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Differences between Martin de Candre soaps

I've been rotating 4 soaps from Martin de Candre over the past months and found that there are slight differences in performance. I wanted to make sure that my findings are not the result of other gear or methods. Before continuing, I want to stress that all 4 soaps perform wonderfully and outperform all other soaps I've tried over the past 10 years or so.

If I would have to rank these soaps in terms of performance:

1. Vétyver
2. Nature
3. Agrumes
4. Rose

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact differences but I'd say the Vétyver and Nature give glossier and more stable lather than the Rose. After a shave I always wash my face with the leftover lather and find that the Rose dries more quickly than the others. I also tried a sample of the Fougère and consider it to be in the middle of the pack.

Do you guys think think this could be explained by differences between batches or could the differences in ingredients offer a (partial) explanation? Please share your experiences.

P.S. If Martin de Candre would be reading this, a mentholated/peppermint soap would be a dream!

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A very interesting observation. I too think MdC is at the very top of the soap pyramid in terms of performance, scent and yes, value. I have Vetyver, Agrumes, Rose, Fougere and Original and have not noticed any difference in performance. I must admit that I have been rotating other brands the past year I have been using MdC, so I haven't been paying too much attention to individual performance by scent. Maybe I will use MdC exclusively in August and pay a bit more attention to performance by scent. I have about 10 years of MdC in my 5 jars, so I have time to test your theory if I don't get around to it in August.

Great thread. Will be interested to hear others input.
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
I’ve only had the pleasure of Fougere — but oddly started getting a stinging sensation while shaving. Had to find a new home for it. I’ll also be interested in others’ thoughts.
 
I think all MdC shaving soap is made with the same formula except for the fragrance components. The differences could be due to natural variability between batches, length of time spent aging, moisture content, etc.
 
I’ve only had the pleasure of Fougere — but oddly started getting a stinging sensation while shaving. Had to find a new home for it. I’ll also be interested in others’ thoughts.
I got a stinging sensation from a sample of fougere also. It wasn't bad enough to prevent me from using the whole sample. No problem with original which I liked very much.
 
Never used any but the original, and that was several years ago. I loved the performance but found the soap irritated me with continued use. I wonder if it was due to a scent component, and the idea of a vetiver MdC is appealing. If it happens to perform even better than the original, no complaints here.
 
I remember reading somewhere that the newer fragrances (Rose, Agrumes and Vetyver) had a higher moisture content than the older ones. I bought Fougere, Agrumes and Vetyver at the same time and when I weighed them the Fougere weighed 12 or 14 grams lighter than the other two.

I can't remember why this was, but found it interesting.
 
MdC is a most excellent soap. I own vetiver, agrumes, fougere, and original. i haven’t directly compared the scents for performance but I havent noticed any significant variation. They all perform superbly for me.
 
They shave and lather very wel could smell a bit stronger (I am spoiled by stirling). Happy that I have samples not buying them.
 
A very interesting observation. I too think MdC is at the very top of the soap pyramid in terms of performance, scent and yes, value. I have Vetyver, Agrumes, Rose, Fougere and Original and have not noticed any difference in performance. I must admit that I have been rotating other brands the past year I have been using MdC, so I haven't been paying too much attention to individual performance by scent. Maybe I will use MdC exclusively in August and pay a bit more attention to performance by scent. I have about 10 years of MdC in my 5 jars, so I have time to test your theory if I don't get around to it in August.

Great thread. Will be interested to hear others input.

I also have all five of the scented soaps, and I can't tell a difference either. They are my five favorite soaps.
 
Have Rose in the jar. Have used Vetyver and Fougere samples. I don't notice any differences. All worked great.
 
Interesting. I've tried them all (except Natural). I seem to recall some burning with the Fougere. Enjoyed all four but I'm back on the Original. I only shave with MdC soap now as life is short. MdC - if you read this, please consider a bay rum/clove scented shaving soap!
 

IMightBeWrong

Loves a smelly brush
I have recently realized that MdC is the most skin friendly shaving soap I own. At one time I found it drying. That was when I was only using an alcohol based splash after the shave. Back then, I would use fattier soaps and my skin would feel more moisturized after the shave but I would also break out. Now I am using MdC most of the time and using alcohol free toner and a moisturizer after the shave and my skin feels better than ever. No break outs with the nice, simple MdC formula. Used today with a CG Lvl1 and got an easy BBS with zero irritation and my skin feels perfect as if a razor never even passed over it.
 
I have recently realized that MdC is the most skin friendly shaving soap I own. At one time I found it drying. That was when I was only using an alcohol based splash after the shave. Back then, I would use fattier soaps and my skin would feel more moisturized after the shave but I would also break out. Now I am using MdC most of the time and using alcohol free toner and a moisturizer after the shave and my skin feels better than ever. No break outs with the nice, simple MdC formula. Used today with a CG Lvl1 and got an easy BBS with zero irritation and my skin feels perfect as if a razor never even passed over it.

I too greatly love this simple recipe. I always feel like I’m at a spa or something while lathering it up. There’s slicker stuff out there, but MdC is a very elegant soap.
 
I haven't noticed a difference in performance. As others have said, I'll need to start paying closer attention. I have adverse reactions with some soaps, but none with MdC.
 
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