Seven Wonders, October 2015

Gentlemen,

It has been a while since I updated my Seven Wonders of shaving soaps and creams. Keeping in mind my sensitive skin, to be part of the Seven Wonders, my soaps and creams must meet the following criteria: rich lather, ample moisture, protective cushion, smooth glide and pleasing fragrance. Also, they must pamper the skin during and after the shave. My choices meet that criteria, and are listed in no particular order:

1. Martin de Candre soap
2. Castle Forbes cream
3. Xpec cream
4. Esbjerg cream
5. Saponificio Varesino soap
6. Mitchell's Wool Fat soap
7. Baum.Be cream

Some may be considered pricey, but to me, they are worth it. I would rather spend my money on a small selection of the good stuff rather than a pile of the mediocre. Quality over quantity. My Seven Wonders reflect my taste and preference for soaps and creams. You may have your own Seven Wonders that will differ from mine. That is fine by me, for who am I to criticize another shaver's choices and preference in soaps and creams?

What better start to the day than a good shave?

Thanks Obie - there are probably thousands of variations from this list - I would like to suggest that Katie's Bubbles would figure into my top 3 - I only have 5 of your 7 but all good choices!!

Terrific list, Obie. Thanks. I have one, only I think it changes weekly.

Great list Obie - I'm paring my soaps down to a simple rotation.

Didn't I see St. James of London on your list earlier?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phrank

Great list Obie - I'm paring my soaps down to a simple rotation.

Didn't I see St. James of London on your list earlier?

---

Yes, I wrote the St. James by mistake. I had Baum.Be in mind, but since I had ordered some St. James early this morning, that delightful cream was still dancing in my head. I am quite fond of St. James, but Baum.Be has to be in my Seven Wonders, because it is an exceptionally quality product — in every way.

I'll go along with the first three. For the others there are just too many great products out there. I could never settle on the rest of the list to ever pick a best of.

Is the Xpec the old or new formula? What is everyone's take on the new version of Xpec 8 -9 months down the road?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Is the Xpec the old or new formula? What is everyone's take on the new version of Xpec 8 -9 months down the road?

---

I still have some of the old. This is the new. I have found minimal difference between the new and the old. It's still a great cream.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obie

Yes, I wrote the St. James by mistake. I had Baum.Be in mind, but since I had ordered some St. James early this morning, that delightful cream was still dancing in my head. I am quite fond of St. James, but Baum.Be has to be in my Seven Wonders, because it is an exceptionally quality product — in every way.

---

Hilarious - I saw your list - promptly ordered some St.James of London and the Esbjerg Verbena (I've wanted to try both for awhile), read the additions in the thread and thought, "Oh no, Obie doesn't like that one!" Then saw the Baum.be, which I went and picked up locally the other day, very nice soap, definitely a keeper.

Well, we'll both get to try the St. James then, I ordered the Mandarin & Patchouli, what did you decide on?

Super nice list and I,m proud to say I have 5 of these in my rotation and agree with you on all accounts, quality before quantity is gospel for my tastes. I will be trying the Esbjerg cream now. The Saponifico Varisino, has been in my list for 6 months now. Although I think you may have listed them in order ! Thanks Obie. Tc

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phrank

Hilarious - I saw your list - promptly ordered some St.James of London (I've wanted to try it for awhile), read the additions in the thread and thought, "Oh no, Obie doesn't like that one!" Then saw the Baum.be, which I went and picked up locally the other day, very nice soap, definitely a keeper.

Well, we'll both get to try the St. James then, I ordered the Mandarin & Patchouli, what did you decide on?

---

Frank,

You will not go wrong with St. James of London. Actually, I have used it for a number of years; I had just run out and had to order some more. It's a superb shave cream. If I had Eight Wonders, it would include it.

The list I made works quite well for me, especially with my sensitive skin. Mitchell's Wool Fat, for instance, which has fans and also detractors, loves my Hollywood face. I suppose I could have let D.R. Harris Arlington take its spot, but Mitchell's treats my skin well. That's why I often include it in the Seven Wonders list.

Two other products, one soap and the other cream, that work well for me, under the circumstances, are Lea, from Spain, and Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street shave cream. Both are easy on my Hollywood face, and I have them in rotation permanently.

