SOTD by u/iamhonestlylying

July 16, 2023

• Brush: DSCosmetic Boar/Badger Mix
• Razor: Gillette Executive Fatboy
• Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
• Lather: Apex Alchemy – Cutthroat Soap
• Post Shave: Apex Alchemy – Cutthroat Splash
• Fragrance: Montblanc – Explorer

Barbershop is one of those scents that I loved when I was first starting wetshaving, but then I realized that so many that are pretty much carbon copies of each other. And EVERYONE has a barbershop scent and I can’t get excited about any of them anymore. Even Apex Alchemy, who has a really fun line-up of scents, have a Barbershop. The businessperson in me wonders who is buying all these barbershop scented items? And why are so many soapmakers doing what everyone else is doing? Someone must be buying them, right?

The lack of originality is almost painful to watch. As barbershop scents flood the wetshaving market, they’re drowning out any semblance of uniqueness and creativity. How many times have we found ourselves surrounded by soaps, splashes, and colognes, each offering a scent that seems all too familiar? “We want to evoke the memory of a classic barbershop…” AND SO DOES EVERY OTHER SOAPMAKER! The sameness of this barbershop offering really stifles one the one best parts of this hobby – scents that are truly unique!

Apex Alchemy’s is okay as far as barbershop scents go. Not the best, and not the worst either. It’s not as powdery as some of the other ones I’ve tried and the splash almost has a subtle fruitiness to it, which is kind of unique in my experiences with Barbershops. I paired the Cutthroat soap and splash with Montblanc – Explorer because it’s big on bergamot, like Cutthroat, but then has some Sage & Pink Pepper which partner really nicely with the fruitiness from the splash. #FOF

CHALLENGE

Here’s a meme I came with inspired by the Lather Games. When I first saw the calendar, I was so overwhelmed and I actually used a spreadsheet to keep everything organized. I took it one day at time, bought a shit-ton of samples, and got couple smushes from the community and I was off the races. No clue how I’m gonna do compared to everyone else, but posting daily has made me feel more like I’m participating in the subreddit and not just occasionally asking questions. This has been a fun ride so far and I’m looking forward to the 2nd half!

[**July 16, 2023**](https://imgur.com/a/tsI5DKe)

* **Brush:** DSCosmetic Boar/Badger Mix
* **Razor:** Gillette Executive Fatboy
* **Blade:** Gillette Silver Blue
* **Lather:** Apex Alchemy – Cutthroat Soap
* **Post Shave:** Apex Alchemy – Cutthroat Splash
* **Fragrance:** Montblanc – Explorer

Barbershop is one of those scents that I loved when I was first starting wetshaving, but then I realized that so many that are pretty much carbon copies of each other. And EVERYONE has a barbershop scent and I can’t get excited about any of them anymore. Even Apex Alchemy, who has a really fun line-up of scents, have a Barbershop. The businessperson in me wonders who is buying all these barbershop scented items? And why are so many soapmakers doing what everyone else is doing? Someone must be buying them, right?

The lack of originality is almost painful to watch. As barbershop scents flood the wetshaving market, they’re drowning out any semblance of uniqueness and creativity. How many times have we found ourselves surrounded by soaps, splashes, and colognes, each offering a scent that seems all too familiar? “We want to evoke the memory of a classic barbershop…” AND SO DOES EVERY OTHER SOAPMAKER! The sameness of this barbershop offering really stifles one the one best parts of this hobby – scents that are truly unique!

Apex Alchemy’s is okay as far as barbershop scents go. Not the best, and not the worst either. It’s not as powdery as some of the other ones I’ve tried and the splash almost has a subtle fruitiness to it, which is kind of unique in my experiences with Barbershops. I paired the Cutthroat soap and splash with Montblanc – Explorer because it’s big on bergamot, like Cutthroat, but then has some Sage & Pink Pepper which partner really nicely with the fruitiness from the splash. #FOF

**CHALLENGE**

Here’s a [meme](https://imgur.com/a/pZcqGNL) I came with inspired by the Lather Games. When I first saw the calendar, I was so overwhelmed and I actually used a spreadsheet to keep everything organized. I took it one day at time, bought a shit-ton of samples, and got couple smushes from the community and I was off the races. No clue how I’m gonna do compared to everyone else, but posting daily has made me feel more like I’m participating in the subreddit and not just occasionally asking questions. This has been a fun ride so far and I’m looking forward to the 2nd half!