SoS: January 27, 2014 - February 2, 2014

No pictures folks - sorry, because I'm using my laptop.

Menthol Monday:

L'Oreal Men Expert Facial Wash
#6 Horsehair
Super Speed/new Permasharp
Stirling Black Ice SS
Anherb AS Conditioner
Osage Rub AS
Dolce & Gabbana EdT

A hell of a nice face-freezing shaving arrangement for a Menthol Monday. The Black Ice soap with its nice black licorice scent, rich lather, and its good cooling effect feels real good. I'd rate it a small step down from the MITA soap in freezing, but the skincare is just as soothing and gentle. I love how cold and moisturizing the Anherb conditioner is, and how can I have an aftershave rotation without the Rubby Dubby Doo?

 

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A double take will work out nicely!

 

Razor: RiMei
Blade: Rapira (2)
Brush: Isana Men Badger
Soap: Arko
After Shave: Barbasol Pasific Rush
After: Bademob Creme

 

Gillette LC New - Bulldog
Iridium Super
Semogue OC Boar
Arko SS
Superior 70

 

Gem Push Button
GEM (SS-TPella)(d2)
DR Harris Arlington -Face Lather
Vulfix 404
Master Bay Rum

 

Dove Men's Face Wash
Williams Mug Shaving Soap
Semogue 1305 Boar Brush
Ever-Ready 1924
Treet Super
CWR
Thayers Cucumber Witch Hazel
Pinaud Clubman AS

This was the second shave with the Ever-Ready 1924. I got a good shave, but I got a couple of weepers. I went slow with a light touch and shallow angle, but I don't think this razor is for me. It will go in the show case. The Williams Mug Shaving Soap face lathered well with the Semogue 1305 boar brush allowing two passes and clean ups with the ER24. A cold water rinse followed by Thayers Cucumber WH and Pinaud Clubman AS left me clean, smooth, and refreshed.

 

Menthol Monday - Face Latherers' Week:

Prep: Hot compress, Crown Shaving Co. Supreme Glide Preshave lotion
Brush: Simpson 56 Best Badger
Soap: Ginger's Garden Grass Stain Menthol Snow
Razor: Merkur 41c 1904 OC
Blade: Bic Chrome Platinum (4)
Passes: WTG, XTG, ATG (8, 9,10)
Post: Cold water splash, Dickinson's WH, Lucky Tiger Vanishing Menthol ASB

Three smooth passes produced the BBS results I've come to expect from this combination of razor and blade, but the blade is clearly done at this point. I caught a minor weeper on my throat on the first pass, and another on the last; neither produced any pain at all, just indicators that the blade was having trouble. The menthol combination has my face thoroughly frozen in anticipation of trekking out into the city in search of a cup of coffee.

 

Monday

Prep: Hot Shower-Stirling Bath Soap
Soap: LEA Cream
Razor: Gillette Slim on 6
Blade: Rapira Swedish Supersteel
Brush: Whipped Dog Silvertip 22mm x 48mm
Aftershave: LEA Aftershave Balsam

WTG-XTG-ATG (adjusted angle for my beard a bit)

I used the LEA cream from Spain for the first time today. I paired it with the Slim loaded with a new Rapira Swedish Supersteel Blade. The LEA lathered up very easily with a great fresh “soap” scent. I had an excellent smooth, close, nick free shave. I finished up with the LEA Aftershave Balsam. Great start to the work week!

Bob

 

Monday, January 27, 2014

Prep: Warm shower, Cetaphil Lotion
Razor: EJ DE89L
Blade: Voskhod (4)
Cream: D.R. Harris Windsor
Brush: Semogue 830
Post: Witch Hazel, Cetaphil Lotion
Aftershave: British Sterling

After having trouble with the D.R. Harris Windsor yesterday, I decided to give it another try today. I've had a couple of times where the lather of the D.R. Harris Windsor deteriorated pretty badly. I have read many times that a few drops of glycerine will stop that from happening. I added a few drops of glycerine this morning and my lather was very stable. I wound up with a DFS+ this morning.

Have a great day!

 

SOTD Jan 27

Prep: hot shower
Razor: WW2 Gillette Khaki
Blade: Feather (day 3)
Brush: Vie-Long
Soap: Col Conk lime
Passes: 3 (2x WTG, XTG)
Post: cold water, Nivea Men cool kick AS balm

Had a great shave today! I think I've mastered the Vie-Long as I quickly got a nice ample lather from the Col Conk. I didn't shave yesterday, but the feather had no problems cutting through two days of growth, leaving me with a DFS shave. I decided to give the Nivea Men cool kick another chance, and I wasn't let down. There is some very mild cooling going on with this AS balm.

 

Kropp
Haslinger Marigold
homemade brush
A couple of very nice shaves with Haslinger. I've always really liked this soap but it's my first time with Marigold.
Kind of reminds me of Speick. Have a good one.

 

Monday, January 27

Prep: Face wash with some sort of soft soap my wife gave me. Homemade PSO
Razor: Merkur 34HD
Blade: Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum
Soap: Cella Crema
Brush: Van Der Hagen boar
Post: Warm rinse, cool rinse and Aqua Velva Ice Sport

Today was my first day to face lather and well, I have a little work to do, but man, my face feels good. Easy 2 pass shave (plus touch ups) before work and I loved the coolness on the drive in to school. 10 F outside plus cool face = refreshing.

