a lot of thought into what he puts into his products and strives to make skin-care more accessible to the masses. Before we started this interview, Sri warned me that he can be a little long winded and asked if I had a length limit restriction. I told him not at all! Sorry to whatever djudge is lucky enough to get my post today, but I’m so glad I didn’t. Sri gives a lot of very, well thought out, great answers and put a lot of effort into this little project of mine. So, thank you u/whollykaw! I so very much appreciate your willingness to take part in this series of mine.

10 Questions with… Wholly Kaw

1) You’ve been in the wetshaving game for a while now. What made you want to get started making shaving soaps?

Several reasons come to my mind - First, I have a tough beard due to my heritage where I can easily get a 5 pm shadow at 2 pm. Second, I am deeply focused on what’s inside various products - be it in what I put on my skin or what I eat. The lack of disclosure and transparency in what we buy from stores made me go deeper into the ingredients and address my concerns around product safety, effectiveness, avoiding harmful substances, ethical and environmental considerations and so on.

That journey in curiosity and the desire for a more effective product for my own needs led me into the chemistry of ingredients, the synergy among ingredients in a product, the benefits, avoiding certain products due to the ingredient mix. With this additional knowledge, I could have more meaningful discussions with dermatologists or skincare experts or cosmetic chemists.

The right questions get to the answers I was seeking. Sometimes I have to frame the questions multiple ways to get to the answers.

Those discussions and questions led me to make my own product that catered to my needs. And then I decided to give to the community - the collective knowledge that gave rise to the formulation and the end product.

2) How has the wetshaving industry changed since you got started in it in 2014?

Rise of Niche Brands: Including WhollyKaw, the wetshaving community witnessed a surge in the popularity of artisanal and niche brands offering high-quality shaving soaps, creams, razors, and brushes. These brands often focus on natural and unique ingredients, catering to customers looking for a more personalized and authentic shaving experience.

Online Retail and E-commerce: With the growing popularity of wetshaving, new online retailers specializing in wetshaving products emerged, providing a wide range of options to consumers. Our EU distributor also started their business around the same time as we did.

Increased Focus on Sustainability: Consumers became more conscious of environmental concerns, leading to a greater demand for sustainable and eco-friendly wetshaving products. By wetshaving, we help in reducing plastic usage, use a biodegradable product.

Buying Fatigue: Most of us have a ton of products that we bought and do not end up using or use sparingly. We become overwhelmed, exhausted, by the plethora of choices or disinterested due to excessive or continuous shopping experiences. It is characterized by feelings of weariness, apathy, or even frustration associated with the act of making purchasing decisions.

3) What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting Wholly Kaw?

Having a side hustle is a good thing but if the side hustle becomes a business the very factors that enabled a side hustle translates to building block missteps in the business. These missteps become harder to undo.

There is a lot more to the business that goes beyond products and selling. Tons of other variables you have to deal with. For example fire inspection and getting a passing grade from a compliance perspective. These things become important due to the deterrents and other penalties for non-compliance. After you are in compliance it’s on cruise control mode from that point.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 22, 2023

• Brush: Farvour Turncraft with 26mm Oumo Lotus Ace Badger
• Razor: GEM MMOC
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: Daveli Farms – Cranberry, Pomegranite, Vanilla Sheep Fat Soap
• Post Shave: Zingari Man – The Merchant Balm
• Fragrance: Elysian Soap Shop – Lyra EdT
• Music: The Lion King – Hakuna Matata

Hell of day to be a Lather Games Contestant! The day that has been figuratively circled in my calendar for a month and a half. Leg day. I generally live my life the way Timon and Pumba told me: with no worries. Sure, there is important shit to worry about in life, but in the scheme of things, so many of our worries just aren’t that important. Other than the fact I’ve never shaved my legs before, WHY is having hair on my legs important? Why is today such a big deal? I don’t know. Just because that’s kinda what society tells us. Men have hair on their legs. And most of us don’t question it.

But… Hakuna Matata. It means no worries. It means telling society to shut up about gender roles. It means standing up against anyone that says “men are supposed to XYZ”. Hakuna Matata means shaving with Doritos scented soap. Hakuna Matata means being secure enough to order a fruity drink at a bar because it’s fun or tasty. Hakuna Matata means going to brunch with your buddies and getting buzzed on mimosas. It means letting my daughter play with trucks and letting my son play with dolls. Hakuna Matata means celebrating people for being who they are and dressing how they want to dress!! Hakuna Matata means minding your business and letting people be happy. And Hakuna Matata means shaving my goddamn legs for Lather Games!!! Hakuna Matata! Hakuna Matata! Hakuna MaFuckingTata!!! That’s what Timon and Pumba were talking about. And when Timon and Pumba talk – I listen.

Did I shave my legs today? You goddamn right I did! Did I feel weird doing it? Absolutely. Did I regret it the second I put a razor to my legs. No! Because it’s the Lather Games and I didn’t come this far to only come this far. And am I going to let the fact that I don’t have hair on my legs bother me one bit? Hell no! And you know why not? Because HAKUNA MATATA! No worries today, no worries tomorrow, and no worries for the rest of our days. It’s my problem free philosophy. And if anyone has a snide comment about my silky smooth legs, I’m gonna say: “Hakuna Matata!”

Cue the video clip! Or here’s the imgur link if you’re more into that. (Put the sound on for the full effect)

Started the shave with a Rockwell 6s, since that razor is an idiot proof, but after one stroke on the first leg, I realized that wasn’t going to cut it, so I brought in the MMOC with a brand new blade. And that razor worked like a charm. The Daveli Farms Sheep Soap is very good and I was happy to be using that soap today. A few nicks and cuts, but my legs are feeling smooth and great and the soap was wonderful for this tasks. Big shoutout to Zingari Man Balm for keeping everything feeling great post shave. Not sure if I actually like the feeling of smooth legs, but Hakuna Matata indeed.

The scents of the day: Daveli Farms Cranberry, Pomegranate, & Vanilla is obviously berry, for the shave theme, but I connected everything with vanilla. The Merchant Balm is Vanilla and Spices. And Lyra from Elysian is Vanilla, Jasmine, and Patchouli. I love the scent of vanilla, and adding some jasmine and patchouli makes a very balanced, pleasant #FOF scent. Feeling great and confident on my Hakuna Matata day!

