Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy - the last week of November and it's sooooo cold here in Montreal. Look what I'll be using for that special day called Menthol Monday: L'Oreal Men Expert Facial Wash #6 Horsehair Super Speed/new Shark Stirling Glacial SS Diana Sport Menthol Balsam Osage Rub AS Aramis Stick Deodorant Aramis EdT I never ever thought that I would experience a soap which could out-freeze my Iced Subzero or Vostok but it finally happened. This Stirling Glacial is the "Mother of All Freeze-a-Man's Face-to-Death" shaving soaps. Its menthol power is so intense and potent that if you're going to use it, you'd better be able to tolerate extremely strong menthol. The lather is not that easy to create - I did two test-latherings already and patience is required to get a decent and workable lather. Its scent is very nice also - very much to my nostrils like Vick's Vapo Rub, although in a more pleasant way. Its skincare is fabulous - although I always use a balm, I don't feel as if I need one. The Diana Sport balm is a perfect companion to this super-icy soap because of the intense cooling it provides and the Rubby Dubby Doo is the ultimate face-freezing aftershave! Sorry, no photos!
shower Pre : Proraso cream (old) Scuttle Semogue 1305 Merkur 47C (new razor) Feather # 4 Bigelow cream Proraso lotion (Old)
Gillette New Improved Bulldog 7OC Indian Green Purple Omega Tet-a-Tet SC Tet-a-Tet ASB Skipped a shave yesterday, but had a very nice one this morning.
Monday: Prep: Hot shower, Crown Shaving Co. Supreme Glide Preshave Lotion Brush: Simpsons 56 Best Badger Soap: Speick Cream Razor: FaTip Piccolo - Nickel Blade: Vohksod Teflon (1) Passes: WTG, XTG (1, 2) Post: Cold water splash, Dickinson's WH, Speick AS Splash With all the new variables introduced in today's shave (new brush, cream (first ever cream for me), razor, splash), it was practically like starting from scratch all over again. Lathering with the 56 was a breeze. I found the right angle immediately, and was extremely mindful of the amount of pressure I was using, since the FaTip's longer combs and greater blade exposure give it a reputation as a more aggressive shaver than the 41c. I still caught that same old spot on my Adam's Apple (still taking signatures to make the "Apple Patch" the hot new facial hair trend of 2014), but otherwise got a DFS in two passes, with the weeper on my Adam's Apple and yesterday's 3 passes both contributing to my decision to stop at 2 passes today.
Monday - Cream week Barbon shave cream bowl lathered with TGN pure badger Schick adjustable with Schick blade (5) 3 passes, cold water rinse and finish with Floid Blue The Floid Blue and Barbon were in the Nationwide box, it was my first time to try either. The Barbon is an excellent cream, very light menthol.
Sara Bonnyman Scuttle Geoff Anderson Silvertip Brush Re-Plated Gillette Slim Adjustable (set on 5, then 4, then 3 for trim around Gotee) Polsilver Super Iridium Blade Queen Charlotte Soaps "Vostok" Shaving Cream Thayer's Unscented Witch Hazel TSD Iced SubZero Aftershave Milk Keeping to spec with Cream Week and Menthol Mondays...
Monday Monday: hot shower Homemade PSO Gem Pushbutton 3 passes, Parker 80R 1 pass Gem (3) Astra SS (2.5) VDH boar Trumper GFT cream (sample) in the scuttle, dash of Cremo Thayer's unscented with aloe Pinaud Clubman On the plus side the Trumper GFT was terrific and a great start to Cream Week. I didn't skimp on the product and I was rewarded with enough luscious lather for three passes. On the not so plus side I decided to use my 'very nice to look at' gold and black Gem Pushbutton single edge razor that I picked up a while ago but hadn't used yet. The audio feedback was very pronounced but for all the skritchin and scratchin I wasn't removing a lot of whiskers. It was only the third shave on this blade so I tried another application of preshave oil for the third pass to no avail. The clock was ticking so I grabbed my Parker 80R with an Astra SS already loaded, added a squirt of Cremo since I was running out of lather and did 1 good pass to get me out the door. The Gem blade hadn't been used in about a month but it was clean and dry and only had 2 shaves on it so I'm not sure if there was a problem with the equipment or operator error. Of course now I've got 2.5 shaves on the Astra blade which throws off it's long term blade test results ... Monday, Monday
Monday Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Spice Bath Soap Soap: Old Spice Cream Razor: ’66 Gillette Slim “6” Blade: SuperMax Titanium (3) Brush: Whipped Dog Silvertip Badger 22x48 Aftershave: Shulton Old Spice WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angle for my beard a bit) 3rd shave with the SuperMax Titanium in the Slim. I used Old Spice cream this morning. I had a good close shave, but I needed a little more clean up today with the SMT. I finished with some Shulton Old Spice from India. Bob
Monday, November 25, 2013 Prep: Warm shower, Homemade Cedarwood PSO Razor: Edwin Jagger DE89L Blade: Polsilver SI (1) Cream: Arko Ice Mint Brush: Vie-Long Horse Hair 12705 Post: Witch Hazel, Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm Cologne: English Leather Excellent shave and a good start to cream week. Have a great day!
