Wow, I guess I'm a big Henri et Victoria fan now!

Way in the back of my overstuffed soap sample drawer I found a sample of a pear-scented soap called La Poire Francaise made by a company called Henri et Victoria. I had no idea I owned this or who these people are, but if you saw my soap collection, that would not surprise you.

Warmed up a little in the scuttle, this soap lathered up as good as any top tier soap I own and the shave itself was stupendous. Lather, cushion, glide, check, check, check. However, where this soap becomes world-class IMO is the remarkable scent! Imagine stuffing your face with a buttery pear tart right out of the oven, with a slightly caramelized crust and hints of spice coming through the fresh picked pears. It was all I could do to not eat this soap straight out of the tub!

Anyway, that was definitely surprise of the month and I'm going to look to see what else they have going on.
Attachment 261798

I was lucky enough to have Shaun send me a sample of Henri et Victoria Cognac & Cigars. It made a great lather and the scent was very good. Unfortunately, it gave me a slight reaction in the form of a mild burning/tingling sensation. It was surprising because I have not had a reaction to any other soaps that I have tried. I know another member who does have sensitive skin that had a more severe reaction to it.

I am just mentioning this so the members with skin sensitivity are aware that there my be concerns with that particular scent. It was a shame because in all other respects it was a very good soap for me.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Unfortunately, it gave me a slight reaction in the form of a mild burning/tingling sensation.

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I have had a similar experience with only one soap (and I'm sure I have tried almost 100) and it was Stirling Barbershop. No other Stirling product, nor any other soap
has bothered me, just that one particular scent caused a burning/tingling. Weird!

I really like the cognac and cigar scent, and it performs very well for me. I'm sorry that it does not work perfectly for everyone. I also have the matching balm, and it is delightful, and needs to be used in small amounts because alittle goes a long way.

i liked it so much i became a distributor in Calgary

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Originally Posted by BobH

I was lucky enough to have Shaun send me a sample of Henri et Victoria Cognac & Cigars. It made a great lather and the scent was very good. Unfortunately, it gave me a slight reaction in the form of a mild burning/tingling sensation. It was surprising because I have not had a reaction to any other soaps that I have tried. I know another member who does have sensitive skin that had a more severe reaction to it.

I am just mentioning this so the members with skin sensitivity are aware that there my be concerns with that particular scent. It was a shame because in all other respects it was a very good soap for me.

Bob

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I am that "other" member.

That $#$%^&* lit me up like an acid bath. Could not use it but Shaun loves it. A very YMMV.

I was very excited when I discovered this soap last year, and I'm always interested in supporting local artisans, especially since there aren't many in Quebec (yet). Unfortunately I was a little underwhelmed by the Cigars & Cognac soap.

The lather is fantastic. The scent is very nice, although slightly strong for my tastes - because of this, it would never be an everyday soap for me.

I've also had the tingling/burning sensation from the Cigars & Cognac soap. I've had bad skin irritation using it in the past, as well - although I pulled it out again just a couple days ago after having sat on my shelf for a couple months, and even though there was the tingling, there was zero skin irritation afterwards.

I think it's a great quality artisanal soap, but not ideal for shavers with sensitive skin.

I have a sample of the pear aftershave I have yet to try, maybe I'll pull it out soon.

I don't believe that the "Pear" soap is available in current production. As far as i know it has been fazed out in favor of other scents. BTW there is a non scented soap which might work for sensitive skin?
An advantage of the half dozen scents is that you can follow up each with the same scented after shave balm, and cologne.
Henry et Victoria even has a body wash in "Cognac and Cuban Cigar".

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Originally Posted by Raol

I don't believe that the "Pear" soap is available in current production. As far as i know it has been fazed out in favor of other scents.

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Nope, you can still get it here.

https://henrietvictoria.com/products...-soap-125g-tub

Sounds like Cognac and Cigar might be a gamble for some people's skin, but I can't recommend this one enough.
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La Poire is a great soap that I always use on the weekends hoping I smell like desert to my wife, but she doesn’t fall for it. I also use Duc de Santal often and the scent is fantastic! Got lucky with this brand because after owning these I ran into bad luck with a lot of new soaps.

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Originally Posted by lslick23

La Poire is a great soap that I always use on the weekends hoping I smell like desert to my wife, but she doesn’t fall for it. I also use Duc de Santal often and the scent is fantastic! Got lucky with this brand because after owning these I ran into bad luck with a lot of new soaps.

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That Duc de Santal really does sound great by their description:

A warm,comforting,gentle cologne scent. With a musky, dry woody complex with soothing Sandalwood and spicy nutmeg, oregano, clove, coriander oil. A top note accord with intoxicating herbs of basil, fennel and sage oils. And a final touch of lemon citrus, tree moss and exotic patchouli Oil.

A sophisticated scent inspired by nobility, and a sense of good taste.

I got a tub of the Pear scent for Christmas and I have a major love/hate issue with it. The love is for the soap itself, it lathers better than almost any other soap I've used, including Wholly Kaw and D.R. Harris, has phenomenal slickness and the scent is truly heavenly. The problem is that I've had some issue with sensitivity issues myself. The first time I used it I really didn't notice a problem but the second time it lit me up almost as badly as Black Ship Grooming products have. I've given a third try and while I definitely had some burn it wasn't as bad.

If I weren't so in love with the soap I'd probably give up but at this point I'm determined to try a number of scenarios to see if I can find a combination that doesn't cause me trouble. I'll also note that soaps that generally don't bother me have been a bit problematic as of late so I'm wondering if there is something else that has been increasing my sensitive skin issues as of late.