I used the Wilkinson Sword stick yesterday. Wow! Excellent lather. Really protective and slick. I tried the Palmolive stick earlier this week. It was fine but easily trumped by the Wilkinson. And I used Pitralon Classic aftershave. So that's a shave right up your alley according to your profile signature!
Stirling, please! Well, hold on - there's nothing wrong with the Arko, Wilkinson, or Palmolive sticks either and I'll always keep Tabac in my rotation as well. Another fabulous line of tallow-based artisan soaps is OSP from the UK.
For performance, glide, slickness, post shave, scent, ease of lather, and skin feel, my favorite is Mickey Lee Soapworks. Truly the best shaves I have had, next to Mitchell's Wool fat. Soap was top notch, as was the matching aftershave splash. Hit it out of the park, in every aspect in my humble opinion, but as mentioned, everyone will find their own favorites by trial and error. New in my den is L&L Grooming's Tallow soaps, and matching aftershaves, another one I would highly recommend to anyone to try for themselves really.
In my den, Stirling takes up the most space. I highly recommend you try one of the mutton fat soaps. B&M and Mickey Lee are two others that I love, in terms of artisan soaps. Tabac and Arko have a pretty permanent spot on the shelf too.
From their website http://ospsoap.com/: "Dear customers, It is with a heavy heart that, due to personal circumstances, I have taken the decision to close OSP for the foreseeable future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your custom and friendship over the previous 2 years. It has been a blast. Hopefully, this will not be the end of OSP. All the best. James." Bummer. I was going to buy one of their soaps to see what it is like. My favorite shaving soap, Sego Lily, was discontinued. They only make bath soaps now. Aw well, I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Haslinger Schafmilch, Jeeves, Chiseled Face, Stirling, vintage Williams. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yup, all true. Very subjective. As a matter of fact, your own preferences can change significantly within months. Lots of shaving forums and YouTube videos out there which offer recommendations from their experiences with an increasing number of shaving gear options. Discovering new shaving habits, techniques, and products is a big part of the enjoyment. Case in point, I've been a wet shaver for a handful of years, but until Spring of this year I had only used DE razors (EJ 89 & Merkur Futur) and only used vegan-based creams (TOBS & Trumper). I had just one brush (a Parker badger) that was not just soft, but too soft, and very floppy. Then, 4-5 months ago, I decided to splurge and bought a SE Mongoose II SS, which I really love, and tried using tallow-based soaps (First, DR Harris and then Stirling). Now, I really have no desire to ever go back to vegan-based creams (or creams in general) because I love the slickness, protection, and performance I've been getting from these tallow-based soaps. I also bought an Omega Pro 48 boar, which was 1/6th the cost of my Parker badger, but does a far better job of whipping up lather and scrubbing my face for maximum effectiveness. Also bought a large Captain's Choice shaving bowl to enhance lather-building and finally ditched my conventional soup mug that I had been using for a few years. All of these variables have really changed my shaving routine significantly than it was just 4-5 months ago and I'm sure it will change again as I experiment with other products. So, yes, to reiterate, shaving is not only very subjective from user to user, but your own preferences can change drastically in just a short period of time.
Don't trust that! It smells like Flowers! Lilac on steroids....I'm not saying your gonna like it....But it does smell like powdery flowers..When first splashed! It's so inexpensive...try it yourself....It's worth it just to see what aftershave, Napoleon, John Wayne and Wyatt Earp had in common!
Stirling, Barrister and Mann, Tabac. I will point out that there are some incredible soaps that are not tallow based. You shouldn't limit yourself to just tallow.