For the Love of Old Spice - Illini's Shave Journal

[GearNoir]

My college buddies and I are resuming our annual "Bromorial Day" tradition of heading to one of their parents' cottages just outside St. Louis for the long weekend. Last year would have been the 8th straight year but obviously was put on hold due to Covid. Can't wait to resume the tradition but since it's been over a year since I've picked up a golf club, I need to sneak in some range time in the next couple weeks since the long weekend includes a few rounds.

Nice! That’s sounds like one heck of a fun time!

 

[Fightingillini22]

Nice! That’s sounds like one heck of a fun time!

It's been a great tradition that we've been able to keep going even after starting families. I'm sure at some point there will be discussions around bringing the wives and kids, but at least for now it's one long weekend a year that we're able to relax just guys. Drinking. Fishing. Golfing. Cards. Minimal cell coverage so time is spent talking and reminiscing. Doesn't really get a whole lot better than that, does it?

Placed an order with Shave Nation last night for Captain's Choice 45th Parallel shave cream and balm. This one has been on the wish list for a while too and finally decided to pull the trigger. What's nice is that I can do a local pickup and save on shipping. That leaves the wish list down to the Spearhead Sea Spice Lime (which is being released tomorrow) and a vintage Gillette NEW LC. Famous last words, I know. But I've been pretty good about keeping the den in check and plan to use the summer to knock out the 3 tubes of lime cream I have and put a big dent in the Gillette Pure. We'll see how it goes!

Just a real simple and efficient shave this morning. CBL BAB is on its final breaths as I predicted, and should give up the ghost by the end of the weekend. It's been a fantastic puck of soap and has been very enjoyable as a springtime scent. Don't reach for the Maggard MR3 enough anymore, but will never ever get rid of it since it was my first safety razor back in 2013!

Thursday May 13th, 2021
Razor : Maggard MR3
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (76)
Brush : Whipped Dog HM
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back-Alley Barbershop
Post : AV Ice Blue

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[Graybeard57]

Don't reach for the Maggard MR3 enough anymore,

That's a good looking razor.

 

[Fightingillini22]

That's a good looking razor.

It's a real nice and heavy stainless handle - I've used it mixed with my various Teach heads to great success. Head is definitely pot metal but it strikes a very nice balance between offering great audio feedback and being fairly mild.

 

[Smattayu]

Nice purchase list! 45th is a favorite scent that I need to break out soon.

 

[Fightingillini22]

Happy Friday, Cadre, we made it! Got up nice and early, worked out, and did some tree trimming before starting work. Talk about a productive morning! We have our son's First Birthday Party tomorrow with the family, so had to get the trees trimmed up beforehand. Will go out and mow some stripes into the turf too. Despite the rain in the forecast for tomorrow, I need to have the lawn freshly mowed and landscaping in tip-top shape for my wife's grandfathers to see when they get here otherwise I'll have to field comments about it all day Not that I don't do both of those things anyways, but I'm sure most of you know how it goes!

First shave with the Captain's Choice 45th Parallel set and wow do I love it! I haven't used a CC cream before, but wanted to try it because it's both smaller and will be used up faster than a soap and I'm all about keeping the number of soaps and creams in check! The scent is fantastic - definitely get the cherry cheesecake vibes that someone mentioned. "Inverse Cella" indeed, with those super strong cherry notes followed by some other milder confectionery notes. Maybe almond and vanilla. My only wish is that the splash had more longevity, seems to be gone a couple minutes after splashing on. Oh well, I'm not sure how much I want to walk around smelling like sweet cherries anyways! An absolutely awesome pickup and I'm thrilled with the purchase.

Friday May 14th, 2021
Razor : Schick Krona
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (77)
Brush : Rudy Vey Custom with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Captain's Choice 45th Parallel
Post : Captain's Choice 45th Parallel

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[GearNoir]

I need to have the lawn freshly mowed and landscaping in tip-top shape for my wife's grandfathers to see when they get here otherwise I'll have to field comments about it all day

See, ya set the bar too high and they start to think perfection is the norm

 

[Smattayu]

45th Parallel is one of my absolute favorite Spring scents. I have the soap in that scent, and am curious as to how the cream stacks up in terms of performance. You've inspired me to grab it for tomorrow's shave.

