TOBS, Cella, Proraso, Tabac, Palmolive, MWF, Cella... all good. Some of them are croaps or creams but that's not the point. At current prices TOBS creams are a steal.
Have any gents backed mass-produced soaps after trying some artisan ones like me?
- Thread starter Vincentchou
- Start date
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
Mainstream for me, I became tired of another overfatted, overscented (and poorly scented), watery, expensive artisan soaps, many of which spoil in a few months.
I use a number of mostly EU soaps and creams. D. R. Harris cream, I Coloniali rhubarb cream and Mango Oil soap, Pre de Provence, MdC, 3P, and most of the Italian creams/soaps like Santa Maria Novella, Acqua di Parma, XPEC, ABC hard soap and cream, Klar, etc.
I use a number of mostly EU soaps and creams. D. R. Harris cream, I Coloniali rhubarb cream and Mango Oil soap, Pre de Provence, MdC, 3P, and most of the Italian creams/soaps like Santa Maria Novella, Acqua di Parma, XPEC, ABC hard soap and cream, Klar, etc.
I actually prefer artisan soaps, for the most part, although I haven't really tried a lot of the old standards. D.R. Harris, for example, provides nowhere near as nice a shave as Soapy Science for me. MdC was nice, but I didn't like the scent, and I get just as good a shave from Stirling.
I am currently sampling as many “mainstream” soaps I can get my hands on to try to find just one or two that I can use daily and that I can count on being available when I want to order more. I’m even going to relax my scent desires and just focus on performance as long as the soap doesn’t have me smelling like a freak or a spice basket, or a something that somebody wants to eat or smoke. I just want to be clean shaven and smell clean and use a soap I can always get.
I’ve grown tired of “artisans” because it seems everytime I find something perfect for me, they decide to discontinue it, or it’s a one time batch. (I’m talking to you B&M, WK, DG, etc.)
And I’ve grown tired of a particular couple of artisans that when they do have a promising new release, I have to be sure I’m on their site, or whoever is selling it, the instant it’s released to try to order before they sellout in two minutes and be out of stock forever or for months. Too much hassle.
lastly, it seems many artisans are starting to get too cute with their scent formulas. Trying to outdo each other to get the most bizarre scent profile.
yes, I’m looking for something mass produced after primarily trying and using artisans
I’ve grown tired of “artisans” because it seems everytime I find something perfect for me, they decide to discontinue it, or it’s a one time batch. (I’m talking to you B&M, WK, DG, etc.)
And I’ve grown tired of a particular couple of artisans that when they do have a promising new release, I have to be sure I’m on their site, or whoever is selling it, the instant it’s released to try to order before they sellout in two minutes and be out of stock forever or for months. Too much hassle.
lastly, it seems many artisans are starting to get too cute with their scent formulas. Trying to outdo each other to get the most bizarre scent profile.
yes, I’m looking for something mass produced after primarily trying and using artisans
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
@Don_Pisto I feel you, my man. Some of your issues explain why I tend to stick with "traditional" artisans. After a couple decades right out college into corporate America, the underlying thing I learned was: the most important ability is AVAILability. I'm not a collector, so rarity means little to me, so "out of stock" or "end of product life" are not characteristics I find valuable to me. YMMV, as in most things.
Ah you list Cella there.... great soap!
I have Cella and VDH Glycerin.
Both fine performers.
Valobra has indeed become impossible to find. When I first learned that Proraso had acquired Valobra, I wondered whether Valobra would survive. I was not aware that Proraso had been acquired by an Asian investor, and that raises even more concerns about the Valobra brand. It's troubling that two iconic Italian brands are no longer owned by Italians. BullGoose Shaving currently has Valobra available in the Cologne scent.
I agree with you.
I don't use tallow based soaps so a lot of artisans are off. Furthermore, I am leery of artisans changing their base formulations every month. To me that is just marketing and trying to keep their fans buying a slightly different version of the same product over and over again.
My favorite products are:
Art of Shaving creams(beats just about anything I've used)
MdC Rose--the most perfectly scented soap.
Bulgari Man in Black shave soap
WSP Blackbeard and Tobacco(the non tallow versions)
Razorock tuscan oud: the performance is adequate but the scent is so good. Also, don't need cologne when using it.
