What's new

SOTD - September 21 through September 27, 2009

Status
Not open for further replies.
9/21

1912 gem (2nd model)
gem blade
arko moist
ever ready horsehair brush, black and brown handle

dickinsons witch hazel
old spice leather

J&F woods
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
Haven't shaved since Saturday morning. Fishing week! Today I shaved just right now, what an excellent day fishing I had!! And a great shave, too:
TOBS Rose cream
C&E Travelbrush
Mach 3
SCS Savory Rose ASB
C+S #88
 
Monday evening:

Badger Brush
C&E Nomad SS
Merkur 38C with Merkur blade
2 passes and 1 extra pass on the jawline and chin
Spanish Floïd Suave
Balea Men ASB
 
Monday September 21, 2009 1130am

Hardware:
Brush: Knotty Badger Battle Scarred Batman Brush
Razor: 69 super adj. 9/9 still at 3 ATG under the nose.
Blade: Red IP (1)

Software:
Soap: TSD Iced Lemongrass
Splash: SCS Lime extract
Milk: TSD Lime
Cologne: T&H 1805

Still not sure on the SCS Lime extract, a little too musky for me.
 
Proraso pre
GFT Sandalwood sc
EJ BBB
HD with Merkur (1)
Armani asl
Clarins asb

The more experience I get, the more I see the differences between blades. Today the new Merkur did seem to be dragging quite a lot and it was nowhere near as nice a shave as it would have been with a 7 o'clock. So I think I finally see why they have a poor rep on here.

The Armani asl works well enough but is so strongly scented I can still smell it on my own skin 8 hours later: couldn't wear a cologne after this one.
 
This morning's shave:

Merkur 23C Razor
Astra Blade (First shave)
B&B Essential Brush
Art of Shaving Unscented Shave Soap

Couldn't really get a decent lather out of the shave soap (my fault, in all likelihood), so after the first pass, I added some AoS Unscented Shave Cream to superlather.

Three passes: WTG, W/XTG, ATG
Touch-up pass.

This was my first trial with the Astra blade, and having only the Merkur and the Crystal Platinum blades to compare it to, I can't really say that I like them based on this morning's shave. I can't say that I DISLIKE them, either, because there was little to no irritation, no nicks or cuts, and as close of a shave as I'm used to getting. The act of shaving just felt... weird. Something that I'll have to experiment with, as I'm not sure if it's the blade or the lather that I made that was affecting the feel of the shave.

Still working my way through a sample pack, one blade at a time.
 
Monday Afternoon:

Hot Shower and Every Man Jack Face Cleanser Prep (mint--not bad)
Crabtree and Evelyn SandalWood Cream
Tweezerman Brush
1968 black handled ss
Wal Mart Personna Blade
Dickinson Witch Hazel
Aveda ASB
Burberry Brit EDT

DFS--two knicks, not where I thought they would be...oops.
 
Tuesday Morning:

Razor: SS
Blade: Lord Super stainless(2)
Soap: C&E SAO
Brush: Omega Boar
A/S: Brut
ASB: Gaia Organic
 
Monday, 9/21:

Kent/Vey 70's vintage restored silvertip brush
TOBS Almond cream
Gillette M3 with 21 days in the cart (!)
Hero alum bar
TN Dickenson's witch hazel
Aqua Velva Musk (my first try of this, and I'm liking it!)

Result: a CTBBS (close-to-BBS) with absolutely no irrititation at all.
 
Monday...on the road in Seattle for a couple of days:

Simpson Polo 8 Super
Trumper Sandalwood cream
Futur w/ Super Iridium
Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel w/ alcohol
Gentlemen's Refinery AS Balm
Knize 10
 
Toggle
Super iridium
Simpson PJ3 best
TOBS avocado (new tub)
Speick balm
Yardley English Lavender - last day of summer and all that.
 
Monday Morning Shave:

Hot shower / CF Preshave
QED Brushless shave cream (hand-slathered, of course)
Mergress on 1.5 w/Feather - d1
WWR / CWR
Harris Arlington splash
Pen's Extract of Limes EdT

The QED Brushless Cream worked very well. It's almost unscented but I did catch a whiff or 2 of sandalwood. It did the trick -- I was in a hurry this morning -- but it was a little thick for my taste. It took a little more time to clean my razor afterwards. And it's just less fun not using a brush.

Interesting, didn't know QED made a cream. Is this a one-off?
 
This morning's shave:

Merkur 23C Razor
Astra Blade (First shave)
B&B Essential Brush
Art of Shaving Unscented Shave Soap

Couldn't really get a decent lather out of the shave soap (my fault, in all likelihood), so after the first pass, I added some AoS Unscented Shave Cream to superlather.

Three passes: WTG, W/XTG, ATG
Touch-up pass.

This was my first trial with the Astra blade, and having only the Merkur and the Crystal Platinum blades to compare it to, I can't really say that I like them based on this morning's shave. I can't say that I DISLIKE them, either, because there was little to no irritation, no nicks or cuts, and as close of a shave as I'm used to getting. The act of shaving just felt... weird. Something that I'll have to experiment with, as I'm not sure if it's the blade or the lather that I made that was affecting the feel of the shave.

Still working my way through a sample pack, one blade at a time.

My first few experiences with astras were the same. Just kinda roughish, like my skin was really aware of the blade's edge. They got steadily worse...
That's similar to my shaves with the Gillette New Improved head. Just doesn't feel very smooth on my skin, even though I don't necessarily end up with a worse shave than usual
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom