Hi, at very first I bought several luxurious goods, but I don't want to follow this path and buy products like D. R. Harris etc only occasionally. Any tips for good soaps matching with certain collogne/aftershave? I like menthol, pine, cool, aquatic stuff. My favourite perfume is Aqua di Gio if that may be of help too. Thanks! Note, certain US products might not be available in EU.
Stirling Soaps are very good quality, good price point for what they offer and have a good selection. Some of EU members should be able to confirm if they have gotten that product before with any issue. More will pop up with suggestions to your question.
Hi, yes, Stirling soap is available and the price is fine, I ment soaps like Truefit and Hill in wooden bowls and such I'd buy only once in 2/3 months, not regularly, but this Stirling brand I think that I could create nice rotation out of their offering.
You may want to give the Razorock Blue and gold hard pucks or sticks a try. They also have a matching aftershave splash Im currently using the blue soap puck with a blue aftershave like Epsilon, Aqua Velva. For cologne, I pair it with Azzaro chrome legend or Eternity Aqua. Just noticed at the end of your post about being available in the EU. Not sure if Razorock soaps are available there? Even though this soap is made in Italy for Razorock.
Hi, could You recommend any other Razorock? Blue is available only soap and gold not at all, but there is more of their soaps, aftershaves, but I don't know any of their products, which are good/bad, never used any before. Thank you very much in advance
I’m haven’t used much of the Razorock soaps to be honest. I like the Razorock hard pucks as they perform well for the $$ and being triple milled soap. They last a good amount of time. I bought the 4 pucks when they were on sale. So I recommended the blue since you said you like aquatic type scents and think you may like the gold as it’s kind kind of that Aqua Di Geo family. The green is a fougere. So it’s like a fresh forest in the spring time. The black is more of a Brut cologne scent. Of the 4. I like the blue & Green best. But have no issues with the Gold or black. If you do a search for Razorock. You should be able to find a thread called Razorocks. It’s a good read about Razorock products that members here have used.
If it's true budget soaps you're looking for, the top three are Van Der Hagen, Williams (although I understand it's recently been discontinued), and Colonel Conk. Vintage Williams is much better than the latter-day formulation, in my experience, but you'll have to go to the auction sites and pay more these days. So Van Der Hagen and Colonel Conk are the only ones I know of that are still in production and won't break your bank. For independent-artisan soaps, I prefer Stirling and Chicago Grooming Co. (formerly Oleo Soapworks, Oleo & Co.). There's also Dr. Jon's, formerly of Ohio but now located in New York State. Mass-produced fare such as Tabac and Mitchell's Woll fat are about average price range, and you get the option of getting them in collectible jars that if properly cared for will last you a lifetime and beyond—something in which to keep your refill pucks.
How budget are we talking? If you really mean budget, then Arko and Col. Conk both work perfectly well. Col. Conk reformulated last year and is a significant improvement. If you mean affordable artisan level, then Stirling is often recommend...and justly so. You'll never go wrong with Stirling. That said, I think Mike's Naturals deserves just as much attention in the budget space as Stirling. Some scents are less than $15 and, while only 4 ounces compared to Stirling's 5.8, Mike's is a much harder soap that lasts, at least, as long as a tub of Stirling. Very luxurious lather, too. I love duck fat formulations. I think Mike's can go toe to toe with the $25 dollar soaps. Hell, any soap at all, for that matter.
I can't believe I forgot Shannon's Soaps! She has three tiers and they're all excellent. Her most affordable is $9.99 and is absolutely great. Has tallow as the first ingredient. -------Revised answers------- Stirling Mike's Naturals Shannons
Also check out CBL soaps. They have a wide variety of soaps and also matching splash / skin foods. The whole line is good.
A kilo of Cella is an economical favorite, a kilo lasts me about two years at about $37.oo has an almond scent. or Vito's at the same price, I think Vitos has a green kilo, I've never tried it tho. Also I like an Arko stick pressed into a shave bowl.
Mitche's Woolfat pucks are ~$6 for me out of the UK/Ireland. The Cella 1Kg block is spendy upfront but, lasts a VERY long time! The Prorasso options are priced pretty well in the EU as well. You don't have to buy Haslinger or DR Harris soaps to get a great lather for your shaves.
For a budget shave I like Arko, it gives a great lather and a nice glide to the shave. I like the scent, but I know that is subjective and some folks are not a fan.
another soap I've been suprisingly using regularly is Dove Mens+Care 3 in 1 (with the the razor on the package). Easy to get a fantastic lather, I like it shaved and pressd in a bowl
I don’t know what’s available to you, but my favorite reasonably priced soaps are Ogallala, Col. Conk, and Em’s Shave Place.
It's a bar soap usually in a 4-6 package of soaps but it's formulated not only as a bath and hand soap but as a shave soap also. I guess that's why its calld 3 in 1, Pesonally I like the Orange bar that I shave on a grater and pres into a bowl, it makes a fantastic lather
Picked up some at Walmart in a different scent to try out. A little spendy for soap but, not for a shave soap so, if it works well it might give Arko and Cella a run for a few dollars of mine.