Quote Originally Posted by Jantjeuh View Post
Slightly off-topic: Bart, how's the shaving stick?
Thanks, again Jan, for the nice gesture of donating me a stick of Tabac shaving soap.
Whenever someones starts a thread about "the best shaving soap" here on SRP, Tabac is always top rated. So, without being much of a connoisseur in shaving soaps & creams, I was very keen on trying it. So far I have used Plisson Shaving Soap, and have been quite happy with it. I also have some Italian "Cella" Crema Sapone, which looks and smells like marzipan. And I have used Crabtree & Evelyn a few times (Lime, if think it was).
One difference with these soaps that I imediately noticed, was its lathering power. I'm a "face latherer", meaning that I don't build the lather in a separate mug first, but that I swirl the brush on top of the soap and then transfer it to my face, where I build the lather with massaging motions of the brush, adding drops of hot water to the brush as required for the structure of the lather.
The coat of lather I got with the Tabac, formed quickly and easily, and was more than twice as thick as I'm used to with my other soaps. The slickness was superior, and the lather stayed very well on the blade prior to rinsing it off. The whiskers were plenty softened, allowing for a smooth blade action. I'd say the onset of the cutting stroke was a bit easier on the more demanding parts of the face, especcialy the corner of the chin.
I 'm not very fond of the shaving stick concept, but that's easily remedified by grating the saop into a dedicated mug.
I find the scent of this soap neither appealing nor appalling. Lacking an inspiring scent is the only real shortcoming, but that of course is a strictly personal observation. Technically it is clearly the best soap I have used so far.

Thanks again,

Bart.