u/oswald_heist's SOTDs for challenge 'Lather Games 2024'

June 01 2024: Bonjour Lather Games

• Brush: AP Shave Co Beehive w/ 28mm G5C
• Razor: Gillette New Long Comb
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (6)
• Lather: Proraso - Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: Stirling - Sandalwood
• Fragrance: D.S. & Durga - Radio Bombay

The first day of Lather Games is always fun, also fun is trying new things. Unfortunately I don’t have anything for the bonus challenge today but I did use a specific razor that I haven’t used before so you know, F for effort. I also grabbed one of my AP Shave Co brushes for sponsor day synchronicity.

Last year I had my first shave with Tabac and this year I’m introducing myself to another storied wet shaving brand that I have never tried before: Proraso. It has a dry sandalwood scent, maybe a tiny bit of bitterness there, and the lather was nothing special. Definitely a step above canned goop, but nowhere near as slick as any random artisanal soap.

The through line for my choices today was sandalwood. The slightly medicinal Proraso, the dry and woody Stirling splash, and the metallic, creamier sandalwood of Radio Bombay all went quite nicely together.

June 02 2024: Ahoy Lather Games

• Brush: Yaqi Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (8)
• Lather: Chiseled Face - Bay Rum
• Post Shave: Stirling - Spice
• Fragrance: Stirling - Spice

Figured I would cover both Bay Rum and Old Spice today...so I did. Stirling Spice definitely nails the old but the spice isn't super prevalent, but it did go well with the Bay Rum soap, which is spicier. Spice spice, isn't it nice, and it was the connecting tissue of my shave this morning.

To honor the reigning champion Priusaurus, I used a Blackland razor because I know he is a Blackland enjoyer.

June 03 2024: Where's The Beef?

• Brush: AP Shave Co Beehive w/ 28mm G5C #FAUXFUR
• Razor: Mühle - R41 #ZAMAC
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (9)
• Lather: Purely Skinful - Bar-Bear-Ic
• Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - Blugere
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Embrace

I have this soap courtesy of the passaround sample box, it was contributed from esteemed tallow connoisseur u/Engineered_Shave and like the name implies, was made from bear tallow. The sample took a fair bit of water and a good amount of brushwork to get it lathered, but once it got going the lather was creamy and slick. After I shaved I did feel like I had absorbed some of the power of the bear, so whatever hoops the soapmaker had to jump through to source bear tallow was worth it.

My scent theme today was berries. The soap has a nice blackberry note with amber and vanilla coming on when it was lathered up, the splash features blueberry over a woody base, and the frag has a nice berry, coffee and patchouli notes. And no notes of beef anywhere in the shave, even though it is one of the most prevalent base notes in modern perfumery.

I have never tried Osma, nor any other alum, nor do I ever intend to. It's not that I'm an anti-alumite, I've just never had any curiosity about it.

I couldn't work any Wholly Kaw into my shave today, but am looking forward to using one of their soaps tomorrow, which is one of my favorites.

June 04 2024: K.I.S.S.

• Brush: Omega 11137
• Razor: Blackland - Blackbird #CNC
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (10)
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Pompelmo
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Grapefruit
• Fragrance: West Coast Shaving - Grapefroot

Single note soap, single note splash. Two note frag. All are variations on grapefruit and quite different from one another. I miss Reserve base, and my favorite current base is Catie's Bubbles Premium base. Sponsor Spotlight: Blackland is great, I used a Blackbird today and it is a totally premium shaver. It's that simple!

June 05 2024: Canned Goop

• Brush: Hand
• Razor: Gillette - Venus Extra Smooth #RAINBOW
• Lather: Aveeno - Therapeutic Shave Gel
• Post Shave: Brut - Classic Aftershave
• Fragrance: Air-Val - Captain America EdT

There's a whole lot going on with this shave today. Canned Goop day is never fun, and in addition to the lousy lather, everything else in the shave is from a local store. Except my hand. Hence me using my wife's cartridge razor, this bottle of Brut I grabbed from the grocery store yesterday and Captain America EdT from either Target or TJ Maxx.

