Am I Chasing A Unicorn?

[Barley]

I'm fairly new to the safety razor/shaving soap/shaving brush world (used to use cartridges and Cremo). I love learning and value the time I am spending perfecting my technique but more importantly maximizing the satisfaction of investing in my health and happiness. I want my alternate day shave to be a time of relaxation and enjoyment. I also hope to graduate to a daily shave at some point.

To that end, I have a strategy in mind that I wanted to get some feedback on. It is partly formed by my experience in bourbon, where I bought many popular bottles and ended up not liking them and resenting the money I spent on them and having to finish the bottles. I am thankful that many retailers have samples, and am leveraging them to find my favorites, across brands and scents. If I do not finish my shave with the feeling of "I love this soap," I will not buy a full tub of it.

My goal is to settle on 7 to 14 soaps that I absolutely love and can't wait to use, split across a Summer rotation and a Winter rotation. The range 7-14 is to account for soaps that may be appropriate for year-round use. With this strategy, I would use a soap a minimum of once every two weeks (for half the year if seasonal). Here is what I am thinking so far, and where I welcome feedback:

Winter: Something that reminds me of a Food, Traditional British, Barbershop, Tobacco, Tabac, Old Spice Homage, Leather
Summer: Unscented, Traditional British, Tropical, Boozy, Marine, Fougere, Cologne

TIA!

 

[BigJ]

Good approach IMO!! The main thing is to enjoy the experience and the options!

 

[Eben Stone]

My goal is to settle on 7 to 14 soaps that I absolutely love and can't wait to use, split across a Summer rotation and a Winter rotation.

Good luck with that. Haha. It's not impossible. In approx 3.5 years I've tried 123 varieties of soaps (about half were samples). I've narrowed down my favorites to 12 soaps and there are definitely some specific winter and summer scents. I currently have more than those top 12 so I need to do some PIFs.

 

[WThomas0814]

Interesting and ambitious plan.

I use primarily classic soaps (Arko stick and puck, Cella Red, and Vitos Red). I also throw in an uncommon soap (Palmira or Jikoryen) and, because they are a small artisan business from close to where I’m from, Adagio Road. I don’t seasonally rotate, but try to use each soap I have no more than once a week (no shave Sunday, but I do all other days).

Having said that, I think I’m an anomaly for this forum. A lot of guys have massive amounts of soaps; I just don’t have that much room. I limit my in-use supplies to the cabinet under my sink, with my blade and backup soap stock in the linen closet (my wife gave me one shelf). Still, I probably wouldn’t have many more even if I had more room.

I have one brush dedicated to each soap. I only own five razors, which get rotated every 8-10 shaves, depending on blade life.

So, your plan is outside of my comfort zone, but, it sounds like one that will make your journey in this “necessary hobby” a fun and rewarding one. Kudos on dumping the cartridges.

Cheers!

 

[Guido75]

I applaud you on your approach. I have a similar amount of soaps and I tended to rotate every day, which later on became every month to this day.

You might want to check out the SWS Shave of the Week Society to use a soap each week which benefits your knowledge of its behaviour when lathering and it is consistent enough to not go on a shopping spree. Not sure if there is such a thing as a unicorn soap. There are definitely soaps I will use in the future above all others, but one soap? That would be based more on preference than soap qualities for me.

Enjoy!

 

[Anchovie666]

Great approach. I limit my soaps to what I have on hand. I don't replace a whole tub until another is gone. I do enjoy trying samples. Maggards is a great supplier of samples. Hope your shaving journey goes well.

 

[DesertIguana]

Soap in my world is something to wet my beard, to make shaving easy.

I showed after shaving, so SENT is not important.

If the soap I am using work good with Razor n Blade.

I am happy, think at present I have one soap in use, 2 or 3 as to replace what is being used.

I use what is open until gone.

 

[Barbarian80]

Winter: Something that reminds me of a Food, Traditional British, Barbershop, Tobacco, Tabac, Old Spice Homage, Leather
Summer: Unscented, Traditional British, Tropical, Boozy, Marine, Fougere, Cologne

TIA!

