SOTD by u/ChrisDaBombz

July 20, 2023 * Brush: Declaration Grooming Blood Pact B7 * Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite * Blade: Gillette Silver Blue * Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - D-503 - Soap * Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - D-503 - Aftershave * Fragrance: Stirling Soap Co. - D-503 - EdT

Stirling D-503 is a dupe of Legend by Mont Blanc. I think it's on of my favorite cologne dupes. It's an easy reach for the office. Something about Executive Man is just too noticeable. I bought a bottle of Legend and it's not distinguishable from D-503 in my opinion.

I would like to be of the opinion that my lather is usually spot on, but I definitely prefer it to be drier side rather than all thin and runny. But I certainly don't have the pasty lather, looking like toothpaste, you see on YouTube. Since I consider myself middle of the road, I made my lather dry today and it was miserable. I'm pretty sure the lather on the edges of my face completely dried while lathering. It was so pasty that I had to turn on the faucet several times to rinse the lather out, simply swishing it through the water in the sink wouldn't dislodge it. When I rinsed between passes, the water hitting the under hydrated soap on my face showed me what I was missing. That "residual slickness" that people talk about is, in my opinion, a sign of under hydrated lather. If you have residual slickness, it's just soap that wasn't hydrated properly and that slickness is the rinse water hitting that unused soap. Pasty lather be damned, still not a bad shave, just took a little longer and required more razor rinsing. In hindsight, a synth would've been a better brush choice to work the under hydrated lather.

**[July 20, 2023](https://imgur.com/4H2u3Vh)**
* **Brush:** Declaration Grooming Blood Pact B7
* **Razor:** Blackland Blackbird Lite
* **Blade:** Gillette Silver Blue
* **Lather:** Stirling Soap Co. - D-503 - Soap
* **Post Shave:** Stirling Soap Co. - D-503 - Aftershave
* **Fragrance:** Stirling Soap Co. - D-503 - EdT

Stirling D-503 is a dupe of Legend by Mont Blanc. I think it's on of my favorite cologne dupes. It's an easy reach for the office. Something about Executive Man is just too noticeable. I bought a bottle of Legend and it's not distinguishable from D-503 in my opinion.

I would like to be of the opinion that my lather is usually spot on, but I definitely prefer it to be drier side rather than all thin and runny. But I certainly don't have the pasty lather, looking like toothpaste, you see on YouTube. Since I consider myself middle of the road, I made my lather dry today and it was miserable. I'm pretty sure the lather on the edges of my face completely dried while lathering. It was so pasty that I had to turn on the faucet several times to rinse the lather out, simply swishing it through the water in the sink wouldn't dislodge it. When I rinsed between passes, the water hitting the under hydrated soap on my face showed me what I was missing. That "residual slickness" that people talk about is, in my opinion, a sign of under hydrated lather. If you have residual slickness, it's just soap that wasn't hydrated properly and that slickness is the rinse water hitting that unused soap. Pasty lather be damned, still not a bad shave, just took a little longer and required more razor rinsing. In hindsight, a synth would've been a better brush choice to work the under hydrated lather.