Used coconut today, good stuff! I was trying decide between caties bubble LPV and PPF coconut, smelling the 2 side by side, (dont judge me, you've done it too!) I get a little similar scent profile in LPV, its so complex, love it too.
Petal Pusher Fancies
- Thread starter dfoulk
- Start date
It is fantastic, but I'm allergic
- Thread starter
- #83
I've been using PPF and Catie's Bubbles soaps most days for the past couple weeks now. Both are excellent but I give the nod to PPF for it's additional moisturizing qualities. Both are definitely well above average soaps, easily make an excellent lather and are plenty slick for a great shave. I've been doing four passes lately (three with a straight and one clean up pass with a de) and I feel I could easily do six passes if I needed to. Both have done a really great job in protecting me from myself while I'm learning to shave with a straight. I'm sure I'll be purchasing more soaps from both of these soap makers going forward.
I have had my finger on the buy button for days now. I hesitated because I like mild scents (and don't like sweet scents) and when in doubt, I always go with "unscented." Frances was kind enough to work with me and I ordered both the Unscented and Coconut. As always, it takes days to make a decision, but once decided, I want it yesterday!
My understanding is that the soap is made in Massachusetts but shipped from Arizona? Could that be right?
I Don't Like to Commit Myself about Heaven and Hell - You See, I Have Friends in both Places.
-Mark Twain-
My understanding is that the soap is made in Massachusetts but shipped from Arizona? Could that be right?
I Don't Like to Commit Myself about Heaven and Hell - You See, I Have Friends in both Places.
-Mark Twain-
I just used PPF for the first time and it is great. I'm relatively new to DE and haven't tried some of the giants like MdC but this stuff blows away everything else I've used, except for Synergy which I found to be very similar in performance. I used the Black Tea scent and it was really nice. I had used Synergy Choc Bourbon the day before and loved the shave but hated the scent. Guess I'm like you rod and don't like the sweet scents.
For PPF & Synergy:
Ease of lather, shave protection, strength of scent and feel were all better for me than anything I've tried. Arko and RR (new Classic) come close. Considering the price point, I think these are a must try for anyone looking to buy soap.
On another note - tin size: I have the 5" tin of one and the 3" of the other. The 5 is nice to lather on, but feels like you are holding a small plate. The 3 is useable, but slower to load and probably impractical for anything but a small brush (I used a B&B essential) I will probably go with the 5 in the future, mainly due to the lower cost per ounce. We will see if the bigger size grows on me or annoys me to no end.
For PPF & Synergy:
Ease of lather, shave protection, strength of scent and feel were all better for me than anything I've tried. Arko and RR (new Classic) come close. Considering the price point, I think these are a must try for anyone looking to buy soap.
On another note - tin size: I have the 5" tin of one and the 3" of the other. The 5 is nice to lather on, but feels like you are holding a small plate. The 3 is useable, but slower to load and probably impractical for anything but a small brush (I used a B&B essential) I will probably go with the 5 in the future, mainly due to the lower cost per ounce. We will see if the bigger size grows on me or annoys me to no end.
- Thread starter
- #86
You can always remove the soap from the 3 inch tin and put it in a larger container. I use the Grundtal containers from IKEA for all of my soaps.
I may do that if bit becomes annoying. Or I might press it into ma dollar salsa bowl and 3017 it.
- Thread starter
- #88
I may do that if bit becomes annoying. Or I might press it into ma dollar salsa bowl and 3017 it.
I have one of the PPF soaps in a Grundtal and it's so much better than the small tins that way. I'll likely pick up the Black Tea and Coconut ones in the larger tins next time and just use them that way now that I'm sure they have earned a spot with my favorites.
My PPF Coconut arrived on Friday and, in a break with protocol, I shaved on both Saturday and Sunday with my new soap. By way of background, I am pretty fussy about soaps. I have dry skin and I am scent sensitive. I was wary about the coconut because I do not like sweet scents. I like raw coconut, but I don't like Pina Colada, if you know what I mean. Francis, the mastermind behind PPF, assured me that her coconut would work for me. Also, this is my first vegan soap. Because of my skin I have always worked with tallow.
