Top tier shaving soaps and creams (the quest goes on)

[Peterv1]

Hi everyone
Lately I'm looking for and trying out some new soaps/creams/aftershaves since the quest for the best is never ending
I've tried some excellent ones so far

Razorock xxx
Stirling Piacenza
Tobs jermyn street
Barrister & Man seville

(I'll skip the ones I don't like)

And now I'm looking at the soap commander line up and oh boy what a line up they have..where to start scent wise ?
So all you soap commander users all info regarding this would be really helpful
Thx

 

[freeasimo]

Give Shave Dash in the UK a try to try samples.

 

[Timeclo]

I suggest you check out Spearhead shaving soaps. They're relatively new to the scene but their soaps have blown me away. Really good value and great performance. Not too sure about the current scents but I know people enjoy them.

 

[Sabre]

Top tier as defined by?

 

[Peterv1]

Top tier as defined by?

As by very good since theirs a lot of crap out there

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Big fan of Wet Shaving Products/Asylum soaps. Tobacco for the former, Royal Fougere for the latter (they're both made by the same company, just different branding). Tobacco is a light "green" scent, not smokey. I've been using the hell out of it this summer.

 

[MrSpeedy]

Forget about "top tier" and "best" and all that foolishness. There's never going to be a consensus, anyway. Look at the soaps you like, decide what it is you like about them, and look at the commonalities. Good slickness? Post-shave? Maybe you like tallow soaps, or ones with lanolin. Or maybe you like vegan soaps. Maybe you don't care one way or another. Maybe you want to try both!

Or you could just focus on what scents you like and get those, regardless if they are "best" or not.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Soap Commander is great, and the only "artisan" soap I've used that I still use occasionally, though not on a regular basis as explained below.

Scent
Every artisan soap I've tried uses WAY too much fragrance for my tastes, SC included. But if that's your thing, they have lots of great scents! 2 of my favorite are Honor and Endurance, but they all smell great in my opinion. They stick around for hours once your shave is done.

Lather
SC makes a beautiful lather and is comparable (yet slicker) to the fancy French stuff like Martin de Candre. I find it takes longer to load, but lathers very quickly with a good synthetic or badger. Boars take forever for me, just keep that in mind. This is a very clean and simple soap recipe that feels very luxurious and calming on the face.

Post-Shave
SC is too moisturizing for me in the summer, but just fine and dandy in the winter, which is when I will use it weekly. If you have dry skin you could probably use SC year round and love every minute of it.

 

[old_school]

As by very good since theirs a lot of crap out there

Looking through this thread What's the worst soap/cream you own? And why? there's a lot of duplicate posts. Which would indicate there's really not a lot of crap out there. To me Arko is a top tier shave, Tabac is as good as it gets. Others can't stand them.

Some folks say they can get anything to work and I tend to agree with that. We all have a soap that wasn't worth the effort or just proved to be unworkable for whatever reason. Side by side one might be better than another but, on it's own just about anything will give up a good shave.

We were shopping for our first big flat screen TV because I couldn't read the little scrolling things on the bottom of our ancient 27" CRT TV any more. So we're going back and for from Costco to Best Buy and it's obvious side by side the high dollar TV's with the cutting edge technology had a better picture. SWMBO, with her Vulcan like logic points out that the cheapest one will look damn good at home if it's not sitting next to the multi-thousand dollar unit. You know what. It does.

 

[Ivo4u2]

I can recommend scheermonnik delfs wit is going to be the most laid back one, but all versions do not dissapoint with great lather slickness after shave feel etc etc.

 

[Peterv1]

Looking through this thread What's the worst soap/cream you own? And why? there's a lot of duplicate posts. Which would indicate there's really not a lot of crap out there. To me Arko is a top tier shave, Tabac is as good as it gets. Others can't stand them.

Some folks say they can get anything to work and I tend to agree with that. We all have a soap that wasn't worth the effort or just proved to be unworkable for whatever reason. Side by side one might be better than another but, on it's own just about anything will give up a good shave.

We were shopping for our first big flat screen TV because I couldn't read the little scrolling things on the bottom of our ancient 27" CRT TV any more. So we're going back and for from Costco to Best Buy and it's obvious side by side the high dollar TV's with the cutting edge technology had a better picture. SWMBO, with her Vulcan like logic points out that the cheapest one will look damn good at home if it's not sitting next to the multi-thousand dollar unit. You know what. It does.

Very true, however I'm always curious to see what people enjoy the most and why, personally I have soaps I love for the excellent performance, scent and how my skin reacts, and honestly I also tried some that landed in the bin, its personal preference in the end, but since there's so much available I like to know what others use and like

 

[Sabre]

You get away with 5 creams, 5 soaps, and 5 croaps. Rotation sorted.

 

[Lightcs1776]

My two favorites are Sterling and Captain's Choice. Both offer great performance and great scents.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Bumpymacaroon]

Mmm top tier
I go for the following
goodfellas smile shibusa for colder climes and sea citrus for warmer month’s
haslinger aloe, sheepsmilk, seaweed and marigold, any time I want a good shave
MWF, whenever
Tabac, cooler months
arko, whenever I want a quick clean shave and when trying out a different blade or razor

 

[SharptoothC]

Tabac is my go-to. My base line soap. Never lets me down. Stirling is my artisan counterpart.

I've tried tons of soap and have rarely been truly let down. I've not found much I can't shave with. That said, here are some other top tier choices for me.

Shave sticks:
La Toja
Palmolive
Arko

Other Soaps:
Cold River Soap Works Limenthol is one of my favorites
Barrister and Mann
Grooming Dept
Lisa's Natural


Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[merovirginian]

This is about the soaps people used in 2019, but it's a great start if only for shaving soaps:

Your 3 Favorite Soaps - 2019

Alright everyone let’s hear them. Tell me YOUR favorite 3 soaps!!! I’ll start, my 3 favorites right now are: Cold River Soap Works - Select Citrus Saponifico Varesino - Dolomiti Barrister and Mann - Reserve Lavender Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Peterv1]

Soap Commander is great, and the only "artisan" soap I've used that I still use occasionally, though not on a regular basis as explained below.

Scent
Every artisan soap I've tried uses WAY too much fragrance for my tastes, SC included. But if that's your thing, they have lots of great scents! 2 of my favorite are Honor and Endurance, but they all smell great in my opinion. They stick around for hours once your shave is done.

Lather
SC makes a beautiful lather and is comparable (yet slicker) to the fancy French stuff like Martin de Candre. I find it takes longer to load, but lathers very quickly with a good synthetic or badger. Boars take forever for me, just keep that in mind. This is a very clean and simple soap recipe that feels very luxurious and calming on the face.

Post-Shave
SC is too moisturizing for me in the summer, but just fine and dandy in the winter, which is when I will use it weekly. If you have dry skin you could probably use SC year round and love every minute of it.

Just ordered soap commander honor & barrister and mann seville

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Just ordered soap commander honor & barrister and mann seville

Very cool. I will be curious to hear how you compare the two as I've never used B&M before. Good luck!

 

[freeasimo]

baby steps

 

[BigJ]

Forget about "top tier" and "best" and all that foolishness. There's never going to be a consensus, anyway. Look at the soaps you like, decide what it is you like about them, and look at the commonalities. Good slickness? Post-shave? Maybe you like tallow soaps, or ones with lanolin. Or maybe you like vegan soaps. Maybe you don't care one way or another. Maybe you want to try both!

Or you could just focus on what scents you like and get those, regardless if they are "best" or not.

+1! Excellent advice!!

‘Great’ for me may not work at all for you. For example I am a big fan of MWF; it may not lather for you.