What are your current VERY BEST soaps?

Tallow - Grooming Dept
Vegetal - SV 4.3 and Nuavia

Mike’s
Mike’s
Mike’s
Mike’s
Thank you.

The last 3 months I have been on a buying spree and trying all sorts of soaps, mostly artisans. Needless to say I've been very active on the "Sell" portions of BST forums.

My list of VERY BEST SOAPS in order;

CRSW Glide
WK Donkey/Buffalo Milk Tallow
GD Lusso
B&M Excelsior

I believe I have to add Murphy & McNeil on to my list. The stuff is great right out of the gate.

Revised list as of 3/28/19

CRSW Glide - still holds the top spot
Saponoficio Varesino
Wholly Kaw
Mikes

and the newcomer to make the list...

CRSW Schapenmelk - as good as WK, GD, Talbot, A&E, etc and better than most. My only critic is that it only comes in one scent, albeit a great one. Not sure if more scents are planned or not?

The Club/A&E (newest base)
Grooming Dept (various bases)
Declaration Grooming (Icarus base)
B&M Excelsior base
Tallow&Steel
Wholly Kaw (Bufala base)
Cold River Soap Works (Glide base)
CBL (Wagyu tallow base)

Great scents in these makers' soaps in the listed bases that I have actually tried are Declaration Grooming Dirtyver, Wholly Kaw King of Bourbon, The Club Signature, B&M Beaudelaire and Tallow & Steel Sicily.  Each one has a matching AS which I possess and like.  If I were to limit myself to these soaps I would be a very happy shaver.  Where Grooming Dept fails is in the scent department (no pun intended--I have tried 6) and no matching aftershave.  I am looking forward to one day trying the Grooming Dept Janus base which features more natural scents.  I have tried 3 different CRSW soaps in Glide but none have rung my bell so far--great soap nonetheless. I have used CBL Rosa Bourbonia which is wonderful but does not have a matching AS.

My favorite so far has been Declaration Grooming Icarus.

Very closely behind is B&M reserve, though I've managed to get my hands on some Vespers in their new base that I'm very excited to try out.

I think A&E's newest base is great as are DG Icarus, Lisa's Artisan soaps & WK tallow soaps. HOWEVER, in order to be intellectually honest I can get the same great shave using a dirt cheap Palmolive shave stick minus a hoidy toidy scent and any purported post shave face "feel" of which the latter is of zero importance to me as I use an AS as well as live in a sweltering humid coastal area. I think as well that we have made no real gains in the actual shave quality as regards glide and/or cushion. I know this as the other day I used A&E Tertius one day this past week and on the two succeeding days I used a Palmolive stick and a currently made Williams Mug soap puck using the same razor & blade. I could tell no difference in actual shave quality amongst the three. All three shave excellently. I think good prep, a top tier blade and technique trump any subtle soap differences. There is no "holy grail" soap and as a result I have severely curtailed my soap purchases.

I'm not easily swayed by soaps that offer a complex note pyramid....like a premium fragrance.
After using SV 4.3 exclusively for a couple of years, recently switched alliances to USA makers...purchased 6 soaps
that feature in the light, cooling, refreshing category as that is how I want my lather to feel.

I can say all are winners in my book:

B&M Reserve Cool
WK La Fougere Parfait (vegan)
WK Fern Concerto Menthol (donkey milk)
A&E L'Orange Verte
B&M Cheshire
Finest Snakebite

Unfortunately or not, the first soap (fall of 2013) I ever bought was AOS tallow unscented. And I've been chasing trying to find something to beat that, ever since.

Obviously there are many much superior scents to that... But performance-wise I still think it's in another league than even my next best (whatever that is, I'm not even sure). And my shave with it yesterday reaffirms that status.