Where do the best come from?

Hey all,

Everyone is different and as it goes, so are tastes. But what country, would you say, makes the best soaps?
Scents, effectiveness, overall quality, et cetera.

I'll be in the corner watching this one.

The best soaps and shaving creams are made in England and the best scents are made in France. I have always used either Taylor's or Trumper's, accompanied by a Christian Dior offering, all of which are top class. Proper scents are only produced by old established fashion houses like Dior and Chanel. The other stuff should be "avoided like the plague", especially if it is named after a celebrity or soccer player.

I'd say the UK.

Best is very subjective.... My choices for favourites soaps are probably DR Harris (made in England), Czech & Speake (made in Italy) and Tabac/Irisch Moos (made in Germany).

I don't agree that "best" is subjective. It is something which is achieved by combining high quality raw materials, careful manufacture, imagination, flair and good taste. It is also something which doesn't easily date, but which endures. "The quality remains after the price is forgotten".

Italy has great offerings... Italian soft soap is legendary with choices from Cella, Vitos, Valobra, ACBCA, Panna Crema, Boellis Panama, La Saponeria Artigiana, Proraso.... etc. But don't forget that Valobra/Czech & Speake, I Coloniali, Acca Kappa and TFS all hail from Italy too.

(too many soaps and not enough shaves!)

Eastern Europe, hands down ...

Fell in love with a beautiful blonde once. Drove me to drink. And I never had the decency to thank her.
― W.C. Fields

Fuzzypeg said:

I don't agree that "best" is subjective. It is something which is achieved by combining high quality raw materials, careful manufacture, imagination, flair and good taste. It is also something which doesn't easily date, but which endures. "The quality remains after the price is forgotten".

Click to expand...

Would you rather drive a Maserati or a Bentley? Best is very subjective.

The U.S.A! Have you tried Mike's, HTGAM, or B&M?

Fuzzypeg said:

The best soaps and shaving creams are made in England and the best scents are made in France. I have always used either Taylor's or Trumper's, accompanied by a Christian Dior offering, all of which are top class. Proper scents are only produced by old established fashion houses like Dior and Chanel. The other stuff should be "avoided like the plague", especially if it is named after a celebrity or soccer player.

Click to expand...

Fuzzypeg said:

I don't agree that "best" is subjective. It is something which is achieved by combining high quality raw materials, careful manufacture, imagination, flair and good taste. It is also something which doesn't easily date, but which endures. "The quality remains after the price is forgotten".

Click to expand...

You are right ...

Italy by way of canada?

Yeah, this is 100% a question of opinion. Mostly I use American made artisan soaps, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I think American made soaps are the best. Currently, I think that my favorite artisan soap are American, and us Americans are very spoiled to have so many great artisans producing these products right now. After that, I'd say that Italy would be the producer of the soaps I use second most, both artisan (RazoRock) and "big name" (Proraso). As for the "big name" companies, I think the British have the market on those with brands like D.R. Harris, TOBS, and GFT. After that, I'd say that Spain (La Toja, LEA), Portugal (Confianca), and Italy (Proraso, Cella, TFS) are pretty much equals in the "big name" market, for my personal tastes.

So, I guess my rankings would be-

Artisan: 1. USA 2. Italy

Non-Artisan: 1. England 2. Italy/France 3.Spain/Portugal

Honorable Mention: Germany (Tabac is the only German soap I own, and it is wonderful. Therefore I figured it deserved a mention.)

Again, this is just my personal opinion, as would be rankings from anyone else. I really don't think there is a scientific way to prove or disprove which soap is the "best"; there are just too many variable that rely on personal tastes.

I'd say every country can make a good soap (men have to shave everywhere).

Looking at old newspaper ads, many soaps sold here (Netherlands) were produced locally, or came from the UK or Germany. Dutch shaving production all but disappeared, but the UK and Germany still produce great soaps. As do other countries!

I could easily answer Italy, but I won't - that would not be fair and that would not be the truth. There are many, many outstanding soaps coming from many different countries. And all countries have quality products to feel proud of. Let's just enjoy them all.

I'm going with England followed by Germany/Austria. I can't deny what awesome soaps Tabac and Haslinger are. Speick too.

brians_myth said:

Hey all,

Everyone is different and as it goes, so are tastes. But what country, would you say, makes the best soaps?
Scents, effectiveness, overall quality, et cetera.

Click to expand...

I consider the word "best" to be a useless word to use for comparison purposes. Subjectivity just leads to too many different opinions, and no real concurrences. You can, however, deal with individual characteristics of good shave creams / soaps on a somewhat closer to objective fashion.

I also consider pricing to be a valid consideration. I have German, Indian, Italian, Spanish, and Turkish creams & soaps that work wonderfully. I have nothing at all from England or France. Right now, my two favorites are Cella, from Italy, and Tabac, from Germany.

Imho, I'll say The US.

CATIES BUBBLES
HTGAM
BARRISTER AND MANN
TIKI
SOAP COMMANDER
MIKES

djh said:

Would you rather drive a Maserati or a Bentley? Best is very subjective.

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+1 . however I enjoy these threads a great deal to see peoples opinions.
From what I have used the USA does a have a great deal of awesome artisans....but then again it is also more readily available to us in North America. I love QCS, Stirling, B and M, but I think HTGAM is the most overrated soap out there(just my opinion) while others think its amazing.

As for Non-Artisan I love Tabac and Valobra and don't think I could say one is better than the other.