July 29, 2023 – Sandalwood
- Brush: AP Shave Co Synthetic #FAUXFUR
- Razor: Blackland Blackbird Lite
- Blade: Feather (DE)
- Lather: Angora Soaps – Sandalwood
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth – Sonder
Fun Fact: When I first started in this endeavor to save money my first razor was an Edwin Jagger DE89 and my first “soap” was TOBS Sandalwood. I thought it smelled great, but, it burned the heck out of my face and I think I ended up throwing most of it out, honestly. I had a terribly inexpensive Omega Boar brush, too. Straightforward Sandalwood has never been my friend and this Angora wasn’t that different. It’s a soap (thrown in on a Black Friday deal) I’ve never used before in a scent that I steer clear of, but, it got me some theme points. Performance was underwhelming and by the back end of the 2nd pass I could feel the face burn start to kick in just a tad. It wasn’t overwhelming (nothing like Melange), but, it’s not exactly pleasant, either. Scent, ok not great – smelled like a very dry sandalwood which just wasn’t my favorite.
Paired it with Sonder and the underlying “creamy woody base” that is at least partly sandalwood and now I both smell and feel great.
The G5C got the job done and net me another brush hashtag. It’s not my favorite synthetic, I’ve come to appreciate much softer synths that aren’t trying to convince me they’re badger or whatever (they could not, anyway) – but – this whips up a solid lather and has much stronger fibers than the Motherlode that I have come to prefer.
Admittedly I have not read nearly as many posts this year as I would have liked, however, it’s been impossible not to notice u/OnionMiasma and u/Priusaurus and their relentless pursuit of victory. High effort post after high effort post, I’m sure the points that separate them at the top will be very small; it’s been a fun battle to watch and either would be a worthy champ – though I do think the edge goes to Onion.
Feats of Fragrance has to be u/RedMosquitoMM – I write Haikus but that dude gets into the real meat of what’s going on down in those little molecules. Mine are fun (for me), his are actually thoughtful and well done.
ROTY Feels like u/tsrblke to me – I would not know he was a rookie if it weren’t for the ROTY on his posts – really stepped up and having a great showing this first go.
Photo contest – well – no idea. I’ve barely looked at photos, I couldn’t even venture an educated guess. Shame, I know, I’m sure there are some great ones. My photo today (not in the contest) includes a picture of my own bathroom sink, finally. After a dozen shaves in these games away from home, it felt so good to shave in a familiar bathroom.
That said, here’s my Haiku:
FOF Haiku of the Day
Sandalwood was dry
Sonder softened, expanded
Creamy over dry