Member
(This post was last modified: 03-07-2016, 08:53 PM by NeoXerxes. Edit Reason: added disclaimers )
Howdy folks,
As some of you know, I've had a persistent interest in high end soaps and creams. Over the past few months I have been trying as many of these products as possible and reviewing them on another site. I have since been banned from that site (ya'll know the story), but many members on many sites have sent me messages regarding the revival of that thread. Evidently there is a lot of interest in the pricier stuff.
So here you go. In the unfortunate absence of a sufficiently expensive champagne bottle to smash against the bow of this new topic, I hereby revive the luxury soaps/creams thread. Consider this one the revised and expanded edition!
- NX
*****
For context, here's my history with the topic:
I have tried many soaps and creams in the lower price brackets without much result. You see, I have extraordinarily sensitive skin. No joke... Especially if cheap fragrance oils are used in a soap, I can smell it, and I can feel it - my face catches fire, becomes inflamed, and turns beet red for days. Having tried many of the smaller artisan products with little success and many allergic reactions, I decided to give the pricier options a try.
Before exploring the high end stuff (which I consider to be the "luxury" category largely due to the comparatively larger price tags) and the lower cost artisans, the products that worked best for me were the famous U.K. creams. In fact, Trumper's (and in particular Extract of Limes) was my staple for quite some time. Trumper's worked solidly for me, and I did enjoy the scent, but it never really impressed me in its performance. Though I didn't know it then, I can say now with confidence that performance is (sadly) mediocre. So it was that on an inspired whim, when walking the hallowed halls of Fortnum & Mason, I upgraded to Castle Forbes Lavender. Needless to say it completely blew me away with its performance. After that, and following another successful purchase - Tabula Rasa, another wonderful high end cream - I knew that I needed to try more.
And lo, the obsession began. I wanted to not only try the other high end soaps/creams, but I needed to find the very best. I searched the forums and watched many a YouTube video in my search for the greatest of soaps/creams. No obscure post was safe, no matter the language (Google Translate was my friend in this dark time). Thanks advice from forum posters and the kind generosity of a league of extraordinary gentlemen in providing samples (these gentlemen, incidentally, have since migrated to this forum as escapees from the proverbial North Korea of wet shaving), I was able to try most of the top soaps/creams on the market. This primarily includes luxury soaps/creams, but also includes a select number of artisan products that I have found to be especially meritorious in terms of performance.
Though my initial impressions were posted elsewhere, I have since been in the midst of a long process of refining and updating my reviews. Over the next few weeks and months, I hope to update this thread with my thoughts on what are the very best soaps/creams, money no object. In my reviews, I'll try to be specific enough in order for you to decide if an expensive product is worth trying or not, based on your own needs. In that regard, I hope they prove to be of use in some small way.
But first, a word on method: I am of the opinion that products ought to be compared in an analytical fashion. How can a reviewer know that a soap/cream is good, or great? In my view it is only by a comparative process that we can develop an opinion that may be considered reasonably useful to others. We can identify what is great only because we have experienced the good, bad, and the ugly.
Anyway, I hope these reviews prove to be helpful. My opinions are subjective, obviously, however they were formulated in a reasonably rigorous fashion involving weeks and months of testing. Footnote: For an excellent example of this style of reviewing, see the recent video on top artisan soaps by TSEvangelist.
Stay tuned dear chaps, and please be patient! The reviews are forthcoming.
*****
A few necessary disclaimers, before getting started on my reviews:
1. These reviews are my opinions, based on performance with my skin only. They are intended to be illustrative of the characteristics of the particular soap/cream based on my own testing, so please do not consider them recommendations or endorsements of specific products. Obviously these reviews are intended to be subjective.
2. You will notice that a lot of soaps/creams receive high scores on a ten point scale. Quite simply, this is attributable to selection bias. Many soaps/creams are present on the market, but I am only bothering to review the ones that are exceptional for one reason or another. If it is not lacking in any significant way, you can expect that a product will receive at least an 7.5/10 on my scale.
3. Do not consider the numerical ranking to be indicative of anything solid or even marginally objective. It is my epistemological belief that subjective qualities are not quantifiable. It may be that a soap/cream that receives a "fast and loose" 9/10 on my review gets ranked higher than a soap that receives 9.5 or even 10/10 in an overall ranking.
4. As always, these scores and rankings are subject to change.
*****
Below I'd love to hear about your own recommendations of the very best luxury soaps/creams, money no object. I evaluate what is "best" primarily through performance, but you are welcome to provide your list using your own reasoning and criteria (just please let us know what that is, else we will assume that performance is your primary consideration). This is the place to list and discuss your all time favorite products, without reference to cost.
When interacting with users on this thread, please keep in mind that these are our personal impressions, and our personal impressions alone, based solely on what works for us, individually. Also, please understand that these impressions are subject to change.
I welcome your continued participation
.