I usually face lather with a brush, the opposite of that is obviously bowl lathering without a brush. So I squirted some of the goop into my bowl, swirled it around with my hand, and smeared it on. The Aveeno is fine for what it is, but using the Venus is miserable. The blades are dull and the rubber bit around the border makes it especially draggy. I got through a single pass and called it quits. Brut splash is exactly what you'd expect, the scent is a classic and it does the job. And I followed it all up with some Captain America EdT. Getting to wear the Cap EdT is a treat, as it comes from legendary perfumers Air-Val International, the same house behind such fabled fragrances as the Peppa Pig perfume, eau Minecraft and Squid Game EdT. I wasn't kidding about it being a treat though since my daughter picked it out as a Christmas gift for me last year so I already feel a sentimental connection to the scent. The fact that it doesn't last long makes it beautiful in a contemplative, mono no aware sense, which is the only way that this mediocre fragrance could reasonably be described as beautiful.

The connecting theme of my products today is that they were all purchased within a 5 minute drive from my house. A further connection would be unscented, because the Aveeno gel is unscented and after about half an hour, Captain America EdT is unscented too. The Brut lasts the longest but by the time I got to work this morning there were no traces of scent left from my shave.

Sponsor spotlight is Spearhead, they have put out nothing but bangers and Roman Spice is going to get a lot of use this summer (after LG of course).

June 06 2024: Thirsty Thursday

• Brush: AP Shave Co Goldflake w/ 30mm Cashmere #TOLL
• Blade: Personna PTFE (14)
• Razor: EldrormR Industries MM24 #FLIPTOP #MODERNGEM
• Lather: Noble Otter - Thé Noir et Vanille
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Chesire
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Chaotic Neutral

I'm having a tea party on this Thirsty Thursday. First off is Thé Noir et Vanille, a lovely black tea with strawberry and jasmine in the mix. None of those scent notes really mattered though, because I made myself a cup of turmeric tea and used that to build my lather with the tea. Turns out tea is a perfectly serviceable replacement for water. Then I put a teabag in the sink and made sink tea to rinse out my razor in.

I followed it up with Earl Grey scented Chesire splash, which is less smooth and more sharp and herbal. And finally Chaotic Neutral, an ambery fragrance that is inspired by hot tea. A lovely tea party shave!

No video from me today, but I do miss CosmoBarber's antics on the sub and I would always watch his videos. Was he a better shavetuber than VW? He definitely loved Midnight Stag more so I'll let you be the judge of that.

June 07 2024: Vetiver You Want

• Brush: Dogclaration B9A 30mm #FRANKENBRUSH
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (1)
• Razor: Gillette Slim #ADJUSTABLE
• Lather: West Coast Shaving - Grapefroot
• Post Shave: West Coast Shaving - Grapefroot
• Fragrance: Declaration Grooming - Dirtyver

The theme today is Vetiver, and the vetiver in Grapefroot combined with the zesty citrus makes this one of my favorites. Then for the fragrance I went with the dank Dirtyver, which is just a blast of earthy, dirty vetiver and I can only sum up my feelings about this frag in meme form.

The shave itself was fine, in keeping with the daily challenge I did a single pass against the grain, but to avoid irritation I set my Slim on the softer side, unlike GeoFatBoy I don't have leather skin. Definitely not the smoothest shave I've ever had but serviceable enough.

Sponsor Spotlight is Aurora Grooming, it has been fun seeing the progress they have been making in their brushes, and enjoyable to see a new artisan get the spirit of the community so quickly.

June 08 2024: Small Business Saturday

• Brush: Zenith B28 #OLDWORLD
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (2)
• Razor: Mühle - Rocca R95
• Lather: Maggard Razors - Limes and Bergamot
• Post Shave: Spearhead - Sea Spice Lime
• Fragrance: Spearhead - Sea Spice Lime

A lovely lime themed shave this morning, with a razor and splash that came from the same Maggard order. Maggard is a pillar/mainstay/what have you of the community and there were multiple combinations of gear I could have used to fill the Maggard theme today. Many a spouse has rolled their eyes upon seeing the Maggard shipping tape, but the "I'm supporting a small business!" excuse cannot be argued with.

My stupidest Maggard order was probably when I ordered Gravefruit II EdP, a set of Noble Otter Firefighter, and samples of Reserve Fern soap and aftershave. It was stupid, though I couldn't have known it at the time, because I ended up trading Firefighter and Gravefruit II and should have ordered full sizes of Reserve Fern. Oh well.

