July 1, 2023 – Bonjour long run day

• Brush: Declaration Grooming B9A+ Jefferson “Summer’s Gone”
• Razor: Gillette Post-War Fat Handle Tech
• Blade: 7am Hi Platinum Durablade (2)
• Lather: Murphy and McNeil – Trinity
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Executive Man
• Fragrance: Creed – Aventus

A few years ago, I was prepping for Lather Games and I bought a couple of Murphy & McNeil samples for “New To You” day. And then I never used them. They’ve just been sitting in my sample drawer for years staring at me. Well, “New To You” day is back (with some fancier labeling) and I’ve now officially tried M&M for the very first time.

Prep this morning was a 10-mile run followed by a dip in the pool to cool off and further cooling off in a cold shower with Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill bath soap. Then I scooped what I thought was a fair portion of Trinity into my scuttle and began lathering up. I think I may have under-scooped because I didn’t manage to get quite as much lather as I was expecting. Anyway, I got just enough (with a bit of brush squeezins) to manage 2 passes with the post-war Tech an 7am blade. Got a really good, close shave.

I didn’t look up the scent notes on Trinity before shaving, but if it’s not an Aventus dupe, I’ll eat my left running shoe. I picked my Executive Man balm and a bit of actual Aventus to finish up the shave. I may be sitting in this chair all day waiting for my legs to stop aching, but I’ll smell like a pineapple god while I do so.

July 2, 2023 – Now Cows Harmed

• Brush: Zenith 508A XL Boar (B35)
• Razor: Ever Ready 1912
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Lather: Argasol – Shave Soap
• Post Shave: Epsilon – Blue Mediterranean

According to the Google translation of the packaging, this soap contains coconut oil, water, olive oil, glycerin, and argan oil with all oils organically farmed. The website boasts (via Google translation) that “its fine foam will make shaving a real moment of pleasure.”

This soap does make a very fine foam in the sense that it is thin and very bubbly. Perhaps this is actually a dried out brick of bubble bath instead of proper shave soap. The fact that I managed to get any kind of decent shave should be credited to the 1912 razor and brand new GEM PTFE blade.

July 3, 2023 – Just Another Mammoth Almonday

• Brush: Cool Dog “Granada” ebonite with 28mm silvertip SHD
• Razor: Feather Popular
• Blade: 7am Hi Platinum Durablade (3)
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Almond Leather
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Almond Leather

Company is closed today but I still dragged my ass out of bed at a stupidly early hour to run 4 miles before the sun came up and it started getting “too hot”. It was still 77 degrees with 88% humidity so it felt like 82. Some days I frakkin’ hate living in the swamp.

Took a cold shower with Glacial Lemon Chill bath soap to cool down and then had a lovely single-pass shave with Mammoth’s Almond Leather. I could have done a second pass, but if I shave too efficiently, I’m eventually going to hit a day where I just have nothing to shave and this is not the month for that.

Also, fuck u/spez

July 4, 2023 – Spring Somethingorother

• Brush: Declaration Grooming B3 Theodore “Unicorn Ivory”
• Razor: American Safety Razor Co. – Gillette Old Type clone
• Blade: 7am Hi Platinum Durablade (4)
• Lather: Chiseled Face – Summer Storm
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Summer Storm

Got up this morning and went outside to run in the 77-degree, 92% humidity swamp that is central Florida before sunrise in July. 8x400m intervals at 5k pace. I was sweating like a pregnant nun.

Came inside and basically collapsed in a cold shower.

Today’s theme is April Showers and it’s the first time this month I feel like I’m going to have to defend my soap choice. I reached for Chiseled Face’s Summer Storm. Yeah, the tub says “Summer” but today’s theme includes petrichor, which Summer Storm fits perfectly. Come at me, bro.

I under-loaded and got a thin lather, but the ASRC knock-off of the Gillette Old Type is an efficient beast and made short work of my noggin stubble. This is one of those razors I only keep around to use during the Lather Games. The rest of the year, I’m honestly a bit afraid to touch it.

July 5, 2023 – Canned Goop

• Brush: Trader Joe’s 24mm synth
• Razor: Maggard V3
• Blade: 7am Hi Platinum Durablade (5)
• Lather: Pre de Provence – 63
• Post Shave: Proraso – Green Tea & Oat

PdP 63 is, in my experience, widely available at overpriced supermarkets (Whole Foods and the like) from coast to coast. Like most widely available canned goop, it gives a good enough shave but it’s nothing to write home about. My shaving brush also came from a grocery store. Trader Joe’s had a soap/brush/aftershave shaving kit for Christmas a few years back. Again, it gets the job done but it’s nothing to write home about.