This is a good start, but no reason to limit yourself. Just enjoy the hobby as your wallet allows. Not all scents are created equal. You may develop an affinity to Fougere scents and since they are not all created equal why limit yourself to just one?
My best advice is to find just a couple of brands ( 2 or 3 at most) that aligns with your tastes and try as many of their scents as you can.

 

[Chef455]

Welcome to B&B @Barley ! I think your bourbon analagy is spot on. Alas, you will purchase some soaps that will suffice but not make you happy, just as you'll find some bourbons that are passable but don't tickle you terribly much. You'll likely also find a bargain or two that exceed expectations and will fall into your "well". There will be something "top notch" that will be brought out on special occasions.

Wild Turkey = Arko! Decent neat or on the rocks, works in a Manhattan, great bang for the buck and if push came to shove I could accept it (with all its flaws) as "that'll do". But then there are a few other bargains (Stirling for example) that are heavy hitters for the price point. You'll wind up with some stinkers, some middle of the road, and a few high ends that you can't fathom doing without. I look forward to reading about your findings.

A couple recommendations-

PAA Chocolate Bourbon, covers your food/boozey request and makes a GREAT lather.

Stirling Margaritas in the Arctic, lacks a bit in the booze but is a killer summer soap.

Happy shaves and please continue to share you experiences.

 

[sarimento1]

I'm fairly new to the safety razor/shaving soap/shaving brush world (used to use cartridges and Cremo). I love learning and value the time I am spending perfecting my technique but more importantly maximizing the satisfaction of investing in my health and happiness. I want my alternate day shave to be a time of relaxation and enjoyment. I also hope to graduate to a daily shave at some point.

To that end, I have a strategy in mind that I wanted to get some feedback on. It is partly formed by my experience in bourbon, where I bought many popular bottles and ended up not liking them and resenting the money I spent on them and having to finish the bottles. I am thankful that many retailers have samples, and am leveraging them to find my favorites, across brands and scents. If I do not finish my shave with the feeling of "I love this soap," I will not buy a full tub of it.

My goal is to settle on 7 to 14 soaps that I absolutely love and can't wait to use, split across a Summer rotation and a Winter rotation. The range 7-14 is to account for soaps that may be appropriate for year-round use. With this strategy, I would use a soap a minimum of once every two weeks (for half the year if seasonal). Here is what I am thinking so far, and where I welcome feedback:

Winter: Something that reminds me of a Food, Traditional British, Barbershop, Tobacco, Tabac, Old Spice Homage, Leather
Summer: Unscented, Traditional British, Tropical, Boozy, Marine, Fougere, Cologne

TIA!

Welcome to B&B, Sir Barley!
Good luck on settling to only a dozen or so!!
Best wishes on your explorations!!

 

[muzichead]

I never understood why someone would buy a soap only to use it 4-6 months out of the year!! My soaps are to use year round...nothing like a Stirling glacial in January when its below 0 out side!!

 

[MrSpeedy]

I divide my soaps into summer, winter, and year-round, so I can understand your plan (although I don't have nearly as many as you are proposing). FWIW - Barbershop is a year-round scent for me, although I use it more in the summer.

 

[brucered]

I never understood why someone would buy a soap only to use it 4-6 months out of the year!! My soaps are to use year round...nothing like a Stirling glacial in January when its below 0 out side!!

I don't buy into "seasonal soaps or scents" either. They are on your face for 10 minutes.

As for chasing a Unicorn. To me, a Unicorn would be ONE soap. It sounds like the OP is chasing a heard of Unicorns and not something that appeals to me or makes any sense.

I can't think of 6 Unicorn soaps that are currently produced, let alone 12-14.

Good luck in your search, but I have a feeling it will be a never ending search by your criteria and with small business soaps the formulas will be changing over the years.

You are better off picking one line, same formula, big boy company and selecting a variety of scents. Haslinger comes to mind.