For #photocontest: insects. He’s a root borer beetle I caught in my yard (then stuck in the freezer for a couple days for the pic). And before anyone comes at me about cruelty. These bugs are absolute assholes.

For my interview today, I talked with Daveli Farms. He’s posted on the sub a few times and I’m always game to try new soaps. The fact the sheep tallow in this soap comes from sheep on their farm was (and is) very appealing to me. They are definitely a “no-frills” soap shop. You buy from their facebook shop, and the soap comes in a sealed cellophane pack (I put it in my own empty tub for ease of loading). In this interview, you’ll get to read about how they got started making soaps, his perspective on competing against the big guys, and how he is trying to market soaps made from animals on his own farm. I will say that this soap performed very nicely and gave a really nice lather for shaving my legs for the first time ever today. Not an easy task, but this soap was up for the challenge! Thank you u/DaveliFarms for participating in this series and giving my questions a lot of thought! Wish you nothing but this best!

10 Questions with… Daveli Farms

1) What made you get started making shaving soaps?

I was a DE/SE wet shaver and knew that sheep tallow soaps always performed better for me. Once I opened my Natural Food Store, upon picking up a few lamb I had butchered, the butcher actually packaged all the fat up for me. My first thought was, "I'm not a soaper, what am I going to do with this? Oh heeeeey....." And I was off. Our great grand fathers and indigenous peoples never wasted anything on an animal and my butcher knew I requested everything usable back from all of my animals. That's is kind of what makes my store a little unique also.

2) Does all of the tallow in your soaps come from your own animals from your farm?

Every last drop. There is a difference in the fat from different animals (obviously), but there is also a difference in the fat of grain fed vs grass fed animals. I only use enough grain to bring the animals up to the fencling to check their condition, to make sure they are doing good, and to lead them from pasture to pasture. Other than that, they are purely grass fat. Beef and lamb have 4 stomachs that evolved over time. Forcing them to stand at a grain trough in a concentration camp to get fat twice as fast on grain when their 4 stomachs are evolved for it....I feel is unethical. So all of my animals or purely grass fed. I firmly believe this makes a difference in the shave soap even after sopanification.

3) I’ve often had the thought that using tallow in soaps is actually more “green” because it ensures that there is less waste coming from the meat industry. Tallow, which would exist with or without soapmaking, would otherwise be thrown away. Now it is being used. Is that a fair assessment to make?

This is a good question that relates to #2, because most all butchers throw away ALOT of an animal, unless you request it back. Including fat. Some will hold some back for future use in sausages etc. What people don't realize is in the 50s or 60s the cosmetic companies realized there just wasn't enough tallow to go around for all the soap consumers need. So they came up with a chemical concoction that bubbles when you get it wet, and the FDA allowed them to call it soap, even though it isn't true soap. But your statement is true in that less waste goes to the landfill, and if the fat gets used for soaping, it at least serves a secondary purpose.

4) How did you decide what scents to offer in your shaving soaps?

One of my favorite lines from Joe Dirt the movie is from Kickin Wing at his fireworks stand, "Because snakes and sparklers is all I like!". It's about like that. I have spent hours as a consumer trying to decipher the Davinci code of soaper's scent description. And after placing an order I end up with a stinker. My soaps are for the everyman commoner. You don't need a degree in scentology to decipher Green Tea, Peachy Mango, or Cranberry Pomegranate Vanilla. I am not a perfumer masquerading as a soaper. I'm not going to try wet earth or fresh cut grass. I wanted my consumers to easily comprehend the scent of the soap with full confidence when it arrives, it will smell exactly as they envisioned.

​

INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY

July 23, 2023

• Brush: TerraFirma Soapery Deep Blue - Oumo Best 3 Color Synthetic 28mm
• Razor: Gillette Tech
• Blade: Feather
• Lather: Hoffman’s Shaving Company – Cooookie Monster Soap
• Post Shave: Elysian – Maple Coffee Splash
• Fragrance: Hoffman’s Shaving Company – Affogato EdP
• Music: Sesame Street – C is for Cookie

First things first. I want to address the figurative mammoth in the room and call for a truce with u/MrTangerinesky. Wacky shaving hijinks are funny, but our Spite Shave feud clearly went too far yesterday and shaving while driving is not a good idea. So, I wave the white flag of surrender and hereby withdraw from this feud. I don’t want to be the reason anyone does anything potentially dangerous. From here on out, I’m gonna stay in my lane - and be thankful that you stayed in your lane yesterday.

Now, onto the regular post:

What is this enchanting aroma? It’s chocolate chip cookies! As the self-proclaimed Gourmand King, this shouldn’t surprise anyone following my posts. I love products that smell like delicious food *Cough, cough*. I fully recognize that a chocolate chip cookie soap isn’t for everyone, but it’s probably my favorite. Smells just like chocolate chip cookies and reminds me of my childhood, just crushing Chips-Ahoy and drowning each one in a glass of milk. As soon as I open the tub, I’m hit with a sensory blast of nostalgia. This is such a fun soap to shave with. And my wife and kids love it too. Some time ago, my wife asked how our favorite artisans can make soaps that smell like cookies or coffee or rocket pops, and I honestly don’t have a good answer. Science, I guess. But everyone in my household loves when I shave with fun, delicious scents like Coookie Monster.

I decided to stick to gourmand and use Elysian’s Maple Coffee Splash for the common theme of delicious things I want to put in my mouth today. This splash is way sweeter than I usually drink my coffee, but it smells wonderful and is a great addition to a chocolate chip cookie soap. And finally, for today’s fragrance I’m riding with Hoffman’s again, and matching the coffee splash with a different coffee frag and using Affogato EdP. It smells AWESOME! Coffee, cream and sugar – yum, yum, yum. None of these scents are the most sophisticated or most complicated in my den, but I love all three them and I get complements when I wear them. If you walked by me today, I’d smell like an upscale bakery or fancy coffee shop. #FOF win for The Gourmand King!

Quick sidenote: Did you guys know that cookies are a “sometimes food” for the Cookie Monster now?? And he only eats ONE AT A TIME??? I was reading a Sesame Street book to my toddlers and was flabbergasted when Cookie Monster started talking about eating apples, bananas, peas, corn, and healthy food! It’s not right. He’s not the “Well-Balanced-Diet Monster”. He’s the COOKIE MONSTER. He has one job and it’s to eat cookies nonstop! Ughhhh… Poor Cookie Monster…

For the challenge, audit this lather!

