July 30, 2023 - Bon Voyage Lather Games
- Brush: Stirling 24mm Boar (中国)
- Razor: Fatip Lo Storto (Italia)
- Blade: Gillette 7 o’Clock Permasharp (1) (Bhārat)
- Lather: Derby - Lemon - Cream (Türkiye)
- Post Shave: Nivea - Soothing - Balm (México)
- Fragrance: Chanel - Bleu de Chanel (France)
Daily Challenge/Write-Up:
Given that it’s international day… I thought I’d head to the most international place I know and grab a light breakfast, before heading home for my final shave.
As I was eating my crepes, my 5-year-old mentioned that the flags reminded her of something, and I realized that…. Well…. There’s definitely someplace more international. Much more appropriate for seeing off the final departure of the Lather Games. Luckily I have my mobile shave den with me at all times now, so after we finished up all four Miasmas jumped in the car and headed to the International Terminal at O’Hare International Airport.
For those of you un-aware - O’Hare was recently named the most-connected airport in the world, and was first in number of airplane take-offs and landings. So, there are few places in the world better to travel from internationally, and few places better to send off the Lather Games.
Since my whole family was with me, I decided to make a game of the trip. A scavenger hunt - find a national airline from each of the countries used in my shave.
Those were the easy ones.
The national flag carriers of China stopped flying in and out of O’Hare during the pandemic, making my Chinese-made Stirling Brush difficult to find a match for. But - Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong airline does fly, and given that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, I’m counting it.
I couldn’t find ITA Airways, the flag carrier of Italy, anywhere. Luckily, we don’t need to travel to experience Italy - the kind folks of O’Hare brought the best of Italy to us, right in the terminal!
Now that the scavenger hunt was done, it was time to get a quick shave in. I wanted to make sure to get it done in case I decided to fly somewhere, because as the Aeromexico sign states, my Fatip and the blades are strictly prohibidos.
I found a surprisingly busy bathroom, and made my way to the sink. Lathered up with the truly awful Derby cream, and got down to the business of shaving. I even commented to the guy next to me that “sometimes it feels like we live in the airport”, reminiscent of the scene from The Terminal with Tom Hanks.
I cleaned up, and found my family to head home.
Tom reminded me to say T.Hanks to everyone for the great month - see you next June for the 10th annual Lather Games!
Soap Theme Justification
* I'm US-based, the soap is made in Türkiye.
Post-Shave and Fragrance Relevance Notes
* Today’s theme is “Bon Voyage" - all three are made somewhere other than the United States. Additionally, the sharpness of the lemon really compliments the bright aquatic nature of Bleu. Stirling Deep Blue Sea (a dupe of BdC) was the first artisan soap I tried- I thought it was fitting to end my 2023 Lather Games by returning to that scent.