20.10.2024 - Sunday Rambling

• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped KCG
• Lather: Zingari Man - The Rambler
• Post-Shave: Osma alum; Moon Soaps Old School "balm"

-> as usual: 2 passes on the head, 1 around the beard. A good shave with just minor irritation. The alum was just for 2 bumps I managed to cut up.

Not shaving since Wednesday left me with quite the stubble on my dome, but surprisingly the Thorn manages that easily.

I was in the mood for a great ZM soap, and since I only own two and one is a summer aquatic - it was Rambler time. A pretty sweet affair, since the tobacco listed isn't my preferred "dried cigar leaf" scent but rather the tobacco flower. Nevertheless, it always lathers great and leaves my skin feeling very good. Heather knows her cosmetics stuff, she just had a unfortunate choice for a brand name.

Second microneedling treatment today. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention and got myself a 1.0 mm roller, while every source recommends 0.5 for beginners. Now I know why it's actually a bit painful, but oh well - that's the price of beauty. 😅

16.10.2024 - Buena Vista Wetshaving Social Club shave N°3: LPL Narcisse 💐

• Brush: AP Shave Co. snakeskin handle w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped KCG
• Lather: Le Pere Lucien - Narcisse
• Post-Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Necromantic; Phytorelax Aftershave scalp cream

-> 2 passes on the dome, 1 for beard contours. A relaxing and enjoyable shave.

Third edition of the BVWSC and this time we get yet another european artisan: Le Pere Lucien from France with their masculine floral Narcisse . Since narcissus is pretty common around here, I was really intrigued when it was suggested. Florals are often not my kind of thing, except for Ylang-ylang, so the combination LPL has created had a high bar to clear.

And I must say, it did so with flying colours. Once the sample arrived (side note, PB&T666's handling of samples is the new damn gold standard IMHO - great work all around!) I was already surprised how it didn't smell overly cloying or sweet. It's definitely a good scent to wear and more on the mild side in terms of fragrance. The base was quite a surprise - I already have Cedre-Patchouli (sorry francophones, can't properly do the apostrophes) and it's more leaning towards a hard soap. This felt like the same, but it really started to get a good lather going very fast and after the shave, my skin already felt good. Really nice. Judging by the botched job my translator did with the LPL website, Narcisse should also contain bergamot, tobacco and vetiver. The former two I adore, the latter is a love/hate relationship depending on how it is used. Fortunately, this here gets my seal of approval.

Finished the shave with a less fortunate floral (wisteria and rose together with honey and red wine). At least it wasn't as unbearable as SW Tres Matres, my personal least favourite floral ever. If more of them would be like Narcisse , I'd use them more often.

As always, it was a pleasure to join in for the BVWSC shave!

15.10.2024 - Hindsight on Tuesdays

• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Hindsight
• Post-Shave: Moon Soaps - Old School "balm" (actually it's an oily toner)

-> 2 passes on the head, 1 on the neck. A rather good shave, but the blade's already tugging. Now I remember why I abandoned RPLs.

DG is really comfy to lather and gives great results. Of course, Hindsight is rather divisive with the heavy emphasis on smoke and dark notes (leather and wood resin to my nose, could be off) but I really like it. I reckon it was a special soap that came out during the beginning of the pandemic - something that, in hindsight, we should have seen coming but still ignored until it was too late. It seems like it's not available on the DG website anymore, bummer. I still have Texas on Fire by Stirling as a smoke-heavy scent that I really like, but that is even more polarizing.

DG isn't as hyped anymore as other artisans nowadays compared to when I was starting out in early 2020; back then it was all the rage. Fortunately Scott seems to do well and even still has some shaving brushes up.

I'm back in nursing school as of yesterday and it's quite boring atm. Hope everything will turn more interesting soon. I'm now looking forward to tomorrow's BVWSC shave to break up the tedious routine...

Thanks for the instructions. Fortunately, I already had a LPL soap (something with Patchouli?) and it's closer to a hard soap IMHO. Heavy loading usually does the trick, at least for me...

Actually, this is super helpful - especially the little textbox explanation about coming/past Wednesday. Makes sense to me as we also have "kommenden Mittwoch" und "vergangenen Mittwoch" in german 👍🏻

everything's set for Wednesday's BVWSC shave?

Next Wednesday is already the third one? Damn, October goes by fast... Thx for the reminder!

