What soap/cream did you use today?

Himalayan Heights v. (Meißner Tremonia) ★★★★ deodar cedar

There's a lot of clay in MT's soaps, so you're always smelling something like wet cement in the background. It doesn't bug me and I'm happy to have all the cushion and slip the clay brings. It mixes up pretty thick. Just a little smear of this soap in the bottom of the bowl builds mounds of dense lather. Though not especially glossy, it is copious and protective and ranks among my favorite vegan shaves. A drop of cedar oil added to the lather boosts the scent.

Barrister and Mann Vespers

The evolution continues; as much as I enjoy Barrister and Mann’s Glissant and Reserve soap bases, the new Excelsior somehow still manages to improve performance. Adding to that the marvelous Vespers scent … shaving bliss.

I prefer the scent and the greater ease of lathering - for me at least.  I had to do a side-by-side compare with Reserve Spice - another favorite scent of mine - but Vespers wins IMO.

Unlike many people, I haven’t had any issues lathering Reserve soaps, and I (too) enjoy Reserve Spice a lot. However, Vespers takes things on a new level with both the performance of the soap and the complexity of the scent. (That being said, I do think Vespers is more of a cold weather scent, whereas Spice works well whenever, so there’s that. It’ll be exciting to see what new soaps come out in the Excelsior base after Beaudelaire arrives.)

Pacific Shaving Stick Shave Soap

Razorock / Mudder Focker

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L&L Grooming - Darkfall

B&M Reserve Lavender

Haslinger Honig

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G930F met Tapatalk

Ralph Lauren Safari shaving soap (tallow)

Slantman's dedication to Williams Mug Soap made me dig it out and give it a run. Unlike some, I love the citronella scent. Like most if find the lather less exciting than my other standards. But if slickness is your jam, Williams is the slickest soap of which I know. So why do I keep it around? While it may not be the best performer it does perform well enough. I always get a good shave from Williams even as I watch the lather melt on my face. I know Williams inside and out, having used it for a long time before any artisans showed up. It's my bell weather. It's my touchstone. It's my roots and a great place to jump from when evaluating new soaps. I can't see it ever becoming my go-to soap ever again but it'll always be in my rotation.