MARTIN DE CANDRE - UH, IT'S ALRIGHT, BUT....

[BrotherDerekB]

My good friend on here, Fabi, and I bought a puck and split it. At about $70, it seemed like a reasonable idea considering all the good press this soap has garnered.

Well, let's just say, I won't be ordering it again. It's not that it isn't a good soap, it's just that it isn't three to six times better than other soaps in my humble opinion.

We tried the original scent, which is nothing to write home about. It smells okay, but kind of reminded me of either Noxema face cream that my Mom used to use of Vick's Vaporub. Hey, admittedly, I don't have the best nose for soap, but this smells kind of like a lighter version of those products.

The soap lathered well enough and provided good cushion and a fair amount of slickness, but, again, nothing that I would consider far above many other soaps that I have tried. For the price, and its reputation, I truly did expect more from this soap.

We also got a sample of the Fougere and, again, it smells okay. Nothing that would truly knock your socks off. From what I understand, the rose scent is very popular, so you might want to try that one if you order some MdC.

As we know, YMMV is the only certainty in the world of shaving, so I am sure many put this at the top of their list. That's cool by me. For my money, though, there are other soaps that are as good, or better, at a much better price point and with better scents.

That is all...Happy shaving!

 

[buyandhold2018]

It's a good soap, the problem is there are $15-20 soaps that are just as good of not better with superior scents.

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk

 

[Brompton]

I too got the Vick's Vaporub scent from the original. There are many better smelling products out there, so I traded it. I thought it performed well, but like you said, not better than other high end soaps I've tried.

 

[ackvil]

I must have bought a different version of the original. The scent on the two jars I have purchased is very mild. However, for me, the performance is top tier and the puck lasts forever. For example, Haslinger (tallow formula), lasted for 160 shaves for me. However, MdC lasted 540 shaves. B&M Seville, an artisan soap, lasted only 71 shaves. Grooming Dept. Dapper Mallard, another fine artisan soap, has lasted 60 shaves and I am still using it but there is not much left to the puck.

I'm not much into scents. For me, it's performance all the way and MdC is one of my top performing soaps The good news is that you will have no problem selling the soap.

 

[RayClem]

I have not used MDC as I have a lot of other great soaps in my den. The proponents of MDC claim that the soap is cost effective in spite of the high initial price; a little goes a long way. However, I do not know whether that is true or not. Although I do have a few vegetable based soaps, most of my favorite soaps are tallow based.

 

[pbrmhl]

I've got all five of the scented MdC soaps. Among the five, Original is the least interesting, to my nose. But even Original provides a great lather in my hand, and the value is amazing. Sure, the upfront cost is high, but the price per shave is very low, in my experience.

MdC Rose and Fougere are amazing scents, to my nose. All five are great values, and constitute my favorite soap family (tied with Declaration legacy bison base soaps).

 

[dfoulk]

The positives are that it lathers effortlessly and you need very, very little per shave. I once did a three pass shave after circling the brush on the soap three circles. Not the very best shave but there are likely no other soaps that this is possible with. So that jar of soap you bought could likely last one person 12 to 18 months of shaves. The other thing is that it always provides really nice close shaves. I do like the original and fougere scents and find them to be exceptional to my nose. The price is something that someone might see as a negative but when you factor in a tub lasting at least a year of shaves that's less than six bucks a month putting it in there with many of the really cheap value oriented soaps.

And on to the negatives... there are literally no post shave attributes to speak of. It leaves my face feel clean and well shaven but there are no moisturizing effects whatsoever. You are completely dependent upon your aftershave for this.

The very best soaps being made at the moment can be found in the $25 range per tub. Soaps like Grooming Dept and Tallow & Steel.

 

[Larry Telencio]

I received my MDC Rose about a week ago and have been using it daily, great lather and a nice scent but I'm not totally thrilled with it. It does lack any post shave feel to speak of and the shaves are not as smooth and irritation free as you would expect from a soap that receives all the hype it gets. I still prefer Pannecrema Nuavia Blu as my #1 soap.

 

[Chaucer]

For an admittedly high price, you get a lot of soap in a jar of MdC, and the soap is very concentrated. I get well over a year of daily shaves from one jar. So that's about $1 per week for a world class product. On the other hand, if you use multiple soaps and switch off, the large quantity and longevity isn't much of an advantage.

