Am I Chasing A Unicorn?

[Phoenixkh]

@Barley , welcome to the B&B community. I think your goals are attainable with a little effort, but perhaps, a huge amount of fun.

I consider myself fortunate with some shaving products. It turns out, I'm allergic to most of the ingredients used to add fragrance to shaving products. As a result, I don't have too many shaving soaps... just a handful... OK, almost two hands full (less than 10) unscented soaps that all work well for me. I can't do after shaves for the same reason, so there's another bit of cost savings.

This leaves me with razors, blades and brushes. Of those three, I'm more fascinated with razors and brushes.... I think they are the two most expensive rabbit holes I can enter... or at least, they have been for me. I've had a blast over this past two years, experimenting and finding some wonderful razors and brushes.

 

[Stikeyoda]

It's an interesting challenge, given the range the hobby now offers. I think I would start by looking for the base I most preferred instead of a fragrance at the beginning. I am surprised by the difference in glide and cushion I feel between soaps. That narrows down the search. Most major brands offer samplers or sample sets. That way, you can check out the base first and fragrances later at a small cost. As you spend time on B&B, you'll learn which bases are the most alike, making it easier to choose what to try. Then again, most of the bases are superior to what we had in yesteryears. so you can just nose into a bunch of sample sets if you want.

 

[snowman]

Might I suggest....

Haslinger Coconut
Haslinger Aloe
Haslinger Schafmilch
Haslinger Marigold
Haslinger Seaweed
Haslinger Honey
Haslinger Sensitive
Haslinger Sandalwood

Pretty sure I forgot some but you get the idea. As far as what season to use them in, mix and match as you like.

 

[Barley]

It's an interesting challenge, given the range the hobby now offers. I think I would start by looking for the base I most preferred instead of a fragrance at the beginning. I am surprised by the difference in glide and cushion I feel between soaps. That narrows down the search. Most major brands offer samplers or sample sets. That way, you can check out the base first and fragrances later at a small cost. As you spend time on B&B, you'll learn which bases are the most alike, making it easier to choose what to try. Then again, most of the bases are superior to what we had in yesteryears. so you can just nose into a bunch of sample sets if you want.

I have samples coming from a wide swath of highly esteemed artisan and non-artisan companies. I will not buy a soap whose scent I love if the base does not work for me. Great callout!

 

[OkieStubble]

I tend to be a seasonal kinda fella with shave soaps and splashes.

Tabac used to be my chosen soap for the Fall season, until they turned my world upside down and went Vegan.

Nothing wrong with going vegan with a soap formula, but they should take some responsibility in making sure it will perform as satisfactorily as their former tallow version.

And I know it’s possible, because Haslinger has successfully done it and La Toja has successfully done it. Tabac? Not so much.

My seasonal soaps:

Fall: L’Occitane Cade
Winter: Haslinger Schafmilch
Spring: La Toja
Summer: Proraso Green

Travel: Arko Stick

 

[Raz0rboy]

this can help you choose

Start from 1h 23m

 

[musicman1951]

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

I'm not a fan either, but I just think it smells bad.

Good luck with your soap search. This is an excellent area to amass a small collection (although 14 isn't particularly small - it would last me many years). There are a handful of strong scents that are certain to alienate some people, but it's difficult to find "bad" soap. There are a lot of soaps out there and virtually everyone is somebody's favorite. You might want to search a few "favorite soap" or "5 favorite soap" posts. You will find a handful of soaps that surface on a lot of favorites lists - those are pretty safe choices. MdC and SV are popular choices.

 

[Barley]

I tend to be a seasonal kinda fella with shave soaps and splashes.

Tabac used to be my chosen soap for the Fall season, until they turned my world upside down and went Vegan.

Nothing wrong with going vegan with a soap formula, but they should take some responsibility in making sure it will perform as satisfactorily as their former tallow version.

And I know it’s possible, because Haslinger has successfully done it and La Toja has successfully done it. Tabac? Not so much.

My seasonal soaps:

Fall: L’Occitane Cade
Winter: Haslinger Schafmilch
Spring: La Toja
Summer: Proraso Green

Travel: Arko Stick

Do you only use 5 soaps, or do you have all-season soaps as well?

 

[OkieStubble]

Do you only use 5 soaps, or do you have all-season soaps as well?

Well, here lately in my neck of the woods, I can’t tell one season from another?

I mean, it’s February and the weather man is forecasting a temperature of 87 degrees tomorrow? Crazy!

So while tomorrow’s shave soap should be the moisturizing sheep milk and Lanolin of Haslinger’s Schafmilch because it should be a cold dry winter day?

Instead, I am sitting here totally perplexed with the problem and choice of, do I use the refreshing sea salt flavor of sitting on a beach in Spain brand soap of La Toja as if its an early Spring?

Or does 87 degrees, qualify as a Summer temperature and I need to break out the cooling menthol of Proraso Green?

