Wow, that was close. Congrats to Narcisse for the win!

Would you all agree that djundjila or sahenders passes me on your adresses?

Of course I can only speak about my address, but sure - either member of the BVWSC can share it with you 👍🏻

08.09.2024 - trim up things

• Prep: cold water
• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE 24 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Los Jabones de Joserra - Masala Connection
• Post-Shave: Thayer’s Original toner; Natura Siberica ASB gel
• Fragrance: none

-> 1-pass head and 2-pass face shave. A little bloody, but a relief.

Today I had the urge to change things up and I went from a pretty long stubble beard down to a full goatee (with short stubble). I’ve had just stubble for a few months now; unfortunately it’s not a great look overall with my patchy growth and the first grey beard hairs creeping in at 30, mostly on the cheek area. So now I’m back to the style I’ve rocked for a few years; however I plan to focus more on the moustache and keep the chin part rather short. Even with just the goatee, I should have enough variation to experiment with…

Given that I haven’t shaved my face in a long time, I took it really slow and started on the cheeks rather than on my head as usual. Thankfully I only had two tiny weepers, so it worked.

I hadn’t tried Masala Connection yet, so I was quite curious how it would fare today. The scent itself is more suitable for colder months, once it was lathered it reminded me of a fresher or rather modern variation of Dior’s Fahrenheit (thankfully, without any old man sweat note). Performance wise, it’s very quick to lather up and creates a very dense one. It is very slick too, a great choice for safety razors. In terms of skin health, I felt a slight burn once it was lathered, but no eczema reaction or any redness to speak of. My skin actually feels rather good after using it. We’ll see how further uses play out…

Happens to the best of us, DJ. As a bald dude I have to be rather meticulous about sun protection, I usually prefer sprays but these new face fluids in bottles with a pump mechanism (similar to artisan aftershave balms) are great for the scalp, face and neck. For sunburn recovery, Aloe Vera gel and cold packs work very well. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

like an idiot I got a sunburn on my face

May I recommend a SPF 50+ face fluid? Great for hot, sunny summer days. Or when you go skiing in the mountains on sunny days. I personally combine it with a mattifying moisturizer, as sunscreens tend to add quite a glow/shine to your skin.

Tobacconist ++

One of the greatest tobacco scents ever.

6th choice.

5th choice

3rd choice

4th choice

2nd choice

1st choice

Thank you DaveWave for the thoughtful gift!

No problem! Figured you’d like this one a lot. To me, the similarity to Tabac Original is very strong. If it’s indeed a resurrection of a 1970s Gillette aftershave, then Gillette copied the homework of Tabac 🤔

First Line Shave - Life & Death

03.09.2024 - not dead yet

• Prep: shower
• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Abbate Y La Mantia - Blu Tobacco
• Post-Shave: Natura Siberica ASB gel

-> 1 pass head shave. Not the closest shave, but very comfortable.

So yes, I’m not dead yet. Life is busy atm but I keep on doing my thing.

Today was yet another very hot day, so this menthol shave provided some much needed refreshment. Currently I have yet another internship, but this one is at least a 45-minute drive away. Getting up just a bit after 4 a.m. is hard for a late type like me, so I now only use a washcloth in the morning and shower in the late afternoon or evening. Shower & shave combos work surprisingly well for me as my skin feels pretty good. Unfortunately my psoriasis has started to spread behind my other ear now too, so no harsh aftershaves anymore. I’ll try to find a solution.

Recently we had elections at my federal state in Germany and unfortunately but unsurprisingly, the far-right has garnered a lot of votes. Partially also due to the incompetence of our current SPD-led government. Personally, I think it’s time that we all talk more and try to find compromises and innovative, satisfying solutions for our problems. That’d help to curb extremist beliefs. (I’m usually not one to bring up politics, but the disappointment still lingers around in me - just trying to get it out.)

Have a peaceful day tomorrow ✌🏻

28.08.2024 - Cool up top

• Prep: cold water
• Brush: Omega Roma Colosseo 31 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Summer Break Soaps - Rope Swing
• Post-Shave: Thayer’s Original toner; HAGS Apocalypse ASB

-> 2 pass head shave and 1 pass for the neck. Really solid shave.

It was really hot today, so I desired something to cool my head down. Arguably, WS-23 works nicely for that without the signature menthol burn. Rope Swing still smells refreshing, so a good choice overall. I even snapped a fresh BIC and put a new blade in my razor! Saw in the lather that I drew blood somewhere, but it doesn’t burn too much. Weird. In general, shaving my dome with the Thorn feels like unlocking easy mode for head shaving. Apart from my other SEs, a few razors are simply obsolete for me atm.

25.08.2024 - Return

• Prep: head wash
• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: HAGS - Creatures of the Night (sheep tallow base)
• Post-Shave: HAGS - Apocalypse ASB

-> 2 pass head shave, 1 pass neck cleanup. Great scents and good shave.

