December 2016 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

December 14, sampling brushless Brickell products

Gillette Black Beauty ( 3 ) / Schick Plus Platinum ( 14)
Brickell Charcoal Purifying Facewash
Brickell Brushless Shave Cream
Alum
Brickell Instant Relief Shave Balm

I got some free samples of Brickell products from Fendrihan so I decided to have an all-Brickell Wednesday.

If I don’t shower first, then I usually wash before a shave with hot water and Dove MenCare Face Scrub. Tonight I substituted the Brickell sample instead. It's a charcoal scrub with "aloe vera, vitamin E and antioxidants". Just don't wash with it while wearing a white undershirt; it's a dark grey goo that will stain if you drip any. Other than that, it cleans and leaves you with a faint minty smell and a bit of a skin tingle.

Then I rubbed on the Brickell brushless shave cream. It's basically a whitish gel, with virtually no scent. I have used Neutrogena shave gel before and this one has the advantage that it's slightly coloured so it's easier to see the razor tracks. It spreads easily on a wet face and provides good, slippery glide protection. After the first pass, I found that I could simply re-wet my face and enough slip remained for further passes. In fact, the slipperiness stayed until I scrubbed my face down with a wet facecloth at the end of the shave. The only problem with this gel was that it tended to clog the blade gap in the razor unless I rinsed thoroughly under hard-running water after every few strokes.

Alum was dead quiet after the shave. The cream had more aloe vera in it, along with glycerin and jojoba, so my skin was getting well tended by this stage.

I finished the shave with the Brickell Instant Relief Shave Balm. The sample foil wrapper said it contained aloe vera, vitamin E and coconut oil, so by this stage my skin was well-soothed with aloe vera and saturated with vitamin E (whatever that's supposed to do for it). Like the face wash, the balm smelled slightly minty and had a bit of a tingle to it. It soaked in without feeling greasy and left my face feeling comfortably moisturized.

I notice that these Brickell products are sold in a travel pack of TSA-sized containers. They might be a good option for someone who wanted to travel without a lot of gear. For everyday use, I think I prefer a soap or cream applied with a brush. And I also really prefer the slightly scrubbier (and less staining) Dove face cleanser. On the whole though, it was a pleasantly spa-like decadent shave tonight and I am not sorry I tried these products.

In fact, I have some more brushless products and think I will finish out the week with them.

 

Step one of world soap domination complete. You have inroads to word of mouth in Korea. @Keithmax will likely have input, but if you raised your prices to $$$ levels, and hyped it just right, Asia could be yours.

 

2 weeks ago for the first time I saw a shaving soap and brush for sale when I was doing my weekly food shopping. Sooooooooooo soap domination is possible for @Salty Belle. Agreed prices need to be $$$

 

December 15, 2016
Option Five Razor
Feather
Romera Olive Wood Synthetic
MdC Fougere
Witch Hazel
Fine Lavender

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Another very good shave this morning. This Romera brush is about the perfect size for MdC in the jar. As usual the MdC was very easy to load and lather. A quick 3 pass shave with touch ups ended in a near BBS. As others have noted, this is one very loud razor. I really don't notice much blade feel at all but find the Option Five to be very efficient. I finished off the shave with a splash of Fine Lavender. I hope everyone has a great Thursday.

 

Beautiful picture, Clint!

 

December 15 SOTD:

Stirling Synthetic Brush
Queen Charlotte Fougere
Gillette Black Beauty
Stirling Unscented PSB
Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet AS

Day 4 with the Black Beauty, and it is pretty much a repeat of the previous few shaves. All of these Gillette Adjustables perform very well. I used the Queen Charlotte soap after noticing @Keithmax doing so due to their announced closing. This is a good soap with a great scent. It is too bad they have decided to close up shop, although I can understand why. The Wholly Kaw Fougere Bouquet is a little sweeter in scent than the Queen Charlotte, but is pairs nicely. The added menthol kick helps to put that nice wrap on the shave. I hope everyone has a great day!

