Did you ever try Version 2? I tried the 2 today. It was the first experience with Murphy & McNeil shave soaps, and I'm afraid it's going to cost me now. I really liked it.
Murphy & McNeil
- Thread starter ryinzana
- Start date
Did you ever try Version 2? I tried the 2 today. It was the first experience with Murphy & McNeil shave soaps, and I'm afraid it's going to cost me now. I really liked it.
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
No, but I kept version 1 and still use it, despite the minor burning sensation. I do love the scent of it.
I may or may not have ordered 4 samples of Murphy and McNeil soaps yesterday.......never tried the stuff before. Obviously heard lots of good reports. Tried on four scents that sounded appealing to me. Can't even remember what they all were.......one was Trinity and one was Naid (I have high hopes for this one). One was a Silver Mountain Water clone, which I thought I would potentially like. The other one may or may not have been an Aventus clone.
Well, whenever they get here I guess I'll find out. My idea is to buy one full tub of Murphy and McNeil, and I wanted to make sure I got the scent I liked best; I figure it will be among these four. I love fruity scents and I really like floral scents, so the idea of apricot+freesia seems like it will be right up my alley (those are the scent notes of Naid, for the uninitiated; I like simpler scents generally, too). Almost just bought a full tub of it, but I thought I'd try a few more and make sure I'm happy when I get my full tub.
Thank you to all the enablers on this thread........
Well, whenever they get here I guess I'll find out. My idea is to buy one full tub of Murphy and McNeil, and I wanted to make sure I got the scent I liked best; I figure it will be among these four. I love fruity scents and I really like floral scents, so the idea of apricot+freesia seems like it will be right up my alley (those are the scent notes of Naid, for the uninitiated; I like simpler scents generally, too). Almost just bought a full tub of it, but I thought I'd try a few more and make sure I'm happy when I get my full tub.
Thank you to all the enablers on this thread........
Naid is a fantastic scent, I think you will enjoy it a lot, I know I do. Like you said, it’s a simpler scent but smells so good, doesn’t need anything more. It is wife approved as well, one of her favourite warm weather scents, along with Garda Siochana (aquatic and citrus).
Let us know when they arrive which ones you got and what your thoughts are.
Last I looked Maggards was having a sale on all Murphy and Mcneil samples. $1 each (USD)
And Trinity is their Aventus dupe.
Oh, thanks for telling me NOW, after I spent $15 on four samples, lol. Oh, well, I'm sure the samples I got straight from M&M are probably quite a bit larger than the ones they sell at Maggards. Plus, if they are blowing them out at a buck each, they may have been sitting around the a while.
OK, so if Trinity is their Aventus dupe, I definitely got that one. Can't remember the fourth one. Might have been the Cat one? Once they arrive and I have had a chance to sniff them, I'll post initial scent thoughts in the thread. Then I'll post again after I've had a chance to actually shave with them a few times, to give y'all an update about how things are going and which one I'm leaning toward.
The samples from Murphy and McNeil are twice the size as the samples from Maggards and most other places. The M&M samples come sealed in a little package you have to tear open, the Maggards ones come in little plastic jars with a twist lid. The Maggards ones are more convenient as they have a lid but I’ve gotten two soap samples from them that were completely dried out and two TOBS that the smell was completely gone. I think you are correct that they are likely just old stock they are clearing out.
I was going to wait until tonight to shave (I usually shave on Saturday evenings), but I had a late shower this morning after a work-out and a haircut at home, so I shaved right after my shower.
Naturally, the samples from M&M arrived in today's mail.
Anyway, there were four: Trinity, Claddagh, Naid, and the Cat one. I opened them all and sniffed them, but won't be shaving until Monday morning, at the earliest. So, here are my early thoughts about the scents, listed from least favorite to most favorite (mind you, this is kind of a "first-impression rose" situation, since I haven't lathered or shaved with any of these yet).
