October 18th, 2026: AQI Awareness Day
- Brush: OXO - Good Grips Microfiber Hand Duster 51mm Synthetic
- Razor: Merkur 34C
- Blade: Personna Platinum Chrome (1)
- Lather: Stirling - Lampasas - Soap
- Post Shave: Eleven - Cedar, Vetiver, and Sweetgrass - Aftershave
- Fragrance: Maison Margiela - By the Fireplace - EdT
Theme justification - Lampasas is "a blend of Texas cedarwood oil, sweetgrass, sage, and mesquite smoke." The mesquite smoke is very prominent in this soap, as the theme requires.
Relevant Post Shave or Frag - The cedar, vetiver, and sweetgrass in the splash complements the sweetgrass, sage, and cedarwood oil in the soap placing it firmly in the same scent landscape.
Daily challenge - This was rough.
At first I thought I'd just use my hands, but that felt like it was too easy.
I was doing some chores this morning when it struck me. Why not use one of our dusters?
So, after running the duster through the washing machine I was ready to shave. First, I soaked the duster like any good wetshaver would. It got completely waterlogged and needed a ton of squeezing to get most of the water out.
Next I spread a stupid amount of soap in the bottom of a mixing bowl and got to lathering.
Eventually, after more work than I'd like to admit, I ended up with something resembling a workable lather.
I slapped it on my face and then proceeded to shave.
Two passes, terrible performance, questionable results. I would not recommend the OXO Good Grips Microfiber Hand Duster as a shave brush replacement.
$FOF - Despite the terrible shave, the combination of scents was great.
The smoky, grassy Lampasas opened up with the cedar and vetiver of the splash. It went from smoke to dry grass and vetiver, very green and earthy.
By The Fireplace brought the smoke back in full effect. It is a warm, wintery, photorealistic scent that evokes the feeling of sitting by a cozy fireplace in winter. Smoke and vanilla are in perfect balance to create a sublime sense of comfort. An excellent capstone to a great combination of complementary scents.