I have been a member of B&B long enough that I can now post to the BST forum. That took weeks! Time to celebrate, I think, and what better way to celebrate than to host a PIF? It will be my first PIF, so I want it to be pretty good. I like to give names to things, so I will call it Rico's Pretty Good PIF.
What makes this PIF so special that I dare call it 'pretty good'? Glad you asked. Several things:
First, the loot. There are two prize packages, called 'Variety' and 'Consistency'. Participants select (in advance) one or the other but not both. You make your selection by starting your entry with either the word 'Variety' or the word 'Consistency', as the first word in the first line.
The 'Variety' package consists of a GEM 'Shovelhead' razor, some GEM blades, and collection of five soap samples, all favorites of mine. Plus one balm sample; the balm is fabulous, and currently out of production.
The soaps, packed by yours truly in Maggard's sample jars, are as follows:
I tried to choose soaps that I really enjoy and that are not easily available as samples (say at Maggards). The balm is Chatillon Lux's 'La Forêt de Liguest'. I read that it will come back into production, for which I am grateful. More on that later.
The Shovelhead, alas, has not been getting the love it deserves. It is fine shaver, and it looks nice for its age. See for yourself:
So much for the Variety package, let's move on to the 'Consistency' package. It's pretty simple, a soap and aftershave set. A pretty good soap and AS set. A Chiseled Face Groomatorium Sherlock set, new as I understand it.
Here's the part where @KillerQ enters the story. A few days ago he posted on the BST forum that he was looking for a Prismatic razor, and wanted to trade for it. I had one sitting idle, so I decided to take him up on his offer of the Sherlock set, on one condition. He would not ship the set to me, but rather hold onto it and ship directly to the winner of this PIF. He enthusiastically agreed, and so here we are. But there is one more thing. I wanted to add a personal touch to the Consistency prize. When I shipped the Prismatic to KQ, I included a samples of another soap, one sample for him, and one to add to the Consistency package. The soap is one I recently bought, Lakewood Soap Company Sweet Orange Chile Pepper .
So far I have explained the prizes, and the KillerQ's part in the story. Let's talk about the quirky rules.
The PIF ends Thursday Aug 31 at 6:00 PM EST. Winners will be notified by personal message. With quick responses from the two winners, we can hope to ship prizes by Sat Sept 2.
Anyone already a member of B&B at time the PIF is announced is eligible, but the PIF is CONUS only. The Sherlock set cotains alcohol, so shipping out of CONUS is a no go.
The mechanics of winning are as follows. You have some variable number of points, depending on your choices (to be described). Your probability of winning will be proportional to said number of points. The two winners will be selected by random draw. I'll spare you the details for now, ask if you really want to know. Here's how the points/chances work.
You get 1 (one) chance at winning by announcing 'Variety' or 'Consistency'. You must annouce one choice or the other to enter; a mere "I'm in" gets you nothing. Remeber, you annouce by making the corresponding word the first word of the first line in your reply.
There are two ways to get additional points, which is where things get interesting. The first way is to agree to perform the review task associated with your chosen package. If you do so, you pick up an additional 15 chances to win. The review tasks are as follows, and are conditional on winning.
Consistency task: review the included sample of Sweet Orange Chili Pepper shave soap. You don't have to like it, just give your honest opinion. I discovered this soap indirectly. A few weeks ago I attended a wetshaving shave meetup in Raleigh NC. Attendees received a bag of samples and swag. In mine was a 1 oz sample of Lakewood Soap Company 'Old Time Lime' vegan soap. I was not familiar with the soap or the artisan. I saw a couple of (favorable) reviews on youtube, and finally got around to trying it. Really liked it, a lovely lime scent with excellent performance. I do love a slick soap, and I do love citrus. I subsequently checked out the LSC website, and was immediately seduced by the 'Sweet Orange Chili Pepper' scent profile. I ordered a tub, and have been much enjoying it. I am curious to hear what others think, hence this task. BTW, the shave meetup was great, got all sorts of excellent swag to be described in later posts.
The Variety review task: Here's the premise. At that same shave meetup I bought a tub of Reef Point Soaps Fougère Santal. There were a lot of soaps for sale, many dozens. I smelled deeply of dozens. I bought only one, the FS.
On the meetup PIF table I found a jar of Chatillon Lux - La Forêt de Liguest. I still cannot believe someone piffed the LFDL, and that no one grabbed before me. I snactched that sucker right up.
Each of these products alone is outstanding. Together, O.M.G. Some pairings are designed by the artisan, but some have to be discovered. I blundered into a great one. The day after the meetup, I decided to try out the FS soap and the LFDL balm, because why not. Result was that now I always pair these, and have given the pairing a name. To have a "Sauvecito" means to shave with FS soap, with LFDL balm as the post shave. The review task is to have a Sauvecito or two on me, and report back to B&B.
Completed reviews should be posted to B&B with title "PGP followup: Variety/Consistency" [choose the appropriate version]. If you agree to review, make "reviewer" the second word of first line.
Just to make things fun, for an additional 10 chances to win provide a url to a video/photo of a movie or tv star who caught your eye as a callow youth. For instance, Julie Newmar as Stupefyin' Jones. The keen eye may also spot the beautiful Leslie Parrish in the role of Daisy Mae.
Thanks for reading this far, and good luck to all participants. Feel free to ask about anything I may have overlooked or left unclear.
