Thread: the gentlemen's quarter soap?

Originally Posted by zib

I've always had trouble with TGQ soaps, contrary to the majority of members that use it and love it. I've tried the sample soaps, the full size puck and the shave cream just to give it a fair shot. I too am a bowl lather'r and I have a water softner, which I thought may have something to do with it. Like Ryan, This is the one soap I absolutely have to uber.

It just falls flat in the lather dept. for me. I've tried over 100 soaps and creams at least. I do like TGQ's fragrances....

ok.. not sure if i'm going to get in trouble for taking my own thread off topic.. but what would you recommend for someone who wants an inexpensive soap that lathers well and really cranks it up in the fragrance dept?.. my two favourite scents are almond and bayrum..

I'm partial to SRD's soaps. They lather great and come in a variety of fragrances and the owners actually shave with straight razors...Bonus...
I also like Krissy's Tallow based soaps at Prairie Creations. She will custom make fragrances, or at least she used to.
I've had good results with Mama Bears too...
Now, you could try a TGQ sample pack, pretty inexpensive, You may like it, as I said, many of our members swear by it.

Originally Posted by vthomlinson

ok.. not sure if i'm going to get in trouble for taking my own thread off topic.. but what would you recommend for someone who wants an inexpensive soap that lathers well and really cranks it up in the fragrance dept?.. my two favourite scents are almond and bayrum..

(opening caviat - Your Mileage May Vary)

TGQ soaps have worked well for me in this area - maybe I've been lucky with lathering the soap. I did have trouble lathering one of the creams, but for the soap, I get a good thick lather lathering in my scuttle.

As far as the fragrance, this is what I really love. I even use the bath soaps so I can enjoy the scent even more. Some of the soaps smell good enough to eat! (To me, the toasted almond smells like those almond cookies you can get at some Chinese restaurants)

The bonus for me is that my nose gets a treat while I shave, but the fragrance doesn't overpower or linger on all day. In the case of the Bay Rum with sweet orange soap, I keep that going just a little longer with a splash of Dominica Bay Rum Aftershave - a nice combo.

My favorites are Highlander, Lime Margarita, Toasted Almond, and Desert Ironwood. Yours may be different - after all, perception of scent is a very personal thing.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so get a sample size and decide for yourself.

I've been testing samples of TGQ soaps this week--Honoki and Whiskey. I found that they both lather decently, but neither create mounds of lather. I haven't tried face lathering with them. Perhaps I should. Of course, most of the soaps I have use on a regular basis, such as Edwin Jagger and Erasmic, don't create mountains of lather in my shaving scuttle either. That doesn't bother me too much, though, because I like to combine my shaving soaps with creams to create superlather or add some glycerin to the mix to create uberlather.

The only soap that I have had much success with in creating a rich lather all by itself is Tabac.

Alright, just for the sake of following through on my promise to post back results of bowl lathering with TGQ soap, here's what I got with a brush load of Sandalwood-Vanilla in my Dirty Bird soap bowl (about 4" in diameter):...

For anyone who likes to test/judge lather with the 1" gap test, see pic 2 -- BTW this even with the lather just a tad too wet (being a face latherer, my bowl skills are just a wee bit rusty).

And FWIW, the water in my area is just a little on the hard side - enough to leave calcium/chlorine spots on a freshly washed car or glasses or shower head... but not enough to actually clog shower head with thick heavy build up -- hardness may be playing a factor for many folks.

I lather my TGQ right in the bowl on the soap itself. Thick. Creamy. Rich. I want to put it on my strawberry shortcake.

Originally Posted by leadduck

I lather my TGQ right in the bowl on the soap itself. Thick. Creamy. Rich. I want to put it on my strawberry shortcake.

The best review yet! I love Colleen's handcrafted soaps, the utmost in quality in my book!