Thread: Provence Sante: an Old Friend

Gentlemen,

One of the greatest joys of traditional shaving is the time spent lathering.

And make mine hot water, please.

I know some gentlemen prefer to shave with cold water, and that's fine, to each his own, but I dislike cold water shaving. In Vietnam, where shaving with cold water out of the steel helmet was often the norm, I promised myself that if I ever got out alive, I would never, EVER, shave with cold water — and I have kept to my promise. So yes, hot water and plenty of it.

A good shave, in addition to a well honed straight razor, or a quality double edge razor with the preferred blade, requires a good brush, good soap or cream and proper technique. Through the years, I have tried scores of soaps and creams; liked some, disliked some, kept some and forgotten some. For instance, Martin de Candre soap and Castle Forbes cream, among a few others, will always remain staples in my humble shave den.

So will Provence Sante, a delightful French soap that comes in two fragrances: Verlaine and Tea. I prefer the Verlaine. That Verlaine is also named after the French poet Paul Verlaine, I'm sure, has something to do with my preference.

Provence Sante is a modestly priced vegetable based shave soap with glycerin, shae butter, luzenac talcum (to reduce irritation), plus essential oils of linden and Vervain. The clean and soapy fragrance harkens to a garden of soft and sweet flowers in Provence. I love the fragrance.

Best of all, Provence Sante lathers well, and has a comfortable cushion and a silky glide. If you're looking for a good soap that is reasonably priced, I believe around $10, give Provence Sante a try. It might find a permanent spot in your shave den, too. Good stuff.

This was the recommendation that convinced me the honorable Obie talks to the Almighty on the topic. It remains my daily driver and the suds I use to test/compare edges. Using a recommendation from Utopian - leaving the soap in/on the brush between shaves, my last puck ran 15 mo. It makes the $10 seem quite reasonable.

Cushion & glide - facial protection & lubricity - whatever your words are for the attributes, PS has remained the standard against which other suds are measured. It leaves my skin much more moist than my other soaps or creams. Being of the hard, triple-milled variety, it takes a bit more time/effort to build lather than other choices, but it rewards the effort well.

I tend not to care about scent unless the lovely bride has some major objection. She offered to buy the soap of my choice if I'd throw one particular soap in the trash. That was a missed opportunity to try Martin de Candre.

Those considering a new soap might find Provence Sante a satisfying option.

Their aftershave cream is a nice product too.

Well off shopping I go. At this rate I will never use up all this soap an cream. Might as well give in an try them all.

Thanks Obie for posting. I almost forgot I had some. Haven't used it in a while so I'll have to break it out tomorrow morning. Pinklather turned me on to it. I have the green tea but didn't know there was a Verlaine scent. Where did you find it?

Chris,
The Verlaine scent is sweet and flowery, although not overwhelming so, but rather soft and soapy pleasant. I really like this soap, and it is reasonably priced.

It is on the way...

Originally Posted by Obie

Chris,
The Verlaine scent is sweet and flowery, although not overwhelming so, but rather soft and soapy pleasant. I really like this soap, and it is reasonably priced.

Thanks Obie,

I'll have to look for some and give it a try. I pulled out the green tea this morning and rather enjoyed it. It lathered up better than I remembered and I liked the subtle green tea scent. It definitely has a nice cushion and glide to it and it washes off well without any residue.

Just ordered the Verlaine from Amazon. $10 and free shipping. Hopefully swmbo will not notice it amongst all the other soaps I have. LOL!!

It came in today. Smells nice. Can't wait to give it a try.