So yeah, it’s me again! I actually shaved in the past week, just never bothered posting since most of my head shaves were quick and nonchalant shaves under the shower.

Yesterday was my grandma’s funeral. Exactly four weeks after her passing. It was a quite exhausting day (mostly mentally, although strong heat and wearing a black suit isn’t very comfortable either) but now I start to feel a bit better. It may sound weird, but funerals provide a weird sense of closure for me. Of course it’s a very sad occasion, but actually it helps to think about the good days you had with that person.

Today I chose something that just smells nice and even my grandma would’ve enjoyed: Creatures of the Night is a powdery masculine cologne scent with a slightly more sweet twist. Nothing I could use often, but today it’s quite fitting. This is in HAGS sheep tallow base (why do they have so many bases?!?) and it feels very good in terms of performance and skin care. 2 passes with the Thorn can be done very quickly, so my dome is nice and slick again. The ASB wasn’t the most fitting, but still a good pairing.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

17.08.2024 - Shaman Head Shave

• Prep: cold water
• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE 24 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: E&S Rasage - Shaman
• Post-Shave: Moon Soaps Old School “balm”; Phytorelax Aftershave scalp cream

-> 2 pass head shave, 1 pass neck cleanup. Very comfortable shave.

Second use of E&S Shaman soap - still a very nice scent, but it takes noticeably longer to get a good lather going with it. It requires a really wet brush and the lather also has a slightly brown tinge to it. Scent is a real banger though, definitely up there with the good tobacco fragrances. Today something that smells like plum stood out to me, but since there’s not a single mention of plum in their official scent notes, it might have been the combination of something else. Overall though, it’s not really suitable for the current warm season and should feel much better once fall/autumn weather hits.

Head shave musings: a) I really get my best results from two pass shaves, anything more would be useless - a single pass shave is serviceable, but delivers the same results as my RX5 dry shaver. So if I have the time, I should always opt for two passes.
b) using two balms is uncommon, but since the Moon Soaps one has the consistency of a toner, it felt natural. Still will be the last balm by Moon that I get - I actually prefer scented toners and ‘common’ aftershave balms (well, not as common as drugstore stuff but rather the less-artisan stuff) c) I actually looked up Yul Brynner’s shaving routine again and really found some pics that showed him shaving his dome with a straight razor in front of a mirror. So yes, the man was really a fucking bold head shaver. I only did it once with my KAI shavette loaded with a guarded blade and even that was intimidating. Much posthumous respect to Yul!

Yep, I later found out that this was his parade role in Broadway musicals. Seems natural that he made an appearance as some kind of ruler again!

14.08.2024 - quick & easy dome shave

• Prep: head wash
• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum
• Lather: Jean & Len - Fresh Menthol Rasierpaste (shaving cream)
• Post-Shave: Thayer’s Original toner; Phytorelax Aftershave scalp cream

-> 1 pass head shave. No frills, just good enough.

Yet another awfully hot summer day invoked a serious craving for menthol again. However, after a pretty exhausting day I needed something that would work quickly. Luckily, this combo of mentholated shaving cream and a Flat/Fan knot brush does just that. Definitely not my favourite scent, but still acceptable. I hope to use something fancier once the weather has calmed down a bit.

Today I decided to look up how Yul Brynner shaved his head and found close to no resources about it. After questioning DDGs open source AI, it told me that he was quite meticulous about it, often spent more than 30 minutes for shaving his dome and… he allegedly used a straight razor. Now, everything the AI says is to be taken with a massive grain of salt, but if true - kudos to him, that takes balls of steel. And in case anyone wonders why I know of such an old school actor, The Ten Commandments is shown every Easter season over here. Together with Telly Savalas of Kojak, he as King Rameses was one of my only two bald childhood heroes (pretty funny that I favoured the villain in the biblical epos though).

13.08.2024 - And again menthol

• Prep: cold water
• Brush: Omega Roma Colosseo 31 mm
• Razor: Leaf Thorn
• Blade: snapped BIC Chrome Platinum (new)
• Lather: Moon Soaps - Union
• Post-Shave: Thayer’s Original toner; Phytorelax Aftershave scalp cream

-> 2 pass head shave and again a bit contouring. Cool and good.

Today was the hottest day of the year in Germany, with temperatures rising to over 35°C and the “felt temperature” (aka how hot/cold does it feel like for the average person) rising over 40°C. Even after two showers in a single day, I still didn’t feel so fresh. Time for some menthol again - I reached for the safe option, barbershop scent with a tiny little amount. I could’ve definitely used something with a stronger menthol content today though… Sometimes, laid back doesn’t quite cut it.

I also used a “new” snapped BIC blade today, or rather the remaining half. It’s quite impressive how efficient their cut is when they’re fresh!

Now that the bot is back in business, may I kindly request that we get a Free Talk Friday thread again? My ADHD simply doesn’t allow me to remember posting one of these on time, but I feel something lacks when we don’t have one.