REVIEW: E&S Rasage Traditionnel Shaving Soaps

Boycie83

Boycie83

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There doesn't seem to be many reviews out there for this brand so here's a dedicated thread.

E&S Rasage Traditionnel are a husband and wife (if I recall correctly) team based in France. They produce both vegan and tallow bases for their soaps and use a perfumer (correct term?) to help develop their scents. This seems to work as the scents appear very well done and quite complex. As we've all experienced, a person who makes a good soap base doesn't always have a great nose. Matching splashes and EdTs are also available.

I originally received a sample of Zenith with a purchase from a UK retailer. It smelt great but I passed the sample on in a BST sale. I was under one of those self imposed 'no further purchase' rules at the time. Well, rules are there to be broken. I purchased a full tub of the Zenith a few months later and have added a few more E&S soaps since. Despite owning a couple of them for a few months, I haven't actually used them yet. I'll be taking you on that journey in this thread.

Here's a link to the range at Shaving Time:

shavingtime.co.uk

Shaving Supplies & Products for Sale Online - Shaving Time

Buy shaving equipment online today, including shaving soap, cream, razors, brushes, bowls. aftershaves and more. Free UK Shipping & Returns Service, EU IOSS Shipping and International VAT Free Shopping
shavingtime.co.uk shavingtime.co.uk

I have 5 E&S soaps in the tallow base (I've found some of the recent artisan vegan bases too rich for my skin):

Equinoxe
Oasis
Zenith
Barber
Azur

Each of these smells great from the tub. I'll expand more on the scent of each during their corresponding review. I've noticed a few of you using E&S soaps in your SOTDs - please feel free to share your thoughts here.

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Razor: Alpha Claymore Evolution
Blade: Kai Pink (2)
Brush: Alpha Outlaw SynBad
Soap: E&S Rasage Zenith

Today was the first use of Zenith. Here's the official description of the scent:

Zenith is a floral with spicy notes. It is a balanced fragrance opening with the freshness of bergamot, the heart is warming with notes of iris, jasmine and rose, with a base of vanilla and woody notes.

From the tub, there is a slight milky note which I'm assuming is from the goat's milk. This disappears when lathered. This is a very well blended scent and I struggled to pick out any particularly notes. It's certainly a warming fragrance. I like it a lot. Scent strength is enough to enjoy when lathered on your face but doesn't fill the bathroom. I experienced no irritation with this soap on first use.

The soap looks similar to other artisan offerings but is firmer thank I expected. I loaded just enough but will make sure I load the brush for longer next time. The lather quickly became a slick yoghurt consistency and offered plenty of residual slickness. I'm happy with the initial performance of this soap.

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For those interested, here's the ingredients list:

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Caprae Lac, Glycerin, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Safflowerate, Potassium Castorate, Parfum, Persea Gratissima Oil, Sodium Tallowate, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Sodium Shea Butterate, Sodium Cocoa Butterate, Sodium Castorate, Potassium Cocoate, Silk Powder, Stearic Acid, Potassium Lanolate, Sodium Cocoate, Allantoin, Sodium Lanolate, Tocopherol, Adeps Bovis, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Nucus Seed Oil, Cocoate Oil, Lanolin, Citral, Citronellol, Coumarin, Geraniol, Jasmonal h, Limonene, Linalool.
 
Quick question: does this soap perform or do anything any better/differently than something you have tried before? Not trying to be snarky, just wondering as it is interesting.

P.S. Boycie, as a comparative measure you know my Old World "Gold Standard" is OSP soap. Never lets me down. ;)
 
Bogeyman said:
Quick question: does this soap perform or do anything any better/differently than something you have tried before? Not trying to be snarky, just wondering as it is interesting.

P.S. Boycie, as a comparative measure you know my Old World "Gold Standard" is OSP soap. Never lets me down. ;)
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I'll let you know on the performance front after a few more shaves. Let's be honest though, it takes some work to get a bad soap these days. Most of the performance increases across new bases are probably all in the mind.

What these soaps do have are some beautiful scents that are different to the other offerings in my den.
 
