SOTD by u/USS-SpongeBob

2023-07-14 Lather Games SOTD

• Brush: SHAVE⭐DANDY St Vincent (26x55mm Synth)
• Razor: Feather Artist Club SS
• Blade: Kai Captain Mild ProTouch MG (12)
• Pre-Shave: Proraso - Crema pre Barba (Rinfrescante conolio di eucalipto e mentolo)
• Lather: Proraso - Sapone da Barba (Rinfrescante conolio di eucalipto e mentolo)
• Post Shave: Mennen - Skin Bracer
• Fragrance: Paco Rabanne - XS

Proraso's original product was pre-shave cream - 1947 or 48 I think? Commercial soap wasn't great in those days. It was designed to add glycerin and potassium stearate to your choice of soap to make the lather more stable, creamy, and slick - all those things we look for in a good shave soap. And then when they released their shave soap the following year, it was formulated to be used in conjunction with that pre-shave cream. Modernized preservatives, fragrances, and chelating agents aside, both products are... more or less the same today as they were 75 years ago.

Modern shave soaps, on the other hand, are already formulated with healthy doses of stearic acid and glycerin, making Proraso's pre-shave creams a little pointless if you're already using modern soap. But that's not what I'm doing today, is it?

Today's ~~heavily~~ thoroughly mentholated shave was actually pretty slick. Good shave. Crema and Sapone together with a synthetic brush (almost a perfect color match for Proraso Green (the color)) works about as well for me as most late-2010s artisanal soap bases. My only complaint is that this pre-shave smells Weird. I don't know if it's something in the fragrance that the soap's base funk covers up, or if it's something weird in the pre-shave formula that adds an unpleasant element to the fragrance, but I'm not a fan of the scent.

Anyway: chilly pre-shave, chilly soap, and chilly aftershave (with EXTRA menthol added to it, just like old man NeedsMoreMenthol taught me years ago)... I was even going to wear some BRUT because it's one of the only perfumes I know that includes straight up menthol in its formula, but I needed to save it for later in the month so instead I went with XS, the fragrance that Creed ~~ripped off~~ definitely didn't ever smell before they released their "mountaineering-inspired" Himalaya. I was underwhelmed the first time I tried it because it's so linear, subtle, and almost insubstantial in some ways, but I've come to appreciate it over time - it's like wearing fresh alpine air on a late winter/early spring day with snow melting off the trees and little streams running down the rocks. #fof for wally.

**2023-07-14 Lather Games SOTD**

* **Brush:** SHAVE⭐DANDY St Vincent (26x55mm Synth)
* **Razor:** Feather Artist Club SS
* **Blade:** Kai Captain Mild ProTouch MG (12)
* **Pre-Shave:** Proraso - Crema pre Barba (Rinfrescante conolio di eucalipto e mentolo)
* **Lather:** Proraso - Sapone da Barba (Rinfrescante conolio di eucalipto e mentolo)
* **Post Shave:** Mennen - Skin Bracer
* **Fragrance:** [Paco Rabanne - XS](https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Paco-Rabanne/XS-2018--49962.html)

Proraso's original product was pre-shave cream - 1947 or 48 I think? Commercial soap wasn't great in those days. It was designed to add glycerin and potassium stearate to your choice of soap to make the lather more stable, creamy, and slick - all those things we look for in a good shave soap. And then when they released their shave soap the following year, it was formulated to be used in conjunction with that pre-shave cream. Modernized preservatives, fragrances, and chelating agents aside, both products are... more or less the same today as they were 75 years ago.

Modern shave soaps, on the other hand, are already formulated with healthy doses of stearic acid and glycerin, making Proraso's pre-shave creams a little pointless if you're already using modern soap. But that's not what I'm doing today, is it?

Today's ~~heavily~~ *thoroughly* mentholated shave was actually pretty slick. Good shave. Crema and Sapone together with a synthetic brush (almost a perfect color match for Proraso Green (the color)) works about as well for me as most late-2010s artisanal soap bases. My only complaint is that this pre-shave smells Weird. I don't know if it's something in the fragrance that the soap's base funk covers up, or if it's something weird in the pre-shave formula that adds an unpleasant element to the fragrance, but I'm not a fan of the scent.

Anyway: chilly pre-shave, chilly soap, and chilly aftershave (with EXTRA menthol added to it, just like old man NeedsMoreMenthol taught me years ago)... I was even going to wear some BRUT because it's one of the only perfumes I know that includes straight up menthol in its formula, but I needed to save it for later in the month so instead I went with XS, the fragrance that Creed [~~ripped off~~](https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Paco-Rabanne/XS-515.html) *definitely didn't ever smell before they released their* "mountaineering-inspired" [Himalaya](https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Creed/Himalaya-465.html). I was underwhelmed the first time I tried it because it's so linear, subtle, and almost insubstantial in some ways, but I've come to appreciate it over time - it's like wearing fresh alpine air on a late winter/early spring day with snow melting off the trees and little streams running down the rocks. #fof for wally.