Need opinions on these soaps

Cella and Tabac are both beloved classics for good reason; easy to lather and both provide great performance. The scent of Cella is probably easier to enjoy, though I've grown to like the Tabac scent as well -- it's just more old-world.

I have D.R. Harris Marlborough -- it was the first shave soap I bought, actually. It's great; no complaints, and I like the light woody scent.

I haven't tried TOBS soaps, but I've heard they're not great these days, whereas their creams are indeed quite good.

aerolord said:

Hello all, still relatively new to Wet Shaving, am going to ship some shaving soaps to my place and I would need some opinion on these, and please do not recommend other shaving soaps as there is really limited choice on the soap that I can ship to my country with that website.

- Cella
- D R Harris
- Le Pere Lucien
- Mitchell's Wool Fat
- Taylor of Old Bond Street
- Lea Classic
- Tabac Shaving Soap

Thanks for all the incoming opinions!

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The only ones i have used from your list is Dr Harris (ok, but not great), taylor creme, stopped using, and Mitchells i think is the best from your list

I think that Cella, DR Harris, and MWF represent the "gold standard" of sorts for Italian soft soaps, English hard triple-milled soaps, and lanolin soaps respectively. Plus, they've all been using the same soap formulas for over a century - the very embodiment of tried and true. So, personally, I would start there. TOBS is no longer a tallow-based soap, so that kind of turns me off right there. TOBS is kind of more regarded for their creams anyway. Tabac intrigues me because of all the love it gets on B&B, but I'm scared of the flowery scent. I hope to try it one day, but there are lots of other soaps that interest me more. The others you listed, I know nothing about.

Thanks all for taking your precious time to reply... I'm afraid if this continue I will have to buy everything beside Lea and TOBS...

Keep them coming!

I've never tried TOBS soap but their cream is really good.

Tabac is really good easy to lather.

MWF is awesome with great post shave feel.

Le Pere Lucien is not bad but a bit pricey. I don't think it's as good as Martin de Candre.

Cella is pretty good and cheap.

I've used DR Harris and both Arlington & Windsor are classy, addictive scents. They're hard soaps so they are good value (last a while) too. For cream, I'd go with TOBS, good value and quality cream.

Harris is my top soap. I've had all 5 and they all perform about the same. My favorites are Almond (almost no scent) and Windsor (the best scent). Cella was very good as I remember, but I didn't care for the scent and replaced it with a Razorock. However Cella is still my son-in-law's favorite. I love the scent of Tabac but, along with citrus and lavender soaps, it seems to aggravate my rosacea so I stopped using it.

Got a question regarding D R Harris... Arlington or Scandalwood?

Arlington is the classic. Sandalwood is a recent addition to the line. Windsor is my favorite.

aerolord said:

Got a question regarding D R Harris... Arlington or Scandalwood?

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aerolord said:

Got a question regarding D R Harris... Arlington or Scandalwood?

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Arlington was my first of 5 DRH soaps. Arlington is the "better" scent of the 2 but my face doesn't like citrus so I didn't repurchase when gone. Of the 2, Arlington would be the one I'd recommend. Marlborough (sandalwood) is a heavier scent (more in the Tabac family) but I find it more suited more toward winter months. Wonderful lather but I won't be buying another when it's gone because it's not a scent I reach for most of the year. Windsor (cologne-ish) is DRH's best scent, and I don't normally like cologne. If you want something closer to unscented, then Almond. I love the scent of lavender (DRH and especially Mike's) but my face doesn't like them.

jazzguy said:

Arlington is the classic. Sandalwood is a recent addition to the line. Windsor is my favorite.

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Thanks, looks like I will be getting Arlington once all my purchase are confirmed!

aerolord said:

Thanks for all the incoming opinions!

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You can collect opinions but it's ultimately what works specifically for you that matters. You have to keep in mind that every soap has its fans an detractors and what works for one may not for the next. I've only used Cella and DRH from your list but I'd recommend both of them. No matter how much you read (including the countless prior discussions), in the end you just have to try them and see for yourself.

I've tried a few hundred soaps so far and I have many others that I prefer and would love to recommend to you but I'll stick to the task at hand. Many of the big name soaps that are popular aren't the best ones available and in my opinion many aren't even worth purchasing. If you ask for a general "best soap you've tried" recommendation unfortunately you'll get the recommendations for Tabac, Dr. Harris, Proraso, etc and on and on. These aren't great soaps in my opinion, they're just popular soaps. People here want to be helpful so they'll recommend the ones they've tried that worked ok for them, when maybe they just haven't tried that many yet. You'll find that your request for an assessment will likely result in the standard more popular soaps being recommended. It's due to the fact that many people have tried Tabac and and DR Harris while not so many have tried Le Pere Lucien. So after spending some time with all but one of these, here's my opinion on the soaps below.