 

[Fightingillini22]

See, ya set the bar too high and they start to think perfection is the norm

HA! So true! I got a couple comments yesterday that it was looking good and nothing more so I count that as a win!

45th Parallel is one of my absolute favorite Spring scents. I have the soap in that scent, and am curious as to how the cream stacks up in terms of performance. You've inspired me to grab it for tomorrow's shave.

While I don't have the 45th Parallel in soap form, I do have Nor'easter in the soap and I didn't pick up on a discernible difference in performance. I tend towards soaps in general, but as mentioned wanted to spend a little less this time around and burn through it a little faster so the cream seemed logical!

Son's birthday party yesterday went off without a hitch. It was super nice to have something that feels so normal after the past 14 or so months. Did leave the wife and I completely exhausted but I assume that's just par for the course! Woke up early for a workout yesterday morning before an absolutely flawless shave before the party.

Saturday May 15th, 2021
Razor : Canadian Gillette Prewar Tech
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (78)
Brush : Razorock Beehive
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back Alley Barbershop
Post : Seaforth Spiced


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Fell asleep early last night so woke up early again and took advantage of the little guy sleeping to get another workout and shave in before getting going today. Used up the last of the CBL BAB and I'm sad to see it wrap up. This scent was exactly what I was looking for this spring and performance of the Master Barber base phenomenal. Sad that Chris doesn't appear to be offering this scent right now but maybe it will come back. Usage was right around 2.2g per shave which is right about what I average across most soaps. Do like the smaller CBL pucks since that allows me to really crank through them!

Sunday May 16th, 2021
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (3)
Brush : Yaqi Barberpole Tuxedo
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Back-Alley Barbershop
Post : PAA Sundown



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[GearNoir]

Knock those soaps out! Way to go!

 

[Fightingillini22]

Happy Monday Cadre!

Today is my first day working from our office downtown in 431 days. This is an absolutely mind-boggling amount of time. I can confidently say that at no point did I ever imagine spending 14+ months working from home. While I won't be coming in with any regularity until after they remove capacity restrictions on downtown offices which is anticipated to be in mid-July, I wanted to come and get my desk organized and cleaned up. Our office normally has around 400 people in it. There might be 10 people here total today. Kinda surreal. At the same time, it feels good to be on the path to normalcy.

My Seaforth Sea Spice Lime set should be arriving today. Very excited for this one and just in time for summer to arrive. In the mean time, I'm going to try something a little different for my next faux-3017 : a combo of TOBS Mr. Taylor and MWF. I love the scent of the Mr. Taylor but do find that it sometimes leaves my skin a tad dry. Not as much of a problem in the warmer months and can also be easily remedied by throwing on a moisturizing post product. But I'm going to try loading up a little MWF before lathering up the TOBS. Gave it a test drive this morning before heading downtown and it seemed to work wonderfully! Obviously the MWF is such a nice and mild scent that it will play well with just about any profile. Mr. Taylor is just such a great barbershop scent IMHO. And the awesome lanolin goodness from MWF left my skin feeling great. No need for any special post so glugged on some Old Spice and headed out the door.

Monday May 17th, 2021
Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (79)
Brush : Stirling Kong
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : TOBS Mr. Taylor & MWF
Post : P&G Old Spice

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[MarkB]

My Seaforth Sea Spice Lime set should be arriving today.

Mine's out for delivery as well! Looking forward to trying it.

Have a great day, Ryan.

 

[Fightingillini22]

Mine's out for delivery as well! Looking forward to trying it.

Have a great day, Ryan.

Not sure who you picked it up from but I ordered from The Razor Company (first time ordering from them) and I am extremely impressed with their shipping speed!

 

[MarkB]

Not sure who you picked it up from but I ordered from The Razor Company (first time ordering from them) and I am extremely impressed with their shipping speed!

