What soap/cream did you use today?

Today marks the end of my eighth year of shaving with soap, a brush, and a double-edged razor. What a fun, bizarre ride it’s been. Starting out, I never would have thought something as humdrum as shaving could spark so much interest (or drained away so many dollars!). But it’s been worth it, not only for the shaves, but really just as much for the cameraderie. Thanks for being a part of it.

I assume the next eight years will be about straight razors (with a soap and a brush).

GD Ousia

Chiseled Face / Ghost Town Barber

8/19/42

A few years back I was staying with a gent in Alaska on an exploratory trip for Sockeye Salmon and can only say his water was unique at the very least.  He had a well and the water that flooded the basin was a strong tea color.  That is what I was remembering when my basin this morning offered that same coloration of the water.  Midnight Stag certainly would make Bouki’s list of Real Reekers” as it honestly looks like you used your basin as a parts washer while working on a carburetor out of an old farm truck and the scent isn’t much different.  Gasoline? Yep.  Rubber? You bet. But also present is a heavy leather and birch tar mix all topped off with some Hoppes #9 gun solvent.  It’s so blue collar, so dark, so familiarly odd and I love it.  The name?  Fits perfectly because if you insist on wearing this around your lady come midnight you will be stag.  I adore this scent but not surprisingly my bride doesn’t nor should yours like it either.  
So back to that Alaska water.  The color came from water percolating down through aeons of tundra and although the appearance was questionable, the taste was exquisite and because of its path through permafrost it was so cold as to hurt your teeth!  I long for a draught of that sweet cold water.  This soap creates that sort of longing.

Vetiver (Mike’s Natural Soaps) nutty vetiver
Shave 24 ・ 119 g left

We don’t see much of Merkur Man in these parts any more, but his influence certainly lives on. His classic video on how to build a lather right on the puck is still my preferred method when it comes to shaving with Mike’s Natural or Mystic Water soaps. Talk about yogurt. Don’t let Yoplait see your results, or they’ll be scooping up your lather and pumping into little plastic pots sold for a buck apiece. And that won’t leave you much to shave with.

Today marks the end of my eighth year of shaving with soap, a brush, and a double-edged razor. What a fun, bizarre ride it’s been. Starting out, I never would have thought something as humdrum as shaving could spark so much interest (or drained away so many dollars!). But it’s been worth it, not only for the shaves, but really just as much for the cameraderie. Thanks for being a part of it.
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Razor Edwin Jagger DE89 ・ Blade Gillette Silver Blue ・ Brush Peregrino ・ Hoard 16,787 g (⇣938 g)

I tried to reach out to Merkur Man not long ago but got no reply.  I’d like to think his dental practice just got so busy he had little time left.  Fact is Bouki, both of us have seen folks come and go and yes, they leave a hole.  It’s about camaraderie for me also.  Thank you all for your participation.

Third in my series of Declaration Grooming shaves:

Declaration Grooming/Chatillon Lux Sunrise on LaSalle
Milksteak Base
Notes: Pear, geranium, jasmine tea, and Virginia cedar.

This is Shawn Maher's take on an early morning at the St. Louis flower market:  "Originally located in Downtown Saint Louis, the floral market moved to LaSalle during a period of construction and growth and has been there for decades ever since. One of the oldest markets, it serves florists across the country. This scent is designed to reflect the early morning hours of freshly cut flowers, with their dew-laden sweetness and vibrant freshness."  

It is the olfactory version of an impressionist painting.  Beautiful cut flowers sit in water awaiting their turn in the vase at the middle of the dining room table later on that day.  Cala lilies destined for funereal use compete with fragrant flowers later to be purchased by guilty husbands to sooth upset wives. Corsages for the Junior Prom. Green, fresh and very floral.