Trumper Shaving Soaps

[SocratesTheGadfly]

The French Bloc Osma is one of the best. Just don't put it away wet. That can cause the stone to erode after awhile. You can use a soap box, etc. to store it in.

Osma alum seems inexpensive too, always a good thing! Should I just allow it to dry naturally then, or wipe it dry with paper or fabric? Sorry, completely clueless here!

I have small amounts of GFT Coconut, Lime and Rose tallow-based shaving soaps in their original bowls from twenty years ago. I never bothered to try any of the newer versions based on the reviews.

It's a bit depressing to read that they had decent shaving soaps a few years ago, but now have such a tricky product to use! I wore their Spanish Leather cologne yesterday and was reminded of the quality of ingredients and excellent composition of their fragrances for the price, such a great shame they no longer make decent shave soaps to complement them. Eucris is another favourite of mine from their older scents and even their recent releases like Havana, Paisley and especially the Eucris EDP still seem to be of a very high standard. In fact the Eucris EDP is fantastic IMHO and probably in my Top 15 of all time!

Oh, I intended to ask about the Tabac shaving soap, does anyone here have any experience with it? I really like the cologne and love the EDT, which is greener and somehow more masculine to my nose. I've read quite a few positive comments but is it a good fit for a novice like me?

Thanks again All, hugely appreciated. Will be placing a lot of orders tomorrow when I have more time!

Nick

 

[NorthernSoul]

Osma alum seems inexpensive too, always a good thing! Should I just allow it to dry naturally then, or wipe it dry with paper or fabric? Sorry, completely clueless here!



It's a bit depressing to read that they had decent shaving soaps a few years ago, but now have such a tricky product to use! I wore their Spanish Leather cologne yesterday and was reminded of the quality of ingredients and excellent composition of their fragrances for the price, such a great shame they no longer make decent shave soaps to complement them. Eucris is another favourite of mine from their older scents and even their recent releases like Havana, Paisley and especially the Eucris EDP still seem to be of a very high standard. In fact the Eucris EDP is fantastic IMHO and probably in my Top 15 of all time!

Oh, I intended to ask about the Tabac shaving soap, does anyone here have any experience with it? I really like the cologne and love the EDT, which is greener and somehow more masculine to my nose. I've read quite a few positive comments but is it a good fit for a novice like me?

Thanks again All, hugely appreciated. Will be placing a lot of orders tomorrow when I have more time!

Nick

I just use a paper towel to blot off the water. I've not had any alum blocks disintegrating, so it seems to be working.


Tabac shaving soap has been a favorite for many people for years, though the scent can be polarizing. The company reformulated the soap fairly recently and that was a really unpopular move. See if you can find the older tallowate formula would be my suggestion. You can get either a puck of soap or a stick.

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Potassium Cocoate, Aqua, Sodium Tallowate, Parfum, Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Hydroxide, CI 77891, Limonene, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Coumarin, Alpha-Isomethylionone, Benzyl Salicylate, Geraniol, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Isoeugenol, Benzyl, Alcohol, Citral, Eugenol

 

[never-stop-learning]

GFT Limes is my soap this week.
Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Yes, it takes a bit more effort to get a good lather.

No, it's not one of my frequent rotation soaps.

But, there is something about the post shave face feel that I do like.

 

[Owen Bawn]

Does Trumper's Paisley smell like an Ulster Scots Presbyterian?

 

[Edinburgh]

Osma alum seems inexpensive too, always a good thing! Should I just allow it to dry naturally then, or wipe it dry with paper or fabric? Sorry, completely clueless here!



It's a bit depressing to read that they had decent shaving soaps a few years ago, but now have such a tricky product to use! I wore their Spanish Leather cologne yesterday and was reminded of the quality of ingredients and excellent composition of their fragrances for the price, such a great shame they no longer make decent shave soaps to complement them. Eucris is another favourite of mine from their older scents and even their recent releases like Havana, Paisley and especially the Eucris EDP still seem to be of a very high standard. In fact the Eucris EDP is fantastic IMHO and probably in my Top 15 of all time!

Oh, I intended to ask about the Tabac shaving soap, does anyone here have any experience with it? I really like the cologne and love the EDT, which is greener and somehow more masculine to my nose. I've read quite a few positive comments but is it a good fit for a novice like me?