My #photocontest is dedicated to r/wicked_edge. Blurry Photo: Check. Feather Blades: Check. Picture of my neck: Check. Razor baseplate installed upside down: Check (but hard to see because it’s blurry because it’s wickededge).

P.S. – The fact I had to actually type out that first paragraph seems like fake life to me.

I was fortunate enough to talk to Robert Cipolla, who started Hoffman’s Shaving Company a year ago this month. The fun scents drew me into his offering and I’ve been hooked since I first tried his stuff last November. His soap base is really good and he is pumping out a ton of unique scent options. When I reached out to Robert, he asked for a phone call, instead of doing this over email because it’s more personal. That’s the type of guy he is. He and I spent like 30 minutes on the phone shooting the shit about shaving, our shared traits, and his company. It was honestly an absolute delight and I really appreciate the time he gave me for this silly series. Super nice dude who is doing his best to make his mark in a crowded space. He’s not on reddit, so I can’t tag him, but he reminded me a lot of the guys I know in real life. Really down to earth and appreciative for the people that support him.

10 Questions with… Hoffman’s Shaving Company

1) The artwork on your labels is very cool. Do you design the labels yourself, or does someone else do that for you?

I design them all. Sometimes I have an illustrator do the color work because there’s not enough hours in the day. But 90% of it is all in house. I’m a graphic designer by trade, and web designer and marketer, so it kinda makes sense to me. I like scents. I like artwork. That’s kinda how I built it. We try to make it fun and tell a story.

2) Your scents are fun. My favorite one, Coooki Monster, smells like chocolate chip cookies. You also have one that smells like Red Candy Fish and another scented like a Root Beer Float. Which is your favorite scent?

Ooof… I have my heart in all of them. Gourmand would have to be Red Hallow. It’s a red maple and French vanilla – it’s a phenomenal, phenomenal scent. Regular scentwise… I gotta go with Burn the Ships. Or The Great Reset. It’s like a Barbershop on steroids.

3) The Root Beer Float scent is called “Space Boy”. What do you think the most difficult part of being an astronaut would be?

Not making it home. I want this to be a two-way trip, you know? And also I gotta know if I’m allowed to bring my shave stuff!

4) Did scientists do Pluto wrong by stripping it of its status as a Planet?

I don’t think anybody gives a shit. If I can’t see it, I’m not concerned about it.

5) When I previously ordered from you, you included a Swedish Fish in the order, which was delicious and appreciated. Why Swedish Fish?

I have fond memories of walking the boardwalk as a child with my dad and everytime we would go to the boardwalk at Seaside, NJ, I would try to win this 5lb box of Swedish Fish. And we’re all chasing that nostalgia and I want people to knonw we’re a fun company and make getting a package from us fun and exciting.

6) You also have a Swedish Fish scented soap/splash/EDP, so you seem to be up for anything. Are there any scent notes you won’t produce because you’re not a fan of them?

Anything menthol. I want nothing to do with it. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

And I’ve had people ask me to do a motor oil scent and I’m just like “Noooooope”

INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY

July 24, 2023

• Brush: Terrafirma Soapery - Mallee Burl and Resin with 28mm G5C
• Razor: Gillette Super Speed
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Noble Otter - Thé Noir et Vanille
• Post Shave: Sir Henry’s – Lavender, Vanilla, Sandalwood Splash
• Fragrance: Tumi – Kinetic [--:-- GMT]
• Music: Garth Brooks – Friends in Low Places

In the announcement thread, the question was asked if someone in the games gave us a gift card and we used it to buy soap, if that counted. u/USS-SpongeBob confirmed that counts, so last year, my guy u/chronnoisseur42O hosted a post Lather Games PIF about hobbies due to his love of LEGO, and I was selected as one of the lucky recipients. Check out his amazing collection – it’s seriously impressive. The prize for this was a Maggard Gift Card, which I used to buy the soap I used today – Noble Otter’s Thé Noir et Vanille.

TNeV, as it’s called in shaving circles, is black tea, vanilla, and supposedly strawberries. I was very surprised to read that u/RedMosquitoMM smells a strong strawberry scent right off the bat, because I it’s not strong to me. However, anyone that reads his posts vs. mine will immediately know that my nose isn’t even close to the same stratosphere as his, so trust him on this. I get mostly tea and vanilla from TNeV. I stuck with vanilla for the post-shave and fragrance. Lavender, Vanilla, Sandalwood Splash from Sir Henry’s is nice and simple. Three nose-flavors blended together and make for a nice finish to TNeV shave. Finally for the fragrance, I went with Kinetic [--:-- GMT] from Tumi. It has a smoky vanilla scent to it and a touch of sandalwood that blends quite well with the LVS Splash for a great #FOF day.

For the challenge, there are so many amazing people on this sub and it’s impossible to narrow it down to one, two, or three.

u/chronnoisseur42O is a super nice dude – gifted me the PIF that I used for soap today – and is a Lather Games Powerhouse. His posts are always enjoyable and he’s going above and beyond in these games.

Of course, I have to give credit to my buddy u/OnionMiasma who has a brilliant knack for creative writing, and thinking outside the box – he’s definitely been pushing me to do better in this years Games. Nearly every day, I read his posts and I'm envious that he had a better idea than I had or I'm jealous of something he came up with. Oh yeah, and he also raised a bunch of money for the JED Foundation last year and is doing it again this year!. An absolutely solid human being and one I hope to get a beer with in real life in the future.

u/RedMosquitoMM has a wonderful ability to describe scents better than anyone else on the sub, and is always an absolute joy to read. And he gave into peer pressure and shaved his legs for leg day!

u/EldrormR pushes people out of their comfort zone to try boar brushes, MMOCs, and now a Wagaiaouzet thingy! He enables like no other and hasn't led me astray yet.

Of course, the LG organizers and djudges this year: u/USS-SpongeBob, u/wallygator88, u/Djundjila, u/walden, u/DoctorRotor, u/J33pGuy13, u/VisceralWatch, u/merikus, and u/EldrormR - you are all so giving of your time sifting through all of our nonsense, and I’m especially thankful for whoever has to read my extremely long posts, day after day after day - THANK YOU!

