QCS soaps, long time listener, first time caller

[Haggises]

In the most awesome of PIFS (thanks catherix!) I was sent not one but 2 pucks of QCS soap, Fougere and Iced Key Lime.
I plan to use these two all week and record impressions here.
My experience with American artisan soaps has so far been limited to Mystic Waters, another great smelling range of softish soaps, so forgive my constant comparisons.

First up was the Fougere. Never having smelled a Fougere before I cannot tell if it is true. I do know it smells great - bit of earth, bit of spice, bit of fruit in there.
The scent is fairly contained - kept getting hints of it as I lathered, nothing big and bold.

I went in with an 18mm TGN finest, not soaked for more than a minute, and fairly well de-watered before it hit the puck.
Noticed that lather production is immediate - no trying to create a proto lather here. In fact it was surprisingly easy to face lather with, easier to get it right first time than MW.

Cushion definitely there, slickness could have been slightly better, but again this is the first attempt. I suspect I still have some product/water ratios to really dial in.
Kept my Schick C2 whirring around the face with no problems.

Post shave feel is not bad at all. Not quite at the MW level but close to it.

All in all a great first shave with a new soap. And since it was the first, the only way to go is UP!
Gonna be a good week.

 

[john parker]

Just received my QCS sample soaps, and used the Rose Otto this morning. Like sticking your nose down into a rich rose, but not loud nor lingering. Developing lather and face lathering with a well shook brush was remarkably easy. Had put a bit of hot water on the soap beforehand, then poured it off. Nice cushion, and I had good slickness. Thick lather but not sticky like I sometimes think Mike's is. Post shave feel reminded me of Mike's - just as nice. Am looking forward to your continued reviews, Haggises!

 

[mftoms59]

... Cushion definitely there, slickness could have been slightly better, but again this is the first attempt. I suspect I still have some product/water ratios to really dial in.
Kept my Schick C2 whirring around the face with no problems...

Try shaking out the excess water from your brush and load it until you get a White Root-Beer type head on your brush, apply to a damp face and start building. QCS is a finicky soap that can handle a good amount of water when added in small amounts. Give it a practice lather on your palm, going past the sweet spot of useable lather, slowly keep adding water and lather. Observe how much more water you can add until your lather becomes runny and unusable mess.

Rubbing some lather between your forefinger & thumb while building lather, will give you a feel for slickness. While slowly pulling your fingers apart observe how far the soap "stretches before separating, a good indicator of the hydration level. When your lather is well hydrated, you should be able to remove it from the razor with a few swishes through standing water, if it's too dry you'll have a good amount of soap sticking to the head.

The QCS Rose Otto and Cayman are the two finest scents I've smelled not just in any shaving soap or cream, but in any men's fragrance product of any sort. Unfortunately, I can't get any QCS soap to later worth a darn in my water

If you have hard water issues try that^^^^^, or as an alternative, purchase a bottle of distilled water.

 

[john parker]

Small observation of QCS Rose Otto soap. Used it again this morning, and think the aroma is remarkably similar to TOBS Rose shaving cream. Just not quite as strong.

 

[Greg1911]

QCS, like all soaps/croaps/creams, has a sweet spot that is a result of nailing the water/product/pressure/time matrix.

It is top flight stuff and well worth the time to figure it all out.

 

[catherix]

I was looking for this thread. There seems to be one thing missing though Tony: lather pictures! The world needs you, you are our only hope!

Sounds like you're enjoying the QCS soaps this far. And that's what I was hoping for with my PIF. QCS does have a small learning curve of sorts. Takes a little playing with but once you've got it dialed its a top performer. And the scents, although not the strongest, are very nice. I haven't tried the Fougere(figures you picked the one I haven't tried).

 

[Haggises]

Ah, there's the enabler!

Last night with the Iced Key Lime. Love this one.
the lime stands out eay above the menthol until it hits the face, then the menthol takes over and remains there for ages.

Got the lather up pretty good with a Vie Long horse. Slicker than the night before too.
I'll see about.those pics, but I ain't no Marco......

 

[gsurko]

I get great shaves from QCS, it will always be in my rotation.

