I've heard that about their creams and colognes but I've gotten "knuckleheaded" about Penhaligon products since using their soap. I understand it's my loss but they will be getting their business from someone other than me.
I want to like Penhaligon's colognes, but for me and on my skin, they don't last any longer than the scent of a shaving soap or cream. For my money, that makes them a poor value as a cologne.
I use a sandalwood body spray as a base before I apply cologne. It acts as a barrier between the cologne and my skin, and lets the fragrance smell the way the creator intended it to (most men's colognes use sandalwood as a basenote). Resisting the urge to rub your wrists together is another helpful tip, as it prevents skin oils from layering on top of the fragrance. Finally, just because you can't smell it does not mean other people can't. With all of the above being true, I also have had a few fragrances that just refuse to linger, namely Trumper's Limes AS. But this is common with citrus based fragrances. Ditto for the men's line of Rance 1795 - Triomphe, Le Vainqueur, and my favorite, Francois Charles.
I let my Arko sit out for 8 months now after I mashed it into a a container. It is much mellower than before but still has the same scent. It is not bad, I just prefer my other soaps scents. It still gives one heck of a good shave at a price point that is almost untouchable.
It's just a poor quality soap (IMO) at a top dollar price. I felt robbed. I'm not usually not like this but for some reason this hit me the wrong way.
That's good to know as I was rather on the fence about trying it. I'll put some others above it on my list.
If you enjoy Arko ? Then expensive shave soap is not worth it. (they will only let you down) Arko is one of my favorites and it compares very well to some of the most expensive soaps available. IMHO the only soaps that compare to Arko are Palmolive and Cella. Arko is top notch, if the smell doesn't bother you. If the smell bothers you, smash it into a mug and let it air out. Arko is one of the best soaps available , IMHO.
Expensive may not always mean better but when it comes to Martin de Candre it certainly does mean better IMHO.
I've tried a few semi expensive shave soaps however the $2 VDH deluxe gives all of them a run for their money. VDH is a flawless performer
I'm fairly new to de shaving and also to using shave soaps vs the canned stuff. I have yet to try any top of the line soaps but enjoy the banter on this thread about such as I decide which high performing soap I'm gonna try. I am currently using a glycerin facial soap purchased at a discount store with some bentonite clay, fragrance oil and additional glycerin. I melted the soap added the above ingredients and poured it into my soap bowl. I have tried an artisan Shea butter soap, Mamma bears Drakar type,VDH, and Williams mug soap. This homemade soap beats them all hands down. The Williams works fine but I'm not a fan of the citronella scent. The Shea butter soap made my skin feel awesome but didn't lather well and didn't have enough slip. The VDH was my least favorite. The Mamma Bear is pretty good but again not as much slickness as I like. Thanks to all that have contributed to this discussion.
Remember, as has been said often in this thread, high performance does not have to come at a high cost. Just because you pay top dollar does not mean it is going to be a top performer.
What I'm after is a soap with the general census as being an outstanding performer to compare my homemade concoctions with. I have a moderately bad case of the DIY bug.
Gotcha. I'm a big fan of TSD soaps - great lather, great scent, great shave. The most expensive soap I have (via a gift card) is from the Art of Shaving. This stuff is superb, in my opinion. But, again, in my opinion, over priced.
from roaming online and reading many forums...it seems that MWF, MdC, Mikes, and DR harris Arlington are 4 fantastic soaps that most people would love to own/use/have....after reading all those favorable reviews, those were the first 4 soaps i bought....and they are tough to beat.
I am all about samples. The reason being that because I have so many soaps that it would take forever for me to ever use them all up. I could literally not run out of any of the soap samples I have if I use a different one each for the next year. The only exception is the creams, those guys will definitely be used up after a few uses.
I have been using Proaso creams and they are great....but I have just received my order from TSD....the wheat shave cream is awesome!! I will be trying out the soap puck tomorrow.