Thanks again All, hugely appreciated. Will be placing a lot of orders tomorrow when I have more time!

Nick

I have been tempted to get both Havana and Paisley, but have held off. Could you share your thoughts and impressions?

 

[SocratesTheGadfly]

@Edinburgh Sure. Havana is quite similar to V&R's Spicebomb or Bvlgari's Man In Black, that sort of thing. But I prefer Havana because I consider it slightly more refined, light and original than both of those. The pink pepper combined with the more toned down paprika note is a lovely touch but not overdone IMO, and balances well with the vetiver in the drydown. The overall effect of the drydown is what I would imagine a high end, fairly original sunscreen made with good quality ingredients to smell like. Almost coconutty, very moreish.

Paisley's opening reminds me an awful lot of Brut Special Reserve for the first few minutes, but it starts to open up and become more airy, natural and modern in feel after a while. There's a light patchouli note in the base anchoring it, but also a greener aspect to it due to the geranium and vetiver, which kick in not long after the opening and persist throughout the duration of the fragrance. The geranium and vetiver also combine to create that slightly metallic feel that's in Chanel's Platinum Egoiste to my nose, but it's nowhere as strong in Paisley, more hinted at than in the foreground. The anise is there pretty much from start to finish and I like that about this one, it starts off with a strong blast of it which settles after about 10 minutes, but it still sort of consistently hums away during the entire life of the scent.

They're both light fragrances and quite refined in character, not at all loud however much one would spray, I imagine. I certainly like them, but don't yet know if I want full bottles of both. Will keep sampling them and may well end up getting a large bottle of Paisley as I think it would be far more seasonally versatile. Not the most original fragrance out there, but subtle and done well. Might just go for a small bottle of Havana and see how I get on with it, as I'm a little concerned about it getting cloying in warmer weather.

Nick

 

[Peyk]

Are you sure it's the soap that leaves you spotty? When I started out I used to get red spots and I was convinced it was an allergic reaction to some or all the products. It turned out I was just applying too much pressure on the razor. Try to just run the razor extremely lightly over the skin. Just do more passes. If you still get red spots then you can try changing your products. Good luck.

 

[never-stop-learning]

If anyone is interested, here is the step-by-step I settled on using a small dollop of Cremo to get an easy to build, rich, full lather with GFT soaps:

Post in thread 'never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge' never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/never-stop-learnings-quest-for-knowledge.611194/post-11583114

Step 1:

Step2:

Step 3:

For full details, follow the link posted above Step 1.

 

[SocratesTheGadfly]

Hi again All,

Thought I would give a little update. Used the same stuff as last time I shaved today (Mach 3, Razorock Barber 24 synthetic brush, separate shaving bowl) but instead of a Razorock soap I went with the old (tallow) Tabac. Got a little less lather and initially a light stinging sensation and thought "Uh-oh, going to get a spotty reaction again!" But spots were massively reduced this time and again no nicks, the razor glided over quite a thin layer of the Tabac beautifully! Think I forgot to mention that I also scalp shave and have quite a bumpy head, so getting good glide with the razor by applying sufficient soap lather with the brush is extremely important. Only did 2 passes, sprayed my face with Alt-Innsbruck cologne and then gently wiped it in to finish off, that stuff stings like mad for the first 5 seconds, but feels like it soothes and tones my face really well after that. Will continue to experiment with different soaps, D R Harris' Arlington next!

PS Also love the fact that the shaving soap is more like the Tabac cologne fragrance-wise, quite floral, which will give me a nice contrast with the EDT when I use them together, the latter is greener and more masculine, almost utilitarian-smelling.

Nick

 

[cpool222]

The bottom line is that their old version of shaving soap was terrific. All I've heard of the new version is that it's so poor that people end up using it for hand or bath soap. So, maybe you can find a vintage puck.

 

[nav]

Just posted this on the other GFT thread...

GFT soaps suck!

Even a frothy/foamy hand soap will give slickness but that's not the point of a shaving soap.

A shaving soap needs to combine slickness for lubrication with a density to cushion the skin.

There are guys that can shave with just water or hand soap but majority of guys will require the creamy density (I.e. Absence of bubbles) to provide a close and comfy shave.

GFT definitely doesn't provide this. It's just a damn expensive hand/body soap!