 

Day 5 with a Feather blade in the Fat Handle Tech. It is still smooth. I'm my books, that is a full week as today is my Friday and I likely won't shave again until Sunday.

I'm enjoying the Feather blade. Good thing as I have around 75 of them from purchases and trades over the past couple of years.

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Mark, that is a great set up. Fantastic picture!

 

Doug, that picture is making me cold. It reminds me of some cold deer hunts from my younger days. Great shot!

 

Thank you Jim.


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The B&W photo really makes the Black Beauty pop. Great pic.


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Thank you, Clint. Have a great day!

 

SOTN December 15th


Ikon X3 Slant
Personna Platinum Chrome
Dr Jon Hydra
Satin Tip The Purest
Crown King scuttle
Homemade Tangerine AS

Good morning friends! Last night led to another decadent December shave. I was able to get a very nice, warm, thick lather from Dr Jon's and the Hydra scent is phenomenal, it smells so good it makes you want to taste it. Last night I did something I normally don't do and that was shave against the grain, hopefully I don't pay for it later with ingrown hairs. Due to the ATG the alum had a bite to it in places but my homemade tangerine AS cooled it right down. I walked away with a BBS finish, which is always easier when you shave ATG. Have a great day my friends!

 

December 15, 2016

Razor: '48-'49 Gillette Milord
Blade: Crystal (2)
Brush: VdH Boar
Soap: Williams + Glycerin

Second day with this setup and I still don't seem to be getting the glide/protection I'd hope for from the Williams. No mishaps (fortunately), but it definitely forced me to pay attention to technique. In the end, another DFS, though I think I'm going to change soaps for tomorrow.

 

Today's Focus shave was a trip to the Caribbean. Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream, finished off with Clubman V I Bay Rum AS. The Bolzano blade continues to respond well to the higher aggression level of "8" on the SA-109. One more day and Sunday we'll be moving on to Feather blacks. Have a good day Gents!

 

Brush Jayaruh #94 with Whipped Dog high mountain badger knot
Soap Maggards London Barbershop
Razor 1947 Aristocrat
Blade Feather (3)
Aftershave Pinaud Clubman

A real DECadent gentlemen's shave this morning. I decided to go all barber shop this morning. I have about 2 lathers of Maggards London Barber shop croap left (thank you secret santa) & I figured that you cannot get more barber shop than Pinaud Clubman, so I had a plan. Day 3 of my feathers have been hit or miss with smoothness, but after warming the croap up in my scuttle, it went on rich and slick. I paid very close attention to blade angle and there were no issues with day 3 on this blade today. I got a very close 2 pass DFS followed up with some Clubman splashed on. Afterward, my wife said I smelled like the 1970s. I'll take that as a compliment and go on about my day.

 

Razor: Gillette Executive Gold Adjustable Fat Boy (F 1) 1960.
Blade: Kai Stainless Steel (1)
Brush: DFS LE Nathan Clark Envy White Handle Aluminum Color, Anodized Dark Bronze.
Soap: Reef Point Soaps Classic Barbershop
Aftershave: Myrsol F./Extra

A very close comfortable 3 pass shave with a cleanup. This is a new blade to me so I'll wait for a few shaves before I comment. The Classic Barbershop has a clean, masculine scent reminiscent of traditional barbershop aftershave with hints of orange peel and spices. Lathers up very well. Again I didn't find it as slick as some of the other soaps I have.
Very cold and windy day today. A severe Winter storm warning is in effect. Baden down the hatches.

 

Another great winter photo Doug. I think I read somewhere that the Kai blade is thicker than the avg DE blade. Perhaps some of the blade gurus can confirm that I recalled correctly.

 

I didn't notice the blade being thicker Clint. I did notice that the blade doesn't have any writing on it. Which I found to be a little weird. First shave with it was very good and close. It is the first time I've used my Gillette Executive in some time.