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Oh, it’s a tallow.
For Ethos Soap unless you go with vegan like Tibu Sabuni, which I also love.

Ostrich oil I think is taken from the breast of the ostrich.

It is definitely worth trying a few of these bases and finding what you love. I had tennis elbow for 18 months. During that period of time, Ethos would take me 20-30 seconds to whip up so I could still use it. Some of the others I couldn’t, but then I found out it worked best for my sensitive skin.
 
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I just shaved with a 7 year in storage Mike’s that still has some scent to it. Same, fabulous quality of lather.

I stick with 6 flavors of soaps, and they’re all classics except the Mike’s. There are plenty of great, “new” soaps out there. Most have scent profiles that are too funky, or almost exclusively too strong for my taste.
 
Just ordered two soaps (Chervona Kalyna and Phantom of Kyiv) in pair with their aftershaves and few soap samples from Arrefa. Read good things about them here and wanted to support Alessia, who is producing them in Kyiv during that mad war 🇺🇦
Eager to try and review them here.
 
One of the newest is Areffa, out of Ukraine. I see it getting quite a lot of love in various SOTD-type images.

Personally, I'm a little wary about newer soaps. There is a bit of a bandwagon vibe about wet shaving and I suspect that some of the newer entrants are pitching a lifestyle product, not a soap you actually shave with. I bought one early last year that had a lovely scent, but would not raise a lather. There is a reason that Proraso, MdC, and co., have been in business for a long time...
Areffa is the real deal. Very good performing and smelling soaps currently being made in Kyiv.

I have many other soaps including many of the classics and I highly recommend trying Areffa.
 
Never heard of Culmak, wow. It's in the same stable as the now long gone UK Erasmic. The brushes are all over the bay.

I post on another forum and a few guys there really rated the Culmak shaving soap, so someone bought it recently. It turns out it has been reformulated recently and the new formulation is poor. The one before was supposed to be very good though.
 
I don’t know, I’ve been at this for awhile and have tried lots of different soaps, both the Classics and a handful of artisans. All of the artisan soaps are gone, and the only soaps I currently use are MWF and the old formula Tabac, with my preference being Tabac.

I do have some creams that I guess can be considered artisans? Anyway, they are Expec, and Santa Maria, Novella. These are the only 2 creams I use, although I also have a tube of the old red Proraso.

I guess that’s a long winded way of saying I’ve searched for something better, but have not found a soap that outperforms old school Tabac.
 
I don’t know, I’ve been at this for awhile and have tried lots of different soaps, both the Classics and a handful of artisans. All of the artisan soaps are gone, and the only soaps I currently use are MWF and the old formula Tabac, with my preference being Tabac.

I do have some creams that I guess can be considered artisans? Anyway, they are Expec, and Santa Maria, Novella. These are the only 2 creams I use, although I also have a tube of the old red Proraso.

I guess that’s a long winded way of saying I’ve searched for something better, but have not found a soap that outperforms old school Tabac.
Tabac tallow soap is my favorite. MWF is number two. RazoRock and Stirling are the only ones I’ve tries that could be called “new,” and they’re not exactly new.
 
Same here, those are my go to soaps, with the fat coming in a distant 2nd to the original formula tabac, for me. I did order a puck of Cyril R Salter shave soap, though, as I’m trying to find something comparable to the tallow Tabac, as once it’s gone, it’s gone. I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Salter and am hopeful.


Tabac tallow soap is my favorite. MWF is number two. RazoRock and Stirling are the only ones I’ve tries that could be called “new,” and they’re not exactly new.
 
If you want unscented soap at a reasonable per-shave price, to me, Canada for vegan and Stirling for tallow are good artisan options. Like you, I like Tabac and Proraso, and have their newest formulas on my shelf but haven't tried them yet. Same for the newest coconut oil formula Haslinger. The last may not seem like a good deal with their small 60-gram pucks, but I find I get a lot of shaves out of them. I find that though tallow soaps do have a unique texture and feel I haven't found in non-tallow soaps, tallow simply isn't needed for a good soap, hand, bath or shave.
 
First Line Shave 3.1 base. I recently picked up a tub of FLS Sutton Distilled soap which is in their 3.1 base. This was also my first soap from FLS so I can't comment on any of their other soaps. Sutton Distilled left my skin feeling smooth and supple until the next morning. I'd say it's equal to ETHOS or Grooming Dept and I have a large collection of both of these makers, but that's just my opinion.
 
First Line Shave 3.1 base. I recently picked up a tub of FLS Sutton Distilled soap which is in their 3.1 base. This was also my first soap from FLS so I can't comment on any of their other soaps. Sutton Distilled left my skin feeling smooth and supple until the next morning. I'd say it's equal to ETHOS or Grooming Dept and I have a large collection of both of these makers, but that's just my opinion.
I saw 3.0 at Pastuer did not see 3.1
 
I saw 3.0 at Pastuer did not see 3.1
LOL, maybe Pasteur's didn't understand the nuance noted with the 3 point 1 version. I got my reference from First Line Shave Sutton Distilled. They show a few other soaps in the 3.1 base too. I haven't taken the time to see what's the difference from 3.0 and 3.1. I guess I'll do that now.

Looks like 3.1 has Mango Butter, Slippery Elm Bark and Tussah Silk added. Seems like everyone is starting to use Tussah Silk.
 
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I tried a new one that really surprised me. Westman, It is from Portugal. The sample I had was very soft. it was more like a shaving cream. The lather was top notch. I would be surprised if it doesn't make your top 3 or at least your top 5 in lather quality.
 
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