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First SR shave

Shave #285 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Proraso Red soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Proraso Red AS to finish!

Up a bit early today and off to work soon.
Solid shower n shave this morning. Face is much better today; by Monday hopefully I’ll be back to some kind of rotation.

Ended up having to close up work by myself yesterday as the coworker I was supposed to have did not come in, being sick. Was hoping he’d be a one night and done, but that’s sadly not the case; he’ll be out today as well. I’m a bit worried for him; out of the last couple of months, he’s had a sick day almost once a week. I know it’s genuine though. Thankfully there’s normally three scheduled for my shift Saturdays, so I still have some help.

Got the latest iPhone update last night...not liking the text tool changes!

Off to it!

Have a great Saturday all
 
Shave #286 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, Sorrentino TSC 1st Anniversary badger brush, CBL Barbershop soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger AS, and Acqua Di Gio frag to finish!

Skipped first service today for some extra Zs and heading in a little later.

Nice shower n shave to wake me up this morning. Everything was pretty optimal, may be time to swap the Astra out though.

This is my first time using ADG; this is their new Absolut Instinct. It reminds me a lot of the opening notes of TDH but without the orange element, add in some vanilla, sandalwood, and a touch of powder. Maybe a love child of TDH and Ferragamo Uomo? It seems to be a fairly subdued scent, not projecting too much farther outside of a skin level scent. It’s pleasant, but I don’t think I’d go for a bottle of this over TDH.

Catching up on yard work this afternoon (thankfully the fall has kicked in enough to where the grass has been growing a little bit more slowly) and then perhaps heading to men’s bible study this evening. Otherwise, it’s a day with family!

Have a blessed Sunday all!
 
Dude, you have a LOT of aftershaves! Great to occasionally browse your thread, interesting analysis of the kit you use. But, like other threads on this forum, it's more than a little bit... enabling :) I'm trying hard to resist buying more shaving kit!
 
Dude, you have a LOT of aftershaves! Great to occasionally browse your thread, interesting analysis of the kit you use. But, like other threads on this forum, it's more than a little bit... enabling :) I'm trying hard to resist buying more shaving kit!
Thanks @MurderousCrow! I am blessed to have a good selection of AS, that’s for sure! Still, some might consider even my selection small :001_tt2:

There is so much good stuff out there now, it would be hard to make a bad decision.

Thanks for reading along!
 
Shave #28 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Gillette NEW LC, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, La Toja shave stick soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Pinaud Special Reserve AS to finish!

Video is up on the Tube - GearNoir’s Shave Log!
 
Shave #288 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR .84 GC OC, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Cella soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Skin Bracer AS to finish!

Back to work today! Had a nice shower n shave to get things kicked off!

Welp...the pastor and elder I’ve been in contact with during the whole MS process called me back this morning as I was finishing getting ready for the day. Sadly ministry in MS is not meant to be at this time. It was nothing on me or my wife as people, they acknowledged that we actually got along swimmingly well and had a great time, but in terms of this ministry position that they are still kind of feeling out, they didn’t feel confident enough to make the call and bring us all the way out there with the chance of failure. They identified that my gifts and ministry to this point has largely been to adults and may be best suited for that in the long run. So sad feelings on both ends, with a bit of shock for us, but we agreed that with that amount of unsureness, it was probably the right decision.

So, the search continues!

In the meantime, I’ve got some more teaching to write before work...off to it!

Have a great Tuesday all!
 
Shave #289 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR .68 GC, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, SS Citrus & Bay soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Bootlegger’s Bay Rum AS to finish!

Yep, it’s Wednesday.

Up early to get the kids to school, then back home to freshen up.

Seeing Dave’s Bay Rum shave reminded me I hadn’t pulled my own out for a while, so Sudsy Soapery Citrus & Bay with Bootlegger’s it was! Arrrrrr matey!

One more day to finish up my teaching, delivery to the Bible study tomorrow, then it’s back to searching for ministry positions!

Tonight is pizza night for the mid week programs on campus. Usually we end up having Costco pizza, whichused to be really good when they first started doing it, but now I find it greasy and disgusting. It actually usually makes me a bit nauseous. Luckily it’s my group’s turn, so we choose to do Dominos or some tasty alternative. Other than yummy pizza, it’s a normal work night for me.

Have a great Wednesday all!
 
Shave #290 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR .68 GC, Astra SP blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL 50 SoV soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Speick AS, and Fine Clean Vetiver AS to finish!

