Reviews of 85+ Soaps

Discussion in 'Shave Soaps' started by BaylorGator, Sep 2, 2017.

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  1. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Today, for the 37th soap of the reviews: Pre De Provence #63. I bought it some time ago based on the reviews of some other forum members, and I've only used it a few times previously, but enjoyed it. The scent is along the lines of a french perfume, but in a nice, non feminine way, if that makes any sense at all. Anyway, despite the inept description, I like the scent. It's a triple milled soap so it will last forever. However, lathering up this morning, the lather was a bit on the airy side and didn't provide the slickness I'm used to. Adding water helped, but the lather didn't end up providing a think, creamy, slick lather which I've become accustomed to with my better soaps. Since I'm breaking in a new boar brush, and I don't lather triple milled soaps very often, I'm inclined to give the soap the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe this morning's result is caused by unfamiliar brush and lathering technique. I'd hate the soap to be a not so good performer, as I do like the unique scent of this one. Maybe tomorrow we'll use a couple of badger brushes in a shave off between PdP and SV. Tomorrow it's on like donkey kong. (Which according to the phrase is, apparently, also "on".) Whatever that means.
     
  2. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Well Donkey Kong was really not as "on" as expected today. The shave-off did result in a BBS minus result on both sides of my face, so it's hard to complain. However, the lather of these two soaps is very different than my top tear soaps. I just can't get as rich and thick a lather as I would like out of them. Maybe I've been spoiled by Grooming Department and Wholly Kaw. Maybe these hard soaps just provide a different type of lather with less slickness and cushion than I'm used to. Maybe my water has too much calcium in it (something I've wondered, and am installing a water filter on my bathroom sink to see if it helps). I'm gonna have to table these two and come back to them. I will say, that between the two, the SV provided a thicker, slicker lather, but neither blew me away compared to many of my other soaps. Not what I was expecting.
     
  3. Fly2High

    Fly2High Breaking Frugal

    Randy,
    sounds to me you need to load more soap. For me those are excellent soaps but do require some serious work to get a good paste to form on the brush when loading.

    I would go back to them on a day when you are feeling strong and pissed off and take it out on the soaps!!!

    Love the reviews by the way. Keep them coming.

    Frank
     
  4. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Thanks Frank. I'm not giving up on them yet. They are too well regarded, and my only triple milled soaps, so I'm completely open to the fact that the problem may be my learning curve with lathering them properly. By the way, I bowl lather all my soaps. Is this a disadvantage for hard soaps like this?
     
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  5. Fly2High

    Fly2High Breaking Frugal

    I do too. I love bowl lathering because it allows me to really dial it in and see the progression of adding water. For me, I wet my brush and the lightly squeeze between a quarter and half dollar amount into the bowl. I shake out the brush leaving it damp and then go back to the bowl to reabsorb the measured amount. I am frugal, still to some degree. Plus, I like consistency and the scientist in me is never dead. Now, I go back to the puck and work it till I get a good thin paste consistency. I do not want it too thick of a paste consistency because it will not incorporate water as quickly. Controlling the amount of water also controls the amount that is released by the puck or at least it is to me. Now I start working up a lather. If it works well, then I am done. If not, I can still add water. Often enough, I need more water. But at least I start with a known quantity and work until the cushion and glide is reached. I dip a finger in now and again and feel it between the fingers to get an idea where it is up to.

    With my experiences with a different pass around box, those thirsty soaps nearly ruined the experience. not all soaps are as thirsty or incorporate water as easily. Some would not dissolve on the brush and I would over water. Working like this, I was able to dial in nicely. Too often, what I found to be a poor soap was me just needing more soap and then it improved quite a bit.

    Keep the reviews coming. Very well done and thorough.
     
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  6. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Yesterday I got an advance sample of the new tallow soap (Version 2) from Grooming Department being released today. Full disclosure - this was a free sample that Mohammad asked me to evaluate since I'd reviewed some of his soaps on this and a couple other threads, and he wanted my opinion and feedback on his new formula. Having said that, I have no ties or interest in his business other than I really am impressed by his soap and his desire to keep pushing the limits, despite having come up with what, to me, already seems to be a soap that runs way out ahead of the pack.

    As I anticipated it is really good stuff. I've stated before that I think Grooming Department and Wholly Kaw are two soaps that are just on a level all by themselves, and I don't feel like it's even close. (Note: Panna Crema Nuavia may be up there too, but my experience with it is limited, and I haven't been able to shave with it side by side for comparison). Anyway, I have now tried the Vegan, Duck Fat, Tallow and Duck, and now the Tallow version of GD soaps and on first impression I think I can say this Tallow is my favorite formula of the bunch. There are minor differences between each formula, but I'd really call them nuances more than real significant "differences", as they all perform very similarly. (Being a tallow fan, I've been very surprised to find that even GD vegan soap outperforms most every other tallow soap on the market for me.) This new tallow formula, on first impression though, appears to up the slickness a bit. I'll have to shave with it a few more times and compare it to the WK regular and donkey milk versions to really see if my first impressions of each hold true. I really don't want to sound too solicitous, especially after receiving a free sample, but I feel like sometimes I get a bit picky here with some very good soaps, and I'm happy to not have to be picky at all and recognize these as really great soaps. If you haven't already picked up some Grooming Department or Wholly Kaw soaps yet, do yourself a favor and get some. The only downside is that you may not love some of your favorites quite as much anymore.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2017
  7. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Yesterday Cold River Soap Works - Glide Olfactory Hue came in, so I decided to lather it up side by side against one of my favorite soaps - Grooming Department. First the negative - the smell is not my favorite. It has a bit of a musty funk to it - so much so that I paired it up with GD Credence - which has the same issue. According to Mohammad at GD, it was resultant from a reaction from one of the ingredients that only some folks can smell - I’m one of the lucky ones. Anyway, after several months it has largely dissipated from Credence, so if it is a similar issue I’m hoping this will happen with the CRSW as well.
    On to the shave - after two swirls I got a big surprise... most of the puck was displaced and globbed on my brush. This is not a soap, it’s a cream. Some people said it was soft like a “croap”. Not even close - it’s a cream pure and simple.
    Anyway, after wiping as much extra product off of the brush and back into the container I proceeded to add enough water to dissapate it into enough lather to shave Santa, all his reindeer, and a herd of passing water buffalo. So far, not the best start...
    Anyway, having used at least 10 times the amount of product necessary, I will say it produced a VERY slick, protective shave, and performed outstandingly. Given all of the unexpected learning I experienced on this shave, I’d like to try a do-over before casting any votes on this one. In the meantime, maybe I’ll leave the lid off and see if the funk will dissapate and maybe the product will cure a bit more as well.
     
