Another soap ....

Just returned from a trip to Philadelphia, and while I was there in a massive mall, (second largest in America), I found a store called, "L'Occitane", which carried facial stuff.

Of course I went in. They DID carry shaving soaps...essential oils, aloe, yada yada, and a couple of boar bristle travel brushes.

I purchased a shaving round ...smelled very nice, had all the ingredient goodies of good soaps, etc. I will let you guys know how it works, lathers, and so forth when I try it. Cost was $12 for a LARGE round cake. Not sure I have anything it will fit into yet!

I use their shave oil, the soap, and the after shave moisturizer. It's all great stuff!

Dave

I think this is a good product which does not dry your skin. But any Company that charges so much money for a metal soap dish does not get my vote. I think they are taking the p... For me, this is like a designer label soap. But to be fair it is good quality. Like you I bought the refill.

I'm currently using Crabtree and Evelyn's Sandlewood soap which is not only an excellent soap that matches Trumpers, Taylors etc., for quality but it's a little cheaper as well. It does not dry my skin and gives a good close shave. The soap lather is not as thick as a good cream (Trumpers for example) the scent is not as strong as a cream and the after effect is not as luxurious as a cream. This said, I find this soap gives me the closest shave and leaves my face feeling normal. Good soap, water and a sharp razor, you can't better it.

Thanks for the responses, guys! This soap will go with the other dozen or so I have on hand.... it will need to compare to Ray's Classic shaving Soaps (awesome), Taylor's of Old Bond Street Cream (amazing), Cremo Cream (also amazing), and soap rounds from Emily's Place (Emsplace.com). All of those are simply top-notch, so this soap has a high bar to get over!

I love picking this stuff up and trying it out ..... what a fun hobby!

Thanks again!

You keep mentioning the Taylor's shaving cream as good. In my experiance it dries too quickly on the face. This for me makes it a very poor product.
If you haven't tried it I suggest you get some Geo.F Trumpers shaving cream and you'll be in for a real treat. I'm English live in England and have been using these English products for many years. For me Trumper sets the standard and by a large margin. I've got no axe to grind. Personnally I think the creams are an expensive luxury. Price wise Trumpers is one of the less expensive creams as you get the biggest tub and the cream is very rich. It's not as heavy in volume as Taylor's ie it's whipped up more but boy does smell good, feel good and gives a great shave. A pure delight. Must ask the wife to get me some for Xmas. I might try the rose again. The last tub I tried was Sandlewood. Pure luxury.

Well, now I just have to go out and pick-up some Trumper's to try, too! :) I think that you may be right with the drying time of the Taylor's, but I am always refreshing the soap with my brush to keep everything moist and wet, and may not notice it as much. I also always relather my chin area, sometimes several times, as the hairs there are like wire!

May have to try some of the Trumper's Skin Food, too!

Best -

The skin food is excellent stuff and I do like Trumpers a bit more than Taylors. However I have tried mixing a drop of Cremo shaving cream with my Taylors and it seems to lather better and stay wet longer. I particularly use it when using the hard soap rather than the soap in the tub. I will continue that method until I use up my Taylors stock then switch to Trumpers.

jmsbcknr

[quote="jmsbcknr"]The skin food is excellent stuff and I do like Trumpers a bit more than Taylors. However I have tried mixing a drop of Cremo shaving cream with my Taylors and it seems to lather better and stay wet longer. I particularly use it when using the hard soap rather than the soap in the tub. I will continue that method until I use up my Taylors stock then switch to Trumpers.

******>> I use the Cremo Creme alos with almost all my soaps, either as a pre-shave directly on my face, or a drop or so in the mug with other soaps. It certainly does increase the lather and "slick" factor! I use it by itself at times, as well. I think that Cremo Creme is an under utilized, and under appreciated shaving cream!

Best -

Great thread. I'm getting ready to do a whirlwind tour of shaving products myself. I have to admit, so far I love the Taylors Eton College shave cream in the tub the most. The smell is great. I have been using some Musgo Real lately as well. It is really nice on the skin and very rich in lather.

I like what Chaaaz said about what a great hobby this is. I like exploring the accoutrements of shaving as much as the shaving itself.

