SoS: January 26, 2015 - February 1, 2015

Thor's Day:

Prep: Hot shower, Neutrogena Invigorating cleanser, TSD Jasmine Sambac Preshave Balm
Brush: Simpson 56 Best Badger
Soap: Stirling Bay Rum
Razor: Merkur 41c 1904 OC
Blade: Baili Blue (4)
Passes: WTG, XTG (8, 9)
Post: Cold water rinse, Bloc Osma Alum, Dickinson's WH, Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails AS splash
Cologne: Oud Velvet Mood by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Either I'm finally getting the hang of how to lather Stirling, or the puck needed a ridiculously long time to cure after I ordered it. Another good lather from the Bay Rum today, this time with the Best Badger. Yesterday's shave was close enough - and today's itinerary is empty enough - that a 2-pass, DFS without any injury or irritation was more than ample.

 

1/29/15 Shave.

First time trying out my Victoria razor which gave a rather conflicting/surprising shave.
Been using the Provence Sante non-alcoholic, green tea after shave almost exclusively since I got it and I am really happy with it.
If you got sensitive skin and prefer a rather subtle scented after shave this is a great one to try out.

Razor: Victoria Razor Co. razor made in Germany
Blade: Astra SP
Soap: Arko
Brush: L'Occitane Plisson
A/S: Provence Sante
Cologne: Jovan Musk
Body Splash: The Veg

I feel like I tripped and fell into the perfume counter

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SOTD 29 January 2015
Day 27 of 30
30 DAY RULE with a Slim

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J2 Gillette Slim Adjustable
Kroger Israeli Personna
VDH Kit Badger
TSD Lanolin Shave Stick - Barber Shoppe Scent
Today's Great Cheap AS™ is Stetson Cool Moisture!

Check out the 30 Day Crew as we write about our month of focus on razor technique and share our experiences throughout January. Read about it here:

30 Day Rule/Focus Pic and Discussion Thread- All are Welcome!

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Why thank you sir. I actually have another review for tomorrow's shave. Another local one and I love it but literally no one ever talks about it because when they see it on the shelf they simply ignore it. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

 

I never got the hang of it so now simply combine my Stirlings with a generous-lathering soap such as Cade.

 

I can't wait!

 

Thursday's Shave



Same as yesterday's shave minus the music but with the added distraction of converting a friend to DE razors via text message while I was shaving. Couple small weepers but very little irritation. Used the Clubman more as a cologne than an aftershave, put it on my chest and kept it off the sensitive shaved areas. Less redness than usual because of that.

 

SOTD - Thursday, January 29, 2015

Hot shower
Prep: Lime PSO
Brush: B&B Essential Boar
Bowl: Captain's Choice Lather Bowl
Cream: La Toja
Razor: Gillette birth year Slim (5)
Blade: Voskhod (1)
Cologne: Kenneth Cole Signature

 

Ram, how is that Standard? I've always liked that look, but haven't heard about the shave.

 

Today's shave.

Prep: hot shower, Neutrogena Face Wash.
Brush: Burma boar.
Razor: '62 Gillette Slim set on 4 for both passes.
Blade: SuperMax Titanium.
Cream: Palmolive Menthol.
Post: cold water rinse, Fine American Blend.

Talk about extreme menthol. I froze my face with some of my favorite products. Palmolive Menthol is something everyone should try. The SuperMax Titanium is good for a little bit, but it's slacking in longevity. Because of that, I gave myself a pretty good nick on my mustache area on my second pass. I threw the blade right in the blade bank and was pretty annoyed that the bleeding wouldn't stop right away. I need to get a styptic pencil and not break it by taking it out of the package like the last one.

 

Wow, must be Gillette Slim week! Lots of good '60's shaves going on here. Makes me want to watch "Man From Uncle" or "Lost in Space" or "Perry Mason" or "My Three Sons"...LOL

 

Phil, thank you for your kind words, my friend!
I think I was the original gentleman who starting using Steve's (Oscar11) All-Amber handles as I convinced him to make me one, but I see I am no longer the only one who uses his handles! I guess pictures are stronger than words. I hope you can acquire one, at some point!