And finally, my frenemy, u/MrTangerinesky – You’ve provided me with so much hilarious and cringeworthy moments over the last couple weeks. You’re may be a lunatic, but you’re our lunatic. 🤝🏻

The theme for the #photocontest is Royals, since the soap brand is a one of nobility. Took my SOTD pic in front of The King of Burgers. Because every King needs a Queen (and in case BK isn’t Royal enough for you) I also included a 3D printed Queen Elizabeth figurine for a prop.

For today’s 10 Questions with… I have: Cody from Noble Otter. He was very quick to respond to my interview request and gave a lot of really good answers to my questions. Thank you u/NobleOtter for agreeing to participate and play along in my shenanigans! Appreciate all you’ve done to grow this hobby of ours!

10 Questions with… Noble Otter

1) Does your Otter mascot have a name? I feel weird calling him, “your otter.”

We dont really have a name for him. We have called in Kai in the past, on a card for the Monoi de Tahiti release but we never really stuck with that. We kind of just left it open to allow the imagination of our customers to make the story.

2) Is your otter a sea otter or a river otter?

He is a river otter.

3) A lion is the King of the Jungle, are we to assume your Otter is the King of the Rivers (or Sea)?

Actually, we think of him as a royal family member but not the king. Kind of like a young member that just wants to go on adventures rather then but stuck to the throne.

4) If you could live as an animal (other than an Otter) for a week, which would you pick? Why?

Some type of bird. I love flying and would want to be a eagle or something that could just soar.

5) Do you have a favorite scent that Noble Otter has released?

This is really tough, I think Orbit is my favorite but TNeV and Hamami are also close seconds.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE REPLY)

July 26, 2023

• Brush: Priusauruswood Botcrafts – B.O. Inspired Synthetic Brush 24mm
• Razor: Priusauruswood Botcrafts – ErgoRazor V1
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: KY – Warming Jelly
• Post Shave: Apex Alchemy – Alchemical Romance Splash
• Fragrance: Jovan – Sex Appeal
• Music: Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

It’s the wildest night and day in r/wetshaving! Everyone scrambling to use something unique and some lunatics staying up until 2AM to make sure they are the first to post whatever the hell they shave with. Fortunately, I don’t think ANYONE is going to shave with this set up, but I’m taking no chances and decided to have a nice little midnight shave for myself, by candlelight. First off, I wanted to be safe, but also because I was in the mood… Here’s the video

Since my brush and my razor are unique, one-of-a-kind prototypes, I’ve pixelated them in the SOTD picture so no potentially competing company sees what I made and copies it - looking at you, Mojo Handcrafts! u/Phteven_j warned me about you assholes!! I’ll talk more about the custom hardware today down below before my interview.

When I was thinking of what to shave with for Wildcard Wednesday, I didn’t want the stress of picking out a soap that no one else was using. I did that last year, and it was stressful! So, I wanted to think outside the box this year. I knew I wanted something super slick, so I googled the best lubricants. After taking a deep dive down some weird internet rabbit holes, I read glowing reviews of the performance of the K.Y. Brand. None of the reviews mentioned shaving (that I could tell), but I’m willing to take the chance. Then I had to decide which K.Y. lubricant to pick, and since I like to treat myself with a scuttle sometimes, the Warming Jelly seemed like a natural fit. Glad I did, because this warms up within like 4 seconds of brushing it on your face and it is LUXURIOUS! Glad I sprung for the warming version.

The scent is non-existent, which allowed me to fly free with my post-shave routine. I selected Apex Alchemy – Alchemical Romance because the logo seemed appropriate for tonight for some reason. The scent is absolutely delightful – chocolate AND vanilla with a hint of butter. YUM! And because I like to feel sexy after late night shave, I went with a fragrance so sexy, I’m not sure if they even make it anymore: Jovan – Sex Appeal. The scent description is: This provocative and stimulating blend of rare spices and herbs was created by man with the only purpose of attracting women. Ummmm… Don’t tell MrsPriusaurus bought this! The scent is actually not bad. It doesn’t blend nicely with Alchemical Romance at all, but the theming is spot on for tonight, so I’ll take the #FOF loss.

I kinda have a lot of other stuff going on right now, but there’s always time for a den tour challenge! But… Ummmm… Why do I think this is a clever ploy for u/J33pGuy13 to get more feet pictures? Whatever, I need the points. This time last year, I could fit all my shave gear in one toolbox. I’ve since expanded to a couple different toolboxes for the miscellaneous soaps and aftershaves, then for the soap & splash sets, I have them in these organizers in my home office. Generally, they’re sorted by artisan, except I have a tote and a half dedicated to gourmands. I have a separate tote for balms, one of full size frags, and then a nylon bag with the oh-so-important sample frags. I also have an little bins for sample soaps, sample splashes, and straights. I have these two razor holders and my brushes mostly organized in one box. When I’m not Lather Gaming, I regularly rotate in razors 3, at a time into on my bathroom stand. When it’s time to change the blade, I put that razor to the back of the line, and rotate in another one. Lather Games has REALLY thrown off my system, but it’s #worthit.

For #photocontest, I have literature. When I was in the library, I thought the title was Fifty SHAVES of Grey and it was a book that would improve my shaving technique. I haven’t got to any of the shave parts yet, but I have improved other worthwhile techniques since picking up this book.

Now, for today’s interview, I have MYSELF. Since I designed and manufactured hardware I used today, it seemed appropriate. A little background about what I made for today’s shave: The brush shape is inspired by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Rocket. I 3D printed this prototype brush and I’m really happy with how it came out. I picked an all-white brush to simulate the rocket breaking through the earth’s atmosphere. The brush feels natural and comfortable in my hand and I enjoy rubbing it on my face. The ErgoRazor V1 Prototype is a unique shape, designed to comfortably fit in the user’s hand and takes advantage of a GEM Lather Catcher design. I also allowed for interchangeable razor heads to potentially swap for more mild or aggressive heads in the future.

For today’s questions, I have some journalistic integrity, and very little actual integrity, I’m fully aware it would be wildly inappropriate to write my own questions and answer them. Therefore, I turned to Artificial Intelligence. I gave ChatGPT the prompt: “What are 10 Questions to ask a Lather Games participant?” and below is what it came up with. Without further ado, I present to you:

10 Questions with… Priusauruswood Botcrafts

1) What initially inspired you to participate in the Lather Games, and how did you prepare for the event?

My first Games were last year, and I had so much fun doing it. Initially, I did it because it seemed like a good way to participate in the r/wetshaving community and “get off the sidelines”, so to speak. And boy, was I correct!

