TFS Mastro Miche soap in tub

[JCinPA]

Paging @Marco The soap arrived yesterday and I tried it today--comments below and a question at the end.

Sunday, September 1​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi Ghost 90 SS head on Titanium handle (China)
• Gillette SP Black #3 (India)
• TFS Mastro Miche (Italy)
• Omega Vintage Elite (Italy)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Cella Red A/S (Italy)

9.5/10, DFS

Very nice Italian shave today! I continued to be impressed by this brush, I am so happy with it, I am unlikely to try any other "premium" synthetics like Simpsons, although I might get a backup Omega Elite for this one. The TFS Mastro Miche was a Marco recommendation and it is a nice soap. I did not follow my own advice and do my Foolproof soap discovery method and I should have. I got a nice lather and a nice shave out of it, but I'm certain I did not get the best out of the soap. I will wring it out thoroughly later today.

Now the question. You said TFS had recently reformulated this soap, and it did not occur to me I may or may not have the current formulation. The label is not very waterproof and I wish I had taken a photo of it dry, but this should be legible. Is this the current version?

I will take some time this afternoon to thoroughly explore this soap with regard to how much loading is needed, how much water it needs, and how wide is the hydration window. I will use it again tomorrow when I have it dialed in.


Edit: Question probably unnecessary, I just saw the "Nuova Formula" on the label. Probably current production

 

[Marco]

Paging @Marco The soap arrived yesterday and I tried it today--comments below and a question at the end.

Sunday, September 1​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi Ghost 90 SS head on Titanium handle (China)
• Gillette SP Black #3 (India)
• TFS Mastro Miche (Italy)
• Omega Vintage Elite (Italy)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Cella Red A/S (Italy)

9.5/10, DFS

Very nice Italian shave today! I continued to be impressed by this brush, I am so happy with it, I am unlikely to try any other "premium" synthetics like Simpsons, although I might get a backup Omega Elite for this one. The TFS Mastro Miche was a Marco recommendation and it is a nice soap. I did not follow my own advice and do my Foolproof soap discovery method and I should have. I got a nice lather and a nice shave out of it, but I'm certain I did not get the best out of the soap. I will wring it out thoroughly later today.

View attachment 1904265

Now the question. You said TFS had recently reformulated this soap, and it did not occur to me I may or may not have the current formulation. The label is not very waterproof and I wish I had taken a photo of it dry, but this should be legible. Is this the current version?

View attachment 1904266

I will take some time this afternoon to thoroughly explore this soap with regard to how much loading is needed, how much water it needs, and how wide is the hydration window. I will use it again tomorrow when I have it dialed in.


Edit: Question probably unnecessary, I just saw the "Nuova Formula" on the label. Probably current production

Yes John, "nuova formula" means "new formula". The ingredients list above looks almost the same as the ingredients list below of my all time favourite TFS soaps made for RazoRock: Plague Doctor.

Stearic Acid, Water (Eau), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrogenated Lanolin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Fragrance (Parfum).

 

[Marco]

Also, a TFS soap made for Mastro Michè I strongly suggest testing is the relatively new Shaving Stick. It's SUPERB. Performance-wise it's up there with the finest Tcheon Fung Sing creations and scent is inspired by the magnificent Yves Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche fragrance...

 

[JCinPA]

I saw that you recommended the stick, but Pasteurs only had the tub. I guess my fragrance is different. Is Annuendo the scent and Mastro Miche the soap base??

 

[Marco]

I saw that you recommended the stick, but Pasteurs only had the tub. I guess my fragrance is different. Is Annuendo the scent and Mastro Miche the soap base??

Not sure I understand your question. Annuendo is the soap name with its unique fragrance. The soap base that TFS makes here is the same, or very close to, what they use for some of their own labelled soaps and a few RazoRock soaps, too.

 

[JCinPA]

I was thinking your stick and my tub are both called Mastro Miche, but different formats and different scents. Anyway, I did the lather discovery exercise this afternoon and this stuff is wonderful. I'm going to use it again tomorrow and see if I can hit both the amount of product and water pretty quickly.

