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Martin de Candre savon à raser

Pros: Lather, Scent, Value
Cons: Pricey
Ahh, Martin de Candre. Probably my favorite shaving soap. Produced by an artisanal soapmaker in the heart of the Loire Valley of France, MdC is in many ways what a good shaving soap should aspire to be.

Price: Well, let's get this out of the way, because there is no way around it: Martin de Candre is expensive stuff. If you buy direct from the manufacturer's website, it'll run you just shy of €40; I bought mine for €45 in one of the large department stores here in Paris and that seemed slightly on the high side. It's mainly sold in the glass bowl with 200g of soap; there's also a 230g wooden bowl available for €59, but in that case you're clearly paying a premium for the (admittedly very nice) turned Beechwood bowl and not the extra 30g of soap. There's also a 50g travel-size pot for maybe €20 or so.

"But Croulebarbe," you exclaim, "you marked it an eight for price! How can this be?" Well, here's the thing: yes, it's expensive, but you get your money's worth. At five to six shaves a week, my last bowl lasted me just shy of a year and a half. In terms of cost per shave, that's pretty damned good.

So I knocked off two points because the up-front cost is quite high (sixty bucks for a jar of soap is a lot of money in any man's English), but you do get your money's worth.

Quality: The presentation is excellent: clean, simple, unpretentious. The soap is filled into a heavy glass jar (all the way up to the rim!) with an aluminum screw-top lid and brown Kraft paper labels, which is packaged in a white carton. The jar in particular is quite handsome and would be well at home on display in one's bathroom - it has a very masculine style to it.

Once emptied it makes an excellent repository for other soaps, grated pucks, etc. I soaked the labels off of the last one, washed out the residue, and grated a puck of AoS tallow soap that I had been given as a gift.

Scent: I marked this one relatively low because I know that it's a rather polarizing scent. The overall nose is very strongly lavender and mint, with undertones of rosemary and very, very, very faint notes of herbs and maybe citrus oils. I personally like it very much, but it is admittedly somewhat medicinal in nature. It must be said, however, that it is much less strong on the face than it is in the bowl.

The scent is much more potent when the soap is new; once you get into the heart of the soap it seems to mellow a bit and gain complexity, but without diminishing in intensity. There is also an unscented version.

Lather: Positively magnificent.

Lather jumps off of the brush with very little effort. I use the soap primarily as a face-latherer, so my experience is generally limited to that, but the brush needs not be terribly wet, nor do you need to slowly add water as you build the lather as with many soaps. It merely suffices to swirl a loaded brush over a moistened face and the lather will build.

The lather comes out nicely dense and gives good cushioning to the blade. Not much more needs to be said about this.

The lather lasts quite long without significantly thinning or dissipating, and with a normal load on the brush you should easily be able to create enough for a three-pass shave.

Another thing: unlike many soaps, Martin de Candre works marvelously with hard water. As a general rule the water in France ranges from quite hard to very hard, so one would expect no less from a French savonnier.

Efficacy: Excellent. MdC gives a nice, slick, well-cushioned shave. It offers an excellent degree of protection; I relish the close, nick-free shaves I get when I use the stuff.

Moreover, you don't need a whole lot of the stuff on your brush; while it's not quite to the degree of a cream or a soft soap like Proraso, you don't need to scrub the brush into it to get a sufficient load like many other hard soaps. Just a few swirls, and you're off. As I said above, you won't use this stuff up very quickly.

Moisturizing: Very good, but not superlative. Your skin will feel much better than before you shaved, but it won't make you throw away your post-shave products. Still, for a soap I consider it to be very good.

