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Little Martin De Candre help please?

Not used it yet as I've still got product im 3017'ing but as soon as I do its either MdC rose or MdC fougere. My research tells me that these are open cured soaps and this process takes months at a time anyway. Unlike something like an artisan soap I don't think there are any ingredients in the soap that will actually go off or lose any of its properties other than scent. Its supposed to be a very dry, very hard soap. Again I haven't used it but researched the hell out of it because its really expensive, at least in Australia.
 
“…a horde?” Of “Martin de Candre?”😳

What, did you hit the LOTTERY, “Cary?” 💰💰💰😆
Brother @RicoSuave this is an umpteenth post where you sort of question other folk's financial decisions, perhaps their mental sanity as well.

I know you mean nothing wrong (well I don't actually "know", but I assume your intentions are not malicious), and you do it in a humorous way, but trust me when I tell you - it's counterproductive, it's annoying and irritating and downright stupid.

Let's talk scents, let's talk performance, but please let's drop this talk about how much someone else decides to spend. If you can't be happy for them, at least keep it to yourself, as no one is benefitting from such a comment.

It's no one's business what @luvmysuper decides to spend on his soaps or what I decide to spend on my razors (like you called me out the other day).

Peace. I'd rather be shaving
:straight: :straight::straight:
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
“…a horde?” Of “Martin de Candre?”😳

What, did you hit the LOTTERY, “Cary?” 💰💰💰😆

Brother @RicoSuave this is an umpteenth post where you sort of question other folk's financial decisions, perhaps their mental sanity as well.

I know you mean nothing wrong (well I don't actually "know", but I assume your intentions are not malicious), and you do it in a humorous way, but trust me when I tell you - it's counterproductive, it's annoying and irritating and downright stupid.

Let's talk scents, let's talk performance, but please let's drop this talk about how much someone else decides to spend. If you can't be happy for them, at least keep it to yourself, as no one is benefitting from such a comment.

It's no one's business what @luvmysuper decides to spend on his soaps or what I decide to spend on my razors (like you called me out the other day).

Peace. I'd rather be shaving
:straight: :straight::straight:

It doesn't bother me personally. For a lot of folks, dropping that kind of dough on what may seem like a frivolous purchase to some defies their understanding.

For the record, I'm not a rich guy, but I worked very hard for nearly 50 years, saving what I could along the way so that, in my retirement, I could enjoy my golden years in a manner which didn't require supplementing my diet with dog food! :lol:

I have been a pretty frugal guy all my working years, and now that I am retired, if I want to splurge on the nice things that will make my retirement years and what time I have left on this big blue ball more enjoyable, I don't hesitate to do it.

I don't personally take offense, and I could see where someone who may not be in that financial position could question it.

Wishing everyone good shaves, a happy life, and double digit interest on their retirement savings plan!!!
 
I have a glass jar of MdC with a screw lid that I purchased back in 2015. I use it only occasionally and the soap is still level with the top. As @Marco stated at the beginning of this thread the critique of MdC falls into two categories - like or unimpressed (my words, not his) I fall into the category of, "it's an okay soap with rather uninteresting lather". It will outlive me, likely to be found by my heirs still in a shoebox at the bottom of my closet long after I take my last breath.
 
Brother @RicoSuave this is an umpteenth post where you sort of question other folk's financial decisions, perhaps their mental sanity as well.

I know you mean nothing wrong (well I don't actually "know", but I assume your intentions are not malicious), and you do it in a humorous way, but trust me when I tell you - it's counterproductive, it's annoying and irritating and downright stupid.

Let's talk scents, let's talk performance, but please let's drop this talk about how much someone else decides to spend. If you can't be happy for them, at least keep it to yourself, as no one is benefitting from such a comment.

It's no one's business what @luvmysuper decides to spend on his soaps or what I decide to spend on my razors (like you called me out the other day).

Peace. I'd rather be shaving
:straight: :straight::straight:
Brother @DaveHStone, my apologies if I caused you, or any other member on here, OFFENSE. It is not my intention to come on this site to do so, so any and all offense taken is of an unintended nature. Apparently, I was unaware of such “sensitivities” until they were brought to my attention. I assumed, apparently mistakenly, that, since I was amongst MAINLY adult males, that my TONE could perhaps be a bit more brusque and jocular than if I were were amongst a more DIVERSE population. Your FEELINGS, and perhaps those of others, are duly noted.

As for the specific topic of brother @luvmysuper’s purchase of a “horde” of MdC soaps, I was simply stating that many, not ALL, may consider such a purchase extravagant, as MdC’s soaps average about $50/tub, whereas the average artisan soap may run about half that, if not less. I attempted to express said opinion in a HUMOROUS fashion (hint the attached emojis), but apparently said attempt at humor was not recognized by ALL.

