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

GearNoir said:
Great weekend Ryan! And not too shabby a choice for your signature scent 😎👍
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Thanks Chris, I would have to agree, but more importantly the wife does too!

Back in the office today and tomorrow. It's going to take a while to get back into the groove of going downtown regularly. But for now I have a fairly good schedule worked out where I can work out, eat breakfast, shower, shave and catch the 7:32 express train. So long as parking doesn't become the massive issue it was prior to Covid, I think I can make this work 3 days a week no problem!

Shave this morning was nice and cool, continue to crank away with this Lab Blue. First time wearing L'Homme to the office and while I spent all morning in conference rooms, I didn't feel like there was any risk to blowing out my colleagues with my EdT choice. Would seem we've picked a winner for my every day!

Tuesday July 20th, 2021
Razor : '56 Gillette Flare Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (128)
Brush : Razorock Beehive
Pre : Shower
Soap : Captain's Choice Nor'easter
Post : Osage Rub & YSL L'Homme EdT

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Second day in the office this week and the first time I've been in the office more than one day in the same work week since March 2020. Feels nice to have a sense of normalcy again. Got drinks with some friends yesterday after work too - been 2 years since we've been able to enjoy weekday happy hour out on a downtown patio. There's just something special about summertime in Chicago!

Trying to kill the Captain's Choice Nor'easter in the near future so used mostly the same setup from yesterday for this morning's shave. Have a great hump day, Cadre!

Wednesday July 21st, 2021
Razor : Gillette NEW LC
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (129)
Brush : Yaqi Tuxedo Barberpole
Pre : Shower
Soap : Captain's Choice Nor'easter
Post : Osage Rub & YSL L'Homme EdT​
 
Today really feels like a Friday, but alas, it is not. Thankfully we're almost there Cadre!

I stumbled across a CRAZY large amount of frags at Burlington last weekend and quite a few "cheapies" from Nautica and Tommy Bahama caught my eye. I set out to the internet and found an eBay seller of all 10 Tommy Bahama offerings for $20, which although is the same price as a bottle at the discounters, allows me to see which I might actually enjoy. It came in a few days ago and I've tried a few now. The original Maritime smelled like a fake piña colada to me both out of the vial as well as on my skin which I was not a fan of at all. Threw on Maritime Journey last night after dinner and enjoyed it a little bit more since it had a more woody floral thing going on. Today I used my Seaforth Sea Spice Lime set so I threw on the St. Barts and so far I'm enjoying it! I know these aren't going to be longevity or projection winners but sometimes you just want a fun, cheap summertime scent!

I also officially binned the Lab Blue after today's shave. That little blade made it through 130 shaves which is absolutely insane. Never ever would have thought a blade would make it that long.

Thursday July 22nd, 2021
Razor : Gillette Prewar Ball-end Tech
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (130), RIP
Brush : Stirling Kong
Pre : Shower
Soap : Seaforth Sea Spice Lime
Post : Seaforth Sea Spice Lime & Tommy Bahama St. Barts EdC

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An AD lesson for me on frags and AS…don’t go overboard with the cheapies. Find a couple you like to use regularly then put the saved money toward a few quality scents or the “real deal” instead of the knockoffs. 😉
 
GearNoir said:
An AD lesson for me on frags and AS…don’t go overboard with the cheapies. Find a couple you like to use regularly then put the saved money toward a few quality scents or the “real deal” instead of the knockoffs. 😉
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And that is exactly why I liked the idea of a sample decant pack so I can pick my favorite and just have one instead of blind buying! Thinking one cheapie each for warm weather and cold weather then my YSL L'Homme and maybe one more designer that is more year-round. Famous last words, but the wife wouldn't allow much more than that anyways so that'll keep me in check!

It's Friday fam! Our son is finally getting baptized this weekend, so we're hosting a party. Been cleaning the house, both inside and out most of the after work hours this week to get ready. I smell cake baking downstairs this afternoon! Will be very nice to have everyone over. Final prep will be tomorrow with the christening and party on Sunday.

The St. Barts EdC ended up just being a little too "margarita" for my liking. It was a nice combo right after a lime-themed shave and once it dried down I got some nice vanilla notes too, but for most of its life on my skin I just smelled margarita and while I like that in a shave soap or splash, don't really want to walk around smelling it for a few hours afterwards.

Today reached for the CC 45th Parallel set as well a BRAND NEW Lab Blue blue. First time since February and the shave was like butter. Makes me wonder how accustomed I got to a duller blade...but cannot argue with the results this morning! Chased with the matching AS, then Tommy Bahama Very Cool EdC. Now this one is different and I'm really liking it so far. Definitely get the citrus opening but also some ozone notes and now that it's dried down a bit, the ginger. With the ginger dry down, smells EVER so slightly similar to my YSL L'Homme! This feels different than a lot of the other ones I've smelled in this little variety pack. Will see how the rest of today goes but so far this is my favorite.

Friday July 23rd, 2021
Razor : Schick Krona
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (1)
Brush : Razorock F400
Pre : Shower
Cream : Captain's Choice 45th Parallel
Post : Captain's Choice 45th Parallel & Tommy Bahama Very Cool EdC

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Fightingillini22 said:
Our son is finally getting baptized this weekend, so we're hosting a party. Been cleaning the house, both inside and out most of the after work hours this week to get ready. I smell cake baking downstairs this afternoon! Will be very nice to have everyone over. Final prep will be tomorrow with the christening and party on Sunday.
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Congratulations on the christening- may tomorrow be a most blessed event for you and your loved ones!