Buy these:
- Cella - an outstanding traditional Italian almond shaving soap. This is an excellent soap that belongs in every shave den. It's money well spent and a large block of it is one of the best values in shaving. Buy it right away.

- Le Pere Lucien - I really enjoy this French Artisan soap. Excellent bold scent, easy to lather, just really nice stuff. I have about 80 soaps on hand and use this one about once a week. I'll be replacing this once it's gone. Definitely buy this one.

- Mitchell's Wool Fat - Very nice slick soap. Some have trouble lathering but if you soak a little water on the puck it while you shower it lathers like crazy. The scent very much smells like soap. It's not offensive but nothing I crave. Just a clean, fresh scent and a puck seems to last forever. Only negative is the white residue that is seems to leave behind. It's definitely worth buying despite the extra clean up.

Skip these:
- Taylor of Old Bond Street - their creams are better than their soaps but I think you're paying for the tradition and the name. This soap to me is only about average if that and nothing I'd seek out. The creams aren't anything special to me either and lack the protective qualities that I look for in a high quality product. Don't waste your money.

- D R Harris - Another soap that's only popular because of it's name. Many praise this one but by my grading it is only an average soap at best and nothing more. Many will say how great it is but if you read some reviews in the 3017 thread those that have used it a while seem to agree that it's only about average. It lacks some protective qualities that are found in a quality product. I do however really enjoy the Arlington scent but the scent is far better than the performance. Pass on this one.

- Tabac Shaving Soap - Another average performer that gets more praise than I believe it deserves. It seems to win the popularity contest among those who haven't tried the really good soaps yet. The soap performance is only average for me. The scent is not something that I care for either. It's a powdery scent that reminds me of baby powder and old people. It's a love it or hate it scent. I think it smells terrible myself but am told that the scent grows on you as you use it more and more. Sure this is great for the person wearing it for the tenth time who now likes it, but what do you think that everyone you encounter for the first time thinks about how you smell? Of course, they think you smell terrible. The debates on the smell of this one are only surpassed in quantity by the bashing of the Arko soap scent. Stinky soap, average performer, skip it.

Undecided:
- Lea Classic - This is one I haven't tried so I'll refrain from commenting on whether to buy it or not. I suspect it's about average only because I haven't seen a large following for it. I have heard of it, and read some reviews about it, but none were anything special. It seems to appear in PIF's every so often as a throw in item. If it would have gotten more praise for being something special I would have sought it out by now.

takeshi said:

You can collect opinions but it's ultimately what works specifically for you that matters. You have to keep in mind that every soap has its fans an detractors and what works for one may not for the next. I've only used Cella and DRH from your list but I'd recommend both of them. No matter how much you read (including the countless prior discussions), in the end you just have to try them and see for yourself.

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I will keep that in mind, but of course I will collecting some opinions because some of the soap will generally have poor reviews or fan-base, like LEA Classic or TOBS Shaving Soaps. If I did not get any opinion prior, I would have probably have purchased it. But not seeing that the generally opinion, I can roughly gauge what is a good soap that I should invest my hard earned money into!

Thanks for your concern though! Highly appreciated.

dfoulk said:

I've tried a few hundred soaps so far and I have many others that I prefer and would love to recommend to you but I'll stick to the task at hand. Many of the big name soaps that are popular aren't the best ones available and in my opinion many aren't even worth purchasing. If you ask for a general "best soap you've tried" recommendation unfortunately you'll get the recommendations for Tabac, Dr. Harris, Proraso, etc and on and on. These aren't great soaps in my opinion, they're just popular soaps. People here want to be helpful so they'll recommend the ones they've tried that worked ok for them, when maybe they just haven't tried that many yet. You'll find that your request for an assessment will likely result in the standard more popular soaps being recommended. It's due to the fact that many people have tried Tabac and and DR Harris while not so many have tried Le Pere Lucien. So after spending some time with all but one of these, here's my opinion on the soaps below.

...

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Thank you for taking your time and effort to write this fantastic reply. For the three that you recommend me buying is already in my list of buying, including D R Harris. But now seeing what you have written, I guess it can be skipped, I shall wait a few more days before committing into buying them.

Thank you once again!

aerolord said:

I will keep that in mind, but of course I will collecting some opinions because some of the soap will generally have poor reviews or fan-base, like LEA Classic or TOBS Shaving Soaps. If I did not get any opinion prior, I would have probably have purchased it. But not seeing that the generally opinion, I can roughly gauge what is a good soap that I should invest my hard earned money into!

Thanks for your concern though! Highly appreciated.



Thank you for taking your time and effort to write this fantastic reply. For the three that you recommend me buying is already in my list of buying, including D R Harris. But now seeing what you have written, I guess it can be skipped, I shall wait a few more days before committing into buying them.

Thank you once again!

