What are the current top tier British soaps?

[EclipseRedRing]

TOBS sandalwood is still so far he best performing shaving soap I have ever used in my own context. I tried DG milksteak yesterday for the first time but other than a much nicer post shave slickness (that I can still feel on my face the next mornig!) it was not as easy to whip up good lather as TOBS for me at this current state of my admittedly poor technique.

I am surprised. Are you referring to TOBS hard soap or the cream in the tub? For me the creams have always been reasonable if overpriced performers. The hard soaps I have now given up on as being almost unusable since their reformulations.

 

[Leo501]

GFT cream is one of my top performers in scent strength and performance- slick and moisturizing.

 

[Zwiehander]

I am surprised. Are you referring to TOBS hard soap or the cream in the tub? For me the creams have always been reasonable if overpriced performers. The hard soaps I have now given up on as being almost unusable since their reformulations.

Sorry I was referring to the cream. I havent tried TOBS hard soaps.

 

[IMightBeWrong]

GFT cream is one of my top performers in scent strength and performance- slick and moisturizing.

No complaints on the cream at all. I love Eucris cream!

 

[nav]

Apart from the ones that have been mentioned, Bath House is one that is massively underrated!

Both their scents are beautifully done.
Performance is great! Rich, creamy, slick lather with good post shave.

They are triple milled so will last a very long time!

 

[Marco]

Currently, I use the British creams only. For soaps I much prefer my Italians.

 

[Billy T.]

P&B, Wickham 1912

 

[Owen Bawn]

I echo those who mentioned MWF and DRH. have several DR Harris sticks that I purchased in a lot a couple years ago. They are really outstanding in performance, and elegant and understated in scent, as one might expect from a posh British soap. I use them at home on occasion, but primarily for travel as they come in a hard plastic tube and seem to work well with any kind of water.

 

[dan86]

To my shame I only acquired a D R Harris soap in the last month or so. I’ve long been a fan of Marlborough cream but decided I’d try the Sandalwood soap as a refill puck is a lot cheaper than a tub of the cream. It performed so well I bought a puck of Windsor the other day.
For me Harris soap edges the performance of MWF because it’s easier to lather, hence why I go along with @IMightBeWrong and prefer Harris to MWF.

It’s because of the many anecdotal experiences here that I have not tried a Trumper’s or TOBS soap. More than happy with the creams but have heard latest formulations of the soaps have issues too many times. Not like there aren’t so many other options to try.
It’s a pity Salters only makes the one scented soap because they have some great fragrances in their cream line-up.

I also want to put forward Wickham Soap Co. I now own 4 of their vegetal shaving soaps and they all perform the same. Super easy to lather, skin feels slick after use and they’ve come out with some interesting scents.

 

[Peterv1]

TOBS jermyn street cream is one of my all time favourites my other creams/croaps are mostly Italian such as Razorock XXX

 

[boilerphan]

I am surprised. Are you referring to TOBS hard soap or the cream in the tub? For me the creams have always been reasonable if overpriced performers. The hard soaps I have now given up on as being almost unusable since their reformulations.

TOBS soaps have been reformulated? I have never had issue with their hard soaps. T&H and Trumpers on the other hand are lost causes.

 

[IMightBeWrong]

TOBS soaps have been reformulated? I have never had issue with their hard soaps. T&H and Trumpers on the other hand are lost causes.

TOBS Jermyn St was one of my first “nice” soaps back when I got into this hobby in 2012. It was unusable. They might have improved it since then but I would go for the cream at this point.

 

[boilerphan]

TOBS Jermyn St was one of my first “nice” soaps back when I got into this hobby in 2012. It was unusable. They might have improved it since then but I would go for the cream at this point.

I have TOBS Sandalwood (2017-ish) and Platinum (received as gift Christmas 2019) in hard soap form and both perform well. So, more recent stock (if you can be assured of getting such) is seemingly okay.

