Lead me to treasure...

My head is spinning. After trying some "boutique" shaving soaps from relatively unknown online shops, I've found that I need to go to Mama Bear or Charles at QED to get quality stuff. Love for both abounds here. So, without knocking either one of these two sources, can you shavers offer advice about one or both? I like strong-smelling soaps; does one shop typically offer stronger scents than the other? Does the strength of the scents vary from one soap variety to the next, even within the same house? Does either house have a distinct edge in latherability and/or slickness and cushioning?

Any insights would be appreciated.
Thanks!

When it comes to glycerin soaps, Mama Bear's are very good, but I prefer QED by a land-slide. Not only do I like the scents better (unique, wonderful scents that a substitute can't be found for), but I feel they edge out MB in terms of performance, too.

I see you're looking for strong scents. You can't go wrong with QED, then. In fact, one complaint about QED (and one of the main reasons why I love it) is that the scents are TOO strong and he uses too much oil. I've never had any irritation from his soaps, though, and I'd consider my skin fairly sensitive. I've never noticed much difference between batches of soaps Charles makes, either. I can't say the same for MB because I have only ordered from her twice, I believe.

A lot of times, people will criticize Charles for being too expensive, and I can't really say I blame them a whole lot; $13.50-$20 for a 5oz soap is a little much. However, I've never had a problem paying the price because I know that I love the soaps and they're the best glycerin soaps on the market, IMO. Not to mention the fact that Charles ONLY uses EOs and uses a ton of them; many of them are rare and expensive (genuine sandalwood, rose, etc).

MB certainly has her fans and naturally this means that people are very satisfied with her products, but with me, Charles has a customer for life.

Thanks, OSY. Can you recommend any scents in particular? I like orientals and outdoorsy-type smells, not so much the lighter aquatic stuff that is popular in the cologne market these days. Of course, there's always a place for the classic "gentleman" aroma that Charles seems to target with his latest creation. And what's that B&B scent?

Anyone else care to weigh in here? It would be appreciated.

Anything that sounds good to you is probably going to make you happy, but my personal favorites are:

Sandalwood: This is probably Charles' flagship soap considering it's one of the only soaps on the market that uses plenty of GENUINE Mysore Sandalwood essential oil, which is in a class all by it's self. If you want to find out if you're a real fan of Sandalwood, give this one a go. It's pricey at almost $20, but considering the price of Sandalwood EO and how much he uses, I think I get my money's worth. The stuff is heavenly and I don't think words accurately describe it; sandalwood EO is an emotion, not just a scent

Badger & Blade: If you do a quick search, Charles lays out a good bit of what's in B&B. However, spruce and sandalwood are the dominating, and I do mean dominating notes. This soap, even moreso than his others, isn't for the faint of heart; it's very strongly scented. If you're a fan of woodsy scents, this is the Holy Grail.

Lime: If it's possible, this is yet another flagship scent from Charles. This isn't a candy-ish scent like a lot of other lime notes, but a pure and almost bitter lime-and-nothing-but-lime scent. This is a must-have for anyone that likes lime or citrus.

Pine & Cedarwood: Another one for woods lovers. Very strongly scented and resinous, but awesome, nonetheless. It smells exactly how it sounds.

Wild Orange: Not a juicy orange, but more like orange rind. The bitterness makes it unique and I feel this is one of the best orange scents out there.

Tobacco: A lot of guys say that Tobacco is just re-named Vetiver, and I have to say that it's very, very similar if not the same. Top shelf tobacco mixed with a smoky and earthy vetiver. The two are well-balanced. This is a really nice one if you're a smoker or just love vetiver.

Just about everything he sells is good, but these are my favorites.

Everything Allen has said is spot-on. I too am a big fan of Charles' soaps.

Re the B&B scent, I also think this one qualifies in the "Oriental" category. Something about the way the sandalwood blends with the pine, blue tansy & other notes creates, for me, a richness and opulence that's almost -- but not quite -- tangible. That scent in particular just blows me away every time I use it.

Quality-wise, all of Charles' soaps shave about the same. The two exceptions are his Chocolate & Mocha Java shave sticks. To my mind, these soaps are head and shoulders above the others in terms of both cushion and after-skin conditioning. It must have something to do with the quality and quantity of the chocolate and coffee EOs he's using. Of all the soaps in his line, these two are the only ones that leave my skin feeling almost the way it does after using a triple-milled tallow soap.

...not that I'm trying to enable you or anything.

I consider QED to be the best glycerine based soaps I have ever tried. Some of the scents are amazing, and boarder on the overwhelming.

Hey, Chuck- make a tallow already!

Thanks, guys. It didn't take long for the QED fans to speak up. I'm kind of surprised that none of Mama Bear's followers showed up.

Based on what you'all wrote -- it's dangerous to use words like "Holy Grail" while I have my credit card out -- I ordered tubs of Special 218 and B&B (Charles is out of the sandalwood, or my bill would have been even larger), plus a bottle of Irisch Moos AS, which suddenly seems to be readily available stateside.

So, logically I should be set for a while, right? Hardly, my SCAD will have me ordering a couple of his sticks, or maybe some of Mama Bear's stuff, pretty soon. You guys know how it goes. I count you as accomplices in this latest buy. Cheers!

I must echo all of what has been said of Charles' soaps. Now mind you, I have not used MBs soaps, but for some reason I have never felt the need. Not with QEDman soaps right there for the taking.

I have the sandalwood and a couple of others and the American Gentleman is supposed to arrive today. I will say that so far my a absolute favourite scents from him have been sandalwood and Casablanca. Performance wise I have narrowed it to one variety; Mocha Java. It is available in stick only, but what a stick it is. I have never actually needed an aftershave product after using it. And it smells great too. So I guess you could put me down as favouring QED. By a wide margin.

Regards, Todd

OldSchoolYoungin said:

When it comes to glycerin soaps, Mama Bear's are very good, but I prefer QED by a land-slide. Not only do I like the scents better (unique, wonderful scents that a substitute can't be found for), but I feel they edge out MB in terms of performance, too.

MB certainly has her fans and naturally this means that people are very satisfied with her products, but with me, Charles has a customer for life.

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Ditto to the above! QEDman soaps excell in just about every area and in my opinion, lubricate better too. Quite simply, they cost a little more then the average glycerine soap makers charge but the ingredients he uses cost more to use. Only fragrances that are achievable with natural "Essential OILS" are offered for sale and that is a big key difference.

Customer for life here too.
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P.S.
I'm getting allot of life from his tubs of soap too. I rotate daily between 5-6 different fragrances and they all seem to hardly be used. That's another nice benefit if you ask me.

Note to self: Add Mocha Java stick to the shopping list. And Sandalwood. And Casablanca. And Wild Orange, and... Oh, heck, one of everything.

Mr. Styptic said:

Note to self: Add Mocha Java stick to the shopping list. And Sandalwood. And Casablanca. And Wild Orange, and... Oh, heck, one of everything.

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Wild Orange and Fresh Lime are two "mush haves' as well as Pine & Cedarwood too.

If you like strong scents get Tabac, it should perform and last longer than the glycerine soaps...