SOTD by u/ginopono

2023-07-22 Failure is Just Success Rounded Down

• Brush: West Coast Shaving - Two Tone Synthetic
• Razor: West Coast Shaving - Midnight 78B Closed Comb
• Lather: Pheonix & Beau - Spitfire
• Post Shave: Clubman Reserve - Gent's Gin
• Fragrance: Pheonix & Beau - Spitfire

Strange Times for Berry Club: Juniper berries, and "juniper" is smack in the middle of the label.
It gave me pause when u/USS-SpongeBob mentioned the possibility of juniper wood being a scent component instead of the berry; in order to rule that out, I simply asked Phoenix & Beau, who said, "It is Juniper Berry that we use in the Spitfire scent profile."

Relevant Post-Shave and Fragrance: Also juniper.
The frag is, of course, the same. As for Gent's Gin, it features "fresh juniper", as it bloody well should with a name like that.

#FOF
Spitfire was one of my first dozen or so soaps, and it remains one of my favorites. Of the three scent components on the label, the most marketable ones are surely leather and tobacco; they certainly work well in the description of Kerry's own grandfather (I'd link, but the site seems to be dead). But what about the juniper? To get a better idea, I shoved my nose not only in a Juniper candle from Stirling but also in a whole bunch of straight juniper berries.

Through the wisdom of my nose-holes, I can say with utmost confidence that juniper is the star of this soap.

Juniper just isn't as broadly appealling as leather and tobacco. I've previously described this soap as smelling like old, dried-out leather. I now understand that the "old dried-out" is the juniper and how it interacts with the other scents as they grapple and claw to make their way through the juniper just enough to also get their names on the label.

As for the Gent's Gin aftershave, I frankly didn't expect much actual juniper from it, based on what I sniffed off the bottle. Once applied, though, the juniper took over potently.

Pi-Approximation Day: I tend to make a big deal out of this day; I make a deal out of it, anyway, which is a lot more than I can say about literally everyone I've ever met. My favorite part of the holiday, such as it is, is the theme of approximations of success!

Challenge Accepted: Speaking of approximations of success, let's give this leg-shaving thing a whirl!
I approximately got a smooth shave (hey, u/newtothethis specifically said not to do a third pass).
I approximately consistently held onto my bowl.
The bowl approximately did not break.

In all seriousness, though, is anyone familiar with kintsugi? Because I think I'm going to see if I can find a place to do that. The bowl was a gift, and now it carries a story of "I was shaving my legs for the first time ever—you know, because a bunch of strangers on the internet told me to—when I dropped it in the shower."

All in all, it took a lot longer than I thought (approximately 45 minutes, I think), and u/newtothethis' help was invaluable. Most notably, the bit about sitting (I don't have a tub, but that ledge in my shower worked out, even if the adjacent wall got in the way), tendons (extending the leg is good), and mirrors (she didn't mention this, but I found that plopping a mirror on the floor was useful).

Finally, while I don't hate how it feels, there's no getting over how horrible my bare man-legs look.

#photocontest
Photo: Spaaaaaace
Aviation—in addition to being directly pertinent to today's soap—is space-adjacent, hence why air and space museums are a thing. That bright orange thing that you see in the photo is a USAF jumpsuit/coverall from the 70s, an era when spacefaring was exciting.
But if that doesn't suit you (pun intended), I'm pretty sure that the planet is a thing that's in space, so there's that.

[**2023-07-22 Failure is Just Success Rounded Down**](https://i.imgur.com/Pwc5GFC.jpg)

* **Brush:** West Coast Shaving - Two Tone Synthetic
* **Razor:** West Coast Shaving - Midnight 78B Closed Comb
* **Lather:** Pheonix & Beau - Spitfire
* **Post Shave:** Clubman Reserve - Gent's Gin
* **Fragrance:** Pheonix & Beau - Spitfire

**Strange Times for Berry Club:** Juniper berries, and "juniper" is smack in
the middle of the label.
It gave me pause when u/USS-SpongeBob mentioned the possibility of juniper wood
being a scent component instead of the berry; in order to rule that out, I
simply asked Phoenix & Beau, who said,
"It is Juniper Berry that we use in the Spitfire scent profile."

**Relevant Post-Shave and Fragrance:** Also juniper.
The frag is, of course, the same. As for Gent's Gin, it features
"fresh juniper", as it bloody well should with a name like that.

#FOF
Spitfire was one of my first dozen or so soaps, and it remains one of my
favorites.
Of the three scent components on the label, the most marketable ones are surely
leather and tobacco; they certainly work well in the description of Kerry's own
grandfather (I'd link, but the site seems to be dead). But what about the
juniper? To get a better idea, I shoved my nose not only in a Juniper candle
from Stirling but also in a whole bunch of straight juniper berries.

Through the wisdom of my nose-holes, I can say with utmost confidence that
juniper is the star of this soap.

Juniper just isn't as broadly appealling as leather and tobacco. I've
previously described this soap as smelling like old, dried-out leather. I now
understand that the "old dried-out" is the juniper and how it interacts with
the other scents as they grapple and claw to make their way through the
juniper just enough to also get their names on the label.

As for the Gent's Gin aftershave, I frankly didn't expect much actual juniper
from it, based on what I sniffed off the bottle. Once applied, though,
the juniper took over potently.

**Pi-Approximation Day:** I tend to make a big deal out of this day;
I make ***a*** deal out of it, anyway, which is a lot more than I can say about
literally everyone I've ever met. My favorite part of the holiday,
such as it is, is the theme of
[approximations of success!](https://i.imgur.com/vBRD7RC.png)

**Challenge Accepted:** Speaking of approximations of success, [let's give this
leg-shaving thing a whirl!](https://i.imgur.com/JSUxyFb.mp4)
I *approximately* got a smooth shave (hey, u/newtothethis specifically said
not to do a third pass).
I *approximately consistently* held onto my
[bowl.](https://i.imgur.com/7sXhUhK.jpg)
The bowl [*approximately* did not break.](https://i.imgur.com/55Vi1p0.jpg)

In all seriousness, though, is anyone familiar with
[kintsugi?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi) Because I think I'm going
to see if I can find a place to do that. The bowl was a gift, and now it
carries a story of "I was shaving my legs for the first time ever—you know,
because a bunch of strangers on the internet told me to—when I dropped it in
the shower."

All in all, it took a lot longer than I thought (*approximately* 45 minutes,
I think), and u/newtothethis' help was invaluable. Most notably, the bit about
sitting (I don't have a tub, but that ledge in my shower worked out, even if
the adjacent wall got in the way), tendons (extending the leg is good), and
mirrors (she didn't mention this, but I found that plopping a mirror on the
floor was useful).

Finally, while I don't hate how it feels,
there's no getting over how horrible my bare man-legs look.

#photocontest
**Photo:** [Spaaaaaace](https://youtu.be/myEOJaNMQZo)
Aviation—in addition to being directly pertinent to today's soap—is
space-adjacent, hence why [air and space museums](https://airandspace.si.edu/)
are a thing.
That bright orange thing that you see in the photo is a USAF
jumpsuit/coverall from the 70s, an era when spacefaring was exciting.
But if that doesn't suit you (pun intended),
I'm pretty sure that the planet is a thing that's in space, so there's that.