Tcheon Fung and BDF soaps. What's Your Opinion?

[VerbaVolant]

Finishing a TFS Barbe Rosse:

Very easy to lather, slick lather that is. It has that sheen that I like to see in every lather I use. It was affordable since I got on special for abot $3 /120gr IIRC.
However, I will not buy again and I am happy it is over. In my opinion it is a poor product since all shaves I had with this soap were mediocre shaves bordering acceptable.

The lather dries really fast on skin after first stroke and will therefore not allow buffing. Whenever I attempted a quick second stroke over same patch I felt the blade on dry skin. So, although the lather looks good and feels slick, it did not provide cushioning and proper protection for me.

Whenever I try to stretch the skin I feel the freshly shaved skin really gummy and sticky. From that point of view I consider Proraso better product.

I also noticed that TFS BR likes water, and I played with it trying different combinations and lathering methods. The sticky/gummy feel improves lessens a bit if you give it more water, but never disappears.

Scent is your regular Amaretto, nothing outstanding and similar to Vitos, IIRC. A mediocre product, as far as I am concerned.

 

[mistercitizen]

I have a tub of Mistero and Classico on the way from BG..... in addition to Bergamotto Neroli and Tabaco Verde hard soap refills. Raffinato does not sound like the scent for me (almond), so Mistero and Classico sounded the best, although from the description earlier in this thread Exclusivo doesn't sound too bad either. The only description I could find of the Exclusivo scent before I placed my order was that it was "fruity"..... so I passed on that one. My understanding is that the BdF soaps are the same as the TFS soft soaps with different scents.

I'm excited to finally get a few tubs and pucks of these. I've used TFS samples and I have a tub of the Barbe Rosse and they all perform wonderfully.

Ben

 

[SmoovD]

I have not used BdF soaps but the pics looks great. As far as TFS, I much prefer their hard soaps. Currently, I have their Bergamot and Neroli in the rotation and I have very much enjoyed it. The soap is easy to lather and has a nice, light fragrance. Certainly glad that I purchased a few pucks.

 

[Phog Allen]

I know this is a months old thread but wanted to add something about the TFS shave soaps. Now this is the hard variety not the croaps. I ordered three of them last year. Bergamotto Neroli, Zagoro e Gelsomino, and Tobacco Verde. They are all allegedly intense in aroma but I would call all of them lightly scented. Tobacco Verde is a good scent. The others are fine but not favourites. I have to say I am not overly impressed with the performance. They lather like a dream, have a slick looking sheen, and stability was pretty good. Yet the shave was maudlin at best. Not horrid like Caswell Massey but there are far better soaps out there. Positives? Great price, nice old school packaging, and good scents. I am going to PIF the unused cake sometime soon. So contributors look for it there.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Teddyboy]

TFS and BDF are among my favorite soaps. They are similar to each other - lather easily into copious amounts of very slick and cushiony lather. Just load enough on your brush. IMHO, they are the best artisan soap I have tried, which includes Mike's, QCS, Stirling, Panna Crema, MW and Jabonman. The TFS/BDF soaps are top tier performers.

 

[mistercitizen]

Took receipt of my BDF and TFS soap order today from Bullgoose Shaving. The BDF soaps are nicely packaged in the white plastic tubs. They're plastic, but very nice and the bottom of the tub is rounded which will help it fit in the palm of my hand better while loading directly from the tub. The diameter is a nice size for loading, unlike the Panna Crema jars, which are a little too small in diameter. The Mistero scent is my favorite of the two that I got (Mistero and Classico). Reminds me of TOBS Mr. Taylor I think..... which is my favorite TOBS scent. It's a little stronger fragrance than the Classico IMO. Classico has a nice scent as well..... just more subtle.

The TFS pucks come nicely packaged as well. The hard pucks are wrapped in wax paper with a nice old school traditional and simple label.... and then they place the refill pucks in a mesh drawstring satchel (nice touch). I REALLY like the Tabacco Verde scent off of the puck. The Bergamotto Neroli scent is not as strong as I remember the sample of the BN soft soap I received from BDF.

Can't wait to try these soaps. I'm currently 3017ing a stick of Valobra and I've got at least another 2 weeks left with it, but I don't know if I can wait that long to try these. I may have to take a little vacation from the Valobra stick here and there so that I can try these out.

Ben

 

[Taborcarn]

The more I use the Esclusivo the more I realize how close it is to MdC Fougere. They are very similar scents to me.

 

[mistercitizen]

The more I use the Esclusivo the more I realize how close it is to MdC Fougere. They are very similar scents to me.

I wish I had got that one. Oh well, next time.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

The more I use the Esclusivo the more I realize how close it is to MdC Fougere. They are very similar scents to me.

