Member
Sound like an oxymoron?
When I first started to seriously look at shaving creams beyond the usual stuff found about anywhere, I read over and over again that MdC was the gold standard. I suspect that in my reading of reviews, for the most part ADP, SMN, ABC and the like were ignored as being to expensive and reviewers rarely tried them. Most people loved MdC with the only downside being cost. Some, like WSP, try to emulate it. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
First, I had to find MdC. It took me some time. The only US reseller I know of is Old Town Shaving, an excellent shop with superb customer service. And let’s face it. This stuff is not Proraso cheap nor priced in the range of normal “American” artisan soaps. But it can also be bought for about $54.34, with shipping, directly. I had high expectations for MdC and was not disappointed. I had been disappointed before. Many people praised XPEC as THE shaving cream. While, certainly good, I found it drying, lacking in hydration, and the scent not to my liking. It would cake in my scuttle in the winter while shaving. So I was wary of Internet "experts".
My first impression of MdC was the simple scents, just lavender or Fougere, were excellent. None of this fancy stuff with 9 – 12 different scents competing and I can’t tell what is going on.
I immediately knew what it was – Lavender. 
Scent strength was just about right. It wasn’t an over powering lavender like CF nor a weak scent, like ADP. I prefer the Fougere.
The technical attributes were all excellent, for me placing it in the bottom of the Elite category. Bottom you say?
Yes bottom. IMO there are better products, not by much, but still better. The big complaint is always cost. On a per unit basis its cheaper than any ABC, ADP, PC Nuavia or SMN (by a substantial margin) yet you get a whopping 200g of product. My calculations show, including shipping, this equates to about a quarter per shave.
I have called MdC my every day workhorse. I set it down and come back to it wanting to try the latest offerings of others. Only a tiny handful of products appear that surpass it, namely Nuavia, SMN, and ADP, but at a greater per unit cost (I haven’t calculated the per shave cost yet for these others).
So I go through cycles. After trying or using other products, I come back to my Elite workhorse and am amazed all over again. Time and time again, lather just explodes.
None of this “load heavily, swirl for a minutes, whip for two minutes” routine. 
Thats too much work. You barely look at MdC and the lather explodes. The only product I have found easier to lather have been GFT creams. You just look at those creams, don’t even have to touch them, and poof – lather that looks like a stock photo.
The scent, time after time, is simple and just the right strength. Cushion, slickness, and residual slickness is near the very top of the pyramid. The lather “feel” is right up there with the best of them. And of late, I have been focusing on after shave face feel where I believe PC Nuavia has set the new bar that Mystic used to own. To my surprise, of late and paying attention to this attribute which I never used to do, MdC is excellent, not the best, but excellent. So yes, for me it is an oxymoron.
In praise of an every day elite workhorse, you can do no better than Martin de Candre, in the scent of your choice. You know if others try to emulate it, they are doing something right. .
If you used it in the past and forgot its attributes and might have thought it very good, you might want to give it another try. If you have never used MdC, you might want to try a sample. Old Towne Shaving sells them. You will find very few soaps that surpass it and those that do, do so by minute, trivial amounts, in essence all being elite products.
Martin de Candre – the every day workhorse elite soap.
When I first started to seriously look at shaving creams beyond the usual stuff found about anywhere, I read over and over again that MdC was the gold standard. I suspect that in my reading of reviews, for the most part ADP, SMN, ABC and the like were ignored as being to expensive and reviewers rarely tried them. Most people loved MdC with the only downside being cost. Some, like WSP, try to emulate it. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
First, I had to find MdC. It took me some time. The only US reseller I know of is Old Town Shaving, an excellent shop with superb customer service. And let’s face it. This stuff is not Proraso cheap nor priced in the range of normal “American” artisan soaps. But it can also be bought for about $54.34, with shipping, directly. I had high expectations for MdC and was not disappointed. I had been disappointed before. Many people praised XPEC as THE shaving cream. While, certainly good, I found it drying, lacking in hydration, and the scent not to my liking. It would cake in my scuttle in the winter while shaving. So I was wary of Internet "experts".
My first impression of MdC was the simple scents, just lavender or Fougere, were excellent. None of this fancy stuff with 9 – 12 different scents competing and I can’t tell what is going on.
I immediately knew what it was – Lavender. Scent strength was just about right. It wasn’t an over powering lavender like CF nor a weak scent, like ADP. I prefer the Fougere. The technical attributes were all excellent, for me placing it in the bottom of the Elite category. Bottom you say?
Yes bottom. IMO there are better products, not by much, but still better. The big complaint is always cost. On a per unit basis its cheaper than any ABC, ADP, PC Nuavia or SMN (by a substantial margin) yet you get a whopping 200g of product. My calculations show, including shipping, this equates to about a quarter per shave.I have called MdC my every day workhorse. I set it down and come back to it wanting to try the latest offerings of others. Only a tiny handful of products appear that surpass it, namely Nuavia, SMN, and ADP, but at a greater per unit cost (I haven’t calculated the per shave cost yet for these others).
So I go through cycles. After trying or using other products, I come back to my Elite workhorse and am amazed all over again. Time and time again, lather just explodes.
None of this “load heavily, swirl for a minutes, whip for two minutes” routine. Thats too much work. You barely look at MdC and the lather explodes. The only product I have found easier to lather have been GFT creams. You just look at those creams, don’t even have to touch them, and poof – lather that looks like a stock photo. The scent, time after time, is simple and just the right strength. Cushion, slickness, and residual slickness is near the very top of the pyramid. The lather “feel” is right up there with the best of them. And of late, I have been focusing on after shave face feel where I believe PC Nuavia has set the new bar that Mystic used to own. To my surprise, of late and paying attention to this attribute which I never used to do, MdC is excellent, not the best, but excellent. So yes, for me it is an oxymoron.
In praise of an every day elite workhorse, you can do no better than Martin de Candre, in the scent of your choice. You know if others try to emulate it, they are doing something right. .
If you used it in the past and forgot its attributes and might have thought it very good, you might want to give it another try. If you have never used MdC, you might want to try a sample. Old Towne Shaving sells them. You will find very few soaps that surpass it and those that do, do so by minute, trivial amounts, in essence all being elite products.
Martin de Candre – the every day workhorse elite soap.
)