June 09 2024: Shave and a Haircut

• Brush: AP Shave Co Beehive w/ 28mm G5C #PREMIUMPLASTIC
• Razor: Solingen Best Silver Steel 6/8 #STR8SNOB
• Lather: CaYuen Workshop - Le Coiffeur
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Barrbarr
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Seville

Anybody else use this soap today? From the website: Step back in time to the classic barber shop with our evocative fragrance. The scent opens with the invigorating charm of bergamot, whisking you to an era of dapper gentlemen. As you breathe in, the herbal allure of fresh basil entices like aromatic tonics on the shelves. Oakmoss infuses the air with the nostalgia of old leather chairs, while white patchouli adds a touch of sophistication, like a well-groomed mustache. Transport yourself to a bygone era, where the essence of timeless elegance and masculine refinement fills the air, creating a truly unforgettable experience.

To call using this soap a truly unforgettable experience might be stretching the truth a bit. It's fine. Smells light and vaguely barbershoppy, but it really is just completely forgettable. Barrbarr and Seville were a nice combination to finish it off though. The theme of my shave today is barbershop scents, if that wasn't already clear.

I got 17/32 and had fun reminiscing to college when Sporcle quizzes were a brief but intense fad.

Sponsor Spotlight is Summer Break Soaps, and they are deserving of the spotlight. Without Summer Break there would be no Remote Learning, a scent that has strangely grown on me over the past few months.

June 10 2024: Happy Together

• Brush: Zenith MOAR BOAR #SUBBROOSH
• Blade: Personna PTFE (15)
• Razor: GEM MMOC #RUSTYBUTTRUSTY
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Cerberus
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Cerberus
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Cerberus

Cerberus is one of my favorite scents in wetshaving. Not pictured in my SOTD pic is the bottle of Cerberus frag that I have already finished, leading me to grab a backup from the 'zaar like a week before the rerelease was announced, from which I grabbed a third bottle. So yeah, I'm a Cerberus Enjoyer. This is also the only time I plan to trickhole a scent during the Lather Games.

The shave was easy peasy. The MMOC has become one of my favorite razors, after three MMOC Austere Augusts it is an effortless and easy shaver for me. I've given this one a good polish but it still has some patina on it.

Sponsor Spotlight: Barrister and Mann make interesting original scents and have retired bases better than most of what's out there today.

For my song I'm picking Beastie Boys - The Move because it has one of my favorite lines, "Dogs love me 'cause I'm crazy sniffable" and today with the help of three-headed dog Cerberus, I am crazy sniffable. RIP MCA.

June 11 2024: April Showers

• Brush: Power Rangers Boar #SMOLL #RUNT #COMPOSITE
• Blade: Personna PTFE (16)
• Razor: Ever Ready 1912
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Petrichor
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Tempest balm
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Oud Minerale

I decided to lean towards the April Showers side of the theme today, choosing Barrister and Mann's Petrichor, a soap which, believe it or not, prominently features a petrichor accord. It is rainy and earthy and strangely intriguing. I followed it up with Wholly Kaw's Tempest, which is also rainy but much earthier. My fragrance choice was Tom Ford's Oud Minerale, which smells like a walk on the beach after a rain storm. This was a cool scent progression, and not one I probably would ever have tried if not for Lather Games.

The brush was an ebay find posted in discord that I couldn't help but bite on. It is a boar knot, and must have been used or played with at some point in the past because it already has some split tips. It came as part of a Power Rangers toy shaving kit and knocks three hardware scavenger hunt categories at once because it is tiny and made of wood shrink-wrapped in plastic. It turned out to make a decent lather, though I did not try face lathering with it since I bowl lathered from a sample today. Painting strokes were the key but it got the job done.

Sponsor Spotlight is Yates and I've only ever tried one of their razors. It was very well made and they are LG sponsors so kudos to them.

