Let's Talk Containers!

[cvargo]

Alright folks so another thought.

I will be honest I do not usually look at packaging when grading a soap, but I will look at packaging before buying a soap. This is the vessel that is going to store my soap I don't want it to necessarily be overly cheap!

So I prefer screw top containers, ideally plastic, and water proof labels.

I dislike when the soap is filled all the way to the top, and I try to avoid buying tins. I just think plastic holds up better. Now these two aversions I mention I don't let them prevent me from buying a nice soap but it does bother me.

Okay and I am going to go there but three very popular soaps and I don't like their containers are as follows:

MWF: Yes the ceramic pot is beautiful and I love the looks of it, I just don't find it very practical, I am always afraid I am going to drop it and break it! Love the soap though!

I Coloniali Terra Cotta Pot: Another awesome soap one of my all time favorites (sad it is discontinued) But again I am always afraid I am going to drop this beautiful container and break it.

Saponificio Varesino: Don't kill me @skypsyd but I gotta be honest I hate that I have to spend so much money on these awesome soaps and they come in a card board box! Then I am expected to buy a beautiful bowl (in the process of picking one) and then transfer the soaps between uses to the bowl.

Soaps with perfect containers:

Stirling: Love the new green tubs they are perfect!

Soap Commander 3 oz tubs: I will be honest I do find the regular 6 oz tub too large. I prefer the sleekness of the 3 oz tub.

Proraso: Just a classy container in my opinion love it.

So what say you?

No word here HA HA

 

[emwolf]

I hadn't given it much thought until now, but yes the Stirling and Proraso are darn near perfect. My Pre De Provence tin is dented and difficult to open now, so good call on the tins.

 

[G.W.]

I can't quite get on-board with spending a ton of extra money to get a brand-specific bowl/container with your soap. Example: MWF refill puck is $15, in the dish is $20 more. I've got cheap coffee mugs a-plenty.
That said, I can get on-board for spending money on something purely for the attractiveness of it. If you like it, what the heck, go for it. My inner tight-wad often battles with my urge to live luxuriously. That nice Tabac bowl is only a few dollars more, though, now that you mention it...

I have noticed that some folks on here use those shallow Pyrex dishes with the nice tight-fitting lids to store their pucks. I have considered switching from mugs to those, to keep things tidy and easy to store.

Proraso: Just a classy container in my opinion love it.

The Proraso containers are nearly perfect, to me. There's enough headspace in the container to load the brush without being messy, the shape of the container is easy to hold while loading brush, and the lid fits on snugly. It may or may not be the prettiest tub in your collection, but it is a good practical design.

 

[Maineac]

I too like Stirling's large plastic container to say nothing of their great strong scents.

Razorrock and Latha also have nice screw on lids but they are not as large as Stirling.

I am not a big fan of the lid pull off tins. I have a couple of Mike's and frequently when I attempt to move them I end up just lifting the lids off them.

 

[Maineac]

I have noticed that some folks on here use those shallow Pyrex dishes with the nice tight-fitting lids to store their pucks. I have considered switching from mugs to those, to keep things tidy and easy to store.

I just bought another set of those Pyrex containers to hold my large set of Soap Commander and Stirling samples. They are stack able and the lids keep the scent in. I peel the original label off the shipping containers and place it on the lid of the Pyrex container. I then press the soap into the bowl and am good to go.

 

[CanuckShaver]

I like B&M's container, wide and not too deep, just the perfect container for loading soap. While I like to admire beautiful containers, such as C&S, SV, MWF and others, they seem impractical and expensive, I prefer to spend my money on soaps rather than container.

 

[Steve56]

Interesting topic and one I've thought a lot about. While I do not particularly like spending extra money on containers that are easily dmaged, the C&S aluminum and Boellis coffret are classics.

Like other folks, I like a wider container not filled to the top. Two of my favorites are MdC and Castle Forbes, but they are in exactly the opposite containers of what's needed. So I swap them. A full jar of MdC filled to the top will fit in an empty Castle Forbes jar about 1/4" below the surface and it's easy to load the brush. Castle Forbes I scoop out and bowl lather, so a crystal MdC jar is classy and works well since I'm not handling it with wet soapy hands.

I like the I Coloniali terracotta bowl too, and it is not very slippery when wet because it's unglazed on the outside. But over time, I have learned not to handle glass soap containers and straight razors with soapy hands.

I also have some Savonnerie du Moulin in a burl thuya wood bowl, not cheap but you can buy them for $35 or so and they're beautiful. These are the burl bowls that Plisson/Joris come in.

A recent acquistion, not arrived yet, is a ceramic 'bowl' from eBay. It's actaully an empty foie gras terrine, so my idea is to put some good French soap in it, maybe the Lainess I have on the way too.

Cheers, Steve

 

[BigJ]

Must say that I don't worry much about the packaging, so long as the product comes through in good condition.

I can use whatever container I like. Clearly YMMV!

 

[aerolord]

Believe it or not, packaging is what sells me, but of course performance triumph packaging. But if an unknown brand which I have not use or heard before but have a fantastic packaging, you can simply said I'm sold.