 

[Norman Gunston]

A few suggestions for your consideration:

Winter Traditional British: D.R. Harris Windsor or Sandalwood
Winter Barbershop: Zingari Man The Master or Mousse Illuminee
Winter Tobacco: Mammoth Soaps The Tobacconist (rich/sweet) or Eufros Tobacco (dry/pure)
Winter Old Spice Hommage: Barrister and Mann Spice or Spearhead Seaforth Spice
Winter Leather: Abbate y La Mantia Buttero

Summer Traditional British: Phoenix and Beau Albion or The Gentleman's Nod Sir Winston
Summer Marine: Zingari Man The Watchman
Summer Fougere: Wholly Kaw Fougere Parfaite
Summer Cologne: Stirling Deep Blue Sea

 

[mr_houston]

Depending on where you live, You might consider a mentholated soap or 2 for the summer.

 

[Barley]

A few suggestions for your consideration:

Winter Traditional British: D.R. Harris Windsor or Sandalwood
Winter Barbershop: Zingari Man The Master or Mousse Illuminee
Winter Tobacco: Mammoth Soaps The Tobacconist (rich/sweet) or Eufros Tobacco (dry/pure)
Winter Old Spice Hommage: Barrister and Mann Spice or Spearhead Seaforth Spice
Winter Leather: Abbate y La Mantia Buttero

Summer Traditional British: Phoenix and Beau Albion or The Gentleman's Nod Sir Winston
Summer Marine: Zingari Man The Watchman
Summer Fougere: Wholly Kaw Fougere Parfaite
Summer Cologne: Stirling Deep Blue Sea

I have samples of many of your suggestions forthcoming!

 

[Barley]

Depending on where you live, You might consider a mentholated soap or 2 for the summer.

I appreciate and completely understand the recommendation. I am not a fan of menthol. Gets me emotional

 

[ChriWilson]

Bookmarked for later

 

[JimL911]

...nothing like a Stirling glacial in January when its below 0 out side!!

Clears the sinuses too.

 

[Lane101]

I'm fairly new to the safety razor/shaving soap/shaving brush world (used to use cartridges and Cremo). I love learning and value the time I am spending perfecting my technique but more importantly maximizing the satisfaction of investing in my health and happiness. I want my alternate day shave to be a time of relaxation and enjoyment. I also hope to graduate to a daily shave at some point.

To that end, I have a strategy in mind that I wanted to get some feedback on. It is partly formed by my experience in bourbon, where I bought many popular bottles and ended up not liking them and resenting the money I spent on them and having to finish the bottles. I am thankful that many retailers have samples, and am leveraging them to find my favorites, across brands and scents. If I do not finish my shave with the feeling of "I love this soap," I will not buy a full tub of it.

My goal is to settle on 7 to 14 soaps that I absolutely love and can't wait to use, split across a Summer rotation and a Winter rotation. The range 7-14 is to account for soaps that may be appropriate for year-round use. With this strategy, I would use a soap a minimum of once every two weeks (for half the year if seasonal). Here is what I am thinking so far, and where I welcome feedback:

Winter: Something that reminds me of a Food, Traditional British, Barbershop, Tobacco, Tabac, Old Spice Homage, Leather
Summer: Unscented, Traditional British, Tropical, Boozy, Marine, Fougere, Cologne

TIA!

Welcome to B&B! The great thing about this hobby is what we can each choose our own journey from an almost limitless range of permutations from shavers who are loyal to a single favorite shaving soap to those who have hundreds of artisan products. The right approach is whichever one you choose and the approach you have outlined sound like it will be fun.

In my case I've tended to go narrow and deep over the past 4+ years starting with Williams Shave Soap (now discontinued) that sold for 99 cents in our local supermarket eventually branching out to roughly a dozen shaving soaps and creams such as Mitchell's Wool Fat (MWF), Tabac, Cyril R. Salter, Arko, Razorock What-the-Puck and LEA. For my favorite hard soaps like Williams and MWF I've built up some inventory since they have a long shelf life and we've seen a lot of discontinuations/reformulations recently.

Enjoy your journey and let us know what soaps work best for you.