Here is my mini review:
Scent: Perfect Scent. No Sweetness to it at all - Just Coconut. I would say that the scent is pleasantly strong without being overpowering. The scent disappeared quickly after the shave which is a plus for me.
Lather: Super easy to lather. I shook the water out of a wet 2 band badger brush and went to work. Maybe 15 seconds to get a base of soap. I bowl lather. It did take much more than a few drops of water to create a copious, stable lather.
Shave: My daily ride is an ATT R1 with a Feather blade. I get a great shave with a single WTG pass and a little buffing here and there. This is the hard part of the review because qualities like glide and cushioning are so subjective. My favorite soap is Barrister and Mann. I give B&M a 9.5 for glide and cushioning. After a 2 shave trial I will give the PPF a 9 for glide and cushioning. Pretty darn good but not quite as slick a shave as with the B&M. I reserve the right to upgrade the PPF in the future. By the way, no nicks or cuts or anything. A very smooth and easy shave.
Post Shave: Great post shave feel. Right up there with the big boys.
Overall, this is a very impressive soap. By far and away the best vegan soap that I have tried.
With apologies to Humphrey Bogart: Francis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Here is my mini review:
Scent: Perfect Scent. No Sweetness to it at all - Just Coconut. I would say that the scent is pleasantly strong without being overpowering. The scent disappeared quickly after the shave which is a plus for me.
Lather: Super easy to lather. I shook the water out of a wet 2 band badger brush and went to work. Maybe 15 seconds to get a base of soap. I bowl lather. It did take much more than a few drops of water to create a copious, stable lather.
Shave: My daily ride is an ATT R1 with a Feather blade. I get a great shave with a single WTG pass and a little buffing here and there. This is the hard part of the review because qualities like glide and cushioning are so subjective. My favorite soap is Barrister and Mann. I give B&M a 9.5 for glide and cushioning. After a 2 shave trial I will give the PPF a 9 for glide and cushioning. Pretty darn good but not quite as slick a shave as with the B&M. I reserve the right to upgrade the PPF in the future. By the way, no nicks or cuts or anything. A very smooth and easy shave.
Post Shave: Great post shave feel. Right up there with the big boys.
Overall, this is a very impressive soap. By far and away the best vegan soap that I have tried.
With apologies to Humphrey Bogart: Francis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Thanks Rodmonster - very nice review.
It's good to hear that Frances is so interactive with customers and that her advice was so spot on. I haven't used any coconut soaps or creams, but have had my eye on Trumper's coconut cream, which reportedly is also not sweet. I'll have to add PPF coconut to my list.
It's good to hear that Frances is so interactive with customers and that her advice was so spot on. I haven't used any coconut soaps or creams, but have had my eye on Trumper's coconut cream, which reportedly is also not sweet. I'll have to add PPF coconut to my list.
Hi David-
I've been holding off on using the PPF Coconut that I got from you during the passaround until I used up some other soaps. I think I'm going to give it a go tonight.
If you recall I didn't find it to be the slickest lather... but I still got a good shave. We discussed that I likely wasn't using enough water. I'm used to primarily using RazoRock croaps. Any thoughts on how the needed quantity of water compares between the two?
With RazoRock I typically create a lather that is a little thicker than Cool Whip and it works well. Does PPF need to be wetter and consequently thinner?
- Thread starter
- #92
I'd bowl lather it as I recommended in the Soap passaround thread and keep adding water until you get it right. Avoid face lathering until you really know the soap well and how it reacts. I'd say cool whip or slightly wetter consistency should be good. I go a little wetter with the lather when I'm shaving with a straight and a little less with a DE. You can always add a few drops of water to the tip of the brush and face lather a little if you're finding the lather a little too dry.