Totally agree. But it can get expensive. You know I spoke about the virtue of Trumpers cream. Infact it is Trumpers Sandlewood Cream. I have not tried the others. I do know that Trumpers Sandlewood cream is better than the Taylors Sandlewood cream.
My recent experiment ( I will now stop because I have enough soap to shave for a year) was to compare Trumpers Rose Soap ( not cream) with Crabtree and Evelyns Sandlewood soap. Well I have to say this is another quality product. Thinner lather than the C&E soap but really good for leaving your face unchemicalised if you know what I mean.
So I'll use the cream (Trumpers) when I need to add oil to my skin.
I'll use the C&E sandlewood soap as a daily shave. It's inexpensive and really good.
I'll use the Trumpers rose soap when I want a thin quality lather and a light fragrant scent. I suspect it ,like the Taylors sandlewood cream may dry a little too quickly on the face. Not sure yet, will report back in a few weeks.
Conclusion, they are all great products that should make Gillette, Wilkinson et al go bust. Maybe though it is best to restrict these products to those who have the courage forsight and vision to seek out quality and understand the difference.

Paul, have you tried Crabtree&Evelyn's sandalwood shaving cream? It is in my opinion top notch and definitely worth a try....
John P

John,
No I didn't have that privelage yet. I used C&E's almond cream for about three years and that is good. Not as much glycerin as Trumpers so doesn't feel quite as luxurious but it doesn't dry out. I would like you strongly recommend C&E products as good quality and value for money. On your recommendation, I will put the sandlewood cream on the list as the next cream to try.

I have just recently tried the Taylors of Old Bond street Sandlewood soap with Cremo cream under it. It was great. I think though anything with cremo cream under it would be great. :lol:

Sometimes you guys make me dispair.
Why don;tr you put some sahving oil on first?
Infact why noy try a bit of .25 diamond paste?
If the one product does not work why don't you tell the truth to your fellow readers that that product is no good.

Paul, I haven't tried cremo cream (although I would like to). But IMHO Crabtree&Evelyn creams are among the best. Count me a fan of them.
John P.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaulT

Sometimes you guys make me dispair.
Why don;tr you put some sahving oil on first?
Infact why noy try a bit of .25 diamond paste?
If the one product does not work why don't you tell the truth to your fellow readers that that product is no good.

---

Ahhhh...Don't despair. Most of this is personal preference. Actually this is the "fun" of this endeavor. Guys with sensitive skin and peach fuzz will probably prefer something different than those of us who have asphalt with steel rebar sticking out. The great thing is you can always find someone here that has what you have and likes what you like.

You are correct Dr Phong and my apologies to you RichZ. I'll try and get out of bed the right side tommorrow and work on improving my spelling.

Paul

That's what we enjoy about this site everyone has an opinion and should feel free to share it. You did make me think though, next shave I will try without anything under the soap to see how it works out. I'll keep you posted.

someone got me a shave bowl and soap of floris jf shave soap. found it at a marshalls for $5.99 when on floris' web site, it was $31. this stuff lathers something awesome and i rank it better than joris cake soap or classicshaving. classic's is great, and ranks up there with some of the best, and it is less than half the price. but for the $$, if they were no object, the floris is #1.

why: it is super-fatted, which means it has more lathering agents like a bath soap and it helps to retain water. i truly get a merinque on my face with this stuff. the scent is very light and is a cologne scent. it is made the same way as trumper and taylors i am told. given its price, i could not pass on it. i would not spend $21 for the refill but if it was $5.99, yes, i would stock up.

sam

Tried the new L'Occitane cake soap when I tried my new SRP Special razor.

First impressions; nice, nice, lather, but dries a bit quickly. Smooth coverage, nice and thick. Nice mild scent. Used it with no underlayer, or pre-shave.

Was very acceptable, but at $12 a cake, I will take Ray's classic soaps over this ANY day!

I don't know how it would have been if I had used a pre-shave. Maybe next time.

I would grade this one, on a scale of 1-10, about a 7-ish, because of the quick drying time. Nice, but would not spend the money again.

Best -

Chaaz

I didn't get that drying effect the first time I tried the soap. But I tried again this morning and agree. I think you may be being generous with a 7. Mine has gone in the bin. I told my wife who just said " Not suprised, L' Occitaine is overpriced rubbish, they sell it on QVC". So that sums that up.
I've got a Trumpers rose soap on the go which I do enjoy. It can dry out but only if you don't wip up a rich lather. It has the redeeming feature that it leaves your face feeling just clean and normal with no oil or wax or shine or chemical effect or tightness. A pleasant floral scent that goes with the final wash and dry. A novelty item. I also enjoy C&E's Sandlewood soap which does not dry out and is realatively inexpensive. I haven't tried enough soaps yet to score them out of ten. I just know these two are different but in there own ways good soaps.
I am interested to know which soaps you have tried that scored a ten.