The Obie Memorial First Tier Soaps and Creams Thread.

[celestino]

O M G !!!! MdC Rose and Vetyver!!!!!

Congratulations!

[ultrasoundguy2003]

MdC Rose arrived. Yep lives up to the reputation. Natural rose scent, as strong as the Lavender, they dont skimp on scent those folks.
I did purchase a assortment box of hand soaps in their various scents. Tested making shaving lather from the hand soaps just to see what would happen. Good results, a little less glide but it worked for me. Plus with the gift box I can regift the rest of the soap to friends and family. MdC still comes in the glass, someone stated they changed the packaging, not so, time of this post.

[Steve56]

My two MdC rose scented soaps I have are in plastic, and the jar is described as plastic on the web site. If it has two semi circular indentions on the bottom, it's PET plastic. I will say, it's a very nice jar and I prefer it to glass as will anyone that's ever dropped one of the glass jars on a tile floor with wet hands.

The glass jars have two smaller round indentions on the bottom and the jar is less square on the bottom corners.

Cheers, Steve

[ultrasoundguy2003]

Dealt with the folks direct. Pictures to share with my wet shaving friends.
Lasts for years. Sorry about orientation of images. Dropped?? Say it aint so. Faucet dinged my Duck? Dropped my firstborn? I pray none of the above would ever happen. I guess plastic works, I love the old ways and the feel of glass in my hand, same as my soda-pop glass feels to my lips, its a feel thing. Ok tactile senses , feel is what guides me as my eyes age.

[Steve56]

Dealt with the folks direct. Pictures to share with my wet shaving friends.
Lasts for years. Sorry about orientation of images. Dropped?? Say it aint so. Faucet dinged my Duck? Dropped my firstborn? I pray none of the above would ever happen. I guess plastic works, I love the old ways and the feel of glass in my hand, same as my soda-pop glass feels to my lips, its a feel thing. Ok tactile senses , feel is what guides me as my eyes age.

That looks like one of my shipments! Did I see some thyme, girofle, et cannelle bath soap in there? If so I must say that you are a man of impeccable taste sir!

Cheers, Steve

[ultrasoundguy2003]

Thank-you Sir,
My thoughts, experiment was to see if the hand soaps would lather to shaving quality.
Like I need more scents from MdC.
Well it worked hand soaps do work slight less glide yet worked for me.
Then looked at MdC on hand, realized I got out of hand.
Gifts for the ladies in my life, family and friends.
Most have not experienced MdC quality.

[Steve56]

Thank-you Sir,
My thoughts, experiment was to see if the hand soaps would lather to shaving quality.
Like I need more scents from MdC.
Well it worked hand soaps do work slight less glide yet worked for me.
Then looked at MdC on hand, realized I got out of hand.
Gifts for the ladies in my life, family and friends.
Most have not experienced MdC quality.

I have gifted some too, and the soaps were very well received. It is a different experience when you're used to big manufacture drugstore soap.

If you're lathering with the other soaps, keep in mind that the hand soaps are palm oil soap, and the bath soaps are olive oil as I understand it, you have to trust my memory which is not always the right thing to do.

Cheers, Steve

[neehooya]

Thanks to Obie again for exposing me to the list!
Since then I've experimented with MDC and to this day MDC remains #1 in my rotation.
Quick question/request for you all: is anyone willing to share a small sample of Klar shaving soap? I'm particularly interested in the classic scent but willing to try any other, too. I've used Lee's WSP soaps and really like them, if you allow me I'd like compare Klar to WSP products. Thank you in advance and please PM me if you are willing. Thank you.

[Omakone]

I have to agree with my experience with most "premium" shave soaps and creams. However, I have to say my wife purchased the castle forbes lavender shaving cream and aftershave balm for me this Christmas. The first couple of times I struggled to get a good lather that was not to soupy or too dry. However, my persistence has been rewarded the last couple of days. I found that by adding 5 drops of glycerin to the bowl and them about 2 tbsp. of water and just running the brush over the top of the shaving cream is a recipe for the perfect shave preparation. The small amount of cream makes enough lather for 4 or 5 passes ( I usually take my time and perform a 3 pass shave). I use clubman pinaud aftershave, followed by the castle forbes lavender aftershave balm (it is amazing how little it takes to make my face feel fantastic)

Since going to this combination, I have yet to have a nick, cut or weeper. For the first time in my 30 years of shaving I am consistently getting a true BBS. The best part is my wife cannot keep her hands off my face, it is great.