Ten Shaves: Day 3 Prep: Proraso green PSC Soap: LA Shavings Woody Lavender Brush: HIS Synthetic Razor: Maggard MR10 Blade: Gillette 7 o'clock sharp edge yellow Post: cold water rinse, Shea Moisture AS Elixir DFS. I didn't have too much stubble today because if the extra close shave yesterday, so I did two passes WTG, ATG and a little touch up on my neck. Nice, easy shave. Good thing, since I have not completely slept off the alka seltzer from last night. Have a great Monday!
SOTD Nov 25 Prep: hot shower Razor: Weishi 9306 Blade: Astra SP (day 2) Brush: Wilkinson Sword Cream: Musgo Real Classic Passes: 3 (WTG, XTG, WTG) Post: cold water, alum A nice even shave with no cuts or irritation. Once again not the closest of shaves but nothing worth complaining about.
MONDAY Day One of Cream Week Pre: Hot shower, Shea Moisture Face Scrub, homemade Cedarwood PSC Razor: H. Böker & Co. 5/8 Full Hollow Strop: None Brush: Omega 652 Pure Badger Lather: Proraso Menthol Cream; Scuttle-warmed Shave: Two passes, plus touch-up* Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block, Proraso PostShave cream Pain Meds: 800mg Ibuprofun *DE razor touch-up The warm, yet cooling Proraso lather feels great on the face these chilly mornings—...I know, 39°F is NOT 'chilly' for many of you, but it is for this NorCal softy! Day 2 of a complete SR shave. Every day it gets a little easier, and yet I learn something new about the process. I'm actually getting pretty confident shaving mainly with the right hand, too.
Menthol Monday hot shower Semogue SOC,boar Proraso PSC Stirling Frozen Tundra iKon slant/Super-Max Sunrise (1) warm water rinse Monster Block Alum cold water rinse TSD 2X Iced Lime WH Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue mixed with a pea sized amount of 444 A nice and frosty start to the week
Parker Tortoise Shell Handle Brush TOBS Jermyn Street SC Facelather Merkur Progress Long Handle Voskhod 3 passes Edwin Jagger Sea Buckthorn ASB Nice Monday moring shave!
Monday CeraVe cleanser TSD unscented wheat cream Oscar11 custom brush with HIS knot EJ DE89 Astra SP blade Cold rinse CeraVe lotion I tend to use soaps everyday, but when I get out the TSD wheat cream, I am always pleased with the results. Nice slick lather, very comfortable close shave.
Monday morning, November 25, 2013 Gillette Fusion Proglide Power 'Olympic' Gillette Fusion Proglide Power Multi-5 (day 9) Gillette Fusion Proglide Clear Gel Walgreens Witch Hazel Krampert's Finest Arcadian Bay Rum Wow, another fantastically smooth and BBS shave, easy and carefree. Aces!
Menthol Monday and Cream Week: Cetaphil Face Bar Italian Palmolive EJ Best Medium Dovo Natural Osage Rub Afta Fresh Brut Dominant I love the scent of the Italian Palmolive, it has a nice spearmint smell and the lather is tops. The cooling sensation of it combined with the Rubby Dubby Dooleaves you nice and frosty.
SOTD Monday 11-25-2013 5/8 Wade & Butcher, Near Wedge, Hollow Point in Bone Proraso PSC Rose of Bulgaria SC GT G4 Scuttle Omega 31064 Boar Dickinson's Witch Hazel Nivea Replenishing ASB Rose of Bulgaria ASL A rosey start to a busy day. At this time of year things start to speed up preparing for the holidays and the start of the new year just around the corner. It's always nice to enjoy a great shave in the morning before the cares and the worries of the day gets too overwhelming. Have a great week Gentlemen and don't forget to take time to smell the Roses!