This happens twice - Tallow + Steel - Dark, and recently Wholly Kaw Tallow. I could get Wholly Kaw at a cheaper price, however they have the old packaging, so I ended up paying more and purchase it straight from Wholly Kaw website. My first time using this soap, but honestly I am very excited.

The other factor to me is the quality and the size of my tub. Call me weird, but I tend to purchase soap that is in the 6oz container and tub over other sizes.

 

[njpaddy]

Packaging is not a concern when I buy a soap, although my least favorite would be tin and wood bowls. I've gotten rid of the tins, but I still have 4 in wood bowls. No more. Pyrex, old TOBS cream tubs and soaps that come in their own plastic containers with screw-on lids (SRD) are my preferred for storage & use. Blue painters tape (easily removed) is perfect for re-labeling containers.

 

[gwsmallwood]

I decided this weekend that I'm done with refill pucks unless they are REALLY good, or soft enough to be pressed into a container. I hate having my soaps slide around in a container while I try to lather them. I attempted my first soap grating with a puck of Fine AB this weekend. What a pain. Soap got everywhere, the grater got completely clogged, and freezing the puck before hand didn't help at all. The soap just isn't good enough to warrant all the extra work.

I've also had the tins on both Mike's and Synergy develop spotting (rust, discoloration, whatever) so I'm not a big fan of those. So far, WSP's tins don't seem to have that problem, but I definitely wish they were wider.

 

[CBLindsay]

I think my OCD wins over my need for a particular functionality. Sure, I like the larger plastic tubs but they tend to lack uniformity from brand to brand.

Here's a thought @cvargo, if a tin is filled too full for your liking you can scrape some out and put it in sample containers (nice uniform 1 ounce tins would be nice but the 50gram plastic ones work too). The samples can be used for travel, PIF'd or kept for your own use when you decide to PIF/sell the larger container.

Generally speaking, I share your views on the more unique containers and the need for waterproof labels.

 

[Jaidmaster]

I too prefer a wide plastic container with a flat screw on lid and a fairly flat bottom.
Mystic Water, Stirling, Chiseled Face, B&M, etc.
Razorock tubs are about as small I like.
Razorock The Dead Sea is a very impressive heavy glass with metal screw on lid.

Containers I don't care for:
Tabac - better lid would be an improvement
PannaCrema Pure2O - small diameter and the rounded lid makes it hard to stack!
Proraso - a bit small and once you get below the step it's way too small.
PdP sage - dents and the non-waterproof label. A bit small
Early Shannon's - small metal tin with push on lid.

 

[dangerousdon]

I'm with you Chad...While the container won't prohibit me from buying a soap, it sometimes makes me think twice. One of my favorite Artisans...Bain Amour...has an excellent soap and at a great price, but the container it come in really drive me nuts. It's one of those tins with the screw top. I haven't had a problem with them rusting or anything but the soap really fills the whole thing and makes it a tad more difficult to load with a big brush. The label won't come off after it gets a little wet once, but after a while it starts to flake off after repeatedly. Mike's Natural uses a similar tin container, albeit much bigger. But their labels are the worse. A little wet and the ink is illegible.

I do think that the plastic containers with the waterproof labels are the best. Mystic Water, Maggard Razors, Chiseled Face, etc.

 

[kaizen]

My favorite container by far is the Le Pere Lucien 200g tin. I will most definetly reuse this for when I re-up my Pre de Provence.

I like the ToBS containers to reuse also. Acrysol removes the old label and you can Modge Podge any other label you would like on top

 

[cvargo]

@dangerousdon I 100% agree about Bain Amour. I actually emailed them about the container but I got the impression they don't really have a desire about addressing that anytime soon. I understand most of their business seems to come from other items. But I feel if they worked on a couple of presentation issues, and solidified the formula on the soap (some get buring) I think they would be a crazy popular artisan. I really enjoy the Bonjour Beau, but the packaging drives me NUTS!

 

[dangerousdon]

@dangerousdon I 100% agree about Bain Amour. I actually emailed them about the container but I got the impression they don't really have a desire about addressing that anytime soon. I understand most of their business seems to come from other items. But I feel if they worked on a couple of presentation issues, and solidified the formula on the soap (some get buring) I think they would be a crazy popular artisan. I really enjoy the Bonjour Beau, but the packaging drives me NUTS!

I have been meaning to talk to Theresa about the packaging issue. You are correct, the majority of their business comes from their bath soaps, however, she is open to suggestions so I am glad that you addressed this with her. The images she uses are relatives of her husband (uncles, father, grandfather) which I thought gave it a nice touch. Also, her husband actually uses the shave soaps she makes and she makes a shave soap exclusively for a local barber.

 

[Nicholas]

The perfect container for me is the now discontinued CRSW tin...

 

[Steve56]

If the label is a problem try rubbing a little Renwax on it before use.

Cheers, Steve

 

[atoms8791]

My favorite containers are the Stirling tubs and the tubs that B&M puts their limited editions in now. Those clear bottoms with the black lids are just classy and the labels are great. Now, if I could only get used to their scents...

I do agree that the Soap Commander tubs are kind of unwieldy and take up a lot of space, but I'm not complaining about it since I love how their soaps perform and I don't mind having a lot of their soap. Unfortunately, since I'm trying to 3017 what I have, I'm not looking forward to burning through those. It's going to take a while.