It’s show time!

Refreshing shower n shave this morning. I’ve got a tub of Chris’ Vetiver incoming, so I can use this 50 Shades of Vetiver soap demo tub with a bit more abandon. Great shave overall! On a sad note though, I squeezed out the last sprays of my Fine Clean Vetiver sampler...such good stuff, don’t know when I’ll be able to see it again. I think I’d much rather have a nice Vetiver cologne before I tried to find the Fine, we’ll see.

Finished up my teaching yesterday. Off to dance like a monkey in front of the senior bible study! They’ve heard it all before but are gracious enough to listen to me yap on anyway. Gives some of them a good chance for a mid morning nap. :001_tt2:

Have a great Thursday all!
 
Shave #291 (Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR .68 GC, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Cella soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Lavender/Roman Chamomile/Tangerine EO spray to finish!

Well, with the huge inflow of new stuff, I did some limited reorganization of the shave stuff, pulled out and put aside some things that are definitely pass box worthy, some thing that are going to my dad this weekend, and got together the bare bones kit for my FIL. Still almost out of room in my two shave drawers!

Also decided to get back to semi-3017ing this near scentless Cella tub, till it’s gone or till I get sick of it and chuck it. Then I can feel better about getting around to the new stuff!

This Lavender/Roman Chamomile/Tangerine EO blend is pretty nice and refreshing actually. I like it! Not sure the longevity on it though, I may re-spritz before heading to work.

Missus is going to be out of town off and on through Wednesday...leaving me to be the school bus and meal work, plus general work business...time to hunker down!

Have a great Friday all!
 
Shave #292 (354 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Weck Med Prep shavette, Personna HS blade, Schick M Adjustable injector, Supply blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Cella soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO spray to finish!

Gonna be a long day today.

Slept in a bit, as did the kids (thank goodness!). Then it was up for a shower n shave. Tried the Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO spray today; nice little punch of lime at the top then settles to mostly cinnamon. Like the one yesterday, it doesn’t last long unfortunately. Once I get to mixing my own, squeezing out scent longevity is going to be a main goal. I know EOs are at a disadvantage here from fragrance oils, but I’d still like to try. If I can find a simple suitable mixture, that is economic in price, even if I have to reapply couple times a day, it will still (hopefully) be better than slapping down a hundred bucks for a name brand frag. And if it isn’t, it’s not like the name brand frags are going anywhere any time soon!

Speaking of frags...before heading to bed last night, I sprayed one spritz each of the clone frags from Dave on my wrists. The Humorous (TDH clone) smells dead on still, but the Greet smelled like it’s own thing after application. Surprisingly though, a hint of the Greet scent still was hanging on this morning, though the Humorous had totally faded.

Kids are out with grandma for part of the day, my oldest’s b-day is next week, so she’s taking him shopping a bit, then they’re off to see a movie.

I go to work later this afternoon, big choral concert that I have to attend to, then regular cleanup and set up for services tomorrow. Probably won’t be home till waaaaaaay late. Sigh. At least the coworker who’s been sick all week (since last Wednesday) said he’d probably be well enough to come in. Between the three of us scheduled, I’m hoping we can knock things out relatively quickly once the concert wraps up.

Have a great Saturday all!
 
Shave #293 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Weck Med Prep shavette, Personna HS blade, Schick M Adjustable injector, Supply blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Cinnamon mashup soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Cypress/Melaleuca/Siberian Fur EO drops to finish!

No services for me and the kids today.

Missus got back into town from her over-nighter yesterday evening. I didn’t get home till about 11:45. Woke up early and took the missus to the airport for her next trip. I’m beat, so no services for the kids n me today, just chores and chillin at home. Dinner’s in the crock pot for 8 hours for tender butter chicken later.

Cinnamon mashup was marginally better than just the cinnamon soap on its own, but even with the Williams added the soap is still a fail...may need to mix it with the remainder of my Cella to get it to an acceptable lather level. Still coming out pretty airy and disappears quickly.

On the other hand, so far this Cypress/Melaleuca/Siberian Fur EO drop solution is wow! It’s a little more runny than syrup (jojoba and castor oil carrier mixture). Just applied a dot to each wrist, each temple, and each jawline pulse point with the dropper. I smell like a dang Christmas tree! Love it! I hope it lasts through the day!

I’m going to record video tomorrow, but the upload will have to wait till later in the week. The missus nicked the laptop for her trip.