 

[InfernoOrangeSS]

I recently acquired QCS' Vostok and I was very impressed with the lather and shave quality! Vostok will freeze your face with icy menthol, and feels so good! I think sometimes the great quality of QCS are forgotten with Vostok because the face freeze is what everyone talks about.
I am a big fan of rose scented creams/soaps. I will definitely have to try QCS' offering.

 

[Haggises]

forgot - post shave face feel was right up there with MW.

and either I had the most comfortable shave ever or the menthol killed the alum receptors in the skin

 

[Haggises]

Fougère today, bowl lathered so I could take a pic.
first time out looked ok but had little body to it.
nextt time I hit that puck like it was free and came up with my best bowl lather ever (one week after I swore off bowl lathering completely)

Enough for 4 rich, slick and creamy passes.
if my NEW hadnt bitten me, could have been a perfect shave. Note the biting was entirely me and angle, nothing to do with soap.

 

[catherix]

There's the lather pic! Nice!
I will definitely agree. That menthol sticks around for a LONG time. It's not at all like the quick snap on Proraso products. It comes on strong and sticks around. For a fun experience, try splashing on some Proraso green and then applying Vostok ASB. Now that's an experience on a hot day!

Funny you mention Marco. There's a pic a couple pages in on his guide to lathering soft soaps that has a Semogue brush(I think it's a 1250). It's the reason I bought my first Semogue.

Glad to hear you're getting good results. Makes me want to pull out the puck of Key Lime and give it a go.

 

[mftoms59]

I've already got a jug of distilled water in my bathroom for the clothes steamer, so I'll give it a try. Might get a bit challenging since I shave in the shower, but I've got some old cycling water bottles sitting around unused in my basement, so I'll fill one with distilled H20 tomorrow and see how it works. Good suggestion - thanks.

==========

Thanks John for the suggestion about the TOBS Rose cream being similar to QCS Rose Otto - I put in an order from an Amazon seller for a smaller tube of the cream to try.

If you're shower shaving try loading more product to brush, if it's a puck I'd rub it on the whiskers in addition to loading your brush.

 

[mctmatt]

Just placed my order yesterday for the Ice Lime shave cream and Fougere shave cream. Received confirmation last night that they already shipped. Man I love QCS.

 

[JCinPA]

Fougère today, bowl lathered so I could take a pic.
first time out looked ok but had little body to it.
nextt time I hit that puck like it was free and came up with my best bowl lather ever (one week after I swore off bowl lathering completely)

Enough for 4 rich, slick and creamy passes.

Nice! And that bit of advice would eliminate 90% of the lather issues posted on this forum! I'm on a small crusade to get people to use more product. Lather it like you stole it!

 

[Haggises]

John, I think you are right.
I've been loading up more on my MW recently and the occasional disappearing lather no longer happens.
I could get used to bowl lathering again if it always went like this, but then the sticks would start complaining again....

 

[Haggises]

2 days off- one to let nicks heal, one for a quick La Toja face lather.

Face lathered the Iced Key Lime today. While the bowl lather worked wonderfully for the Fougere, face lathering is the only way to go for a menthol soap. Wow!

 

[Haggises]

Fougėre today with a TGN 18mm finest.
Had a slight case of notenoughproductitis after the first pass but easily remedied.
Still slick and cushiony and love this scent. Lingering more today than before.
Post shave feel is still a little drier than expected. Will stop using alum tomorrow to see if that urges what ails me

 

[Haggises]

Day off yesterday to remind myself what MW Maestrale is like. Bloody amazing is what it's like.

Today, bowl lathered QCS Iced Key Lime due to facial injury.
With the Vie long 12705 horse, got enough for a luxurious 4 pass shave.
Less vaporub, more lime now.

Overall conclusions after about a week.
This is really good soap. It is a bit less temperamental to lather than Mystic Waters can be and seems to have a larger, quicker sweet spot.
I get really good cushiony and slick lather from bowl or face.
The scents are great, especially the Fougėre, though they don't seem to linger on the face as long as MW.
Post shave feel is pretty damn good not a drying soap, but not as moisturizing as MW.


I'm very impressed and will be buying my own next year when these are gone. Thanks Tyler again for the PIF! I might not have tried QCS otherwise and I'd be missing out on a lot.
If you're in the market for a soap consider QCS - I think you'll be glad you did.
Now I guess I need to try Mikes too......

 

[Graybeard57]

Love QCS Cayman and Key Lime. Enjoy.