June 12 2024: CREAM

• Brush: Yaqi Synthetic
• Blade: Personna PTFE (17)
• Razor: Ever Ready 1912
• Lather: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Uitwaaien
• Fragrance: Noble Otter - Monoi de Tahiti

A lot to get to today, so let's dig in. First, the shave was my first time using a TOBS product. It was perfectly mediocre, barely scented and difficult to scoop cream from a sample jar. I didn't find it as drying as the reputation held, but it certainly was nothing special. Still would like to try the Avocado scent. I used the Ever Ready 1912 again today after I was reminded how much I love this razor during my shave yesterday. Crunchy audible feedback, pretty handle, this this is the bee's knees, as they would have said in the 1930's when it was made. On CREAM day I figured it was only appropriate to use a balm instead of a splash, since balm is basically just another form of cream. The connecting scent note today is sandalwood, which is the scent of the shave cream (barely there though it was) and serves as a base note upon which the floral accords of both Uitwaaien and Monoi de Tahiti rest.

Next up is the den tour, consisting of brushes and razors, soap and splash sets, more soap and splash sets, soaps without splashes, the big box o' samples, frags, blades, more razors. shampoo and bath bars, and finally random razors that are busted or need to be cleaned up. Here's the album.. Probably should have led with the album. Oh well.

And finally, Sponsor Spotlight is House of Mammoth. Indigo was the scent that really pulled me in to the wetshaving hobby, when I first started it had just been released and was out of stock basically everywhere, I remember reading so much about it and being desperate to get a set. It finally got restocked and I blind bought a set, and it remains a favorite to this day. I've done three Mammoth Austere Augusts and look forward to another later this summer. And as I do every Lather Games on Mammoth's spotlight day, I made a donation to Restore to show my appreciation for the charitable contributions Mammoth makes.

June 13 2024: Dupe Day

• Brush: Dogclaration B9A #SHD
• Razor: Ralf Aust 5/8
• Lather: Razorock - Tuscan Oud
• Post Shave: Stirling - Bash
• Fragrance: Stirling - Lightish Red

The theme today is dupes, and my shave features of a soap that is a dupe of Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather, splash that is a dupe of Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Grand Soir, and fragrance that is a dupe of Abercrombie and Fitch's Fierce. The connection between my software today is that they are all dupes, of Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather, Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Grand Soir, and Abercrombie and Fitch's Fierce respectively.

For Sponsor Spotlight I used my Dogwood Handcrafts brush. It is a white that has a really pretty glittery sheen to it. And of course I forgot to add it to my photo today.

June 14 2024: Frigid Friday

• Brush: Omega 11137 boar
• Razor: Schick Eversharp
• Blade: Injector blade (5)
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Uitwaaien

Stack Day, the best and finest of the Lather Games traditions. My stack is just OK this year, but I am always happy to partake. Really, the Lather Games should transition to the Stacking Games, and maybe one day of the month there is a themed shave.

The theme to my shave today, besides the refreshing cooling of Rope Swing for Frigid Friday, is not-aquatic aquatics. What I mean by that is neither Rope Swing nor Uitwaaien feature calone (to the best of my knowledge), which is what powers most scents traditionally thought of as aquatics. Instead, these scents are aquatic in theme. Rope Swing is inspired by a plunge into a cold mountain lake, and Uitwaaien is inspired by a walk on a windy beach. This was a great combination for a hot day.

June 15 2024: Near Death Experience

• Brush: Dogwood Handcrafts w/ 30mm B9A
• Razor: GEM MMOC
• Blade: Personna PTFE (18)
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Almond Leather
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Indigo
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Indigo

This was my Austere August soap from last year and therefore is the closest one to a kill I have in my den. Still a few weeks' worth of shaves in it though, but a significant dent has been made. And I did manage to line today up with a kill of this bottle of Indigo splash, and the true wetshavers here know that finishing a splash is even harder than finishing a soap. The connection between my software today is that they are all scented by the same award-winning perfumer, and both scents have seen me through Austere Augusts.

What a contrast though, from yesterday's Stack Day, which is the finest of Lather Games challenges, to one of the worst, which is pasty lather day. I chose the MMOC today because it is my AA razor, but it was a poor choice today for my sad and dry lather. Still, I got through my three passes like a trooper.

June 16 2024: Father's Day

• Brush: Omega 11137
• Razor: GEM MMOC
• Blade: Personna PTFE (19)
• Lather: Mäurer & Wirtz - Tabac
• Post Shave: Mäurer & Wirtz - Tabac
• Fragrance: Dior - Sauvage

Happy Father's Day to the dads out there. Today's shave was one I was looking forward to, as Tabac has grown on me quite a lot since my first ever Tabac shave on Day 1 of last year's Lather Games. I find the scent quite pleasant, and the shave stick is fun to use. All of the hardware and software used in my shave today are from brands older than I am. I had to sacrifice any connection between the software to accomplish this, however, because Sauvage and Tabac don't really have anything in common besides predating yours truly.