The scent says it is Black Currant, Tonka Bean, Black Orchid and Oriental Woods. Whatever it is, it is very faint, but very, very lovely, I like it a lot. This morning I paired it with Cella red A/S, but after smelling it some more during the testing I think it would pair very well with a fougere scent. I'll use it with Aramis tomorrow. While very pleasant the scent is light enough, I think you can pair it with just about anything you like to use.

So, using the PAA Amber Aerolite synthetic, which I think is a 26mm knot, I loaded for about a full minute with a damp/wet, not dripping/wet brush, and started lathering in my scuttle, and after about 30 seconds it was very thick. Think sour cream consistency. The I started adding water using a kitchen measuring spoon, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, lathering for 30 seconds or so between each addition. Anywhere from 3/4 teaspoons to 5/4 or 6/4 teaspoons probably fell into the lather consistency most of us prefer. This photo was after 4/4 or 1 teaspoon of added water and a couple minutes of lathering time. The 1-1/2 teaspoons would be the really shiny, slick stuff.

Although I was not shaving with it this time, it felt very slippery, and plenty dense. I anticipate a superlative shave tomorrow. I got a great shave this morning just hacking away at it for the first time.

Beyond about 7 or 8 quarter teaspoons of water it was starting to thin out, but did not break, did not seem to be the kind of lather that would dissipate quickly, but by about 9-10 it was getting there, that's when I stopped. I would say this is a moderately thirsty soap, with a comfortably wide hydration window, and the lather is very nice, like most Italian soft soaps. Tomorrow I will load for about 30 seconds, and I hope to hit my perfect lather with just a couple dips of the brush into water.

I would say, a hybrid, bowl-then-face lathering procedure is probably indicated. Again, like many soft Italian soaps, you can sling some lather around the bathroom while working it up. I whip it in a bowl for 30-60 seconds, then finish with a minute of face lathering and it's usually perfect without slinging lather all over the place. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's shave!

Thanks, @Marco ! I'd definitely say this is an easy soap to master, a couple maybe three shaves with it and most shavers will be delighted with this soap. I have not had any TFS soap in a long time. I think they make Don Marco for Italian Barber in Canada?? I've been out for a couple years and it is out of stock, but I liked that if it was the old TFS formulation. This is really good stuff, indeed.

 

[Marco]

I was thinking your stick and my tub are both called Mastro Miche, but different formats and different scents. Anyway, I did the lather discovery exercise this afternoon and this stuff is wonderful. I'm going to use it again tomorrow and see if I can hit both the amount of product and water pretty quickly.

The scent says it is Black Currant, Tonka Bean, Black Orchid and Oriental Woods. Whatever it is, it is very faint, but very, very lovely, I like it a lot. This morning I paired it with Cella red A/S, but after smelling it some more during the testing I think it would pair very well with a fougere scent. I'll use it with Aramis tomorrow. While very pleasant the scent is light enough, I think you can pair it with just about anything you like to use.

So, using the PAA Amber Aerolite synthetic, which I think is a 26mm knot, I loaded for about a full minute with a damp/wet, not dripping/wet brush, and started lathering in my scuttle, and after about 30 seconds it was very thick. Think sour cream consistency. The I started adding water using a kitchen measuring spoon, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, lathering for 30 seconds or so between each addition. Anywhere from 3/4 teaspoons to 5/4 or 6/4 teaspoons probably fell into the lather consistency most of us prefer. This photo was after 4/4 or 1 teaspoon of added water and a couple minutes of lathering time. The 1-1/2 teaspoons would be the really shiny, slick stuff.

View attachment 1904469

Although I was not shaving with it this time, it felt very slippery, and plenty dense. I anticipate a superlative shave tomorrow. I got a great shave this morning just hacking away at it for the first time.

Beyond about 7 or 8 quarter teaspoons of water it was starting to thin out, but did not break, did not seem to be the kind of lather that would dissipate quickly, but by about 9-10 it was getting there, that's when I stopped. I would say this is a moderately thirsty soap, with a comfortably wide hydration window, and the lather is very nice, like most Italian soft soaps. Tomorrow I will load for about 30 seconds, and I hope to hit my perfect lather with just a couple dips of the brush into water.