That’s all. I was not SERIOUSLY questioning his sanity, nor do I, or anyone else here, have the power to exert him NOT to make such a purchase. I was simply expressing an OPINION, granted not one directly asked of ME, but perhaps one shared by others as well. That’s all. When one posts on a PUBLIC board such as this, one would assume that a VARIETY of opinions on any given topic would surface. I meant no explicit offense to @luvmysuper, and apparently, he, the person who the comment was originally directed towards, took no offense either.

No worries, though. As you said, such opinions are UNWELCOME and unnecessary, and I will indeed keep them, and others, to myself moving forward.

I cede the floor…
 
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luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I have a glass jar of MdC with a screw lid that I purchased back in 2015. I use it only occasionally and the soap is still level with the top. As @Marco stated at the beginning of this thread the critique of MdC falls into two categories - like or unimpressed (my words, not his) I fall into the category of, "it's an okay soap with rather uninteresting lather". It will outlive me, likely to be found by my heirs still in a shoebox at the bottom of my closet long after I take my last breath.

I take opinions here seriously, of course, some folks have experience similar to mine, so I put a little more weight there.
The bottom line for me is that I personally LOVE Lilac Vegetal, and I am very fond of modern Williams mug soap.
If I went only by the opinions expressed largely here at B&B on those products, I'd never have had the opportunity to enjoy them.
I like to gather as much information as possible, but ultimately - you sometimes just have to jump in the deep end of the pool!
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Brother @DaveHStone, my apologies if I caused you, or any other member on here, OFFENSE. It is not my intention to come on this site to do so, so any and all offense taken is of an unintended nature. Apparently, I was unaware of such “sensitivities” until they were brought to my attention. I assumed, apparently mistakenly, that, since I was amongst MAINLY adult males, that my TONE could perhaps be a bit more brusque and jocular than if I were were amongst a more DIVERSE population. Your FEELINGS, and perhaps those of others, are duly noted.

As for the specific topic of brother @luvmysuper’s purchase of a “horde” of MdC soaps, I was simply stating that many, not ALL, may consider such a purchase extravagant, as MdC’s soaps average about $50/tub, whereas the average artisan soap may run about half that, if not less. I attempted to express said opinion in a HUMOROUS fashion (hint the attached emojis), but apparently said attempt at humor was not recognized by ALL.

That’s all. I was not SERIOUSLY questioning his sanity, nor do I, or anyone else here, have the power to exert him NOT to make such a purchase. I was simply expressing an OPINION, granted not one directly asked of ME, but perhaps one shared by others as well. That’s all. When one posts on a PUBLIC board such as this, one would assume that a VARIETY of opinions on any given topic would surface. I meant no direct offense to @luvmysuper, and apparently, he, the person who the comment was originally directed towards, took no offense either.

No worries, though. As you said, such opinions are UNWELCOME and unnecessary, and I will indeed keep them, and others, to myself moving forward.

I cede the floor…

I'm not really the sensitive type, but different folks have different levels of tolerance to pointed humor.
If I get mad, I try to let it go, realizing that the written word does not express humor or emotion as well as the spoken word.
Then I wait outside their house and run them over in my truck when they least expect it.
 
I think it's better to have containers with lids; better for storage and keeping things clean. You can always leave the lids off to let the soaps dry, but you don't have the option to cover with the open containers.

I think getting samples is a great idea. You will be living with those MdC soaps for a very long time.

Edit: Oops, it seems you've already bought the soaps. Oh, well, hope you enjoy them!
:laugh:
 
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As for the specific topic of brother @luvmysuper’s purchase of a “horde” of MdC soaps, I was simply stating that many, not ALL, may consider such a purchase extravagant, as MdC’s soaps average about $50/tub, whereas the average artisan soap may run about half that, if not less.

Did you adjust your analysis to note the average artisan soap has about 50% to 60% of the amount of soap compared to the MDC 200g soaps? That makes the difference per ounce much smaller. MDC may still be more expensive, but not as radically as your analysis portrays.

Taking your logic further, Williams/Arko users could make the same argument about artisan soap users. It’s just a classist argument. Why I should care how anybody else decides to spend their shaving money is beyond me. About the only way I would care is if Trump/Buffet/Gates/[pick your favorite rich guy] decides to shave with a new puck of Mike’s each day and toss it at the end if his shave. I would only care about that as Mike’s production line appears to lack the capacity to fill that demand along with his normal demand and I might not be able to source my preferred soap.