2) Could you share a particularly memorable or exciting moment you experienced during the Lather Games?

This year, there are so many to pick from! Getting asked to leave a restaurant for shaving on their patio is unforgettable, my 30 lb ice bath shave was something, but my Spite Shave was the best. It really kicked off the feud with MrTangerinesky. Of course, getting Remote Learning to be made a reality on Meme Day will be truly unforgettable.

3) What challenges did you face during the competition, and how did you overcome them?

The worst challenge so far was sock lathering. I did it on the beach, between work meetings, and in my haste to get everything I’d need, I forgot to bring extra socks. Big oof. As much as I’d like to say I went the rest of the day without socks, the truth is I stopped at Marshall’s and bought new socks on my way back to work.

4) The Lather Games can be quite intense. How did you manage stress and stay focused during your matches?

It all starts with preparation. I had most of the interviews lined up ahead of time to coincide with the soap or brush I was going to use on a given day. Going in with a plan, and executing on that plan was my strategy this year. Of course, things can change and I had to remain flexible to accommodate the different things that came up.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 27, 2023

• Brush: TerraFirma Soapery Deep Blue - Oumo Best 3 Color Synthetic 28mm
• Razor: EldormR Industries MM24
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Lather: The Holy Black – Lavender Creeper Soap
• Post Shave: Maol Grooming – Wilde Flowers
• Fragrance: Prada – Luna Rossa
• Music: Taylor Swift - Lavender Haze

I love the scent of lavender. I love it in my cleaning products. I love it in my coffee. And I even like to grind some up occasionally and sniff it to give me the boost I need to get through the day. I’m always happy to shave with it! It seems to be somewhat divisive within the community, but I enjoy it. Maybe I should ask Doritos how many people need to commit to buying a Lavender flavored chip for them to make them… ANYWAYS…

A few days ago, during the challenge about hydrating lathers and I started to second guess myself a little bit. Am I adding enough water to my lathers? I like to think that, generally speaking, my lathers are pretty balanced, but what if I added moar water? Would I get a better shave? Would the lather be slicker? Today seemed like a good day to test out that hypothesis (I know, this is sounding sciency and science day seems like a lifetime ago). Shaving outside would allow me to add so, so, so, much water. But I would need an assistant. Then I saw him. The perfect little guy to help me make sure my lather stayed adequately hydrated during the shave. I gathered my shaving supplies for the day.... And… Hold onto your butts... See the results for yourself:

Video of today’s outside shave

So, while the expression may be, “if your lather ain't nearly drippin', then you must be trippin’”, I think I found the point where it becomes too much drippage. My faithful assistant had turned against me and his constant barrage of water was too much for the lather to handle. Each pass, hell each stroke, was a race against time, as my little buddy diligently did his best to keep my lather (and everything else in his line of sight) very well hydrated! Even took the opportunity to inadvertently bloom the soap. Fortunately, I was using my MM24 which mows through whiskers like nobody’s business, and it is perfectly balanced with the old MMOC handle. Such a great razor (more on that later). At the end of the day, I determined that my regular lather is plenty hydrated enough and this much water does not do much to improve the quality of the shave. Hypothesis that I need MOAR water proven wrong.

The scents I selected today were all lavender because, well, it’s LAVENDER DAY! Lavender Creeper is a nice, mentholated Lavender Scent – the menthol is very nice of a hot, summer’s day. Wilde Flowers is floral and very lavender heavy - there are supposedly other scent notes in Wilde Flowers, but my sus-nose only picks up lavender. And finally, to close out today’s #FOF, Luna Rossa is lavender-centric with a little bit of mint. This is a perfect scent for an outside summer shave.

For the #photocontest: The Law. Welcome to the lobby of the Massachusetts State Police Museum and Learning Center. Want to learn how to become a MA State Trooper or just learn about the history of the longest running State Police Organization in the country? This is the place to go!

For today’s interview, I have someone who is no stranger to this sub. The man who made the razor I used today. He’s a man that has enabled us and pushed us out of our comfort zones with MMOCs, Boar Brushes, and now a Wagaiaouzet thingy. He’s currently working his way through a Martin de Candre brain bowl and using NOTHING else until all 230 grams (8.11 ounces) of it is gone. He needs no introduction, but he got one anyway. I’m really happy to have u/EldormR join me for today’s interview. Thank you so much, Eld, for agreeing to participate, and for being such a positive influence on r/wetshaving!

10 Questions with… EldormR Industries

1) Many people shave with vintage razors and some even wish they were better. But few people create a new razor from two old ones. What made you want to combine the powers of the 1924 Shovelhead and the MMOC? Did you expect that anyone else would want to buy one, or was the original MM24 simply for yourself?

I loved the quality of shave I would get from the 1924, but hated the tiny handle that it came on. It made the maneuvering tough and uncomfortable for me. I wished there was a way I could change it, but never really spent much time thinking about it.

It wasn't until I found a broken MMOC in a razor lot I picked up that I found my solution. When I got that MMOC, I decided to take it apart to see how the internal mechanics worked. After absolutely destroying it in the process, gotta learn somehow, i realized that I could modify an "intact" MMOC handle to fit the 1924 head.

I started off by just making one for myself, then a few more for some friends to try and get feedback. After word and a few pics/reviews got out, people started reaching out to me to make more of them. I never really had any idea they would be so popular and am humbled by their reception from the sub.

2) How many MM24s have you made? Ever think of adding a serial number to them to keep track of your creations in the wild?

Unless I missed recording one or two, I've made 39 and shipped out to 5 countries. I've thought about doing serial numbering, but never pulled the trigger on actually starting it.

3) What other Frankenrazors are you currently tinkering with or dreaming of?

I'm long overdue on a promise for a friend for a Gem G-bar handle with a 1924 head.

4) Someone is about to take over the world – would you rather it be aliens or robots?

Aliens, hands down.

5) I didn’t try a boar until last Austere August, thanks to your Raw Hoggin Challenge and I know I’m not alone. Before your challenge I was almost intimidated by them based on what other people said about them. So, thank you for running that. What is your favorite boar brush?

