Thread: Floris . Soap & Balm

I drop in to their Jermyn St shop almost every time I'm in London, which is frequent.

I've amassed far too many shaving soaps, balms, aftershaves & bath soaps.

I should probably put up my 2019 acquisitions for sale, though I'll never give up a single bottle of their truly outstanding Santal aftershave splash.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Obie, your right about English soaps and creams, the soaps always fall by the wayside (except D.R Harris) but the creams are second to none. T&H, Penhaligons, Floris, GFT et al are perfect, to me. The sents are exquisite, lathering up is like stepping back in time. I wonder how many English Royals and distinguished gents have marvelled in their wonderful fragrance?

I agree with your assessment, and I enjoy using D.R. Harris soaps and the above English creams. There is also an English artisan soap maker that I this is excellent, The Obsessive Soap Perfectionist, in both soaps and creams, although I only care for a couple of his scents. I still have vintage Floris 89, which performs fairly well. However, I feel that my vintage Penhalligon's soaps are only average performers, and I actually like their latest soap formulation somewhat better, although I still prefer their creams. I certainly agree that there is nothing like the classic English scents. I'm often attracted to a new artisan scent, but generally tire of it quickly and keep returning to these more traditional scents that never seem to lose their appeal.

Had a shave today. My second attempt with Floris 89.

It's not that bad really. It took some work to lather up , it could do with a bit of a sheen and some more slickness but it is fine, it did not dry up on my face and the smell is to die for. I will be going for the Eau De Toilette ..

I used a Joseph Allen wedge honed on my green Ozuku, full progression. It was so smooth it felt like a rounded edge..

Co incidentally, just finished up a few minutes back with a Rodgers wedge (coticule + shell), #89 soap on a battered Chubby-1 Super, and #89 splash.

Update :
The key to using this soap and other I have found is to bloom the soap.
Some soaps for half hour and some for longer, it makes a huge difference to their capabilities

Originally Posted by JOB15

Update :
The key to using this soap and other I have found is to bloom the soap.
Some soaps for half hour and some for longer, it makes a huge difference to their capabilities

I have one or two soaps that need a good while to bloom. When it comes to the English classics I'll opt for the creams for simple ease of use.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

I have one or two soaps that need a good while to bloom. When it comes to the English classics I'll opt for the creams for simple ease of use.

I know what you mean but soaps seem a bit more interesting to me of late..

Yeah, I like the idea of soaps and they have an old world feel to them, however I've always found the cream version work better of me.

Several years ago Penhaligan, Crabtree and Evelyn and others moved their puck production to a U.K. Company. The newly manufactured pucks perform very poorly to the point the soaps appear to be the same with different fragrances.

This has been discussed in threads a few times.

Originally Posted by JOB15

Update :
The key to using this soap and other I have found is to bloom the soap.
Some soaps for half hour and some for longer, it makes a huge difference to their capabilities

Thank you for the tip Joseph, I got a bowl for Christmas but the lather is still in England, lol. The scent is wonderful, the bowl is beautiful, and the lather invisible.

A half hour or longer to bloom? Who makes this stuff for them, Williams?