Naid. This was the one I had highest hopes for, so I opened it first. Very disappointing first sniff, I have to say. Lots of sort of background "tallow funk" with a tiny bit of apricot and virtually no freesia scent at all. Maybe it will open up with lathering, and maybe the scent notes will outcompete the "funk," but for now the one I thought I would like the best is solidly in fourth place of the four .
Cat something or other. Wow, this one is SPICY. And the scent strength is about 5X that of the Naid. I didn't get any background tallow soap funk from this. Mostly just a really strong and spicy neroli scent. I'm not sure, but it may have triggered my hayfever a bit. I suspect, when lathered, the scent will mellow a bit. I like neroli, so I like it pretty well, but I'm not sure it is going to agree with my sniffer (I have a LOT of allergies, and a lot of scents really bother me).
Trinity. On first sniff, this is a really nice, complex cologne scent that I immediately liked. I have never smelled Aventus and I have never had an Aventus clone or homage in my shave den at all. I was pleasantly surprised. It smells good, in a somewhat generic "I'm a cologne" sort of way. On first sniff it was my favorite, but after I sniffed them all a few times, I changed my mind. I worry that I might get tired of this scent if I had an entire puck to go through, but I might not, who knows?
Claddagh. This scent IS familiar to me, because at one time I had a sample of a Stirling aftershave that was also based on Silver Mountain Water. Interestingly, when I first smelled that aftershave, I was underwhelmed, but over time the scent grew on me and I like it more and more. Similarly, at first sniff, I thought Trinity was superior to Claddagh, but on repeated sniffing I began to think that perhaps this one will become my favorite of the four. Unlike Trinity, it seems like a kind of cologne scent that isn't trying too hard and that won't become cloying or boring over the duration of using up a full tub.
More to come, after I've had a chance to lather up and shave with them.
Naturally, the samples from M&M arrived in today's mail.
Anyway, there were four: Trinity, Claddagh, Naid, and the Cat one. I opened them all and sniffed them, but won't be shaving until Monday morning, at the earliest. So, here are my early thoughts about the scents, listed from least favorite to most favorite (mind you, this is kind of a "first-impression rose" situation, since I haven't lathered or shaved with any of these yet).
Naid. This was the one I had highest hopes for, so I opened it first. Very disappointing first sniff, I have to say. Lots of sort of background "tallow funk" with a tiny bit of apricot and virtually no freesia scent at all. Maybe it will open up with lathering, and maybe the scent notes will outcompete the "funk," but for now the one I thought I would like the best is solidly in fourth place of the four .
Cat something or other. Wow, this one is SPICY. And the scent strength is about 5X that of the Naid. I didn't get any background tallow soap funk from this. Mostly just a really strong and spicy neroli scent. I'm not sure, but it may have triggered my hayfever a bit. I suspect, when lathered, the scent will mellow a bit. I like neroli, so I like it pretty well, but I'm not sure it is going to agree with my sniffer (I have a LOT of allergies, and a lot of scents really bother me).
Trinity. On first sniff, this is a really nice, complex cologne scent that I immediately liked. I have never smelled Aventus and I have never had an Aventus clone or homage in my shave den at all. I was pleasantly surprised. It smells good, in a somewhat generic "I'm a cologne" sort of way. On first sniff it was my favorite, but after I sniffed them all a few times, I changed my mind. I worry that I might get tired of this scent if I had an entire puck to go through, but I might not, who knows?
Claddagh. This scent IS familiar to me, because at one time I had a sample of a Stirling aftershave that was also based on Silver Mountain Water. Interestingly, when I first smelled that aftershave, I was underwhelmed, but over time the scent grew on me and I like it more and more. Similarly, at first sniff, I thought Trinity was superior to Claddagh, but on repeated sniffing I began to think that perhaps this one will become my favorite of the four. Unlike Trinity, it seems like a kind of cologne scent that isn't trying too hard and that won't become cloying or boring over the duration of using up a full tub.
More to come, after I've had a chance to lather up and shave with them.