Fightingillini22 said:
lime-themed shave
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For some reason - I have been having lime scented cravings all week - is there a shaving equivalent to when a pregnant woman has those cherries and pickle binges?
 
Happy Monday, Cadre. Another work week upon us, with another weekend that went far too fast!

My MIL, FIL and mom came over Saturday afternoon to help decorate for the baptism party. Since my wife had to cancel our baby shower last year, they repurposed much of the decorations from that. It was great to have help getting the house in order. Yesterday went off without a hitch. It was so nice to have our families together to celebrate, both at the church as well as our home before and after. They're still doing individual baptisms instead of groups at the end of Mass, so it was just us in the church. Pretty special. Glad we waited until everyone was able attend in person instead of via Skype or Zoom. Food was eaten, drinks were had, it was a great day.

Didn't shave Saturday and yesterday I chased a BBS for the first time in a while and got some minor irritation on my chin as a result. You'd think after 8 years I'd learn to just go with the flow since my normal shaves give me an effortless DFS and that is more than enough. Sigh. Maybe someday I'll learn!

Sunday July 25th, 2021
Razor : Gillette NEW LC
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (2)
Brush : Ever Ready 100T with Plisson Knot
Pre : Shower
Soap : Summer Break Soaps Rope Swing
Post : Thayer's Coconut Water and YSL L'Homme EdT
 
Scuttlesoap said:
How is the scent on this one? Does it lean green?
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Yes definitely leans green, but there's definitely some freshie blueness as well. Think they list it as "ozone" but I'd say this hits the desired "plunging into cold water... pristine mountain lake" real well. I'm a fan.

Had a later start this morning so worked out at lunch and had a lunchtime shave. It's been a while since I've had to do a "recovery shave" but today was one of those. Nice mild shave with the grungy Blue Tip SS and Ecto Cooler. Chased with Thayer's and then threw on YSL L'Homme Ultime from a sample bottle. Oh man this is a great EdP. And it appears to be discontinued. Still available at the discounters though...

Monday July 26th, 2021
Razor : '56 "Grungy" Gillette Blue Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (3)
Brush : Rudy Vey Custom with Plisson Knot
Pre : Shower
Soap : MLSS Ecto Cooler
Post : Thayer's Coconut Water and YSL L'Homme Ultime EdP

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Back in the office today and tomorrow. The novelty of the commute still hasn't quite worn off but I anticipate it will prior to our Labor Day "official new world" cutover date when we will be expected to be here in the office 3 days a week. While there are certainly parts that are just not enjoyable (3 hours of commuting is just implicitly a lot of time lost with my family) it does bring back some normalcy and breaks up the tedium of never leaving the house on weekdays. 3 days in the office and 2 at home feels like a step in the right direction.

Great shave this morning with the CC Nor'easter. Took a few days but the face is feeling back to 100% after chasing that BBS on my chin on Sunday. Chased with Thayer's Coconut Water and a sample of D&G Light Blue Forever that was decanted by a very nice woman at a local Macy's frag counter. This one is an absolute grapefruit BOMB on initial application and the wife said "yikes." Now that it's been a couple hours and settled down I'm really liking it as a fun summertime scent.

Tuesday July 27th, 2021
Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (4)
Brush : Whipped Dog HM
Pre : Shower
Soap : Captain's Choice Nor'easter
Post : Thayer's Coconut Water and D&G Light Blue Forever

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GearNoir said:
😵
Respect. I don’t know if I could do that!
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Ha, just the unfortunate reality of working downtown and living a little further out. Always have to weigh the pros and cons and made the call that a larger home, better schools, [slightly] lower taxes, etc was worth it, even back when we were still commuting 4 or 5 times a week. Now with 2 or 3 being the expectation, definitely feels worth it. I'm sure many would argue it isn't! But I count myself lucky that I was able to have that choice - many people are forced into much more less-than-ideal situations and would count themselves lucky to be in a position to make that call.

Happy Hump Day! The D&G Light Blue Forever EdP was great yesterday. Would catch faint whiffs while sitting at my desk but definitely wasn't overpowering. Would I pay retail? No. So will have to re-evaluate once it hits discounters. Tried a sample of Tommy Bahama Maritime Deep Blue last night before bed and it smelled very reminiscent of Polo Blue. A scent I love, no doubt, but not distinct or complex enough that I'd take this over the Classic Match Blue already in my den that costs 1/3 as much even compared to the discounted price.

Great shave this morning with the CBL iColoniali and Merkur slant. I tried out the Tommy Bahama Martinique EdC after and I think this is my favorite of the 3 in the Set Sail line. Definitely like it more than St. Barts, will have to do a little side-by-side with St. Kitts to declare the best of the 3.

Wednesday July 28th, 2021
Razor : Merkur 37c
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (5)
Brush : Omega 11575
Pre : Shower
Soap : CBL iColoniali Beta
Post : Osage Rub and Tommy Bahama Martinique EdC

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Fightingillini22 said:
Ha, just the unfortunate reality of working downtown and living a little further out. Always have to weigh the pros and cons and made the call that a larger home, better schools, [slightly] lower taxes, etc was worth it, even back when we were still commuting 4 or 5 times a week. Now with 2 or 3 being the expectation, definitely feels worth it. I'm sure many would argue it isn't! But I count myself lucky that I was able to have that choice - many people are forced into much more less-than-ideal situations and would count themselves lucky to be in a position to make that call.
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Totally understandable! Glad you can see it in a beneficial, positive light 😎👍
 
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