eShave Mandarin Shave Soap

**Phog Allen** · 04-10-2009, 03:04 PM

Good evening gents. I just received a refill cake of eShave Mandarin and look forward to trying it on the morrow. When I first opened the box I immediately thought to myself that the soap looked familiar. Rifling through my toiletry drawer I looked at my other shave soaps for comparison. Ah, there it is; L'ome Durance. It is an almost exact copy in size. Since they are both made in the land of Francs, I do wonder if the same company makes them? Please don't take that as speculation they are the same soap. Too many times this has been proven all too wrong when I have seen such information posted on the web. In fact, the Durance was just such a product. Some had speculated it was the same as L'occitane or that is was made by the same company. It is not even close when it comes to the siize of cake, the scent, and the performance. All completely different. So saying that, I popped the never used Durance out of its bowl and chucked in the eShave. Perfect fit. So, I will use it in the morning and give an initial report. As to scent, either my nose is messed up today or this is the lightest scented soap I have ever encountered. We shall see. My experience is that many soaps that appear weak in scent open up quite a lot when lathered.

Regards, Todd

**andrew98** · 04-10-2009, 10:13 PM

I hope you really enjoy that one, Todd. It's in my top 3 for fragrance and performance. I've had great success with it.

-Andy

**Phog Allen** · 04-11-2009, 08:04 AM

Alright, first shave in. VERY positive. The scent did not open up as I had hoped but actually became subdued a bit. I can't really describe it but do not expect a bright orange scent. Mayhaps this is formulated to represent the leaves or buds of orange trees? The lather really caught my attention. I sprinkled a bit on the cake whilst doing the hot wash cloth routine on my face. A few minutes later it had turned to a very opaque, milky white on the top of the cake. Hmmm, this should lather up pretty easily. And it did. It made a super creamy, dense lather that reminds me so much of Provence Sante and that lads is pretty good company. I know better than to make a judgment base on one use but this one bears watching. I will keep you posted.

Regards, Todd

**alabamalawyer** · 04-13-2009, 09:32 AM

I have a puck in route. I like the Eshave soaps. They don't receive much attention but are solid performers with nice scents.

**Evbo** · 04-13-2009, 11:41 AM

It's good stuff, isn't it? I would describe the scent as more floral than anything. And yes, nice dense, creamy lather.

One could do much worse.

**Phog Allen** · 04-13-2009, 12:01 PM

Thanks you for bumping the post. I was going to do so after my second use this morning. I made the mistake of using a new brand of blade as well as the soap. I know better than to do these things but alas, I am a shaving harlot and need my variety. The blades were 7 o'clock and so far, they are not going to come close to knocking off Feathers as number one. Decent, but at just the second shave I noticed a bit of drag I don't get with Feathers till shave three or four. The eShave soap did its part well. The box says it is the soap that lathers like a cream and that is pretty close to truth. I find it a true hybrid lather so far. The creamy texture of a good soap without the fluff of some of the creams. At the same time, loading it was a snap and lathering is easy. The lather has its own qualities that make it hard to pin down as being like something else. It is very dense and water ratio is fairly critical I think. When you get it to the sweet spot of hydration, then you have a good lather indeed. The after feel on your face is quite good. A sign of a well balanced shave lather. Agreed about the scent. A dry, quiet floral scent that is unremarkable. This alone may get it relegated to trade status. It is not bad at all. It just doesn't interest me too much.

Regards, Todd

**EL Alamein** · 04-14-2009, 07:47 PM

Todd, nice review. You have my interest peaked to try these someday. I'm partial to lavender myself and I think they may have a lavender variety. One day I'll get to trying it.

Chris

PS: FWIW the guy who created the Durance shaving soap and toiletries line left L'Occitane to do so. The formulations of the soaps are very similar but not identical. I haven't used both yet but plan to in the near future. The scents are near identical and I wouldn't be surprised if the lathers were as well.

**Phog Allen** · 04-14-2009, 08:27 PM

Hi Chris. The scent of he L'occitane and the Durance are completely different. The L'occitane is a dry, crisp cedar scent. The Durance is sort of clean/fresh/dried grass scent. The L'occitane is much superior in lathering as well. At least with my water. If you want my cake of Durance you are welcome to it. I was about to relegate it to bath duty.

Regards, Todd

**joshmpdx** · 04-14-2009, 09:08 PM

Todd, have you used the Pre de Provence?

i had read that Eshave was being produced by the folks who make Pre de Provence, and that the performance was identical.

i love the PdP, can anyone confirm or deny the Eshave comparison??

**Phog Allen** · 04-15-2009, 10:20 AM

Yes, I have the Pre de Provence and use it regularly. In my opinion it is different than eShave. The PdP makes a dense yet soft, stable lather. The eShave is a bit glistens a bit more and is not as voluminous. Since they are both Franco soaps they have some similarities. Identical they are not.

Regards, Todd

rum · 04-20-2009, 05:37 AM

Anyone care to post a full review of the Mandarin shave soap? Also some good pics would be really nice

I'm considering getting it, but can't seem to find it over here in the UK (ironic as we are just a few miles from France!!). I thought Amazon carried it but it doesn't come up in any searches.

**EL Alamein** · 04-20-2009, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Phog Allen

Hi Chris. The scent of he L'occitane and the Durance are completely different. The L'occitane is a dry, crisp cedar scent. The Durance is sort of clean/fresh/dried grass scent. The L'occitane is much superior in lathering as well. At least with my water. If you want my cake of Durance you are welcome to it. I was about to relegate it to bath duty.

Regards, Todd

Todd, thank you Sir! I have both soaps and have only used the L'Occitane version. Interesting that you perceive the scents differently I perceive them as near identical. Just one of those things though. I'll give the Durance a try one of these days. I am looking forward to trying the eShave though.

Chris