SOTD by u/hugbckt

July 2, 2023 – LG Day 2 – Don’t Have a Cow

• Brush: Stirling Two-Band Synthetic 24mm
• Razor: Gem MMOC
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
• Lather: Dr. Jon’s – Anne Bonny
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. – Gin & Tonic
• Fragrance: Arquiste – The Architects Club

Today was almost my first significant error of the Games. The soap I had chosen definitely had tallow in it, because I neglected to read beyond the first like three ingredients in my flurry of last-minute planning. Thankfully I double checked this morning, and we pivoted!

Deepest apologies to jeffm, but bay rum is not my favorite. I have this soap which was a hand-me-down from my FIL’s collection, and it’s one of the dusty, back-of-the-shelfers that I only pull out occasionally. It’s not that I dislike bay rum, but I don’t crave it — and with all the other options I have…well, it gathers dust.

Due to this, I didn’t have an easy grab for my pairings. Looking at the cover of the soap tin, the process of elimination occurred. West Indies Bay? Nothing. Black Tea? I got rid of my only tea-centric splash as I didn’t like it. Dark Rum? Nope. Lime? That. That I can work with.

Most of my other limey splashes are already booked for later in the Games, but Gin & Tonic has the added bonus of also being booze-themed. Although the lime in G&T seems a bit artificial and cloying to my nose, it doesn’t clash with Anne Bonny by any means. The thing I miss most from this splash is actual gin. I don’t get much for juniper or really any botanicals that cause gin to be my liquor of choice. Thankfully, I have The Architects Club to help me out. Thought a vanilla frag at its core, it does give me the “cool dry gin opening” as advertised. This opening was lovely when upon its initial hit, and now that the vanilla has really started to show, it accentuates the sweetness of the rum and the lime that are lingering from my shave. This #FOF was a good reminder to me that I can trust my intuition a bit more when pairing scents. They don’t have to share an obvious note or be in the same family to work together. I panicked when TTS went down, because it was my biggest help in pairing scents every day. Now, I realize that this was, in a way, a gift to me — a lesson to trust my gut, try things out without overthinking, and just go for it.

Now I want a Gin & Tonic.

**[July 2, 2023 – LG Day 2 – Don’t Have a Cow](https://i.imgur.com/RonFRCl.jpg)**

* **Brush:** Stirling Two-Band Synthetic 24mm
* **Razor:** Gem MMOC
* **Blade:** Personna GEM PTFE
* **Lather:** Dr. Jon’s – Anne Bonny
* **Post Shave:** Stirling Soap Co. – Gin & Tonic
* **Fragrance:** Arquiste – The Architects Club

Today was almost my first significant error of the Games. The soap I had chosen definitely had tallow in it, because I neglected to read beyond the first like three ingredients in my flurry of last-minute planning. Thankfully I double checked this morning, and we pivoted!

Deepest apologies to jeffm, but bay rum is not my favorite. I have this soap which was a hand-me-down from my FIL’s collection, and it’s one of the dusty, back-of-the-shelfers that I only pull out occasionally. It’s not that I *dislike* bay rum, but I don’t crave it — and with all the other options I have…well, it gathers dust.

Due to this, I didn’t have an easy grab for my pairings. Looking at the cover of the soap tin, the process of elimination occurred. West Indies Bay? Nothing. Black Tea? I got rid of my only tea-centric splash as I didn’t like it. Dark Rum? Nope. Lime? That. That I can work with.

Most of my other limey splashes are already booked for later in the Games, but Gin & Tonic has the added bonus of also being booze-themed. Although the lime in G&T seems a bit artificial and cloying to my nose, it doesn’t clash with Anne Bonny by any means. The thing I miss most from this splash is actual gin. I don’t get much for juniper or really any botanicals that cause gin to be my liquor of choice. Thankfully, I have The Architects Club to help me out. Thought a vanilla frag at its core, it does give me the “cool dry gin opening” as advertised. This opening was lovely when upon its initial hit, and now that the vanilla has really started to show, it accentuates the sweetness of the rum and the lime that are lingering from my shave. This #FOF was a good reminder to me that I can trust my intuition a bit more when pairing scents. They don’t have to share an obvious note or be in the same family to work together. I panicked when TTS went down, because it was my biggest help in pairing scents every day. Now, I realize that this was, in a way, a gift to me — a lesson to trust my gut, try things out without overthinking, and just go for it.

Now I want a Gin & Tonic.