Thread: Artisan Soaps You Really Like

I've been using a couple of Fine Accoutrements offerings as of late and I can give the brand two thumbs up. The American Blend has been my daily soap for the last month or so while the Snake Bite, which I grab once or twice a week, is definitely one of my personal favorites. The soaps lather well, provide good cushion and glide and leave my face with no ill effects (though lacking the luxurious feel of a tallow soap).

The fragrance of the American Blend is a relatively subtle, barbershop inspired scent which is backed up by the matching AS. I know that Obie dislikes how quickly the fragrance fades with this AS but that is actually a plus for me as I can be a bit sensitive and I prefer a scent that fades to a light note that lingers throughout the day. The Snake Bite has no fragrance added to either the soap or the AS but contains a ridiculous amount of menthol. Even if you like menthol then this soap may be too much but I'm in love with the stuff and SWMBO likes it even more than I do. The biggest complaint I have is that with no fragrance the Snake Bite completely fades away within 45 minutes but the face feel keeps me coming back for more.

Mr. Fine claims that the primary goal in offering the shave soaps was to provide a pairing with their aftershave that would not reflect poorly on the company's good name. The soaps are triple milled and I believe that somewhere I read that they are actually made in the Netherlands. I'll leave it to you to decide if this qualifies as "artisan" or not.

If you want to try scents one option is to head to maggardrazors.com as they exclusively offer samples of the aftershaves. I will warn you that the Snake Bite aftershave is...attention getting. I personally liked the AS which is what prompted me to buy the soap and I find that the initial shock of the AS is decreased greatly if the Snake Bite soap is used for my shave. I actually limit my use of this combo simply because I don't want to become jaded to what I consider a wonderful menthol punch.

Hopefully I can pass along a few more thoughts in the next week or so. I've got a birthday to celebrate at the end of the week and I hope that a couple of the soaps that I want are waiting to be unwrapped. In particular I've been wanting D.R. Harris in the Windsor scent and The Holy Black's Gunpowder Spice.

Of the American artisans I have tried, Shannon's osaps , Dr Jon's and B&M work best so far.

Stirling whit no doubts and a local artisan called La Savonerie Olivier. They made 6 different shaving soaps and they are very good.

I just got a couple of Sterling's offerings last week for my birthday. So far I'm liking what I've used but I'm reserving judgement until I've spent a little time with each soap.

Favorites for me:
LandL grooming
Barrister & Mann
CRSW
Jabonman

My favourite artisan soaps are only in tallow version which are:-
Barrister and Mann Seville
Stirling Autumn Glory
Stirling Baker Street
Stirling Barbershop
Stirling Bay Rum
Stirling Ben Franklin
Stirling Bergamot Lavender
Stirling Black Cherry
Stirling Christmas Eve
Stirling Coniferous
Stirling Electric Sheep
Stirling Executive Man
Stirling Gentleman
Stirling Glastonbury
Stirling Lime
Stirling Mountain Man
Stirling Naked & Smooth
Stirling Nag Champa
Stirling Ozark Mountain
Stirling Pharaoh's Dreamsicle
Stirling Piacenza
Stirling Scots Pine Sheep
Stirling Sharp Dressed Man
Stirling Tuscany
Stirling Vanilla Sandalwood

I also love these soaps in my den during my shave rotation which are:-
Arko (mash up in a tub)
Haslinger Schafmilch Sheep Milk & Lanolin very similar to MWF (mash up in a tub)
La Toja
Pre De Provence No. 63
Mitchell's Wool Fat
Tabac

And more coming from International normal mail very soon which are:-
Dr Harris Windsor refill soap
La Savonniere Du Moulin (with donkey milk)
Palmolive Classic (10 sticks in European version)
Wholly Kaw - Fougère Bouquet Special Edition (with donkey milk)
Wholly Kaw - Man from Mayfair (with donkey milk)
Wholly Kaw - Monaco Royale (with donkey milk)

Next year in 2018 I'm getting:-
Razor Master - Erin (lavender)
Razor Master - Markku (whisky)
Razor Master - Oskar (lemon)
Razor Master - Uula (coffee)
Route 66 - A Perfect Gent
Route 66 - Barbershop Hop
Route 66 - Bay Lime Twist
Route 66 - Bourbon Jungle
Route 66 - Cavendish
Route 66 - Cranberry Citrus
Route 66 - High Mountain Mint
Route 66 - Lavender Woods
Route 66 - Lumberjack
Route 66 - Perfect Storm
Route 66 - Retro Spice
Route 66 - Rum Runner
Route 66 - Sweeney Todd
Route 66 - The Black Pearl
Route 66 - Twisted Tweed