My favorite products are:
Art of Shaving creams(beats just about anything I've used)
MdC Rose--the most perfectly scented soap.
Bulgari Man in Black shave soap
WSP Blackbeard and Tobacco(the non tallow versions)
Razorock tuscan oud: the performance is adequate but the scent is so good. Also, don't need cologne when using it.
I use Stirling. Is that artisan or mass-produced?
This is one of the things I dislike about the Facebook shaving group And youtube reviewers. There seems to be such a close relationship that I find a lot of the reviews to be questionable.
I’ve always wondered if they are being given free product to review which is the reason why they love everything. Some YouTube reviewer’s like 90% of the stuff they review. how can you like everything equally? I’ve suspected that they’re being sent free soap’s to review and it’s affecting their reviews.
When I first started I driftef towards commercial soap like tabac, proraso etc. When you consider shipping cost it’s just a lot more cost effective.
I’ve always wondered if they are being given free product to review which is the reason why they love everything. Some YouTube reviewer’s like 90% of the stuff they review. how can you like everything equally? I’ve suspected that they’re being sent free soap’s to review and it’s affecting their reviews.
When I first started I driftef towards commercial soap like tabac, proraso etc. When you consider shipping cost it’s just a lot more cost effective.
Stirling is artisan although they're very popular.
I blend 2 commercial soaps to make Cremogena, which I consider the slickest and best performing of anything available today. When I use others, I prefer ToBS, Williams, Stirling, and Especially Shannon's Soaps for superior quality and performance.
Not sure if I consider any of them actual Artisan Soaps: Not ToBS. Stirling seems to be a volume producer, and Shannon's, while a family owned and operated business, makes not only their own line of soaps, but also supplies house brand(s) for a well-known shaving retailer.
Not sure if I consider any of them actual Artisan Soaps: Not ToBS. Stirling seems to be a volume producer, and Shannon's, while a family owned and operated business, makes not only their own line of soaps, but also supplies house brand(s) for a well-known shaving retailer.
I am a big fan of Artisan soaps for many reasons.
First of all they seem to care much more about their client base, giving out free samples, participating on the forums, listening to customer feedback which you hardly NEVER see with the big manufacturers. This is the biggest reason I support many of the artisans out there these days.
Second is the ingredients. The artisans tend to use much more "skin friendly" ingredients and a lot less chemicals or unnecessary crap thrown in the recipe. Many of the big names are known for reformulation for the worse (T&H,TOBS, Trumpers, C&E,Williams, ETC.) which also has to do with reason #1. This goes to show many of the big guys could care less about making a acceptable product and are more focused around profits rather than customer satisfaction.
With all this said there are good and bad soaps in both categories but I find myself reaching for artisan soaps about 90% of the time as they tend to be more trustworthy most of the time IMO (with a few well known acceptions lol) but you need to experiement and see what works best for you.
First of all they seem to care much more about their client base, giving out free samples, participating on the forums, listening to customer feedback which you hardly NEVER see with the big manufacturers. This is the biggest reason I support many of the artisans out there these days.
Second is the ingredients. The artisans tend to use much more "skin friendly" ingredients and a lot less chemicals or unnecessary crap thrown in the recipe. Many of the big names are known for reformulation for the worse (T&H,TOBS, Trumpers, C&E,Williams, ETC.) which also has to do with reason #1. This goes to show many of the big guys could care less about making a acceptable product and are more focused around profits rather than customer satisfaction.
With all this said there are good and bad soaps in both categories but I find myself reaching for artisan soaps about 90% of the time as they tend to be more trustworthy most of the time IMO (with a few well known acceptions lol) but you need to experiement and see what works best for you.
Who, in particular?
I believe Stirling includes a small sample with every purchase.
Is Sapanoficio Varesino considered an artisan or ”mainstream”?
Stirling comes to mind, Although I meant samples with a order. I have also received free items from MER Shaving, Elegant Rose, CBL, Shannons, Wild West, and Groomign Dept, Siliski Soaps (sorry if I forgot anyone) have all sent "Thank you" items with orders as a tolken of appreciation. Many artisans genuinely want people to enjoy their products and perhaps something you may not have tried otherwise. This is a level of customer service you would naver see from the big guys, which is not to say there are not excellent soaps/creams from big companies but rather a obvious observation.