I would say, a hybrid, bowl-then-face lathering procedure is probably indicated. Again, like many soft Italian soaps, you can sling some lather around the bathroom while working it up. I whip it in a bowl for 30-60 seconds, then finish with a minute of face lathering and it's usually perfect without slinging lather all over the place. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's shave!

Thanks, @Marco ! I'd definitely say this is an easy soap to master, a couple maybe three shaves with it and most shavers will be delighted with this soap. I have not had any TFS soap in a long time. I think they make Don Marco for Italian Barber in Canada?? I've been out for a couple years and it is out of stock, but I liked that if it was the old TFS formulation. This is really good stuff, indeed.

John, just to clear out some confusion: Mastro Michè is the brand and these soaps are made by TFS.

Also, why not consider the RazoRock Santa Maria del Fiore? It's a TERRIFIC TFS classic and one of my top 2 RazoRock soaps (along with Plague Doctor).

 

[JCinPA]

Oh, I was a HUGE fan of that, another of your excellent recommendations, but Italian Barber has been out of stock for quite a while. I'd also place that soap in my top 5 for sure, along with tallow Tabac, now S.V., and Cella. I love that SMDF!

 

[JCinPA]

I'll reload Don Marco as soon as the SMDF is back in stock.

 

[JCinPA]

And my second outing with TFS Annuendo. @Marco this shave deserved some classic Italian music, I hope you enjoy!

Monday, September 2​

• Pre shave - shower
• Yaqi Ghost 90 SS head on Titanium handle (China)
• Gillette Platinum "Swede" #1 (Russia)
• TFS Mastro Miche Annuendo (Italy)
• Omega 10049 "Italian Barber" (Italy)
• Thayer's WH (USA)
• Bootleggers El Dorado A/S (Italy)

9.5/10, DFS+, 15 seconds of touch-up would have been BBS. Extremelly comfortable.

Very nice Italian shave today! Second outing with this fine TFS soap. Having done the Foolproof lathering discovery process on this yesterday, I knew I understood it, so I decided to use the Modified Marco Method (2-3 pumps to lessen the water in the brush initially, then proceed with still fairly wet brush) with a brush that simply sings with soft Italian soaps, the Omega big boar. Additionally, it was my first time using a Gillette "Swede". Having heard they are being discontinued, and are much loved here and favorably compared to the Gillette SP Black and the Nacet, I snagged a couple hundred. I was really impressed! I think the blacks are good on the first shave, but shine on shave #2. This blade felt to me like a black on shave #1, but it was right out of the wrapper. I have about 1,000 of the blacks, nacets, and now these, plus 100-200 vintage Schicks and Gillette Spoilers, so I'm good for blades probably until I'm gone, or at least not worried about my daily shave any more.

@Marco is my official soap consultant by now, and this was a superb recommendation. The lather was phenomenal, and it's another non-tallow that I find to be that way. I love tallow soaps, but I no longer worry about whether it is or it is not--too many good soaps of both persuasions for me to get into that argument. The scent is wonderful, although very light. I'm not good at describing scents but initally planned to use this with Aramis. But today, I detected some sweet notes in this soap and thought it might pair well with Bootleggers El Dorado, being 40% Pinaud Classic Vanilla. I think there may be a hint of leather in this soap scent, but regardless the 10% English Leather complemented it, and the Pinaud Special Reserve picked up whater else the soap was laying down. It was, in fact, a genius pairing. I love it.

SHAVE NOT DONE WITH ARAMIS, BUT TOO LAZY TO TAKE ANOTHER PHOTO

 

[Marco]

Glad to hear John @JCinPA ! There is no doubt that when it comes to soft soaps Tcheon Fung Sing is my #1 manufacturer. And of all the TFS made soaps I've tried so far my top 4 are:

Tcheon Fung Sing
Crema Purissima Per Barba

RazoRock
Santa Maria del Fiore

RazoRock
Plague Doctor

Mastro Michè
Revisited Rive Gauche
Shaving Stick

​

 

[JCinPA]

I've got Don Marco in my cart at Italian Barber, and will checkout as soon as they restock SMDF!