Let's talk luxury!

So we all have our go to rotation and favorite creams/soaps myself included. I personally tend to run razorock in multiple scents, lotoja, masons boutique, tobs and dr Harris to name a few. I know I have a problem, don't judge. Lol. I'm curious about what's everyone choosing for that rare special occasion shave. Or just that luxury shave. I have 3 choices that I use. Mdc original. Love the scent and post shave feel. Antica barberra colla. Just great performer. And one small little chunk left of original formula xpec. This rarely gets touched for obvious reasons. Xpec is not my fav scent but my god the performance rocks. So what's your luxury choice?

If it's a luxurious scent I am after I reach for Castle Forbes Lime Essential Oil shaving cream. It just smells soooo good and it performs up there with the best too.

Other than that if we are talking luxury I go for Penhaligon's soap. I don't do it often because it is quite pricey but it does seem to last a little longer than many of my other soaps.

I don't really have a luxury scent, but twice a year I work up a lather with my original Nomad soap puck. I was my first soap.

Creed Green Irish Tweed is a great scent and good performer. Something I use when I want a bit of luxury.

There is no special reserve for me. I have a lot of soaps and a lot of top shelf soaps, but they are whatever the day feels like soaps.

Yup, no special reserved for me either. I don't have a soap or cream that won't do the job or has a scent that gags me. So they all pretty much are interchangeable.

Bob

My favorite soap is vintage Geo F Trumper tallow based soap, I break it out for a few weeks a year. That is by far the best lathering soap I have ever tried and I have tried most (except for most modern artisans as there are too many to try and keep up with). My other favorite is Creed Original Vetiver, which isn't an outstanding performer, it is good though, but the scent is intoxicating.

Mwf or baum.be are probably my top two today.

Gentlemen,

I use a small rotation of quality soaps and creams regularly — Martin de Candre, Castle Forbes, Czech & Speake, D.R. Harris and Baum.Be — and without a specific design. The only exception is using Martin de Candre exclusively with my Wiborg brush. Occasionally I use products such as Mitchell's Wool Fat, Wickham 1912 Russian Leather, and so on, for a change of pace. Whatever strikes my fancy on a given morning.

I guess mine would be ToBS Lavender. I use it in regular rotation as well, but every time I do a full on steaming towel relaxing shave, that's the soap I end up grabbing.

Luxury for me is what I use before spending the day with my lovely wife of nearly fifty years, as I try to use scents that she enjoys, as well as scents that she picked out for me. I most often will use Alvarez Gomez, Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet cream, or Czech & Speake No. 88. I've also been using a couple of WSP soaps, with scents similar to Creed Silver Mountain Water and to Creed Green Irish Tween, colognes that she's gifted to me.

This is luxury for me. Le Père Lucien by RasoirsDARWIN a classic scent of citrus and ginger in a crock.
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Just use it all. It's only soap and cream. If they stop making it then don't worry, the marketing machines and forum/social media shillers have the next set of emporers new clothes ready and waiting...

Pretty much all my soaps are top tier so there is no special soap for special occasions.

When you get to be my age every day you wake up is a special occasion

Har har.

TRUEFITT AND HILL is now my top choice. Excellent products, not inexpensive but top of the line.

Nuavia Blu is my luxury soap. Mostly use it on Sundays and special occasions. I just love that scent.

I probably would use it less sparingly if they sold refill pucks.

Aloha!

Not because it's a Hawaiian thing... really and truly... not. But Stirling's iced Pineapple is my definite current favorite Lux Soap - with a few others close behind. The scent is incredible to me. It reminds me of my mother's Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Bless her heart and rest her soul). It's the only soap that truly smells good enough to eat. And I think that Stirling is an underrated soap anyway, as its lather is superior. And I happen to love menthol in soap and/or aftershave. So the combination of the AMAZING scent with superior lather and some menthol make this a top shelf winner for me.

Combine this with the matching aftershave and I smell delicious all day. :)

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As a matter of fact, that will be tomorrow's shave.

Mahalo for the idea!

-Zip

Life is short and the difference in cost per shave between "meh" and "oh this is wonderful - made my day" is often less than what you loose in the cushions on any given day.

For me....the return (happy) on investment from soaps & creams I like has been better than many of the things I trade money for.