My favorite boar brush has to be my Zenith Moar Boar sub brush. That 31mm Hog is fantastic. Before that came along, I would reach for my Rubberset 400-3 with a 26mm Zenith knot I refurbished or my Zenith B36 (28mm x 50mm) Scrubby. I've tried a lot of other manufacturers, but Zenith has always been my favorite.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 28, 2023

• Brush: Assured for Men – 18mm Synthetic Shaving Brush #RUNT
• Razor: Assured for Men – Double Edge Safety Razor
• Blade: Assured for Men Double Edge Blades
• Lather: Luxury Men – Smooth Glide Shave Gel
• Post Shave: XtraCare – Fresh Scent After Shave
• Fragrance: Bod Man – Really Ripped Abs
• Music: Lil Dicky feat. Fetty Wap and Rich Homie Quan - Save Dat Money

Anyone that knows me, know I LOVE a good deal, so imagine my surprise when I went to the local Dollar Tree and discovered they have shaving gear! Like an idiot, I’ve been shelling out my hard-earned money to “artisans” for far too long. It’s about time I helped to open the eyes of r/wetshaving to the scam that is the hobby of shaving. We've all been duped and I wonder how deep this whole thing goes. Are our esteemed djudges in on this? Are all of you sock-puppet accounts for Big-Artisan-Soap?? Am I the only free thinker here???

At Dollar Tree, you can get a Double Edge Safety Razor AND 5 blades for the low price of $1.25. Is that cheaper than a Wolfman or a CF Legacy? Why, yes. Yes it is – I did the math twice to make sure.

What about a Shaving Brush? $1.25. Is that cheaper than a Declaration Grooming brush? Absolutely! And will this Assured for Men brand follow through on its commitments? Undoubtedly. Will DG? We know, the answer to that is unfortunately no.

For the Lather? $1.25 AND its aloe enriched! Does House of Mammoth put aloe his soaps? They absolutely do not! Why is this Ben guy trying to scam us! Is he cutting corners and skipping the aloe? And if we know he doesn’t have aloe, I think it’s reasonable to wonder… What else is he skimping out on?? The people need to know the truth!

For post-shave? You guessed it: $1.25! And it doesn’t have the bullshit snake-oil “skin food” that these so called “artisan brands” have! You know what my skin lacks? Mouths. If skin doesn’t have a mouth, how can it eat this so-called “skin-food”? I’M JUST ASKING QUESTIONS HERE PEOPLE!!

And finally, for the fragrance, I had to spend a bit more to acquire this. Dollar Tree didn’t have fragrances, so I drove to Dollar General and I hit the jackpot! I bought 3.4 ounces (100ml) of fragrance for $4.50 – or $0.045 cents per ml. That charlatan Shawn Maher is charging AT LEAST $120 FOR HALF AS MUCH – 50ml. That’s a whopping $2.40 per ml! Algebra was never my strong suit, but that’s like 787x what Bod Man charges. Sure, it’s possible a Maher Olfactive fragrance is slightly better… But 787 times better??? You do the math! Plus, according to their website, Bod Man is America’s #1 Men’s Fine Fragrance Brand. I can only imagine how many Golden Pears they’ve won. Must be tripping over them at Bod Man HQ!

So, all I’m saying is open your eyes and be willing to try new things. You may be surprised to find that there are products out there are aren’t artisan, but still get the job done just as good! Originally, I thought it’d be fun to shave outside my local Dollar Tree, but then I thought shaving in a more controlled environment would be more informative. Ultimately, I decided it’d be fun to write this and then shave with everything, on video, in my bathroom for my honest first reactions to this entire set-up. At the time of writing this, none of these have been opened yet and I haven’t smelled or sprayed anything at this point in time. It’s worth noting, that I picked this software because it was all blue. And I happen to like the color blue.

Click here for the first impression video.

You guys. Real talk. Gonna break character for a minute. I stopped recording and my face was on fire. And everything is irritated. I don’t like this feeling and I can’t pretend anymore. I’m legitimately afraid to shave with any of this stuff ever again. Oh, and this shit smells gross. While the splash actually wasn’t bad, it still a big #FOF fail. It smells bad, sad, and…. Really fucking sad. Seriously... But, to spin this: This may actually smell better than War or Peach Chypre…. So… I’m just saying DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!! Poor u/OnionMiasma is being hunted for sending hazardous smells in the mail. That’s proof that you could do a lot worse than the scents of this set-up! This was sad, but not exactly offensive. OK. The Bod Man was kinda offensive... But... It was FRUGAL!!!

Also, very funny the packaging was the razor has a stainless steel handle, but the handle is very much plastic.

BTW – That shit I said about Declaration Grooming was absolutely true. I’m out on Scoot until he makes good on u/djundjila’s 2022 LG Prize.

For the #photocontest. Pets (alive or dead). I’m glad the category for pets includes the caveat that they can be dead. Because that’s what I’m including today! This tiny metal vial is a keychain, which has the partial remains of my first dog, Casper. When we had to put him down, we cremated him. My mom has the majority of is ashes in an urn at her house (which are to be buried with her when she dies). And my sister and I each got a little vial/keychain of his ashes. I carried this around on my keychain for years, but now, I just keep it in my desk drawer.

Just because I’m not using a traditional artisan shaving products or fragrances today, doesn’t mean I don’t have an interview! I was able to get Dan, the cashier from Dollar Tree, to answer some questions about the shaving products I found there. So thank you Dan, the cashier from Dollar Tree, for answering my questions and spending your day scanning hundreds of different items, which all cost $1.25!

10 Questions with… Dan, the cashier at Dollar Tree

1) What can you tell me about this safety razor?

It costs $1.25.

2) A dollar-twenty-five seems like a heck of a deal for a razor and 5 blades! Do you sell a lot of these?

I don’t think so…

3) This might be the best kept secret in all of wetshaving! Do you know the blades are more like Feather Blades or Nacets?

I guess you’ll have to try it to find out.

4) Good point. Blades are very subjective and vary from person to person. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. Can we talk about the brush for a minute? Do you know what the hair fibers are made out of?

You kinda have a line forming behind you.

5) Of course! Do you know how much residual slickness this Luxury Men Smooth Glide Shave Gel offers between passes?

Residual what?

6) Nevermind. What scent notes are prominently featured in the shave gel?

The label says it’s aloe enriched.

7) Does aloe have a scent?

I don’t know, man. What are you asking all these questions?

8) It’s for this series I’m working on for the Lather Games and--

What’s the Lather Games?

9) It’s an internet shaving competition that I’m trying to win. Long story. But I ask the questions around here! What can you tell me about this aftershave splash?

It’s blue.

