Geo F Trumper Rose Shave Soap Tribulations

[lindyhop66]

I bought a puck of Trumper Rose shave soap a couple of weeks ago. I can't get a decent lather with it. I try the Marco method and still just get lots of fluff that vanishes quickly into useless bubbles.

I enjoy the rose scent, but cannot use this soap without adding a shave cream to it.

I've read other threads where people had trouble with some of the new formulated Trumper soaps, but Rose seemed to be one universally liked and that actually lathered. I also read there are inconsistencies with the batches of the Trumper soaps due to outsourcing to cheaper suppliers.

What is your experience with Trumper shave soap?

 

[Edinburgh]

You may wish to consider using less water in your brush at the outset and then adding water drops at a time as needed.

 

[rum]

I haven't had a new puck since 2009, but the one I do have lathers very well. I won't be buying a replacement though...

 

[k2clones29]

Start with less water and add more product. Once done, add water slowly and fully incorporate before adding more. GFT soaps are tricky, but they work when you hit the mark.

 

[blzrfn]

Welcome to the club! I have a coconut and sandalwood that have been relegated to facial soap in the shower. They smell great but the lather is worthless. I was able to get my Sandalwood to make an ok lather once with a lot of work, but nothing that I would be willing to do on a daily basis. So it is best to just boycott their soaps and move on, at least their cream makes a good lather and still smells good.

 

[Kevan]

Trumpers soaps suck nowadays. You're far more likely to get a dud than one that works.

 

[beginish]

Start with less water and add more product. Once done, add water slowly and fully incorporate before adding more. GFT soaps are tricky, but they work when you hit the mark.

This. They're good once you dial them in.

 

[Gabacho]

Trumpers soaps suck nowadays. You're far more likely to get a dud than one that works.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Never again. And it once was my very favorite

 

[Craig_From_Cincy]

From what I am hearing and reading Trumper shave soaps that were produced from 2011 onward have been reformulated yet again. It seems that rose, limes, and sandalwood at the least are now using the same formulation as Trumper's execrable Eucris shave soap. These soaps have an almost identical performance (or lack thereof) to the reformulated Floris and Truefitt & Hill shave soaps; no lather at all, or a thin lather that dissipates almost instantly. It makes me wonder if the production of these soaps have been outsourced to the same low quality producer. I am now completely out of two of my standbys, Trumper Rose and Lime soaps, and I won't buy another puck of them or any Trumper shave soaps until that company addresses and corrects the wretched performance of its shave soaps. Trumper's shave creams seam to be holding up well enough, but even their creams have declined in quality over the past several years. There's no better way for an old established company to drive itself out of business than to cheapen its products, especially while simultaneously raising their prices.

 

[njpaddy]

Despite the negative threads, I bought a GFT Rose soap about a year ago and find it as good as my Harris soaps. However I'm not sure I'll take a chance on another when it's gone.

 

[Phog Allen]

This is a shame in my estimation. George F. Trumper was one of the most venerated names in male toiletries when I got into this about ten years ago. I had one of their almond soaps that was allegedly the vaunted tallow version and found it no better than any other ordinary English shave soap. I have a cake of Eucris(The first sold anywhere I might add. Funny story about it.) and find it better than the older almond but no where near the Frankish soaps nor our best artisans. The decline of GFT has been nothing short of ridiculous.

And I will not even go into the scaling back of the products in the a/s and hair dressing lines. Believe me, I typed up a bunch of stuff but decided to simply avoid repeating earlier posts about it. George F. Trumper was my company. By that I mean it was a baseline for top shelf traditional male toiletries. Heritage, performance, selection, packaging, and a price point that certainly kept it from being mass market but also allowed a working class bloke like me to access a piece of class without feeling guilty. Sadly I rarely get get excited by their announcements anymore. Eucris soap, average. Spanish Leather shave cream, plastic tubes. Really? Plastic at these price points and the image you are trying to convey? Honestly, I will be glad if they turn this back a decade or two but I am convinced they do not care.

