Martin de Candre - The best soap ever?

No doubt MDC is an expensive soap and i have been using this for the past two weeks and here is my find

1) Lather 10
2) Scent 8
3) Cushioning effect 7
4) Glide 7
5) Moisturizing effect 9

Well to me the most important aspect in any soap is its ability to glide and providing the cushioning effect. MDC being so expensive failed to impress me in this department. I would rate DR Harris Arlington way above MDC in those aspects.

MdC is a top flight for sure, and is great for scent (IMHO), glide and cushion. In cold, dry climates, I find it very drying, which knocks it down a peg for compared to my favorite soaps.

MdC is a great soap but its after shave effect on skin is less good than Tabac and MWF, imho.

I personally don't understand the hype. Bought it, thought it was just ok, then sold it. I even ordered another sample several months later to give it another shot. Still thought it was just ok.

BRITD said:

Since it is one of the priciest soaps available, it can only be considered for the best category when the "money is no object" disclaimer is added. Just like I have no interest in blowing my nose into a hand woven by Chilean Monks, Vicuna wool disposable facial tissue, I also have no interest in a $75 soap that is only going to eventually be flushed down the drain.

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If one were to apply that criterion generally one would never go to a fine restaurant. Talk about getting flushed down the drain! What's the use, food is fuel, right? Remember the stuff they ate aboard the Nebuchadnezzar in the first Matrix movie?

Life is short, it's all disposable - that's what certain ancient ascetics practiced. They dressed in ashes and ate mud. I respect your thinking but I can't buy in, I'm afraid. Sometimes you pay for an experience just to have it for a while and hold it in memory. I'm betting you have some of those yourself!

That said, I think I'll buy three new Barrister and Mann "experiences" this year for the price of one MdC. (But who knows, I'm weak. Maybe I need more lessons from the ascetics.)

DGI

Originally Posted by BRITD
Since it is one of the priciest soaps available, , I also have no interest in a $75 soap that is only going to eventually be flushed down the drain.


It is far from a $75 dollar soap, it is only $45 US I don't believe you can add the shipping cost to make the soap higher than it is.

shavetech said:

Originally Posted by BRITD
Since it is one of the priciest soaps available, , I also have no interest in a $75 soap that is only going to eventually be flushed down the drain.


It is far from a $75 dollar soap, it is only $45 US I don't believe you can add the shipping cost to make the soap higher than it is.

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You can buy MdC in the U.S.A vendors but it costs about $75.
Or buy it from them Directly, and still spend about $75

We add shipping cost to everything on this forum, wether it is blades, soap sticks, pomades, etc. We always say something like :

" Its a bargain in Italy at $1.00 a stick, with shipping its still a good value though!"

You are spending $75 on a soap, therefore, it is a $75 soap.

zed117 said:

You can buy MdC in the U.S.A vendors but it costs about $75.
Or buy it from them Directly, and still spend about $75.

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Sorry not true. I just received 200g jar of Forgere from France for that I paid 60.21 including shipping that I ordered about 14 days ago (took 7 days to receive after order was placed). Today due to further gains by the US dollar it would be 58.43 shipping included, still expensive but worth it to me.

Dbersh said:

Sorry not true. I just received 200g jar of Forgere from France for that I paid 60.21 including shipping that I ordered about 14 days ago (took 7 days to receive after order was placed). Today due to further gains by the US dollar it would be 58.43 shipping included, still expensive but worth it to me.

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Oh worth is totally a matter of opinion and YMMV I am no arguing quality, worth etc. I am just saying, that If you spend (in your case) $58.43, then you spent $58.43. not $45. Its like people who buy a $10,000 TV for $6000 and say " I saved $4000 bucks". NO, you spent $6000.

Its a good product, but saying you should not count shipping when its anywhere from $20-$45 dollars extra is not logical. On ebay If a sellers lists something for $.99 cents, and the shipping is $100 bucks... You get my point!

Again, I am not talking about MdC at all as a product, I am Very glad its worth it to you. But telling other members that they should not mention shipping is unfair. As a college student I could barely afford to drop $45 on a soap, let alone an extra $40 to ship it.

Cheers!

accounting 101: the total item price includes all costs related to such purchase. This includes: product cost, any taxes, shipping and handling and any other cost to bring the product to your door. Having said that, I still think MDC is a great purchase at $75.