Back to St. James, I love that cream, and I'm sure you will, too. Good stuff.

Yeah, I was wondering your thoughts on Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street. It was the soap (or cream) that made me realize I'll be wet shaving for the rest of my life. Then I found a bunch more, but that was the clincher for me.

Great list Obie.
Like your good self I have sensitive skin and our Hollywood faces needed to be pampered with the best! I haven't tried numbers 5 &7 but will keep them in mind.

Thank you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HopChugger

Yeah, I was wondering your thoughts on Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street. It was the soap (or cream) that made me realize I'll be wet shaving for the rest of my life. Then I found a bunch more, but that was the clincher for me.

---

Hop,
I'm quite fond of Jermyn Street. It lathers well, has plenty of moisture, with good cushion and glide, and it's easy on the skin. I love the fragrance. too. Actually, these Taylor of Old Bond Street creams are underrated. I think they are fine creams, and worth the low price.

Obie,

Your last Seven Wonders list is what convinced me to try MDC and XPEC, thank you for that. Your new list is great, although I have yet to use Esbjerg cream. MWF, while fantastic in most regards, has a scent that leaves me flat.

I had the opportunity to try Baum.Be for the first time recently and definitely am a fan of it. I already have more soap than I can use in a couple hundred years but I'm going to buy that one anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obie

Hop,
I'm quite fond of Jermyn Street. It lathers well, has plenty of moisture, with good cushion and glide, and it's easy on the skin. I love the fragrance. too. Actually, these Taylor of Old Bond Street creams are underrated. I think they are fine creams, and worth the low price.

---

Well, like St. James of London, Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving creams can be summed up in one word: Creightons. I'm not sure about underrated, though, as the brand is quite popular and generally well regarded. As it should be.

And Baume.be shaving cream, well, very much top-tier. I love everything about it and would warmly recommend it; definitely one of my favourites.

Now that we're at it, Obie, I hope you don't mind me chiming in with my own list, in no particular order:

1. Castle Forbes "Lavender": easy, rich, skin-friendly, wonderful single-note scent. The only way to improve on it would be to put it in a tasteful glass container.
2. Baume.be shaving cream: same as Castle Forbes in terms of ease, lather and skin-friendliness and also a truly wonderful scent. Slightly less efficient, but that is nit picking and pretty much a moot point when bearing in mind its quality.
3. Green Mountain Soaps "Lime & Vetiver": works miracles on my skin, with this I do not need an aftershave balm, ever. The distinct, subtle scent is very much to my liking, too.
4. Meißner Tremonia "Dark Limes" (both soap and cream, as they are effectively the same thing): also works miracles on my skin, with a lovely rich and moisturising lather. Its scent is a definite winner in my book. The colouring is a fun curiosity (it looks slick), but nothing more than that.
5. Esbjerg "Sensitive" shaving soap: not the richest lather nor the easiest to lather, but highly functional and truly great on the skin (second to none, really) with a lovely crisp citrus scent. I do not use it nearly often enough.

An honourable mention goes out to St. James of London "Cedarwood & Clarysage": its scent is so-so, but performance, ease of use and skin friendliness is solid. The main reason for including it here is the price-performance aspect: it is a solid performer and was laughably cheap, I think I paid £4 for 150 ml at the time (which, sadly, it is a thing of the past).

I will probably have to give Saponificio Varesino a try, see if lives up to the praise it gets. The same goes for some of the smaller batch French soaps I have read much about recently.

Before I make the coming statements about baum.be and Esbjerg, keep in mind that I have been using MdC for a month+ now. So some of my judgements may be based on comparison with that soap.

I bought some baum.be cream not long ago to try. Performance wise, it was pretty top notch. Insane amounts of lather. Nice and slick. But I found the smell to be a little weird. I couldn't get past it. Maybe its the carrots they put into the formula.

When I bought he baum.be, SRD also sent me a sample of Esbjerg cream and AS gel. I tried it a couple of days ago. Made loads of lather from just the little sample. Pretty good performance... not my top 5, but pretty good stuff.

The Esbjerg AS gel, BTW... that was some good stuff, and the wife absolutely loved the scent.

