Yesterday I received seven new soaps (left to right & top to bottom): 250 ml Sapone da Barba Vegetale alla Mandorla by La Saponieria Artigiana (almond scent) 150 ml Figaro shaving cream (strong almond scent!) 150 ml Tcheon Fung Sing Italia Fern shaving soap (fresh scent) 150 ml Barbieri di Figaro Classico shaving soap (fresh, old fashioned scent) 100 gr Tcheon Fung Sing barbe rosse shaving soap (almond scent) 60 gr Haslinger Schafmilch shaving soap (with sheep milk & linseed oil; light soapy scent) 100 gr Raso Zero shaving soap (nice eucalyptus/gum tree scent) All soaps (except the Haslinger Schafmilch from Austria - not Australia ) are made in Italy and are very soft soaps / croaps. Like cold butter or putty. All soaps (except the Haslinger Schafmilch and the Saponeria Artigiana) are made by Tcheon Fung Sing (TFS). TFS is an Italian (!) soap company that statred after World War II in Turin. Mr. Tcheon lived in Italy since before the war and had married an Italian lady. After the war he started his company which still is a family enterprise, now led by his daughter and granddaughter. TFS produces some Razorock soaps as well. The Haslinger Schafsmilch gets great reviews (very slick, lotsa lather) and it is made with sheep milk so curiosity got the best of me and I just have to try it! @Robyflexx suggested that I put them through the unsurpassed randomizer and this came out: 5. Tcheon Fung Sing barbe rosse shaving soap 4. Barbieri di Figaro Classico shaving soap 6. Haslinger Schafmilch shaving soap 3. Tcheon Fung Sing Italia Fern shaving soap 2. Figaro shaving cream 1. Sapone da Barba Vegetale alla Mandorla by La Saponieria Artigiana 7. Raso Zero shaving soap Weapons of choice for these seven days: Vintage DVH boar brush Gillette Slim (birth quarter) @9 Schick platinum blade DVH alum (not in pic) Today was day #1: Tcheon Fung Sing barbe rosse shaving soap The soap: It is softer to the touch than Cella, but with a stronger almond scent. Perhaps because the Cella tub is about a year old and may have lost some scent. Lathering: The brush loads quickly and forms lather as quickly as Cella. Shave: The lather is nice and slick like Cella, but differs to Cella in that after the pass the slickness is gone. Cella leaves some slickness after the pass. After the shave: Mild alum sting, scent dissipates fairly quickly. Overall verdict: This is a great soap and it is really comparable to Cella. Scent, quality, price all are about the same. Unless you pick the 1,000 ml block of Cella of course. Oh, and the shave result: wonderful DFS.
Oh, almost forgot. Ingredients list of the TFS barbe rosse shaving soap: Stearic acid Aqua Cocos nucefera Potassium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide Parfum I'll add the ingredients lists of the other soaps when I review them.
Great review! Looks like like a Veg soap, whereas Cella has tallow. Perhaps this is why the lack of slickness between passes??
Mike, Well done ! I have one soap from TFS Figaro Monsieur Gold Shaving Soap. It's an Oud scent wonderful soap!
Great to hear you like the TFS Figaro! I've got the almond scent in the list. But, ah, what does 'Oud' mean? In Dutch it means 'old', but I don't think you meant that. .
The musky, expensive scent is popping up all over the place (for a price). It’s strong, it’s musky and almost animalistic in its sensuality. Some people love it while others find it offensive and gross. We’re not talking about durian, the beloved but smelly southeast Asian fruit but oud – one of the most expensive raw scent ingredients in the world. Known as oud (or oudh), it comes from the wood of the Southeast Asian agar (aquilaria) tree. When the wood becomes infected with a particular type of mold, the tree reacts by producing a dark, scented resin, which is often called “liquid gold.” “Oud” is used to refer to both the resin-saturated wood (the agarwood) as well as the oil distilled from it. One reason oud is so expensive is its rarity; by some estimates, fewer than 2% of wild agar trees produce it. Experts claim that the very best oud comes from the oldest trees, which are even more scarce.
I really like TFS. I wonder how many and which RazoRock soaps they make? I can see the comparison in my Oud and RR soaps/croaps. Good stuff. Great price.
Scents likes and dislikes beyond the many obvious can vary person to person. I'm floored when I hear some people don't like real citrus smells like a mandarin. Smells likes and dislikes can vary by culture. (Curry being one of those polarizing smells)
PM me your address and I'll send you samples of each soap when I'm through with the test round! ( and I'll have to find me some small containers to put it in!)
You're tooooo kind, Mike and I appreciate the geniuine offer. But I have several TFS soaps and way too many soaps in general. Enjoy the big haul!!
Day #2 of the seven day exploration: Barbieri di Figaro Classico shaving soap (also made by Tcheon Fung Sing) The soap: It is about as soft as Cella, with a light and fresh classic barbershop scent (in my view ) . Ingredients: Stearic acid Aqua Cocos nucifera oil Potasium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide Parfum (fragrances) Corylus avellana nut oil Alpha isomethyl ione Benzyl benzoate Butylphenyl methylpropional Coumarin Eugenol Hexyl Cinnamal Idroxycitronellal Limonene Linalool Quite a list. I haven't the foggiest idea what most of the ingredients are, but at least it seems a veg soap. Lathering: The brush loads quickly and forms lather as quickly as Cella. Shave: Again the lather is nice and slick like Cella and the cushioning is allright, but differs to Cella in that after the pass the slickness is gone. Cella leaves some slickness after the pass. After the shave: A little bit more alum sting than the TFS soap (but perhaps the lather or the shave itself was a bit off), scent dissipates fairly quickly. Overall verdict: This is a nice enough soap of good quality which lathers easily, but since it is more than double the price of the TFS or Cella I don't think I'll renew the tub once it is empty. Shave result: DFS+.
The butylphenal one is a chemical compound used for flowery scents. Can be an irritant And stearic acid can either be animal or veg derived, so it's hard to say whether it's vegetal unless they specify. Good to hear your shave reports!
Thanks for the explanation! That is exactly why I added the full ingredient list. So all can check for items their skin doesn't agree with! The tub doesn't specify if the soap is vegetal, so to play it safe, let's assume it's not.
