PdP is on my ‘to try’ list!
Too many soaps in the den these days.
Too many soaps in the den these days.
In Praise of Pre de Provence
- Thread starter Spatterdash
- Start date
I've been working my way through a puck of No.63 for over a year, alternating with another soap--maybe 100 shaves, and at least 2/3 of the puck is still left.
PdP isn't as easy to lather or as slick as Stirling Sheep or T&H cream, but it's up there. For me, the trick is to soak the brush and let warm water sit on the puck, both for about 2 minutes, then pour the water off the puck, gently squeeze excess water out of the brush (shaking doesn't seem to do it), load with fast circular motion for 20-30 seconds (no splaying), and face lather. I use a similar routine with other soaps with adjustments. For example, with Stirling Sheep I let the water sit on the puck for only about 1 minute and load with a slower motion but still for 20-30 seconds. Not a big deal, but it makes some difference, at least in consistency.
PdP isn't as easy to lather or as slick as Stirling Sheep or T&H cream, but it's up there. For me, the trick is to soak the brush and let warm water sit on the puck, both for about 2 minutes, then pour the water off the puck, gently squeeze excess water out of the brush (shaking doesn't seem to do it), load with fast circular motion for 20-30 seconds (no splaying), and face lather. I use a similar routine with other soaps with adjustments. For example, with Stirling Sheep I let the water sit on the puck for only about 1 minute and load with a slower motion but still for 20-30 seconds. Not a big deal, but it makes some difference, at least in consistency.
I agree with SugarDaddy. If you are satisfied with the performance, it is a good value. However, out of the 180 soaps I have evaluated, only 8 have scored lower on my performance rating. Primary slickness and cushion are decent. Residual slickness and post shave feel are both lacking.
As has already been said, the scent of PDP 63 is amazing. If it were not for the scent, I would have relegated the soap to the shower long ago.
Truly YMMV applies. But I love PdP 63. Lasts forever, no other soap leaves my skin feeling softer, and the scent is amazing. My wife gave me the matching EDT for my birthday, and I use PdP 63 bath bar in the shower. I’ve yet to try the original scent, but will likely give it a go when I need more soap (in like 2 years...)
PdP does have a decent post shave feel, but some of the artisan soaps released in the past year are far superior in their face conditioning properties. These luxury soaps are made with premium ingredients and will cost a lot more than PdP.
Some of the best in this regard are: Ariana and Evans, Barrister and Mann, Declaration Grooming, Grooming Department, Murphy & McNeil, Wholly Kaw and Zingari Man. They have all made post shave feel one of the criteria for their product development efforts.
I’m about 5 months into a tin of #63. It’s a fine soap. I find that it trails Institut Karite and Provence Sante for performance and edges Cade as far as the French Shea butter Soaps go.
Glad to hear you like it, Bob, because I've got a puck of 63 incoming to replace a tired one of the original PdP. I've gone through both Provence Sante and Cade before, I hope it's close to them for me as well.
Well, here's another example of ymmv. I've tried just about every high end soap and use some and found the others to be all hype and I put PdP up there in the best. If I have to classify it I'd say it's among the second tier and certainly there's no other vegan soap that's better, for me. I get creamy, slick, cushioned lather with it and my post shave feel is superb. I find the No.63 to be a notch under, unlike many here. As a matter of fact, that was the popular opinion of the 63 when it first was introduced.
This. PdP is a good soap, with decent performance, for me. And great scents. Just not the top of my rotation, and I find some other vegan soaps, and all of my tallow soaps, to be better..
I have found no bath soap on earth that is better than Pre de Provence, and I've tried a lot of different brands/makes of nice, expensive bath soaps. They have a lot of interesting scents, too. I'm using a pure lemongrass-scented PdP for my showers right now. I LOVE these soaps.
Fantastic technique with the straight razor. I'm impressed.
I'm an open blade shaver, but I shave a lot more carefully and gingerly than you do. You've obviously been shaving with a straight razor for quite some time.
Thanks for the compliment and thanks for taking the time to watch!
I've been using a straight for maybe a year and a half, wetshaving for about 3 and a half years.
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Wow. For a year and a half, the technique is impressive.
I had my first open blade shave in late December of 2017. I had well over 250 straight razor shaves and currently have over 180 shavette shaves with my Feather SS, so I'm not exactly a rank beginner.
Nice, that's a lot shaves under your belt! Shavettes are one area I need to do more with. I have a Parker Srx I think it is and it's ok, I just don't reach for it much.
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I probably wouldn't use that much, either. I use a Feather SS folding. It takes AC blades, and I absolutely love the Schick Proline. Also, the Feather SS, by virtue of its tiny lip, is a lot less demanding that other shavettes. It shaves a lot like a straight razor (albeit with a little bit steeper angle and a shorter blade), but the blade is always sharp, and it requires neither honing nor stropping. Really the best razor I've ever used, and I've been traditional wetshaving for 11 years now.
PdP I've found to be a rather great and inexpensive soap, giving me a fine lather comparable to Tabac and D.R Harris. But unlike those two, I've found it certainly requires more work than those other two to produce a thick and slick lather.
I honestly think that the quad milling is to blame for that issue, as it sort of makes the positives and negatives of a triple milled soap double down. So while it is harder to use than Tabac, it will somehow outlast the Tabac.
I honestly think that the quad milling is to blame for that issue, as it sort of makes the positives and negatives of a triple milled soap double down. So while it is harder to use than Tabac, it will somehow outlast the Tabac.
I haven't used the original PdP, so I can't compare performance, but I'm sure it's very similar. I have really enjoyed the scent of #63, but after 5 months, I'm kind of tired of it now.
The cream is very different from the soap. It is a brushless cream that does not lather. You can read a lot of reviews from frustrated users saying "This cream is terrible, I can't get any lather out of it". Well, they did not realize it's meant to be applied with fingers to a damp face with no lather.
Pre de Provence is good stuff. It lathers easily for me, I load it with a squeezed-out brush and add water as I lather, a trick I learned with Williams. I'll definitely be using it for my Bastille Day shave next month.
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