October 16th, 2026: Dictionary Day

• Brush: Rad Dinosaur Creations "Ribbed FYP" - High Mountain Rex Silvertip 26mm Badger
• Razor: Blackland Sabre (Gen 1, L2 plate)
• Blade: Accuforge GEM Microcoat (5)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - 42 - Soap
• Post Shave: Barrister and Mann - Cheshire - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Oleo & Co. - Facial Toner - Toner
• Fragrance: Chicago Grooming Co. - Susurro - EdP

Theme justification - 42 is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, which took the computer Deep Thought 7.5 million years to compute.

An excellent scent, and such a fun ode to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Relevant Post Shave or Frag - Cheshire picks up on both the literary theme and the tea from 42, while Susurro carries the literary theme through the end.

Daily challenge - Another crazy day at work, I didn't do it.

$FOF - Citrus and tea in the soap and splash. I love the hint of lemon in 42 and the bright bergamot in Cheshire.

Susurro is a dupe of Maison Margiela's Whispers in the Library. It's a soft, warm scent created to evoke:

The enchanting woody atmosphere of an antique library surrounded by books. A day surrounded by books. The slowing down of time surrounded by squeaky waxed wood, the mutter of turning pages and discreet whispers.

I don't know that I can really pick out the scent of discreet whispers, but I definitely get some of the feeling of being in a quiet library from this scent. It has a nice amber note with slightly spicy edges. I think from the black pepper.

I got a trifecta of Susurro as my LG prize last year, and it's what I chose to use for AA this year. A lovely warm, subtle, and close-sitting fragrance which isn't loud or overpowering. Highly recommend.

October 16th, 2026

• Brush: Wolf Whiskers - "Gianmaria" w/Maggard 26mm Synthetic
• Razor: Rheingold Licht Werk Magnetic Blue Steel - Solingen - 6/8 Half Hollow (9)
• Lather: Barrister and Mann - Mélange - Soap
• Post Shave: Old Spice - Original - Aftershave
• Post Shave: Oleo & Company Soapmakers - Facial Toner
• Fragrance: Brut - EdT

Great stuff.

For today's theme, first we have to define "literary". The dictionary says "relating to literature". Ok, now we have to define "literature". The dictionary says "the body of all written texts", "the collective creative writings of a nation, people, group, or culture", blah blah blah, or "Written fiction of a high standard". Ok, let's use that one!

Before Dune was a movie, it was a book. A fiction book, of high standard. This soap relates to that book, with an image of a sandworm on the label, and it's named after Spice Melange. In the book, according to a Dune wiki, "The Spice Melange, more commonly referred to as 'the spice', was a naturally produced awareness spectrum narcotic that formed a fundamental block of commerce and technological development in the known universe for millennia.

This soap does not produce any narcotic effects which is good, because some of us have jobs. It does smell great, though!

Daily Challenge: create an advertisement for Melange soap.

LG SOTD - 2026-10-16

• Prep: Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Pre-shave Gel
• Bowl: Captain's Choice - Obsidian Copper
• Brush: Stirling x Zenith - 510SE-XL (Resin) w/ 31mm Boar
• Razor: RazoRock - Superslant - L3++
• Blade: Feather - New Hi-Stainless (DE)
• Lather: Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Sherlock
• Post Shave: Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Sherlock Aftershave
• Post Shave: Stirling Soap Co. - Glacial Unscented Balm
• Post Shave: Pinaud - Clubman Reserve Whiskey Woods Powder
• Fragrance: Chiseled Face Groomatorium - Sherlock - EdP
• Tool: WSDB
• Platform: PieFed
• Tags: $discord

Theme: Dictionary Day - hmm. Dictionary, literary. Anyway. Sherlock scent is based on CFGs feelings about Sherlock, the character in the books and short stories. I used the trifecta for maximum relevance. FTFA:

Our Sherlock scent is inspired by the character brought to life in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his classic series – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – written in the late 1800’s. It is a warm tobacco based scent blended with toasted caramel, black pepper, moist dirt, and finished with a touch of leather, moss, mandarin, honey and rose.

Daily Challenge: Marketing Support - this advertisement was handmade with natural intelligence. Free from asbestos, GMO free, no parabens or shards of meteorites. I filed the original in my filing cabinet for djudge inspection.

October 16, 2026

• Brush: Zenith B44 28mm Boar
• Razor: MTB 6/8 Hollow Ground Square Point
• Lather: Barbaric Enterprises - Mahogany Teakwood - Soap
• Post Shave: Barbaric Enterprises - Mahogany Teakwood - Aftershave

2 passes. Face lather. Good shave.

This was my first use of this soap from Barbaric Enterprises. I found the lather to be of very high quality, and the fragrance to be a good representation of the amber/woodsy category.

Video