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

MarkB said:
Gonna have to get some of the Christmas Eve this fall...
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Definitely the "quintessential" Christmas scent!

GearNoir said:
Awesome Ryan! Congrats on getting the vaccine process underway!
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Thanks Chris, it was such a feeling of relief to get the first dose. The mood inside the facility was semi-surreal, I haven't seen that many outwardly happy people in a long time. It's sad that it took a global pandemic to bring the good out in people. The level of politeness and sincerity in both the volunteers and people receiving the shots was pretty remarkable!

Smattayu said:
I need one of those.
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:ROFLMAO:We have made it through 8 movies now and she has not lost steam yet which surprises and delights me!

First of all, wishing all the Cadre a very Happy Easter to those who celebrated this past weekend. We had a nice and relaxing weekend which was just what the doctor ordered. Saturday my parents and in-laws stopped by at separate times to give our little guy some Easter baskets. Still staying away from sweets until he's 1 in about a month but lots of fun little new toys from the grandparents! Yesterday we took it very easy, cooked a big breakfast and dinner, watched some more MCU movies and took a very long walk. It was absolutely gorgeous here weather-wise this weekend, with temps in the mid-70s and brilliantly sunny.

Shave-wise, just a basic but effective Saturday morning shave. For Easter I tried to grab as much pastel colored items as possible to mimic the colors of the Cheerio-filled eggs my son was searching for all morning!

Saturday April 3rd, 2021
Razor : Schick Krona
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (58)
Brush : Stirling Kong
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Tonsorial Barber's Chair
Post : Fine AB
*no picture*

🐇 Sunday April 4th, 2021 🐇
Razor : Schick Lady Eversharp
Blade : Injector (4)
Brush : Rudy Vey Custom with Plisson
Pre : Barbasol Extra Moisturizing
Soap : B&M Sunny Lane
Post : Pitralon Classic

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Today kicks off Masters Week, which is one of my very favorite times of year. Having it pushed from April to November last year was strange. It's always signaled the true coming of Spring for me and there's nothing better than a Masters weekend golf nap on the couch to the sounds of Augusta and Jim Nantz's voice!

One thing that Masters Week also brings out is my SCS Fairway shave soap. I'll shave with it various days throughout the week and is the only time I break it out now that it has become truly unobtanium. I haven't had a chance to try Far-a-way from @CBLindsay but it's been on my list since release. Based on what @Spider said it's in the same wheelhouse but not quite the same. Really need to jump on it soon. In any case, it is a top tier scent in my opinion and one that is sorely missed.

⛳ Monday April 5th, 2021 ⛳
Razor : '56 Gillette Flair Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (59)
Brush : Ever Ready 100T with Plisson Knot
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : SCS Fairway
Post : SCS Fairway

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Happy Masters Monday, Cadre!
 
In classic Chicagoland fashion, we skipped right past springtime and headed straight into summer! It's been hovering around 80 degrees which is absolutely wild for early April. Of course, it'll cool back off to the 60s after this little burst but I'm enjoying it nonetheless! Spent 2 hours this morning out in the yard spot spraying for clover and other general broadleafs. This is the third season for my lawn after moving in a couple years ago and it's amazing how much the lawn has turned around with just a little TLC. Neighbors on both sides have commented how much better everything looks - direct quote from one was "yeah the previous owners weren't really outdoor people." I know it's a total stereotype for Dads to be obsessed with their grass, but man do I take a lot of pride in maintaining nice turf!

Since it feels like summer outside, I took the opportunity to break out a full set of summer software for this morning's shave. 4 days ago I was shaving with my Christmas set since it was in the low 30s, now it's all menthol and in the 80s. Too crazy! Performance from the CC Nor'easter was terrific as always, loved splashing on some Thayers Coconut Water for the first time since last summer, and chased with an absolutely chilly combo of Osage and AV Ice Blue. Was a perfect way to cool down after the 2 hours in the yard.

Hope you have a great Tuesday Cadre!

🏖️ Tuesday April 6th, 2021 🏖️
Razor : '55 Gillette Red Tip SS
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (60)
Brush : Yaqi Barberpole Tuxedo
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Captain's Choice Nor'easter
Post : Thayers Coconut Water, Osage and AV Ice Blue

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I wish I had a little more of the yard bug and green thumb. Ours looks much greener than it did when we moved in (it was basically a few trees and a bunch of dirt then) but it’s still not healthy and full years later. The fires every Summer haven’t helped, that’s for sure!
 
GearNoir said:
I wish I had a little more of the yard bug and green thumb. Ours looks much greener than it did when we moved in (it was basically a few trees and a bunch of dirt then) but it’s still not healthy and full years later. The fires every Summer haven’t helped, that’s for sure!
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I so detest yard work.. I wanna change mine to something like this..