And sorry, I didn't shave my legs. Scrub.

June 18 2024: RIP In Pieces

• Brush: Zenith MOAR BOAR
• Razor: Mühle R41
• Blade: Feather (1)
• Lather: Australian Private Reserve - Coeur de Vert
• Post Shave: Australian Private Reserve - Coeur de Vert
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Fougere Platine

Today I used Australian Private Reserve's Coeur de Vert, a grassy fougere that shares a light basil note with my fragrance, Tom Ford's Fougere Platine. I used a brush that is no longer in production, the legendary MOAR BOAR sub exclusive. And in a tribute to our brethren over at wicked_edge, I used a new Feather blade, which they all know are the absolute sharpest and deadliest, with the Mühle R41, a razor so aggressive that one wrong stroke can flay the skin from your body. Unfortunately the combination of the two provided too much for me (despite my coarse facial hair!), because I did not survive the first pass and am now posting this SOTD from beyond the grave.

June 19 2024: Juneteenth

• Brush: Yaqi Synthetic
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Feather (2)
• Lather: Uncle Jon's Shave Soap - Pipe Smoke
• Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - Connecticut Shade
• Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Tobacconist

Tobacco scented soap from Maryland, which was a somewhat-reluctant Union state but a Union state nonetheless, tobacco scented splash from the great state of New Jersey, and tobacco scented fragrance from New York. This soap came in the pass-around sample box and I had never heard of this brand before. Maybe this is the soap that Dr. Jon made before he got his degree? I'm also not sure why you would trust someone that looks like Uncle Jon's caricature on the label with making any kind of shaving gear whatsoever, but here we are. The perfomance was about what you would expect from a coconut oil/glycerin based soap, which is to say it lathered easily, was slick enough, but felt quite drying on my skin.

Anyway, here are a few memes: Summer break handle drop

MOAR BOAR

Tragedy for my wallet

June 20 2024: Sunny Days

• Brush: Zenith B28
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Feather (3)
• Lather: MacDuff's Soap Company - Summer Cabin
• Post Shave: MacDuff's Soap Company - Summer Cabin
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - Falling Into The Sea

The Lather Gods were smiling on me today as my wife had an appointment so I was able to get on the back porch for a shave without being institutionalized. But as the Lather Gods giveth, so they taketh in the form of oppressive heat which made shaving outside rather unpleasant. I was joined for my shave by Luna who enjoys sniffing a soap as much as I do.

MacDuff's Summer Cabin is an herbal citrus and it contrasted nicely with the more fruity citrus of Falling Into the Sea, which is one of my favorite summer frags. Pairing them I was able to get a lot of the lemon and jasmine notes that they share.

And to celebrate Old_Hiker day and the spirit of fuck work, I will be doing the bare minimum at my job today.

June 21 2024: Fougere Friday

• Brush: Zenith MOAR BOAR
• Razor: GEM Flying Wing
• Blade: Personna PTFE (21)
• Lather: Stone Cottage Soapworks - Fougere
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - Fougere Mania
• Fragrance: Ineke Perfumes - Idyllwild

Stone Cottage is a small soap company based in North Jersey that doesn't make shave soap any more, I have this sample thanks to u/jwoods23. The fougere scent is great, definitely leans a bit more powdery to my nose. But the base is just ok, I bowl lathered and really pushed the hydration and still it wasn't super slick and leaves the face feeling dry. Followed it up with Fougere Mania, which is a more citrusy fougere, and then a few sprays of one of my favorite fragrances, Ineke's Idyllwild, which is an aromatic fougere that smells like a walk in a cool California forest. I adore this scent. I even used a green brush to embrace the fougere spirit.

There once was a shaver named Enndeegee,

Who took inspiration from TLC,

Keeping a list of scrubs,

For his wetshaving club,

All that reading made him cranky.

