Okay, so I finally broke down and ordered a tub of Martin De Candre and within 5 days it was sitting in my den.
69 dollars from France. Not bad when you consider some of the higher end soaps (looking at you Pennhaligons).
Anyway, I figured I should go with the original because if you're going to do a classic you may as well go all the way. I'm not a huge lavender fan so that was a minor concern. But I certainly don't hate it. And in my experience scents tend to grow on me. It's more important that I like the product that that I love the scent right off the bat.
Well, so far I've had one straight razor shave with it using my new chubby 2. The C2 isn't broken in yet (so they tell me) and may be a bit of a soap hog but I was very impressed with the lather. I did have to reload but that's not a problem for me. I'll just load more up front next time. I did maybe 30 seconds. I'll do a minute which seems about right for a soap of this density.
It's hard as a rock, smells pretty good in a classic kind of way (I think of it as French Tabac maybe ?) The lavender is very deep and earthy and has some minty, rosemary notes added (so they tell me) and I find it very soothing. Just medicinal enough to make me want to shave with it.
Oh, and the jar is classy. I'm planning on keeping the lid off for a while and allowing it to cure as per suggestions in the package. I suppose the scent will mellow but in the mean time it will make the room smell nice.
So yeah. I spent 70 bucks on a shave soap from France.
And I liked it.
69 dollars from France. Not bad when you consider some of the higher end soaps (looking at you Pennhaligons).
Anyway, I figured I should go with the original because if you're going to do a classic you may as well go all the way. I'm not a huge lavender fan so that was a minor concern. But I certainly don't hate it. And in my experience scents tend to grow on me. It's more important that I like the product that that I love the scent right off the bat.
Well, so far I've had one straight razor shave with it using my new chubby 2. The C2 isn't broken in yet (so they tell me) and may be a bit of a soap hog but I was very impressed with the lather. I did have to reload but that's not a problem for me. I'll just load more up front next time. I did maybe 30 seconds. I'll do a minute which seems about right for a soap of this density.
It's hard as a rock, smells pretty good in a classic kind of way (I think of it as French Tabac maybe ?) The lavender is very deep and earthy and has some minty, rosemary notes added (so they tell me) and I find it very soothing. Just medicinal enough to make me want to shave with it.
Oh, and the jar is classy. I'm planning on keeping the lid off for a while and allowing it to cure as per suggestions in the package. I suppose the scent will mellow but in the mean time it will make the room smell nice.
So yeah. I spent 70 bucks on a shave soap from France.
And I liked it.