Something something perfume challenge.

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July 6, 2023 – Fine ~~Corinthian~~ Spanish Leather

• Brush: Declaration Grooming Bxx 26mm in Summer Break handle
• Razor: Ever Ready Micromatic Clog-Pruf
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (2)
• Lather: Geo. F. Trumper – Spanish Leather
• Post Shave: Geo. F. Trumper – Spanish Leather
• Fragrance: Geo. F. Trumper – Spanish Leather

Well, there goes what’s left of my Spanish Leather frag sample. I’m not sure who the perfumer behind Spanish Leather was, but I’m going to assume it was Mr George F. Trumper himself.

Managed to whip up a pretty decent lather and did a single pass ATG head shave. I would have preferred something mentholated or with other cooling agents due to the heatwave we’ve got going, but the Games require what the Games require.

Looking forward to Fremen Friday tomorrow. Got the spice all lined up and ready to go.

July 7, 2023 – Bless the Maker and His water

• Brush: Declaration Grooming B1 Franklin “Star Spangled Blue”
• Razor: Gillette “Hecho en Mexico” Tech
• Blade: Bic Chrome (1)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann – Mélange
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann – Mélange
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Biblio

Started off the day with a 4 mile run in the swampy swampy swampiness. Had a glacial lemon chill shower and then proceeded to my spicy Fremen Friday shave.

BaM Mélange is the obvious choice for today. It’s got a sandworm right there on the tub. I lathered up with my B1 Franko and had a quick single-pass shave with the Made in Mexico Gillette Tech. Biblio is a natural match for Mélange. It echoes both the dryness of the Arrakis desert and the pages of that old copy of Dune you found at the second-hand bookshop.

As for today’s challenge, I have a couple of “other” hobbies. Y’all hear enough about my running, so I’m going to talk to you about #BadgeLife. I’ve been working in computers for a couple of decades and my current job is InfoSec/CyberSecurity related. Since joining my current company, I’ve been attending InfoSec/CyberSecurity/hacking conferences like DEF CON and Security B-Sides. Where most conferences would have relatively simple paper badges, the hacker community has opted instead for wearable, often hackable, electronic art. Last year’s DEF CON badge was a working synthesizer. The year before that it was a 4-key keyboard that could play Simon or work as a programmable plugin keyboard for your computer (I turned mine into hot keys for Zoom meetings – mute, unmute, camera on/off, etc).

But it’s not just the cons that hand out electronic badges. Folks from the community build their own badges to sell and trade. This year, a very creative hacker in Texas is making a Back to the Future themed badge. The PepperCon folks (hackers who love spicy stuff) did a really simple badge kit last year that I brought home so my kid and I could assemble it together. And in the last 48 hours, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to design a new badge for this year.

Maybe next year I’ll feel confident enough to move on from just doing stickers and do a wetshaving badge.

July 8, 2023 – Maggard Monday, right?

• Brush: Maggard 24mm Tux Synth
• Razor: Gillette Flare Tip Superspeed
• Blade: Bic Chrome (2)
• Lather: Maggard Razors – Orange Menthol
• Post Shave: The Holy Black – Tangerine Creeper

Got up this morning and went out for a 10 mile run. It was 80 degrees and 88% humidity because Florida is trying to kill me. Somewhere around the 6.5 mile mark, my back suddenly started feeling cold. I figured the ice in my hydration backpack had shifted. Nope, the water bladder had sprung a leak and started dumping water down my back, which ran down my legs, which soaked my shoes. Fun times.

Had a nice cold shower and then broke out the Maggard Razors Orange Menthol soap for a head shave. Got a nice lather built up in the scuttle and then did a single ATG pass with the flare tip superspeed. I’ve apologized to this razor many times. I thought it was a crappy razor when I first got it but it turns out I just had crappy technique. It’s actually a lovely little razor.

Now I’m sitting here with my feet up watching it rain and thinking about how good my long run day ice cream sandwich is going to taste this afternoon. Older daughter stole one of my ice cream sandwiches earlier in the week and I had to tell her that she could have one any time she walks or runs 10 miles. She hasn’t touched them since.

At the request of some users, here is your semi-official Hippy Dippy Baloney Spotify playlist

July 14, 2023 – Frozen Friday

• Brush: Hucklaration B3
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird Ti
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue (1)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Glacial, Wintergreen
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Glacial, Wintergreen

4 mile run this morning in the Florida heat. Came back inside and had a nice Glacial Lemon Chill shower followed by a Glacial Wintergreen head shave. You know you’ve got the Stirling Glacial soap properly hydrated when it really starts to freeze your skin. If your Glacial lather isn’t actively chilling you, then you have not properly hydrated.