The other day, I continued my top five list compilation that I started a couple months back. In a perfect world, you would know my top five favorites from my entire den. But, as it turns out, some things (namely this particular shave blog) get put on the back burner. But, I have not abandoned my plan! And with that in mind, I am trudging along with my next entry in my top five series!
As I’ve stated several times on here, and millions in my every day life, lists are fun. I enjoy lists, both making and reading. That’s probably why BuzzFeed is one of my most visited sites. They list everything on there! Keeping in sequence thus far, we’ve gone from my favorite razors to my favorite blades to go into said razors. Seeing as how I do not have five brushes at the moment, I don’t believe I’ll be doing the brush top list. At least not for a while. I’ve got my 5th brush on the way in when it is ready to be shipped. For now though, my Semogue 1520 is my go to brush and my Parker badger is my #2. That should cover it. But what has taken a good while to narrow down and get lined out, and is an ongoing event, is my list of favorite creams and soaps. I’m horrible about having a flavor of the week. My tastes and preferences go from one scent to another. But, out of all the tools I have at my disposal, here are my top five favorite soaps and creams!
#5 Tabac
Kicking off our countdown is one of the most argued soaps that I have encountered. “It smells great.” “Wait, no it smells horrible!” “This soap smells like my grandma!” “This soap smells like a man uses it!” These are all things I have seen and heard since I started my wet shaving adventure a little over a year ago. Its a bit spicy but with a very obvious flowery note to it as well. And, honestly, it does remind me of something that I have smelled at my grandparents and great aunts houses during my youth. But there’s also this scent of manliness in it as well that I just love. Not only that, it performs like a champ. Every shave with Tabac produces rich, slick lather for my shave. Its truly a “love it or leave it” soap, as it really seems that you can’t warm up to it. For me it was all go right out of the box. On Tuesdays, you bet that its my go to! Tabac!
#4 RazoRock Don Marco
One of the most popular brands on the market, RazoRock soft, Italian soaps have exploded in popularity within the past 6 months to a year. I had heard about them when I first started, but it seems after their previous run of their elusive XXX came around, its brand stepped it up a notch. Italian Barber and Mr. Joseph Abbatangelo have created quite a frenzy with their products, most recently introducing a custom line for BiG Shave members Ant “Tight Buns” Smith and Michael Freedberg, who have been promoting RazoRock in their shaving videos and on the boards. What an awesome honor huh? I’ve yet to try those products at the moment, but one I have tried and am a huge fan of is the Don Marco. This would be in my top five based on the scent alone. I’m an admitted citrus freak. If it smells like lemon, orange, grapefruit, or lime, then its in my lineup. Add in the fact that this stuff lathers so easily and gives one slick lather, you’ve got a great product! Its still somewhat new to my den, but its been getting a lot of time in the lineup as of late. However, as great as the Don Marco may be, its still not quite good enough to be my #1.
#3 Proraso Red
One of the first products I bought online, Proraso Red was very talked about at the time. It doesn’t seem to get as much talk time with the wave of great products that are coming out, however, that doesn’t diminish its value any to me. Proraso Red has a sandalwood base to it, which is more earthy than some of the sweeter sandalwood options available. That struck the right chord with me. Warm it up a bit and, wow, this stuff really shines! Not to mention the lather it produces. I have yet to be disappointed when using the red version of one of the most revered soaps in all the land. It has the vintage man smell to it that seems to exist in all of the Proraso soaps that I have tried. I don’t know if they went into every vintage barbershop and just canned that air or what, but man, does it smell awesome. Halfway home to #1! What’s up next?
#2 Arko
Apparently, I’ve got a thing for soaps that people smell funny. Arko has been described by many of its detractors as a urinal puck. A friend of mine said the same thing. Shoot, my wife thought it had a funky whang to it. But, I find it pleasant. And it mellows out after it gets a chance to breath. But more importantly, to me, is its performance. Its a tallow based soap and I’ve come to find that those soaps tends to give me the best performance. Generally speaking of course. And, even though Arko may be lacking in that “artisan” design and scent, its still a good smelling soap. To me, I get small hints of citrus, but overall, a clean scent of soap. Another positive for the Arko is its price. You can get it for around $2-$3 in most places and now they even have it in a bowl. Arko also has other scents that are mentholated, but this original scent does the job for me. It takes essential oils well, too. I’ve often dropped a couple drops of my favorite scents in it for something new. But, as much as I love Arko, its not my #1. So, what scent is?
#1 Taylor of Old Bond Street Jermyn Street
Taylor of Old Bond Street has been around since 1854, so to say that they have a handle on shaving cream is a severe understatement. One of the institutions in the shaving world, Taylor of Old Bond Street (or TOBS, as it is commonly referred to) has yet to disappoint me with any of its offerings. I’ve tried about 6 or 7 and own four bowls of their soaps. Each has impressed me in a different way. However, when I tried Jermyn Street line, it seemed to go a bit above and beyond its brothers I had used before. It was designed for sensitive skin, which I have to a small extent. Its scent was a very clean, yet subtly citrus with a hint of that TOBS old school masculinity to it. At that time, it was my go to soap and still yet, it gets thrown in amongst all the new goodies that I get. Will it remain my number one soap? Odds are it won’t with the way that I like to sample and have my little swings of a certain scent. But, it will forever be one of the game changers in my wet shaving adventure. And ToBS will be that brand I will always hold to a higher level than many of the others and use it to gauge their performance. Its the bar and let me tell you, with this, the bar is set plenty high.
Some honorable mentions would be Cella, based upon the scent, also DR Harris Marlborough, Trumper’s Spanish Leather and How to Grow a Mustache’s Synergy line (of which I own 3 and think they are all awesome) are right up there and would all be tied for #6 on this list! How about you? What’s your favorite? Have you received any soaps or creams lately that may be the game changer for you? Hit me up and keep a discussion going! But, as always, stay smooth!
Semo Shaving 