I bought 2 jars of MdC (lavender, and Fougere). I used the lavender for a week a got 4 shaves just from inner lid liner. A little goes a long way. I love the scent, I would open the jar just to catch a whiff whenever I went into bathroom.
I do think it is expensive at first but; when you factor in how long it last it evens out.
Yes, there are a lot of options for us to use. Will I buy again? You bet!

zed117 said:

should not count shipping when its anywhere from $20-$45 dollars extra is not logical.

Cheers!

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That is not logical, shipping costs are a matter of doing business, if one happens to get free shipping great, But if one wants to purchase such items that do have a shipping cost, especially from another country, If I order a $3 gallon of milk but pay for an online site to deliver it to me 45 dollars, it is not a $48 dollar gallon of milk, still $3 dollars.

csd3 said:

Does anyone else find that the fougere scent is pretty similar to the original? The MDC fougere bath soap scent is incredible btw.

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I recently received 3 tubs of MdC and upon opening the fougere for the very first time, it smelt, well, kind of chemically. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but I closed the tub and opened the original (scented version) and it seemed more authentic .

shavetech said:

That is not logical, shipping costs are a matter of doing business, if one happens to get free shipping great, But if one wants to purchase such items that do have a shipping cost, especially from another country, If I order a $3 gallon of milk but pay for an online site to deliver it to me 45 dollars, it is not a $48 dollar gallon of milk, still $3 dollars.

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I think the cost of a product in comparison is total landed cost to your door. IMHO

Let's agree that whatever you happened to pay to get the jar to your house is the actual cost. Yes, you need to include the price of the plane ticket to Paris if that's how you got it.

craniac24 said:

I personally don't understand the hype. Bought it, thought it was just ok, then sold it. I even ordered another sample several months later to give it another shot. Still thought it was just ok.

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That's why you can't rely on hype and have to try the options. Different people have different budgets, expectations, priorities, preferences, skin, beards, water, etc. Every soap has its fans and detractors.

shavetech said:

It is far from a $75 dollar soap, it is only $45 US I don't believe you can add the shipping cost to make the soap higher than it is.

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Each can determine how the individual wants to compare but I definitely consider cost of shipping, taxes, etc with my purchases. It's still money that I have to spend to acquire the item.

I really like MdC, and paid about $75 for my first jar. It is the least expensive soap I own on a per-shave basis, and I own many of the most popular soaps we hear about at B&B.

I use about .6 g of MdC per shave for four luxurious passes. I load a damp brush for 30 seconds, and actually have more lather than I need. I calculate that each shave costs me $.22 and my other favorite product, Razorock XXX requires 3g per shave at $.29 per shave, getting about 33-35 shaves per tub. I would need ten tubs of Razorock to get as many quality shaves as one jar of MdC. In this case, $75 (MdC) versus $100 (MdC).

For me, Razorock XXX is such an excellent product that I willingly spend more to use it, and even it out with the less expensive daily shave of MdC.

Were I to buy 3 jars from MdC direct I would pay total cost less than $50 per jar, and my shaves would be even cheaper: $.14 per shave.

If you are thinking that MdC is overpriced, maybe you are using far more than you need per shave.

Great stuff. I consider it the best soap I have ever used. Every soap has it strong points and weak points. I have been lucky in that a few years ago the GF went to Paris to visit a friend and picked me up two jars. Then my sister went and picked me up a jar as a Christmas present and then she went back and picked me up another jar for my birthday. So far 4 jars at zero cost!

While the price is high Santa Maria and Aqua de Palma are both more expensive. Everyone acts as if it is the most expensive soap out there but it isn't.

Don't know if this was mentioned in the all of the *9* pages in this thread, but you can reduce the total cost of the soap by buying up to 1 kilo, I believe. The soap's about $45/200 grams of soap, so I've purchased two at a time in the past for the same shipping cost as a single jar. (There is the weight of the container to consider) Two jars will last a LONG time. OK, I spend about $120 for two year's worth of soap if I use it every day. Really, $60/YEAR isn't that bad, delivered to your house. Is it the best ever soap? Silly question, but for me, it's certainly worth $60 per year. Nothing lathers up as nicely for me. Considering what I've spent on brushes and beautifully crafted stainless steel razors...not so bad at all.

I bought two jars, one original one fern. Original scent was overpowering. Probably would fade if I leave the jar open but I won't. Didn't even lather it. Plan to resell or possibly sample out. The Fern scent is more subtle, and the lather is fine. For price, it is 7 ounces. About twice what you get from most small shops. So 7 dollars per ounce instead of 4.