Overall I highly recommend this soap, because at the end of the day it's about the shave, and in every category pertaining thereto Martin de Candre delivers admirably. Of course, if you're unsure about the scent, I would check it out at the store first, or start with the travel-sized pot to limit the damage if you find it's not to your liking, or alternately get the unscented version, but in any case you owe it to yourself to give it a try.
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
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DesB
I have two tubs of Martin de Candre (Fougere and Original) and just haven't been able to find anything better. Easy to work with and lots of slick foam. I had to give away all my other soaps as I found them to be inferior and I just cannot find another one as good as MdC just to provide some variety.
Most efficient soap I have used to this point. With very little loading the lather explodes from the brush. MdC gives a very close nick-free shave and leaves my face feeling well moisturized for a non-tallow soap. It is quite expensive up front and I didn't love the scent but it makes for such a nice shave that I feel its worth it. IMO it's MdC and MWF are in a league of their own.
Price
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Scent
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Lather
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Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
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Pros: Scent, Packaging, Performance
Cons: None
By far the most luxurious product I own in skin care and/or shaving, but well worth it.A little goes a long way and the tub is 170g (I purchased the Scented Glass Jar version). Scent is unique, but apparently a very raw lavender scent, not artificial, it grows on you. I love it.Easy to lather, great shaves, super fast shipping direct from MdC and the best packaging I have ever seen. Free samples too!
Price
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Scent
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Lather
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Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Pros: Performance, Scent, Quantity
Cons: Price
I paid 60 EUR from Planete Raisor in Paris. Pricy but you definitely get what you pay for. An essential oil type herbal scent, possibly some lavender. I got the wooden bowled version, which comes in a nice bowl and is overfilled about 1 cm/third of an inch. It's a soft soap which makes it very easy to load--2 swirls! If you at all care about your shave, buy this and forget about acquiring any other shaving cream/soap, because they all pale in comparison.I rate the price as '5' since €20 = $80 at the time is a lot, but this is the creme de la creme.Moisturizing effect: well, you shouldn't rely on a soap to moisturize at all (it's intended to strip oils off, which isn't great), but this was pretty good.
Price
2.00 star(s)
Scent
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Lather
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Quality
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Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Pros: Adds to the Luxury of wet shaving.
Cons: Cost - magnified by shipping cost to US
Took 10 days from order to arrival and I used it the morning after it arrived. It is now my favorite (although for special occations based on price).
Price
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Scent
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Lather
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Quality
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Moisturizing
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Pros: Ease of loading and lathering, cushion, slickness, scent
Cons: Price, packaging
Price: Expensive, but where you really get hit is the shipping to U.S. At the time of this writing, it will cost you around $22 in shipping charges to get it shipped to your door from France. Since, MdC is only sold direct, this is your only option if you want to buy this shave soap. Quality: Very high. The ingredients list is very simple, probably the shortest of any shaving soap or cream I've tried. Basically, the soapmaker figured out what would make a good shaving soap and avoided using any other ingredients. No "pixie-dusting" here. Scent: Lavender and Mint EO. There might be something else going on but I'm not sure. Personally I love the scent, but it may not be for everyone. The soap is very lightly fragranced...no Castle Forbes type intensity here. Lather: Phenomenal. When properly used, this produces a nice thick lather with great cushion and glide properties. Although I've seen all sorts of chatter on here about how little you have to load on your brush to get a great lather, I find it easier to get what I want by loading up my brush a bit more. Once my brush is fully loaded, it's very easy to add a little water and work the soap into the perfect consistency and slickness on my face. Efficacy: This stuff works better than anything I've tried, albeit by a slim margin compared to my "top performers". The key here is that this soap is ultra gentle on my skin and the lather it produces is just right to give me a close, but extremely comfortable shave. Moisturizing: I never rely on my shave products to moisturize my face and always use a dedicated moisturizer. However, my skin feels better post-shave than it does after using anything else. Overall, highly recommended.
Price
3.00 star(s)
Scent
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Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Pros: Simple refined luxury
Cons: None
In the interest of full disclosure, my regular shave cream is AdP. I mention this re my price rating. (MdC is cheaper.)Re cost, 170g glass jar of MdC was $37.67. Shipping to Los Angeles, CA via USPS Express Mail was $22.26, plus a nick from Bank of America for a foreign transaction fee. Shipping did not include delivery by virgin milk maids.Quality of presentation is typically French, which is to say excellent. Nobody romances a product like the French, be it wine, fashion, or cosmetics.The scent is light and clean lavender. MdC lather is the stuff of legend. It's not quite as simple as leaving a brush in the same room as an opened jar, but it's close. Throwing some MdC in a newbie starter kit might provide some much needed confidence in their DE future. MdC + Simpson Chubby is a lather machine.I have used MdC every day for 10 days. Considering that I have been feeding it to a succession of Simpson soap hogs, I do not seem to have made any impact on the jar. The maker implies the 170g jar will last over a year with daily use.Is it better than AdP? More like a tie. And that is high praise indeed. A well-kept secret. Since 1974, the soap factory Martin de Candre in Fontevraud-L’Abbaye manufactures according to a traditional and secret method some 100% natural soaps. Far from the volume retailing distribution networks, its high quality products are sold in the shop itself or by distant selling. "The soap factory Martin de Candre is a women and family business! Founded in 1971 by Rosine Dauge, it is today led by her two daughters Hélène Strodijk (manager) and Marie-Amélie de Courcy (marketing). “Together with our three employees, our mother is still involved to help us produce the soaps according to a formula which remains secrete”, explain the two sisters. Every year, hundred kilos of soaps are produced, in this old former farm of the Fontevraud Abbey, according to the production process used in Marseille for centuries. “We do here the whole saponification which consists in a creating a chemical reaction between the vegetable oils (olive, copra, palm…) and the soda at a very high temperature, without adding any synthesis component.” So, no amateurs ! The operation is delicate because “the fusion paste turns out to be terribly temperamental ”, that is why it is forbidden to the public. The paste is then perfumed while it is still hot before being cut 24 hours later and at least the soap loaves are pressed of in bronze moulds… “We manufacture the all year long because 8 months minimum of drying are necessary before the selling.”Independence The soaps are mainly sold in the shop itself. “At the beginning, the soap factory was mainly dedicated to medical profession. From now on, the major part of our customers are private.” Almost 15 000 visitors are welcome every year in the soap factory, which also distributes its products through a dozen of shops in France, and also through distant selling. “We are on a niche market, with very high quality products, which are of course more expensive than the industrial ones”. Member of the association Cosmed, the Martin de Candre company knows it has a special position in the cosmetic sector. Indeed, we work to the opposite of the current processes, but this affirmed choice ensures our independence."
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
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Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Pros: The best shave soap I have tried
Cons: smell might not be everyone, but it is mild and I like it
Simply out, its the best soap I have ever used, and I have over 25 soaps and creams in my Shave Den. It is not cheap, but this is one of the soaps that is absolutely worth the money.I bought mine directly from France (in Paris). Its worth going the extra mile to buy it.
Price
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Scent
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Lather
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Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
Pros: it's complete in every respect
Cons: none
Price