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
My Pisgah (Kodiak) arrived yesterday, and I’ve had a chance to shave with it. The scent is quite strong, and notes of spice, leather and patchouli are most prominent. Has a ‘hunting cabin in the woods’ vibe to my nose. It seems like a heavier, Fall/Winter scent profile. Candidly, I wasn’t sure I liked the scent and thought it a bit too strong for my tastes.
Then, I decided to experiment a bit. I combined a bit of the Pisgah with a bit of my Kodiak Mandate of Heaven soap and, voila, the combination is simply brilliant. The MoH smoothes out the spicy notes and adds a warm, sweet, almost vanilla accord which only enhances the ‘hunting cabin’ experience.
So I mixed both together in the Pisgah jar and now I have a solid 6+ ounces of my Frankenrazor Kodiak soap.
Then, I decided to experiment a bit. I combined a bit of the Pisgah with a bit of my Kodiak Mandate of Heaven soap and, voila, the combination is simply brilliant. The MoH smoothes out the spicy notes and adds a warm, sweet, almost vanilla accord which only enhances the ‘hunting cabin’ experience.
So I mixed both together in the Pisgah jar and now I have a solid 6+ ounces of my Frankenrazor Kodiak soap.
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If you like florals, then Triskele is worth sampling. I found it to be a floral barbershop scent. Reminded me a bit of Baker Street if you're familiar with that scent.
Well, first shave with McNeil and Murphy is now in the books.
I took the Claddagh sample out of its pouch and pressed it into the bottom of a plastic soap container I had lying around. Lathered it up with my Yaqi Sagrada Familia synthetic brush, and shaved with the Kai Woody shavette as the main axe, with touch-up using the PAA Meta-4 razor loaded with a fresh Polsilver blade.
My impressions:
1) Scent. I find the scent quite pleasant, and it didn't seem to bother my allergies. No stinging or burning on the skin, either. Only two downsides were that even in this scent I could detect a faint hit of "funky tallow" smell. I don't know if that's from the beef tallow or from the duck fat. And it's not overwhelming at all, but it is there just behind the nice cologne scent. The other thing about the scent that I didn't like is that the scent strength is fairly light; medium strength at best. I found myself wishing the scent were a little stronger.
I suspect they intentionally make their scents not so strong to avoid so many returns from irritation, which is probably pretty smart. But I still wished I had a bit more of this lovely scent.
2) Lather. It loaded easily and actually lathered fairly easily. I had heard some people say that it took a long time and some extra work to lather, but I didn't find that to be the case (of course, I have some other soaps that similarly require longer than most, and I take my time lathering, anyway).
At the end of my lathering work I was rewarded with a lather that was quite nice. It is definitely a "low structure" lather, but it was dense and moist. I put plenty of water into it, bit by bit, because I had heard it was thirsty.
I found the lather to not dissipate at all. It was slicker than all of the current soaps in my den. Cushion seemed about in the middle of the pack of soaps I have tried. Slickness definitely in the 75th percentile, at least. Post-shave face feel was better than most, but not ridiculously so. It did NOT feel like it loaded a bunch of grease onto my face, and it rinsed off easily, which was nice. About a half-hour after the shave my skin looked and felt great (but I should add that I used a post-shave).
Interestingly, even though the scent strength on this soap is low-to-medium, it seems like the scent lingers on the skin for a while after you use it, just lightly.
Overall, I had a great lather and a great shave with this soap. I will be trying the other samples in the coming days. I suspect the lather quality will be essentially the same for all samples, so I will focus those reviews more on the scents.
I'm glad you guys lured me into the M&M trap; the sample I used last night looks like it probably has at least 10 more shaves in it, so whether I end up purchasing a full tub of an M&M soap or not, I will likely get 40-50 shaves out of these four samples. Seeing as I shave only 4 times a week, I will get a prolonged time of M&M goodness!