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Razor: Alpha Claymore Evolution
Blade: Kai Pink (3)
Brush: Simpson Trafalgar T3
Soap: E&S Rasage Zenith

Following on from yesterday's light load, I went in hard with the T3 today. Yep, I overloaded this time but eventually got the lather to a beautiful sheen. Slickness and residual slickness were there again. No better or worse than my other soaps. Key things of note that are of particular relevance to me: 1) this soap does not cause any irritation to me 2) the soap is not drying and 3) it seems to be well balanced for my skin as I've not had any spots from it - we'll see if this remains the case tomorrow.

My nose has finally picked out the notes. I get the floral element with the underlying 'musk'. It's a lovely scent.
 
Boycie83 said:
Let's be honest though, it takes some work to get a bad soap these days. Most of the performance increases across new bases are probably all in the mind.

What these soaps do have are some beautiful scents that are different to the other offerings in my den.
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I entirely echo your thoughts on this. I have the Oasis and whilst on performance I wouldn't place it above the vast majority of soaps I have, scent wise it is definitely an exquisite fragrance for my olfactory sensors.
 
Yeah I've been buying all sorts of soaps thinking each might be slicker than the last, or something. But apart from Wilkinson Sword in the black plastic tub, or Cremo stick, all of my soaps perform well enough, (I won't say equally). But it comes down more or less to how much you like the smell. I bought Wickham Gothic Revival because of how everyone says it's a great base. It sure is, performs great, but so do many others, yet I can't stop using it at the moment as I have got really hooked on the scent of both the soap and balm. Given how good a shave you can get from a Palmolive or Speick stick, or a dollop of Proraso sandalwood cream, it's almost a given that the extra cash goes on the enjoyment of the scent.
 
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Razor: Alpha Claymore Evolution
Blade: Kai Pink (4)
Brush: Simply Turned Silvertip
Soap: E&S Rasage Oasis

Today I used Oasis for the first time. The internet states: Oasis is a fresh and aquatic scent, with a fresh bright start of cassis and bergamot followed with a heart of floral and marine, with woody and tree moss base notes.

It's certainly fresh. Smells great from the tub and even better when lathered. Like the Zenith, I enjoyed the overall scent but struggled to pick out specific notes. This may change by the second use.

My experience of the E&S tallow base is that the lather doesn't immediately explode in to life. It requires a reasonably heavy load and subsequent effort to build the lather. Once built, the lather has great consistency. In terms of performing, this remains a good soap. As stated previously though, no better than many other soaps.

I may have detected some light tingling towards the end of the second pass. This is normally an indication of irritation for me. It wasn't enough for me to be sure though as it may have been a byproduct of the effort taken to build the lather (on my face). I'll pay closer attention on my next use.
 
hotmetal said:
...all of my soaps perform well enough, (I won't say equally). But it comes down more or less to how much you like the smell...
...Given how good a shave you can get from a Palmolive or Speick stick, or a dollop of Proraso sandalwood cream, it's almost a given that the extra cash goes on the enjoyment of the scent.
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Yessiree, you have summed it up correctly. To go even further, some artisan soaps can be what I would call too slick in that it's far easier for the razor to "skip". Regardless, anyone who owns more than a few soaps is basically a scent collector. :whistle: :)
 
Bogeyman said:
Yessiree, you have summed it up correctly. To go even further, some artisan soaps can be what I would call too slick in that it's far easier for the razor to "skip". Regardless, anyone who owns more than a few soaps is basically a scent collector. :whistle: :)
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Reba Mcentire Reaction GIF by CBS
 
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Razor: Alpha Claymore Evolution
Blade: Kai Pink (5)
Brush: PAA Phantom Aerolite
Soap: E&S Rasage Oasis

Shave 2 with the Oasis. I still struggle to pick out the specific notes but it is a very nice scent. I had to put the usual extra effort in to get the lather I wanted. A thought came to me during the shave - 3P lathers quickly for me and arguably performs a bit better than this soap. This soap smells much nicer though. Is that enough to keep it in the den? Probably not. Let's see how the remaining 3 soaps are.
 
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