Favorite soaps

joe mcclaine · Post by **joe mcclaine** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:25 am

Palmolive stick is brilliant and so is Czech & Speake soap. One costs 20 times more than the other (per gram) but that didn't stop me buying both.

TRBeck · Post by **TRBeck** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:32 am

Agree. Palmolive and AOS for me (same base soap as C&S, that AOS stuff). Also Valobra (again, same base as AOS) and Speick.

Regards,

Kirasdad · Post by **Kirasdad** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:33 am

While, I admit to using more creams than soaps; my favorite soap choice would be Trumpers Limes or DR Harris Lavender. Both provide a great, classic scent and plenty of rich, cushioning lather that suits my shaving technique and the sharp blades and slightly aggressive razors I prefer. Any of the GFT or Harris soaps are great choices, pick the scent you prefer and you will not be disappointed. That being said, MWF provides unbelievably rich lather, especially with a boar brush! I just happen to have a poor reaction to the lanolin it contains.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:00 am

For me, with shave soaps, quality is the issue. Obviously I'm not keen on spending more than I have to, but I spend what is necessary to get the quality I want. For example, I only bought one Penhaligon's English Fern soap at full retail in the past because, although it was excellent, it was considerably more expensive than the Trumper and Harris's soaps which were pretty much as good. But I will pay the premium for the latter two even though they are more expensive than most others. Soaps like these have to be made by soap making firms as they involve triple milling which is not doable for the home soap crafter.
Regards,
Gordon

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:39 pm

gil3591 wrote:
MARKHOLLADAY wrote:What does everyone like to spend on average for there shave soap or is quality more important than price ???
i think you're running in a crowd that would ignore price for quality

Be careful when you say that to a vendor!

Chris

RazorRamone · Post by **RazorRamone** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:00 pm

Harris Lavender, Trumper Coconut, C&E Sienna (for the scent).

Churchill · Post by **Churchill** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:14 pm

Trumpers Rose and Penhaligon's English Fern (tallow) for me.
T&H luxury is also very good along with all the Harris soaps.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:15 pm

Although my favorite soaps can change from week to week, I am leaning toward what Gordon says. I have tried all the QED, Mama Bear glycerin type soaps and many others but I think in the long run, the triple milled soaps are my favorites. Right now I would say that Harris Marlborough and Trumper's Eucris are my favorites.

Steve

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:28 pm

MARKHOLLADAY wrote:What does everyone like to spend on average for there shave soap or is quality more important than price ???

"Quality" is several different things, and not all "quality soaps" have them all - or not equally anyway.

- There are soaps with top quality ingredients that don't do the job

- There are soaps that do the job extremely well but with questionable things in them

- There are great-smelling soaps that don't work very well

- There are soaps that work great but don't smell great

- There are soaps that may be great but the soap maker does or says unpopular things so nobody buys

If you can get all five: top ingredients, great lather, highly effective for shaving, a popular scent, and a good reputation, then you can obviously charge a premium. The trouble is, so many claim to have all five, but in reality, most manufacturers (especially the small independents) are lucky to get two right out of five. Extensive real-world testing in different parts of the country with different water quality is key. On this board, being a nice guy helps a lot too. Anybody who appears to be following some kind of marketing handbook, rather than concentrating on making a quality product, generally seems to get shot down pretty quickly - even if that was a false impression. A genuine effort to develop something good will generally meet with enthusiasm and encouragement, at least among a small crowd.

The field is kind of thick though - there's already something for just about everyone. But hey - when somebody on here asks a question like "Which one should I buy?", he usually gets told "Just buy both!". So there's always hope.

drumana · Post by **drumana** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:29 pm

Cella is my favorite. It consistently gives me the best shaves out of all the soaps I've tried. Nice, dense, slick protective lather. Very skin friendly and moisturizing. Although I don't like 'foody' scents, I love the scent of Cella - muted, soapy, clean bitter almond. Somehow it doesn't smell 'foody' to me at all.

In the hard soap category, I'll go with Harris Lavender shave soap. I haven't tried the Almond yet, but I suspect it'll be up there...

Cost isn't so much of an issue with these soaps. They are both good value for what you get.

