My curiosity led me to questioning this. Since Amazon has such a huge market share (in sales), how accurate would the reviews be in order to judge a soap?
I imagine that most Amazon reviews for shaving soaps come from shavers who are simply just normal everyday shavers?
The bulk is definitely not from shavers like us that have a deep interest in every little detail of the products?
So I filtered my search on Amazon to strictly include shaving soaps and sorted the results by "average customer review".
Note that these are mostly mainstream brands that don't include the specialty/artisan stuff that we also look for!
What I found is that the following brands/soaps top the list (Top 20) based on Amazon reviews:
1. Arko (I found this amazing that it's #1 considering that here on B&B it usually has a 50/50 opinion. Some people love it and some people don't and it's usually because of the scent and not because of the actual performance of the soap)
2. Cella (This seems to be loved by everyone. The only occasional complaint I have read is because of the scent. Some people don't like Almond)
3. The Art of Shaving Lavender (I guess when you are owned by Procter & Gamble, you have the financial backing to massively grow as a brand and be on the top of lists. I had no idea that people love these products so much. Are they really that good?)
4. Proraso Green (The only brand of all of these that I've personally tried. People love this stuff based on what I've read)
5. Van Der Hagen Luxury shave soap (Apparently it's good. But is it really? It's $12 for 3 pucks which I think is very influential)
6. Proraso White (I guess it's good too. I have my first tub of this on order)
7. Williams mug shaving soap (Still holds the #7 position even though it's history. Cult status on this one!)
8. Henry Cavendish Himalaya (A top luxury brand but I can't see how it has this many sales/reviews from regular shavers. I guess lots of shaving forum members buy this on Amazon, LOL!)
9. Proraso red (Considering the following this one has, I don't know how it isn't #1 on the list. I personally love this stuff!)
10. Colonel Conk Bay rum (All I can say is that it's a popular product with it's own unique ingredients)
11. Men's soap company shaving soap (How did this get to #11. Has anyone even heard of this? I did a search for it here on B&B and nothing came up)
12. Mitchell's Wool fat (I can definitely see this in the top 20 because people love it)
13. Henry Cavendish Lavender (Luxury brand with a luxury scent can get you high up in the ranks)
14. The Art of Shaving Sandalwood (See #3's explanation and just replace the scent with Sandalwood)
15. Barrister & Mann Seville (Another one that I assume gets bought & reviewed by forum shavers)
16. Colonel Conk Almond (Read #10 and the last sentence of #20
17. Muhle Sea Buckthorn (I don't know what sea buckthorn smells like but it must be good if it sells this well!)
18. D.R. Harris Sandalwood (Great luxury brand and probably the most popular shaving scent)
19. Colonel Conk Amber (Only Colonel Conk & Proraso show up 3 times each on this top 20 list. They both must be doing something right!)
20. Van Der Hagen Mango Chocolate (What? Mango chocolate, are they serious?)
So that's the list!
I find it strange that Taylor of Old Bond Street isn't in the top 20. I see many people discussing it, especially here! Probably as much as Proraso!
Do you think that these are the best mainstream brands/soaps in the order that they are reviewed on Amazon? What do you like most?
I imagine that most Amazon reviews for shaving soaps come from shavers who are simply just normal everyday shavers?
The bulk is definitely not from shavers like us that have a deep interest in every little detail of the products?
So I filtered my search on Amazon to strictly include shaving soaps and sorted the results by "average customer review".
Note that these are mostly mainstream brands that don't include the specialty/artisan stuff that we also look for!
What I found is that the following brands/soaps top the list (Top 20) based on Amazon reviews:
1. Arko (I found this amazing that it's #1 considering that here on B&B it usually has a 50/50 opinion. Some people love it and some people don't and it's usually because of the scent and not because of the actual performance of the soap)
2. Cella (This seems to be loved by everyone. The only occasional complaint I have read is because of the scent. Some people don't like Almond)
3. The Art of Shaving Lavender (I guess when you are owned by Procter & Gamble, you have the financial backing to massively grow as a brand and be on the top of lists. I had no idea that people love these products so much. Are they really that good?)
4. Proraso Green (The only brand of all of these that I've personally tried. People love this stuff based on what I've read)
5. Van Der Hagen Luxury shave soap (Apparently it's good. But is it really? It's $12 for 3 pucks which I think is very influential)
6. Proraso White (I guess it's good too. I have my first tub of this on order)
7. Williams mug shaving soap (Still holds the #7 position even though it's history. Cult status on this one!)
8. Henry Cavendish Himalaya (A top luxury brand but I can't see how it has this many sales/reviews from regular shavers. I guess lots of shaving forum members buy this on Amazon, LOL!)
9. Proraso red (Considering the following this one has, I don't know how it isn't #1 on the list. I personally love this stuff!)
10. Colonel Conk Bay rum (All I can say is that it's a popular product with it's own unique ingredients)
11. Men's soap company shaving soap (How did this get to #11. Has anyone even heard of this? I did a search for it here on B&B and nothing came up)
12. Mitchell's Wool fat (I can definitely see this in the top 20 because people love it)
13. Henry Cavendish Lavender (Luxury brand with a luxury scent can get you high up in the ranks)
14. The Art of Shaving Sandalwood (See #3's explanation and just replace the scent with Sandalwood)
15. Barrister & Mann Seville (Another one that I assume gets bought & reviewed by forum shavers)
16. Colonel Conk Almond (Read #10 and the last sentence of #20
17. Muhle Sea Buckthorn (I don't know what sea buckthorn smells like but it must be good if it sells this well!)
18. D.R. Harris Sandalwood (Great luxury brand and probably the most popular shaving scent)
19. Colonel Conk Amber (Only Colonel Conk & Proraso show up 3 times each on this top 20 list. They both must be doing something right!)
20. Van Der Hagen Mango Chocolate (What? Mango chocolate, are they serious?)
So that's the list!
I find it strange that Taylor of Old Bond Street isn't in the top 20. I see many people discussing it, especially here! Probably as much as Proraso!
Do you think that these are the best mainstream brands/soaps in the order that they are reviewed on Amazon? What do you like most?