June 14th, 2024

• Brush: Yaqi Panda 24mm Two Band Badger
• Razor: Fatip Il Piccolo Storto - Oro
• Blade: Gillette Nacet
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Post Shave: Summer Break Soaps - Cannonball Splash
• Fragrance: Summer Break Soaps - Daydream EdT

FOF

Today’s Theme:

One of the first soaps with synthetic menthol that I got was Rope Swing. It is a slow build of cold, so I added four drops of the menthol that I got with splashes from Declaration Grooming. Very cold from the first pass, and just got chillier and chillier after that. Cannonball splash adds more WS-23, so I gave myself two splashes of it. Definitely feeling cold today. Also, the shampoo I use sometimes has menthol as well, so I got coolant three different ways.

Today’s Challenge - Reverse Jenga?

I got this idea after getting everything out for the show your den. How tall a stack could I make from all those soaps? Well a straight up stack has been done, so what twist can I put on it? Actually, I could do a twist. I decided to make a spiral tower I’d call The DNA of Shaving. I started by stacking groups of three and then rotating the next group about 1/2” (13mm). I got several layers along before I remember to take a picture. A A few more layers after that, and I noticed the tower started to lean. I realized that, though I was making each layer from similar jars, the differences in how much soap was in each one seemed to make it lean. Plus I might have been stacking to one side. Start over this time with layers of 4 jars. This was working well and easier to judge how much to offset each row. Oh wait time for a photo. Not long after that, I ran out of full size jars that matched for a layer of I’ll go single stack from here. Another picture at the start of the narrow section. About 10 tubs more and the tower was taller than me. It was at least 6’ high. Now where did I leave the camera? I noticed my erection was leaning to one side. Better fix that before I add the last few…. Oh crap! Like Icarus flying to high to the sun, it came crashing down.

That was it for me. After about an hour of organizing and stacking, I wasn’t feeling like rebuilding. There was one casualty. My tub of Sonder from last Austere August broke part of the lid. Time to put it all away. I sorted it all by brand and Noble Otter, House of Mammoth, Summer Break Soaps, Declaration Grooming, and Stirling Soap Co each got a tub. Everything else was put in the leftover spaces. Pretty successful reorganization at least.

Oh the Smells:

In yesterday’s dupe day, u/rocketk455 mentioned that other than Prom King, he didn’t go into dupes, but thought he was most known for Cannonball. I decided Cannonball needed to be in the mix. I almost went with it as the soap, but decided that I liked the Rope Swing/Cannonball/Daydream progression. I’m on a summer vacation and swinging out over the water on the rope swing. It is on a lake surrounded by woods. After getting exhausted, head back to the resort and hang out with the family at the pool. Of course my daughter has a Pineapple Fanta, while I have an Orange Fanta. A bit later decide to have a more tropical cocktail with some passionfruit and citrus. Hanging out now on the deck near the bar, I still get the clean scent of the woods wafting over me. Oh crap, I didn’t reapply my sunscreen soon enough. This is going to burn, but I have just the thing to cool me off today.

[**June 14th, 2024**](https://imgur.com/a/kve7AG6)

* **Brush:** Yaqi Panda 24mm Two Band Badger
* **Razor:** Fatip Il Piccolo Storto - Oro
* **Blade:** Gillette Nacet
* **Lather:** Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
* **Post Shave:** Summer Break Soaps - Cannonball Splash
* **Fragrance:** Summer Break Soaps - Daydream EdT

#FOF

Today’s Theme:

One of the first soaps with synthetic menthol that I got was Rope Swing. It is a slow build of cold, so I added four drops of the menthol that I got with splashes from Declaration Grooming. Very cold from the first pass, and just got chillier and chillier after that. Cannonball splash adds more WS-23, so I gave myself two splashes of it. Definitely feeling cold today. Also, the shampoo I use sometimes has menthol as well, so I got coolant three different ways.

Today’s Challenge - Reverse Jenga?

I got this idea after getting everything out for the show your den. How tall a stack could I make from all those soaps? Well a straight up stack has been done, so what twist can I put on it? Actually, I could do a twist. I decided to make a spiral tower I’d call The DNA of Shaving. I started by stacking groups of three and then rotating the next group about 1/2” (13mm). I got several layers along before I remember to take a [picture](https://imgur.com/a/tfbvU9F). A [A few more layers](https://imgur.com/a/EjbfHr2) after that, and I noticed the tower started to lean. I realized that, though I was making each layer from similar jars, the differences in how much soap was in each one seemed to make it lean. Plus I might have been stacking to one side. Start over this time with layers of 4 jars. This was working well and easier to judge how much to offset each row. Oh wait time for a [photo](https://imgur.com/a/osG71Yf). Not long after that, I ran out of full size jars that matched for a layer of I’ll go single stack from here. Another [picture](https://imgur.com/a/LRLhP72) at the start of the narrow section. About 10 tubs more and the tower was taller than me. It was at least 6’ high. Now where did I leave the camera? I noticed my erection was leaning to one side. Better fix that before I add the last few…. Oh crap! Like Icarus flying to high to the sun, it came [crashing down](https://imgur.com/a/mw2896D).

That was it for me. After about an hour of organizing and stacking, I wasn’t feeling like rebuilding. There was one casualty. My tub of [Sonder](https://imgur.com/a/mw2896D) from last Austere August broke part of the lid. Time to put it all away. I sorted it all by brand and Noble Otter, House of Mammoth, Summer Break Soaps, Declaration Grooming, and Stirling Soap Co each got a tub. Everything else was put in the leftover spaces. Pretty successful reorganization at least.

Oh the Smells:

In yesterday’s dupe day, u/rocketk455 mentioned that other than Prom King, he didn’t go into dupes, but thought he was most known for Cannonball. I decided Cannonball needed to be in the mix. I almost went with it as the soap, but decided that I liked the Rope Swing/Cannonball/Daydream progression. I’m on a summer vacation and swinging out over the water on the rope swing. It is on a lake surrounded by woods. After getting exhausted, head back to the resort and hang out with the family at the pool. Of course my daughter has a Pineapple Fanta, while I have an Orange Fanta. A bit later decide to have a more tropical cocktail with some passionfruit and citrus. Hanging out now on the deck near the bar, I still get the clean scent of the woods wafting over me. Oh crap, I didn’t reapply my sunscreen soon enough. This is going to burn, but I have just the thing to cool me off today.