95% · Post by **95%** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:49 pm

In my still limited experience, fragrance is what separates the top-shelf soaps from those in the second tier - the artisan and mass market products. I can get a shaveable lather from those, but the scent is always chemical, sharp, and single-note. The best soaps, especially the Trumper & Harris varieties, tend to have a complex blended fragrance that drugstore brands and home soapmakers are unable to replicate.

diggity · Post by **diggity** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:26 pm

My favorite soaps are the tallow Penhaligons: Blenheim Bouquet, English Fern, and Lords. I also enjoy D R Harris Arlington, Geo Trumper tallow soaps: Sandalwood and Rose.....and I enjoy Abercrombie & Fitch Woods.

a-cut-above · Post by **a-cut-above** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:51 pm

AOS Sandalwood
D.R. Harris Almond/Lavendar
Tabac
Prairie Creations (tallow)

I have Penhaligon's tallow English Fern and Blenheim Bouquet which would be on the list but they are no longer available. I could see Palmolive and Speick sticks being favorites as they are tallow-based and give a classic creamy lather.

gil3591 · Post by **gil3591** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:33 am

drmoss_ca wrote:
gil3591 wrote:
MARKHOLLADAY wrote:What does everyone like to spend on average for there shave soap or is quality more important than price ???
i think you're running in a crowd that would ignore price for quality
Be careful when you say that to a vendor!

Chris

yes but remember, the vendors are challenged not by price but by quality.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:57 am

Well, here goes. I've read all of the above, and anyone would be in error to disagree with any of those listed so far. Some of my favorites are already mentioned above, and I won't bother repeating them.

Here are my favorite soaps that have received little or no comment above:

Taylor's Lavender. I don't see where anyone above has listed it, but it is a very hard triple milled English soap with a delicious English Lavender fragrance and it performs splendidly.

TabacMWF. Mine are blended together, in 5 fulsome pucks, enough to last decades. Combines the best of both products. Smells heavenly.

Institut Karite. Another hard triple milled soap made in France. I love the fresh clean fragrance. I also love the Tabac-like lathering and performance.

SMN. Never mind that it is a close relative of COBigelow/Proraso. That's immaterial. What matters is that it performs wonderfully, and it's loaded with cold menthol that sets it apart from all other top shelf soaps.

I Coloniali. Hard to find, and unique. No longer available from London's Bathecary. I love the unique fragrance, and the unique menthol treatment that comes on gradually, peaking near the end of the shave, and leaves the skin feeling wonderful.

murchmb · Post by **murchmb** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 9:55 am

I have a lot of favorites. Perhaps some top threes are in order. No particular order, actually.

All out performance:
1. Vintage Yardley
2. AoS Lavender
3. Penhaligon's English Fern (tallow)

Scent:
1. Penhaligon's English Fern (tallow)
2. Pre de Provence
3. L'occitane Cade

Skin Care:
1. Mitchell's Wool Fat
2. Institute Karite
3. Penhaligon's English Fern

I really can't pin down a favorite. It depends on the season and my mood. I have another dozen+ soaps to choose from, and oneor more of those could very well creep into the above list at another time.

In spite of 5 years of various AD's, I've only tried Harris and Trumper's soaps in samples. Perhaps I'll get a bowl of Arlington and/or Rose this Christmas season. Are you listening Lee('s Razors)?

Araner · Post by **Araner** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:04 pm

brothers wrote:Taylor's Lavender. I don't see where anyone above has listed it, but it is a very hard triple milled English soap with a delicious English Lavender fragrance and it performs splendidly.

Ditto! I wholeheartedly concur!

Araner

95% · Post by **95%** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:41 pm

Taylor's Lavender was my first English shaving soap, and I still regard its fragrance as one of the best. It's not a sharp lavender but a sweet one, if I may use the term, and it lathers fine. I'm midway through my second puck.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 8:54 pm

At this point I abstain from judgement on the Taylors hard shaving soaps. It's been years since I tried them. At the time I seemed to have some skin irritation issues with both their Lavender and their Sandalwood. But I've increasingly come to suspect that there may have been other factors involved. I certainly remember them smelling very nice and lathering well. If I discovered that that skin problem was a fluke, if it isn't repeated when I re-try them, then they would probably join the Trumper and Harris's soaps for me. Their price is obviously a plus.
Regards,
Gordon

KAV · Post by **KAV** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:33 pm

Marc
You mentioned formulating your own double lanolin soap. Is this thread a market survey?

SMF

Favorite soaps

Re: Favorite soaps