Thanks, it fits even better than I expected 👌🏻

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, this old school way definitely saves money compared to the modern cartridge razors and their exorbitant prices. 1 razor, 1 soap, 1 brush plus a reliable aftershave option and a few blades. You're set.

I personally got into the hobby side of it way too fast, but still - it's fun and that's what matters to me.

05.04.2024 - Return from the Grave...fruit

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: RazoRock Hawk V2
• Blade: KAI Captain Pink
• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE 24 mm
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Gravefruit II
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Gravefruit II AS; Pacific Shaving Co. Caffeinated ASB
• Fragrance: Southern Witchcrafts - Gravefruit II EdP

Well, finally some time and energy for a luxurious wetshave again! In the last few days, I was sick with the rota virus. If you thought the puking scene from The Exorcist was something, you haven't been in my bathroom on that damned Monday night! But I digress;

One pass WTG head shave plus cleanups and a bit of beard contours. GF 2 is a great scent for the warmer season IMHO and it's great to come back with a quality SW soap. I only yesterday felt good enough to knock down the longer stubble on my head with a trimmer, but nothing beats wetshaving for the slick bald look.

These KAI blades are still no good for my skin. I should finally seek out the Protouch MG again, expensive as they are but the shaves were so much smoother.

SOTD 06.02.2024

• Prep: CeraVe anti-blemish cleanser, warm water
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum
• Brush: RazoRock 400 Noir SE 24 mm
• Lather: House of Mammoth - Tobacconist
• Post Shave: Thayer's Cucumber facial spray; Phytorelax Headshave ASB

Tobacco Tuesday head shave, 2 passes, slick dome. This is my only other Mammoth soap and like Indigo, it gives me a superb lather. It was a bit hard to shave today since I did an intense upper body workout earlier, but still manageable somehow.

The Perun might be almost too mild for me - it's great to have it, it's a wonderful piece of an european wetshaving artisan. But a really mild shaver compared to the Gamechanger or Greencult IV.

I didn't list my fragrance today as I only sprayed on a sample by Brooklyn Soap Company that was gone in like the first two hours and simply not worth it.

I'm beginning to think that near the end of my 20s, I seem to make the most improvements in my life. I lost a good amount of weight, I'm back to semi-regular workouts since this year, my retraining is going very well, I finally have some real friends again... Everything seems to be on the right path now.

My Open Comb Gamechanger is one of my best razors and I generally don't like Open Combs anymore as a head shaver... RazoRock really makes very affordable razors and brushes with solid quality. The Hawk is a weird AC blade razor, but I love it with one of their Superknurl handles. The two RR brushes I have are also among the best feeling synthetics I have, even though both were clearance sale deals. My AP Shave Co. Tuxedo Fan tops them, but not by far...

A wife who wants you to spend money on luxury perfume? I think that's great. Plus, SMW isn't as overused as Aventus, so... I'd say go for it!

SOTD 18.01.2024

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Stando Perun
• Blade: Rapira Platinum Lux
• Brush: TGS Galaxy 26 mm
• Lather: Wholly Kaw - Cuero Oscuro
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Phytorelax Headshave ASB
• Fragrance: Philipp Plein - No Limit$ EdP

As always, I'm one of the last posts with my head shave of the day.

1 pass, overhydrated my lather so it was too wet for my personal preference. Still usable, but not very enjoyable even though WKs base usually gives me great shaves. Cuero Oscuro is a very dank, harsh leather fragrance. Think antique furniture. But I actually chose it to compare it to today's fragrance that I applied in the morning...

Philipp Plein, in case you're not familiar with him, is a german-born designer who designs fashion that kinda embodies the trashy Ed Hardy vibe of the late 2000s with Cowboy and Rock aesthetics. An accurate description I read about his fashion is like "he goes like 'well, this is a fair price' and then adds one or two zeros to the price tag". His brand is therefore a big cliché for the newly rich... Oh, and if you're ready for something truly cringe worthy, look up the ad for No Limit$ on YT. I seriously didn't knew anything about this when I blind bought it last year...