13.10.2024 - Pumpkin Spice is nice

• Prep: warm water
• Brush: RazoRock Beehive 28 mm
• Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2 w/ Superknurl handle
• Blade: KAI Protouch MG
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain
• Post-Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain AS; moisturizer

-> 2 pass head shave, 1 pass around the beard. A good shave, but unfortunately some skin reactions.

Today was a Sunday that just called for some Pumpkin Spice and Samhain seemed to be a great fit. I know how to lather SW perfectly, so it's always a good choice for my shave - unfortunately, there seems to be some irritation from the AS now that wasn't present 2 years ago. Granted, could be that something in the toner denatured despite it still smelling good. Unfortunately, that means one of my absolute favourite scents is now out as an aftershave option.

I did a short dermarolling session after my shave because I want to try it out for my skincare essay. I really just want to include treatments that I've tried myself. Despite the redness, it felt pretty okay. Will see if it actually does something for my old acne scars and some of the wrinkles...

Younger colleagues are definitely a reality check, but at least they help to keep in touch with young generations and don't become like the grumpy old folks only nagging about them. It's also a definite telltale sign that I'm getting older when songs/movies/tv shows from my youth are only mentioned in the context of "cult classics", "forgotten gems" or "good old times"...

Thanks but I have to politely decline. Currently it's not a good time to possibly add another brush to the mix; maybe someday in the future. I highly appreciate your kind offer though ✌🏻

I think I felt young until 40.

I guess it's more the creeping realisation that you're now perceived as "old" by younger folks (teens, young adults) and that you're noticing signs of aging that set in at 30. Also, crippling back and neck pain but that could just be related to my field of work 🤔

I think for a Lovecraft fan like me, the Necronomicon Sigil would be way more interesting 😉

ngl, I'd get behind a Lemmy-only straight razor group buy if instead of a mascot it included an etching of Shub-Niggurath, the Allmother

Great photo! The pattern of the tub reflecting perfectly in the R41 and matching nicely with its knurling is just superb composition 👌🏻

nursing a hangover and getting ready for the commute to work

Ah, that sucks a lot. Suffering through a day of work with a massive hangover is no joke... unfortunately I know this too well.

Getting old --

Hey, looking at the bright side: getting old beats the alternative of dying too young.
But I catch your drift. A few people always told me that it'll gradually turn worse once you hit 30, and damn - some days they were damn right. 😮‍💨

I'm still very interested in trying one of the extra soft Zenith horse brushes, but since all my experiences with horse hair were a tangled up mess that had to be tossed out soon, I'm kinda worried...

• imperator.wetshaving.social : Alexander the Great was the emperor/imperator of Rome, plus the Alexandrite frontend reminds me of the colour of the Death Star in Star Wars; famously a stronghold of the Empire
• gladius.wetshaving.social : a word for both the sword of roman foot soldiers as well as later becoming the general latin word for "sword". Straight and safety razors are sharp too, the connection should be enough

Ok I rest my case. You asked for the worst ideas, so here you go 😅

+1, firm support of that option too 👍🏻

I support the serapis and koptic since that makes it sound like we're some secret society cult lodge that tries to summon the ancient wetshaving gods 🛐🙂‍↕️

You prefer a firmer brush I reckon. I like mine a bit floppier, but that's due to the nature of head shaving.

10.10.2024 - Guess it's a Indigo Day

• Prep: warm water
• Brush: AP Shave Co. black & clear handle w/ 30 mm Tuxedo Fan knot
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Indigo
• Post-Shave: OAM sensitive skin toner; Phytorelax Aftershave scalp cream

-> 1-pass head shave. Cool and good.

Some soaps are used too rarely by me; HoM Indigo is such a case. While I really love the smokey blueberry scent and like the Tusk base a lot, somehow it's underutilized. Well, today was one of the days were I finally reached for it again and surely, it didn't disappoint.

OAM toner really goes well with a lot of different things tbh, the scent is rather versatile. Coupled with the Phytorelax cream it pushed everything in a sweeter direction, but oh well. Everything still feels nice.

4/5 early shifts done. My new colleagues from the new station are rather nice, surprisingly I get along at least on a superficial basis with almost everyone at my workplace. It definitely was one of my best decisions ever to change jobs in the middle of my retraining. However, I am glad when this week is finally over - early shifts leave me constantly tired and with very low energy.