My heart is gladdened to see so many positive posts about Baume.Be. Baume.Be is my favorite cream, yet seems to go unnoticed by the vast majority of posters here; I always worry production will be discontinued due to lack of sales, as have many products I have become enamored with through the years. Hopefully these praises by outstanding SRP members will increase sales. (I am in no way associated with the makers of this product.)

Pithor, you mention its lack of efficiency. Rub a pea-sized amount on your face and face lather, you will be amazed at the amount of lather produced. For reasons I cannot explain, bowl lathering seems to require a larger amount.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CZMark

My heart is gladdened to see so many positive posts about Baume.Be. Baume.Be is my favorite cream, yet seems to go unnoticed by the vast majority of posters here; I always worry production will be discontinued due to lack of sales, as have many products I have become enamored with through the years. Hopefully these praises by outstanding SRP members will increase sales. (I am in no way associated with the makers of this product.)

Pithor, you mention its lack of efficiency. Rub a pea-sized amount on your face and face lather, you will be amazed at the amount of lather produced. For reasons I cannot explain, bowl lathering seems to require a larger amount.

---

I used it this morning and was once again impressed by how thick a creamy a lather it produces. The one thing it lacks is a significant scent, I put it this way because it is not unpleasant in any way, just lacking in character and something that would increase its popularity. Compared to it, even MWF has more going for it with its scent, something I didn't fully appreciate when I first started using it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hart

I used it this morning and was once again impressed by how thick a creamy a lather it produces. The one thing it lacks is a significant scent, I put it this way because it is not unpleasant in any way, just lacking in character and something that would increase its popularity. Compared to it, even MWF has more going for it with its scent, something I didn't fully appreciate when I first started using it.

---

Interesting and agree - while it is a stellar performer - first thing it reminded me of was The Body Shop Shaving Cream, which is superb stuff at a third of the price.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Is the Xpec the old or new formula? What is everyone's take on the new version of Xpec 8 -9 months down the road?

---

I (finally) finished a tub of Xpec three months or so ago and replaced it with the new formula. IMHO it does not have quite the same slickness of the old formula. Don't get me wrong, it's still a top tier soap and I'll probably replace it if I ever finish this tub; it just lost a few points on my scorepad.


rs,
Tack

In my opinion Barrister and Man deserves attention as a top performer.

For me in no particular order the list goes like this (for now):

MDC
Saponificio Varesino
Barrister and Man
MWF
CF
IColoniali
XPEC

My current seven wonders are:

1. Acqua Di Parma
2. La Savonnière du Moulin
3. Cold River Soap Works
4. Saponificio Varesino
5. Meißner Tremonia
6. Antica Barbieria Colla or Boellis Panama
7. Martin De Candre or Le Père Lucien

What would be mine today, after a huge purge of not in rotation soaps and creams, my favorites, no order, after MDC being a clear winner:

1. MDC - there really can be only one! It's the best hands down IMO


2. T&H Trafalgar
3. Dr Harris Windsor
4. Castle Forbes Lavender
5. XPEC Original
6. Acqua Di Parma
7. Penhaligon's Sartorial

And depending on my mood, Saponificio Varesino 70th...trying to get my soaps to the point that no matter what I pick, it will be a treat to use.:D

When that Pinaud Shave Cream comes out next month, it will be on your list,,;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CZMark

Pithor, you mention its lack of efficiency. Rub a pea-sized amount on your face and face lather, you will be amazed at the amount of lather produced. For reasons I cannot explain, bowl lathering seems to require a larger amount.

---

I meant that I feel it is less efficient than Castle Forbes. Which is not much of a criticism, because I feel Castle Forbes is very efficient. I don't think Baume.be's efficiency is lacking by any means, it is just less than CF.

Baume.be requires very little water, which took me a few tries to figure out.

A soap that goes under the radar around these parts is Alvarez-Gomez. A great scent super slick and really top notch. I'd put it at the top.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phrank

Interesting and agree - while it is a stellar performer - first thing it reminded me of was The Body Shop Shaving Cream, which is superb stuff at a third of the price.

---

That too is interesting. I went to a Body Shop store the last time they had a sale and the scent of their products put me off buying.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hart

That too is interesting. I went to a Body Shop store the last time they had a sale and the scent of their products put me off buying.

