August 22, 2023 – The Great Spice Off – The Village Soap Smith Old Spice Type 2

• Brush: Chisel and Hound False Kamani Fanchurian V18
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Clog-Pruf
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (3)
• Preshave: Baxter Shave Tonic
• Lather: The Village Soap Smith – Old Spice Type
• Post Shave: Old Spice – Vintage

Back from vacation so back to the Great Spice Off! Less soap definitely the way to go with this thirsty bugger. Kicked up a good lather still, though drank up a lot of water still. A bit tricky (or at least time consuming) to load it up because of how thirsty it is but eventually got it slick and had a nicely cushioned shave with the Clogpruf. This was actually one of my better recent shaves with a GEM, which had given me some issues that last couple times for whatever reason.

Still not much scent off this during or after the shave so I’m thinking using even less soap won’t change that but we’ll see with the final shave.

August 15, 2023

• Brush: AP Shave Co G5 Black/Green
• Razor: Henson AL13
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (2)
• Preshave: Baxter Shave Tonic
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps – Woodshop
• Post Shave: Old Spice – Indian

I was going to bring my next Great Spice Off soap to shave with on vacation after doing the first shave with it but I realized I wouldn’t be able to really give it a fair go. Instead, I grabbed my sample of Summer Break Soaps Woodshop, a sample I picked up from Maggards Meetup where I also met u/rocketk455 and convinced him to make an Old Spice scent. Yup, you heard it hear first. 100% convinced him. It’s happening.

When I smelled this at Maggard’s I thought, “Yup, that’s a woodshop.” but upon actually giving it a sniff not surrounded by a million other scents and after lathering it’s more like woodshop but sexy. It’s like your woodshop instructor was the hot teacher and smelled really good. All the girls had a crush on this teacher and all the guys maybe thought about him too. It’s much more than just sawdust, for sure but clearly presents with wood as well. More thoughts after a few more shaves with but my only critique of this one is I wish the scent was a bit more.

I love this G5 knot so much. Wonderful scritch and perfect for traveling at a slightly smaller size. I brought the Henso because I wanted easy, no thought shaves ad it does deliver but I honestly really don’t like how little feel is on this. I did a rare third pass this morning because you really need to with it. On the flip side, you just don’t need to think and sometimes that’s for the best.

Midnight makes sense, though obviously that's different for everyone. But your midnight is just as good as someone else's (especially since it's also my midnight.)

August 7, 2023 – It Has Been Remarked By Some That Hobbits’ Only Real Passion Is For Food. A Rather Unfair Observation, As We Have Also Developed A Keen Interest In the Shaving of Faces

• Brush: Heritage Collection 26mm C-Mon
• Razor: Blackland Blackbird
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (2)
• Preshave: Baxter Shave Tonic
• Lather: House of Mammoth – Shire
• Post Shave: Old Spice – Classic

I was going to hop right into a Great Spice Off review after the antics (non-Air Bud Realted, of course) of the Lather Games but I had an immediate work trip at the beginning of the month and, honestly, no desire to dive into something that required too much though. So I looked for a relaxing soap and picked out my tub of Shire, which I hadnt used yet.

Opening this up is pretty magical. Often, scents may be great but don’t exactly duplicate or create the person, place, or moment they’re tying to convey. This is not the fact for Shire, which, upon opening, instantly made me think of sitting outside a Hobbit hole smoking some pipeweed and watching the sun set. The tobacco mixed with the greenery and spices is what makes it work so well. It’s a group of scents that one might not think of complimentary but, in the real (or fantasy) world, play together all the time. I had grand illusions of writing a full review in the style of Tolkein but realized quite quickly that my mind was not in the correct place and even if it was I wasn’t a good enough writer.

This is, also my first time ever using House of Mammoth soap, which seems outlandish but given the fact that u/mammothben doesn’t make an Old Spice dupe is perfectly plausible. What an absolutely stunning lather. The kind of lather that is walking down the street and is offered a job as a lather model by some famous phtographer. Easy to kick up and just super shiny and messy and wonderful. The shave ain’t half bad either once dialed and by the third shave I had a wonderful slickness to go along with the wonderful look.

I was thinking I’d give the Hobbit movies a rewatch again after a shave with this but they’re such a mess I may just stick to LOTR.

June 28, 2023 – US Old Spice

• Brush: r/wetshaving Zentih MOAR BOAR 31mm
• Razor: Gillette Old Type
• Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (1)
• Lather: Zingari Man - Bon Monsieur
• Preshave: Baxter Shave Tonic
• Post Shave: Old Spice – Classic

I was going to write a bit about how I realized I actually hadn’t used US Old Spice in years after being in CVS and buying a bottle because it was on sale but… that’s pretty much the entire story. Still smells different (not bad) and still leaves my face feeling a bit dryer.

However, I almost didn’t splash any Old Spice on at all because the scent of Bon Monsieur, which I picked up as a sample at Maggards Meetup is so damn stellar. I really, really like this one despite not being the biggest fan of most fougeres. I’m not sure why this one works so well for me but I pick up the fir in it and that always wins me over so maybe that’s it. Just stellar.

First time using the Sego base as well and it lathered well, though I’m regretting using my MOAR Boar on it since it ate up like 1/4 of the sample and now i have less of a scent I really like.

June 26, 2023 – On a Lake

• Brush: AP Shave Co G5 Black/Green
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Clog-Pruf
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE (1)
• Preshave: Baxter Shave Tonic
• Lather: Through the Fire Fine Crafts – The Lake
• Post Shave: Old Spice – Indian

Another Maggards Meet Up sample today as I tried Through the Fire’s The Lake for the first time. As person who lives on a lake I can confirm that this scent is pretty lake friendly. It’s definitely aquatic, though on the whole a little too cologne-like for my tastes. Somethign I might take out for a night sitting out with friends by the water. The base is crazy soft, leaning into a cream or croap, I’d say. I hadn’t scooped something this soft in a bit and probably took a little too much but what a fantastic, thirsty lather. With a bit more dialing in I think it could be stellar.

I hadn’t used my Clog-Pruf in a long while as I had a bunch of new razors to try, including a 1912, but going back to it I’m reminded of why I love it. Aggressive and yet such an easy shave (once you’ve mastered it), with heaps and heaps of audible feedback. Got nice and close.

Same goes for the G5, which I always forget how wonderfully scritch it is.