Well, I placed another order with Phil at Bullgoose today and added a tub of the Esclusivo to my order. I have not smelled MdC Fougere and so I'm interested to see what Esclusivo smells like.

Ben

 

[Taborcarn]

It's become one of my favorite scents, I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[mistercitizen]

It's become one of my favorite scents, I think you'll enjoy it.

Thanks. Your testimony is the reason I bought it. I certainly didn't buy it based on the description of the scent on the Bullgoose website which was basically "fruity". Not that "fruity" can't be good.... but it can potentially turn out to be Skittles too. Anyway, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

Well, got my tub of BDF Esclusivo today from Phil at Bullgoose along with a bowl of C&S Oxford and Cambridge shave soap. I really like the scent a lot..... and the description "fruity" may be accurate..... it hardly does it justice. I get more of a citrusy type of fruit.... and maybe a little wood in there as well. It's a subtle scent really, but I like it quite a lot. It will be interesting to see how it smells once lathered.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

Man, I just received a jar of TFS Bergamotto Neroli and a jar of TFS Tabacco Verde from Royalshave. Both are the soft soaps in the luxury jars. What lovely scents! I had received the hard soaps about a month or so ago, but have not tried either of them yet..... but these soft soaps really project the fragrance from the jar more than the hard puck versions.... and I just didn't realize what great scents these two soaps are. I can't wait to try them.

I'm sure most of you guys are aware of these soaps..... especially from using the Razorock versions Don Marco and Zi' Peppino. I must admit that I have yet to try a Razorock soap. It is on my list for next year possibly to break into the Razorock product line.... but for now I will be using the TFS and BDF soaps.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

Tcheon Fung Sing Tabacco Verde (soft soap) - Shave #1

This could easily be one of my favorite scents for a shave soap...... EVER. I've not smelled anything quite like it. It's very clean and unusual. So nice. The lather was abundant and wonderful. I've read guys reviews of TFS soaps saying that the lather is great right out of the gate.... but in the end lacks protection and stability. Not the case here. I had an easy time with the lather and it exploded. I added water, little by little just waiting for it to break down into foam and bubbles.... but it never did. It remained stable and creamy and very protective throughout my shave.

Tomorrow I will try one of my other new TFS or BDF soaps..... probably Bergamotto Neroli or Mistero.

Ben

 

[rand77]

I'm a big fan of TFS soaps (including the RazoRock rebands). One of my favorite soaps is the Tobbaco Verde, it always rewards me with a nice slick, creamy leather.

 

[mistercitizen]

Barbiere di Figaro Mistero - Shave #1

Another great lather with a TFS/BDF soap this evening.... and the scent was out of the ballpark as well. I'm not sure if I enjoy Mistero's scent even more than Tabacco Verde. I used Brummel aftershave to follow up my shave with this soft soap and it was a great pairing. I'm very impressed with the stability and creaminess of the lather from these soaps. Not sure about the post shave feel yet..... it's not bad, but nothing wonderfully notable either. I'm loving these soaps for both their lather and their scents at any rate.

Great shave tonight.

Ben

 

[Vivasanti]

I can't see why anyone wouldn't like TFS, its everything you would expect from an Italian soft soap

 

[blzrfn]

I found both TFS and BdF soaps to be middle of the road in performance and too lightly scented to make the cut in my rotation. If I were forced to use one of these soaps for a month it wouldn't bother me too much, but I need something from a soap to make it stand out to get in my regular rotation.

 

[mistercitizen]

Tcheon Fung Sing Bergamotto Neroli (soft soap) - Shave #1

Another wonderful scent from TFS. I find that the scents of these soaps really appeal to me. I paired this one with some TOBS Eton College aftershave lotion for a great combo. The lather was very nice and stable as well.... although I feel it is becoming more and more apparent to me that these soaps don't have the post shave feel of soaps like MWF, Tabac, and Mike's. But, the lather is easy to whip up, very protective and slick, and very stable. The prove is in the results and I ended up with a very irritation free shave this evening.

Tomorrow will probably be either BDF Classico or Esclusivo..... not sure yet.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

Barbiere di Figaro Esclusivo - Shave #1

Great shave this evening. This soap reminds me of D.R. Harris Arlington's scent and performs just like the other BDF and TFS soaps. I am a huge D.R. Harris Arlington soap fan however..... and I feel that the performance of the DRH soaps are equal to or slightly better than the BDF/TFS soaps but also DRH soaps have a little better post shave feel. The BDF/TFS soaps probably are easiler/quicker to lather..... but I think DRH soaps are a bit slicker and more moisturizing.

Regardless, I used my newly acquired Ikon Slant this evening for about the third or forth time and had an extremely close three pass shave (WTG, XTG, and ATG) with no irritation and only a couple nicks.

Ben