Always the most contentious aspect of MdC. I justify it by considering the weight of the soap which is larger than most, the fact that you tend to use less soap compared to others, and the sheer quality of the product. Hell, if you shave with creams, even when factoring the shipping of MdC, I have no doubt that you would be paying considerably more per shave. So in this respect the price is very good, and the quality as far beyond any cream I've used.

Quality

The quality is unmatched by any of the soaps that I have owned (cella, MWF, tabac, TOBS lavender soap, TOBS avocado cream, GFT coconut cream, several T&H creams, arko creams, spieck cream, etc....). The ingredients are pure and simple, and the packaging is classy.

Scent

The scent is amazing. According to their website, it is a combination of lavender, rosemary, mint, and benson (whatever that is) essential oils, not synthetic fragrances. It certainly smells natural, which is something I can't say for any other products I know of. Tabac smells so cheap after using MdC (if it didn't anyway); I used to really enjoy the smell of MWF, but it's now too plain, and I could go on. It was a bit harsh when it first arrived, but leave the lid off for a day or two and it becomes heavenly. I mostly get the rosemary and lavender, with the mint being a bit more subdued.

Lather

The lather is incredibly luxurious. It has a very distinct feel, much more than any other soap I know. It's easy to produce and very protective (I went nick free for the very first time with my first MdC lather).

