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Your favorite obscure artisan soap slinger?

I won one of her soaps (Maya) a month or two ago off a Facebook thing she did. The scent was a bit weaker than I'd like which is a crying shame: for my face and head you'd have to go way up the price scale to compare.

She said the scent problem is handled next batch: there goes $15 plus shipping in the near future. She's got a few I want to try...
 
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I found Bearded Jack's soap to be the best of the small artisans that I've tried. I prefer several other "bigger brands" to any of the artisans I've tried though.
 

nikonNUT

The "Peter Hathaway Capstick" of small game
Viking Soap and Cosmetics. Ironside, Tree of Life, and Citron all smell amazing and are so slick I had to check and make sure I had loaded a blade in the razor... And only $12 a tub.
 
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[Just read the OP's title more carefully. None of these are really obscure, sorry for the hasty post]

+1 to Shannon's Soaps. I use predominantly unscented soaps due to rosacea, and her Nil formula is one of the best of tried!
Mystic Water Soaps Sensitive Skin is tops, for my face, and then Mike's Natural Soaps, Barrister & Mann, Shannon's, and Soap Commander. (other than Mystic Water, the others frequently trade rank position due to my incapability of sticking to one brush, razor, or blade!)
 
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+1 for bearded jack, sometimes its fun to change up with different scents rather then the scented norm of the bigger brands out there.
 
I love it when I stumble upon a really great virtually unknown soap maker. I'd love to get some of these soaps into the soap sample passaround to help get the vendors some more exposure but before reaching out to them I'd like to know what makes these soaps great. I mean why bother trying them when there are so many well known soaps to try. Most of the time when I try an unknown soap I'm disappointed so what is it that makes these soaps special. If you guys could provide some short reviews or add what qualities they have in comparison to other soaps you've tried maybe I can reach out to some of the vendors.

For example: The best unknown soap company I've found lately is Sudsy Soapery. I'm really liking their Lavender & Peppermint scented soap in particular. The lather is thick and rich with great slickness that is exceptionally forgiving, It also really excels in post shave feel. It's an $11 soap with silky clays and lots of butters giving it a post shave feel similar to PannaCrema Nuavia. I skipped the after shave balm the other day and didn't even notice. This one is a very high quality soap at a very reasonable price. I consider it right up there with the absolute very best I've tried and I've tried hundreds and hundreds of soaps. This and PannaCrema Nuavia are my two favorite soap finds of the year.
 
It's a tie between MLS, CB, B&M, and SdM... but if I absolutely had to choose one, SdM would take the top spot. Simply because to this day, I haven't had any other soap match it in post-shave. Not even with the other artisans' updated formulas. That and the smell is a pretty good one. Though if I based it off scent, I'd have to go with CB for working with RB&M who provided their Parma Inspirazione scent. It's so good!

//Edit: I'm an idiot and skipped a few words in the title. Still, I stick to SdM. I don't know if that counts as obscure though...

I guess if I had to choose one not so common, it would have to be the one I am testing currently, but it's too early to tell.

Either way, leaving this post with the first part unedited so you can point and laugh at my idiocy or lack of reading comprehension lol...
 
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It's a tie between MLS, CB, B&M, and SdM... but if I absolutely had to choose one, SdM would take the top spot. Simply because to this day, I haven't had any other soap match it in post-shave. Not even with the other artisans' updated formulas. That and the smell is a pretty good one. Though if I based it off scent, I'd have to go with CB for working with RB&M who provided their Parma Inspirazione scent. It's so good!

//Edit: I'm an idiot and skipped a few words in the title. Still, I stick to SdM. I don't know if that counts as obscure though...

I guess if I had to choose one not so common, it would have to be the one I am testing currently, but it's too early to tell.

Either way, leaving this post with the first part unedited so you can point and laugh at my idiocy or lack of reading comprehension lol...

I'm drawing a blank on what MLS is but Catie's Bubbles, Barrister & Mann and SdM certainly aren't obscure.

I've read a lot of good things about SdM in many different posts. I tried a much earlier formula and thought it was very good but that it was too similar to the $6 C.O Bigelow cream to warrant the large price difference. I suspect that the newer versions might be a bit better but I haven't had the opportunity to try any of them.
 
I'm drawing a blank on what MLS is but Catie's Bubbles, Barrister & Mann and SdM certainly aren't obscure.

I've read a lot of good things about SdM in many different posts. I tried a much earlier formula and thought it was very good but that it was too similar to the $6 C.O Bigelow cream to warrant the large price difference. I suspect that the newer versions might be a bit better but I haven't had the opportunity to try any of them.
MLS is Mickey Lee Soapworks. And yeah, they aren't very obscure heh :p

I don't know about the earlier formulas, but current SdM beats out B&M Glissant, CB Luxury, and MLS's new formula as well for me.

I do enjoy another soap that I've never heard of elsewhere that's from Ireland called "The Handmade Soap Company". They're based in Kilkenny. I like the subtle citrus notes it has, and it lathers very easily. Unfortunately, even though it's a puck, it's kind of soft, so I save it for special occasions, since my gf got it for me as a gift.
 
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Downeast Shaving Soaps ... Out of Maine. Would buy "Gunpowder" again ...
+1 for Downeast Shaving Soaps. Gunpowder is nice (tied as my #2) but I love the Sebago Spice scent. I have several of his soaps and they lather consistently, smell great, and I get a very nice shave.
 
MLS is Mickey Lee Soapworks. And yeah, they aren't very obscure heh :p

I don't know about the earlier formulas, but current SdM beats out B&M Glissant, CB Luxury, and MLS's new formula as well for me.

I do enjoy another soap that I've never heard of elsewhere that's from Ireland called "The Handmade Soap Company". They're based in Kilkenny. I like the subtle citrus notes it has, and it lathers very easily. Unfortunately, even though it's a puck, it's kind of soft, so I save it for special occasions, since my gf got it for me as a gift.

Thanks for the clarification. I have tried Micky Lee Soapworks as well. Their The Kracken is a nice clean fresh scent. I found it to be one of those soaps that is a very good performer and does everything right though it's not as high end as some of my absolute favorites. Definitely a very usable soap though that I suspect most who bought it would definitely enjoy it. For me not an obscure one though.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I have tried Micky Lee Soapworks as well. Their The Kracken is a nice clean fresh scent. I found it to be one of those soaps that is a very good performer and does everything right though it's not as high end as some of my absolute favorites. Definitely a very usable soap though that I suspect most who bought it would definitely enjoy it. For me not an obscure one though.
Indeed I agree. If you haven't tried their newer formula (black capped containers), I'd definitely check them out. They're even better than before.

But yeah, as far as obscure soap goes, The Handmade Soap Company is it for me.
 
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