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- #21
Should I go for Seville or Oceana?
Narrowing it down. Mike's vs. Catie's vs Barrister
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Huh? Seville is one of the cheaper soaps around. It's only $16, making it one of the cheapest soaps in the B&M line. (Aside from the Latha soaps.)
I would go with Seville. It's a better soap than Oceana, based on the ingredients.
I'd go with Seville as well. Very fresh, clean scent... my preferred take on a "barbershop" scent.
The Oceana lather more quickly. The Seville had a more complex scent with lots of herbs. The Seville will also last a lot longer. I think they are both great; can't go wrong with either.
B&M is wonderful soap but the scents are what sets it apart. They are deep, complex and strong enough to enjoy for awhile after shaving.
I can only speak for B&M, but I have both Latha Lavanda and the white label Bay Rum, with the older base. Both lather easily with hard water, and the scents are great IMHO. White label edges out Latha for post shave, but for the price Latha performs quite well
Based on my experience two months for a tub of XXX is quite good. A tub lasts me 4-6 weeks.
I only have Caties however, both the others are on my list of to try soaps!
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- #31
Dear lord. A 1/6th of Martin de Candre would last longer hahaa
Mike's would be my choice of the three but, Catie's LPV is a must for any den.
Mike's no question. Perfect ingredients & performance. Gentle scents for the most part.
Caties Bubbles is far too drying, basic ingredients.
Barrister is a bit better but overdone. Caties & Barrister are far too over scented, a curious tendency of most US artisans.
The Brit/Euro artisans who use essential oils only and gentle formulations and scents. (OSP, Phoenix & Beau for example) get it right.
Caties Bubbles is far too drying, basic ingredients.
Barrister is a bit better but overdone. Caties & Barrister are far too over scented, a curious tendency of most US artisans.
The Brit/Euro artisans who use essential oils only and gentle formulations and scents. (OSP, Phoenix & Beau for example) get it right.
In the event you decide on B&M Seville, I caught wind that they will be releasing it in their new Glissant base in about a month. Having tried both the old and new formulations, I would wait til they release the updated formula. They're both top notch, but the Glissant is definitely an improvement in latherability (per your criteria in OP).
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- #35
I'm going to own all 3 at some point.
Catie's Bubbles; lathers up very quick and fluffy.
If we're just talking about the thickness and fluffiness of the lather itself I'd have to say Catie's Bubbles again. However...
A tie between B&M and Mike's.
Again, a tie between B&M and Mike's. I think Catie's Bubbles lacks severely in this department.
Mike's, although B&M isn't bad at all. Catie's Bubbles dries out my face, really bad post-shave feel for me.
As much as I like Mike's, I think B&M has a bit more artistry in their scents. Catie's Bubbles makes some good scents, and also some really bad "cheap candle store a soccer mom would go to" scents (their Cranberry scent sample I got from Maggard's instantly reminded of a feminine cheap candle, couldn't even shave with it.) CB's LPV smells fantastic though. If I had to pick one, I'd say Mike's.
This question I never really understood, as the price of shaving soaps and creams isn't really that much money unless you're specifically getting into the really really high-end stuff like XPEC or ABC or Creed (yes Creed makes shaving soaps.)
Other than that category, though, among the artisan soaps we're talking, what? 13 bucks versus 20 bucks? *shrug* I'm not rich but I'm not that hard up for money that I'm breaking down soaps in a price per ounce way...maybe I just don't have enough soaps/creams for the $5-6 difference per puck between companies to make any real difference in my financials. Cold River Soap Works for example costs me, after shipping, $20.50, whereas a Stirling puck would be about $14-15 bucks after shipping. *shrugs again* Big whoop. To me, CRSW soaps perform much better to Stirling than the price difference between them, which again, is a low amount of money anyway. We're not talking the price difference between a Kia and a Lamborghini here.
Nonetheless, here's the breakdown:
Catie's Bubbles has different sizes and a lot of soaps, so I just averaged all the 4 ounce soaps I saw on Maggard's and got an average soap price of $15 for 4 ounces, or $3.75 an ounce.
Mike's Natural Soaps has an average soap price of $14.30 for 5 ounces, or $2.86 per ounce.
Barrister & Man has an average soap price (not counting the Latha line) of $17.10 for 4 ounces, or $4.27 per ounce. Counting the Latha line, it comes down to $15.65 for 4 ounces, or $3.91 per ounce.
Us guys like to quantify everything. Really though, it's not about the numbers, as people will say Castle Forbes cream, despite the hefty price tag, is actually cheap because of how long it lasts. (Kind of like how, on paper, the Nissan GT-R beats a Porsche 911 around the Nürburgring in lap times, but many racecar drivers who've driven both say the Porsche is more fun to drive.)
In my experience, Mike's seems to last the longest though so it's probably the best value along with being the cheapest to initially purchase anyway, although as you can tell I don't really care about price per ounce breakdown (excluding, of course, the super high end soaps/creams.) I don't dump out fries onto a plate at a fast food place and count the fries and do a cost per fry breakdown; too little money involved for me to bother with that.
Sorry if this came off as a bit ranty, not really directed at the OP but the constant "price per ounce" thing has confused me as to why people obsess over it.
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- #38
A $5-10 difference in soap isn't a ton of money. But considering that it's a consumable item, I try not to spend too much on it.
Keep in mind that B&M's Latha line was specifically designed to lather well in hard water, and it does excel at that, as well as having a lower price point($11 for 4 ounces). Out of Mike's, CB, and B&M I would say that B&M's glissant base outperforms the others in all areas. The Latha line is great in most respects, and has mostly simpler scents, but does lack in post-shave compared to white label and glissant. It's post shave is still very good, just not amazing.
Also keep in mind that all 3 are excellent performing soaps, and you couldn't go wrong with any of them. As with all things wet shaving, YMMV. Particularly with post shave feel, due to so many different skin types, and even differences among same skin types.
Good luck in your journey!
Also keep in mind that all 3 are excellent performing soaps, and you couldn't go wrong with any of them. As with all things wet shaving, YMMV. Particularly with post shave feel, due to so many different skin types, and even differences among same skin types.
Good luck in your journey!
Huge +1.
Another factor to consider: Is it worth penny-pinching on a low-cost item, when the quality of your shave depends on choosing good soap? I'll gladly spend a few more dollars on a soap, if it means a few months of great shaves, rather than a few months of mediocre shaves.
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