SOTD by u/worbx

Sunday, the 30th of July, 2023

• Brush: Omega 81054 #OLDWORLD #RUNT
• Razor: Baili BR177
• Blade: Topaz Platinum (77)
• Lather: Tabac - Tabac Original
• Post shave: Australian Private Reserve - Velours Noir
• Fragrance: Pierre Cardin - Pour Monsieur

Hi, I'm Matt. I live in the United States.

... wait, this sounds like the beginning of a third grade presentation on a foreign country. Well, I couldn't figure out how to start writing about today's challenge. But now you know where I live! At least the country I live in. And it took me a few minutes to put all this together this morning. I hadn't planned this out, but turns out I was able to complete the challenge with what I have:

We start off by picking a brush from Italy: the Omega 81054 is just barely a #RUNT, with a 20mm knot and 54mm loft (I love the high lofts on all my Omega brushes).

Next is a quick trip to China for the Baili razor, which was also my pick for Frugal Friday's theme. Today's shave was a little more irritating... I may have been a little off in my technique.

We definitely get these Topaz blades from India... although there's a bit of slightly confusing dual branding here. On one side it says T.M. Malhotra International, another says Laser Shaving India, which is apparently a subsidiary of Laser Shaving UK. The Laser UK site doesn't even list these, just Laser branded blades. It seems Malhotra is definitely the manufacturer, and I guess the Topaz brand is now owned by Laser.

For the lather we return to Europe, as Tabac comes to us from Germany... too bad this isn't a Tuesday, I suppose. Hmm, given that Tuesdays during the Games were the seasonal days, I suppose nobody made a Tabac Tuesday Lather Games shave.

After the shave, we have to go all the way to Australia, as I picked my last APR splash today. Velours Noir is, as is APR's signature, an complex vetiver scent with , where the vetiver is more smoothed out than any other vetiver-prominent scent I've got, but while smooth, this is still a very earthy scent. Black velvet, indeed.

Finally, it's back to Europe again for the perfume. Pierre Cardin is a French brand, and I bought this bottle of Pour Monsieur (or maybe "Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur"; I'm not quite sure if I should be using the brand again in the name of the perfume, but Fragrantica lists it that way) on the bazaar. And... this is from 1972? Huh. The scent, of course, I'm sure this particular bottle was made more recently.

In the end, it's been a fun ride! Good luck to all the contestants, you made it through!

**[Sunday, the 30th of July, 2023](https://i.imgur.com/3QSkVxd.jpeg)**

* **Brush**: Omega 81054 #OLDWORLD #RUNT
* **Razor**: Baili BR177
* **Blade**: Topaz Platinum (77)
* **Lather**: Tabac - Tabac Original
* **Post shave**: Australian Private Reserve - Velours Noir
* **Fragrance**: Pierre Cardin - Pour Monsieur

Hi, I'm Matt. I live in the United States.

... wait, this sounds like the beginning of a third grade presentation on a foreign country. Well, I couldn't figure out how to start writing about today's challenge. But now you know where I live! At least the country I live in. And it took me a few minutes to put all this together this morning. I hadn't planned this out, but turns out I was able to complete the challenge with what I have:

We start off by picking a brush from Italy: [the Omega 81054](https://maggardrazors.com/collections/brushes-knots/products/omega-model-81054-clear-and-ivory-acrylic-handle-boar-shaving-brush-with-stand-20mm) is just barely a #RUNT, with a 20mm knot and 54mm loft (I love the high lofts on all my Omega brushes).

Next is a quick trip to China for the Baili razor, which was also my pick for Frugal Friday's theme. Today's shave was a little more irritating... I may have been a little off in my technique.

We definitely get these Topaz blades from India... although there's a bit of slightly confusing dual branding here. On one side it says T.M. Malhotra International, another says Laser Shaving India, which is apparently a subsidiary of Laser Shaving UK. The Laser UK site doesn't even list these, just Laser branded blades. It seems Malhotra is definitely the manufacturer, and I guess [the Topaz brand is now owned by Laser](https://old.reddit.com/r/Wetshavers_India/comments/ptp5wn/topaz_platinum_blades/).

For the lather we return to Europe, as Tabac comes to us from Germany... too bad this isn't a Tuesday, I suppose. Hmm, given that Tuesdays during the Games were the seasonal days, I suppose nobody made a Tabac Tuesday Lather Games shave.

After the shave, we have to go all the way to Australia, as I picked my last APR splash today. Velours Noir is, as is APR's signature, an complex vetiver scent with , where the vetiver is more smoothed out than any other vetiver-prominent scent I've got, but while smooth, this is still a very earthy scent. Black velvet, indeed.

Finally, it's _back_ to Europe again for the perfume. Pierre Cardin is a French brand, and I bought this bottle of Pour Monsieur (or maybe "[Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur](https://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Pierre-Cardin/Pierre-Cardin-Pour-Monsieur-2599.html)"; I'm not quite sure if I should be using the brand again in the name of the perfume, but Fragrantica lists it that way) on the bazaar. And... this is from 1972? Huh. The scent, of course, I'm sure this particular bottle was made more recently.

[In the end](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4&t=55), it's been a fun ride! Good luck to all the contestants, you made it through!