I took the Claddagh sample out of its pouch and pressed it into the bottom of a plastic soap container I had lying around. Lathered it up with my Yaqi Sagrada Familia synthetic brush, and shaved with the Kai Woody shavette as the main axe, with touch-up using the PAA Meta-4 razor loaded with a fresh Polsilver blade.
My impressions:
1) Scent. I find the scent quite pleasant, and it didn't seem to bother my allergies. No stinging or burning on the skin, either. Only two downsides were that even in this scent I could detect a faint hit of "funky tallow" smell. I don't know if that's from the beef tallow or from the duck fat. And it's not overwhelming at all, but it is there just behind the nice cologne scent. The other thing about the scent that I didn't like is that the scent strength is fairly light; medium strength at best. I found myself wishing the scent were a little stronger.
I suspect they intentionally make their scents not so strong to avoid so many returns from irritation, which is probably pretty smart. But I still wished I had a bit more of this lovely scent.
2) Lather. It loaded easily and actually lathered fairly easily. I had heard some people say that it took a long time and some extra work to lather, but I didn't find that to be the case (of course, I have some other soaps that similarly require longer than most, and I take my time lathering, anyway).
At the end of my lathering work I was rewarded with a lather that was quite nice. It is definitely a "low structure" lather, but it was dense and moist. I put plenty of water into it, bit by bit, because I had heard it was thirsty.
I found the lather to not dissipate at all. It was slicker than all of the current soaps in my den. Cushion seemed about in the middle of the pack of soaps I have tried. Slickness definitely in the 75th percentile, at least. Post-shave face feel was better than most, but not ridiculously so. It did NOT feel like it loaded a bunch of grease onto my face, and it rinsed off easily, which was nice. About a half-hour after the shave my skin looked and felt great (but I should add that I used a post-shave).
Interestingly, even though the scent strength on this soap is low-to-medium, it seems like the scent lingers on the skin for a while after you use it, just lightly.
Overall, I had a great lather and a great shave with this soap. I will be trying the other samples in the coming days. I suspect the lather quality will be essentially the same for all samples, so I will focus those reviews more on the scents.
I'm glad you guys lured me into the M&M trap; the sample I used last night looks like it probably has at least 10 more shaves in it, so whether I end up purchasing a full tub of an M&M soap or not, I will likely get 40-50 shaves out of these four samples. Seeing as I shave only 4 times a week, I will get a prolonged time of M&M goodness!
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Outstanding review.
Well, I did it, I just had to get version 1 & it arrived today. Scent off the puck is delightful.
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Which do you prefer?
Version 2 has the slight edge. I'm going to lather V1 and see how I like it today.
Been using some Murphy and McNeils last couple shaves as of this post (Kels and Crann Bethadh) and I have no echo comments here that these guys make amazing performing soaps, might be another favorite of mine alongside Stirling and Barrister & Mann, also took a leap of faith on their Eau de Parfum and got the smaller bottle of Kels since the soap of it had an interesting smell to it.
Kells is one of my favourite aftershaves now. Love it. I'll be getting the shaving soap sometime for sure.
It also helps that I really like the Celtic theme/stylings of the packaging as well 
I'm definitely going to be exploring this company's stuff here and there
I'm definitely going to be exploring this company's stuff here and there
The new M&M Soap "Pisgah" arrived yesterday in the mailbox. I don't like to think of myself as someone who chases soap bases down rabbit holes, but I did try the bear tallow base from M&M in the past and it always impressed me as the best performing soap you can buy from an artisan soap maker. The scent is enjoyable, yet hard to explain. I think its a scent that nearly everyone would like. It's very clean with a mellow bergamot, cedarwood, etc. As expected the performance was killer. The best part about this soap is the post shave feel. I honestly felt like I didn't need to use aftershave at all. Plus, its just cool to use bear tallow to shave with. Chics dig it!
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OK, so I had my second shave with M&M soaps this morning. Decided to try the Naid, which, as you may or may not recall, was the one I was most excited about given the scent notes, but was disappointed with when I smelled the soap sample. I almost just ordered a tub of this based on the scent notes; man, am I glad I did not.
