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Do samples give worse lather than full tubs?

Do samples give worse lather than full tubs?

  • Yes

    Votes: 19 47.5%
  • No

    Votes: 16 40.0%
  • Stop enabling

    Votes: 5 12.5%

  • Total voters
    40
Interesting. I haven't tried either, but have considered a tub of MdC. One of these days.

Heck, all samples I've got when buying other stuff from vendors, they all under-performed compared the reputation they get in reviews (regular folks reviews). Even creams didn't do as well as the full tubes I purchased prior/later. Hard soap sample shavings didn't do bad, but not spectacular.

It shouldn't be different than me scooping product out of a full tub and using it in a bowl, but sometimes (often) it is.
 
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It's a matter of getting the samples squished down flat enough into a mug to get enough loading surface, or using the samples as a shave stick.
 
No, they're simply tiny and more difficult to lather as a result of the portion size (which makes for a great reason to dislike sampling).

:)
 
Carried to the other ‘extreme’ you might check out the discussion of the difference between Cella in the tub vs. Cella in the kg brick!! Larger size seems to win in any format!! :a21::a21:
 
The soap isn't any different from full size generally, but I hate bowl lathering. If it is firm enough of a product I might stick it on top of a shave stick and use it like that, but it's impossible with many artisans. Some of the bigger "samples" like Stirling and Purely Skinful it's no issue, just stick it in a container and load like normal.

I have had one or two samples that were noticeably drying out by the time they got to me though.
 
The issue isn't with the sample but with the container you have the sample in. I will typically transfer my samples into either a tub if there is enough, or into a small sample dish that someone pif'd me. They are shallow but wide enough to properly load a brush. The problem is that the containers the samples come in don't lend themselves to loading. Stirling sells very generous samples so they will easily fit into an empty tub. And they'll last for quite a while.
 
The issue isn't with the sample but with the container you have the sample in. I will typically transfer my samples into either a tub if there is enough, or into a small sample dish that someone pif'd me. They are shallow but wide enough to properly load a brush. The problem is that the containers the samples come in don't lend themselves to loading. Stirling sells very generous samples so they will easily fit into an empty tub. And they'll last for quite a while.

I like this approach. Maybe I should pick up some empty tubs because I can load pretty decently when I scoop the entire sample out into a bowl. If I just scoop a bit, even if it’s a sizable amount, I just can’t get a good lather. By getting the tubs it’ll probably be easier than having a half dozen bowls hanging out with samples pressed in them.
 
That's interesting. Some soaps may not do well as samples, particularly the hard ones like MdC or PdP.

Ive actually been using the MdC sample from Maggards. It performs quite well. Just scooped it all out of the tiny tub, smashed it into the bottom of a small bowl and load from there. I haven't used any samples from a company directly, but I can't imagine it being much different.
 
Once I started scooping the samples out and spreading over the bottom of the bowl, I've had no issues and they seem to perform the same as the regular product to me.
 
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