Good luck with it and keep messing with it until you get it figured out. Once you figure it out it's really excellent stuff.
I have shaved twice now with the PPF Coconut and both times I easily created a thick, cool whip lather - and then added just a drop or two more of water (I hate it when I add too much water and it all falls apart). The lather stayed together perfectly. PPF creates as nice a lather as any soap. Still not certain it is as slick as, say, B&M, but I have had 2 perfect shaves with PPF, so it must be doing something right!
Just to follow up. I have used the PPF Coconut daily for 1 week now. I have the lather working perfectly for me using my tried and true method of soaking my brush in water for 10 minutes or so, and lathering after shaking the water out of the brush. I then add a few drop of water at a time until the lather explodes!! By the way, it takes very little soap to create a wonderful lather. Great Stuff.
I commented in an earlier note that PPF may not be quite as slick as say, B&M, but I am not so sure that is true. Or, better said, if it is true the differences are so slight that they are not worth talking about. I get a first rate shave from PPF.
One thing I can say with absolute certainty: The Coconut Scent is awesome. Pure Coconut. No perfumey sweetness to it. It lingers after the shave quite nicely.
Top Shelf Soap.
I commented in an earlier note that PPF may not be quite as slick as say, B&M, but I am not so sure that is true. Or, better said, if it is true the differences are so slight that they are not worth talking about. I get a first rate shave from PPF.
One thing I can say with absolute certainty: The Coconut Scent is awesome. Pure Coconut. No perfumey sweetness to it. It lingers after the shave quite nicely.
Top Shelf Soap.
- Thread starter
- #95
Two new scents just hit the PPF website. Speakeasy and Honeysuckle and I've heard that Ciderhouse 5 will be available again soon.
The Honeysuckle soap is supposed to smell just like honeysuckle flowers but since I have no idea what honeysuckle smell like I'm at a loss on this one. If you're looking for a flower scented soap this one might be for you as I'm sure it uses the same base soap formula which would make performance excellent.
I do have the Speakeasy soap in my possession and have been using it for a couple weeks now. The price is the same as the other soaps $9.95 for a 3 inch 3.5 oz. tin but now it is also available in a Refill Box as well. I will let you know that I didn't pay for this soap but that in no way will alter my assessment of it. As a result of emailing all of the suggestions and conversations about what we'd like to see from them, I got to try a sample that was sent to me for my input during the creation process. This was awesome for me because yes getting to try a new scent before it actually came out was really cool. My response to PPF was that this one is excellent and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm hoping that we start to see more and more offerings from them going forward.
It's the same excellent soap base that is present in the other scents. I've reviewed the PPF soaps before and I'd consider them excellent performing soaps and some of the very best I've tried. This one is a cologne type scent. The description on the website is "Speakeasy's scent is simply, intoxicating!" Which doesn't really tell you much at all so maybe I can help here.
It's a cologne based scent that I myself find quite appealing. It's familiar but I can't place what scent it is based on or where I've smelled it before. It's familiar so I'm thinking of every cologne I've ever worn and trying to match it up. However it's a bit different from anything that I can recall while still feeling warm and familiar. I've asked what scent it is but they're not sharing that information so I'll do the best I can in describing it for you.
I'm getting a warm Amber type scent with a hint of orange. It reminds me of a some expensive Malin & Goetz Bay Rum soaps that I used when we stayed in a high end hotel a few years back. But it's definitely not a Bay Rum, for me it's much nicer, and there's a lot more going on here. For me it's similar to a Polo Safari type scent but more complex. I'm quite fond of the scent myself, I think it's my second favorite scent from PPF making Black Tea my third. Their Coconut will always be my favorite from them and one of, if not my absolute favorite, soap scents of all that I've tried.
Performance of this soap is outstanding as I've come to expect from them. All of there soaps use the same base and are excellent performers with some really great slickness and a wonderful after shave face feel.
I'll put a proper review out there soon but I wanted to share my opinion of this one now that it's available.