---

I really enjoy The Body Shoppe's Macca Root soap. As phrank said, a third of the price, and very nice lather and scent. The store is a nosefull I agree due to all those bathball scents fighting for attention probably.
Going to have to pick up some MDC my next trip I think, tend to agree with most other picks on folks lists.
Good thread.
:tu

I hope everyone here appreciates the fact that: 1) We have so many fine soaps and creams available to us, and 2) We have the luxury of sitting here debating the merits of said soaps and creams.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MikeB52

I really enjoy The Body Shoppe's Macca Root soap. As phrank said, a third of the price, and very nice lather and scent. The store is a nosefull I agree due to all those bathball scents fighting for attention probably.
Going to have to pick up some MDC my next trip I think, tend to agree with most other picks on folks lists.
Good thread.
:tu

---

More to the point, it was the men's shaving products alone that I didn't like the smell of.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hart

More to the point, it was the men's shaving products alone that I didn't like the smell of.

---

I bought some Real Shaving Co. shave cream a long time ago. While it performed OK,for me, the smell was really off putting. So, I understand how you feel. Smell is such a subjective YMMV sort of thing...lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hart

That too is interesting. I went to a Body Shop store the last time they had a sale and the scent of their products put me off buying.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JoeSomebody

I bought some Real Shaving Co. shave cream a long time ago. While it performed OK,for me, the smell was really off putting. So, I understand how you feel. Smell is such a subjective YMMV sort of thing...lol

---

Interestingly, again, both are made by Creightons, if I'm not mistaken. Cheaper than many other creams by them, which is reflected in the scents (compared to e.g. Truefitt & Hill or Taylor of Old Bond Street.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obie

Frank,

You will not go wrong with St. James of London. Actually, I have used it for a number of years; I had just run out and had to order some more. It's a superb shave cream. If I had Eight Wonders, it would include it.

The list I made works quite well for me, especially with my sensitive skin. Mitchell's Wool Fat, for instance, which has fans and also detractors, loves my Hollywood face. I suppose I could have let D.R. Harris Arlington take its spot, but Mitchell's treats my skin well. That's why I often include it in the Seven Wonders list.

Two other products, one soap and the other cream, that work well for me, under the circumstances, are Lea, from Spain, and Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street shave cream. Both are easy on my Hollywood face, and I have them in rotation permanently.

Back to St. James, I love that cream, and I'm sure you will, too. Good stuff.

---

Hello Obie,

Lea?!

Does it matter to you, Professional, Classic, mentholated or the Sensitive Skin? I'm a bit shocked to see you mention it in the company of the others, only in that the cost is.. LEAGUES, cheaper than most you mention. Given the choice between lux and price, I'm more of a lux guy. But when a crevice of quality is a crevasse in cost difference?

The Lea I can find for 1/10 the price of some of the others! I gather I should add some of whichever you feel best in my cart?! Heck, to throw in the travel backpack, the whole tube/tin could break and as long as I could scrounge a few shaves worth, I wouldn't bat an eye! :)

Moueix,

This is Lea Classic in the wooden bowl.

Yes, the soap is relatively inexpensive, but price is not necessarily indicator of quality.
The fragrance is woodsy and not particularly my favorite, but the soap works well for my sensitive skin. Sometimes I mix it with Taylor of Old Bond Street "natural," which is unscented. Sometimes I do the same thing with Mitchell's Wool Fat and I Coloniali. The combinations work well for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obie

Moueix,

This is Lea Classic in the wooden bowl.

Yes, the soap is relatively inexpensive, but price is not necessarily indicator of quality.
The fragrance is woodsy and not particularly my favorite, but the soap works well for my sensitive skin. Sometimes I mix it with Taylor of Old Bond Street "natural," which is unscented. Sometimes I do the same thing with Mitchell's Wool Fat and I Coloniali. The combinations work well for me.

---

Thanks for the response Obie. The misunderstanding is all mine in any cse. I assumed that you were talking about the Lea CREAM. I don't think I want to try ANY soaps just yet. When I wash with soap, even Dove 99 44/100% pure, I am often left "feeling" the film that never leaves, and it itches. I prefer the idea of a cream, for some knee jerk, unstudied reason. In my feeble mind, soap is for washing, and cream is for softening. Coming from the shower, I KNOW I'm clean. I want to be soft. hahaha...

Moueix,

It's a question of preference. Both soaps and creams work well for me.