10) Beyond the color. Like, what does the smell remind you of? What’s the history of the scent-profile? How is the post shave feel??

Your total today is $5.31.

July 29, 2023

• Brush: Stirling Soap Co – 24mm Synthetic Brush
• Razor: Rockwell 6s
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword
• Lather: Castle Forbes – Cedarwood and Sandalwood Cream
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts – Samhain Splash
• Fragrance: Kenneth Cole – Mankind Rise EdT
• Music: Dillon Carmichael - Sawin' Logs

For Sandalwood Day, I thought the best place to shave would be the woods and appreciate the natural sandalwood all around me. Then I googled where Sandalwood comes from, hoping to go to the local sandalwood forest, and quickly learned it comes from India, Australia, and Hawaii. And none of those places are driving distance to me. Dammit. Buuuuuut… Cedar is half of the scent notes in the soap I used today and we have White Cedar trees everywhere! Bingo! Let’s go hiking! It’s a great day to shave in the woods! So I woke up early, made myself a wonderful cup of Stirling Ethiopia Yirgacheffe with my v60, into a travel mug. And brought it hiking with me.

Today I’m working with Castle Forbes Cedarwood and Sandalwood, because it’s Sandalwood Day and it’s half of the soap. I used Southern Witchcrafts Samhain splash because sandalwood is the 2nd scent note listed on the bottle. Try as I might, the other scent notes certainly come in stronger, but the sandalwood is certainly there. This is such an amazing scent. Then my frag was Kenneth Cole Mankind Rise. It’s described as a deep woody amber scent. Perfect for Sandalwood Day, perfect for going into the deep woods, and perfect for a morning hike. #FOF

As I walked through the woods, I made sure to take the time to appreciate all the smells along the route. It absolutely downpoured yesterday, so it smelled a little damp and musty. The scent of pine surrounded me as I went further into the forest. A lot of the paths were muddy and smelled like a swamp. And of course, the smell of the wet rocks getting enveloped by the river around them. This. This is what nature is all about. And, unfortunately, mosquitos are also part of nature. I had to spray on bug spray which kinda messed with the nature-scents thing I was going for, but whatevs. I hiked along this path, listening to the sounds, thinking of the events of the last 29 days, and I came upon the opening to riverbed. It seemed so very peaceful that I decided this was the spot I wanted to shave at. No grand theatrics today, and no hyperbole or gimmicks. Just an old-fashioned, relaxing shave at this beautiful spot on the river, among the woods and nature, as I enjoy my coffee. Taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the world around us, taking about our next Lather Games Champion…

Here's the video.

For the challenge, as much as I’d like to be brash and say that I should win in order to fulfill my day one prediction of winning this whole thing, I believe one man has stood in my way. One man, has done it better than I have and has been a wonderful ambassador of the games to every single participant this year. That man is kind, funny, and one of the most creative people we have on this sub and he will make a great Lather Games Champion. He’s the only one person who I can say, I’ve looked forward to and read every single one of their posts. And that man is u/OnionMiasma. He didn’t initiate silly feuds, participate in Spite Shaves Wars, or get kicked out of any restaurants – because he didn’t need to. He stuck to what he is good at, did his thing, and did it better than anyone. While I was doing my best to be over the top, charismatic, and entertaining, trying gimmick after gimmick, he was just being himself and being damn good at it. I felt like I had to try to do SO MUCH to keep close to him. I believe the Legendary Post points will be what makes the difference and he currently has more than anyone. And rightfully so. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets another one before this thing is up. It’s time for Red to pass the crown to Onion, and I can only hope that next year, Onion loses internet for a couple days in June, because I think that is my only hope of beating him.

The winner of FOF has got to be u/RedMosquitoMM. His ability to detect scents and so eloquently and accurately write about them is unparalleled.

Photocontest: No clue. While I try to read as many posts as I can, more often than not, I don’t click on the SOTD pics. I’ve been trying with the scavenger hunt part, but no idea how anyone else is doing.

For my own #photocontest entry today: Scenery.

I feel very fortunate to have connected with Southern Witchcrafts for the final interview of my Lather Games series. They made the splash I used today - which happens to be one of my favorite scents in all of wetshaving. Southern Witchcrafts makes absolutely, unique, outstanding scents and great performing products. They have a wonderful vegan base, and most importantly to me, they don’t use palm oil in anything – including their bath soaps! I’m not sure any other artisan can say that. But if you’re reading this far, you already know all this. So, thank you u/Phteven_j for connecting me for Courtney for this series. I love what you both make, what you’re all about, and I couldn’t think of a better way to close out my interview series. Without further ado, the final entry:

10 Questions with… Southern Witchcrafts

1) How did you get started making shaving soaps?

I have strange taste in fragrances and choices of vegan soaps were kind of limited back then so I thought it might be fun to make my own. It wasn't supposed to be anything serious at first but we sent out my first try to some friends and they loved it just kind of grew from there.

2) All of your shave soaps are vegan, which is getting more popular, but even more impressive is that your bar soaps are made without using palm oil. Why is that important to you?

Palm oil is a big contributor to deforestation but also known for its production being riddled with human rights violations like child and forced labor. We always try to be as ethical as we can with our ingredients.

3) I really, really love how all of your scents are completely one of a kind. Which is your favorite?

I feel like Carpathia does the best job of getting across what I was going for. It smells like the wet bricks of a dilapidated castle in the Carpathian mountains. It's what I would imagine Nosferatu would shave with if he was homesick.

4) What surprised you most about starting your own shaving/grooming company?

Just that people would enjoy my weird creations.

5) I live in Massachusetts, which historically has not looked kindly toward witches. Do you think a company called “Northern Witchcrafts” would have been crushed like Giles Corey?

Thankfully things up there have improved since back then. I have visited a couple of times and at no point did anyone try to throw me in a lake or press me to death. I consider that a win for progress.

(INTERVIEW CONTINUED IN THE REPLY)

July 30, 2023

• Brush: Yaqi Evil Zebra – 26mm Synthetic Brush - China
• Razor: Karve Copper, Plate C - Canada
• Blade: Wilkinson Sword - Germany
• Lather: Boellis - Soap - Italy
• Post Shave: Master Soap Creations – Apricot Pie - South Africa
• Fragrance: Guerlain - L'Homme Idéal - France
• Music: Puff Daddy ft Notorious B.I.G. and Mase – Been Around the World

I love the expression: “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” It gives you a chance to see fascinating/historically important sites, meet a lot of interesting people, and to experience other cultures and the food that goes along with each. Traveling really helps gain the perspective that we are all sharing this giant rock called Earth, flying through the Universe, trying to exist among one another. It shouldn’t be hard, yet it is.