Maybe once some of these get out there someone can share their thoughts on the scent and help me figure out where I've smelled this scent before.
The Honeysuckle soap is supposed to smell just like honeysuckle flowers but since I have no idea what honeysuckle smell like I'm at a loss on this one. If you're looking for a flower scented soap this one might be for you as I'm sure it uses the same base soap formula which would make performance excellent.
I do have the Speakeasy soap in my possession and have been using it for a couple weeks now. The price is the same as the other soaps $9.95 for a 3 inch 3.5 oz. tin but now it is also available in a Refill Box as well. I will let you know that I didn't pay for this soap but that in no way will alter my assessment of it. As a result of emailing all of the suggestions and conversations about what we'd like to see from them, I got to try a sample that was sent to me for my input during the creation process. This was awesome for me because yes getting to try a new scent before it actually came out was really cool. My response to PPF was that this one is excellent and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm hoping that we start to see more and more offerings from them going forward.
It's the same excellent soap base that is present in the other scents. I've reviewed the PPF soaps before and I'd consider them excellent performing soaps and some of the very best I've tried. This one is a cologne type scent. The description on the website is "Speakeasy's scent is simply, intoxicating!" Which doesn't really tell you much at all so maybe I can help here.
It's a cologne based scent that I myself find quite appealing. It's familiar but I can't place what scent it is based on or where I've smelled it before. It's familiar so I'm thinking of every cologne I've ever worn and trying to match it up. However it's a bit different from anything that I can recall while still feeling warm and familiar. I've asked what scent it is but they're not sharing that information so I'll do the best I can in describing it for you.
I'm getting a warm Amber type scent with a hint of orange. It reminds me of a some expensive Malin & Goetz Bay Rum soaps that I used when we stayed in a high end hotel a few years back. But it's definitely not a Bay Rum, for me it's much nicer, and there's a lot more going on here. For me it's similar to a Polo Safari type scent but more complex. I'm quite fond of the scent myself, I think it's my second favorite scent from PPF making Black Tea my third. Their Coconut will always be my favorite from them and one of, if not my absolute favorite, soap scents of all that I've tried.
Performance of this soap is outstanding as I've come to expect from them. All of there soaps use the same base and are excellent performers with some really great slickness and a wonderful after shave face feel.
I'll put a proper review out there soon but I wanted to share my opinion of this one now that it's available.
Maybe once some of these get out there someone can share their thoughts on the scent and help me figure out where I've smelled this scent before.
- Thread starter
- #97
I sent Frances an email today asking about a soap and she replied telling me about the Honeysuckle, Speakeasy, and the Ciderhouse 5. Ciderhouse 5 was retired but that has recently changed due to overwhelming request for it to be kept around. I imagine in response to the Facebook post you are speaking about. It's definitely getting released again and she told me that there is a batch curing right now. I've never tried that one so I'll have to order it myself. You might want to grab a couple once it's back in stock just in case it goes away again, but do know that you will get the opportunity to do so.
How can that be? I thought everyone knew what honeysuckle smells like. Are you sure David that you haven't smelled it?
It's one of my favorite scents of all time. As kids, we'd pull the stamen slowly out the back portion of the honeysuckle flower where it would carry a tiny drop of the nectar. It was delicious. This was so common I just assumed everyone kid did this, but I also thought every body sang out loud when they drove but that seems not to be the case.
I may may have to check out the Honeysuckle.
- Thread starter
- #99
Yeah, this one is new to me, I just Googled it and I don't recognize the flower so maybe I spent too much time getting myself into trouble and didn't take enough time to stop and smell the flowers. We had acres and acres of pine trees behind our house growing up so that scent brings back a lot of good childhood memories for me.
It's nice hearing from you Mark, I'll have to send you an email and catch you up on how things are going.
Speakeasy - Frances Towle
Yesterday 2:15 PM+
Scent Notes are: Rose, Sage, Bergamot, Citrus, Wood, Amber
Last edited:
