Martin de Candre, Savon à raser

[ltjaw]

Grazie, Marco.

Now to decide on the scent before ordering. Scent is very subjective, but many here place the scented version between 'fresh linen' and a 'harsh, medicinal chemical.' Any impressions?

Scent being such a subjective matter, only your nose has the right answer. Do you like lavender scented products? While MdC is not your "typical" lavender scent, it fits in that genre. I pick up some rosemary in it, too.

Either way, this is not a risky purchase. If you don't like it, you can easily sell it. I say go for the scented version.

 

[jpipes3]

I bought a used jar of the "unscented" MdC off the BST earlier this week. I used it for my shave yesterday. The "unscented" smells, well, AWFUL. It smells like burning... like Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap minus the pine. I have no idea if that is normal or not. Yeah, it lathered fantastically. I will have to convince myself that it's worth putting up with the smell. So far I'm undecided.

 

[takeshi]

Now to decide on the scent before ordering. Scent is very subjective, but many here place the scented version between 'fresh linen' and a 'harsh, medicinal chemical.' Any impressions?

Impressions on subjective matters don't really mean much unless you're familiar with the person you're asking and how their impressions are directly relevant to you. For example, I wouldn't call MDC's lavender anything like "fresh linen".

I say go for the scented version.

I'd say go with whatever you want. I went with unscented. There's no one answer on any subjective matter.

Either way, this is not a risky purchase. If you don't like it, you can easily sell it.

^ This

I bought a used jar of the "unscented" MdC off the BST earlier this week. I used it for my shave yesterday. The "unscented" smells, well, AWFUL. It smells like burning... like Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap minus the pine. I have no idea if that is normal or not.

Again, a highly subjective matter. Mine smells nothing like "burning" or pine tar soap to me. It's definitely not "free of any scent" but has no added scent (as indicated in many threads on MDC). I don't find the scent offensive. Some do.

 

[praiano]

Thanks. This actually helped. I'll order the scented, and you'll see it up for sale if the scent becomes a problem!

 

[cvac]

All the scent descriptions of MdC from people that don't like it give me a laugh. It just shows how subjective and personal scent really is and how what scents you may have been exposed to and like/don't like can color your perceptions or give you strange, negative associations.

The "burning" comment is almost as funny as someone (BullGoose?) that said it smelled like hot roofing tar...

Funny stuff....

 

[brothers]

When I was little we used to watch the guys working on blacktop/gravel roads, and they used the hot tar. I know that smell very well, but I've never understood why it has to be considered a "bad" smell. Same goes for the "household cleaner" criticism that usually hits anything citrusy. Again, that's not what I call a "bad" smell, it is just what it is. If a soap's fragrance reminds me of something else, OK, but who makes the rules that we shouldn't like the soap because of that fact. Anyway, regarding MdC, yes, when I first smelled it, it was completely unknown to me, and it wasn't pleasant, or unpleasant, it was just unfamiliar. Then when I read the comment that it reminded somebody of hot tar, I recognized it, and didn't disagree. But I didn't dislike it for that reason. Does that make sense? After I used my MdC 3 or 4 times, it started smelling very pleasant. Now I can't get enough of it. It's become familiar, and that's just fine with me. It lathers and performs like nobody's business, and that makes it perfect.

 

[jpipes3]

All the scent descriptions of MdC from people that don't like it give me a laugh. It just shows how subjective and personal scent really is and how what scents you may have been exposed to and like/don't like can color your perceptions or give you strange, negative associations.

The "burning" comment is almost as funny as someone (BullGoose?) that said it smelled like hot roofing tar...

Funny stuff....

Hot roofing tar! Bingo! I'm glad I'm not the first that's noticed then. At least now I can rest easy that I wasn't having a mild stroke on Saturday when I shaved with it. Or is that rotten eggs? I can never keep those straight.

 

[Natohog]

From reading some of the more recent posts it seems like the unscented smells terrible and people are happy with the scented. IMO, MDC smells like lavendar, rosemarry, mint or possibly pine.

 

[kingfisher]

Well, I'm a physician and to me MdC carries an underlying scent that is not unlike the stuff they use to preserve the cadavers for our anatomy classes (formaldyhyde? phenol? A combination of both?).

All the MdC stuff I've smelled has this same undertone, and that includes two different bath soaps as well as the shaving soap. To my nose it's quite unpleasant. The bath soaps lather beautifully and work well, but they smell like the anatomy lab.

MdC lathers well, but not well enough to overcome the scent. There are many other shave soaps I can use that smell good and provide excellent performance, too. I'm sticking with those.

 

[erudolph]

Well, I'm a physician and to me MdC carries an underlying scent that is not unlike the stuff they use to preserve the cadavers for our anatomy classes (formaldyhyde? phenol? A combination of both?).

All the MdC stuff I've smelled has this same undertone, and that includes two different bath soaps as well as the shaving soap. To my nose it's quite unpleasant. The bath soaps lather beautifully and work well, but they smell like the anatomy lab.

MdC lathers well, but not well enough to overcome the scent. There are many other shave soaps I can use that smell good and provide excellent performance, too. I'm sticking with those.

I'm not a physician but I did spend some time in the anatomy lab. In fact, I passed out in the anatomy lab. But I don't find the McD reminding me of the smells I smelled there.

​

 

[kingfisher]

I'm not a physician but I did spend some time in the anatomy lab. In fact, I passed out in the anatomy lab. But I don't find the McD reminding me of the smells I smelled there.

Maybe something's wrong with your sniffer?

 

[erudolph]

Maybe something's wrong with your sniffer?

It's possible... At least my wife doesn't say I smell like a cadaver. Of course, she was an art major.

​

 

[Whitmore]

To me, MdC smells like lavender with a sharp hint of something herbal. Very pleasant, rather low-key and suitable for a great everyday shave.

But the difference in perception leads me to believe that there might be a variation in scent from batch to batch. Since MdC after all these years still is handmade, maybe they just add a drop of this or that here or there for good measure. Or it's the five months of drying that gives each batch (or even soap?) a unique note.

 

[mblakele]

MdC probably does vary a bit: all products do. But people have different perceptions, even face to face with the same experience. Over in Arkoland several folks are getting soap that probably came from the same batch. Some find the scent heavy and offensive, others find it mild and inoffensive, and others pleasant.

Most of this is just YMMV. Some people find cilantro inoffensive and others say it tastes like soap, or like a swamp. That difference appears to be genetic. At wine tastings you can pour from the same bottle and still get into similar arguments about scents and flavors. Some of that is psychological or environmental, but some is rooted in physical differences between people. Whatever the cause, the music does not sound exactly the same when you play it through different sound systems.

 

[htownmmm]

I received my MdC purchased on the BST yesterday. Both my wife and I smelled it and loved it. But in the back of my mind, I knew I recognized that smell. Well, while shaving this evening, it hit me-MdC smells just like Speick shave cream and a/s splash!

Sure enough, after my routine was done, I splashed on some Specik a/s and felt like I had just finished the perfect layer. lavendar and rosemary may be in there, but it's not what my nose is picking up. However, the scent is fresh and clean to me, so it will definitely remain in the rotation.

marty

 

[Larry J]

I find the scent to be a mild & pleasant, mostly lavender. I typically lock down the lid to preserve the scent.
Funny, while I have only used Speick soap, I found the scent to be a bit on the antiseptic side. A definite ymmv.

 

[praiano]

I'm not sure if this has been answered, but are there any tips for daily care with this soap after using? Meaning, is it best to air dry after it's been wet and used, or do you just tighten up the lid?

I just received my package from France. Looking forward to it using it. And the scent is great!

 

[Sqratch]

They recommend leaving the cover off.

 

[craig87c]

I received my MdC purchased on the BST yesterday. Both my wife and I smelled it and loved it. But in the back of my mind, I knew I recognized that smell. Well, while shaving this evening, it hit me-MdC smells just like Speick shave cream and a/s splash!

Sure enough, after my routine was done, I splashed on some Specik a/s and felt like I had just finished the perfect layer. lavendar and rosemary may be in there, but it's not what my nose is picking up. However, the scent is fresh and clean to me, so it will definitely remain in the rotation.

marty

And now I'm sold. I hoped the lavender was more herbal than floral, just like Speick.

 

[jumper]

When I was stationed in Germany, my wife and I did some touring in France. We found the 'savonnerie/farm' in a old guide and went to the boutique where she loaded up on soaps. I stumbled upon the shave soap and an Brit was there and he told me it was to die for so I bought a jar. I'm thinking it was about 100 gr in a small plastic jar but I might be wrong. The price was in Francs so that's how long ago. The young lady at the cash opened it up and showed me the texture and told me to 'discard' the lid when I started to use it. I was sure I heard wrong as French is my second language and it's more Quebecois actually. It was great soap and lasted ages. When I got back to Canada I wanted more so I wrote to them. It was a pain with an international money order et al but it was worth it. I ordered again about 2 years ago from the web store and it was a lot easier. I might have 10 shaves left in the last pot so that's 10 Sunday morning pampers. I'll order some more soon. The scent has never changed for me, nor fade, I leave the lid off. It is and will probably always be my favourite soap. It's a lot better if you spin up some ´Edith Piaf to listen to whilst you shave. The only thing missing is a nice Plisson brosse de rasage.