 

Thank you, sir!

 

Jan 28th shave
Prep: Proraso green preshave
Brush: Muhle HJM synthetic
Soap: Shannon's Soaps woodland frost
Razor: Gillette slim adjustable on 7
Blade: Personna platinum
Post: Still brewing Bay-rumish aftershave and a little vaseline
Used the HJM for the first time today; It's got a great balance of softness and backbone, which I like. The home-made bay rum is brewing, but I tried a little anyway and enjoyed how the scent settled in. I don't have any bay laurel EO, so I just put in bay leaves and some extra spices, and the scent ends up settling down into a kind of "Christmas Cake" smell.

 

Thursday Afternoon Shave...

I purposely skipped yesterday so that I could do a review of my new Mickey Lee Soapworks additions. Today I used the "La Belle du Sud" this stuff smells like a delicious dessert. It's a combination of Peach, Lavender, and Pistachio. I'm going to add my review, comments, and lather shots in the shave soap thread, but I will admit this stuff is pretty good. I loaded a fresh Ladas blade into the Gillette Tech, and 3 passes later was rewarded with a BBS shave. The only hard part is trying to find a good pairing aftershave. The sweetest stuff I had was a sample of Latha, but I'm curious if they will come out with a matching aftershave balm. Thumbs up for Mickey Lee Soapworks, they found a winning formula.

Have a good one Gents...

 

Soap: Cade
Razor: Tuckaway
Blade: Iridium
Brush: Shavemac Three Band
Aftershave: Vitos​

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Tomorrow's planned shave:

Neutrogena Men Facial Wash
Large Horsehair Barbershop
Super Speed/Dorco day 4
Ginger's Garden Ice Mint SS
Gold Bond Moisturizer
Proraso Green AS

Back to the menthol way of life after taking a break today from it. The Ice Mint soap is the only one from Irena which I have and I love it so much. Its scent is so minty and fresh, it's a pleasure to lather and it gives an awesome cooling sensation as well as a lot of skincare. It's not easy to stay away from the Gold Bond moisturizer after having tried it - one thing I'll say is that this stuff is perfect if you love menthol (which I do!) and if you have sensitive skin. The Proraso Green is another wonderful aftershave. My Dorco blade is still performing quite well.

 

I've only used mentholated Stirling soaps and I find the Glacial line is the one which seems to need the extra long curing time due to how intensely-mentholated they are. Apparently Rod has made changes in his formula with these soaps and he says that they should be a lot easier to lather when he releases them again. His other mentholated soaps like the MITA and Black Ice don't seem to need to cure for so long.

 

January 29 (Day 28)

Pre: Musgo Real Glycerin Lime Oil Soap
Razor: Mongoose
Blade: Feather Professional (day 4)
Brush: Kent BK4 silvertip
Lather: Stirling Naked and Smooth soap plus a few bits of leftover soap & glycerin
Shave: Two-pass plus touch-ups
Post: Alum, Thayer's Lavender witch hazel, and unrefined shea butter
Result: Smooooooth

It seems like I've learned about all that I can using the Mongoose for now. I've never had so many consecutive great shaves with a razor. I would have never thought I'd get a week's worth of shaves out of a blade! It has been very helpful for me to stick with the same set up for 30 days.

I look forward to using my new set up beginning next Monday. I'm returning to my Feather Artist Club razor loaded with a Feather Pro blade. When I used this set up before, I was rewarded with a nice shave (but never great like I get with the Mongoose) anytime I used no pressure and paid attention to skin stretching. I changed my blade every three or four days, and I think that was way too often. When I switched back to a DE, those shaves became easy by comparison. I hope I have a better experience with Feather AC this time around.

I hope y'all enjoyed your day!

 

Love that razor!