  8. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I haven’t given up yet. Just waiting for box #4 and doing some “shave offs” in the meantime to sort out the summary board a bit.
     
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  9. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    This morning I pulled out the Pre De Provence 63 for further evaluation. (Not my favorite soap, but different and enjoyable nonetheless.) Lathered it up and was disappointed with the lack of slickness and smooth cutting of whiskers on the first pass. Tossed the old blade and put a new Voshkod in the Fatboy and added a tad of water to the lather. Much better. Still lacking a little slickness, but not bad. After 3 passes BBS- was the result, so it’s a little hard to whine about the soap. Seems like the water has to be dialed in just right, and a bit of irritation/dryness resulted. Maybe my reviews of 40+ soaps is making me very picky about my soaps (which sounds better if I label it “discerning” and use my best “pass the grey poupon” accent). Maybe I just need to work with triple milled soaps more. I dunno. Just not feeling the love on this one today. Having said that, I am clean, smooth, and smelling nice, so it’s hard not to call it a “win”. Anybody else have PdP thoughts here?
     
  10. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Today, a bit of an abstract soap that I received as a PIF - Jabones by Luna. I happen to have the Coco scent of this soap made by an artisan in Spain. To my knowledge this soap only available in the US by e-mailing the maker directly. The soap provides good slickness and adequate protection, but the lather is a bit thin and lacking for me. Having said that, it certainly provides good results and I happen to LOVE the unique scent that smells to me like toasted coconut and buttercream (YMMV). Although this one is a keeper for me personally because of the scent, it’s difficult to obtain and I’d rank it square in the middle of most artisan soaps on performance, so it’s probably not worth the trouble of seeking it out. However if find it listed on a BST and a the scent intrigues you, I wouldn’t be scared of giving it a whirl.
     
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  11. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    After a few weeks' break, I'm starting up some more soap reviews. Today Black Ship Grooming Company was up. This is one of my least complete reviews because so far, I have typically been able to pick from several scents and then try the scent of that brand that I like best. This one (along with my next few soaps) came from a friend and I don't have the advantage of trying several scents. Today's selection was Fougere. Nice, but relatively bland scent - typically I find this to be the case with Fougere. Better than average slickness and protection, and a good overall shave. This ranks, for me, just above the middle of the bell curve for me. Better than average, but still very similar to a lot of good artisan soaps. Might they have a scent that blows me away enough to bump it up to a keeper? Maybe, but Fougere wasn't a standout (either good or bad). If you find a scent you like, this soap is definitely den-worthy, but it's not such a standout that I'd buy it on performance alone.
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2018
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  12. Giova1949

    Giova1949 New Member

    A few days ago I had the opportunity to try Wild West Shaving Co. Well, I must say I was very satisfied, even amazed considering the cost of these soaps. Excellent ease of assembly, protection, smoothness of the blade and post. Also the fragrance. For the moment my favorite is Stirling / Backer Street, but I place this W.W.S.C. just a bit under the Stirling. Is it among the soaps that you still have to try? Thank you. Giovanni
     
  13. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I’ve heard good things about Wild West, but unfortunately it’s not among those left to try.
     
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  14. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    @Giova1949 Glad you joined us here at TSD. Take a moment and make your introduction in The Welcome Center? Lots of folks will be pleased to see a new member!
     
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  15. MR41

    MR41 Well-Known Member

    I am looking forward to all of your reviews!
     
  16. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Thanks, @MR41!

    By the way, I'm now at 40 soaps and just updated the summary on page 1 for anyone who may be interested. Probably another 10 or so reviews to go if I can last that long.
     
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  17. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    Thanks, @Giova1949 , they may well hear from me.
     
  18. SharptoothC

    SharptoothC I bite..........

    If you are keen to try one, I can make it happen. I have four. Given my current soap backlog, I'm not gonna make it through them all any time soon. Let me know and I'll get one in the mail to you. They actually are pretty good soaps.

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
     
  19. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I’m always game to tr a new soap, Chris, although this is not helping my goal to reduce my over abundance of soaps. Maybe just send small samples of a couple in Saran Wrap in an envelope and I could add WWSW to the review list?
     
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  20. Yehuda D

    Yehuda D Israeli Ambassador to TSD

    Welcome Giovanni!
     

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