My favourite soaps are by three UK artisans: Wickham, Nanny's Silly Soap and Phoenix and Beau. With more mainstream stuff I would go with Prorasso Green (slick, wakes you up of a morning) and Tscheon Fung Sing. The latter is an Italian firm (founded by a Chinese immigrant) which makes superb ( and cheap) shaving soap. They make a lot of Italian Barber's soaps. Their bitter almond is a great mainstay. I want to try Stirlings soap but it's expensive with post and duty to the UK. I got some PAA CAD soap which is my only US soap at the moment. It smells great but it doesn't lather as well as some.
I've got a puck or two lying around somewhere. To be honest I find it very ordinary. I get a thicker, slicker lather with better cushion from my artisan soaps and even from Arko. I'll admit that Williams smells better than Arko. --Bob
Every time I shave is with a frankensoap pressed into my Marvey Rubber Mug. My frankensoap consists of: Palmolive Stick Speick Stick Arko Stick Tweex Stick VDH MWF Williams Klar Kabinett When I am wanting a luxurious scented shave, I go to my Tabac puck.
Soaps; and I assume we are not including cremes or many croaps should be approached in groups. If you are in the unfortunate minority allergic to lanolin it makes little sense to keep trying tallow soaps until you figure this out. You will want to start with MWF; not because it is an old classic with known characteristics, but it's MILD scent with two near universal ingredients ( linool and limonool) eliminate a second, more frequent culprit ESSENTIAL OILS. To many folks have found themselves burned in pocket and face for love or intrique of bourbon and havana at the beach with salt air secondary notes. Mine was Nag Champa , jumping into the shower half dressed and unable to shave for a week. The second major group is Palm Oil. My introductory suggestion is Pre de Provence which is one of the easiest soaps to lather. Both soaps happily retail @ $13 a puck with a little shopping. There are all manner of additional lubricants'; olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter, bentonite clay, grapeseed oil etc. Each of these may have impacts positive or negative. I have heard negative issues with the first two, Shea butter mechanically may ask for vigorous rinsing and bentonite may be drying. If 'artisan' soaps have a major fault it is the frequent discontinued product or major reformulation. But SURPRISE! a classic like I Coloniali can do a similar waltz out the door. IF you do find a favorite, buy a reserve; not to much, just a few year's worth and keep new bars in rotation and be ready to stock up should they do waltz.
Arko is slicker, but I find it dries out too quick. Mixing it (and Williams) with the Cremo keeps it moist a little longer.
if this thread still exists in a few months, I'll be better able to reply with mine, as I don't have much of a list for now.
Stirling, B&M, Blackship Grooming, Jabonman, Caties, Labelle, Mikes Natural, Mystic Waters all great performers. I find the scents on Blackship, Labelle, mystic, mikes, Stirling and Caties to be the most broadly appealing (Blackship and Mystic for me are slightly more sophisticated scents). B&M and Eufros are a step above, but have more polarising scents. Eufros Gea is one of my favourites (jpg Le male to my nose).
I love Valobra. It also comes in a non scented version, if you prefer; the soap quality is outstanding, lots of glide. However, the best soap I have ever used, I haven't got any in at the moment, that far exceeds anything else I've tried in terms of slickness and quality is the old Palmolive shaving stick. They are so cheap and such a great soap.
