The wonderful excesses of acquisition disorders...and wet shaving

[Dagwoodz]

Well JOSH LOL

The scent on the IPA interesting. I enjoy a good IPA I might need to look into that one. But watching your video not sure the Aftershave would be for me.

Thanks Chad. I wasn't very clear on the scent when I went back and watched the video, but the soap is definitely NOT a smell-alike for beer...much more citrus than anything else. But the aftershave I could have gone without. If you get the chance to pick up the soap, I would jump on it.

Great shaves and pics. Those are some nice scores from Pasteur’s.

Thanks Doug!

Great update!

Kind of neat that there’s soaps out for beer lovers, even if that’s not my thing. It continues to amaze me, what scents can be cooked up and replicated with soaps.

Thanks Chris!

Nice family photo, Josh.

And good reads on the soaps. Although, I don't think a beer scented soap sounds appealing.

Thanks Chris! It's not really a beer scented soap, but more of a grounded citrus. pretty nice, actually. The aftershave is one I would avoid, however.

Great couple of shaves, reads, and pictures Josh!

Thanks Craig!

 

[Dagwoodz]

SOTD – Friday, 10 August, 2018
Wild West Shaving Co. Private Reserve No.2 | Jernbolaget 12 ½ 4/8”
Currently on Shave #567 | Straight shave #349

Yesterday was rough…and today is shaping up to be much of the same. Thankfully, it was a no drama shave this morning with Wild West Shaving Co’s Private Reserve No. 2. Combined with the Paladin 28mm Manic Depression brush, I was able to coax out a wonderfully slick lather, and the Jern took care of whatever stubble had deigned to show their heads over the past 24 hours. I did get a slight stripe on my Adam’s apple, but other than that, there was nothing to really complain about during the shave. The alum was a bit more vocal on the cheeks than I was expecting. I’m not sure if that was some neglectful strokes with the razor, or something else. There weren’t any racing stripes to be seen, so not sure. I finally got to use the Rose Petal Thayer’s Witch Hazel this morning, as this is predominantly a rose scent, though I did pick up on the black currants and sandalwood that was underneath.

Here's hoping that the day slows down some…the start has been less than encouraging.

Sorry for the rant everyone, have a great day!

 

[Dave in KY]

Nice shave and beautiful brush Josh. Hope the day settles down and improves for you.

 

[Dagwoodz]

Thanks Dave...after the initial shennanigans this morning, things are starting to resume normal activity...knock on wood of course. LOL

 

[dangerousdon]

Good stuff as always Josh! We are definitely going to have those days...but it's nice to know that we have the sweet aromas of soaps, aftershaves, and colognes to go home to!

 

[cmh737]

A great soap to help mitigate the day's shennanigans. I get the black currant as well.

...after the initial shennanigans this morning, things are starting to resume normal activity...knock on wood of course. LOL

Good to hear!

 

[Cvargo]

Hope the day turns out better than expected!

 

[GearNoir]

Glad thing got off to a good shave start and are normalizing!

 

[McVeyMac]

Great shave Josh!. I'm back in the saddle, I hope.

 

[Graybeard57]

That was a rant? You're not even trying! Very nice gear, Josh.

 

[NurseDave]

What? Isn’t the saying video or it didn’t happen?

 

[Dagwoodz]

Good stuff as always Josh! We are definitely going to have those days...but it's nice to know that we have the sweet aromas of soaps, aftershaves, and colognes to go home to!

most definitely Don! Thanks!

A great soap to help mitigate the day's shennanigans. I get the black currant as well.

Good to hear!

Thanks Chris!

Hope the day turns out better than expected!

Thanks Chad...it ended up being very productive, so a net positive.

Glad thing got off to a good shave start and are normalizing!

Thanks Chris!

Great shave Josh!. I'm back in the saddle, I hope.

Thanks Walt! Glad to see you're back up and running!

That was a rant? You're not even trying! Very nice gear, Josh.

Oh...that's not me trying at all. LOL...I leave that for SWMBO. hahahahahahah! Thanks Bruce!

What? Isn’t the saying video or it didn’t happen?

hahahahahaha....there's one on there for you today, Dave.