What makes this PIF so special that I dare call it 'pretty good'? Glad you asked. Several things:
- Not one but two prizes, pretty good prizes too
- Assistance from a fellow B&B member, the lovely and talented @KillerQ
- Quirky rules intended to encourage you to participate in the forum
First, the loot. There are two prize packages, called 'Variety' and 'Consistency'. Participants select (in advance) one or the other but not both. You make your selection by starting your entry with either the word 'Variety' or the word 'Consistency', as the first word in the first line.
The 'Variety' package consists of a GEM 'Shovelhead' razor, some GEM blades, and collection of five soap samples, all favorites of mine. Plus one balm sample; the balm is fabulous, and currently out of production.
The soaps, packed by yours truly in Maggard's sample jars, are as follows:
- Reef Point Soaps Fougère Santal
- L&L Grooming Trismegistus
- Mike's Natural Shave Soaps Rose and Cedarwood
- Santa Maria del Fiore Sapone da Barba
- Cade Rich Cream
I tried to choose soaps that I really enjoy and that are not easily available as samples (say at Maggards). The balm is Chatillon Lux's 'La Forêt de Liguest'. I read that it will come back into production, for which I am grateful. More on that later.
The Shovelhead, alas, has not been getting the love it deserves. It is fine shaver, and it looks nice for its age. See for yourself:
So much for the Variety package, let's move on to the 'Consistency' package. It's pretty simple, a soap and aftershave set. A pretty good soap and AS set. A Chiseled Face Groomatorium Sherlock set, new as I understand it.
Here's the part where @KillerQ enters the story. A few days ago he posted on the BST forum that he was looking for a Prismatic razor, and wanted to trade for it. I had one sitting idle, so I decided to take him up on his offer of the Sherlock set, on one condition. He would not ship the set to me, but rather hold onto it and ship directly to the winner of this PIF. He enthusiastically agreed, and so here we are. But there is one more thing. I wanted to add a personal touch to the Consistency prize. When I shipped the Prismatic to KQ, I included a samples of another soap, one sample for him, and one to add to the Consistency package. The soap is one I recently bought, Lakewood Soap Company Sweet Orange Chile Pepper .
So far I have explained the prizes, and the KillerQ's part in the story. Let's talk about the quirky rules.
The PIF ends Thursday Aug 31 at 6:00 PM EST. Winners will be notified by personal message. With quick responses from the two winners, we can hope to ship prizes by Sat Sept 2.
Anyone already a member of B&B at time the PIF is announced is eligible, but the PIF is CONUS only. The Sherlock set cotains alcohol, so shipping out of CONUS is a no go.
The mechanics of winning are as follows. You have some variable number of points, depending on your choices (to be described). Your probability of winning will be proportional to said number of points. The two winners will be selected by random draw. I'll spare you the details for now, ask if you really want to know. Here's how the points/chances work.
You get 1 (one) chance at winning by announcing 'Variety' or 'Consistency'. You must annouce one choice or the other to enter; a mere "I'm in" gets you nothing. Remeber, you annouce by making the corresponding word the first word of the first line in your reply.
There are two ways to get additional points, which is where things get interesting. The first way is to agree to perform the review task associated with your chosen package. If you do so, you pick up an additional 15 chances to win. The review tasks are as follows, and are conditional on winning.
Consistency task: review the included sample of Sweet Orange Chili Pepper shave soap. You don't have to like it, just give your honest opinion. I discovered this soap indirectly. A few weeks ago I attended a wetshaving shave meetup in Raleigh NC. Attendees received a bag of samples and swag. In mine was a 1 oz sample of Lakewood Soap Company 'Old Time Lime' vegan soap. I was not familiar with the soap or the artisan. I saw a couple of (favorable) reviews on youtube, and finally got around to trying it. Really liked it, a lovely lime scent with excellent performance. I do love a slick soap, and I do love citrus. I subsequently checked out the LSC website, and was immediately seduced by the 'Sweet Orange Chili Pepper' scent profile. I ordered a tub, and have been much enjoying it. I am curious to hear what others think, hence this task. BTW, the shave meetup was great, got all sorts of excellent swag to be described in later posts.
The Variety review task: Here's the premise. At that same shave meetup I bought a tub of Reef Point Soaps Fougère Santal. There were a lot of soaps for sale, many dozens. I smelled deeply of dozens. I bought only one, the FS.
On the meetup PIF table I found a jar of Chatillon Lux - La Forêt de Liguest. I still cannot believe someone piffed the LFDL, and that no one grabbed before me. I snactched that sucker right up.
Each of these products alone is outstanding. Together, O.M.G. Some pairings are designed by the artisan, but some have to be discovered. I blundered into a great one. The day after the meetup, I decided to try out the FS soap and the LFDL balm, because why not. Result was that now I always pair these, and have given the pairing a name. To have a "Sauvecito" means to shave with FS soap, with LFDL balm as the post shave. The review task is to have a Sauvecito or two on me, and report back to B&B.
Completed reviews should be posted to B&B with title "PGP followup: Variety/Consistency" [choose the appropriate version]. If you agree to review, make "reviewer" the second word of first line.
Just to make things fun, for an additional 10 chances to win provide a url to a video/photo of a movie or tv star who caught your eye as a callow youth. For instance, Julie Newmar as Stupefyin' Jones. The keen eye may also spot the beautiful Leslie Parrish in the role of Daisy Mae.
Thanks for reading this far, and good luck to all participants. Feel free to ask about anything I may have overlooked or left unclear.
Last edited:
