SOTD by u/tsrblke

July 25, 2023 – Christmas in July, Secret of Santa

• Brush: AP Shave Co. 22mm Faux Horse w/ Ruby Ripple Handle #fauxfur
• Razor: Gillette Slim #dial
• Blade: 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (3)
• Lather: Siliski Soaps – Santa’s Pipe
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face – Santa Paula
• Fragrance: Chatillon Lux – Rose Santal

Ah Christmas. Wonderful time of the year. So great it’s starting to sneak up sooner each year. I see Christmas stuff for sale before Halloween now, usually at Sam’s. So Christmas in July may end up being accurate in a few years at this rate.

For today’s theme I chose Santa’s Pipe. I mean it just screams Christmas in the name. Now, as far as I can tell the type of pipe is not specified, but given another magical Christmas character, Frosty the snowman smoked a corn cob pipe, and I live in Missouri, home of a corn cob pipe company I’m inclined to believe Santa also smoked such a pipe. And in honor of this, not only will I shave with my non-dominant hand for the challenge, I have brought out my old cob pipe for this shave. (picture is neck up, so SFW-ish) Alas, I have no pipe tobacco anymore so I’ll have it just keep it for a phantom smoke. Add a red brush for Santa’s jacket and this is a Christmas themed shave. Even has a present. A loaner razor from u/Chronnoisseur420 so I can get a bit of a point. I set it to 1, did 2 left hand passes, turned it to 2, did a 3rd and ended up with a surprisingly good shave, even if I had trouble finding the angle. Not sure I’ll switch to an adjustable, but it was fun for one use. Glad the shave went well because it's not like tomorrow's will be enjoyable.

For #fof, the soap gives me peaches and cherry when lathered and that and the EdT go surprisingly well with the citrus in Santa Paula but they all also have a theme. All of their names contain the word “Santa” in the name. Just ignore the extra L. Continuing my trend with the Chatillon Lux scents, these tie a bit into my own experience. This scent is described as being inspired by Henry Shaw’s travels before returning to Saint Louis. It’s a testament to the impact of Shaw’s legacy in STL that Shawn has not one but 2 scents that can be traced back it him in some way. (The other being YRP, which is inspired by “Shaw’s Garden” what the Missouri Botanical Garden was called for years of my youth.)

For #photocontest, I’m running out of ideas. So here’s “Royalty.” anyone with kids my age will recognize the child versions of the queens of Arendelle, Elsa and Ana. Could have chosen any of my daughter’s Disney princesses, but for the winter themes I went with the ice queen. And put them in front of our Christmas tree with my son’s adult Elsa version (he’s a copy cat of his sister sometimes and wanted in on the fun l) for good measure.

Keep slogging my fellow #ROTY well have winner soon.

Edit almost forgot hardware tags.

**[July 25, 2023 – Christmas in July, Secret of Santa](https://i.imgur.com/nYg7M4S.jpeg)**

* **Brush:** AP Shave Co. 22mm Faux Horse w/ Ruby Ripple Handle #fauxfur
* **Razor:** Gillette Slim #dial
* **Blade:** 7 O’Clock – Sharpedge (Yellow) (3)
* **Lather:** Siliski Soaps – Santa’s Pipe
* **Post Shave:** Chiseled Face – Santa Paula
* **Fragrance:** Chatillon Lux – Rose Santal

Ah Christmas. Wonderful time of the year. So great it’s starting to sneak up sooner each year. I see Christmas stuff for sale before Halloween now, usually at Sam’s. So Christmas in July may end up being accurate in a few years at this rate.

For today’s theme I chose Santa’s Pipe. I mean it just screams Christmas in the name. Now, as far as I can tell the type of pipe is not specified, but given another magical Christmas character, Frosty the snowman smoked a corn cob pipe, and I live in Missouri, home of a [corn cob pipe company ](http://www.corncobpipe.com) I’m inclined to believe Santa also smoked such a pipe.
And in honor of this, not only will I shave with my non-dominant hand for the challenge, [I have brought out my old cob pipe for this shave.](https://i.imgur.com/wWEM8tD.jpeg) (picture is neck up, so SFW-ish) Alas, I have no pipe tobacco anymore so I’ll have it just keep it for a phantom smoke. Add a red brush for Santa’s jacket and this is a Christmas themed shave. Even has a present. A loaner razor from u/Chronnoisseur420 so I can get a bit of a point.
I set it to 1, did 2 left hand passes, turned it to 2, did a 3rd and ended up with a surprisingly good shave, even if I had trouble finding the angle. Not sure I’ll switch to an adjustable, but it was fun for one use. Glad the shave went well because it's not like tomorrow's will be enjoyable.

For #fof, the soap gives me peaches and cherry when lathered and that and the EdT go surprisingly well with the citrus in Santa Paula but they all also have a theme. All of their names contain the word “Santa” in the name. Just ignore the extra L.
Continuing my trend with the Chatillon Lux scents, these tie a bit into my own experience. This scent is described as being inspired by Henry Shaw’s travels before returning to Saint Louis. It’s a testament to the impact of Shaw’s legacy in STL that Shawn has not one but 2 scents that can be traced back it him in some way. (The other being YRP, which is inspired by “Shaw’s Garden” what the Missouri Botanical Garden was called for years of my youth.)

For #photocontest, I’m running out of ideas. So here’s “Royalty.” anyone with kids my age will recognize the child versions of the queens of Arendelle, Elsa and Ana. Could have chosen any of my daughter’s Disney princesses, but for the winter themes I went with the ice queen. And put them in front of our Christmas tree with my son’s adult Elsa version (he’s a copy cat of his sister sometimes and wanted in on the fun l) for good measure.

Keep slogging my fellow #ROTY well have winner soon.

Edit almost forgot hardware tags.