Back to the actual fragrance. It is made by Alberto Morillas, so not as bad as it may come off in the commercial. It opens with a very sharp note, mostly citrus and spices. The citrus is gone faster than your hard earned money when you buy a PP jacket, but the spices stay. Together with a rather synthetic leather note and some woody notes that are actually pleasing. The chocolate note is also noticeable and once it comes to life, this fragrance becomes way more bearable for me (and everyone around me). It never really becomes very gourmand-y to me due to the harsh synthetic leather note. Cuero Oscuro is way more pungent, but this leather note is too artificial to me personally. It certainly has a very great longevity (much to my dismay) at it's price point and it's certainly unique. But today was the last time wearing it. Despite the praise it got from people who don't like the marketing and PP as a brand and person, it's simply too over the top for me. I like leather, Oud and smoky fragrances, but this comes off as too much of a try hard. I adore the natural and comfortable leather scent in TF Ombre Leather and Tuscan Leather. I even appreciate the rugged leather in SW Valley of Ashes. But this here? Way too synthetic. Ok, this closes my rambling about this perfume and designer. Have a good night, folks!

SOTD 27.12.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Flying Wing/Bullet Tip gold plated
• Blade: GEM PTFE
• Brush: AP Shave Co. 30 mm Tuxedo Fan w/ black & clear handle
• Lather: Declaration Grooming - Unscented soap
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Natura Siberica ASB gel
• Fragrance: Bois 1920 - Oro Nero EdP sample

A fast head shave done before today's shift. Just one pass and done!

The real star today was the fragrance sample. It was the second day of wearing it and it immediately reminded me of HAGS Aftermath - which in turn is a homage to Amouage Interlude Man, a great but expensive perfume. Maybe I'll get a full-size one day.

Given that the Aristocrat razors have stood the test of time, I guess it's a Christmas gift a lot of men would still appreciate today. Especially in such a nice box!

SOTD 23.12.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Headblade S4 Lunar Eclipse
• Blade: HB 2
• Brush: none
• Lather: Tolpa - sensitive skin shaving gel
• Post Shave: Thayer's Aloe Vera toner; Natura Siberica ASB gel
• Fragrance: Dior - Eau Sauvage EdP

A quick single pass headshave I did before today's late shift. Not very luxurious, but it got the job done in a short time.

I guess the main part about Headblade products was that they are/were sold as a complete system: razors, shaving gel and aftershave products specially targeted towards bald people. It was innovative, sure; but for the most part it's just very gimmicky. It's actually worse than a normal cartridge razor for shaving behind the ears due to the small size. The Moto was probably their best razor, but unfortunately it doesn't use the 2-blade cartridges. The S4 is based on the ATX design. Unfortunately, most products marketed towards headshavers are simply marketing gimmicks. You can use the same products you use for your face, although I personally don't recommend alcohol aftershaves for your scalp. Given that, I will use up my current stash of HB 2 and not get any replacements thereafter. Safety razors, no matter if DE or SE, just work the same or better for me.

The star of today was my fragrance - Eau Sauvage is described by Dior as "once revolutionary, now a timeless classic". It surely is a very wearable fragrance and very different to the modern mainstream Sauvage. However, to me it's more of a summer scent. For next year, I will try to get more into niche fragrances made by small artisans. Some mainstream offerings smell very good, but they lack definition if you know what I mean - that little "roughness around the edges", the experimental, the avant-garde. You smell like the nice guy next door and that's simply not me. Took me long enough to find out that I don't really appreciate that.

SOTD 02.10.2023

• Prep: warm water
• Razor: Ever-Ready 1912
• Blade: Personna GEM PTFE
• Brush: AP Shave Co. Snakeskin w/ 26 mm Silksmoke Flattop/Fan hybrid
• Lather: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain
• Post Shave: Southern Witchcrafts - Samhain AS

Despite the warm weather, I wanted to welcome my favourite month and season with a wonderful autumn/fall scent - what's better suited than Samhain?!

Samhain is surely one of my absolute favourite scents ever in wetshaving. I don't know what exactly draws me into it, but the combo is certainly unique. Also, it was one of my first ever high-class artisan soaps so it also holds sentimental value to me.

2 pass shave with the great Ever-Ready today, much more pleasant than yesterday's SOTD. Only 3 tiny weepers around the moustache area.

Otherwise, a pretty chill day. Had the day off, will start in the late shift again tomorrow. Time for a horror film now!