I also found out by accident that she ordered the castle forbes lime shaving cream, and aftershave balm for my birthday, along with a grim blades rosewood roundtip straight razor. (My wife is the best, and she not only understands my ridiculously expensive taste in shaving, she supports my obsession).

[JBHoren]

First Tier, in no particular order, products still available, and names off the top of my head:
Martin de Candre soap, Castle Forbes cream, Xpec cream, Le Pere Lucien soap, Czech & Speak's Oxford & Cambridge soap, Esbjerg cream, Baum.Be. cream, D.R. Harris soaps, Alvarez Gomez cream, Penhaligon's cream, Klar Seifen soap.

Second Tier, in no particular order:
Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, I Coloniali soap, Provence Sante soap, La Cigale soap, Saponificio Varesino soap, Taylor of Old Bond Street creams, Trumper creams, Harris creams, Santa Maria Novella cream, Lea soap, Tabac soap, Barrister & Mann soap, Rose of Bulgaria cream, Truefitt & Hill creams, La Savonnerie du bon Berger soap, Portos Cale soap, the Art of Shaving lavender and sandalwood creams, the Art of Shaving soap (old formula), Valobra soap, Savonnerie du Moulin soap, Mama Bear soap, Antica Barbieria Cola soap, Floris soap, L'Occitane Cade soap, Plisson soap, Simpson Cream, Institute Karite soap, SRD soaps, La Toja Manantiales soap, St. James of London cream, Acqua di Parma cream, eShave soap, Mondial soap, Green Mountain soap, Floris soaps, Penhaligon's soap, PannaCrema soap, Meisner Tremonia soap, Tcheon Fung Sing Bergamotto Neroli soap, Wickham 1912 soap, Abbate y La Mantia soaps.

Third Tier, in no particular order:
Cella cream, Proraso, Stirling, Razo Rock, Catie's Bubble, Mike's Natural soaps, Die Vergulde Hand, Tabula Rasa (this is really weird stuff), Boellis Panama 1924, Lorenzo Villerosi, Mystic Waters, Bath House Spanish Fig Soap, Scottish Fine Soaps, Arko soap. Dr. Dittmar soap, Coats soap, Hasslinter soap, Cyril Salter cream, Savon du Barber soap, Musgo Real cream, Erasmic soap, Speick cream, Gold Dachs soap, Palmolive cream, Muhle soap, Edwin Jagger soap, J.M. Frazer's cream, Savon du Midi cream, Shave Revolution, Fume, Crabtree & Evelyn sandalwood.

Basement, in no particular . . . whatever:
Van Der Hagen soap, Williams soap, Institute Karite cream, Geo F Trumper soaps, Colonel Conk soap, Casswell-Massey soap.

I've owned-and-used Castle Forbes Cedarwood and Sandalwood and Lime for a decade; likewise, Cyril R. Salter Almond, French Vetiver, Indian Sandalwood, and Wild Rose. I'm not crazy about the CF or Salter's products which I've greyed-out, but the others are my "first-tier" products. I'm also fond of the AdP Colonia and Simpsons creams, but find them "loose" (as opposed to the CF and Salters creams), which makes it all-too-easy to use more of an expensive item than is necessary; however, the associated members (ASB and EDT) of the product lines raise their stock.

I was surprised to not find any of the QED shaving soaps on your list. Charles no longer offers the variety he once did, and the ten I own (plus two that were only available as shave sticks) remain go-to items in my rotation. My favorites? Anise & Lavender, Pine & Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Vetiver, and Wild Rose -- don't misunderstand, the others are also high-quality, but these are among my first-tier soaps. I write "among", because another manufacturer -- The Gentlemen's Quarter -- also makes some excellent soaps. My favorites from TGQ are Cavendish Black and Desert Ironwood.

Newer incarnations of QED shaving soaps are available here; TGQ shaving soaps are available here.

Smooth shaving!