Efficacy

MdC works great. I get a very close and comfortable shave.

Moisturising

This is a soap, and I think all soaps are drying to an extent. I can't tell the difference between this and MWF, but this may be due to my skin type. I don't think it should be penalised for being a soap.


Bottom line, this is the most outstanding soap I have ever used, and I will never be without it. Actually, I am intending to sell off most of my stockpile of other soap so that I can purchase more MdC, and maybe some other French soaps, but I highly doubt there is anything that will quite match this.
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
5.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
5.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
Pros: This is an excellent shaving soap.
Cons: N/A
This is a fisrt class product. A very small amount is required to make a luxurious lather. Hence i gave it an 8 for price.
Price
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Scent
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Lather
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Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
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Pros: Scent grows on you.
Cons: Some people get irritation; price.
A good soap, however I'm not with all those who rave about it. Perhaps I should use it more consistently. People who use it daily for weeks have reported real improvement and softness in their skin.

Extremely expensive shipping costs from the maker, even to E.U. destinations.
Price
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Scent
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Lather
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
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Yes it is expensive ($61.00 delivered when I bought it) but you do get 170g.

The scent is fine with me, not my favorite, but not bad in any way. I let all strongly scented soaps air for a week which calms them down considerably.

This one has a mixture of lavender, rosemary and mint. You decide if you like that combo.

By any other measure this is superb soap.
Price
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Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
Martin de Candre is simply the best soap I have ever bought. Obviously, it is also the most expensive. Is it worth the price? That's a matter of opinion, but for me, it is. I have used it every day for two weeks along with a Feather Stainless Steel razor and a variety of blades including 7 O'clock Yellow, Feathers and Iridiums. The soap gives me more cushion than I have ever experienced in a shaving soap. It gives a sumptuous lather that doesn't dry out on my face.
Here are some details of my ratings.

Price: 1. Very expensive

Quality: 10. Gives the richest lather I have ever obtained in over 40 years of wet shaving. Although it is very expensive, it looks like it lasts forever. It doesn't seem to get lower down in the glass jar it came in.

Scent: 3. To me, it smells like the kind of chemicals I would use for painting, however, scent isn't so important to me.

Lather: 10. See Quality above.

Efficacy: 10. It cushions beautifully and feels very luxurious on my face.

Moisturizing: 10. My face feels very moisturized after a shave. Many mornings, I do not apply an after-shave balm after using it.

It has become my favorite soap, by far.
Price
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Scent
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Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
5.00 star(s)
It cost me an awful lot of money (40€ to get it home), but still, I saved quite a lot buying it together with many fellows of foroafeitado, but REALLY good soap.
PRICE: It's really expensive, but it lasts forever. I've been using it virtually continuously during a month or so and I can barely tell the difference looking at it.
QUALITY: Top. Enough said.
SCENT: I particularly like lavender-based scents, so, I guess it's my soap in this point. Still, I find it a bit too strong.
LATHER: Really easy to obtain. At the moment, it has worked better for me by face-lathering and with badger or horsehair brushes.
EFFICACY: I find it really protective. Not as lubricating as MWF, but still top.
MOISTURISING: Not great, but does the job.
OVERALL: My favourite soap so far. My puck of MWF has nearly fallen into oblivion.
Price
3.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
3.00 star(s)
I was one of the lucky ones who bought a sample from Josh so I could review Martin de Candre. I previously had a sample that was sent to me and I really didn't like the scent. This time, the scent was similar but I'm getting used to it.

Price: It's an expensive soap. If you can get it locally(i.e. in France), it's not so bad, but, if you're on the other side of the globe like me, shipping is a killer.
Quality: This is a top quality product with a minimum of ingredients.
Scent: This is my main issues. If I don't like the scent, regardless on how the product performs, it won't work with me. When I first got the soap, I could smell the rosemary standing outside in front of the mailbox. I knew that my mailbox had a rosemary scented shaving soap and it could only be Martin de Candre. I then proceed on making a few bowls of lather to test the soap. The rosemary scent is almost all gone, it's now very mild. I get some lavender but there's something else... I can't put my finger on it but it's not a citrus, spice or floral that I know. It's growing on me but not enough to make me go, let's get a full cake!
Lather: The lather is great with the product, it's very easy to produce.
Efficacy: Again, lather works very well, easy to produce a thick cushion.
Moisturizing: My skin feels well after the shave.