June 22 2024: Spooky Saturday

• Brush: Dogclaration B9A
• Razor: Solingen Best Silver Steel 6/8
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Boonana
• Fragrance: Tom Ford - Bois Marocain

Perfect day for Southern Witchcrafts to be the sponsor, since they made a perfect spooky season scent, Boonana. It's mysterious and spicy but also banana-y. It paired well with Bois Marocain, which is similarly mysterious and spicy, though woody instead of banana-y. Great stuff. I also used my Dogwood handled brush today for sponsor-shave synchronicity.

June 23 2024: Sweet Sunday

• Brush: Omega 11137
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Feather (4)
• Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - Animal Crackers
• Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Sonder
• Fragrance: Imaginary Authors - A Whiff of Wafflecone

Very busy day today hosting my brother and his partner, helping my parents move furniture around and visiting my grandmother. I bet if I had brought my shave gear to grandma's she would have been cool with me shaving in her kitchen, but alas I had to shave in my bathroom like I always do.

Animal Crackers smells like animal crackers, Sonder smells like a sweet and creamy lemony dessert, and Whiff of Wafflecone is exactly that. I was sad to finally kill off the sample that I had, but I enjoyed the dessert shave today with three wonderful scents.

June 24 2024: Christmas In July, but in June's Eve

• Brush: Yaqi Synthetic
• Razor: Ever Ready 1912
• Blade: Personna PTFE (22)
• Lather: Spearhead - Sea Spice Lime
• Post Shave: Spearhead - Sea Spice Lime toner
• Fragrance: Jovan - Musk

Soap: PIF from u/Ramjet615

Brush: PIF from u/ginopono

Razor: PIF from u/InfernalInternal

Post Shave and Fragrance: from u/scarpux travelling PIF box.

Wait a second. I paid for this blade myself, like some kind of sucker! C'mon people, PIF me some blades. Seriously though, the generosity and willingness to share and PIF and pass around is a big part of what makes this hobby so great.

Sea Spice Lime is wonderful, hard to think of anything that hasn't already been said about one of the most popular scents of the past few years. I chose Jovan Musk to go with it because it was from the PIF box but also has a lime note to it, and I regret it. This stuff sucks! I do get some of the lime but it definitely is more bitter than the lime in SSL.

What doesn't suck is today's Sponsor Spotlight, Stirling Soap. Stirling Soap fucking rules. I would love for a Stirling sub exclusive!

June 25 2024: Christmas In July

• Brush: Zenith MOAR BOAR
• Razor: Red Imp Wedge
• Lather: Ariana & Evans - Christmas Coquito
• Post Shave: Wholly Kaw - King of Bourbon
• Fragrance: Barrister and Mann - Vespers

Christmas Coquito was the first artisan shave soap I had, it was sent to me for free by someone on Reddit. I thought the hot face I got from it was normal. I killed most of the tub during my early days of wetshaving, filled a sample tub with some, and then tossed the rest once I got some better soaps. But it's fun to bring out once a year for Lather Games and remember where it all started for me. It shares a vanilla element with King of Bourbon, and then the cranberry/sandalwood/Mousse de Saxe of Vespers added some needed depth to the progression of smells. To get further in the Christmas spirit I used a green brush and a red razor. And yes, I wore my Phillies hat to celebrate their being the best team in baseball. Didn't really affect the shave in any way.

June 26 2024: Wildcard Wednesday

• Brush: Hand
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (3)
• Razor: Gillette NEW Long Comb
• Lather: Trader Joe's - Vitamin E Oil Blend
• Post Shave: Trader Joe's - Vitamin E Oil Blend
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Remote Learning

I'm seeing a lot of shave soaps out there people. For shame. Today I shaved with Trader Joe's Vitamin E Oil Blend. It was goopy and drippy and I had to reapply a bunch of times, but wasn't entirely terrible. Doesn't have much of a scent, but what’s there is not very pleasant, though the nice thing about it is that it doubles as a post shave too. My face feels really smooth but kind of greasy. I chose a razor that would come apart easily and wouldn't clog, but that didn't end up being necessary.

I chose Remote Learning as my fragrance today because it seems like a lot of people are going for nacho cheese or Mountain Dew themed shaves today, so Remote Learning out of solidarity. The Remote Learning soap has grown on me recently, and the splash is great, but the two scents together in this frag is pretty gross. So the unifying theme today is scents that are somewhat unpleasant.