 

[MrMoJoe]

I have done the same exact thing. Over the years, I tried a gazillion products. Eventually I found myself really liking and using the same ones over and over, while some collected dust. At some point, it not only felt wasteful, but oddly overwhelming. My solution was to focus on the ones I really liked the most, and come up with a system or routine tha allowed me to get full use of all of those, while trimming my inventory to a "reasonable" (LOL!) level. So, I decided to keep 3 soap/AS combos for each season, spring/summer/fall/winter, and I gave everything else to a buddy who is just getting started. That was a really tough selection process, but I can make changes at any time, since they are my rules. So far, it has worked great, and solved my "problem": It allows for sufficient variety so I can enjoy my obsession, without the waste and without being overwhelmed with so many choices every day (I'm at a stage of life where I don't want to have to think too much!). It allows me to fully enjoy the best of the best. For instance, This winter my soap/AS set up has been:

Haslinger Schafmilch/Lucky Tiger
PdP 63/PdP 63 Balm
Seaforth Spiced/Seaforth Spiced Splash

I just rotate those 3, and in a few weeks, I'll bring out the spring stuff. Works great for me.

 

[MrMoJoe]

Here's the rest of my lineup:

Spring
SV Felce Aromatica/Felce Aromatica AS
PdP Bergamot & Thyme/D.R. Harris Arlington
Stirling Bergamot Lavender/Speick

Summer
Proraso Green/Proraso AS
MdC Agrumes/Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill
RR WTP Lime/Ogalalla Bay Rum, Limes & Peppercorn

Fall
SV Desert Vetiver/SV Desert Vetiver AS
RR WTP Blue/Floid Blue
PAA Ciderhouse 5/PAA Ciderhouse 5 AS

To each his own - this works great for me. YMMV!

 

[corlay]

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

Here's some suggestions:

Winter:
Traditional British = Mitchell's Wool Fat
Tobacco = Wet Shaving Products - Tobacco
Leather = Officina Artigiana - 5 Oils

Summer:
Unscented = Martin de Candre - Nature or Canada - Shaving Soap
Traditional British = DH Harris - Windsor
Marine = Saponifico Veresino - 70th Anniversary or Ach. Brito - Mogno

That said, in Summer (especially), I could never be without: Proraso Green, Acqua di Parma - Colonia, Santa Maria Novella (in addition to SV 70th!)

 

[Barley]

I have done the same exact thing. Over the years, I tried a gazillion products. Eventually I found myself really liking and using the same ones over and over, while some collected dust. At some point, it not only felt wasteful, but oddly overwhelming. My solution was to focus on the ones I really liked the most, and come up with a system or routine tha allowed me to get full use of all of those, while trimming my inventory to a "reasonable" (LOL!) level. So, I decided to keep 3 soap/AS combos for each season, spring/summer/fall/winter, and I gave everything else to a buddy who is just getting started. That was a really tough selection process, but I can make changes at any time, since they are my rules. So far, it has worked great, and solved my "problem": It allows for sufficient variety so I can enjoy my obsession, without the waste and without being overwhelmed with so many choices every day (I'm at a stage of life where I don't want to have to think too much!). It allows me to fully enjoy the best of the best. For instance, This winter my soap/AS set up has been:

Haslinger Schafmilch/Lucky Tiger
PdP 63/PdP 63 Balm
Seaforth Spiced/Seaforth Spiced Splash

I just rotate those 3, and in a few weeks, I'll bring out the spring stuff. Works great for me.

You are an inspiration, sir!

 

[PolishDawg]

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!

you don't have to be macho, Mr Furley, its okay to have soft floral soaps, or spicey musk scents, just be yourself Ralph, you'll get the chicks.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I'm easy... Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall... various unscented soaps and creams. <eg> evil grin

 

[Barley]

I have since acquired many samples and will make my way through them. I have realized that searching for specific scents is the wrong way to go about things. Luckily, I have samples from a wide range of mainstream and artisan brands. Once I find the brands that work best for me, I will worry about scents. In fact, I'm thinking of basing my soap scent decisions on how they complement my aftershave and cologne choices. And those choices depend on my use case (season, yes, but also going to office, going out, formal occasions, etc.).

 

[Phoenixkh]

I like to end up with a mild scent.... I'd rather people see me coming than smell me first. <eg>

 

[Stikeyoda]

I have since acquired many samples and will make my way through them. I have realized that searching for specific scents is the wrong way to go about things. Luckily, I have samples from a wide range of mainstream and artisan brands. Once I find the brands that work best for me, I will worry about scents. In fact, I'm thinking of basing my soap scent decisions on how they complement my aftershave and cologne choices. And those choices depend on my use case (season, yes, but also going to office, going out, formal occasions, etc.).

I always have a couple of serendipity fragrances available just to do something off the wall every once in a while. My new favorite. Yes it smells like peppermint candy.