Have a blessed Sunday all!
 
Shave #294 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Cinnamon mashup soap (Cinnelliams?), generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Frankincense/Sandalwood EO drops to finish!

Video recorded, will post hopefully Thursday. I iz ti-ured!
 
Shave #295 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL Money tonsorial soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Skin Bracer AS, and Lavender/Roman Chamomile/Tangerine EO drops to finish!

In a little over a day and a half, things will be back to normal...thank goodness.

Dad bus does it again. Two days in a row with the kids to school in record timing and plenty of clock left for them to get a second breakfast at their cafeterias. Don’t tell mom!

First shave with CBL Money in the tonsorial formula. Getting it pressed into my slightly smaller, empty Cella tub was a challenge as it fragmented and flaked a good deal. The soap is still juuust soft enough to deform, but just lacks the moisture that keeps it easily pliable as a whole piece.

The scent and shave though, wow! Definitely see where people are getting the fresh linen kind of smell from. It was very nice! A scent that could make many different folks happy. It lathered up super easily with a moderately wet brush on a dry puck (minus the soap flakes from my tub moulding issues). The soap has it where of it counts! It is a step down from the normal formula, but not a big one. This is still likely a top tier soap. With CBL and SV in my soap drawer, I find myself thinking more and more why I even have other soaps laying around.

Back to work today. Couldn’t find anyone to pick up the kids today, so they’re gonna be getting out a bit early lol; I’ll pick them up on my way to work. Nothing like a night at work with dad!

Have a great Tuesday all!
 
Shave #296 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Cherry Blossom & Bamboo soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Fine Platinum AS, and Greet Aventus clone to finish!

Oh man...I am 4 fer 2 on my CBL purchased to far. Yes you read that right!

Mr Mom duties end later today! Whoop whoop!

Most excellent shave with my first time use of CBL Cherry Blossom & Bamboo! The name fits perfectly! Otherwise I’d call it a nice light, refreshing oriental scent and not know what the notes were. Darn good stuff though. For some reason I couldn’t grasp the notes well when I first got it and sniffed, but today they were very present. Almost felt bad masking the lingering scent with my Aventus clones...but oh well, there will be other days and other shaves!

Huge relief coming back from dropping the kids off at school. Sunday afternoon I had put out a pile-o-crap for a scheduled early Monday morning pick up...but the city never came to get it! I don’t know about your neighborhoods, but around this part of town, all it takes is literally one box laying on a side street and by week’s end it will mysteriously grow into a monster pile of garbage. To avoid paying dump fees, some folks literally, in the dead of night, drive to a random side street and dump a truck full of garbage then hightail it out. It’s happening less often, but it does still happen. Anyway, my nice neat pile had already been picked over a couple time by Monday evening and partially strewn on the sidewalk. By yesterday morning it had begun it’s mysterious growth process, adding in some broken electronics and rubbish. This morning before heading out with the kids, it was a little bit bigger. Just stupid...

Wednesday night programs this evening at work. Missus is supposed to get back into town around the same time. I’m stoked!

Have a great Wednesday all!
 
Shave #297 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL Fresh Vetiver soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Lucky Tiger AS, and Humorous TDH clone to finish!

6 fer 3 on my CBL soap purchase...we have another winner! Ding ding! Sadly the last, my SIR Fougere tonsorial will have to wait for it’s first shave till I find a tub for it.

The missus is back...and I’m pooped! I did get to sleep in this morning as a result, then slowly shambles around doing some light cleaning...then in for my wake up shower n shave.

CBL Fresh Vetiver was calling my name and I was anxious to try it and give a scent comparison to Chris’ 50 Shades of Vetiver MDC soap demo batch. Night and day differences but all good! Having been now able to try over 6 of Chris’ various soaps, I can say he’s got his consistency of base down pat! I do feel like there’s been slight adjustments since I got my first tub of CBL many moons ago, but they’re definitely improvements (not like they were needed in the first place). As for Fresh Vetiver, it’s a great, lightly scented soap, a hint of a grey vetiver. This is another scent that I think anyone within a wide variety of folks could use. I think it wouldn’t be bad to add a little of the sharp spice of the 50 Shades version, for just a little kick, but overall great scent. Performance is elite of course!

Finished off with Lucky Tiger and some spritzes of Humorous, which is actually a fairly faithful clone of Terre D Hermes, one of my favorite frags!