One of my favorite parts of traveling getting to try the different foods that different countries have to offer. Food connects us all. In China, the most considerate way you can greet someone is by asking them, “Chrh guo luh ma?” which translates to “Have you eaten?”

So today, for our final day of the Lather Games, I’m went in my car to go on an international food tour and eat a different food from every country represented in my set-up today. For clarity, I'm from the United States. Speaking of #photocontest category is vehicles.

The first stop: France for my fragrance: Guerlain - L'Homme Idéal. A great way to start the day, I arrived at Làkon Paris Pàtisserie. Got myself a French Roast Coffee, an almond croissant, and a vanilla macaron. Given the scents of the shave today, these pastries were spot on and sitting outside on this beautiful day is a great way to kick off my day of eating food from around the world.

Next up: South Africa for the post-shave: MSC – Apricot Pie Splash. This one was more difficult. There are no South African restaurants anywhere around me. From my searching, the only South African restaurant in my state closed a couple years ago (shout-out Covid). Which is a shame, because I was hoping to eat some Bobotie today. The next best thing I have found as a specialty food store that stocks the South African favorite Bledie Lekker Droewors – which is basically dried sausage jerky made from beef and lamb. Very common in South Africa, and gives me a much-needed protein boost to take on the day today. I don’t have time to waste, so I eat these in the car enroute to my next destination.

Now, I hop back in my car and drive into Boston. I can knock out most of set-up in the best city in the world. I park my car downtown and walk to my first stop.

For China, we have my Yaqi brush: I go to Chinatown. I love this area of the City. Having been to China a few years ago, this area is actually a somewhat fair representation of China – crowded, strong sense of community, and delicious, cheap food. Went to a hole in the wall that had a decent amount of people going into and out of it. Picked up a Steamed Pork Bun and Chinese drink. I enjoyed it in a park, where I was surrounded by people speaking Cantonese as they gambled, smoked, and seemed to enjoy each other’s company.

Next stop: Canada for my Karve Razor. Poutine! And I’m told the poutine at Saus in Boston is authentically Canadian. If I didn’t know better and had to guess who decided to take French Fries and smother them with gravy and cheese curds, I gotta admit, Quebec would not be the first place that came to mind, yet here we are. And I’m forever grateful for them because this is delicious! By the time I eat my poutine and leave Saus.

I’m feeling very full, but I can’t stop now.

For my lather: Italy, thanks for a smoosh courtesy of u/J33pGuy13 of Boellis. So off I go to Boston’s North End. This is like our Little Italy. Except we don’t call it Little Italy. It’s the North End. This is where people who immigrated from Italy all decided to live in the early 20th Century. And of all the iconic establishments, Mike’s Pastry’s has got to be #1. I once again, took inspiration from the scents of my shave stuff today and got a box of Italian cookies and a cannoli (because Mike’s has the absolute best cannolis). I despise going here on the weekends, especially in the summer, because it’s packed with tourists. But it’s packed for a reason AND it’s the Lather Games! Sidenote: as I held up the little baggy with my white smoosh for the photo, I realized just how much it looks like I’m holding up a bag of something illegal. Glad I didn’t cause any incidents today. I took my treats to a nearby park to enjoy them.

Now, with all that out of the way, it’s time to shave. But where? Shaving at one of the many Embassies in Boston seems like a bad idea. And Boston’s World Trade Center is okay, but it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as I would like. No. The airport? No, that’s too obvious for international day. Seems like a second-place idea and using running water for a shave on the final day seems boring. I bet someone else will have that lame idea. I need something unique! It has to be the Oldest Park in the United States: Boston Common, in the shadows of the Massachusetts State House. For those who have never been the Boston Common, it is a beautiful 50-acre park located in downtown Boston. Through the years, it has served many purposes: it started in the 1600s as a place for cattle to graze, became a site where Puritanical punishments occurred, and then during the Revolutionary War, it was here that the British Army made camp before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. It’s also where Charles Lindbergh promoted commercial aviation, while Martin Luther King Jr led Anti-Vietnam War and civil rights rallies in the 1960s. In 1979, Pope John Paul II gave Mass to a gathered crowd. And, now, it will forever be known as the place where Priusaurus had his last shave of the 2023 Lather Games.

I found a nice spot, under a tree, and with the Massachusetts State House directly behind me, and got set up. I’m feeling a little sad this is my last Lather Games shave of the month. I’ve given it my all this month and it’s hard to believe it’s coming to an end. But I’ll have time to reflect tomorrow. Now it’s time to shave. There’s a lot of people out and about, enjoying their day. Luckily, any shame I once had has long disappeared during these Games and I had a very enjoyable two-pass shave.

The scents of my shave, were once again sweet, as the self-proclaimed Gourmand King strikes again with an almond centric day. Boellis has a delicious almond scent which carried into nicely into the Apricot Pie aftershave splash, which features apricot, almond and vanilla. Then L'Homme Idéal also has a sweet almond scent to it, but the builds on that with citrus fruit and a woody base. Not bad at all for a nice #FOF shave in The Common.

About 6 hours after I left for the day. I feel full & bloated, but have sense of accomplishment, knowing I did everything I possibly could to compete for the top spot this year.

But wait, there’s more! I haven’t yet honored the blade I used today: My Wilkinson Sword blade from Germany. And I, like most people in the Lather Games, take vehicle safety very seriously, so I decided to consume this final piece of the puzzle at home. After my kids went to bed, I poured myself a nice, cold, refreshing German beer from the oldest brewery in the world – Weihenstephaner.

And it is with this, that I give a figurative toast to everyone who competed in the 9th Annual Lather Games. We had a lot of fun, with a tiny bit of spite mixed in. To the djudges, organizers, and sponsors – THANK YOU!!! This marathon would not be possible without you. To the artisans who agreed to take part in my interview series – thank you so, so, so very much. You are literally the best on the planet at what you do, and the fact so many took the time to answer 10 silly questions is truly humbling. And to my fellow participants: I told you on day one you were all playing for second place. Hopefully that ends up being true, but even if it doesn’t, it was a hell of a ride!

Peace, Love, and Hakuna Matata.