Cheers, Todd

 

[cryhavoc]

I have found the reformulated Trumper's soaps to be terrible shaving soaps but are a nice yet expensive shower soap. YMMV

 

[rum]

From what I am hearing and reading Trumper shave soaps that were produced from 2011 onward have been reformulated yet again. It seems that rose, limes, and sandalwood at the least are now using the same formulation as Trumper's execrable Eucris shave soap. These soaps have an almost identical performance (or lack thereof) to the reformulated Floris and Truefitt & Hill shave soaps; no lather at all, or a thin lather that dissipates almost instantly. It makes me wonder if the production of these soaps have been outsourced to the same low quality producer. I am now completely out of two of my standbys, Trumper Rose and Lime soaps, and I won't buy another puck of them or any Trumper shave soaps until that company addresses and corrects the wretched performance of its shave soaps. Trumper's shave creams seam to be holding up well enough, but even their creams have declined in quality over the past several years. There's no better way for an old established company to drive itself out of business than to cheapen its products, especially while simultaneously raising their prices.

This is a shame in my estimation. George F. Trumper was one of the most venerated names in male toiletries when I got into this about ten years ago. I had one of their almond soaps that was allegedly the vaunted tallow version and found it no better than any other ordinary English shave soap. I have a cake of Eucris(The first sold anywhere I might add. Funny story about it.) and find it better than the older almond but no where near the Frankish soaps nor our best artisans. The decline of GFT has been nothing short of ridiculous.

And I will not even go into the scaling back of the products in the a/s and hair dressing lines. Believe me, I typed up a bunch of stuff but decided to simply avoid repeating earlier posts about it. George F. Trumper was my company. By that I mean it was a baseline for top shelf traditional male toiletries. Heritage, performance, selection, packaging, and a price point that certainly kept it from being mass market but also allowed a working class bloke like me to access a piece of class without feeling guilty. Sadly I rarely get get excited by their announcements anymore. Eucris soap, average. Spanish Leather shave cream, plastic tubes. Really? Plastic at these price points and the image you are trying to convey? Honestly, I will be glad if they turn this back a decade or two but I am convinced they do not care.

Gents, I share your grief. I entered the wonderful and fresh-smelling world of wet shaving almost a decade ago and Trumpers was one of the reasons that I got into this whole hobby. The Rose cream and later the Rose soap combined with their Coral Skin Food really did wonders for my face. I am also saddened to see the decline of such a good brand.

I really do want to ask these questions though - has anyone returned one of the faulty pucks for a refund? Or written to the company to complain perhaps? Maybe when they start wondering why their sales have gone down the toilet, they can finally start to realise that product quality really IS an issue for their customers!!

 

[Phog Allen]

Hello rum. The almond I purchased as NOS about six or seven years ago. I gave it to a gent on your side of the pond and he reported good results. It was always average in my water. So I never thought about taking it up with Trumper. Eucris? I rather expected average and got it. I should add I am sure I have seen posts on various forums about Trumper exchanging poorly performing cakes of shave soap...with similarly performing soap. Shave soap chemistry is not rocket science and this trend with Trumper's shave soaps is causing a disturbance in the Force.

Cheers, Todd

 

[rum]

Hello rum. The almond I purchased as NOS about six or seven years ago. I gave it to a gent on your side of the pond and he reported good results. It was always average in my water. So I never thought about taking it up with Trumper. Eucris? I rather expected average and got it. I should add I am sure I have seen posts on various forums about Trumper exchanging poorly performing cakes of shave soap...with similarly performing soap. Shave soap chemistry is not rocket science and this trend with Trumper's shave soaps is causing a disturbance in the Force.

After recently discovering Palmolive and Martin de Candre, I couldn't care less about Trumpers. They've shot themselves in the foot here. The Rose soap provided such a slick and consistent lather that resulted in a very smooth shave for my otherwise very fussy and dry/sensitive combination skin. Now that I have some adequate alternatives, I won't be wasting my time on their products.

Granted, I will use the puck that I have with pride. The bowl I have dates back to when I first started this 'hobby' and I intend to keep it. It's made of really good quality wood and it remains in relatively good condition.

 

[TheVez2]

Bump for "GFT Rose"

 

[ragan]

I've sent emails back and forth with Trumper's on their shave soaps and how it just doesn't work. They say that their soaps work great and they aren't going to do anything about it. Very sad that such a venerable company is so unwilling to listen to their customers. On a side note, they did send me replacement shave cream in exchange for the "shave soaps." So I guess that's at least something.

 

[The Seeker]

What we need is for D.R. Harris to make a rose-scented soap. That would be something!

 

[Valerius]

+1!