The lather was almost exactly like what I got from Claddagh; soaps brush lathered can have variable quality from day to day even using the same soap; today I got a bit more water into the lather, which made it even slicker. May have sacrificed a little bit of the cushion, though. Still, a lovely, dense, shiny lather that was very slick and provided for a nice shave.
Now, about the scent...........
I told you there was some kind of "funkiness" coming off this thing. Last night when I gave it a good whiff, it occurred to me that the "off" note smelled a little bit like baby puke. Not particularly pleasant. I was hoping against hope that the puke overtone wouldn't show up in the lather today, and, for the most part, it did not.
There is a very, very subtle apricot and freesia scent hiding in there somewhere, but it's not peaking its head out from behind its hiding place very much. Mostly apricot, I think. Very little floral about this scent; on the other hand, there is literally very little of ANYTHING about this scent.
The scent did NOT open up with lathering. It stayed really subtle. At times it felt like I was just shaving with an unscented soap. (Nothing wrong with that, if that's your thing.)
This scent is like that 10th grader that is really brilliant and talented, and you know could really make something of himself if he would only put in a tiny amount of effort, but all he does is sit around, make jokes, flirt with the cute girls, and play video games. He might still be a likable guy, but it's just SO DISAPPOINTING because you just KNOW he could be so.much.better! This scent has tiny glimpses of how it could be awesome, but it's not. Not in the sample I got, anyway. What I can get from it seems like it would be a really nice, simple scent that would be refreshing and calming all at the same time, but right now it is nothing. Strangely, even though I could barely smell it, it did seem like it was triggering my nasal allergies just a little bit; maybe I am allergic to freesia? I don't know.
Anyway, the shave was fantastic. I'm probably going to shave through this whole sample, but it will be hurling disappointment at me every single time I use it. I kind of wish I had a small sample of either the aftershave or the EDT, so I could see what it was TRYING to be; to see whether I would like it if it were fleshed out a little.
The lather was almost exactly like what I got from Claddagh; soaps brush lathered can have variable quality from day to day even using the same soap; today I got a bit more water into the lather, which made it even slicker. May have sacrificed a little bit of the cushion, though. Still, a lovely, dense, shiny lather that was very slick and provided for a nice shave.
Now, about the scent...........
I told you there was some kind of "funkiness" coming off this thing. Last night when I gave it a good whiff, it occurred to me that the "off" note smelled a little bit like baby puke. Not particularly pleasant. I was hoping against hope that the puke overtone wouldn't show up in the lather today, and, for the most part, it did not.
There is a very, very subtle apricot and freesia scent hiding in there somewhere, but it's not peaking its head out from behind its hiding place very much. Mostly apricot, I think. Very little floral about this scent; on the other hand, there is literally very little of ANYTHING about this scent.
The scent did NOT open up with lathering. It stayed really subtle. At times it felt like I was just shaving with an unscented soap. (Nothing wrong with that, if that's your thing.)
This scent is like that 10th grader that is really brilliant and talented, and you know could really make something of himself if he would only put in a tiny amount of effort, but all he does is sit around, make jokes, flirt with the cute girls, and play video games. He might still be a likable guy, but it's just SO DISAPPOINTING because you just KNOW he could be so.much.better! This scent has tiny glimpses of how it could be awesome, but it's not. Not in the sample I got, anyway. What I can get from it seems like it would be a really nice, simple scent that would be refreshing and calming all at the same time, but right now it is nothing. Strangely, even though I could barely smell it, it did seem like it was triggering my nasal allergies just a little bit; maybe I am allergic to freesia? I don't know.
Anyway, the shave was fantastic. I'm probably going to shave through this whole sample, but it will be hurling disappointment at me every single time I use it. I kind of wish I had a small sample of either the aftershave or the EDT, so I could see what it was TRYING to be; to see whether I would like it if it were fleshed out a little.
