I have always been a fan of French shaving soaps, in my experience nothing offered by the famous 3T's comes close to matching the high end French soaps. I think that the British firms make fine shaving soaps, but the majority of the French products I have tried have that little something extra that puts them ahead of the pack. Pre de Provence is one of the more widely available French shaving soaps and one of the most popular, and for good reason; it really is a great performer. EASE OF LATHERING: The ease and speed with which fantastic lather is produced is a feature of French shaving soaps in general. When I first started out shaving I was beset by lathering problems that were caused by hard water, of all the products that I tried my precious French soaps were the ones that were least affected, including the PdP. A few swirls on top of the puck and the lather explodes. Then you are able to generate a thick, well hydrated lather on your face or in a bowl without any trouble at all. LIFE SPAN OF LATHER. Pre de provence soap produces a very long lasting lather. After you load your brush from the puck and start building the lather, there is little need to add extra water or mess around with soap/ water ratios. The lather holds a good deal of water without breaking down, it is stable and consequently long lasting. MOISTURISING. The added shea butter in this soap gives the lather wonderful moisturising properties. It makes for a very comfortable shave, and unlike some of the heavier, more moisturising creams it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily. LUBRICATION AND PROTECTION. When it comes to providing a slick shaving surface, I find that the French soaps are in a league of their own. They create a rich, slippery lather that cuts very closely without sacrificing protection. There is a perfect balance between glide and cushioning in all of the French soaps I have tried. So how does Pre de provence compare to the rest? I find this soap to offer a little less lubrication and a bit more protection than most. While the accents might be a little different in this soap it still strikes up a good balance between these two key factors. It provides plenty of glide, but the extra thickness of the lather means that a comfortable shave is almost guaranteed. SCENT. Whilst the scent is unlikely to win any awards, I really don't think it is liable to offend anyone either. It has a light piney scent that won't interfere with your cologne. Men may not go to war over such a modest scent but it is pleasant enough in it's own right. PRICE. I paid $10.95 for this soap. Given the overall quality, I think that this represents very good value for money. If you've yet to try a French shave soap, this represents a good introduction at a reasonable price. WOULD YOU BUY AGAIN. I'm already on my second puck of this soap. It is one of the products that will always have a place in my roation. SUMMARY. I like this soap a lot. It is widely availalbe, reasonably priced, easy to use and overall it is a fantastic product. In terms of performance it provides a close and very comfortable shave and afterwards the skin is left feeling soft and supple. I find that the other French soaps in my collection may outperform it in certain areas, for example L'Occitane and Martin de Candre smell much nicer and Roger & Gallet is definitely more lubricating, but what Pre de Provence does, it does very well indeed. If you're looking to try something different, and you've yet to try this soap, then I would urge you to get some, chances are you won't be disappointed.
It's a decent soap, but I've used better. I'll stick with my Floris, Trumper's and Taylor's soaps. St. Croix
PDP I used this for a few months, and while I found it to be an excellent shave soap with decent moisturizing properties (due to the contained shea butter), I just couldn't get over the scent.....its rather potent, and just not very pleasant to my nose.
Excellent thick lather, very easy to whip up on the face (my preferred method). Took a few good helpings of water before the lather exploded into rich lubricious goodness. I initially found the sage-based scent strong and frankly off-putting when taking a large sniff up close. My S.O. re-aligned my thinking by suggesting it smelled more like a fresh laundry detergent- with which now I agree. The scent, however, dissipates to nothing upon lather. You can either take this as a good or bad thing. Overall an excellent French triple-milled soap with a cute aluminum travel tin.
non, merci!! Non, merci means no, thanks in French. This soap is definitely not for me at all. The scent was impossible for me to cope with, and I found it very irritating to my sensitive skin. I found it even a bit expensive for what I got. The lather, however, is good. Jeff
Hmmmm, I like this soap a lot, to me it has a fresh Rosemary / Sagey smell, provides great lather and a nice shave with my straight razors. It will remain in my rotation....and at $10 for a 5+ ounce puck it's a great value. YMMV
If I had to choose one soap. This would be it. I love the fresh scent and the overall shave is incredible. The puck will last forever and ever and ever. I used it for a month straight without barely putting a dent in it. The only thing I would knock is the packaging. The tin is nice for travel but believe it deserves a nice wooden bowl.
It's a very nice soap Too me, everything is really exceptional about this soap, except for the scent. Your nose has to be right on the soap or lather to really smell anything. The smell is acceptable, but not exceptional. The lubrication, lather, protection, moisturizing properties, are all excellent; however, I wish they would have put more into the scent. All in all, it is still a nice soap to have in your rotation. When the soap is gone, I will probably get another one.
For me, one of the best I just returned home from an eight day trip where I used Edwin Jagger sandalwood soap. I found it very drying on my skin. I usually have no trouble with irritation, shave bumps, or ingrown hairs. I had all three when I used this soap for the time I was gone. As soon as I returned home I started using Pre de Provence soap and within two days my skin felt soft, smooth and totally non irritated. Also the shave I get with Pre de Provence is extremely close. Many have commented on the scent, which is highly subjective. For me it is quite subtle and I find it pleasant, if not exactly exciting. It is, along with l'Occitane and Tabac, one of my three favorites.
Great soap! This is one of my favorites. Sometimes I find it hard to rotate to something else and I'll shave with it for three or four shaves in a row. I have very hard water and it takes more water and a little more time to get it going past what I call the slurry stage. Once over that hump (15-20 seconds) it produces tons of thick, slick lather. I find it protective but not too heavy, very slick and a little more moisturizing than some. I have fairly sensitive skin but have no problems with it at all, but some have reported here that they have had problems in this department. Everyone's face is different, so you just don't know 'till you jump in. But my experience has been wonderful all around. You do have to get over the slurry stage hump or it can be a little too thin and less slick, but once your over, your good! (keep in mind I have very hard water when considering this last remark.) I love the scent of this soap. It just seems right to me. Simple and clean and quite fresh. ****I would like to add that I've tried their shave cream and dislike it immensely! It won't lather and stay lathered for lovin' or money, and the smell is nothing like the soap at all. I find the shave cream to smell strangely like your hands do after filling up your gas tank - and that smell stays with you too. The shave soap is a different world altogether!*****
Ease of Lather I find it very easy to lather. Though I could see it presenting a slight challenge to some as it definitely takes less water than most soaps. Life Span of Lather It doesn't start to show any signs of deteriorating in the time it takes me to shave. Skin Care The only thing I've found I can legitamately compare to MWF. I'd still give MWF the top spot by a hair, but PDP belongs in the same catagory. Leaves my skin clean, soft, smooth, and bulletproof (one item in that list is a slight exageration). Lubrication A slick as anything else I've used - quite impressive. Protection This is the one mild weak point and a common one among French soaps IMHO. It's certainly good enough, but doesn't have that little extra you want when using an aggressive setup or trying something new. Scent My wife says it just smells "soapy", but I find it much more refined. I pick 4 distinct notes out: lavendar, another sweeter floral, lemon, and sage. Overall very nice, but not quite a favorite. Moderate strength of the fragerance is the perfect strength to me. Price Considering the size of the puck and the handy tin I think it is well priced, even better than most comparable soaps. You can find a couple better bargains so not quite a 10. Would I buy it again? It definitely has a place in the rotation for now. It's not a certainty I'll buy it again, but I'd consider it more likely than not.
Just used pdp this morning in the shower to shave my head. Great soap and nice lather. A decent scent too. What I like best was the easy thick lather that had nice slick properties. It's one of the better soaps. I like cade and martin de candre too ....looks like French veggie soaps are nice.
