Martin De Candre: Love/Hate... Anyone Else?

So after hearing many reports about how great Martin De Candre soaps are, I decided to give it a go when someone was selling samples over at B&B. I got the original scent, as well as the Fougére. I tried the original first, and didn't care much for the scent. Loved the scent of the Fougére, so after two shaves, went to that one, and have been shaving with nothing but for maybe a month now.

My experiences is similar to what others have reported. This little sample is lasting forever! On top of that, it seems to be the slickest soap I have used (beating creams as well), and offers more cushion to boot. I seem to never get razor burn with this stuff, even when I should be getting it (actually baring down on the blade a little on my rougher patches of whiskers).

But here is the rub. I never get as close as a shave with McD as I do when I am using my usuals: La Toja, TOBS, or T&H.

So I have a love/hate with this soap. The comfort it gives on my shave is second to none. Tops. The bees knees. I just dont get that close of a shave with it!

I even tried not using my usual Proraso White pre-shave. Same results whether I used it or not.

Anyone else have this experience with MdC, or are my whiskers that unique?

- Aldwyn

Has been my go to soap for a couple years , usually 60% of my shaves especially if I want a close 3 pass shave , not sure why it's giving you trouble , I pretty much get as close with any good soap though , but Mdc leaves my skin feeling fresh and smooth afterwards. Tc

I don't see any way any soap would give you a closer or not closer shave. I can shave with plain water and get the same old shave as with any soap or cream.

You must be doing something different as a consequence of a different feel you are getting.

Gentlemen,

I agree with my friend spendur. Soap, high quality or low, will not necessarily help give you a closer shave. Overall preparation, razor edge and razor skill have the most to do with it. I have used Martin de Candre, in the original scent, for a number of years, and I plan to keep the soap in the shave den into the next century.

OK, thanks for the input gents... as I suspected, it's just me!

All love, and only love from me:)
It is a superb soap in every aspect of the shaving experience!

I'm going to have to get some of this soap but dam it's expensive. Maybe I can convince my wife for her to get it for me for Christmas

Great thread on MDC.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...-all-gone.html

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Originally Posted by Surlyduck

I'm going to have to get some of this soap but dam it's expensive. Maybe I can convince my wife for her to get it for me for Christmas

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I keep bouncing back and forth between Mike's, MdC and Le Pere Lucien....seriously, I think MdC is a great value. The stuff lasts forever! The qualities are well documented.

I've never tried a soap before.

I always use creams. Nothing comes close to Xpec or Acqua Di Parma, from what I've tried.

I'm gonna try some MDC or is there a better soap out there??

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Originally Posted by JOB15

I've never tried a soap before.

I always use creams. Nothing comes close to Xpec or Acqua Di Parma, from what I've tried.

I'm gonna try some MDC or is there a better soap out there??

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MDC is always in my rotation of soaps. I would put Meißner Tremonia up there too.

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Originally Posted by Badgister

MDC is always in my rotation of soaps. I would put Meißner Tremonia up there too.

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Meißner Tremonia HIMALAYAN HEIGHTS , I like the name, I'll buy it:shrug:

Make sure you get the soap as opposed to the paste. Himalayan heights is a nice one, I also quite like Dark Limes, Indian Flavour and Black Beer #1.

Martin de Candre is a decent soap. You will get decent lather in a short time.

However, if you compare it to similar products (eg Savonnerie du bon Berger), you will find that is is extremely expensive. Also, its after shave skin care is mediocre at best.

What sets is apart is that it is both readily available and extremely expensive. The combination of which has given it a cult following.

Cult is never good.

If you want an outstanding lavender scent at a reasonable price for outstanding performance, get Tabula Rasa, or Meißner Tremonia. If you want an outstanding fougère scent at a reasonable price for outstanding performance, get Baume.be. If you want the same, or actually better, performance from a French soap, get Savonnerie du bon Berger.

