I'm still in love with Mike's. I prefer it to MdC.
Martin De Candre
- Thread starter Kendoll
- Start date
I was PIF'd a small sample of unscented from another member in 2018. Used it twice, liked it, so I ordered a tub of Rose from a US vendor, paying about $80. I love a good Rose scent, but my face doesn't. I found it drying, and it left my face splotchy. I used it a couple of times and gave it to my son-in-law who wetshaves.
If by performance you mean which gives me a closer shave with better cushion, it's hands down MdC.
But let's look at some details.
- Scent: I prefer the Muhle Organic (MO). MdC scents are good but tend to be very strong. I prefer mild scents. It's hard to describe the scent of MO but it smells clean and fresh without even the slightest hint of being overbearing. It's probably the best scent I have experienced. MdC is so strong it can sometimes make me cough/sneeze. MdC unscented feels like something is missing, a bit too industrial/unfinished.
- Lather: MO is faster to lather, but to get to a thick lather takes perhaps even more time and patience and dare I say skill than MdC, because it is very sensitive to the amount of water. If you get to a thicker lather you're rewarded with some improvement in cushion and slickness. With that effort, I would put slickness on par with MdC, but the cushion is always a bit less. With MO, the razor glides around fine but it somehow doesn't cut quite as close as when using MdC. If I try too hard to get a close shave with MO, I end up with a weeper. So I have made peace with something between a DFS and CCS. With MdC I could easily get DFS and many times between DFS and BBS (sections of the face are BBS). MO lather also rinses out of the brush more easily regardless of how thick it is. If you work up MdC lather thick, getting it all out of the brush can take some work.
- Post Shave: The skin feels clean and dry with MdC, but with MO it feels moisturized. I'm fine with both, but I think I have a slight preference with the MO.
Bottomline: I prefer MO over MdC for scent and post shave feel. I prefer MdC for the quality of lather and closeness of the shave. MdC works out way cheaper. However, since there's a skin irritation issue at hand with the MdC, there isn't really a choice.
As always, YMMV. I hurriedly lather, using a lather just thick enough not to run down my neck, take three passes, and feel great (and smooth). I have tried thicker lathers and just did not like them. I found them not wet and slippery enough.
Thank you anoop, I could not have asked for a more detailed comparison.
I love my nature, easily one of my nicest soaps! And I do load very little but add plenty of water and face leather for quite some time to create all the foam I need
Oh, absolutely. Good soap at a good price.
I don't know why MdC gets ignored by so many wet shavers I encountered on discord, all this talk about lack of post-shave and slickness etc.
Well MdC is here. I'm so glad, the scent on these soaps were immediate upon opening the jars. They are exactly as the label says, simple. I love it.
First shaving using, 48hr shave, no nicks, cuts, close shave. I'm don't understand what more someone could want from the soap. Best Fougere type scent I've used so far.
Post-shave, yeah unscented Zingari. Better than any post-shave from any artisan soap with 12 different butters, oils and fats.
Well MdC is here. I'm so glad, the scent on these soaps were immediate upon opening the jars. They are exactly as the label says, simple. I love it.
First shaving using, 48hr shave, no nicks, cuts, close shave. I'm don't understand what more someone could want from the soap. Best Fougere type scent I've used so far.
Post-shave, yeah unscented Zingari. Better than any post-shave from any artisan soap with 12 different butters, oils and fats.
How many people on discord do you think have been shaving for 50+ years? There is a reason that they call this place "the boomer boards"...
How many people on discord do you think have been shaving for 50+ years? There is a reason that they call this place "the boomer boards"...
Well I went through a short phase of keeping up with the new products, FOTM for razors, soap sets etc, and realized this was the wrong way to do it, for me at least. Keeping shaving simple is better. Just use 1-3 different razors, good shave soap and if I need fragrance, use a fragrance.
IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
I, too, love Mike's. One of the first Artisan soaps I ever tried, and hasn't been surpassed for me. But I do think that MdC is almost as good, and Saponificio Varesino is as good as Mike's with a different feel for me. MdC is a simple soap that lathers easily with tons of slickness, but it can be mildly drying on my skin. Mikes and SV are not the least bit drying for me, and make my skin feel pampered.
I actually received 2 pucks and a jar from Mike's today. First time trying the Hungarian Lavendar and I'm already in love with it.
I greatly appreciate all of the technical evaluations of various soaps as they help me in choosing which soaps to buy. That, however, is not the way I approach it. I just consider which soaps are more fun, enjoyable, satisfying, etc. to use. For me, MDC and SV are the most enjoyable. I have used Tabac, La Toja, Speick, TOBS, DR Harris, Noble Otter, declaration Grooming, Mike's, Stirling, Barrister and Mann, Ariana and Evans, Boellis, ABC, Maison Lambert, MWF, Proraso, and Haslingers. Except for the last puck of MFW, I like them all, especially Tabac, Boellis.
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Because it’s expensive to import into the US, and as a result there are a lot of better soaps to be had for better prices. I like MdC, not bashing it, but it’s not an attractive top-tier soap in the US any longer for most.
I’ll have to keep this in mind when I’m wondering why there’s such a distaste for Chinese-made razors, for example, and other buying preferences that I don’t immediately understand.How many people on discord do you think have been shaving for 50+ years? There is a reason that they call this place "the boomer boards"...
I buy mine directly from Martin de Candre and it's $44.92 for 200g jar. I do purchase 2 jars each time, so that no doubt lowers the shipping, but my cost per year for daily 3 pass shaves with MdC is $45. It's cheaper than most artisan soaps in actual use. A jar lasts me 13 months of daily 3 pass shaves. For many soaps that would take 3 pucks, 5 for B&M.
You can, of course, like any soap that's available, but if you want something cheaper than MdC you're going to eliminate a great many of the popular artisan soaps.
Agreed, doing quick math I figured out MdC was cheaper than even Stirling Soap.
I am not sure about what I do wrong, but in my cart shipping to the US for two jars comes out at 45 Euro.
2 items €86.66
Shipping €45.40
Total (VAT incl.)€132.06
Wow - I just got the same thing! That changes things quite a bit. It might be cheaper to get it locally now. I just started my last jar, so I'll find out sometime next year, but there will definitely be some comparison shopping. I may have to reverse having MdC as my usual and SV as my treat.