 

Back to basics
I decided to go back to Tabac and my MR10 today, partly to compare the scent to Meta Nectar, and partly to take a break from learning how to use my Old Type. I used a Gillette Silver Blue blade for the first time, and I don't like it as much as the Sharp Edge Yellows. I got a decent shave, but my face feels a little burn and is not as smooth as I like. The Tabac performed like a champ as always, and I noticed that my MR10 seems to provide louder audible feedback than the Old Type... Granted, I may not be using the Old Type properly yet, so this impression is subject to change.
Prep: warm face wash with Shea Moisture TBS
Soap: Tabac
Brush: HIS
Razor: MR10
Blade: Gillette Silver Blue
AS: Krampert's Finest Frostbite
EdT: Tabac

 

Monday
Face Latherers' Week

Pre: Hot shower, homemade vanilla-orange PSO
Razor: Ikon Slant, stainless
Blade:: Feather Hi-Stainless
Brush: Simpson Chubby 1 (2-band)
Lather: Martin De Cadre, scented
Shave: Three passes (WTG,XTG,ATG)
Post: Cold water rinse, Alum block, Ogallala Bay Rum AS



A great way to start ‘face latherers' week! I’m using two items for the first time: a luxurious Simpson Chubby 1 Super Badger brush, and the all-stainless Ikon Slant DE razor. Both on loan through the courtesy and generosity of CJames (thanks, Chris!) My brief initial impressions of each follows:

A quick visual comparison for me of the two of the only Simpson brushes I’ve had the pleasure of using: the hefty & plush Chubby 1 and my recently acquired, diminutive Wee Scot. The Chubby 1 knot is noticeably denser yet incredibly soft. The Wee Scot, although tiny and less than ¼ the price of the Chubby, is no slouch in the lather-development department. So I was anxious to try the Chubby.

Fantastic lather development from the MdC using the Chubby 1, but you really have to load it well for the lather to really ‘blossom.’ A fully-loaded brush had enough for 3 solid latherings. And the feel of the brush on the face? Wow! Such comfort. I could see a brush like this one becoming my everyday brush quite easily!

IKON SLANT: I’ve owned and used slant-bar razors before (the Merkur 37c & 39c ‘Sledgehammer’), and really enjoyed them both. Super-efficiently close, yet comfortable razors. The Ikon Slant, at least by visual impressions and price tag, is a real ‘step up.’ Heavy, ‘built like a tank’ stainless razor with a lovely matte finish. The ‘grippy’ knurled handle and large torqued head with upward pointed ‘teeth’ make a serious statement. Shaving with the Ikon slant does not disappoint. Using a new Feather blade—which I had no problem aligning properly—I was able to mow through a 2.5 day’s growth both efficiently and noisily. As with my other slants, I was nearing a BBS territory after only 1 pass. Three passes was clearly overkill with this razor.
Overall, this was a very decadent shave today! I really do look forward to repeating the process with both the brush and razor for then next 2 to 3 days.

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!

 

1/27/14 Menthol Monday!

Prep: Hot shower, L'Oreal Men Expert Facial Wash and Home made PSO (1/2 Grape seed oil and 1/2 Castor Oil with just a few drops of Vanilla EO)

Razor: Muhle R41 2013, Ace straight razor

Blade: Astra (3)

Brush: Col Conk 20mm pure badger

Soap: Barbon

After: Home made ASB (1/2 Witch hazel and 1/2Aloe with vitamin E)

After shave: Barbon AS

I am really enjoying the R41. I ended up with a BBS face again. The Barbon shaving cream and after shave did a great job this morning.

 

Cobra Classic
Kai Mild (2)
Semogue BC Mistura
LASS Woody Lavender
Barbasol Pacific Rush A/S
Gentleman Jon Alum

MFK - Absolue Pour le Soir

 

L'Oreal Face Wash
Merkur 11C
Astra SP
Muhle 31K252
Proraso Green
Nivea Sensitive ASB

 

Menthol Monday



Razor: Mergress XL
Blade: Personna Medical (D4)
Brush: Semouge SOC boar
Bowl: : Dirty Bird 1.5 Scuttle
Pre Shave Soap: Musgo Real Lime Basil Oil Soap
Pre Shave Balm: TSD Iced SubZero
Shave Soap: Malaspina Iced Lemon Lime
Post: Monster Alum Block
Aftershave: Krampert’s Frostbite​

Today was the first day using a boar brush in over 30 years and quite impressed with the SOC. Know it will be a while to fully break in especially in my rotation, and now going to compare the SOC against the other Semouge's I acquired last week the 830 and IBLE 2012 I purchased from forum members. Also when I purchased some GEM blades I picked up an Omega 11126 boar that was quite soft out of the box. I don't boar will convert me from badger but they are quality brushes and boar has seem to come a long way since my dad, grandfather and the boar that I used eons ago.

 

Glad to hear everything worked out well!!!

 

SOTD Monday 1-27-2014

5/8 Money-Bak, Full Hollow, Spike Point
Proraso PSC
Tabac SC
GT G4 Scuttle
Omega 31064 Boar
Dickinson's Witch Hazel
Nivea Replenishing ASB
Aqua Velva Musk ASL/Cologne

Splendid! Great start to a new week.