 

[nav]

Hi again All,

Thought I would give a little update. Used the same stuff as last time I shaved today (Mach 3, Razorock Barber 24 synthetic brush, separate shaving bowl) but instead of a Razorock soap I went with the old (tallow) Tabac. Got a little less lather and initially a light stinging sensation and thought "Uh-oh, going to get a spotty reaction again!" But spots were massively reduced this time and again no nicks, the razor glided over quite a thin layer of the Tabac beautifully! Think I forgot to mention that I also scalp shave and have quite a bumpy head, so getting good glide with the razor by applying sufficient soap lather with the brush is extremely important. Only did 2 passes, sprayed my face with Alt-Innsbruck cologne and then gently wiped it in to finish off, that stuff stings like mad for the first 5 seconds, but feels like it soothes and tones my face really well after that. Will continue to experiment with different soaps, D R Harris' Arlington next!

PS Also love the fact that the shaving soap is more like the Tabac cologne fragrance-wise, quite floral, which will give me a nice contrast with the EDT when I use them together, the latter is greener and more masculine, almost utilitarian-smelling.

Nick

DRH Arlington is one of my all time favorite soaps!!

 

[ragan]

I’ve had excellent results with the Trumper Oxford Blue soap. I quite like it. Nice cushion and very slick. None of the foamy airy lather and nice scent as well. Haven’t had as good of luck with the other Trumper soaps. Not sure what the difference is with their other soaps, but they’re not good at all from my experience.

 

[ask4Edge]

Per their online shop, the Oxford Blue first ingredient is still potassium (vs sodium) palmate.

 

[ragan]

Interesting. The soap I have had the sodium palmate listed first, I don’t have the box anymore. But remember that, because I remember hearing that is what made their others suck so bad. I have extremely hard water where I live. I know London does as well, could have something to do with it. Either-way this puck works rather well.

Per their online shop, the Oxford Blue first ingredient is still potassium (vs sodium) palmate.

 

[ragan]

Interesting. The soap I have had the sodium palmate listed first, I don’t have the box anymore. But remember that, because I remember hearing that is what made their others suck so bad. I have extremely hard water where I live. I know London does as well, could have something to do with it. Either-way this puck works rather well.

I realized that I had a puck of this. So I shaved with it today since it has Sodium palmate as the first ingredient. This is really good too, it smells exactly like the Oxford Blue, and are the same color and size. Not sure if the other larger Trumper pucks are different but these mug soaps are really nice. I use a boar brush, soak it while showering, then shake the excess water out. I load for about a 100 swirls, then face lather. I add a small drop of water by dipping the tip of the brush in the scuttle after 20 or 30 seconds then continue to face lather for another 10 or 15 seconds. It’s as good of a lather as D.R. Harris or Mitchell’s. It’s not airy or foamy, it’s slick and thick.

 

[ask4Edge]

Interesting. Indeed, sodium (first) soaps aren't always bad (e.g. DRH, Valobra...).

 

[BlackBard]

I bought their rose hard soap and wonder why Trumpers sell this. Poorest soap , nice scent but no lather which lasted more than a few seconds . Made expensive hand soap.
I'm puzzled why they are not trying to improve it. Their creams are fab though.

Exactly. I used to like Trumpers rose soap, but the last time I bought it (about 4 years ago), it was terrible. I assumed they had changed the formula. I tried everything I knew to get it to perform, to no avail. I ended up throwing it away and never went back to Trumpers.

 

[Edinburgh]

I’ve had excellent results with the Trumper Oxford Blue soap. I quite like it. Nice cushion and very slick. None of the foamy airy lather and nice scent as well. Haven’t had as good of luck with the other Trumper soaps. Not sure what the difference is with their other soaps, but they’re not good at all from my experience.

My experience also. I’m glad I stocked up on this one. Although, I doubt I’ll ever get through my stockpile. I should probably put some of it on the BST.

 

[Bevel]

I've posted about this previously. It's the potassium Vs sodium debacle.
I have the newer sodium based sandalwood soap and couldn't lather it with a synthetic brush at all.
Same as everyone, no slickness or cushion and lather disappearing.

Then I made my own badger brushes and I can lather it absolutely fine.
I used to think it was garbage soap but since using the badger it actually quite good.
As others have said you really need to load the brush. Spend a full minute loading, it's a bit excessive but as water is added it'll work.