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GearNoir said:
I wish I had a little more of the yard bug and green thumb. Ours looks much greener than it did when we moved in (it was basically a few trees and a bunch of dirt then) but it’s still not healthy and full years later. The fires every Summer haven’t helped, that’s for sure!
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Thankfully ours wasn't quite to that level but there was abundant dandelions in the spring and crab grass central during the later summer. Got a lot of it under control last year - Covid certainly allowed me flexibility to go out and mow / maintain any day of the week while full time WFH! It's amazing how quickly turf can bounce back with some very basic organic fertilizer and selective weed control. The view from my home office last May was hard to beat!

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Looks like we have some cooler, wetter weather on the horizon here in Chicagoland. Probably means it's about time to do an oil change on the mower and get her ready to go as the lawn is really going to start growing. 60's and occasional rain will result in a nice little push from the Milorganite I threw down last week and I'll back to mowing 2-3 times per week very soon.

Not much else going on around here these days. Basically in a holding pattern until our little guy turns one in a month. That, coupled with us being fully vaccinated will mean a significant shift towards normalcy in our home. This morning's shave was simple and efficient. Nice little barbershop theme in the product department.

Have a great hump day Cadre!

Wednesday April 7th, 2021
Razor : Schick Krona
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (61)
Brush : Whipped Dog HM Badger
Pre : Barbasol Original
Soap : CBL Tonsorial Barber's Chair
Post : PAA Sundown

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I've found lawn mowing to be mentally therapeutic - instant gratification is always nice. Nowadays, I'm encouraging the front yard to become a little wooded paradise for the outdoor critters. We like our trees for the colors and shade they provide.
 
Graybeard57 said:
I've found lawn mowing to be mentally therapeutic - instant gratification is always nice. Nowadays, I'm encouraging the front yard to become a little wooded paradise for the outdoor critters. We like our trees for the colors and shade they provide.
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100% - I throw on a podcast and it's an hour to myself 2-3 times a week during the peak growth seasons. Me time at its best!

GearNoir said:
He’s even got the perfect lawn lines...disgusting! 😜
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Graybeard57 said:
I know. Ryan should be groundskeeper at Fenway Park!
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:LOL: you guys are too much! Believe it or not, those are just stripes from the Honda itself. I've been asking my wife for an actual striping kit to attach to the back of the mower to really give it some pop...hasn't seem to land yet!
 
Had an HVAC guy out to the house for the first time since we purchased in mid-2019 to do an AC/furnace tune up this morning. Skipped last year with all the Covid stuff. Good news is that the previous owners put in a "top of the line" Carrier AC system in 2018 and furnace in 2014, so the guy said we should be set for a while. That's always nice to hear especially with windows and a new roof already on the docket in the next couple years.

I've spent a lot of my downtime the past week or so working through a massive backlog of family home videos. We have a GoPro that we use as a camcorder and I hadn't gone through and edited down footage into watchable videos since 2017. Yikes. The good news is I've made it to 2019 and there wasn't a whole lot going on in 2020! Need to try and stay on top of these going forward. Gotta say, it's nice to use iMovie to edit all these clips together into much more palatable movies. Gone are the days of hooking up the old RCA through component cables into the VCR and watching whatever was sitting on the Super8 tapes. Some nostalgia around that but having completely edited videos to easily sort through and watch is truly amazing. Top it off that through uploading them to a private channel in YouTube I can share the videos with family - what a world we live in these days. Even more crazy is comparing the size of my GoPro Hero5 to that of the should mounted RCA my dad was always lugging around during the holidays!

After much "ho and hum-ing" around AC SE razors for what feels like 2 years, I finally pulled the trigger on a RR V2 Hawk this morning as well. With the wife keeping the budget much tighter now that we're a one income household with her staying home with our son, purchases are much fewer and farther between. I absolutely love the look of the Vector but didn't want to risk $200+ on a style of razor I had never used before. $30 was much more palatable! Now to chase down some AC blades...put a thread on the BST if anyone reading has a variety of AC blades laying around and wants to sell me a few. Would rather keep my money going to guys around here rather than TryABlade. Gonna try and get as many of the various Feather, Kai, and Schick Proline blades to sample before grabbing a large pack as these blades are much more expensive than their DE counterparts!

Fantastic shave this morning with the Soap Commander Old Spice collection as well as my Fatboy. Truly one of the most effortless BBS shaves I've gotten in a while. Most mornings I get a DFS+, and it's what I shoot for. Today I did nothing different but ended up with a BBS. Just one of those mornings I guess!

Thursday April 8th, 2021
Razor : '59 Gillette Fat Boy
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (62)
Brush : Omega 11575
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : Soap Commander Endurance
Post : Soap Commander Endurance

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TGIF Cadre! This has been a long week and I'm glad to have made it to Friday. Got a lot going on at home as well as work so this weekend is particularly needed. We were planning on spending most of it out in the yard, edging and mulching the beds, trimming, etc. but it's looking like a wet and gloomy weekend weather-wise so will probably have to audible on that one. Plenty of stuff around the house that needs to get done to keep us busy.

