Thread: Martin De Candre soap?

WTR the shave soaps RobinK mentioned in post #26. They may not be well know on this forum but the wet shaving community on the web is much larger than any one forum. I have the LpL ,original scent, that he mentions and it is also good soap with a scent similar to MdC. My guess is that the others may well be good performers also.

There are just so many shave soaps and creams out there that, personally, I have all but given up trying new ones. Some work better than others for me but none I have tried hinder me getting a good shave. Some of my favourites are from the bottom end of the price spectrum too.

Samples are the best way to try a new soap if you can get them. That is especially so for the expensive ones. Shave soaps/creams are like shaving brushes, at the end of the day you just have to try a bunch them to see which ones you like.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

WTR the shave soaps RobinK mentioned in post #26. They may not be well know on this forum but the wet shaving community on the web is much larger than any one forum. I have the LpL ,original scent, that he mentions and it is also good soap with a scent similar to MdC. My guess is that the others may well be good performers also.

There are just so many shave soaps and creams out there that, personally, I have all but given up trying new ones. Some work better than others for me but none I have tried hinder me getting a good shave. Some of my favourites are from the bottom end of the price spectrum too.

Samples are the best way to try a new soap if you can get them. That is especially so for the expensive ones. Shave soaps/creams are like shaving brushes, at the end of the day you just have to try a bunch them to see which ones you like.

Bob

Here Here! Thanks Bob that was very well put. I agree, samples (and trades/PIF's) are a great way for us ADHD types to try all sorts of things.

Originally Posted by BobH

WTR the shave soaps RobinK mentioned in post #26. They may not be well know on this forum but the wet shaving community on the web is much larger than any one forum.

And it is indeed. Since this is a forum with a solid US member base, discussions naturally focus on products available, or even made, in the US. But that does not mean that there are not dozens, if not hundreds, of other, and often better, products available elsewhere.

Now, Martin de Candre's success has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Off the top of my head, I could think of ten hand made soaps from France with similar characteristics and performance. MdC is, by far, the most expensive among them. In my opinion, it is a good soap, but compared to everyone's benchmark Castle Forbes, it is far too expensive for its performance. You will find many people sharing that opinion on the European forums.

But, as I said, availability apparently plays an important factor in the US forums. Santa Maria Novella (like a few other Italian soaps), is insanely expensive. Think "slightly refined Proraso, only ten times as expensive". Now, there are some really nice soaps to be found in Italy, and like MdC in France, SMN definitely is not among the best. Does everyone over here love SMN? You Betcha.

So, next time you want to spend lots of money on soaps, try to do a bit of research first. If you're going to buy from overseas, check the overseas forums. You may well end up with two, three, four or more times the product you could have got for the local hype du jour.

Originally Posted by BobH

Basically luxury goods and the Velben effect seem to go hand in hand from where I sit. Part of the enjoyment is the exclusivity of a good because few can afford/justify the price.

If they lowered the price on MdC to the same level of other French shave soaps it would be just another French soap readily affordable to more people. No bragging rights in that at all.

The price of a luxury good does not necessarily have to reflect the quality of that good.

Bob

So, along those lines if McDonald's charged $87 for a "Double Cheeseburger" it would considered a luxury item that few could afford and then it could be enjoyed more?

Originally Posted by jsuiters

So, along those lines if McDonald's charged $87 for a "Double Cheeseburger" it would considered a luxury item that few could afford and then it could be enjoyed more?

Yeah, something like this. More precicesly: Abnormal market behavior where consumers purchase the higher-priced goods whereas similar low-priced (but not identical) substitutes are available. It is caused either by the belief that higher price means higher quality, or by the desire for conspicuous consumption (to be seen as buying an expensive, prestige item). More here.

And it's Veblen (as in Thorstein Bunde Veblen), not Velben.

My goal is to try every soap there is. I may have started too late in life to accomplish this goal but I'll have fun in the trying. Some inexpensive soaps have surprised me and some expensive ones were disappointing. Your tastes will change with each soap you try so remember to have fun.

Originally Posted by RobinK

Because it is a waste of money. Why not try Savonnerie du bon Berger, La Cigale, Le Père Lucien, La Savonnerie Du Village, or La Savonnière du Moulin instead? Unless you want "bragging rights" (cf eighth commandment).

Your opinion is only valid for yourself Robin. When you state that something is too expensive , talk about yourself. You have no idea what others consider expensive.
For me, for example, MdC is not expensive and I'll always have one in my cabinet.

LPL does not lather at all for me, no matter what kind of brush and water I use, it just does not work. So when you state that soap A is better than soap B, you better add a disclamer that this is your own opinion and experience, otherwise it becomes a blanket statement which simply cannot be true as there is no ultimate truth in this world.
I like Savonnerie du bon Berger and La Savonnière du Moulin, but for me they do not live to the overall experience of MdC (scnet, lather, feel).

Here is the kicker, SDM is more expensive than MdC.
MdC as listed on their website is $45.55 per 200g of product. That makes it 22 cents per 1g.
I believe with shipping it can be had for $65 which brings it at 32 cents per 1 g.

Your beloved LA SAVONNIERE DU MOULIN TEMPETE is $38 per 100g, which equates to 38 cents per 1g BEFORE shipping.

So if you want to round up like a seller at a Turkish market, the two sops are equal value.
Either way one of the soaps you are singing the praises so much is actually more expensive than MdC. In your own words:

Is it not odd how strong opinions and strong research skills hardly ever go hand in hand?

The Le Savon des Volcans is nothing special IME, it is inferior to LA SAVONNIERE DU MOULIN soaps.
I do not see any reason to try the others as I have a good idea what to expect. Clearly the most expensive one is the best performer.

Just let people enjoy their MdC will ya?

Has anybody mentioned Williams soap in this thread yet?

Originally Posted by mainaman

Your opinion is only valid for yourself Robin. When you state that something is too expensive , talk about yourself. You have no idea what others consider expensive.

Thank you for bringing that to my attention. But you see, the decent thing to do is to judge a product, not its reviewer. I judged the product. You made this personal. I wonder why.

Originally Posted by mainaman

So when you state that soap A is better than soap B, you better add a disclamer that this is your own opinion and experience, otherwise it becomes a blanket statement which simply cannot be true as there is no ultimate truth in this world.

You mean like this one?

Originally Posted by RobinK

MdC is, by far, the most expensive among them. In my opinion, it is a good soap, but compared to everyone's benchmark Castle Forbes, it is far too expensive for its performance.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Has anybody mentioned Williams soap in this thread yet?

Come on Ron get with it - WMS