After I got through my first jar I had no desire to buy another. The scent is fantastic but it was not that fond of the after shave feel compared to a ton of other options

MdC is really the only soap that I use anymore. Expensive? Maybe for some here but looking at some of the comments about the straight razors people own, the honing that they do and the strops that they buy, I doubt that it makes a difference.

It's expensive for a reason it's called capitalism and it works for them.

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Originally Posted by RobinK

Martin de Candre is a decent soap. You will get decent lather in a short time.

However, if you compare it to similar products (eg Savonnerie du bon Berger), you will find that is is extremely expensive. Also, its after shave skin care is mediocre at best.

What sets is apart is that it is both readily available and extremely expensive. The combination of which has given it a cult following.

Cult is never good.

If you want an outstanding lavender scent at a reasonable price for outstanding performance, get Tabula Rasa, or Meißner Tremonia. If you want an outstanding fougère scent at a reasonable price for outstanding performance, get Baume.be. If you want the same, or actually better, performance from a French soap, get Savonnerie du bon Berger.

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We've had this discussion before Robin, and you know I disagree somewhat with your opinion on MdC.
While it is true that in EUR per weight it is expensive, at the same time I find it is one of the most efficient soaps out there, you really need very little for a shave. Which increases the value for me and doesn't make it more expensive in use than most luxury creams. I do agree with you that the aftershave care is only median though.

I would rate Savonnerie du bon Berger almost as good as MdC technically, and yes, it costs roughly 61% of the price of Mdc (allowing for different weight in the tubs), but unfortunately I think their lavender scent sucks compared to MdC or Castle Forbes. And those ugly plastic tubs should go as well.

I can tell you that MdC doesn't do very well in my water & with the following it has I just didn't get it & figured that since folks spent so much on it...they had to force themselves to like it. I took it on vacation and it finally performed well with water in Florida and Louisiana. Will I get another tub of it? Nope.

To the OP: Try some bottled water for the shave or distilled water.

I'll pass. I'm not a fan of the scent or skin care qualities.

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Originally Posted by jmercer

Great thread on MDC.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...-all-gone.html

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Happy Birthday jmercer~:mexwave:

It better last for two years or better because 50 bucks will buy quite a bit of others. I'm going to make this a commercial for the brand I use but I don't use or even feel the need to use an aftershave and soap less than $15 for at least 5.5 ounces. I am probably the black sheep in the forums because I don't want to smell like perfume, I want to smell clean. I want a product that it's performance exceeds it's cost. I don't fall for marketing hype.
I'm not trying offend anyone because understand that most don't see things like I do.
It's your money and your life, spend both how you want.

I,m at 2 years and still going with my MDC , so I,m thinking it's probably as cheap as some of the 15 dollar stuff, but your right to each his own , I could spend a thousand dollars on a truck instead of 50 k or live in a tent , don't get me wrong I have some soaps I like that are very inexpensive I buy by performance , that is why I use MDC it performs and last a very long time. I never got more than 6 months on all my 20 dollar soaps , Tc

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

I,m at 2 years and still going with my MDC , so I,m thinking it's probably as cheap as some of the 15 dollar stuff, but your right to each his own , I could spend a thousand dollars on a truck instead of 50 k or live in a tent , don't get me wrong I have some soaps I like that are very inexpensive I buy by performance , that is why I use MDC it performs and last a very long time. I never got more than 6 months on all my 20 dollar soaps , Tc

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I only have one four oz. menthol and one four oz. non-menthol puck and get about a year out of both. I spent about $22 for both including shipping.

Now I'm curious, is that 2 years in a rotation or is that your only soap?

After having heard so much about this soap, I wanted to try it myself. So during a trip to France in 2013, I made it a point to stop by Planête Rasoir to get my own jar. I told the salesman that I hoped the soap was as good as people say. His replied (translated) was: "Martin de Candre is not good Sir, it is excellent." It was indeed excellent. I think the best experience with Martin de Candre is the first use for in my opinion, it's such a great experience.

