Been tough to post, but going well

My shaves are getting better with less nicks, weepers or razor burn. I still get some weepers now and then, but nicks haven't happened lately. I am also able to shave at a much quicker pace, so shaving is not taking me forever. I can still fall prey to trying to get the closest shave ever, but with my new combination of Gillette Fat Boy, Personna blade and new found blade angle I am only getting some weepers that the alum block takes care of. Before, with my Vision and Merkur Super Plaitnum blades, I was getting some bad nicks that required two applications of the liquid nick relief. I think most of this may have to do with the blade change more so than the razor, but I'm sticking with what I have for now. One thing about the blades though... they don't seem to be lasting as long as the Merkur's. I say this because they don't seem to slice through hairs well after three uses. They're cheap enough that it really doesn't matter, and the Gillette Fusion $3.50 per cartridge I was using before wouldn't get me more than 3 passes either. One last thing on razors, I REALLY like the feel of the Gillette Fat Boy over the Vision. I think it's because the weight is nice and heavy, yet the handle and dimensions are smaller. I love the Vision, don't get me wrong, but I think I'm still too green to use it affectively.

I got some new products recently, one of which I haven't been able to try yet because I can't figure out how to store it after I use it. That being the Musgo Real Glyce Lime Oil soap. It is supposed to soften the beard making it easier to cut. The problem is that it comes in plastic wrap, but nothing to sit it in after you use it under water... I just haven't figured out where to keep it yet, and I can't keep it out on the counter since I share a bathroom with my young kids who tend to like to explore. The other things I got are Geo F. Trumper's Skin Food in the lime scent and Hugo Boss Energise cologne. The Trumper's Skin Food smells like lime jellybeans and I want to eat it... unfortunately, it says "Caution: For external use only" on the bottle. :-( Fortunately, it makes my skin feel awesome after a shave and even when I use the alum block! My skin still feels great even the next day. As for the Hugo Boss cologne, I was thinking it was the same as my older version of Hugo Boss cologne who's bottle looks like a canteen. It's not. The scent is a bit different, but I like it. It's also very strong only requiring one squirt to last a day. The Musgo Real soap and Trumper's Skin Food I got from Sesto Senso, and the Hugo Boss cologne I got from a guy on the ShaveMyFace.com forum. I think the price for the Trumper's was higher at Sesto Senso than it is at other online stores, but I was actually on Sesto Senso's site because they had the cheapest Proraso Aftershave Balm AND shipping which certainly impacts pricing. I decided to go with the skin food over the Proraso ASB, and I think I'm happy about that.


On "Shave's of the Day", I don't know that I'll post any more of these unless I have anything of note to post with. So far, since my last SOTD post things have been uneventful... in a very GOOD way. Granted, I continue to get better at my technique, etc, so that's pleasant, but nothing majorly new.

OH! One thing that I did just last night because it's been bugging me to try it... I used my Dovo Silvertip Travel Brush instead of the Edwin Jagger, AND I built the lather directly on my face like when I travel. I hate to say it, but I like it a LOT better than the Edwin Jagger and the mug (though I think the lack of using the mug had less to do with it). My reason is because the brush is MUCH smaller on the Dovo and I like this better for moving the lather around my face. It also seemed to build a lather very quickly and didn't seem to get lost in the brush. I've made mention before that I was leaning toward the idea of liking a smaller brush. I think this may clinch it. The Edwin Jagger is a great brush, but the bristles are so long I feel like they are all over the place. I don't know if I want to use my Dovo Travel Brush at home all the time, so I may look for a smaller brush like it for home use and keep the Dovo for traveling only. We'll see.

Got my HUGE DE Blade Sampler

I got my Tryphon Sampler Pack #5 (Huge) which comes with 165 blades!! It was only $40 shipped to my door. I'm pretty sure that's cheaper than what I paid for a 16 pack of Gillette Fusion cartridges from Sam's Club!! I got the idea from LeisureGuy's book and his topic of trying as many different blades in your razors as you can because each blade/person/razor is different. So the only way to find your perfect combination is by experimenting with different blades... the more the better!

While I may actually throw away (or give away) some of the packs of those blades if they don't work for me, it should still get me by on needing to buy razors for quite some time (6 months possibly). I REALLY think you should look at LeisureGuy's method for trying different blades because it makes a lot of sense (I'm talking about how to try different blades, being not one after another, but rather a more scientific and controlled test to see the differences). Based on this, I am NOT trying the different blades (in the same razor) yet until I get my technique down better, which is mainly razor angle which ALSO differs between razors, sometimes greatly.

I will probably post quite a bit on my blade findings, but remember it is all subjective and very personal.