Artisan Soaps You Really Like

My experience is that quality artisan soaps have improved the quality of their soap base such that there isn't that much difference in quality between them and what many consider to be standard first tier soaps. I've come to view soaps in terms of one category. Either I get a great close comfortable shave and enjoy the scent or I throw it away.

Here are some artisan soaps I really like that I would recommend to anyone. What are artisan soaps you really like?

Stirling - Great base, pricing and plenty of scents to choose from. My favorites are Sharp Dressed Man and Iced Pineapple. Owned by a veteran and his wife. Their Finest Badger brushes that would cost twice as much from most other providers. Customer service is A++, inexpensive flat rate shipping and cool packaging.

Soap Commander - Owned by a Veteran and is wife. There is an active thread on them, which made me think of this topic.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...-feedback.html

"Barrister & Mann" Does a superb job with scents. They have three bases and the newest Glissant base is the best. Really cool packaging. Seville is their Glissant base in Barbershop scent and very popular. There lower priced Latha line is also a great soap. This company simply does a phenomenal job with scent.

Baum.be I consider this a Tier 1 soap, though I believe they are an artisan company. Purchasing Baum.be in the larger 200 ml size makes it competitive with the artisans.

I have many but a couple stand out.
LA Shaving soaps are excellent but can get pricey depending on the scents.
Shannon soaps are great too but for the price I would rather buy MWF.

Jabonman/Eufros tallow version (might be the best soap I have used)
Mystic Water
Mike's
Shannon's
Nuavia
Haslinger
Phoenix & Beau
Cold River
Sapone Di Paolo
B&M
Stirling

Mike's
Barrister & Mann
JabonMan Eufros (tallow)
Cold River Soap Works
Sapone Di Paolo
Fitjar Islands Cream
Nanny's Silly Soap (tallow)

My favorites artisan soaps are :

- Stirling Hot Cider and Barbershop
- Martin de Candre classic
- Le Père Lucien (all the fragrances)
- Phoenix Artisan Spring Heeled Jack, Frost Byte, Gondolier
- Razorock Chicago.

I forgot Jabonman Violet also

No particular order:

Mystic Water
Cold River
Sapone Di Paolo
B&M
Deluxe

This is the issue with the term 'artisan':

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Originally Posted by Pete123

[...] Baum.be I consider this a Tier 1 soap, though I believe they are an artisan company. Purchasing Baum.be in the larger 200 ml size makes it competitive with the artisans.

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I don't consider Baume.be an artisan shaving cream, as it was not necessarily made using traditional methods, nor was it handmade. Neither of which are negative qualities. Either way, a benchmark product.

Oh, and I would add Meißner Tremonia as a personal favourite, and as far as I know the only truly artisanal shaving soap/cream I like. Very much.

I think you got off the Artisan soaps when you mentioned Baume .Be and Martin De Candre, these are not soaps that fall into the Artisan category, nor La Pere Lucien, these are well established companies making their soaps with controls over the ingredients, other than mom and pop in their garage. not that there,s anything wrong with it, but most Artisan soaps have no regulations or control over ingredients. And this is why most of them are just mediocre soaps, some are just experiments, in said garages. but if you like them you like them, I don't fault you, but so far ive not found any of the home brews that have popped up in the last few years to be anything special. that being said Green Mountain and Barrister and Mann are pretty good,

there are some really good soaps out there that are industry standards that also don't cost much yet they are superior to the latest Artisan offerings, ie. Proraso in the tube, Palmolive stick , Arko Stick, Cella, not to mention MWF, or Tabac. Tc

I am pretty picky with soaps, my Well water separates the proverbial "Men from the Boys"

There are very few "Home Brews" that I have ever bought again

Ogalalla Bay Rum is one that has stood the test of time..

I am honestly not sure how you guys separate Production from Artisan

For me it comes down to is the guy/gal making the soap hands on, the same person that is selling it ???

If there is a definition of what makes an artisan I haven't seen it. I think of artisan as being a mom and pop outfit.

My experience is that there isn't that much difference in quality from the best artisans and the members of the Tier 1 group as specified in the first post of the popular thread by that name. I don't shave with hard water from a well and we all have somewhat different situations.

The way that I came to this conclusion is from experience with an exercise I call 'Face Off'. In this, I whip up lather with two different soaps or creams and shave half of my face with each. From doing this I have come to view soap or cream in one of two categories. Either I get a great close, comfortable shave or I throw it away.

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Originally Posted by Pete123

If there is a definition of what makes an artisan I haven't seen it. I think of artisan as being a mom and pop outfit.

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The definition of an artisan is a worker in a skilled trade that usually make things by hand, made in a traditional way using high quality ingredients. And yes in my book Martin de Candre falls right in that category without a doubt, the shave soap they make sits for weeks to dry before anyone can get their hands on it, somehow I don't think the Williams soaps sits for weeks before finding it at Walgreens...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pithor

Oh, and I would add Meißner Tremonia as a personal favourite, and as far as I know the only truly artisanal shaving soap/cream I like. Very much.

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I've been watching for someone to comment about this soap - I'll have to try it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pete123

I've been watching for someone to comment about this soap - I'll have to try it.

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I recently bought some Meissner Tremonia Dark Limes hard soap and like it very much. Lathers extremely easily and has a really unique scent.

Martin de Candre
Le Pere Lucien

The one soap that I grab consistantly without thinking is the Ass soap, La Savonniere Du Moulin. It's amazing stuff and easily my favourite.

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Originally Posted by HARRYWALLY

The one soap that I grab consistantly without thinking is the Ass soap, La Savonniere Du Moulin. It's amazing stuff and easily my favourite.

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Boy, doesn't sound that great to me.

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Originally Posted by 400E

Boy, doesn't sound that great to me.

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It is made with donkey milk, the soap is great stuff.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pete123

I've been watching for someone to comment about this soap - I'll have to try it.

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give me your address in a pm and I,ll send a jar to you, I didn't care for it and used it for 2 weeks, so its almost all there, and was going to use it for the dogs bath , but I don't think she liked the scent,, but your welcome to it ,, never hurts to try, that's why I bought it , I never talk bad or good about a soap until I give it a fair shake,, Tc

As already stated, in the absence of a universally accepted definition what constitutes an "artisanal" soap and what constitutes an "industrial" soap, I find such discussions moot.

Some people may consider Tabac artisanal, while others may consider MWF industrial. Who would be right?

On the other end of the spectrum, there is also the problem of some soaps claiming the "artisanal" mantle that more appropriately should be classified as "amateurish".


B.


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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