What's new

MACDUFFS Soap Company & Laugar ... Both Worthy of Praise

I stumbled across MacDuffs a few months ago while doing research on artisans who scent their soaps with EOs. At the time, I took a flyer on their "Spring Cabin" soap and fell in love with its natural scent profile and performance. I have since ordered Summer Cabin and Autumn Cabin and the performance is just as good and the scents even better IMO. If I had to compare the performance and the way it lathers to another well-known soapmaker, I would say that the consistency and lather remind me of DG Milksteak. The scents are better than most though and (as I already mentioned) the cabin series scents are EO based. The scents are light to medium in strength and have a variety of EOs, so I have had ZERO irritation and my skin is uber-sensitive.

Considering that these are bought at CAD prices, the amount of soap one gets (120g), I think they are excellent value, too. Since I see virtually no posts about MacDuffs, I thought this could be of service to this community.

Another soapmaker I stumbled across was Laugar. Totally different approach than MacDuffs...vegetal soaps only and scented only very discreetly with a minimum number of EOs (in some cases just one). But the shaves with this soap are fantastic. Makes a lather that is super thick and cushy and unlike any other vegetal soap I have ever used outside of Eufros/Manuel's most recent Premium vegetal base. I had great results will all scents except Ragnarok where the pure Cedar EOs irritate my skin slightly so I am not using it anymore. Any of the others (Alvdans, Rimfrost, Skogsra) are absolutely superb for me.

I have been in touch with a highly respected member of this board (whose name I will not mention for privacy) and he, too, has experienced these soaps similarly although he thought Macduffs used quicker than he liked (an experience I have not really had, so YMMV).

Hope this helps some of you with your Holiday Gift List.
 
I just received MacDuff's Prairie Rum Runner this week, excellent soap. Scent is a modern twist on bay rum:

Notes: West Indies Bay, Bay Laurel, Tobacco, Allspice, Ginger, Citrus Blend, Patchouli, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Basil
 
Not sure about macdufs but Laugar is a great soap and Nina who’s the brain of the operation she is nothing short of a wonderful woman. I happened to speak to her a few times and she is awesome. I love to support people like that.
 
I just received MacDuff's Prairie Rum Runner this week, excellent soap. Scent is a modern twist on bay rum:

Notes: West Indies Bay, Bay Laurel, Tobacco, Allspice, Ginger, Citrus Blend, Patchouli, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Basil
I was provided a sample of PRR with my purchase. I will give it a try, but I am always leery on non-EO scents because I have had lots of minor reactions to FO scented soaps over the years.
 
Nice thread. The EO cabin series MacDuff’s are great soaps. An example of doing it right. A lot of home soap cookers over scent their bases with overpowering fragrance oils and too many of them as they compete in a completely overcrowded artisan market. Some are even headache inducing.

Nina at Laugar scents her base beautifully with wonderful essential oils. The best vegetal offered today in my use and a favorite soap maker along with Manuel at Eufros.
 

Attachments

  • D5545BE1-7795-4CC7-9900-CD71E2842D12.jpeg
    D5545BE1-7795-4CC7-9900-CD71E2842D12.jpeg
    1.6 MB · Views: 16
Thanks a lot OP for creating a thread to highlight these two highly-praised soaps. MacDuffs is of particular interest to me as my face loves tallow. I'm generally gravitated towards artisan soaps with essential oils for their scents. I also had the pleasure of talking to Sean, the artisan soap-maker running this brand out of Alberta, Canada; what a generous and helpful gentleman he is!

I am just debating which one of the 'cabin series' I should get during the Black Friday sale events. For those of you who have tried MacDuffs soaps and really liked one or more of the scents, please make a recommendation.
 
Thanks a lot OP for creating a thread to highlight these two highly-praised soaps. MacDuffs is of particular interest to me as my face loves tallow. I'm generally gravitated towards artisan soaps with essential oils for their scents. I also had the pleasure of talking to Sean, the artisan soap-maker running this brand out of Alberta, Canada; what a generous and helpful gentleman he is!

