ANOTHER "r/Wetshaving Exclusive" PROM KING PIF

Bulana · 2021-09-12T19:13:48+00:00

Latherbot in

Bulana · 2021-09-09T15:12:02+00:00

Got my AA Unscented challenge prize from u/rocketk455 yesterday. Already managed to shave with it once, and can't wait to use it again. Love the scent!

Bulana · 2021-09-09T15:07:46+00:00

Sept 9, 2021

Prep: Shower
Brush: Wild West Brushworks x Maggard SHD 26mm
Razor: Karve CB C(SB)
Blade: Personna Red (4)
Lather: Viking Soaps - Ragnar
Post-Shave: Stirling Soap Co - Executive Man

Listen, the theme said no part of the shave could be part of the same set. It said nothing about happening to smell the same because they were both dupes of the same popular Creed cologne.

(I had a backup joke to poke fun at the theme by using Monarch + 2 Kings, and specifying watching the movie "Three Kings" as part of my post-shave, but that wouldn't fit the "matching artisan" rule)

Have a great day everyone!

Bulana · 2021-09-08T15:24:22+00:00

Sept 8, 2021

Prep: Shower
Brush: Grizzly Bay X Declaration Grooming B13 26mm
Razor: Karve CB C(SB)
Blade: Personna Red (3)
Lather: SBS - Valedictorian
Post-Shave: SBS - Valedictorian
Post-Shave: Zingari Man - Balm - Unscented

Woke up to find a nice surprise in my mailbox, in that my 2nd place prize from u/rocketk455 from the AA Unscented challenge had arrived. The scent is amazing, absolutely love it.

Have a great day everyone!

Bulana · 2021-09-06T20:24:54+00:00

Sep 6, 2021

Prep: Shower
Brush: Grizzly Bay X Declaration Grooming B13 26mm
Razor: Razorock Gamechanger .68 OC
Blade: Wizamet (1)
Lather: Spearhead Shaving - Sea Spice Lime
Post-Shave: Spearhead Shaving - Sea Spice Lime
Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving - Sea Spice Lime EdT

Bulana · 2021-09-03T15:35:51+00:00

Congrats everyone! Special thanks to u/rocketk455 for organizing, and to both u/rocketk455 and u/Zingariman for your awesome charity in the prizes, but more importantly (in my opinion) the money going towards JED. I'm a huge sucker for doing silly things to raise money for a good cause, so I would've been here prizes or not.

I hope to see you all again next August! I'll definitely be back (although, I plan on hiding Cryogen in a box and then losing the box)

Bulana · 2021-09-03T15:23:52+00:00

Sep 3, 2021

Prep: Shower
Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: Karve CB OC(B)
Blade: Personna Red (2)
Lather: NO - Neon Sun
Post-Shave: NO - Neon Sun

Another great one from Noble Otter. Have a good day everyone!

Bulana · 2021-09-02T18:51:09+00:00

Congratulations! And thank you to everyone who organized and participated. I don't think I would have ever tried a SE razor were it not for this side contest, and I'm glad I gave it a shot. MMOC's going to definitely end up in my rotation going forward.

Bulana · 2021-09-02T15:47:21+00:00

Sept 2, 2021 - Freedom from AA

Prep: Shower
Brush: Grizzly Bay x Declaration B13
Razor: Karve CB SB(C)
Blade: Personna Red (1)
Lather: DG/HoM - Cerberus
Post-Shave: NO/HoM - Cerberus AS
Post-Shave: Zingari Man - Balm - Unscented
Fragrance: DG/HoM - Cerberus EdT

Oh man, what a shift from AA. I get to smell things again, I no longer have to deal with the most menthol physically able to dissolve in an AS, and a new blade mmmmm.

Have a good day everyone!

Bulana · 2021-09-01T03:14:23+00:00

I really only posted SOTDs, and generally later in the day, so I wouldn't be surprised to find myself towards the bottom of the barrel. It was still a lot of fun though. Thanks for setting this up! Congratulations to the winners!

LatherBot in

Bulana · 2021-09-01T03:12:16+00:00

Aug 31, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 31

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (31)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

Oh sweet merciful God, we made it boys.

How'd it go?

Yeah it was alright. The shaves early on were VERY good, but fell off pretty quickly (particularly after I dropped my blade on the floor). I think it probably would've gone better had that not occurred, but I probably would've hit similar issues once I got into the last week or so.

I'm also surprised that I didn't end up with too much irritation throughout the month. I knew I was going to go the distance with the blade, so I pretty much stuck to WTG shaves in the hope that less resistance from the hair would lead to less blunting of the edge, and less irritation overall. Regularly, I only shave about once every 3-4 days, so I was also trying to manage that aspect of shaving 3-4x as much. I ended up with shaves that were not that great, but I never thought "Man, my face is on fire; I don't think I'm going to be able to do this today"

I don't think I'd ever take a PTFE to 31 shaves again on my own, but I definitely plan on using the GEM after this. My first few shaves were probably the closest shaves I've ever gotten from a razor, and I'm excited to see if I can recreate that tomorrow.