Edit: Forgot to add that, in my opinion, Martin de Candre works better with a badger brush than with a boar brush.


A funny story about my trip to Planêtre Rasoir:

Instead of getting off the subway at Clichy station, I got off at Porte de Clichy station. I had to walk quite a bit to get to my destination. Inside, the salesman was looking after a client and there was another client looking at various products. That other client turned out to be Lynn Abrams :-)

It gets used 4-6 times a week , I,m a daily shaver, but I do try to use some of the other soaps I've bought over time, some have been sent to the shower to use and some have been sent to friends to try. But most of my shaves are with the MDC so 220-260 shaves a year , not to mention my wife uses it for her leg shaving also, it just keeps on going, very seldom make more than 8 swirls to load, that is why I feel it's a great bargain, another good one I use is castle Forbes ,, but I have to load it more. anyway even if it didn't last so long I would get it, makes my skin feel great post shave. Tc

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Originally Posted by tcrideshd

...very seldom make more than 8 swirls to load, that is why I feel it's a great bargain...

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I think this is the strong points of MDC. You just don't need a lot of the soap to build a good lather. I usually do 10 quick light swirls. I also think that letting the soap dry in between use will actually extend the life of the product, thereby making it not so expensive in the long run.

Personally, I recommend MDC not only because it's actually not expensive in the long run, but also because of the quality of the lather it produces and the wonderful lavender scent.

In my case I love it but not enough to justify the price. I get equally satisfying results with other artisan soaps from this side of the pond, soaps that cost much less.

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Originally Posted by Cobre

In my case I love it but not enough to justify the price. I get equally satisfying results with other artisan soaps from this side of the pond, soaps that cost much less.

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I have to admit that I probably would never bought MDC if I had to pay for shipping. I am lucky to have a brother that lives there. I got mine when I visited him.

OK -- Mine just came and I must say, I am intoxicated by the scent and the lore about it. I've been shaving in the evening, so I'm really not due to shave yet today, but I might have to give it a try anyway. I'm also intrigued by the fact that it came with a two-sided instruction card, the front of which, of course, had the same instructions that our forum-mate Tom (Sharptonn) had given me...badger brush, face lather, etc., as the preferred method.

I also find it interesting that the flip side of the card has "Care & Maintenance" tips for the soap, that say to let it dry out between uses. That is not something I usually do, but what the heck, they know best, I expect.

Gee, the pressure is awful! I used to just shave, nowI have to care for my razors, my brushes, and my soap! :rofl2

I finally ordered this soap this past Friday with the wife's blessing of course (I ordered her something nice first). Very excited for it to come in and try it! I've never tried a sample, I figure if I hate it it would sell in a heartbeat for full price.

I am still waiting for mine to come from France. Not that big of a deal though, since I still have about half of my sample left... the stuff just wont go away! :D

Have to admit, having tried dozens and dozens of soaps, MDC, especially the Fougere IMO, is leagues above the rest, it is the Summit!;)

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Originally Posted by Phrank

Have to admit, having tried dozens and dozens of soaps, MDC, especially the Fougere IMO, is leagues above the rest, it is the Summit!;)

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i haven't tried more than a dozen or so, but I used the MDC Fougere yesterday and it was amazingly good. I got mine online from California in about a week.

I brought a lot of soaps to a friend's house last winter and we made several lathers. This was the natural follow-up to my converting him to a safety razor. I left him with a brush, a bowl, and few pucks and samples and eventually he bought a few soaps for himself. One of them was a MDC. Because he had already tried mine out he was OK with paying that much for it. He remains very happy with it and now his wife has him make MDC lather for her will not use anything else on her legs.

MDC is a soap to savor. If it's expensive for you buy it and use it once a week and it will last for a year or more. So, use for use its a cheap soap.