Conclusion: I'm very happy that I tried the product again. It left a much better impression on me this time. The previous sample had an unfortunate accident where a glass was broken near the uncovered Jar. SWMBO didn't want me to try and build lather with possible glass in it so it disappeared. Would I buy it? No. Would I recommend it? Yes. If you can stand the scent, it's one of the best products.
Price
1.00 star(s)
Scent
3.00 star(s)
Lather
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Efficacy
4.00 star(s)
Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
I am still amazed that this soap has only garnered 8 reviews, it deserves more and I assume it's because of 1.) It's price and 2.) It's lack of availability that has made it an under-rated cream.

Bad news first, it's expensive, upwards of 34 Euros for the glass bowl version. Add the wooden bowl version and you're closer to 50 Euros. Shipping costs will add a further 20 Euros depending upon where you live.

And now to the meat and potatoes of the review; the smell is fantastic, think Provence, think lazy sunny afternoons, think lavender fields as far as the eye can see. The lather is as rich and as creamy as a brush can hold, moisten the surface with hot water and off you go. This is an Artisan soap maker you are dealing with here, one that puts quality above profits, it follows a strict tradition of soap making and there are only hosest to goodness ingredients in there.
The shave quality I have experienced is second-to-none, this soap takes some getting used to and the water-soap ratio needs experimenting with but the results are well worth the efforts.
It scored full marks for it's scent, it's lather and it's smell. I scored it a 5 for it's price as I mentioned in my first paragraph.
Price
2.00 star(s)
Scent
4.00 star(s)
Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Efficacy
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Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
The battle for the best soap making nations just keeps getting harder to pick.

This is a lovely soap with a scent that I love.

Lathers and protects like the best of em and leaves the face feeling great.
Scent is like no other soap and it is a quality soap.

When they keep making soaps like this who needs tallow! Moooooooo.
Price
4.00 star(s)
Scent
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Lather
5.00 star(s)
Quality
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Efficacy
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Moisturizing
4.00 star(s)
Getting this stuff here in the USA would set you back a good $70. Now is this soap seven times better than many of the other soaps we are accustomed to? I don't think it is.

Scent: It smells like cough syrup. I can't describe it any other way. They now have an unscented version out and I recommend everyone get that.

Lather: Very nice and thick. It won't fizzle out on your face and it's probably the densest lather I've ever used.

Efficacy: Okay here's where I'm going to disagree with pretty much everyone. I don't think MdC is that good. I can never leave the shave without a few nicks here and there. I've experimented with the lather in every way possible, but a shave with MdC is a shave with the stypic pencil in hand.

However, I will admit that MdC does a very good job of lifting your whiskers. I get a noticeably closer shave whenever I use this soap.

Bottom line: You might be curious about MdC since it's price tag is so high, but I assure you that it isn't out of this world, and it certainly isn't worth the money.
A girl friend picked me up a large jar when she was in Paris recently, actually two. After a few days use I realized that a large jar would last about a year so I sold one jar to a fellow member. That being said. Great stuff, feels good on the face. Do I care that it doesn't moisturize my face to the nth degree? Not in the slightest. Still the best shaving soap/creme/foam I have ever used. Well worth the cost.
I want to and eventually will try this stuff, but frankly it shouldn't be getting marks of 9 for moisturizing. It's almost pure Stearic acid. Should be a great performing soap, but if you think it's moisturizing, I've got some awesome painkillers to sell you they're brand name "Play See Bo". Keep in mind this is just based on the ingredients. Glycerin can help mask a drying soap, but not to the extent that people should be rating it like MWF or something along those lines.
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