SMF

I am such a piker and feel so unworthy.

My first purchase into this world was a beginners kit that included a soap puck. Half used that and tried Cream. Now have a total of 3 Creams, all Taylor’s, Lemon Lime about gone, Lavender which not crazy about after using a half dozen times, and unopened Jermyn Street.

I am going to get off my Taylor fixation and branch out.

Spenser, I would say that you have "branched out" quite a bit for the time you have been here!

In my own case, you will see that I have narrowed it down to a few favorites and that I have stocked up on those so that I'll never be deprived.

- Murray

Spenser, Do you see "parabens" listed anywhere on your Taylor Lavender ingredients? Or does it say: "Paraben Free" on the pot/tube?

Murray, you were very sober minded to store-up on those AOS unscented jobs! I always was going to, but the damn price kept me from acting on it! Now just look....

Best,
Jared

Jared, I'm single, so I probably have more purchasing flexibility than most of our fellow SMF members. When I was informed that P&G had bought out AoS, I couldn't imagine that they would keep importing a soap made by someone else, so I started buying the stuff up. Then I decided to buy up Valobra Shave sticks. (If I get one a little too strongly fragranced, I unwrap it and leave it out in the garage until the fragrance dissipates. This doesn't work with all soaps.)

As I threatened to do in an earlier post, I have bought 5 cakes of lime EO-scented soap from both Mike's Natural Soaps and Mystic Water Soap. These are fantastic products, though it took a little experimentation to determine how to get the best lather out of each. We are blessed to have some truly outstanding soapmakers offering outstanding product with no suspicious ingredients. My hope for the future of traditional wetshaving would lie with folks such as these.

- Murray

Murray, I'm quite impressed by your ability to identify and then build a strong reserve of those few products that sit atop the mountain in your shave den.

I wasn't able to begin the process of narrowing my focus until about two years ago. Since then I've continued to thin down the best of what works for me, and just have begun to try to acquire some reserves.

It isn't in my nature to find what I like and then only buy one at a time, use it up, and then go find a replacement. I'm haunted by the avalanche of great products that simply and suddenly disappear leaving the loyal customers scrambling for something to replace them with. If I can find one that satisfies my expectations and perceptions while it's still in production, then I want the comfort of knowing I have a strong reserve.

Gary, I've been here for six years, so I've been narrowing my choices down for awhile now. Additionally, my choices were limited by my sensitivity to fragrances, so I have had fewer options. My challenge was to find enough unscented, naturally scented, or very lightly fragranced soaps from which to make my selection, and fortunately I have found some very good ones.

- Murray

Murray, I've been here long enough to have done a better job at selecting software, as you've done, but there have been just too many distractions elsewhere, etc. I've settled on P160 for the time being because it lathers so well -- and because Dr. Chris is very persuasive in his reviews -- but the almond/marzipan/whatever scent is a little over the top for me, so it's sometimes a slog to get past it. Eventually I'll branch out, but like you I'll stay away from heavily scented products. Problem: Trumper's Limes which I used to covet was too much for me last time. I used to like sandalwood, lavender and rose, but they might also turn out to be a problem. My first major cream was Gentleman's Refinery; I found the scent intoxicating. Now it just might kill me.

Ron, my sensitivity to fragrances developed over the last 20 - 25 years. If that's happening to you, that would eliminate a lot of the products currently available. AoS was the only company offering naturally scented hard soaps. Their new soaps may still be naturally scented, at least in the case of their Lemon and Lavender, but they are no longer tallow-based. I read a positive review of the new soap, however, on another forum. Artisan soap makers are now offering soaps of excellent quality in unscented and EO versions, so they may be worth investigating when you use up your P160.

- Murray

Yeah, it seems that any strong scent gets to me after a few shaves, which is something that didn't use to happen. I'll look into the AoS as you suggest; I don't have a problem with non-tallow soaps as long as they lather-up and protect. I've avoided artisan stuff before because I wanted long-term availability of product from the major producers. But that issue is apparently moot. Time to refocus.

On this topic I used to have Trumpers lime and sandalwood until I went exclusively to creams. Sandalwood I am down to AOS or Trumpets. So soap or cream in that. limes I can go back to Castle Forbes but for some reason I prefer the scent in Trumpets soap best

Ron, Lee's Razors (www.leesrazors.com) still has a pretty good supply of the Valobra-made/tallow-based AoS soap. He only has the sandalwood version with the wooden bowl, but he still has refills of all the others.

- Murray

Thanks, Murray. The AoS soaps all say glycerin and coconut oil, but they're tallow too? Formulated by Valobra? I vaguely remember reviews here long ago suggesting the lemon was very mild in scent (?), so that in particular interests me.

Sam, the best limes -- shoot, the best cream -- I ever tried was a travel-size tube of the Coates provided by Andy/druphus. I was so sad when its time came and went.

Ron, AoS has always advertised their soaps in this manner, apparently playing down the tallow. Lee posted on another forum that he has the tallow-based AoS in stock.

The Lemon cakes that I have are very mildly scented, almost unscented. The Lavender, on the other hand, is very strong, too strong really for me.

- Murray

I guess I should get some before it goes extinct.

Sam-



What is this "Trumpets" outfit you keep referring to?

Ron, another you might check out is Alabu soaps. They have a non (or natural scented) shave soap for around $6. I want to check them out too! They might be pretty decent, and more economical, than $30 dead stock.

Best,
Jared

Trumpets = Trumpers. When I type sometimes, it is on my Nexus 7 handheld computer and I guess my eyesight is that bad.

F.W. Fitch wrote:. . . than $30 dead stock.

Well that's a romantic notion, Mr. FW.

I looked around and ordered samples of Mystic Water soap: the Bay Rum, Lime and Sensitive. I haven't forgotten creams, either. It's been a while since I used Fraser's. More experimenting to come.

I was just being a bonehead Sam! Just had to rib ya a little!

More experimenting? Cream you say? Try Barberside.com. Big tub of Lemon or Orange Sickle brush cream! Really neat shop with some good (small batch) product for offer. I would love to visit there if I was local!

Jared

Why, I'm just a death-defying bobsled ride down the mountain to a car rental shop and a police chase down Interstate 405 to San Diego. Cream is same price as Fraser's, not as much product, but what the hey. I'm tempted to try the lemon, indeed.* You, sir, should be declared an historical site.

*Something tells me you've got an eye for the Secret Sauce hair lotion, among other things.

Yes Ron! You've got me figured out...