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You're welcome. The DR Harris soap does get good reviews and it has quite a following. I bought a puck of Arlington myself based on the reviews and I've since tried samples of the Windsor and Marlborough and they really are just average in my opinion. I mean they aren't bad and the Arlington smells quite nice, but in performance they aren't even close to Cella.

If you bought some you'd likely even like it at first. Try this if you don't believe me and buy both, use the DR. Harris once, then just use the Cella for a week or two straight then try the DR. Harris again and you'll see what I'm talking about. The slickness and awesome cushion that Cella has just isn't there with the more costly DR. Harris soap. Once the scent grows old it's just an average soap underneath.

I'm a cream mAn. Given that, I've used dR Harris, TOBS, tabac creams from your list, plus MWF. I would rank these
tobs
tabac
mwf
d r Harris

I love that someone took the time to give a detailed lengthy dissenting opinion, there certainly aren't universals here...BUT I think Tabac and D R Harris get attention because they are great products that are widely available. I exclusively used the DR Harris lavender for a while and it really set my skin straight. Nice gentle product. Tabac is a great performer and is my go to soap these days, and the scent that is so "polarizing", it's quite nice.

Cella is my favorite on your list. DR Harris is nice as well.

dfoulk said:

I've tried a few hundred soaps so far and I have many others that I prefer and would love to recommend to you but I'll stick to the task at hand. Many of the big name soaps that are popular aren't the best ones available and in my opinion many aren't even worth purchasing. If you ask for a general "best soap you've tried" recommendation unfortunately you'll get the recommendations for Tabac, Dr. Harris, Proraso, etc and on and on. These aren't great soaps in my opinion, they're just popular soaps. People here want to be helpful so they'll recommend the ones they've tried that worked ok for them, when maybe they just haven't tried that many yet. You'll find that your request for an assessment will likely result in the standard more popular soaps being recommended. It's due to the fact that many people have tried Tabac and and DR Harris while not so many have tried Le Pere Lucien. So after spending some time with all but one of these, here's my opinion on the soaps below.

Buy these:
- Cella - an outstanding traditional Italian almond shaving soap. This is an excellent soap that belongs in every shave den. It's money well spent and a large block of it is one of the best values in shaving. Buy it right away.

- Le Pere Lucien - I really enjoy this French Artisan soap. Excellent bold scent, easy to lather, just really nice stuff. I have about 80 soaps on hand and use this one about once a week. I'll be replacing this once it's gone. Definitely buy this one.

- Mitchell's Wool Fat - Very nice slick soap. Some have trouble lathering but if you soak a little water on the puck it while you shower it lathers like crazy. The scent very much smells like soap. It's not offensive but nothing I crave. Just a clean, fresh scent and a puck seems to last forever. Only negative is the white residue that is seems to leave behind. It's definitely worth buying despite the extra clean up.

Skip these:
- Taylor of Old Bond Street - their creams are better than their soaps but I think you're paying for the tradition and the name. This soap to me is only about average if that and nothing I'd seek out. The creams aren't anything special to me either and lack the protective qualities that I look for in a high quality product. Don't waste your money.

- D R Harris - Another soap that's only popular because of it's name. Many praise this one but by my grading it is only an average soap at best and nothing more. Many will say how great it is but if you read some reviews in the 3017 thread those that have used it a while seem to agree that it's only about average. It lacks some protective qualities that are found in a quality product. I do however really enjoy the Arlington scent but the scent is far better than the performance. Pass on this one.

- Tabac Shaving Soap - Another average performer that gets more praise than I believe it deserves. It seems to win the popularity contest among those who haven't tried the really good soaps yet. The soap performance is only average for me. The scent is not something that I care for either. It's a powdery scent that reminds me of baby powder and old people. It's a love it or hate it scent. I think it smells terrible myself but am told that the scent grows on you as you use it more and more. Sure this is great for the person wearing it for the tenth time who now likes it, but what do you think that everyone you encounter for the first time thinks about how you smell? Of course, they think you smell terrible. The debates on the smell of this one are only surpassed in quantity by the bashing of the Arko soap scent. Stinky soap, average performer, skip it.

Undecided:
- Lea Classic - This is one I haven't tried so I'll refrain from commenting on whether to buy it or not. I suspect it's about average only because I haven't seen a large following for it. I have heard of it, and read some reviews about it, but none were anything special. It seems to appear in PIF's every so often as a throw in item. If it would have gotten more praise for being something special I would have sought it out by now.

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Interesting review, but I must disagree with you.

As always everything here is YMMV.

I use a soap for a week straight, and Tabac, Dr. Harris (Marlborough), and TOBS (Sandalwood stick & puck) have consistently been great soaps.
They are easy to lather, and the lather has offered protection and slickness every time.

A person really has to give a soap a try to find what works best for them. These three do not work the best for you, but do for others.