Blizzard Battles Round 8: Ice Tears vs. Frosted in Space
Howdy, and welcome back to Blizzard Battles 2026, round eight. Sorry for the hiatus, guys. Life got in the way for a minute there. Let’s get caught up.
Closing Out Round 7
Round 7 was Ariana & Evans’ Latte e Menta against The Cajun Blade’s Sub Zero. When we left off, the score sat at 3 to 10 in favor of The Cajun Blade, and then it came down to you. Label art vote: 3 for Ariana & Evans, 37 for The Cajun Blade. That’s the label art point going to The Cajun Blade, on top of the one they already had. Final score, 3 points to 11.
Congrats on that win, Eric. You earned it.
I’ve got to say something about Peter’s soap too. That Latte e Menta was outstanding, and Peter made it for me last minute. Busy guy, and he still came through. Thank you, Peter. Sounds like he’s caught the competitive bug now, talking about blowing everybody away next year. I put him on the spot saying that. I can’t wait to see what he brings.
Why No Randomizer This Round
Quick update before we get into it. Hendrix Classics & Co labels aren’t ready yet, Marissa told me they’d land the 22nd or 23rd, so by the time you’re watching this they should be close. Rather than sit on this any longer, I skipped the randomizer for round 8 and paired up the two soaps that don’t have a splash partner: Matti Lindholm’s Ice Tears and Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements’ Frosted in Space. Seemed like the fair way to do it.
One more thing while I’m at it. Happy Chap just released Absolute Zero along with a splash. Got mine in the den. That’s getting its own standalone video soon, but I wanted you to know it’s out. Thanks to Happy Chap for being part of this.
Meet Matti Lindholm’s Ice Tears
Matti’s soap is the one soap in this whole challenge that wasn’t made specifically for Blizzard Battles. I reached out to him after I saw a video of his, somebody sent me the link, where he made a soap called Arctic Freeze for DK Damn Fine Shaves. I tried to get some of that for last year’s battles and he was out. Didn’t know how to reach him at the time either.
This time around, he said in his video, if you want to try his stuff, reach out to him on Facebook. So I did, and I bought everything he had available. He’s out of Sweden. Makes soaps, brushes, bowls, the works. No idea if he’s got any Ice Tears left right now, but if you’re curious, that Facebook message is the way in.
The name has a story behind it. A Texan viewer from Pasadena, Texas, watched Matti use this soap and got so worked up over how cold it was that he teared up. That’s where “Ice Tears” comes from. Matti told me this is the heaviest mentholated soap he’s ever made, and he was genuinely worried about whether the formula would hold together.
Matti’s also been in the comments on every single one of these battles. Appreciate you watching, man.
The Hardware
Same brushes I always use, one loaded for each side. Razor’s new to me this round, the Parker Flight. Brass, mild, and honestly beautiful to shave with. This was its first outing in my last video. Full thoughts on that razor are coming in its own video, but I’ll say this much now: it’s mild, but it still gets the job done.
Loading Up
It was 106 degrees outside. I ran errands after work; it was 103, then 104 by the time I left Sam’s Club at 5 p.m. This is exactly why I’ve missed doing these battles. A cold shave on a day like this is the only thing that sounds good.
Frosted in Space went on the left. That’s a returning contender from an earlier round, and I loaded it carefully this time after overdoing it last time out. Grapefruit and citrus in the scent, pretty pleasant.
Matti’s Ice Tears went on the right. I loaded it heavy since I’m not that familiar with it yet, and it hit immediately, vapors right in my eyes before I even got the brush to my face. I didn’t get official scent notes from Matti on this one, so take this as just my nose talking, but I’m picking up citrus, grapefruit again. PAA’s soap is straight menthol, no fragrance added, so that’s worth remembering when we get to the fragrance category later.
The Shave
Round one, lather structure. Frosted in Space takes the point here. I’ve watched Matti use this exact soap on his own channel and it lathered beautifully for him, so I think I just didn’t get enough product in the brush this time. I’ll give it another shave down the line and find out if that was me or the soap.
First pass coldness, these two were neck and neck. I rated both a 4. Too close to call a winner.
Second pass, Matti’s Ice Tears edges it. Just a hair colder than Frosted in Space, but I want to be honest that it’s a hair, not a landslide.
Third pass, Frosted in Space creeps back ahead and takes the point. Both lathers were incredibly slick through this pass, my fingers could barely find traction.
Longevity is where it got interesting. Right as that clock started, the standings sat at 6 for Frosted in Space to 5 for Ice Tears. Total time before the cold gave out completely: 13 minutes, 39 seconds. Frosted in Space was still ice cold when Ice Tears had already faded, so that’s another point to PAA.
Fragrance is the one category where Frosted in Space is at a real disadvantage. It’s pure menthol, nothing else going on. Matti’s Ice Tears has that citrus, grapefruit character I mentioned, so the fragrance point goes to him.
Where We Stand
Right now it’s Frosted in Space 7, Ice Tears 6. PAA’s ahead, but Matti’s soap is still very much alive here, especially with the label art vote still to come. That’s exactly what put The Cajun Blade over the top last round, so don’t count anything out yet.
The label art vote is up to you. Drop your pick in the comments, same as always, and I’ll bring you the tally next time.
That’s it for round 8. Stay cool out there; this heat isn’t playing around, and I’ll see you in the next one.