Barrister and Mann

After hundreds of soaps over the last four years I have reached a conclusion, BM is the best soap in the wet shave market today. I could go into a verbose and loquacious rant as to why I believe this to be true but inevitably in comes down to the simple fact that over the last 4 years and over 100 soaps coming and going in and out of the den, none perform as well or as consistent as BM soaps.

What say you?

B&M with Mike's is my number one American artisan I still use. I find that Will has continued to perfect and find new formulas to come up with that perform very nice. Although some may find it hard early on to get some scents they like and agree with. I have enjoyed many, not all, of Will's scents but the B&M line has a large variety of different types of scents. Some of my favorites that you could get all year round Cheshire, Oceana, and Bay Rum.

B&M(both standard and Latha lines) and L&L Grooming are, in my opinion, top dawgs on the market right now. Crowne & Crane defi itely holds their own place right there at the top, in my opinion. Nothing available on the open market today is as consistently good as these 3 artisans are able to supply.

However...I have 3 scents that were given to me that outperform all 3 of those brands, in every regard from slickness and protection, to ease of lathering and mind-blowing scent. Not available anywhere on the market, this home-made soap is better than anything I have been able to purchase.

With that said, I've never used anything that would be considered "luxurious" or "high end". MdC, LPL, or PdP are supposed to be "high end", but if they are not substantially better performing than B&M and L&L, they will not outperform Mrs. Grayhane's soaps...

Better than I Coloniali?

I've narrowed my soaps down to B&M and Phoenix and Beau releases only. Others I only get samples from.

Better than I Coloniali?

I don;t know...never used I Coloniali. Never used ANYTHING "high end"...But if you're sending a sample...

B&M makes fantastic soaps particularly the new Reserve line. As morr mentioned above P&B is right there as well.

To steelshaves question I think the new Tallow & Steel soap base surpasses the Reserve base but the scent part is personal.

I've also tried over 100 soaps and the absolute finest (imo) being made today comes from Talbot Shaving.

Isn't the reserve line more of a cream?


B&M soaps are great performers. My favorites are Cologne Russe and Seville. I wouldn't say they perform better than Schafmilch, although I definitely enjoy the scent more. I wouldn't say they perform better than Stirling either, although they are easier to load and lather. I definitely put B&M in my top 5.

B&M is definitely up there in the top tier for me as well. There have been a couple scents I've tried that were misses for me, but all have performed equally well. Whether it be white label, Latha, Glissant or the new Reserve base, all are great. Reserve takes it to another level though. I don't really care for how soft the soap is, but once I dialed in the loading technique, it is phenomenal. Probably the best soap base I've ever used (and it's not unobtanium!). I can't wait for the Fern scent to come out. I'll be all over that one! I got to sniff the aftershave and it is really nice.

I agree with B & M - great soap. A very close second to Mike's (which I admit a small amount of bias to as it is made in Michigan). Even B & M Latha's (bargain) line is excellent. I'm a huge B &M fan even though I haven't yet tried their top of the line soaps.

ps. I know have Seville and it is fantastic. It lathers like crazy and provides unbelievable slickness and residual slickness. I just ordered the Reserve Classic and can't wait for it to get here. B&M is now on par with Mike's and may even be pushing past it IMO.