Pre de Provence 63 shaving soap

[brothers]

I have been told that I may be receiving a cake of this soap soon. What should I expect from this soap in terms of slickness, lather and scent?

[EL Alamein]

Gary, never heard of it. I've had the original PdP soap and it was decent with and orangey-herbal scent that was nice and fresh. Thumbs up to that one but haven't heard tell of this version.

Looking forward to any field reports.

Chris

[brothers]

I got it today. Smells good to me. Looking forward to tomorrow's first rodeo.

[fallingwickets]

looking forward to reading your review gary

clive

[Thalay Sagar]

How would you describe the scent, Gary?

[brothers]

Chris, I lack the skill to describe scents, but I found the following description elsewhere and it sounds right to me. The gent says: The scent is incredible. Sweet, earthy, and warm with light hints of spice (cinnamon, cardamom), floral hints, and even a little musk.

I want to spend a couple more days using it before I write a review so I can dial it in at the proper water/soap ratio. After today's shave, I can say it's exceedingly slick and protective, and I think it may be the only other shaving product besides the wonderful, now extinct Domenico Caraceni 1913 shaving cream that leaves the skin (after it dries following the shave) feeling as if it was lightly dusted with a fine face powder. Smooth beyond comparison (in my experience). It's a hard soap. They make a shaving cream that's BRUSHLESS. A bit surprising, but as I like brushless shaving creams under certain circumstances, I'm not averse to buying a tube later on. It has also been reported that the #63 AS Balm has a very nice fragrance to follow up the shave if one is so inclined.

[brothers]

Pre de Provence #63 Shaving Soap

1. Product name: Pre de Provence #63 shaving soap
2. Country of origin: France
3. Container size: 5.25 oz., 150 g
4. Price: $16.00
5. Cost per ounce: $3.05 per oz.
6. Fragrance: Does it have a scent? Masculine fragrance with a peppery, citrus top note rounded by woody cedar wood, juicy plum and violet leaves that finish into an ambery base of leather and tobacco.
7. Texture: Describe the look and feel. Quad-milled hard soap in a metal screw top tin
8. Protective: Does it protect against razor burn and chafing? Very protective
9. Lubrication: Is it slippery? Did it help the razor slide smoothly? Very slick.
10. Efficiency: Does it do what was expected to help me shave? Yes
11. Endurance: The lather does not dissipate in the bowl or in the brush between passes
12. Washable: Does it wash off face & razor easily afterward? Yes
13. Moisturizing: Does it add/restore moisture? Very well. Does not dry the face. The post face feel is super smooth and almost powdery. Excellent.
14. Brush lather: Will a brush make it lather in a bowl? I loaded for 15-20 seconds and it exploded into an excellent lather. No difficulty with hard water.
15. Brush cleanup: Does it easily rinse out of a brush? Yes
16. Remarks: Clearly a top shelf shaving soap product. #63 has a fragrance that has received many positive reviews. I enjoy it a lot. I am considering buying the AS balm. They also offer this fragrance in a brushless shaving cream in a metal tube. I'm also considering buying one of those for days when time or space is limited, such as when traveling. I have no negatives to report. The price is mid-range and performance is tops. This is a great value in a quad-milled shave soap. After having used other French soaps (MdC, Provence Sante, Institut Karite, L'Occitane Cade and Monsavon), based on fragrance, price, and performance (slickness, lather, and fragrance are my personal high-expectation points) I honestly prefer Pre de Provence #63.

[brothers]

Today I returned to the PdP 63 for the third time. It seems I'll have to get it dialed in again. Sometimes I seem to get a bit too much water to start with, and while the lather was quite usable, my mix wasn't representative of the top shelf lather I know the soap is capable of making. Maybe I'll get it right next time.

[RazorRamone]

This scent sounds right up my alley.

Time to look for this soap...