Now, if a bloke wants to buy in bulk to lock in his price and cut the per item shipping cost, that may be a sound financial decision. Once I dialed in on my DE blade, I noted prices were just starting to rise. I bought 700 of them figuring that would get me to somewhere between the age of 70 & 75. I use my SEs less, so I bought 100 blades. You might find such a buy extravagant, but I saw myself locking in a price and minimizing shipping on a product that I will use up over time - God willing. I also got to spend working life funds that will fund retirement life shaves.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I think it's better to have containers with lids; better for storage and keeping things clean. You can always leave the lids off to let the soaps dry, but you don't have the option to cover with the open containers.

I think getting samples is a great idea. You will be living with those MdC soaps for a very long time.

Edit: Oops, it seems you've already bought the soaps. Oh, well, hope you enjoy them!
:laugh:

No, I appreciate the input. Even though I have purchased the small version of the soaps, confirmation or disagreement is always a good thing!
I'm viewing the purchase I made as a first step in this process, so I'll see how it goes.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Did you adjust your analysis to note the average artisan soap has about 50% to 60% of the amount of soap compared to the MDC 200g soaps? That makes the difference per ounce much smaller. MDC may still be more expensive, but not as radically as your analysis portrays.

This was my point early on, that the MDC in the 200 gram container was about 37 US cents per gram and the 50 gram container was 90 US cents per gram. The 6 pack brought it down to about 70 cents per gram, which is better, but still not as good a bargain as the 200 gram container.
There is no question that I am getting the 200 gram soaps eventually, which ones I buy may depend upon which fragrances I like or don't like.
I was in a quandary because my art appreciation side wants the wooden bowls and the open glass dishes, but my practical side wants the lidded jars.
The 200 gram bowl or glass containers may seem expensive, but when compared to Czech and Speake or another high end soap in a specialty container, it's quite the bargain. Mitchells wool fat in the ceramic container works out to about 32 US cents per gram, but no one screams about the cost of MWF!
 
I take opinions here seriously, of course, some folks have experience similar to mine, so I put a little more weight there.
The bottom line for me is that I personally LOVE Lilac Vegetal, and I am very fond of modern Williams mug soap.
If I went only by the opinions expressed largely here at B&B on those products, I'd never have had the opportunity to enjoy them.
I like to gather as much information as possible, but ultimately - you sometimes just have to jump in the deep end of the pool!
Absolutely agree! I have purchased many soaps that in the opinion of others were not worth the money and many were excellent. I, too, love William's Shave Mug soap, a fine product. I haven't tried Lilac vegetal but one of these days I might just give it a try. Ultimately we all make our own decisions. Enjoy.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
Well, it's running around 45 dollars for 50 grams, and around 74 for 200 grams.
That's 90 cents a gram versus 37 cents a gram.
The "Oooh that's really nice" part of me just made a good cost analysis argument.
The "Use your head dummy" part of me hasn't responded.

Initial cost is not actual cost. I buy 2 jars at a time directly from France and one jar goes for about 13 months of daily 3 pass shaves. That's three times longer than WK longevity. I pay about $45 a year for MdC, which makes it my cheapest soap. WK would be around $75.

I suggest you check the direct price, especially if you're ordering more than one.

It is, by the by, my favorite soap. I use it so often that I never put the lid on the jar, for what that's worth.
 

Marco

B&B's Man in Italy
@luvmysuper Phil, congratulations! I hope you'll enjoy your new soaps and, if not, putting them on the BST won't be a problem at all.

Now, you are waiting for something you strongly desire to (at least) try. Isn't this wait itself part of the pleasure, my friend? :thumbsup:
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
@luvmysuper Phil, congratulations! I hope you'll enjoy your new soaps and, if not, putting them on the BST won't be a problem at all.

Now, you are waiting for something you strongly desire to (at least) try. Isn't this wait itself part of the pleasure, my friend? :thumbsup:

Often, the hunt is as exhilarating as the prize!
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Initial cost is not actual cost. I buy 2 jars at a time directly from France and one jar goes for about 13 months of daily 3 pass shaves. That's three times longer than WK longevity. I pay about $45 a year for MdC, which makes it my cheapest soap. WK would be around $75.

I suggest you check the direct price, especially if you're ordering more than one.

It is, by the by, my favorite soap. I use it so often that I never put the lid on the jar, for what that's worth.

Yes, I purchased directly from the MDC online shop.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
I was in a quandary because my art appreciation side wants the wooden bowls and the open glass dishes, but my practical side wants the lidded jars.

I understand that. I've started collecting SV tins haha.


I pay about $45 a year for MdC, which makes it my cheapest soap.

Thats also my experience with SV. The initial cost may be high but they last so long that in the long run SV is the least expensive soap on my shelf out of the 14 others in rotation.
 
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