Lucky Pairing
- Brush: Zenith B8 (XL aluminium handle, 28 mm × 57 mm boar)
- Razor: Zwilling J. A. Henckels Friodur 14 (8/8", extra hollow ground, stainless steel)
- Lather: Catie's Bubbles Purple Grapefruit
- Aftershave: Chatillon Lux Pure Lavender
- Fragrance: Terre d'Hermès Eau Intense Vétiver
- Talc: Pinaud Clubman Finest Powder
The chonky B8 looks a bit silly when loading from Catie's Bubbles' 2oz containers, but it works.
Today's combo threw me for a loop, and I'm happy that I "discovered" it planning this SOTD: when I smelled Purple Grapefruit from the tub in isolation, it was a straight up lavender scent for me, I know there's grapefruit in there too, but it's not at all salient (my sus nose, no doubt). When I smell Eau Intense Vétiver in isolation, it's a similar situation; it's fresh, spicy, and earthy, and the grapefruit in it goes right over my head (I didn't even know it's in there). But when I was going through my fragrances choosing a pairing for Purple Grapefruit (lavender in my head) and I reached Eau Intense Vétiver (fresh vetiver in my head), is when it clicked. I don't think I'll ever miss the grapefruit notes in either scent again.
I'm wondering how many other perfectly obvious things I missed 😅
Hmm.. I used Firefighter today which has a grapefruit note. When I looked for a fragrance to complement it, I overlooked Eau Intense Vétiver which I associate with fresh, earthy, woody. My nose on a good day is a like @sgrdddy's Covid-nose, so I thought there would be no way I could find an association between Firefighter and EIV. But, sure enough, it's there.
This happens to me all the time, but mostly with Lavender. Like Seaforth! Heather... it's mostly clary sage etc. that I smell, but if I think to myself "look for the lavender" it's RIGHT there out in the open.
Yeah, I have that with Heather too! It's not even hiding and I forget it's there 😅
January 21, 2024
- Brush: Maggard 24mm Synthetic
- Razor: Wolfman Guerilla (Gen 1)
- Blade: Personna Lab Blue (3)
- Lather: Barrister & Mann - Cologne Russe - Soap
- Post Shave: Barrister & Mann - Reserve Fern - Aftershave
- Post Shave: House of Mammoth - Mood Indigo - Balm
- Fragrance: House of Mammoth - Damocles - EdP
Fern ++.
Does Mindigo still come through or is it overpowered by Fern?
The Fern and Mindigo don't last long for me which is fine. They don't really compliment each other, but I don't care!
January 21, 2024
- Preshave: Water -> Face
- Brush: Muninn Woodworks Gloire de France with Zenith 505BC Boar 🐗
- Razor: Koraat 14.2 Straight Razor
- Lather: Southern Witchcraft Autumn Ash
- Post Shave: Floid The Genuine
- Post Shave: Nivea After Shave Balm
Reporting on a midday shave.
Have a good evening!
January 21, 2024
- Brush: Truefitt & Hill Wellington 24mm Silvertip
- Razor: Blackland Razors Blackbird Ti
- Blade: My-Blades (4)
- Lather: Noble Otter - Firefighter - Soap
- Toner: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
- Aftershave: Ethos Grooming Essentials - Succès Skin Food - Splash
- Fragrance: Floris of London - JF - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
Wonderful shave today. Very citrus with the grapefruit note in Firefighter, the pineapple note in Succès, and the lemon note in JF. Although very cold (for Maryland), it was a beautiful, sunny, sunrise this morning that put me in the mood for this setup.
The Blackbird Ti gave me a great shave, as it always does. The tuck of My-Blades that I'm using was a gift from u/VisceralWatch. I'm certainly not an aficionado of DE blades, and I'm more interested in edge quality than on optimizing the number of shaves possible from one blade. That said, I've found the My-Blades to be very nice in the way that the Astra Superior Platinum is nice. Not ultra sharp, but sharp enough, and with manufacturing that allows for consistency of sharpness across the first 5-10 shaves [I normally ditch a blade after this number of uses]. Thanks to Mr. Watch for letting me try these.
Mhm, now I want a Firefighter shave, but I just finished preparing my SOTDs for the week.
🤬 First world problems
SOTD 21.01.2024
- Prep: warm water
- Razor: RazoRock Gamechanger 0.84 OC
- Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
- Brush: AP Shave Co. 30 mm Tuxedo Fan w/ black & clear handle
- Lather: Chicago Grooming Co. - Excursion (Canard)
- Post Shave: OAM sensitive skin toner; Natura Siberica ASB gel
- Fragrance: Yves Saint Laurent - La Nuit de L'Homme EdT
Sunday headshave. One pass plus cleanups, done. The GC is truly remarkable for shaving off multiple days of growth.
So unlike some gentlemen here who actually plan their shaves and choose their fragrance to match their SOTD, I decided that I'd shave with something to compliment the frag I applied earlier in the day. Like a simpleton, I went for the dupe.
CG Excursion is a soap that treats me well. It's still in the Canard base, not the fancier new one Vida uses nowadays (Darkwing IIRC?). Still, plenty of slick lather with my big brush.
The shaving soap was actually what made me get the matching EdT. La Nuit de L'Homme is a very sweet, charming scent. Not really what I'd reach for nowadays... It's simply too generic, too conformist. I used to think that it'd make a nice date night scent, but maybe only for dates that are best forgotten. And since I only get EdPs nowadays, it's also out of the question. I know there's a perfume of it, but why should I bother? It would simply not be a scent for me. While it's simply OK and definitely inoffensive, I'd much prefer something with more rough edges. The other YSL which I got as a gift, Y, is sadly also one of those sweet perfumes who are forgotten fast. In the end, I realised that I should get around to reorganize my cabinet and just throw out some of the stuff I don't use anymore and won't ever use again. The soap will stay, but the fragrance has to go.
Have a nice start into the new week!
