C'est magnifique: L'Occitane and Martin De Candre

[Krona Kruiser]

I've crossed over to the French side. First impressions are.....Wow! Amazing scents and latherability.

Cade
The first thing that took me away was the scent. It instantly put me in a good mood. I could not pinpoint the the reason but the Juniper scent took me back to my late high school early college days at the beach with friends. The Juniper scent is rich in its dimension and is comforting and unique.
The Cade was eager to be lathered and with a few swirls and the right water ratio it created a consistent amount of cushiony and slick lather as thick as any cream. It was refreshing and moisturizing.

MDC
I was fortunate enough to receive a nice sample of this mythic soap. At first whif, I thought I was smelling a soap from Dr. Bronner's. But it's more complex than that. It's got strong notes of herbal essential oils with mint. Lathering this soap was interesting. It starts out as any other but when you think it's not turning into a thick consistency is "comes to life." It provided a very protected layer of lather and was very slick. The soap it self is a little thicker than a typical soft soap like Cella but it's pretty dense. A little goes a long way. Top notch stuff.

I understand the following behind these French soaps.

 

[rxonmymind]

French soaps are indeed top notch soaps. With MDC I'm having a little difficulty dialing it in with my aquired and constant rotation of new brushes but it's no fault of MDC. I have no problem over lathering it, but to get just the right amount has been tricky for me. One of the best soaps I've run across.

 

[GreekGuy]

2 of my favorites!

 

[LeftyT]

Cade has changed me. Until I fell in love with it, I was happy using great soaps like Proraso, RazoRock and Arko (never did like Tabac, but I have some coming my way and we'll see how it goes then). I used to think tallow was the answer, then I realized Proraso and Cade are tallow free. Well, that sent me down two paths, both of which I'm currently exploring: Veggy vs. Tallow (and lanolin), and French vs. the rest.

I have PdP, and MonSavon coming and they'll be facing off against Cella, Mike's, Tabac, MW, and the list goes on.

My prediction? I keep the Frenchies, trade the rest for more and some Proraso and Mike's. But hey, I've been wrong before.

 

[GreekGuy]

LeftyT: You should try the german veggie shave soaps. Keeping in mind that I LOVE MdC and Cade, the german veggie soaps are even better

 

[oakeshott]

I thought the Cade hard soaps had been reformulated and that the general consensus was that it turned out badly. Have I got this confused with something else?

Have used the Cade ASB off and on for about a decade and look on it as a stalwart friend when my face is in need. The scent is also fantastic.

MdC is on its way.

 

[GreekGuy]

I thought the Cade hard soaps had been reformulated and that the general consensus was that it turned out badly. Have I got this confused with something else?

To the extent of my knowledge the Cade soap hasn't been reformulated recently. Some people struggle with it. It is not effortless to lather. Cella, for example, you can flood with water and just keep loading to get clouds of lather. Cade isn't as forgiving. But the lather is better IMO. There are mixed reviews on it. My personal thinking is that those that stick with it are rewarded, although if you don't like the scent then it may not be worth the effort as there are many other great soaps out there. I love it, if you couldn't tell

The ASBs are pricey, but fantastic. Some of the best out there

 

[acissa]

You need to try Pre de Province also. One of my favorite French soaps (along with Cade). Great sent, lathers well and not pricey.

 

[rxonmymind]

LeftyT: You should try the german veggie shave soaps. Keeping in mind that I LOVE MdC and Cade, the german veggie soaps are even better

Which German soaps do you recommend if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Krona Kruiser]

To the extent of my knowledge the Cade soap hasn't been reformulated recently. Some people struggle with it. It is not effortless to lather. Cella, for example, you can flood with water and just keep loading to get clouds of lather. Cade isn't as forgiving. But the lather is better IMO. There are mixed reviews on it. My personal thinking is that those that stick with it are rewarded, although if you don't like the scent then it may not be worth the effort as there are many other great soaps out there. I love it, if you couldn't tell
The ASBs are pricey, but fantastic. Some of the best out there

This is the catch with Cade. Finding the correct water ratio and enjoying the scent. It is something special.

You need to try Pre de Province also. One of my favorite French soaps (along with Cade). Great sent, lathers well and not pricey.

I guess Pre de Province is next on the list.

 

[LeftyT]

I'm waiting to get my PdP, would you say it is similar for water to soap ratio, lather success?

 

[nemo]

I guess Pre de Province is next on the list.

I'd go Provence Sante before the Pre, just my opinion.

And a great German veg soap is Klar Kabinett!

 

[edgerunner]

[YMMV]
I can't distinguish Pre de Provence from Provence Sante Green Tea in regards to latherability. They both behave and create similar to Klar's Kabinett lather. But I feel my face better after a shave with PdP. The scents are different, and I like them both - PdP is similar to the Cade fresh type of scent, and Provence Sante Green Tea is a Bay Rum type of scent. OTOH Cade makes creamier lather and is more picky on the water ratio. The lather making and the consistency remind me MWF.
[/YMMV]

 

[Optometrist]

Cade is one of my favourite soaps. Initially difficult to lather, the scent alone was reason to persist, and now it is one of the best for me. MdC will lather like crazy without much difficulty. Two fine examples of how a vegetable soap CAN be!

 

[danimal]

any lather pics?

 

[celestino]

congrats on the nice soaps.

 

[Bill Smith]

Love Cade shaving soap. I'm in the process of slowly paring down my rotation and it will be one of the ones that remain.

 

[Croulebarbe]

Another big thumbs up for Martin de Candres. Works especially well if you have hard water - the water here in France is, on average, hard enough that you have to chew it first before swallowing, but even a few swirls of MDC will just explode with lather.

Since we're on the topic of Frenchy soaps, I feel I should at least toss in a bit of love for Monsavon. Slick, easy to lather, and dirt cheap. Might only last you three months of daily shaves, but at €1.50/puck, does it really matter? On the other hand it could moisturize a bit better, and the smell is rather polarizing. I like it, but it takes all kinds and so on.

Also, I find it a bit interesting that in one respect, in France Monsavon shave soap is a bit like Old Spice aftershave in the US - everyone's dad and grandpa used/uses it because it smells nice and works well, so it can tend to attract girls with a bit of an Elektra complex. But it's good stuff, so you don't really care.

 

[GreekGuy]

Which German soaps do you recommend if you don't mind me asking?

Klar Seifen and Calani are my 2 favorites. I like them even better than MdC, and I'm a huge MdC fan. In particular, I like the Lemon Sandalwood "Klassik" Klar Sefien soap. The sandalwood is a refreshing take as well. The Calani Dubai is stunning. Truly frag quality. Their Oriental plum is also nice.

Dr. Dittmar is another one I really enjoy as well. And as mentioned, Klar Kabinett is great too. Royalshave carries all of them, which is where I bought all of mine except for the KK. I bought that from bullgoose when he was carrying them at one point

 

[oakeshott]

Klar Seifen and Calani are my 2 favorites. I like them even better than MdC, and I'm a huge MdC fan. In particular, I like the Lemon Sandalwood "Klassik" Klar Sefien soap. The sandalwood is a refreshing take as well. The Calani Dubai is stunning. Truly frag quality. Their Oriental plum is also nice.

"Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in."