Shaving soap

[Bishop of Briggs]

I'll second the D. R. Harris, though I no longer can find it.

Try the D R Harris online store - http://www.drharris.co.uk/product_listi ... =0&cUID=45. The full Arlington range is available.

[GentlemanFarmer]

I like Taylor's Sandal wood scented.

GF

[Edward Bainbridge]

Mitchell's Wool Fat (same as Kent's) is excellent and unscented. (Also vegetarian, if this should be a concern.) Both can be bought on their own, Mitchell's also have it in a nice ceramic pot, and Kent's in a wooden one.

[Marwood]

My old barber, Robert in Hungerford, recently relaunched the old Coates brand of shaving cream. It's very similar in texture to Taylors, although a little drier and is smells ever so slightly of tea tree oil. I'm almost at the bottom of my first tub and I will be buying another.

[Sky Blue Peter]

I've been an afficionado of Trumper's Sandalwood soap for a while now, but my stocks are running dangerously low, as the last couple of times I have been in to ask for it they have been out of stock - and they admitted that is company-wide, not just the off-Jermyn Street barbers where I've been calling. They assure me it will return, but I would encourage any fellow fans of this soap to badger them at every opportunity to ensure its return!

[Marwood]

Try the Gentleman's Shop in Hungerford. They keep good stocks, and offer mail order.

[Sky Blue Peter]

Thanks for the tip, but they too are currently out of stock, according to their website. I will keep looking!

[BirdofSydney]

I just used Castle Forbes Lavender cream for the first time, and it was a revelation. It is made in a small perfumery on the Clan Forbes estate in Aberdeenshire, in small batches.

I was planning to take up the recommendation for Santa Maria Novella, but it would have cost me about $80 with shipping, and I am led to believe that it is being made industrially by the same company that does Proraso. Can anyone comment?

[Costi]

I don't know if SMN make it themselves in their Florence stabilimento, but the formulation is exceptional, no doubt about it. Prices keep rising, but it lasts very long. Worth trying.

[Berwick]

I have invested in some of the SMN hard cream, as the shop in London is handy if you are visiting Budd.

After some experimenting I am using it as you would a hard soap. I load the brush with hot water and moisten the surface of the cream in the tub with hot water. Then I rub the brush on the cream in the tub to load it with soap. Then I use my hand as a bowl to whip the soap on the brush into a rich lather. It works really well, and smells good too. It is rather expensive, though.

[Manself]

I too am a fan of SMN, but I also use one other shaving product, Aesop's Moroccan Neroli Shaving Serum.

[robert_n]

Cella's sapone da barba in the 1kg box. Enough to cut off chunks for friends, and still die with some left over.
http://www.ebay.it/itm/Sapone-da-barba- ... 0494633619

For Costi, à propos of cut-throat shaving the Adam's apple: just pull the skin over to one side and shave. I've been a straight-razor shaver for several decades now and have made every error imaginable.

[Costi]

Oh, but I like to feel the blade glide over the apple and my hand got accustomed to changing the angle to follow the shape
Now I only shave cheeks and neck, the rest I mow.

[lxlloyd]

I like Taylor's Sandal wood scented.

GF

This will always remind me of my father.

[droy3]

Tabac's my personal favorite. I'm testing Castle Forbes right now and I still prefer Tabac, but it's quicker and easier when I'm short on time. It reminds me of Aqua di Parma. Mitchell's is hard to use but really effective the times I got it spot on.