SOTD by u/ginopono

2023-07-18 Halfway Happy

• Brush: Summer Break Soaps - Custom
• Razor: Rockwell - 6S
• Lather: London Razors - Coffee & Contemplation
• Post Shave: Henri et Victoria - Cognac & Cuban Cigars
• Fragrance: For Strange Women - Decadence & Debauchery
• Blade: Astra - Platinum (2)

Relevant Post-shave and Fragrance: Ampersands & Alliteration!

Spooky Season: In case it's not immediately evident how Coffee & Contemplation (C&C) fits the theme, the below is from the original description; it was explicitly marketed for Fall:

Being a little on the heavy side, we think this scent is going to be perfect for the upcoming cooler, Fall months.

#FOF On paper, it makes sense: Russian leather (which is also relevant to the show), cedar, and amber come together with the coffee headliner for a darker scent, with a sweet side introduced by cocoa, vanilla, and coconut...

C&C smells like Tootsie Rolls.

It took me a little while to figure it out; I had decided that it smells like a kid's bag of candy, and thus appropriate that it's indirectly Halloween-themed. More specifically, though: Tootsie Rolls.

Cognac & Cuban Cigars comes in strong with the former part of its name, or at the very least that's brought to the forefront when layered on top of Tootsie Rolls.

Will the fragrance provide any respite? Yes. Despite the brand, Decadence & Debauchery is marketed as a unisex scent. I was pleasantly surprised by it, but tobacco in a scent's list always gets my attention. Immortelle and violet provide a floral prominence, which is deeply darkened by tobacco, myrrh, and amber. It doesn't quite tip it toward masculine as much as I'd prefer, though. I do detect the blood orange and bergamot, and I don't find it off-putting—rare for me, because I loathe orangey notes.

Challenge Accepted: This challenge is disgusting.
This is something people do for Atlas Shaves? That's the thing where you go for increasingly long periods without shaving, yeah? Yeah, no thank you. I had a daily-shave streak for a really long time. Then, a week in the hospital reminded me that one of the biggest reasons that I got started with DEs—trichotillomania—is still very much a thing with me. I don't know if we have any other trichsters in here. If you're unfamiliar, though, see that big ol' bare area on my jaw and cheek? I pulled that all out of my face without even realizing I was doing it. But I digress.

#photocontest
Photo: The Law
Yes, it is a picture of a lawman (Hopper, if you're familiar with the show). But I thought to myself, "What real, physical thing represents the law, so that I can do better than just an image for the photo theme?"
Handcuffs! 100% bona fide handcuffs... of a sort. And it happens to tie in perfectly with Decadence & Debauchery.

Before you get too carried away with your imagination thinking about that, let me draw your attention to the miniature recreation of Steve's bat from the show. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, after giving it a non-boring color and pattern, risking an unfortunate encounter between my kitchen counter and a drill, and the finished product, cat for scale.

[**2023-07-18 Halfway Happy**](https://i.imgur.com/UH7bmjn.jpg)

* **Brush:** Summer Break Soaps - Custom
* **Razor:** Rockwell - 6S
* **Lather:** London Razors - Coffee & Contemplation
* **Post Shave:** Henri et Victoria - Cognac & Cuban Cigars
* **Fragrance:** For Strange Women - Decadence & Debauchery
* **Blade:** Astra - Platinum (2)

**Relevant Post-shave and Fragrance:** Ampersands & Alliteration!

**Spooky Season:**
In case it's not immediately evident how Coffee & Contemplation (C&C) fits the
theme, the below is from the
[original](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1275924664/coffee-contemplation-shave-soap?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details)
[description](https://old.reddit.com/r/Wetshaving/comments/wpmdn8/dealsnew_products_tuesday_aug_16_2022/iki3qjk/);
it was explicitly marketed for Fall:

> Being a little on the heavy side, we think this scent is going to
be perfect for the upcoming cooler, ***Fall months***.

#FOF
On paper, it makes sense: Russian leather (which is also relevant to the show),
cedar, and amber come together with the coffee headliner for a darker scent,
with a sweet side introduced by cocoa, vanilla, and coconut...

C&C smells like Tootsie Rolls.

It took me a little while to figure it out; I had decided that it smells like a
kid's bag of candy, and thus appropriate that it's indirectly Halloween-themed.
More specifically, though: Tootsie Rolls.

Cognac & Cuban Cigars comes in strong with the former part of its name, or at
the very least that's brought to the forefront when layered on top of
Tootsie Rolls.

Will the fragrance provide any respite? Yes. Despite the brand,
Decadence & Debauchery is marketed as a unisex scent.
I was pleasantly surprised by it, but tobacco in a scent's list always gets my
attention. Immortelle and violet provide a floral prominence, which
is deeply darkened by tobacco, myrrh, and amber. It doesn't quite tip it toward
masculine as much as I'd prefer, though. I do detect the blood orange and
bergamot, and I don't find it off-putting—rare for me, because I loathe
orangey notes.

**Challenge Accepted:**
This [challenge](https://i.imgur.com/QbhfpoM.jpg) is
[disgusting](https://i.imgur.com/7CTUpnf.jpg).
This is something people do for Atlas Shaves?
That's the thing where you go for increasingly long periods without shaving,
yeah? Yeah, no thank you. I had a daily-shave streak for a really long time.
Then, a week in the hospital reminded me that one of the
biggest reasons that I got started with
DEs—[trichotillomania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania)—is still
very much a thing with me. I don't know if we have any other trichsters in
here. If you're unfamiliar, though, see that
[big ol' bare area](https://i.imgur.com/ExHpAgS.jpg) on my jaw and
cheek? I pulled that all out of my face without even realizing I was doing it.
But I digress.


#photocontest
**Photo:** The Law
Yes, it is a picture of a lawman (Hopper, if you're familiar with the show).
But I thought to myself, "What real, physical thing represents the law, so that
I can do better than just an image for the photo theme?"
Handcuffs! 100% bona fide handcuffs... of a sort. And it happens to tie in
perfectly with Decadence & Debauchery.

Before you get too carried away with your imagination thinking about that,
let me draw your attention to the miniature recreation of
[Steve's bat](https://i.imgur.com/Rgyo2Hx.png) from the show.
I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, after
[giving it a non-boring color and pattern](https://i.imgur.com/iXpdj26.jpg),
[risking an unfortunate encounter between my kitchen counter and a
drill](https://i.imgur.com/86qQ3LR.jpg), and
[the finished product, cat for scale](https://i.imgur.com/SQsgOpV.jpg).