lavender soaps

JRTASTER · Post by **JRTASTER** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:35 pm

i put this in the fragrance forum because the answers will refer to fragrance preferences. i have recently fallen in love, again, with lavender. currently using C&E lavender edt spray. from gordon i tracked down some atkinson's and ordered some from cambridge chemists. t&h lavender shave cream rouns out the shave/after shave process. now looking for your suggestions as to great lavender bath soaps. queen charlotte, caswell massey...who offers the best lavender bath soaps in terms of quality, enduring fragrance, quality/longevity of soap bar itself. and whatever else you think defines your lavender soap recommendatons.
thanks in advance!! jr/john
p.s. would like soaps readily available here in the u.s.a., either at retail or via reliable on-line sources.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 11:47 pm

JR, I went ahead and moved this because, although fragrance is a factor in the question, the post is basically about bath soap.

Well, there are a number of very nice ones. Unfortunately for me, all the best ones are now palm oil based which tend not to agree with my skin. But, this is not necessarily an issue for most other members. I think that the old style tallow based versions were better period, but these are still high quality soaps. Here are a few that for scent and overall quality I think are especially good:
The real English made Yardley Lavender soap
Floris & D R Harris's...both very expensive but very nice
C&E Lavender soap...still an excellent classic fragrance and good quality
Claus Porto Lavender
Santa Maria Novella....also very pricey

There are others, of course, but these are/were some of my favourites.
Regards,
Gordon

jww · Post by **jww** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 6:56 am

+1

As always, Gordon has the goods .... but I am not sure how large his supply is though...

Post by **Sam** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:04 am

jww wrote:+1

As always, Gordon has the goods .... but I am not sure how large his supply is though...

Yeah, I keep wanting to hear of his yard sale and since my Dad is in Largo (across the Bay from Tampa) send him over there with his camera phone and send pics and I can text him back what to buy.

gsgo · Post by **gsgo** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:09 am

+ Gordon on this one especially on the Claus Porto and Yardley. My wife will use either but always comes to prefer Claus Porto whose large bath bar seems to last forever.

SRD · Post by **SRD** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:53 am

Another endorsement for Gordon's recommendation on the English made Yardley. I posted a link a few days ago for the CVS drugstore on line for this soap. Was about 9$ for 3 bars which is the best price I have seen.

KAV · Post by **KAV** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:30 am

www.bullgooseshaving.com Phil offers pre de Provence lavender in a huge 250G bar. It includes bits of petal for a mechanical scrub. PDP contains shea butter. You may find it takes more effort to wash off and the bar is a real danger if dropped near toes.
Phil also offers Atkinsons in a lavender at 125 G with lanolin and triple milled.
Both soaps are $7

JRTASTER · Post by **JRTASTER** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 11:31 am

thanks, gordon, and others. caswell-massey carries the claus porto soaps BUT NOT the lavender flavor. what's up with this??
also, the description of the claus porto soaps sold on amazon says they contain (or based on ) shea butter. is this correct??
english yardley at cvs?? got to look this up!!
yes, i think i once purchased and liked the c&e lavender soaps; they used to, and may still have, a c&e store in short hills mall- about 45 minutes to an hour door to door from my home.
still curious about the queen charlotte lavender soaps, tho; anyone have any experience with qc lavender??
thanks again to all! jr/john

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:06 pm

Yes, C-M chooses not to stock the Claus Porto Lavender, never has ever since they started carrying the Claus Porto soaps. And yes, there did used to be a C&E shop in the Short Hills Mall although I can not say if it is still there. With Claus Porto we are talking about the big standard cakes; which are now palm oil based but used to be tallow. I do not think that their 'regular' soaps contain any significent amount of shea butter ( personally, I hope not ).
Regards,
Gordon

joe mcclaine · Post by **joe mcclaine** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 4:56 am

bernards66 wrote:...Floris & D R Harris's...both very expensive but very nice...

Is that the new Highgrove range from Floris?

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:40 pm

Vinny, No, I was referring to Floris's 'regular' and long standing Lavender Soap ( if a soap so expensive should ever be called 'regular' ). The Highgrove range is not new, it's been around for years although perhaps it has been altered or rearranged recently. I would have no way to know because, to my knowledge, it is only available at the Floris shop in Jermyn Street and at the gift shop at Highgrove itself. There used to be lavender and also lime scented products in the range as these scents were said to be favourites of The Prince of Wales. Have you tried any of the Highgrove stuff?
Regards,
Gordon

JRTASTER · Post by **JRTASTER** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:37 pm

just received th claus porto from cambridge. the bar is huge but the dr. says he can correct the double hernia incurred on lifting it.
lathers nicely but the lavender scent is vague.
next up, english yardley, again from cambridge.
haven't been able to confirm the yardley from cvs is truly the actual british version, cause if it is GRAB A FEW DOZEN at that price.
would like to try the puig lavender soaps if anyone can encourage me!
fortunately my wife doesn't particularly care for lavender so the claus porto remains will probably be buried with mine.
john

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:20 pm

John, That Yardley at CVS online almost has to be the real stuff. It's obviously not the US version, which they are also selling on the same page, and the photo of the packaging is definately accurate for the English made soap. They used to be a very similiarly packaged and compounded version made in Canada but I don't think that's available anymore.
Regards,
Gordon

m3m0ryleak · Post by **m3m0ryleak** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:47 pm

I'm currently using an 4 oz bar of Lavender bath soap from Queen Charlotte Soaps. Very nice scent and lather, rinses clean, and contains tallow to boot.
What's not to like ?. I'd say it's a close second to Pre de Provence and much better than Lavanda Coldinava from Niki Chini.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:18 am

Tony, I didn't think that Queen Charlotte did any tallow based bath soaps. I PM'd the owner when he first joined the forum and he said that, no, he only used tallow for shave soaps as he thought that most customers wanted plant oil bath soaps. Is the lavender soap you're using a brand new thing with them?
Regards,
Gordon

fisherc · Post by **fisherc** » Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:16 pm

One of my favorites is the Coldinava Lavanda Sapone made in Italy (By Nicky Chini - maker of Cella shave soap/cream). PM me if you want to know how to get it. It's pretty difficult to get ahold of these days.

Chris

m3m0ryleak · Post by **m3m0ryleak** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:38 am

bernards66 wrote:Tony, I didn't think that Queen Charlotte did any tallow based bath soaps. I PM'd the owner when he first joined the forum and he said that, no, he only used tallow for shave soaps as he thought that most customers wanted plant oil bath soaps. Is the lavender soap you're using a brand new thing with them?
Regards,
Gordon

Gordon,it and several other tallow formulation/scents are now available, My order was posted 3/2. I also got the sandalwood in tallow as well, but not tried it as yet. He also has vegan and vegan/shea butter formulations in bath soaps.

http://www.queencharlottesoaps.com/inde ... Path=11_12

joe mcclaine · Post by **joe mcclaine** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:51 am

bernards66 wrote:Have you tried any of the Highgrove stuff?
Regards,
Gordon

Not yet, but I'm sure I'll get round to it. Can be ordered on-line now.

Bought some family members some Floris soaps this year. Edwardian Bouquet (Mum) and Limes (kid Brother).

Both were very, very pleased.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 9:20 pm

Vinny, It's online?! Wow, fancy that. I'll have to mosey over and have a look. I'll REALLY be surprised if the line is available in the US. Thanks for letting me know.
Regards,
Gordon

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 9:21 pm

Tony, So it is. I wonder if the feedback from this forum in particular changed his mind regarding the saleability of a tallow bath soap. Thanks for the link.
Regards,
Gordon