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cmh737 Straight Venture Journal Continued

Tuesday's shave:

Must be a vetiver kind of day, as I saw that Dave @Dave in KY opted for vetiver this morning as well. However, I chose a different soap and fragrance. I went with Shannon's Soaps "Woodlands", and post shave fragrance was a sample of The Differenent Company "Sel de Vetiver" EdT.

Mmmmmm, egg-cellent shave! Shannon's Woodlands is tied for my favorite vetiver scented soap - tied with MdC's Vetyver. I totally dig both, but Shannon's is a "truer" vetiver scent than the MdC. Both are amazing. The performance of Shannon's continues to be elite status all the way for me, and the post-shave moisturizing characteristic is one of the best on the market, hands down.

The Merkur 34 w/Nacet gave its typical flawless shave, thanks to the uber-slick lather generated from the Rudy Vey 2-band Manchurian brush.

The Different Company "Sel de Vetiver" is actually a very nice fragrance, but it doesn't wow me enough to purchase a bottle. To me, the benchmark vetiver fragrance is Guerlain Vetiver, with Tom Ford Gray Vetiver a close second. While Sel de Vetiver is nice, it doesn't top those two, so I'll be perfectly content with my bottle of Guerlain Vetiver.

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SR #668:

Our internet was down most of the day in the neighborhood, but fixed now. I opted for a traditional straight razor shave today. Here was the set-up:

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The result was a bit disappointing because the edge on this Torrey is just not sharp enough. I need to work on it. I did two passes, but needed to finish up with a DE, so I grabbed the Merkur 34c for the final pass. That got it. The soap was stellar - vintage Colgate Cup - slick as all get out! Post shave was some Master Bay Rum splash + Paladin unscented balm. Then finished up with Aramis Tuscany Per Uomo EdT. This is a relaunch of the fragrance which debuted in 1984. It's very similar in scent profile, IMHO, to Azzaro Pour Homme (which launched in 1978) - a wonderful "barbershop" vibe. I totally dig it, but I got to ding it somewhat for it's lack of longevity. You need to go with several pings with this juice - and that's OK - I still dig it!
 
Thursday's shave:

No pic today, no scented soap, no fragrances, just the bare bones basics due to the somber mood at home. Sadly, our black lab is no longer with us. She finally succumbed to the kidney disease she was diagnosed with last fall. This afternoon we had to take her to the vet for the last time. She really went down hill fast this past week. It doesn't matter how old one is, it never is easy. But it's part of being a pet owner, unfortunately. :(

So my melancholy shave set up earlier today was the following:

Razor: Schick Injector (black handle)
Brush: AP Shaving Co. "SynBad" synthetic
Soap: Williams Mug Soap (current version) - actually got a nice slick lather from it
Post: Unrefined Shea Butter

That was it. A one-passer, and it was good enough. I actually thought about skipping the shave entirely, but decided to have one anyway.
 
Dave in KY said:
So sorry for the loss to the family Chris.....
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GearNoir said:
Dang, sorry to hear about the furry friend Chris.
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woodpusher said:
That's a tough week, Chris. Losing a loving pup is always a downer.
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MilkCrate said:
Man Chris I really hate to hear that. We form such deep bonds with them.
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NurseDave said:
Sorry Chris
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Cvargo said:
My condolences to your family.
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Many thanks, Gents!
 
Friday's shave:

Today is a much better than yesterday, for sure. Thought about what soap to use, and this is the one that immediately came to mind:

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I've had this one for a while, and I don't use it for shaves very often, but do use it for working brushes often. The scent is so calming and relaxing - I totally dig it! Actually, this is one of the most soothing scents I've ever encountered. It really slows the hectic pace of life down for me, and I love it. I do wish, however, that the performance was a bit better with the water at my house. I rank it low Tier 1/high Tier 2. Certainly a good, quality soap! But not elite status at home. Still great for a nice shave, though, make no mistake about it. The scent alone is what makes this a keeper. It's a lavender and peppermint mix, which may sound odd, but don't be quick to judge. This blend is marvelous! It's "spa worthy"! And on the SOS scale, I score it a solid 4/5 and it lasts throughout the entire shave and even post shave re-lather. Oustanding scent!

Post shave was Kiehl's aftershave balm. Then finished up with a classic fragrance......this:

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Yes, a classic since its launch back in 1934. It's all about lavender and vanilla. An "old man scent" and one that I totally dig!

BTW, completely random, but I saw the following card in a store the other day and immediately thought of CBL's @CBLindsay yard of critters. It gave me a chuckle:

pbypD3D.jpg
 
Boom! That's a colour blast in the middle of the pic! Did you crank up the saturation?
 
Dave in KY said:
That Soap Scent sounds like it was just what was needed. Nice shave Chris
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Thanks, Dave.
NurseDave said:
Boom! That's a colour blast in the middle of the pic! Did you crank up the saturation?
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Thanks, Dave. And yes, I increased the contrast and saturation.
Dave in KY said:
Hey that EdT is reasonably priced........................................and I'm an Old Man so it would work......
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It'll work if you like lavender and vanilla, and "old man scents", and you like wearing fragrances just for yourself every now and then. My wife isn't too fond of it, but she doesn't dislike it either. My daughter actually kinda likes it. :cool: The other Caron EdT that I like is, "Le 3'Homme", or more commonly referred to as, "The Third Man". I'm waiting on cooler weather for that one. The third classic from Caron is, "Yatagan", but I don't particularly like that one.
 
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