Backups for soaps and creams, or not?

[brothers]

Just curious, because we all do things our own way. When you find a soap or cream that you like, do you get extra(s) or do you just stick to buying one at a time, as needed? I confess I've been guilty of buying more than one (this has happened more than once) in fear that it might be the next one to be reformulated or simply go out of production, being prepared for the worst, I guess. Seems like all it takes is to read on the forums that X product is suddenly being pulled from the market, never to be seen again. Many of those rumors have proven to be untrue.

[Brutus]

I confess that I am a bit of a hoarder, but this is driven by the fact that I fly for an airline from a part of the world where decent shaving products are hard to come by and it is easier and usually cheaper to pick up the goods on overnight trips to Europe or North America.

B

[CMur12]

Razor blades are at risk of disappearing from the market and soaps are subject to reformulation, so I have at least a lifetime supply of both.

When Procter & Gamble bought out The Art of Shaving, I thought to myself that there was no way P&G would continue to import Italian-made (by Valobra) shaving soap when they made soap themselves. So, I started buying up AoS soap and I have 18 cakes of it left, along with 20+ Valobra Shave Sticks, 3 cakes of Valobra unscented, perhaps 2/3 of a kilo of Cella, lesser quantities of Mike's, Mystic Water, Tim's Soap, and a scattering of others.

At this point, I hardly ever buy shaving supplies, as I already have it all. I'm least interested in trying new soaps, as there are just so many of them and I am well served by the ones I have.

- Murray

[TheMonk]

I've done it more then a few times, mainly with soaps. The last time was with Wickham's soap, specifically the Club Cola, which has a scent I absolutely love, and simply couldn't be without.

[jww]

I do a bit of hoarding on soaps but not on creams. I use creams so rarely that I find tubes rather than tubs work best for me.

[Rufus]

It depends on my travel schedule. I buy my shaving cream and aftershave when I'm in England and preferably when I'm in Guernsey where there is no VAT. In both instances the shaving cream and aftershave I like are significantly cheaper, especially in the case of Guernsey, than here so I try to time my purchases to when I'll be in either place, which is at least annually. If I think I'll use up my stock of favourite shaving cream or aftershave before my next visit I'll by two of each.

[Squire]

Backups? But of course, he who dies with the most soaps wins.

[Ouchmychin]

I am a cheap skate, so if I find a bargain I will buy more if they are available. Otherwise I just wait and buy what comes up cheap. I have given up buying things for a high price because they are the "best".

[EL Alamein]

Yes. I have a lifetime supply of the Taylor's Old Formula English Lavender Hard Shaving soap. Once I realized it was an old formula soap I bought enough to last me well beyond my centenary. I plan to run out.

Chris

[Flash G]

I buy one or two back-ups of soaps or creams that I really like, just in case.
I've switched more towards creams now, just to get through it all...

[nav]

I have several back-ups of MWF, Haslinger schafmilch, Ringelblumen and Salbei plus I am working on increase my LEA Classic puck stash as I'm super impressed with this soap! Very underrated IMHO!!

[Squire]

nav could you tell us a bit more about the LEA Classic soap?

[ShadowsDad]

I've stated previously that I never intend to go back to cart's and having enough soap is just part of that. I absolutely have stocked up on favored soaps. I still have those.

In addition, now that I have my own soaps made for me, I now have much more than what I previously stocked on hand and the old soaps just don't get much love anymore.

[Squire]

Perfectly understandable Brian. For myself I will continue to buy a bit here or there, I'm too old for Christmas but still like unwrapping little parcels.

[brothers]

I would be willing to agree that Coates was on a par with original Taylor and Trumper creams. Taylor's has reformulated twice since then, and Trumper's once. T&H was never, in those good old days, thought to be quite as good as Taylor or Trumper creams. Now, most would say it is better. Draw your own conclusions, gentlemen. NOS Coates may be the only way a current buyer can sample the quality that was once available more widely. Enjoy it whilst you can.

Chris

After all that's been said about it, Coates Sandalwood is worthy of a backup for me. Thankfully, I was able to gather a few NOS tubes into the fold yesterday. Should last me a long while.

[nav]

nav could you tell us a bit more about the LEA Classic soap?

Sorry, just saw your post...

The LEA Classic has shot up to being my 2nd favourite shaving soap, after MWF (or perhaps even equal MWF!! )

The scent is just awesome! It's sandalwood and moss, which means that it isn't totally woodsy and not too warm so I would say it is an all seasons soap, especially with a hint of menthol, it's refreshing enough for both winter and summer without being too overpowering.

The lather is generated with a heavy load and not adding too much water. This is in contrast to soaps like Haslinger, where I load for a short period of time and then add a ton of water to thin it out. The LEA requires a lot of soap in the brush and just a little bit of water to get it usable and too much water leads to a thin lather, even though it might look usable, it'll be too thin. I've got the process down and fine it an easier soap to use than most other soaps I've used!!

The glide and protection are just awesome and the scent isn't too strong but present for the full shave.
The post-shave is magnificient!...seriously wonderful stuff! It has basically all the skin conditioning goodies you could want and the best part is that it doesn't leave my face feeling or looking greasy at all, where soaps with different butters can lead to a greasy look/feel.

[Squire]

Thanks for the information.

[brothers]

nav, you're right about it being underrated. I was initially reluctant to give it a try because some early reviews were less than glowing. I think sometimes first impressions are somewhat inaccurate due to the absence of a moderate period of getting acquainted with the individual characteristics of a new soap. I've learned that whether my first impression is good or not so good, it generally changes after several uses. Having said all of that, I admit I haven't yet decided to try it myself. I've got to use up some of this stuff first.

[BPman]

The LEA Classic has shot up to being my 2nd favourite shaving soap, after MWF (or perhaps even equal MWF!! )...

The "new" Lea shave stick with tallow fits that description as well. Incredible glide.

[nav]

@ Gary - very true! The first couple of times I used LEA Classic, I thought I'd just wasted my money on 2 dud pucks but once I dialled it in, it became one of my favourites! It is rock solid and requires a very heavy load and it doesn't like too much water either. This is my favourite type of shaving soap as it leads to a perfect lather with very little effort!

I would highly recommend you give it a go. I can't believe just how good it is and I find myself reaching for it more and more, even though I might feel like a change, it's difficult just because of the results I get from the LEA...the close, protective shave with wonderful skin conditioning!

@ BPman - The LEA shaving stick is really good too but I don't find it nearly as good as the LEA Classic puck. I keep the stick for travel but I never reach for it at home.