 

[camoloc]

I've liked the D.R. Harris soaps for some time now.

and like this one too.

camo

 

[sarimento1]

Just ordered some Eucris Soap and Skin Food. Always loved the cream scent. I know the gamble I’m taking but we’ll see how the current formula performs.

I also ordered a new bowl of Harris Windsor. My last bowl had the mahogany finish which wasn’t treated for water resistance and ran the color all over so I tossed the bowl. The new one is the Beech so hopefully there won’t be an issue. If there is, I’ll order the ceramic dish.

You should enjoy the Eucris!
Here's Jarrod's tips on using.
I followed them today for great lather.

 

[Peterv1]

TOBS Jermyn street Cream is my favourite

 

[Raven Koenes]

Cyril R Salter and Wickham 1912.

 

[Hydguy]

To my shame I only acquired a D R Harris soap in the last month or so. I’ve long been a fan of Marlborough cream but decided I’d try the Sandalwood soap as a refill puck is a lot cheaper than a tub of the cream. It performed so well I bought a puck of Windsor the other day.
For me Harris soap edges the performance of MWF because it’s easier to lather, hence why I go along with @IMightBeWrong and prefer Harris to MWF.

It’s because of the many anecdotal experiences here that I have not tried a Trumper’s or TOBS soap. More than happy with the creams but have heard latest formulations of the soaps have issues too many times. Not like there aren’t so many other options to try.
It’s a pity Salters only makes the one scented soap because they have some great fragrances in their cream line-up.

I also want to put forward Wickham Soap Co. I now own 4 of their vegetal shaving soaps and they all perform the same. Super easy to lather, skin feels slick after use and they’ve come out with some interesting scents.

I'm new to wet shaving, and I purchased the Wickham 1912 Magnum just because I grew up watching the show, but besides the shave performance, I am really impressed with the longevity of the scent when paired with the aftershave balm.
I am considering picking up a different scent next month, maybe Russian Leather.
WCS is the only retailer I've found that is US based that carries Wickahm, and they ran out of Magnum. Hope it comes back in stock soon, but it's not even listed on the website now...

 

[dan86]

I'm new to wet shaving, and I purchased the Wickham 1912 Magnum just because I grew up watching the show, but besides the shave performance, I am really impressed with the longevity of the scent when paired with the aftershave balm.
I am considering picking up a different scent next month, maybe Russian Leather.
WCS is the only retailer I've found that is US based that carries Wickahm, and they ran out of Magnum. Hope it comes back in stock soon, but it's not even listed on the website now...

That’s a pity! Hope WCS stocks them again soon. Superb soaps and the scents are amazing. One of Geofatboy’s videos on how to shave with a DE razor convinced me to give it a go 7 years ago.

I’d not - pardon the pun, but I couldn’t resist - investigated the Magnum scent when browsing the U.K. sites that stock Wickham before but have just read the description and that sounds like one for me for the future. Thanks for tagging me in to your post!

If you can get hold of it I don’t think you could go wrong with Russian Leather. It’s really nice, very true to the scent of original Imperial Leather soap. Geo Trumper’s Spanish Leather is a slightly similar although possibly a bit more spicy? Also nice though.

The other Wickhams I have are Club Cola (I think it smells like Coke with a slice of lemon in it or - but I’m not sure if you have these sweets in the USA - cola cubes) and Parma Violet (and yes, it does smell like the Swizzells Parma Violet sweets).
I also get where some are coming from when they’ve likened Club Cola scent to ginger beer as well.

 

[dan86]

Cyril R Salter and Wickham 1912.
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One of my all-time favourite creams. I bought my first tub a few weeks after my first tub of TOBS Sandalwood and I’ve never bought another tub of TOBS Sandalwood since. I have multiple tubs of Salter’s though, it’s a much nicer scent in my opinion and they list essential Sandalwood oil on the back of the tub too. Salter’s creams are quite underrated in my opinion. Just a shame they only currently do a soap in a lavender scent.

If you haven’t tried them Salter’s French Vetiver, Wild Rose and Sublime Citrus are other unsung heroes.