Thread: my first big order of soaps/creams

My favorite soaps at the moment (I don't like creams really..):

Tabac!
Colleen's soaps are nice, The Gentlemen's Quarter
Cella (this stuff is VERY good! I love it.)
Van Der Hagen from CVS or rite aid, seriously 10,000 times better than williams, this is good stuff!
Truffet and hill puck.

I never got past the smell of Tabac aftershave so I've never tried the soap. Others a lot of folks cite are available only in a stick which is a non-starter for me. I prefer using a lather bowl and have for decades. I agree with you about Surrey/Van den Hagen Deluxe. It's an inexpensive solid performer. It may not be the best in any particular category but it certainly doesn't fail in any either.

Here are my preferences:

Razors: 1965 PAL adjustable injector | 1966 Schick M1 adjustable injector | 1974 Schick/Int'l Silver "Paul Revere" injector
Blades: NOS Schick Platinum Plus | Personna Platinum Chrome
Brushes: 2002 Shavemac Thuja wood 23mm Silvertip | 2007 Rooney Faux Ivory 2/1 22mm Super | 2010 Omega/Marvy Beechwood 24mm Boar
Creams: Taylors (avacado; rose) | Trumpers (coconut)
Soaps: Mama Bear | 1846HouseSoaps | VdH
Witch Hazel/Balm: Thayers Cucumber| Issey Miyake
Scuttle: Feats of Clay

yeah i just picked up a cake of VDH at the army depot it was like 2-3 bucks also had aqua velva in the glass bottles

Shawn,

As much as it pains me, the 4 mini tubs of cream we've been discussing now rests under my sink. From there it may not be long before they see the trash. I've got too many great soaps and creams to be playing with this marginal stuff. Call it a $20 lesson learned. That said I do find great artisan stuff too. An example would be the soaps from 1846 HouseSoaps (View Shaving Soap by 1846housesoaps on Etsy). Great stuff !

used my VDH and my 1911 gillette pocket safety razor today, that vdh is really soft and creamy im impressed, even if i used PX brand blades it was a nice shave couple nicks from skin irritation due to working in dirty areas but all in all a good shave.

ill look into the ones you listed as well when i can

finally got a decent lasting lather out of the shamrock cream stuff i had to use minimal water and atleast a walnut sized amount meaning in the shell whole walnut kinda alot of product if you ask me but like i said painting it on instead of swirling it one works the best for me

To add my $0.02:

TGQ Soaps (Provence Lavendar, Armani Code Black, Sandalwood, and Cavendish Black)
T&H Cream (1805, Trafalgar)
TOBS Cream (Rose)

Originally Posted by ShawnWmDavis

finally got a decent lasting lather out of the shamrock cream stuff i had to use minimal water and at least a walnut sized amount meaning in the shell whole walnut kinda a lot of product if you ask me but like i said painting it on instead of swirling it one works the best for me

Taking a queue from you I tried using a huge blob of this stuff (this time Bay Rum). Easily 2.5 times the amount of any other cream I've ever used. Worked up better lather than before but alas by the time I finished shaving my cheeks the lather on my neck was all but a thin soapy film. I re-lathered from the scuttle and pressed on. (I always build lather in a bowl and paint it onto my face. Extra stays warm in the brush scuttle.) The stuff is slick and gives a better than decent shave but the quick dissipation of the lather is more than annoying.

Originally Posted by dward

To add my $0.02:

TGQ Soaps (Provence Lavendar, Armani Code Black, Sandalwood, and Cavendish Black)
T&H Cream (1805, Trafalgar)
TOBS Cream (Rose)

+1 on the TOBS Rose and add their Avacado to the list. I also favor Geo F Trumper Coconut cream. I'm still working my way through samples from Truefitt & Hill and The Gentleman's Refinery. Never tried anything from The Gentleman's Quarterly yet.... just noticed that she has creams too but at $15 for 3.7 ounces, she's more expensive than TOBS and just shy of Trumpers range

yeah which is bad cause it is slick and smells good