Mon Savon Au Lait - French Arko?

[Golden_Edge]

I was in France not too long ago. I didn't bother taking any soap or cream with me knowing I would find something there (be it French or not).

Landed on a Sunday, went to a small supermarket on a Monday. Selection was small with mostly canned gels and foams. This small plastic jar caught my attention. The "au lait" (with milk) added to my curiosity. Reading through the ingredients, it seemed okay with tallow and milk (don't know how the rest is). Didn't pay attention to the price when I picked it up (assuming it would be cheap) but I remember thinking it would be the equivalent of $5-6 USD. It was actually €1.35 or the equivalent of $1.50 USD.

It's got the consistency of very thick jello or pudding. It smells, in my opinion, good as well - citrus like (lemon). Performance wise, it's impressive. It delivers a thick, dense layer of protection that does not dry on your face one bit. It's not something that will lather the height of Mount Everest (I personally am not after that anyway) and is more of a thick sour cream like texture that you paint on your face. I like the straightforwardness of it - wet brush, load, lather/paint on face and shave. The only drawback is the container, flimsy plastic that does not seal well. I will pick up several more next time I am in France.

I mentioned Arko (which I used couple times) because it reminded me of it: cheap and effective. Scent if sort of in the same galaxy as well.

What are you thoughts?

 

[madmedic]

It is good stuff. If you don't use it for a while it will dry out but a soak in water will return it to is former glory. I wish it was readily available here in the UK....but even the Amazon source has dried up

 

[Golden_Edge]

It is good stuff. If you don't use it for a while it will dry out but a soak in water will return it to is former glory. I wish it was readily available here in the UK....but even the Amazon source has dried up

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep that in mind.

 

[BigJ]

Looks great, especially for the price!! Enjoy!!

 

[pierrelortie44]

Standard ingredients, looks foolproof.

 

[NorthernSoul]

Somewhat like Proraso in Italy, in that it has been around forever, is sold everywhere, inexpensive and a good value. The old version from years ago did not have any milk ingredients. I would not be too impressed, though, since this basically means a small amount of non-fat milk powder has been added in. Still, that ingredient is supposed to be good for the skin. I think this version has more water than the old one did. I would not expect it to last very long, but at this price you can't complain.

 

[FL shaver]

I prefer French Williams, but Williams is no longer made. The last version of Williams was slicker, but the Monsavon smelled better. Both lasted a bit over a month for me, I think. I don’t have any Monsavon left from a trip to Paris about ten years ago, but I would buy it again, for nostalgia.

 

[lasta]

Monsavon is good stuff!

I even shaved with their bar soap.

 

[La Malice]

Too bad you could not get to a larger place, you would have gotten a tube of Palmolive for the same price.

Somehow I believe this is what my dad used to use when I was a kid. I used it a few time but could not stand the smell of it , the bowl has been put away since August .

I got one of each last year, still kick myself for not picking up some Wilkinson - Bol à Raser Premium for 5 or 6 euros.


Monsavon (mysoap) was a staple in the bathroom as a kid as a bar soap.

 

[Golden_Edge]

@La Malice Thanks for your inpute. I'll keep an eye on Palmolive and Wilkison next time I am across the pond.

 

[Owen Bawn]

It has been years, but I enjoyed using Monsavon soap. The comparison to Proraso is pretty accurate- not in terms of scent but they are similar in their consistent quality at a budget price.

In French Arko would probably be l'Arceau. Plural Les Arceaux.

 

[Timor1322]

It has been years, but I enjoyed using Monsavon soap. The comparison to Proraso is pretty accurate- not in terms of scent but they are similar in their consistent quality at a budget price.

In French Arko would probably be l'Arceau. Plural Les Arceaux.

I guess I may contribute as;

Un correction L'Arquot et L'Arqoux au Pluriel

 

[La Malice]

I guess I may contribute as;

Un correction L'Arquot et L'Arqoux au Pluriel

it ain't bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou so no x

 

[guitarslinger]

I love monsavon.

Great scent.

 

[FL shaver]

Monsavon (mysoap) was a staple in the bathroom as a kid as a bar soap.

I bought a few bars in Paris. It is just too expensive to buy it in the States.

 

[CoreyWoodmancy]

Both places I just looked to purchase would effectively put this at around $30 a puck to secure. Unfortunate as I would have loved to try this!

 

[Owen Bawn]

$30.00? Save your money and go to Lille or Annecy or Marseilles or Bordeaux or Nice to buy some. It's cheaper there, and the area around the shops will be different from where you are now.

 

[P1C0]

I see that the formula changed a bit since 2018, when I last bought the soap, but probably for the better, as it contains less ingredients now.

A very serviceable and cheap soap (at the time I had bought it for 95 cents), but it wasn't very protective and it used to clog my pores.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

I bought some recently in a Paris supermarket. Rather inexpensive and pretty good. The smell is kinda unisex, but my normal Proraso Blue is as well, so no big deal. My first tallow cream. Will it be my last? I have several pucks, so no real urge to hunt for more tallow based soaps. Proraso Blue is just really damn good.

PIFed a puck to a B&B member. Maybe they will have a review one day too.

 

[mladenius]

When I was in France I paid mine about 2e in Intermarche supermarket. 30$ for Monsavon is pure robbery, 10$ would be more than generous. Great soap although cheap as hell. One of the best I tried actually. It's easy to lather, lather is very slick, creamy and rich and post shave is excellent. Similar category like Proraso but much better performance wise and ingredient wise. It has a nice, clean and fresh scent. BTW it's much much better soap than Arko. It's softer soap and tallow based with milk as one of the ingredients. Shame it's tricky and/or expensive to get outside France.