 

[Dagwoodz]

SOTD – Saturday, 11 August, 2018
Ariana & Evans L’Orange Verte | C.V. Heljestrand Mk*31
Currently on Shave #568 | Straight shave #350

As stated in my previous entry, it’s been a pretty busy couple of days. So far after 9 hours, this has been a more laid back day, though there is still a few things which need to get done. One thing that helped get the day started right was the shave. I did take a video of the shave, and also went over my 15 favorite soap scents that I have in my den. That can be found over in my member shave video thread. For the shave, I grabbed a soap that is close to being in that top 15 list, but not quite in Ariana & Evans L’Orange Verte. I really do enjoy the profile on this. The orange is right there and threatens to be overly bold and bright, but never really gets there due to the presence of some earthy and spicy notes. If you like your citrus scents, but have a hard time with the sharp bergamot, lemon and limes, this might be worth looking at. The best way I can describe this scent is to take a very bright citrus like Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa or even the original Acqua di Gio and throw in some oriental spices. It’s a well-blended scent structure from Peter at A&E…

I grabbed the Wild West Declaration brush for another lather, trying to get it broken in. It’s already developing quite the personality. The tips are almost gel-like, (I’ve been told to expect to end up with gel-tips with this batch of brushes), and the presence is just about perfect. It’s very similar in feel to my 28mm Paladin Manic Depression that was used yesterday, though does have a bit more presence. The only thing I can really knock on it is that it’s a little bit of a lather hog. Outside of that, it’s a phenomenal brush knot.

Three passes with the ivory C.V. Mk*31 ended up being DFS+, with a small weeper just under the left corner of my mouth, a normal spot for nicks, so hard for me to count it against the shave. With the matching aftershave and some Clinique Happy for Men, it was nice to be walking around in a mandarin haze for the first little part of the day. The EdT is all but gone now, just barely a skin scent, and I even question whether it’s the frag that I’m smelling, it’s so weak. But I’m still sitting here DFS/CCS all over, and really don’t care all that much if the fragrance is still kicking.

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

 

[Smattayu]

Great stuff, Josh.

 

[Cvargo]

Good read today. Really enjoyed it

 

[GearNoir]

Smooth operator! Glad you have a bit of time today.

 

[clyde72]

Great couple of shaves, reads, and pictures Josh!

knock on wood of course

Oh boy do I know that feeling! Glad to hear things have settled down to the norm! And yes, a great shave is always a good way to start or end any day!

 

[McVeyMac]

Great shave on the 11th Josh. I must stop buy and see all of the great videos you guys have been making.

 

[Dagwoodz]

Thanks for the comments everyone!!!

SOTD – Monday, 13 August, 2018
Declaration Grooming Contemplation | ERN 204 5/8" round point
Currently on Shave #569 | Straight shave #351

No shave yesterday, so even more stubble to mow down today! I really love the feeling of shaving off multiple days' growth, but love shaving daily more. LOL. To assist with the fuller than normal stubble, I grabbed the Declaration Grooming sample waiting in the wings in Contemplation. Now, this has been described multiple ways, but the one that most everyone agrees on is a cross between a citrus centric scent and green fougere. I tend to agree,, to a point. The fougere angle is tough to wrap my head around, as it's just not "sharp" enough with geranium to my nose to qualify. But it does evoke memories of summer foliage with the late summer flowers (Iris, Dhalia's, Tiger Lily's, etc...) pollen in the air. It's a more mature foliage smell than the bright green verdant smell of spring, without getting into the decaying smell of autumn leaves, which is pleasant in its own right. The citrus keeps the green notes from becoming too...well...GREEN, and the green notes keep the citrus from becoming too pungent, ALA Pucker, or a straight bergamot note. It's quite enjoyable to be stuck in the middle of the two, almost a juxtaposition where I couldn't decide what this was. The smell of summer? To me not entirely, as summer in coastal New England, (where I grew up), has its own unique smell due to the ocean breeze and the sweet smell of salt in the air.

Anyways...the shave went absolutely wonderfully. Three passes (WTG, XTG, GTG), resulting in a wonderful DFS+ and absolutely zero feedback from the alum. I topped off with the sharp fougere wonderment of English Fern. Can anyone say perfect start to the day? BTW, I used the Excalibur Rustics streaked Macassar Ebony brush that was refinished and reknotted by our own Eric Sorrentino, @smattayu . Let me say that he NAILED the loft on this to have the perfect mix of softness and backbone, (this knot is notoriously lacking in the latter, but he put it just right to maximize it without being too much)

So, suffice to say, I will be getting a tub of this soap, though not sure about the aftershave. I'm kind of on board with Chad, in that the AS is a bit on the tacky side for me, so not all that desirable.

Have a great day everyone, hope Monday treated you well!

 

[Dave in KY]

Shave softly and carry a BIG brush