Reviews of 85+ Soaps

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

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  1. SharptoothC

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

    PM me some deets and I'll send one your way. They are only 2oz pucks in a snuff tin, so it won't be a huge addition.

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
     
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  2. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    There doesn't seem to be a mention of Arko here, either good or bad.. I wonder why? :)
     
  3. Giova1949

    Giova1949 New Member

    I went to the Welcome Center, but I did not understand how. I clicked on "mail new thread", I entered my data but then told me that I can not open a new thread.
     
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  4. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I was going for only the "best regarded" soaps (no disrespect to the Samurai), but may add Arko, Williams, Cremo, and some other readily available less expensive soaps at the end. We'll see.
     
  5. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Today was a side by side shave with Eufros and Van Yulay. One soap definitely outshined the other in terms of lather, slickness and cushion.

    The Eufros whipped up easily into a nice thick lather, which provided great slickness and cushion and a good overall performance along the level of my soaps I grade an A. I would compare this soap in performance to Declaration Grooming (although I haven't shaved with them side by side, and reserve the right to "tweak" my opinion when I do). Either way, this soap gives great performance. As for the scent, Dama De Noche, it didn't really do anything for me at all, leaving this soap lacking in "comeback sauce" for me, so despite being an outstanding performer, it ultimately won't end up in the den.

    Van Yulay, on the other hand, while being a good soap, was, to me, not on the level of the Eufros. I botched the first lather enough the first time to have to scrap it and start over. The second try produced a good lather but took a bit more work than usual, and provided cushion and slickness that was good, but not great. Maybe it got handicapped a bit by being compared to the Eufros, but despite being better than average as a whole, nothing about it compelled me to go out and buy more. It is possible that a particular scent may compel me, but at 42 soaps reviewed, so far, I have more than enough soap that I love to add it to the den at this point.
     
  6. Shadow Shaver

    Shadow Shaver Well-Known Member

    Amazing thread! I have thoroughly enjoyed your insight. Got me to order some grooming department yesterday and I plan on getting the wholly kaw sample set next month. I look forward to more of your reviews
     
  7. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Thanks @Shadow Shaver! And welcome to TSD!
     
  8. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Today another new soap was up for evaluation... Mickey Lee. The only sample I have is The Kraken, but this scent did not disappoint. It smells a bit like fresh laundered clothes in a fresh sea breeze. Really nice. I shaved side by side with Wholly Kaw, which really wasn't a fair fight, but still enjoyed the experience and got a nice shave out of it. Overall, the soap created a really nice lather, but lacked a bit of slickness when compared to my best soaps. Protection was good, and the scent really provided some bonus points. Overall, I'd place this one as a solid B. There are better soaps out there, but I can see why this one has a solid following.
     
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  9. Fly2High

    Fly2High Breaking Frugal

    I have MLS - Reunion and it is a great scent as well. Boy you must be tough. I thought it was a very good soap. I know, I read what you said about ratings and all but wow, I will have to revisit your tops now and see.
     
  10. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Today I shaved with Soap Smooth (vegan formula). I liked this soap but didn't love it. Maybe I'm just not a vegan guy. The soap required very little water in order to lather. In fact, adding even the smallest amount of water made the soap foam up quite a bit, so you have to be careful not to load up too much water on this one. To me, performance was slightly better than average; good but not stellar. The scent of Reiz was great lavendar, rosemary, and mint. I’m sure the tallow would rate better for me, but the vegan is a B- for me.
     
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2018
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  11. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I’d agree it’s a really good soap, Frank. I’m just reserving A’s for a select few that really stand out to me.
     
  12. wristwatchb

    wristwatchb wristwatch "danger" b

    Please pretty please...
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  13. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Well, I guess that would work if you wanted swarf to hone your blade while shaving....

    I'd suggest Dove.
     
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  14. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Two new soaps to review today, shaving side by side:

    Wheat State - Not knowing much about this artisan I didn't expect much. The name is lackluster, the barbershop scent was mild. Upon lathering up, however, this soap produced really nice slickness and good cushion. Not one of my top soaps, but definitely better than average and worthy of consideration. Since I only have tried the barbershop scent, some additional nice scents might bump this one up the list a bit for me.
    Ginger's Garden - This soap didn't have the cushion or the slickness provided by the Wheat State. The scents I've tried are pleasant, but relatively mild. I'd heard about Ginger's Garden from others, but was surprised to find it only average in performance. Maybe I didn't dial in the lather just right or something, but nothing about this soap compels me to go out and try again.

    Also, in my overall rankings I realized that I was getting a lot of "B's" in my list of "not in the den soaps" building up. Then I realized I'd neglected to put in a B+ category. I've adjusted the master list accordingly. I may also refine and tweak it as I go back and shave head to head with some of those soaps again.
     
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  15. rawfox1

    rawfox1 Well-Known Member

    Would love to see an updated list of your top 10 to 20 soaps

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
     
  16. SHAVEWIZARD420

    SHAVEWIZARD420 Well-Known Member


    I agree about the Wheat State Soaps. They don't get much mention on the forums but the lather is quite impressive. I have a sample of the Electric Lemon and the scent is nice and strong with a light menthol kick.
     
  17. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I keep the second post in the thread (on page 1) updated every time I review a soap, so you can always see the updated results there.
     
  18. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Don't get me wrong. Cremo is a good cream. In fact, the reason Target and WalMart carry it is for the same reason every grocery store in America carries Bud Light. It is inexpensive and gets the job done, and therefore appeals to a large audience. If you are looking for no muss, no fuss, experience with really solid shaving results, Cremo delivers. In fact, it is one of the slicker soaps/creams out there, and produces as good, if not better results than many a fancy pants soap. As such, if you are a lover of Cremo, I salute you. I, however, grade it a C. Not because it doesn't get the job done (since it does), but just because I don't find the shave particularly enjoyable. First of all, Cremo is made to be applied as is, and I think most people who "can't lather it" are mistakenly adding water like it's a regular soap or cream. It will lather up just fine with almost zero water, and adding water will break it down quickly. When done right,is it the richest creamiest lather you've ever experienced? No, but again, it gets the job done. Slickness is great, cushion is OK, scents are mild and lackluster to me. The bud light of shaving soaps/creams.
     
  19. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    After staring at a stick of Arko in my den for over a year, I decided to give in to the imploring of the "Arkoholics" and try it out. I gotta say, I was surprised. Overall if there was an award for the most functional shave for the least amount of money, Arko would easily perform a "mike drop" at the awards ceremony. For as cheap as this stuff is, I didn't expect it to perform as well as it does. Is it up there with Wholly Kaw, B&M and others of my favorites? No, but I could easily end up with BBS to DFS+ shaves for the rest of my life using Arko. In fact I think three sticks would probably last me the rest of my life. Where I downgrade Arko is on scent and something I'll call "luxury feel". The scent, to me, isn't as bad as the "urinal cake" comparisons of Arko haters, but it just doesn't do it for me. It smells more like what a room smells like after the cleaning lady is done with it. It doesn't smell bad, but if your wife went to a spa that had replaced the fancy aromatherapy candles with that smell, you'd hear her complain about it for a year. Overall, if you want the best bang for your buck, this is it. If you want a spa-like shave with a great scent and luxury feel it's not. I'm putting it at a B-/C+ right next to Tabac with good performance but a less than exciting scent (YMMV).
     
  20. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    I remember using that-worked great, but no scent.
     
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