Narrowing it down. Mike's vs. Catie's vs Barrister

These are the top brands that seem the most appealing.

Btw, I have hard water where I live if it matters.

Which of these soaps performs the best in the following categories?

Fastest lather?

Best lather?

Protection?

Slickness/it feels great?

Skincare, which makes your skin feel really great?

Fragrances, which company makes em the best?

Value for your dollar?

Caties smells great but doesn't perform like the other two.

Of those two, BM often has weirder, more interesting scents. Mike's scents tend to be classic. But BM does make some normal ones too. If you gave me a non-weird BM and a Mike's, I doubt I could tell the difference. Both top notch.

Easy choice for me: Mike's then B&M then CB

Which of these soaps performs the best in the following categories?

Fastest lather? CB

Best lather? Mike's

Protection? Mike's

Slickness/it feels great? Mike's

Skincare, which makes your skin feel really great? Mike's

Fragrances, which company makes em the best? Subjective.
B&M makes some creative complex fragrances that I find to be love or hate.
Mike's scents are pretty straightforward and nice with not as many to choose, most love their scents.
CB is very creative and has more playful and gourmand (food like) scents. Lots to choose from. Their LPV scent is special.

Value for your dollar? Mike's.

Mike's is a top tier soap in my mind with Barrister being at the top of the 2nd tier and CB a solid 3rd tier. (In my rating 3rd tier is still above avg). All are good soaps. CB is the sole non-tallow of these, if that makes a difference to you.

Much may come down to scent. I would use B&M over Mikes if I loved one of the scents. Some would do the same for CB, but I doubt i would unless it was truly outstanding (only scent I know that good is Tiki the Captain)

Smell is an important factor to me. La Piment sounds right up my alley.

My favorite soap now (I havent tried many) is Razorock XXX. But the tub only lasted me too months. As long as these 3 brands are at least just as good and last longer per oz, then I'll go for them.

I did not have a great experience with CB, I tend to get lots of weepers and stinging with most veg soaps (except Soap Commander), even MDC did not agree with me.

I always get great, comfortable shaves with Mike's and BM. BM is easier to whip up, Mike's needs a bit more work.

My area had very hard water, but I have a water softener in my house.

Mike's has a really nice post shave feel, but I still struggle to get good lather from it. Using a synthetic brush helps, but it's still a finicky soap that takes some work to lather properly.

The lather is a big issue for me too. For me personally, it's not fun to spend an entire minute scrubbing furiously. I can whip up my Razorock XXX in 15 secs.

Barrister & Mann topples the other two easily in all aspects in my opinion.

Barrister and Mann is pricier than the others.

Does it give you a good amount of shaves per jar?

Both Mike's, and Barrister and Mann vary considerably in price, based on the essential oils and fragrance oils used. I've never let price factor into my assessment of a soap, but if it's important to you, then choose a scent with inexpensive oils.

I've not used a full container of either soap, but both have given me the same two weeks of shaves per half ounce sample. Scaled up to six ounces, that's about six months of use.

Mike's and B&M are great. I have not tried CB. B&M is a bit easier (read quicker) to get lather, but an extra few seconds and Mike's is right there. Mike scents are simpler, but I like that. I also like the unique scents of B&M. Mike's is a few $ cheaper than B&M. It really comes down to scent - which scent appeals to you. If you can pick then maybe flip a coin. Then later on buy the soap from the one you did buy from this time around.

If you like smells but have hard water I would try Barrister and Mann. Easier to lather than Mike's (about on par with MWF), and stronger and more interesting smells.

If you have trouble lathering the B&M I would stick with the Razorock and IB lines.. awesome scents and easy lathers too.

You could order 1 of each. Maggard's carries all 3.

I like Mike's coconut and lime best. Barrister & Mann's Seville is also nice. Catie's Bubbles Le Piment de la Vie is an interesting and complex scent, although I get a bit of skin irritation afterwards.

I'd rank Mike's or B&M above Catie's. You can get samples of both Mike's and B&M; keep in mind that ordering from Mike used to be a weeks to months long waitlist. The fact that I still order from him tells you how much I like his soap. Plus, Mike's pucks seem to last forever, at least for me.

For ease of lather and price but still great quality, I'd stay away from B&M (pricier than many others of similar quality), and CB. Maybe Mike's too as some people have issues (I have hard water and have never had an issue with Mike's but I've heard others have)

If you criteria is a soap that is super easy to lather and has great performance and is cost friendly, then I would suggest re-thinking your brands and look at these instead (I hate to redirect you after you said you've chosen, but I strongly feel this list would all better suit your criteria). :
Haslinger,
Soap Commander,
Sudsy Soapery,
Tabac (or Fine if you don't like the scent of Tabac - many don't)

All of these soaps will easily out perform RR, and are crazy easy to lather. Cost on all is similar or less than RR as well. (Price might be a little more but it will be for more soap or longer lasting soap. ). Haslinger and Tabac are both hard soaps and last quite awhile making them very economical.

If you're buying B&M, make sure that you are getting one of the soaps with the newer Glissant base.

Mike's


Mike's


Mike's


I might be biased though - I really do like Mike's

^ Nice.

My first Mike's is on it's way.

If CB vs B&M, hands down B&M.

I went with Mike's Lily of the Valley since I didn't want to fill my Amazon cart with add-ons.

Latha Oceana and La Piment de la Vie are next. I heard great things about Seville, but it may be overpriced for a consumable item.

I haven't tried mikes yet (it's on the list to buy) but out of CB and B&M... B&M wins every time for me.

egh128 said:

Barrister & Mann topples the other two easily in all aspects in my opinion.

Click to expand...

+1. No competition IMO.