I've never cleaned my brushes before, always being of the mindset that lathering with soap and then letting it dry is usually enough, and I've never had any issues. I did have a bit of trouble loading MOAR BOAR the other day so maybe I will try giving it a cleaning and seeing if that helps.

June 27 2024: Information Overload

• Brush: AP Shave Co Beehive w/ 28m G5C
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (4)
• Razor: Gillette NEW Long Comb
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Rambler
• Post Shave: Australian Private Reserve - Fenchurch
• Fragrance: Maher Olfactive - Tempo Rubato

The Rambler has 14 notes, consisting of strawberry, raspberry, peppercorn, currant, anise, tobacco, hay, plum, rose, amyris, vanilla, coumarin, tonka, red fruits. Off the puck I get mostly fruit but the hay and tobacco come on strong once the soap is lathered up.

Fenchurch has 13 notes (or fourteen if old leathers and new leather are counted separately) "The scent evokes images of important documents, velum paper, and warm balsams, while also incorporating hints of sweet vanilla, musky animal tones, fragrant patchouli, and luxurious tuberose. This is not a product of compromise. The rich scents of leather, both new and old, add layers of texture and experience, while sweet tobacco flower and dark tobacco leaf create a harmonious blend. Fenchurch celebrates the finer things in life, with a finishing touch of whiskey, hints of narcotic heliotropin, and sweet plum accents.

Tempo Rubato has 13 notes, apricot, plum, neroli, petitgrain, orange blossom absolute, rose otto absolute, narcissus absolute, jasmine grandiflorum absolute, galbanum, orris butter, benzoin, leather and musk.

But I did not just pick these three scents because they all have many notes. The Rambler and Fenchurch both have tobacco and vanilla, and Fenchurch and Tempo Rubato share leather and musk. The glue that holds them all together are the plum notes that bring a touch of dark sweetness connecting soap, splash and fragrance.

So there you go. Close to 40 scent notes between my three products today. I shaved with my left hand, it was no big deal.

June 28 2024: Frugal Friday

• Brush: Omega 11137
• Blade: Shark Super Chrome (5)
• Razor: Alshabab Original
• Lather: Stirling - Baker Street
• Post Shave: Stirling - Baker Street
• Fragrance: Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy EdT

My Omega boar was only $9.99, Shark Super Chrome blades are $7.95 for a box of 100, the Stirling clocks in at $14.25 for the soap and $13.65 for the splash, and Tommy EdT can be had for $19.99. The real star of my Frugal Friday is the Alshabab Original razor, which was only $0.15 from AliExpress. The razor is surprisingly cromulent for the cost, giving a decent shave but requires good technique not to use pressure despite the near-nonexistent weight of the whole thing. The Omega brush is amazing for the price, and it goes without saying that Stirling punches way, way above its price point. It felt great to save so much money!

June 29 2024: Sandalwood Saturday

• Brush: Omega 11137
• Razor: GEM MMOC
• Blade: Personna PTFE (23)
• Lather: Henri et Victoria - Duc de Santal
• Post Shave: Noble Otter - Monoi de Tahiti
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux - Santal Auster

Sandalwood. The note that wetshavers crave. Duc de Santal has a strong sandalwood mixed with a bit of patchouli to spice things up, Monoi de Tahiti uses sandalwood as the base for a tropical, coconut and ginger combination, and Santal Auster is creamy with a bit of oud and patchouli to connect it back to Duc de Santal. Great combination.

My favorite post of the games was u/enndeegee’s ten pass shave, and my favorite overall poster was y/alg82. Well done xirs.

June 30 2024: Au Revoir Lather Games 2024

• Brush: Zenith B28
• Razor: Ralf Aust 5/8
• Lather: Los Jabones de Joserra - Cefiro
• Post Shave: Los Jabones de Joserra - Cefiro balm
• Fragrance: Creed - Aventus

I’m American, so today for my international shave we have Spanish soap and balm, a German razor, an Italian brush and a French perfume.

The soap and balm are Aventus-inspired, so for my last day of soap/post-shave and fragrance synchronicity, I drove to a nearby Nordstrom where they have some Aventus testers and indulged there since I don’t like Aventus enough to ever spend money on it. The soap may be a bit fruitier than the real thing.

It’s been a great Lather Games this year, many thanks to the judges for taking their time to read all the posts, and thanks to my fellow participants for an entertaining month.