I am just debating which one of the 'cabin series' I should get during the Black Friday sale events. For those of you who have tried MacDuffs soaps and really liked one or more of the scents, please make a recommendation.

I like Summer Cabin better than Spring Cabin. It is a woody/citrus with a touch of floral, but the citrus is VERY light. Autumn Cabin is quite coniferous (like a Christmas Tree), but it has a tiny bit of sweetness and spice in there to soften up the piney scent. I love both for different days (temperature and weather).
 
I like Summer Cabin better than Spring Cabin. It is a woody/citrus with a touch of floral, but the citrus is VERY light.
I too would prefer Summer Cabin over the other two 'Cabin' series offerings based on the description. At least it sounds like a safer bet for my preference. Another one on my radar is "KANANASKIS EXPLORER" even though its scent is not composed purely with essential oils. The scent notes on this one are: "Balsam Pine, Juniper Berries, Blue Spruce, Fir Needle, Tree Resin, Patchouli" (quote from MacDuffs website).

I mentioned "KANANASKIS EXPLORER" because I recently got a bar of Castlebel body soap called "Nordic Spruce" from my local TJX store. I am absolutely in love with scent of that bar soap. I am hoping that "KANANASKIS EXPLORER" may somehow be similar based on the scent notes. SV's Tundra Arctica would be probably be a better match for the scent I'm after but I wish to have at least a couple of MacDuffs soaps for its tallow and quality ingredients.

I know for sure that the performance of this soap is at an elite level. At this point, it's all about finding the right scent.
 
I just received MacDuff's Prairie Rum Runner this week, excellent soap. Scent is a modern twist on bay rum:

Notes: West Indies Bay, Bay Laurel, Tobacco, Allspice, Ginger, Citrus Blend, Patchouli, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Basil

Got that one too this week, what a mysterious scent. Can't put my finger on it. Will probably develop once lathered up - thats something i've noticed with MacDuffs, they are one of the few soaps where the scent changes once lathered up.

But I agree, it is a fantastic soap, folks are IMO sleeping on. Up there with Zingari Man as well as A&E.
 
I'd like to suggest to Sean at MacDuff's that he would consider a scent collaboration with Sean Mullen of Maol grooming whose scent designs have received high praise. The only hold-back is that I wouldn't want to imply that his current scents are less than desirable when, in all fairness, I haven't even sniffed at a single offering of MacDuffs. But a stellar base performer like his V4 base would shine even better with a great scent.
 
I'd like to suggest to Sean at MacDuff's that he would consider a scent collaboration with Sean Mullen of Maol grooming whose scent designs have received high praise. The only hold-back is that I wouldn't want to imply that his current scents are less than desirable when, in all fairness, I haven't even sniffed at a single offering of MacDuffs. But a stellar base performer like his V4 base would shine even better with a great scent.
I am going to respectfully disagree. There are already a good number of artisans with very similar bases (DG, GD, AE) who specialize in very cologne-ish scents. IMO, what sets MacDuff apart is that they DON'T chase that audience. The scents are more natural and modeled after local flora/fauna, so I would not suggest anything of the like to MacDuff.
 
The scents are more natural and modeled after local flora/fauna, so I would not suggest anything of the like to MacDuff.
The 'natural scent' profile is one main reason I am very eager to get at least a few of MacDuffs' soaps very soon. I'm not a fan of 'cologne - imitation' or 'homage to' scents that are heavily based on fragrance oils either. No disrespect intended towards artisans who aim to create cologne-ish scents. Sean Mullen of Maol Grooming has created a few unique scents for Tallow and Steel as well as Talbot shaving which have been well-received. I will not pass any judgment on MacDuffs' scents until after I try a few of their "Alberta" series that are inspired by natural landscapes. Based on what I've heard from discerning reviewers, I expect very pleasant scents.
 
Late to the game here.
Tried "Autumn Cabin" for the first time. Great performance. Very good scent. A winner.
What I pick up is a nice mid strength vanilla scent with a backing of light sweetness, likely from the maple syrup. A hint of woodiness lies at the base. I'm not picking up conifers as a dominant note. It will be interesting to see how I feel after more time/uses.
 
Top Bottom