SOTD by u/RedMosquitoMM

LG23-27: Lavendursday

• Brush: Shore Shave “Purple Ribbon” 24mm Motherlode
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Astra SP (2)
• Lather: Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Woody Lavender - Shaving Soap
• Post Shave: Talbot Shaving - Mont Ventoux - Aftershave
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Homecoming
• Passes: WTG, XTG
• Coffee: Sumatra. Pegasing, Takengon, Aceh. - v: Gayo 1 & 2, Catimor, Abyssinia - p: Washed
• Music: Purple Mountains
• LG Tags: #FOF

For today's shave, I headed out onto my back porch for a hot and muggy shave, as is tradition for the Lather Games. I didn't run into my neighbor over the fence this year, but since we removed the Box Elder trees that were destroying the back fence, there's now a direct line of sight to the apartments behind our house. Some dude in the window of his living room gave me quizzical looks once I lathered up. I waved; he backed away into the shadows. His loss I guess.

I lathered up one of The Los Angeles Shaving Soap Company scents now available from Chiseled Face. Woody Lavender is exactly as described—rich lavender over a woody base of ho wood and amyris. With the exception of Jefferson Square (multiple layered lavenders) and Will's smoothly-pretty Lavender—which finally won me over on straight-up lavender—most wet shaving scents based around a strong lavender note combine it with a few other notes to fill out the blend. This LASSC/CF scent does the same and the results are calming and earthy. I've disliked ho wood in some other scents, but it makes the lavender smell thicker, more robust, and reedy, while amyris brings out the lavender's often-fleeting floral sweetness. Woody Lavender would be a perfect aromatherapy scent.

In contrast to Woody Lavender, Talbot's Mont Ventoux is bucolic and freshly harvested. The combination of lavender and rosemary is herbaceous, lively, and a little green. There are hundreds of varieties of lavender across many species; I'd guess the one Talbot used is both sweeter and more bristly than the one in Woody Lavender, but simultaneously brighter and less earthy. The variance in lavenders and seemingly straightforward lavender-based scents becomes apparent when you compare them side by side.

Which brings me to my fragrance, featuring my favorite lavender scent in the game. Kyle designed Homecoming to "draw out an accentuate some of the darker elements in lavender." It's the heaviest and most complex of these three scents by a wide margin, leading with a robust lavender, but texturing it with sharp black pepper, woody vetiver and cedar, and honeyed neroli. The neroli provides a significant amount of floral-citrus sweetness in the soap; the fragrance pushes it back into the blend where it has equal standing with the rest of the notes. I don't know if it's something with my current skin chemistry, or my nose is extra sensitive at the moment, but I can't get over how smoky the EdP smells today—especially as it dries down. If you want a dark and spicy lavender scent but don't like a pungent one, Homecoming is a must try. That darker style combined wonderfully with my lavender aftershave's sharply-pastoral bouquet.

[**LG23-27: Lavendursday**](https://i.imgur.com/pUGyAze.jpg)

- **Brush:** Shore Shave “Purple Ribbon” 24mm Motherlode
- **Razor:** Blackland Blackbird
- **Blade:** Astra SP (2)
- **Lather:** Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Woody Lavender - Shaving Soap
- **Post Shave:** Talbot Shaving - Mont Ventoux - Aftershave
- **Fragrance:** Summer Break Soaps - Homecoming
- **Passes:** WTG, XTG
- **Coffee:** Sumatra. Pegasing, Takengon, Aceh. - v: Gayo 1 & 2, Catimor, Abyssinia - p: Washed
- **Music:** *Purple Mountains*
- **LG Tags:** `#FOF`

For today's shave, I [headed out onto my back porch](https://i.imgur.com/pUGyAze.jpg) for a hot and muggy shave, as is tradition for the Lather Games. I didn't run into my neighbor over the fence this year, but since we removed the Box Elder trees that were destroying the back fence, there's now a direct line of sight to the apartments behind our house. Some dude in the window of his living room gave me quizzical looks [once I lathered up](https://i.imgur.com/3NxvLPZ.jpg). I waved; he backed away into the shadows. His loss I guess.

I lathered up one of The Los Angeles Shaving Soap Company scents now available from Chiseled Face. Woody Lavender is exactly as described—rich lavender over a woody base of ho wood and amyris. With the exception of Jefferson Square (multiple layered lavenders) and Will's smoothly-pretty Lavender—which finally won me over on straight-up lavender—most wet shaving scents based around a strong lavender note combine it with a few other notes to fill out the blend. This LASSC/CF scent does the same and the results are calming and earthy. I've disliked ho wood in some other scents, but it makes the lavender smell thicker, more robust, and reedy, while amyris brings out the lavender's often-fleeting floral sweetness. Woody Lavender would be a perfect aromatherapy scent.

In contrast to Woody Lavender, Talbot's Mont Ventoux is bucolic and freshly harvested. The combination of lavender and rosemary is herbaceous, lively, and a little green. There are hundreds of varieties of lavender across many species; I'd guess the one Talbot used is both sweeter and more bristly than the one in Woody Lavender, but simultaneously brighter and less earthy. The variance in lavenders and seemingly straightforward lavender-based scents becomes apparent when you compare them side by side.

Which brings me to my fragrance, featuring my favorite lavender scent in the game. Kyle designed Homecoming to "draw out an accentuate some of the darker elements in lavender." It's the heaviest and most complex of these three scents by a wide margin, leading with a robust lavender, but texturing it with sharp black pepper, woody vetiver and cedar, and honeyed neroli. The neroli provides a significant amount of floral-citrus sweetness in the soap; the fragrance pushes it back into the blend where it has equal standing with the rest of the notes. I don't know if it's something with my current skin chemistry, or my nose is extra sensitive at the moment, but I can't get over how smoky the EdP smells today—especially as it dries down. If you want a dark and spicy lavender scent but don't like a pungent one, Homecoming is a must try. That darker style combined wonderfully with my lavender aftershave's sharply-pastoral bouquet.