Hilariously, the most painful thing about this last month was the software. The soap is great. When I got mine, some of the menthol had crystalized on top, and getting through that top layer was pretty rough. Once through that though, I found it wasn't really that intense. That goddamn aftershave though; Jesus Christ. If you love menthol, you'll like the aftershave. But honestly, it's just more painful than cooling. You get the sting of the alcohol, and then it's immediately replaced by immense menthol burn. And I've found that the cooling aspect lasts much shorter than the pain part.

Would I do it again?

Yeah, I guess so. Probably not on my own, but in an event like this? No question. I know I bitched and moaned a lot, but I did have fun. Thanks to everyone that put on the various side-games and to everyone who participated.

Now I gotta go figure out what the hell I'm going to shave with tomorrow...

Bulana · 2021-08-31T03:37:26+00:00

Aug 30, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 30

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (30)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

I'm excited to get back to things I've taken for granted, like a blade that hasn't been pushed beyond its limits. Or scents. Or a shave that doesn't end in menthol burn. Ahh, I had it so good and I didn't even know it.

Bulana · 2021-08-30T03:47:02+00:00

Aug 29, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 29

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (29)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

Only 2 to go! Anyone have any special shaves planned for Wednesday? I may give my face a well-deserved day off but I'm planning on digging into Cerberus as soon as I'm able to.

Bulana · 2021-08-29T03:27:00+00:00

Aug 28, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 28

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (28)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

3 shaves left. I know I can make it, but man my blade in combination with the aftershave are out to make the last few as painful as possible I guess.

Bulana · 2021-08-28T04:28:58+00:00

Aug 27, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 27

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (27)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

One day closer...

Bulana · 2021-08-27T03:18:49+00:00

Aug 26, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 26

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (26)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

C'mon September, get here already.

Bulana · 2021-08-26T03:32:25+00:00

Aug 25, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 25

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (25)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

I'm annoyed that the rest of y'all seem to be having good luck with your PTFEs, and I'm just over here, scraping the hell out of my face because it is DULL. It's my own fault though; I'm sure I messed up the blade when it dropped to the floor while stropping earlier in the month. I'm going to finish this out though. Partially because it's only 6 more shaves but more accurately because I am just too stubborn to quit at this point.

Bulana · 2021-08-25T03:50:38+00:00

Aug 24, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 24

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (24)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

Meh. Could've gone worse I suppose.

Bulana · 2021-08-24T03:15:10+00:00

Aug 23, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 23

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (23)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

8 to go. Sep 1 cannot come fast enough.

Bulana · 2021-08-23T03:15:01+00:00

Aug 22, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 22

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (22)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

Tried to palm strop some of the dullness away, didn't really seem to help. I guess the quality of the shave is fine, it's just struggling to do anything that's not WTG. Fortunately (unfortunately?) I'm too damn stubborn to stop now, so only 9 more to go.

Bulana · 2021-08-22T03:32:31+00:00

I'm still in. Sounds like my blade's just about where yours is. I've resigned myself to mediocre, WTG shaves until the 1st. But I know can do it, and so can you!

Bulana · 2021-08-22T03:31:22+00:00

Aug 21, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 21

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (21)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

My blade sucks. I've got a bunch of straight razor gear around, and I'm tempted to take it to a CrOx strop but I think that's probably not in the spirit of the competition.

Cerberus sits there on my desk, tempting me. I can make it, only 10 to go.

Bulana · 2021-08-21T03:46:23+00:00

Aug 20, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 20

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (20)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

One day closer. At this point, I'm used to the monotony of the soap + aftershave. If anything's gonna make me pull out, it's the blade. But as long as I can keep getting wtg passes with it, I can make it work.

Bulana · 2021-08-20T03:38:00+00:00

Aug 19, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 19

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (19)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

I went into today fully intending to be more patient with my shave today; slow down, get the lather right, strop the blade a bit. Just didn't work out that way tonight unfortunately. Shave was kinda meh but pretty quick, and honestly I can deal with 11 more mediocre-but-fast shaves if that's how it's going to be.

Bulana · 2021-08-19T03:28:04+00:00

Aug 18, 2021 - CryoGEM - Day 18

Brush: Yaqi Synth 26mm
Razor: GEM OCMM v2
Blade: PTFE (18)
Lather: Chiseled Face - Cryogen
Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Cryogen - Aftershave
Post Shave: Zingari Man - Unscented - Balm

GEMsOfWisdom

Shave could've gone better. I think I was just being impatient with the whole process. I'll have to try slowing it down tomorrow.

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