A very generous member saw a post that I made about a failed attempt to get my friends to bring me some Martin de Candre home from Paris and kindly sent me a sample. For those who have never used it, it is what I would call a croap or a very pliable soap. I took the sample and pressed it onto the bottom of my scuttle. I then used two different badger brushes & have gotten four shaves from the sample. I still have enough left for a shave or two. This soap lasted a few shaves longer than I anticipated. It lathers extremely easily. I load the brush and lather it all in my scuttle with little effort. The lather is more creamy than foamy. I'm not sure what scent it is. It is very subtle and may be unscented & I'm just smelling the soap. The lather does not clog up the razor at all even though it is relatively rich. It is not the slickest lather in the world & it leaves no residue on my face after the shave. Overall, this is an excellent shave soap. Is it legendary? I don't know as there are many excellent artisan soaps and many that I have yet to try. It is however what I would consider a very good to excellent soap. Nice to be able to get a few shaves in using it during the Decadent December 30 day focus. It is expensive, but would probably last you a very long time and could easily be my "go to" soap. Thank you @Norcalnewb for the sample.
Thanks for the honest review. I didn't expect it to be a soft soap for some reason since everyone says that it lasts forever. For anyone else looking for MdC samples including the new scents, this site is selling them.
My friend brought me home a jar from Paris recently. It DEFINATELY is not a soft soap. In the jar it is as hard as a rock. That might be why the longevity is forever on a jar of the stuff. While I love several different shave soaps and realize I probably paid way to much for soap...MDC has a special place in my heart. It just....well.......It just works and smells great.
Many would say it is legendary for its high price, but if you consider how long it lasts it is very inexpensive on a per shave basis. I do, however, find it leaves my skin feeling dry post shave. Great lather though...easy to whip up a face full with just a few strokes of a brush.
I can echo both of your thoughts. I enjoy many different soaps but MdC is the standard I measure others against. If forced to pick one soap, it would be MdC.
I've had a couple of MDC special editions over the years and I wouldn't describe either as pliable or a croap. It's a good soap and I can see why it's as popular as it is, but I find post shave for ME is lacking and that's why it's not a permanent fixture, just too many that pip it to the post.
MdC original Lavender and Fougere scents will be in my den as long as I shave or they make it. Great stuff and the 200g jar does last a very, very long time.
I've went trough a couple of jars of MDC and it's a soft soap (one bought in Paris and one on line). The sample I tested at printemps in Paris was hard, but the seller said it was that way because it spent a lot of time open and had dried. Enviado de meu XT1225 usando Tapatalk