I ordered direct from Spearhead

 

[Smattayu]

Not sure who you picked it up from but I ordered from The Razor Company (first time ordering from them) and I am extremely impressed with their shipping speed!

That is fantastic. I am a fan of all things lime, and am looking forward to your thoughts on it.

I ordered some Ethos from The Razor Company recently, and was also very happy with how quickly they shipped it out. If they are consistent with that then they're giving Maggards a run for their money. I remember in the days before usps was us....ps: your-package-will-take-an-extra-4-days-to-get-the-last-20-miles-to-you. I could order from Maggards and get it the next day. The Razor Company is about 35 minutes from me, and they sent it ups, so it was here the next day. Being that close I could just drive there....but I know I wouldn't be able to stop once I walked in the door lol.

 

[Fightingillini22]

That is fantastic. I am a fan of all things lime, and am looking forward to your thoughts on it.

I ordered some Ethos from The Razor Company recently, and was also very happy with how quickly they shipped it out. If they are consistent with that then they're giving Maggards a run for their money. I remember in the days before usps was us....ps: your-package-will-take-an-extra-4-days-to-get-the-last-20-miles-to-you. I could order from Maggards and get it the next day. The Razor Company is about 35 minutes from me, and they sent it ups, so it was here the next day. Being that close I could just drive there....but I know I wouldn't be able to stop once I walked in the door lol.

I'm not sure how they're managing to offer free shipping on basically all orders since the threshold is $10. Even if the delivery timing were slowed I would think they'll do great if they can keep that free shipping threshold so low!

My Sea Spice Lime set landed yesterday while I was at work. As soon as we got the little man down to sleep last night, I cracked open my box from The Razor Company and took a whiff. Man oh man, is this one a winner in my book. I get both the lime and bergamot off the tub but that "sea spray" note listed on the label I'm picking up as a salty note, so it reminds me a tad of a lime margarita. Not like Stirling MITA or anything but I definitely can picture taking a sip of a salt-lined rim margarita when I take a sniff. It's a lovely citrus blend that I would classify as lighter in terms of strength compared to the Seaforth Spiced. Aftershave toner shares the notes and I didn't pick up on any discernable differences out of the bottle compared to the tub of soap.

Of course, this morning I had to use my new items so lathered up the soap and chased with the toner. Performance is unchanged from the Spiced and the lather was slick and left my skin feeling great. Scent didn't change much compared to the notes I get off the tub and was extremely enjoyable after a morning mow of the lawn. Toner was a little more lime forward out of the bottled and on the skin compared to in. All in all, a wonderful addition to both the Seaforth line as well as my shave den. I do not regret the purchase at all and I look forward to using it often this summer!

Tuesday May 18th, 2021
Razor : Razorock Black Hawk V2
Blade : Feather AC Pro (4)
Brush : Ever Ready 100T with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Seaforth Sea Spice Lime
Post : Seaforth Sea Spice Lime

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[GearNoir]

Glad the new set agrees with you! Sounds very nice!

 

[Fightingillini22]

We finally got some much needed rain yesterday and this morning, but no where near enough. Not good to be staring into June already 6 inches behind normal. Grass is going to have a tough time this year. Already raised the HOC on the mower to my summer setting since it's already been so dry.

Back to my MWF/TOBS combo this morning with continued great results. Anticipate wanting to move over to summer scents before I knock out the TOBS but should be able to put a nice dent into it. 80th shave on this Lab Blue in the books and still going strong

Wednesday May 19th, 2021
Razor : Merkur 37c
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (80)
Brush : Razorock F400
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : MWF & TOBS Mr. Taylor
Post : 50:50 blend of Osage and Skin Bracer

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[GearNoir]

I only ever had one TOBS cream - Sandalwood. It was good stuff but it did take quite a bit of time to knock out completely!

 

[Fightingillini22]

I only ever had one TOBS cream - Sandalwood. It was good stuff but it did take quite a bit of time to knock out completely!

I had a tub of Avocado WAY back when I first started wet shaving in 2014 and it took forever! Not sure why I decided another tub was in the cards but I do love the Mr. Taylor profile so at least there's that!