Continue to plow ahead on my 3017-ish of CBL Barber's Chair. Played it safe with this pick up from Chris and while I love the sent and performance I have enough barbershop scents in the den that I won't be replacing this tub. There are plenty of other great CBL scents I need to try! Another great superlather with TOBS Mr. Taylor too, the two barbershops are different enough that they create a really nice combo. More powder from the Mr. Taylor and more spice from the Barber's Chair. A real nice combo if I do say so myself. Haven't broken through on the CBL yet, but can see light coming through the middle so think that will come in the next shave or two. Once that happens I anticipate it giving up the ghost fairly quickly.

With the humidity up for what looks like good now, it's back to a nice WH splash as part of the post shave. I move away from it during the winter as my face dries out a bit but during the rest of the year I have fairly oily skin so a splash of WH does my face good. Chased with Clubman for Clubman Friday and I'm feeling great and ready to finish off the work week strong.

Friday April 9th, 2021
Razor : Merkur 37c
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (63)
Brush : Stirling Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Tonsorial Barber's Chair and TOBS Mr. Taylor
Post : Dickinson's WH and Clubman

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Super-lather! Nice! That’s one of the things I enjoy about my Clown Puke tub of soap with its many different soap leftovers...best of all the worlds!
 
Happy Monday, Cadre!

It was a particularly productive weekend here for the wife and I. We dropped off the little guy at my parents house both Saturday and Sunday so we could get a lot done around the house in one big push. Originally was going to work out in the yard but Saturday was a complete wash out and the threat of rain yesterday meant we stayed inside and got a lot of odd jobs done around the house that had been piling up again.

Watched far less of the Masters this year than in previous, mostly because we don't get a lot of time to GSD so it was a push to get as much done as possible in the two days. That said, I did catch the end yesterday, both Xander's push and then collapse on 16 and then Matsuyama's *almost* 3 putt to send it to a playoff. Cool to see Matsuyama and Japan get a Green Jacket. I also was able to give my son a hair cut for the first time during the final 2 holes, so it was a nice father-son bonding time.

When I broke out my SCS Fairway this year, it struck me how little of the shaving soap I had left. As such, rather than use it multiple times across Master's Week, in the future I think one a week on Master's Sunday will be the new norm. Didn't want to put another use on it this year, so just reached for the splash yesterday morning as I have plenty of that to last many years (probably a lifetime since I'm using it 2-3 times a year!) Otherwise, the Barber's Chair continues to deplete and I'm looking forward to focusing on Spring soaps afterwards. It struck me that my puck of Back Alley Barber slots nicely alongside the B&M Sunny Day as two fantastic soaps to use this spring. I always forget how bright and citrusy the BAB is until I lather it up. Such a great scent!

Saturday April 10th, 2021
Razor : Schick Krona
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (64)
Brush : Omega Proraso Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Tonsorial Barber's Chair
Post : Dickinson's WH and Skin Bracer

Sunday April 11th, 2021
Razor : Gillette Canadian Prewar Tech
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (65)
Brush : Omega Proraso Boar
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Master Barber Back Alley Barber
Post : SCS Fairway

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This week is looking much sunnier than last, which means it's time to start mowing! Did an oil change and spark plug swap on the mower yesterday afternoon and either later this afternoon or tomorrow morning it'll be time for the first mow of 2021. Hoping for a quiet week at work, but every time I think I see that on the horizon, it comes back to bite me. Guess time will tell! Just a basic shave this morning with Barber's Chair and P&G Old Spice but excited to get mowing - repping the Lawn Care Nut Illinois sticker and all!

Monday April 12th, 2021
Razor : Gillette Prewar Ball-end Tech
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (66)
Brush : Razorock Beehive
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : CBL Tonsorial Barber's Chair
Post : P&G Old Spice

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Great report Ryan! Glad it was a productive and also pleasant weekend for you!
 
It happened. The turf had finally dried out enough after the wet weekend we had so I went out last night after work to lay down the first stripes of the year. I generally mulch back down the clippings but 1, the grass was particularly long and 2, the first couple mows of the year I'll bag just to try and collect as much crap and prevent it from going back into the turf. 4 very full lawn bags of grass and 1.5 hours later, the lawn was looking quite glorious. Had to go out this morning and snap a quick picture. Dad pride is at a max this morning :LOL:

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Great morning shave with PAA Sundown as well. Between the lawn and the shave, feeling ready to take on another work day!

Tuesday April 13th, 2021
Razor : '66 Gillette Slim
Blade : Personna Lab Blue (67)
Brush : Razorock F400
Pre : Hot Shower
Soap : PAA Sundown
Post : PAA Sundown

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