The very best luxury soaps/creams, money no object

Okay, gentlemen, ENOUGH!  I have just deleted Boingo's and vtmax's posts.  We really do not want any wars from other sites carried on over here.  If you don't like someone then, as long as that person isn't defaming you, ignore him or take your war to the site from which it came.  If you want to rebut a review, that is fine but do it as a rebuttal and not a personal attack.  Personal attacks will not be tolerated.  DFS has only four site rules to follow, way less than most other sites.  This is the third one: 3: Personal attacks will not be tolerated. If you're found to be personally attacking other users, you may be warned and/or banned from the site.

Thank you Freddy. This thread has a specific topic that we should stick to. If you don't like me for whatever reason, PM me (or a moderator if you insist that I've done wrong) and we'll work it out.

Back to the topic at hand, for those of you who haven't seen it, a review of Martin de Candre Fougere is on the bottom of page 11, and I'm looking to do Antica Barbieria Colla soap next. I'd love to hear your comments on Martin de Candre, whether you agree or disagree with my evaluation!

BigPoppa did not see it as nothin like a personal attack. From where I'm sittin NeoXerxes got served. He be playin a dangerous game and it looks like he gettin protection from the powers that be here. didn't see no mention of nother site, why is you guys always hiding behind that one? BigPoppa gonna find out the truth. Now, this here aint got nothin to do with nothin cept got my curiosity all sorts of riled up. But somethin don't smell right here and if n it stinks, it always be rotten. Hooyeah!!!

^Can we quit with the drama already?? This is a thread for soap reviews. It'd be nice if we could just stick to the topic at hand.

Peter, I am also enjoying your reviews of the soaps as it is, after all, your subjective views. You are articulate and candid with your thoughts.

Thanks celestino! Glad you are enjoying them .

Thanks celestino! Glad you are enjoying them .

You know I enjoy your reviews Peter, and I will continue reading this thread.

Hobbyist much appreciated mate!

Please gentlemen, continue to join in whenever you have something to add on one of these products! Lots of newbies and guests read threads on this sort of topic, and the more opinions they can read, the better.

I enjoyed the Martin de Candre review, NeoXerxes; it's a good description of my own experience with the soap (though rather than the Fougere, I have the Original scent, which I've grown to like a lot). My skin tends slightly toward the drier side, but I've never felt MdC dried out my face. It's not obviously moisturizing (compare to Nuàvia, for instance), but the feel during and after the shave is of something very pared down and pure. That may be what I like best about MdC so far: it feels clean, simple, and honest. Yet it's slick and effective. (Plus, my goodness how long will a tub last? This stuff is a great value considering how many shaves you get out of it.)

For a while I've thought of CRSW (v1, in this case, which is what I've spent the most time with) as being similar to B&M in performance and feel. That makes sense as they use the same tallow-lanolin-shea-kokum pillars. I have Bergamot & Bay, and Savon No. 1, and enjoy both; the latter is a particularly nice lavender.

With Glissant, though, B&M outdistances CRSW (and many other soaps, for that matter!), and especially once the main B&M line is switched to the Glissant base I really think it will be a game-changer as far as what's available from a U.S. artisan at an affordable price.

I have one tub of CRSW Select v2, and I find it pretty similar to v1, only, for me, trickier to dial in when lathering. Once there it isn't noticeably more slick than v1, so the v1 would be my choice. I also had a tub of Oliva briefly, but found it even more difficult to lather, and while I probably could have spent more time with it and dialed it in, unfortunately I didn't care for the scent (pleasant, no doubt, but too much dihydromyrcenol or similar aroma-chemical -- one of the ones I really don't like). Happily a coworker ended up with my Oliva, and he's liking it, so there you go!

Thinking about all these top-tier soaps we're discussing on this thread I'm feeling overwhelmed with good choices. A good problem to have, sure, but I also feel more than happy with my collection now. It's almost too much. No, it probably is too much. Definitely too much. No man should have to suffer over which luxurious shave soap to use in the morning. And yet somehow I carry on!!

Fantastic breakdown onethinline! Always love your detail. I also expect my MdC to last quite some time hehe.

I agree with the comparison of CRSW V1 to B&M original formula. Both seem to be similar in terms of ingredients and the texture of the lather. I prefer B&M original though due to the scents (which are much more my style and better constructed IMO, particularly with versions like Vetyver Santal) and a slight edge in post-shave feel. V2 doesn't strike me as any more slick or better post-shave than V1, so I'm not sure what makes it an advancement (I was expecting it to be more slick but couldn't seem to coax a greater level of slickness from it). It would be better if you have an almond oil allergy however, since the removal of almond oil seems to be the point of that formulation. I also had an easier time lathering V1. I can see why CRSW was for some time considered a competitor to B&M.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Oliva scent, but I prefer it to the others I've tried. What I like about Oliva is that it is a bit different in texture and feel than V1 and V2, but I think B&M original is better in than the tallow formulas in my opinion. If I were recommending one as worthy of a try from the CRSW line, it would be Oliva, but with that said, overall the line didn't really impress me. To me V1 and V2 are nothing particularly special, and Oliva, while unique, isn't as nice as many other products that I've tried. YMMV, as with anything else.

Glissant though is an entirely different animal. Not only does it improve significantly over the original formula in pretty much every category, it does so with the ability to lather easily even under hard water conditions. Since I think the B&M scents are much nicer and more complex than CRSW scents, and since the performance is significantly better for me, I'd recommend B&M Glissant every time. In fact, I think B&M Glissant would be the perfect soap for newbies to wet shaving, largely because it presents a great value, is easy to use, and exceptional in all performance categories. When I do my roundup, this is one of the very few non-luxury (in terms of price) artisans that will be getting a special mention.

EDIT: I should also add that I have a friend who is also into many of the high end luxury products. He owns Nuavia, Santa Maria Novella, Acqua di Parma, and a number of other top performers. B&M Glissant is in his top 3 in overall performance. An impressive feat, given the competition for that ranking.