I did pile on the spritzes of Greet a bit yesterday morning and at least one of my coworkers asked me what great frag I was wearing many hours later...so there’s that.

Super busy day today, ending with a late night. Our campus is hosting something called the “Q Commons” for the evening and they don’t finish up till near 10pm. Which leaves me getting out much later than my normal 10:30. Le sigh.

Have a great Thursday all!

ps - finally got Monday’s recording up! The Tube should be done processing it soon! Search GearNoir’s Shave Log!
 
Shave #298 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Cinnanilla soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Bootlegger’s Bay Rum AS, and Rosemary/Cinnamon/Lime EO to finish!

Don’t know why I’m still holding on to this cinnamon soap...it’s failed me pretty much every shave. It has pretty good slickness, it just really lacks everything else. Cella and Williams do pretty darn good on their own and I’d bet they’d do amazing together, but this soap just kills it for some reason; must be too many oils. I should have been a bit smarter and only used part of the cinnamon puck instead of all of it. Darn frugal nature! Oh well, hopefully I won’t have to deal with such a soap anymore. It gets scooped out and dumped, freeing up a tub (albeit one way too big) for my SIR Fougere.

Yep, another late night last night...got home around 11:45. Stayed up just to have at least a little quality time with the missus. Thankfully today at work won’t be quite as bad and I get to head in an hour early. Besides a few meetings going on, most of the day will be spent prepping the campus for the annual Trunk-or-Treat community event tomorrow afternoon. Decorated trunks, games, bounce houses, food trucks, and more! We usually draw over 1000 from the neighborhood and it ends just before normal trick-or-treating begins so families can still do that.

Have a great Friday all!
 
Shave #299 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Schick M Adjustable, Supply blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, CBL SIR Fougere soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, Pitralon Classic AS, and Cypress/Melaleuca/Siberian Fir EO to finish!

It’s official...I’m 8 fer 4 on my CBL purchases! 16ish oz of high quality soap, 4 bangin scents, solid deal at $28 shipped.

Had a nice relaxing morning - coffee and bagel with the missus while the kids played at a park. Then back home for a refreshing shower n shave.

Instant classic shave today - CBL SIR Fougere, Pitralon Classic, andCypress/Melaleuca/Siberian Fir EO...perfection! Loved the shave SF gave. The scent was fresh, light, green fern...a distant cousin to CBL Money if you’ve used that. Had a hair cut last night with the ol clippers, so I trimmed up the sideburns during the shave. The Schick Adjustable cruised along on setting 5 for 3 passes, then dialed back to 3 for cleanup. Oh yes.

Off to work in a bit. Trunk or Treat will be kicking off shortly after my shift starts. Then later it’s clean up and prep for Sunday services. I’m ready for my weekend!

Have a great Saturday all!
 
Shave #300 (355 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Gillette NEW LC, Astra SP blade, Sorrentino TSC 1st Anniversary badger brush, SV 70th soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, SV 70th AS, and YSL L’Homme Ultime to finish!

Nice shower n shave this morning, didn’t quite wipe all the grogginess out, but was still excellent. I do have a touch of irritation on the corners of the mouth from chasing a bit...unfortunate.

Off to services for the morning! Hopefully some yard work this afternoon, that crazy wind is blowing on through. Later is just chillin with the family.

Have a blessed Sunday all!
 
Shave #301 (356 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Weck Med Prep shavette, Personna HS blade, RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, RR Big Bruce synth brush, Proraso Red, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Proraso Red AS to finish!

Monday video is up on the Tube- GearNoir’s Shave Log!
 
Shave #302 (357 Open Blade Shaves) of 2019:

Gear: Weck Med Prep shavette, Personna HS blade, RR GC .68, Astra SP blade, Yaqi SF synth brush, CBL 50 SoV soap, generic witch hazel, Thayer’s Medicated, and Pinaud Vanilla AS to finish!

Back to the grind!

Late wake up with a nice shower n shave to start the morning. Mostly BBS with a few DFS patches. May just have to spend all week in the CBL playground!

As mentioned in yesterday’s video, it’s going to be another busy week. It’ll start out just fine, but come Thursday...ugh. Orchestra has one to two practice session, then two show evenings Friday and Saturday nights. Missus heading out again at the end of the week with the main staff, so I’m on mom-dad duty and also helping out with services Sunday morning.

Long week that’ll be over before I can blink!

Have a great Tuesday all!
 
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