Just try to pace yourself...I'm on the "see if you can work your way through that basket under the counter" phase and it's working out...for now.

Mjc I too am doing the use it up for the large part of my collection. This is gonna take some time for sure. I am however in the market to add a couple higher performing candidates for regular rotation. At the end of the month I am making the trip to imperial SRD brick an mortar store. I will be looking to add some then.

I have untold creams .
Acqua De Parma is the best stuff out there imo.
Mdc comes second. :)

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Originally Posted by RollinCoal69

Mjc I too am doing the use it up for the large part of my collection. This is gonna take some time for sure. I am however in the market to add a couple higher performing candidates for regular rotation. At the end of the month I am making the trip to imperial SRD brick an mortar store. I will be looking to add some then.

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Same here. I stopped purchasing new soaps & creams 2 yrs ago to clean out the den. I'm down to 6 or 8 soaps and 8 or 10 creams, starting to get the itch again. Especially as I am on my last tallow soap.

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Originally Posted by Jlander

Same here. I stopped purchasing new soaps & creams 2 yrs ago to clean out the den. I'm down to 6 or 8 soaps and 8 or 10 creams, starting to get the itch again. Especially as I am on my last tallow soap.

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I usually just keep four in rotation. That way I get to buy new ones more often. Also strangely I don't get that strange nagging sound that you sometimes hear when you buy too many all at once. ;)

I think right now my go-to "luxury" soap is my Sudsy Soapery/Chatillon Lux collaboration soap, Treget de Delor. This is certainly classifies as an artisan soap but the quality is quite good and I have no problem working up a good lather with even my softest brush. To top off that good quality is a fragrance that I'm in love with and is paired with the Chatillon Lux aftershave that inspired the soap. The bad news is that this was a limited run and at this point I haven't heard anything about a repeat performance although I know the guys over at Sudsy Soapery would really like to make it a regular part of their lineup.

I haven't tried nearly as many as some of you folks, I tend to get a puck and use it up, I had heard a lot of praise for Taylor of old Bond Street soap, so I thought Id give it a try, was kinda disappointed with it, it smells great but I felt it was lacking in the lubrication department. Ive also heard great things about Mitchell's Wool fat soap so gave that a try and wow! this is good stuff, lathers great and very slick lather! IF they added some sandalwood scent Id never look else where! Ive got some "DR Harris Arlington" on the way, it will have to be really good to perform as well as the MWFS. I guess the shave soaps are kinda like beer in that respect, So many kinds, so little time!

I grab whatever soap l feel like that particular morning. Valobra triple milled being at the top of the list.

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Originally Posted by Obie

Gentlemen,

I use a small rotation of quality soaps and creams regularly — Martin de Candre, Castle Forbes, Czech & Speake, D.R. Harris and Baum.Be — and without a specific design. The only exception is using Martin de Candre exclusively with my Wiborg brush. Occasionally I use products such as Mitchell's Wool Fat, Wickham 1912 Russian Leather, and so on, for a change of pace. Whatever strikes my fancy on a given morning.

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Nice to see. I, too, have soaps and creams that "only" go with specific brushes; so, perhaps my best example of "luxury" is Acqua di Parma Colonia shaving cream (used solely with my finest brush, "Frank", a sterling silver handle that was retrofitted in silvertip badger by Bernd@Shavemac more than a decade ago, together with its companion sterling silver mug, "Nora"), a shaving cream which is made all the more luxurious by the matching ASB and EDT.

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My luxury choice is Martin de Candre Original, Meissner Tremonia Dark Lime and Truefitt & Hill Authentic #10. All three is perfect!

I am afraid I do not attach much value to luxury soaps. I like my Proraso Green and Cella. Good performers, value for money.

I just got MDC and have used it once and I used Castle Forbes Lavender today for the first time. I have Harris Soaps, Trumpers Soap, TOBS Soap and Creams, Trumper Coconut Cream, I have Men’s Soap Co. Soap, Fine, and I received my first puck of L’Ocitane. I plan to try it tomorrow. I don’t have a special occasion soap or cream. Right now I’m rotating MDC, Castle Forbes Lavender, Tabac, and probably L’Ocitane. But I like TOBS and Harris and I really like Men’s Soap Co. Soap.