June 13, 2024
- Brush: Aurora Grooming LG24 Synthetic ("Lux Emerald Green") #SUBBROOSH
- Razor: Fatip Piccolo Slant Closed Comb
- Blade: Astra Superior Platinum (Green) (4)
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. – Arkadia
- Post Shave: Fine Accoutrements – Italian Citrus
- Fragrance: Oil Perfumery – Uomo Born In Roma
Stirling’s Arkadia imitates the scent of Terre d’Hermès. Citrus is a prominent note in TdH, so I paired the soap with Fine Accoutrements Italian Citrus aftershave. For the fragrance I used dupe of Valentino Uomo Born In Roma from Oil Perfumery. Haven't tried the actual Born in Roma fragrance, but based on the dupe it seems to be a light, fresh, and pleasing scent with aquatic as well as mineral-y notes. I like it enough to want a sample of the real thing to compare.
Daily Challenge: In yesterday’s SOTD I linked to a video that shows how to make shaving cream art. u/Enndeegee replied suggesting I create by own shaving cream art, and that if I don't Endeegee will “scrub” me (whatever that means). So earlier today I went about incorporating lather into an image of the Sterling Arkadia label.
It didn’t go well. Not that it started off badly. I got some art materials, then got my shaving materials, and proceeded to whip up a generous Arkadia lather using my custom Aurora Grooming LG24 synthetic. Next I spread the lather out on a plate and began painstakingly adding watercolor paint in an attempt to imitate the design of the label.
The way it works is you make a template out of shaving cream, and when it's ready you lay a piece of paper on top of the template to transfer the design. Like printmaking.
In the video I shared yesterday the shaving cream art is abstract, with swirly or wavy patters resembling colorfully marbled paper. Looking back I should’ve gone that route (the splattered paint backgrounds on some Declaration Grooming labels might’ve worked). When the design is abstract, it doesn’t matter if during the transfer process the image gets smudged or reversed (as it inevitably will be).
Like other Stirling labels, the Arkadia label is graphic design based, dominated by text and precisely detailed motifs. This proved more than I could handle.
I got this far. The text is too large, and obviously isn’t centered properly. By this point I was running out of time, so I decided to transfer the image to paper and just put a Sterling decal on the finished product. I had vision of a satisfying multimedia work.
Unfortunately, in the transfer process (NSFW) things really went south.
It looks like a cartoon chicken got run over.
Apologies to the good people Stirling. I love your products and won't misuse them again anytime soon.
#ROTY