As to scent, I prefer one that's light and unobtrusive scent and is enjoyable while I shave but doesn't linger on me or in my house. The original MdC scent checks all the boxes. But de gustibus non est disputandum.

 

[gsurko]

Well BrotherDerekD, you may want to find a good hiding place for a while, theMdC lovers will be hunting you like a dog. I agree with your assessment but don’t come around my house until things cool off.

 

[Noodles]

The positives are that it lathers effortlessly and you need very, very little per shave. I once did a three pass shave after circling the brush on the soap three circles. Not the very best shave but there are likely no other soaps that this is possible with. So that jar of soap you bought could likely last one person 12 to 18 months of shaves. The other thing is that it always provides really nice close shaves. I do like the original and fougere scents and find them to be exceptional to my nose. The price is something that someone might see as a negative but when you factor in a tub lasting at least a year of shaves that's less than six bucks a month putting it in there with many of the really cheap value oriented soaps.

And on to the negatives... there are literally no post shave attributes to speak of. It leaves my face feel clean and well shaven but there are no moisturizing effects whatsoever. You are completely dependent upon your aftershave for this.

Exactly this. Great shave...6-10 second load....plenty of lather. I use a balm usually, so I like that it washes off cleanly. I think it costs me about $0.20 a shave. Haslinger is about $0.15. If you want to save money, I'd suggest MWF. It's probably more like $0.10 a shave for me. (note: all estimates) It hurts up front, but is good value long term and works well.

 

[Elvergun]

Well, let's just say, I won't be ordering it again. It's not that it isn't a good soap, it's just that it isn't three to six times better than other soaps in my humble opinion

Well, if jar lasts 3 three times longer than other soaps, and it performs better than other soaps, is it not a better soap? I don't think it is the best soap out there, but it is one of the best. I also don't think it is one of the most expensive soaps (although it might seem that way at first glance).

Instead of enjoying the soap and enjoying the shave you are fussing over the price. Try to get the cost out of the equation and enjoy the shave.

 

[BrotherDerekB]

Well BrotherDerekD, you may want to find a good hiding place for a while, theMdC lovers will be hunting you like a dog. I agree with your assessment but don’t come around my house until things cool off.

Hahaha....Funny. It was my assessment and I'll stick with it. Obviously, since I haven't had it long, I don't know how much better of a value it is in the long run. My gut says that it is still on the expensive side of things, which I wouldn't mind if it was markedly better. For me, it isn't, so just trying to be honest.

 

[Roy]

Exactly this. Great shave...6-10 second load....plenty of lather. I use a balm usually, so I like that it washes off cleanly. I think it costs me about $0.20 a shave. Haslinger is about $0.15. If you want to save money, I'd suggest MWF. It's probably more like $0.10 a shave for me. (note: all estimates) It hurts up front, but is good value long term and works well.

Haslinger isn't so very cheap, as the pucks are small! Never tried Md c though but most people rave about it.

 

[FarmerTan]

It's hard to beat Arko. It should be in the Soap Hall of Fame!!!

 

[cryhavoc]

It's hard to beat Arko. It should be in the Soap Hall of Fame!!!

Way to stir the pot LOL

 

[RayClem]

It's hard to beat Arko. It should be in the Soap Hall of Fame!!!

Is it true that you spread Arko on your toast for breakfast? LOL!

 

[Bbb34]

Well, let's just say, I won't be ordering it again. It's not that it isn't a good soap, it's just that it isn't three to six times better than other soaps in my humble opinion.

No one soap will suit us all, we all have different preferences.

For my face/taste/needs and budget I do however respectfully disagree, as I find it to be top notch soap (after having tried "oh-so-many" in the past 3-4 years I find MDC to be one of the best I've used (did not care for scent of Fougere though, I have traded that one after two uses).

I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, far from it, but would be curious to learn which ones you find significantly better?

 

[member 119848]

excellent write-up, @BrotherDerekB ,
I totally agree with you. It´s a good soap but it doesn´t impress me.
IMO, it lathers just as good and easily as Haslinger, Tabac, or any any other tripple milled soap that I´ve tried.
I find it too expensive for what it is.

 

[naughtilus]

These D.R. Harris pucks are pretty damn good. I think a 100g puck will last me over 3 months (I load heavy, shave daily). First ingredient is Tallow, which I like, and the refills are $13.

500g D.R. Harris or 200g MdC, hmmm... Let's say I'd get same amount of shaves, both cost me the same, but I can have DRH in 5 scents.