*****
Please check out the companion thread here, for the budget-minded shaver. Thanks to Marko for setting this up!
As some of you know, I've had a persistent interest in high end soaps and creams. Over the past few months I have been trying as many of these products as possible and reviewing them on another site. I have since been banned from that site (ya'll know the story), but many members on many sites have sent me messages regarding the revival of that thread. Evidently there is a lot of interest in the pricier stuff.
So here you go. In the unfortunate absence of a sufficiently expensive champagne bottle to smash against the bow of this new topic, I hereby revive the luxury soaps/creams thread. Consider this one the revised and expanded edition!
- NX
*****
For context, here's my history with the topic:
I have tried many soaps and creams in the lower price brackets without much result. You see, I have extraordinarily sensitive skin. No joke... Especially if cheap fragrance oils are used in a soap, I can smell it, and I can feel it - my face catches fire, becomes inflamed, and turns beet red for days. Having tried many of the smaller artisan products with little success and many allergic reactions, I decided to give the pricier options a try.
Before exploring the high end stuff (which I consider to be the "luxury" category largely due to the comparatively larger price tags) and the lower cost artisans, the products that worked best for me were the famous U.K. creams. In fact, Trumper's (and in particular Extract of Limes) was my staple for quite some time. Trumper's worked solidly for me, and I did enjoy the scent, but it never really impressed me in its performance. Though I didn't know it then, I can say now with confidence that performance is (sadly) mediocre. So it was that on an inspired whim, when walking the hallowed halls of Fortnum & Mason, I upgraded to Castle Forbes Lavender. Needless to say it completely blew me away with its performance. After that, and following another successful purchase - Tabula Rasa, another wonderful high end cream - I knew that I needed to try more.
And lo, the obsession began. I wanted to not only try the other high end soaps/creams, but I needed to find the very best. I searched the forums and watched many a YouTube video in my search for the greatest of soaps/creams. No obscure post was safe, no matter the language (Google Translate was my friend in this dark time). Thanks advice from forum posters and the kind generosity of a league of extraordinary gentlemen in providing samples (these gentlemen, incidentally, have since migrated to this forum as escapees from the proverbial North Korea of wet shaving), I was able to try most of the top soaps/creams on the market. This primarily includes luxury soaps/creams, but also includes a select number of artisan products that I have found to be especially meritorious in terms of performance.
Though my initial impressions were posted elsewhere, I have since been in the midst of a long process of refining and updating my reviews. Over the next few weeks and months, I hope to update this thread with my thoughts on what are the very best soaps/creams, money no object. In my reviews, I'll try to be specific enough in order for you to decide if an expensive product is worth trying or not, based on your own needs. In that regard, I hope they prove to be of use in some small way.
But first, a word on method: I am of the opinion that products ought to be compared in an analytical fashion. How can a reviewer know that a soap/cream is good, or great? In my view it is only by a comparative process that we can develop an opinion that may be considered reasonably useful to others. We can identify what is great only because we have experienced the good, bad, and the ugly.
Anyway, I hope these reviews prove to be helpful. My opinions are subjective, obviously, however they were formulated in a reasonably rigorous fashion involving weeks and months of testing. Footnote: For an excellent example of this style of reviewing, see the recent video on top artisan soaps by TSEvangelist.
Stay tuned dear chaps, and please be patient! The reviews are forthcoming.
*****
A few necessary disclaimers, before getting started on my reviews:
1. These reviews are my opinions, based on performance with my skin only. They are intended to be illustrative of the characteristics of the particular soap/cream based on my own testing, so please do not consider them recommendations or endorsements of specific products. Obviously these reviews are intended to be subjective.
2. You will notice that a lot of soaps/creams receive high scores on a ten point scale. Quite simply, this is attributable to selection bias. Many soaps/creams are present on the market, but I am only bothering to review the ones that are exceptional for one reason or another. If it is not lacking in any significant way, you can expect that a product will receive at least an 7.5/10 on my scale.
3. Do not consider the numerical ranking to be indicative of anything solid or even marginally objective. It is my epistemological belief that subjective qualities are not quantifiable. It may be that a soap/cream that receives a "fast and loose" 9/10 on my review gets ranked higher than a soap that receives 9.5 or even 10/10 in an overall ranking.
4. As always, these scores and rankings are subject to change.
*****
Below I'd love to hear about your own recommendations of the very best luxury soaps/creams, money no object. I evaluate what is "best" primarily through performance, but you are welcome to provide your list using your own reasoning and criteria (just please let us know what that is, else we will assume that performance is your primary consideration). This is the place to list and discuss your all time favorite products, without reference to cost.
When interacting with users on this thread, please keep in mind that these are our personal impressions, and our personal impressions alone, based solely on what works for us, individually. Also, please understand that these impressions are subject to change.
I welcome your continued participation
.*****
Please check out the companion thread here, for the budget-minded shaver. Thanks to Marko for setting this up!
