Why Do You Pick A New Soap

Mike Smart

Mike Smart

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After a conversation with Scorpio93 today it got me thinking
and sometimes thinking hurts my brain :ROFLMAO:
but here we go
Why do you choose a particular soap ?
is it the ingredients or someone’s review or a certain brand ?
what makes you actually go out and try something new ?
or could it be price ?
For me i guess i’m quite shallow
i just love the look of the artwork ( sad i know )
but that’s how i normally pick
Don’t get me wrong iv watched a lot of reviews and read a lot on here and if someone recommends something i might go out and get it but if it’s a soap iv heard nothing about i would normally go with the artwork or the story behind the soap.
Zingari Man does some great stories and that’s what lead me to buying the rambler & the merchant.
 
As a relative noob, it's a combination of:
1) Price: I'm not going £15+ on an artisan's latest creation which I may hate (or it may hate me) until I know the brand. While there are plenty of tried and tested soap brands, it's a leap of faith.
2) My research coupled with forum users' experience. TDS soaps - for example - were picked uby me p from them showing up on here at a decent price, and a few decent reviews. By the same token I've no intention of going headlong into buying stuff like Lothur at first glance for a while.
3) Old school vibes. I may be new, but there are certain brands that have stood the test of time. I've got Tabac, Arko etc in my collection, sitting alongside Stirling, Signature, TFS, Extro et al.
4) SOTD. Yep, I know it's a little sad, but after six months on here I still scour setups for new products I'm not aware of.
5) BST. Let's be honest. We don't all have to have an online emporium to buy and try and move on ;) So yes, I keep my eyes peeled for "the last big thing" that's now just a great soap at a more reasonable rate.

I'm still slightly swayed by the graphics and the hype, but I'm too new to this for the leap of faith to take immediate effect most of the time. I've spent tonight on BST looking at a few things though, and I'm not going to deny that style will always play a part alongside substance
freddie mercury 80s GIF
 
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Jester said:
As a relative noob, it's a combination of:
1) Price: I'm not going £15+ on an artisan's latest creation which I may hate (or it may hate me) until I know the brand. While there are plenty of tried and tested soap brands, it's a leap of faith.
2) My research coupled with forum users' experience. TDS soaps - for example - were picked by me up from them showing up on here at a decent price, and a few decent reviews. By the same token I've no intention of going headlong into buying stuff like Lothur at first glance for a while.
3) Old school vibes. I may be new, but there are certain brands that have stood the test of time. I've got Tabac, Arko etc in my collection, sitting alongside Stirling, Signature, TFS, Extro et al.
4) SOTD. Yep, I know it's a little sad, but after six months on here I still scour setups for new products I'm not aware of.
5) BST. Let's be honest. We don't all have to have an online emporium to buy and try and move on ;) So yes, I keep my eyes peeled for "the last big thing" that's now just a great soap at a more reasonable rate.

I'm still slightly swayed by the graphics and the hype, but I'm too new to this for the leap of faith to take immediate effect most of the time. I've spent tonight on BST looking at a few things though, and I'm not going to deny that style will always play a part alongside substance
freddie mercury 80s GIF
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I know what your saying but i’m a bit opposite infact i reckon that lothur could possibly be my next buy.
i like the whole story
i like the thought of British Artisans but i especially like the thought and story behind the soap giving 5% to a mental health charity,
and although previously iv stated i like artwork i also like the simplicity of lothur but i guess i’m quite lucky as iv never had any type of reaction to any ingredients YET
 
When I started, it was all about the scent, but I soon realised that after shaving and rinsing, the soap scent disappears under the avalanche of balms, splashes and fragrances. So now it's a combination of :
1)price,
2)reputation in this forum and 3)ease of use.
(and as I am currently suffering from severe wrist pain, creams are quicker and easier to lather up than hard soaps)
 
For me it’s definitely artwork and story, followed closely by scent notes . Actually they even go hand in hand. Being relatively new to the hobby , a lot still is influenced by seeing what others enjoy and kind of taking my nose on the journey.

Regarding price - it definitely plays it’s part, therefore to get one more set, I rather buy used - let’s face it , sometimes it’s possible to get a set for £20ish that was used twice only .... in those cases I don’t mind taking a bit of a risk whether I’ll like the scent - if it’s interesting I might go for it.

the only ingredient I pay more attention to nowadays is lime scent in soaps - unfortunately it seems to have a drying effect on my skin, even when followed up by a balm (doesn’t get as bad then but still a bit uncomfortable)
 
Scorpio93 said:
For me it’s definitely artwork and story, followed closely by scent notes . Actually they even go hand in hand. Being relatively new to the hobby , a lot still is influenced by seeing what others enjoy and kind of taking my nose on the journey.

Regarding price - it definitely plays it’s part, therefore to get one more set, I rather buy used - let’s face it , sometimes it’s possible to get a set for £20ish that was used twice only .... in those cases I don’t mind taking a bit of a risk whether I’ll like the scent - if it’s interesting I might go for it.

the only ingredient I pay more attention to nowadays is lime scent in soaps - unfortunately it seems to have a drying effect on my skin, even when followed up by a balm (doesn’t get as bad then but still a bit uncomfortable)
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Are you sure it’s the lime and not any other ingredients you possibly missed,
Then again i guess Citrus can be strong in some soaps
 
Mike Smart said:
Are you sure it’s the lime and not any other ingredients you possibly missed,
Then again i guess Citrus can be strong in some soaps
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Yep pretty sure - it happened with GFCC Caribbean lime, also with one of the signature soaps too (can’t remember what was the name of that one). Strangely with e.g orange or lemon in soaps I’m fine - and haven’t really encountered that issue with anything else yet.

With GFCC I’ve got bergamot and neroli - and it’s all good for me, same as a while back I tried other signature soaps and the feel was fine too (same base)
 
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Scorpio93 said:
Yep pretty sure - it happened with GFCC Caribbean lime, also with one of the signature soaps too (can’t remember what was the name of that one). Strangely with e.g orange or lemon in soaps I’m fine - and haven’t really encountered that issue with anything else yet.

With GFCC I’ve got bergamot and neroli - and it’s all good for me, same as a while back I tried other signature soaps and the feel was fine too (same ba
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That’s weird ah
But what a great shame
You’ll miss out on the wonderful Castle Forbes Lime
man it’s class
 
Mike Smart said:
like the thought and story behind the soap giving 5% to a mental health charity,
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This is noble and I respect what they're doing but it's also 5% of profits, not 5% total cost. 10p per soap assuming £2 profit? I don't know what the profit is on soap. Anyway, my point is you could buy some Tabac Mike and donate £5 to Mind ;) Great advice coming from a guy that regularly exercises zero self control.

I predominantly buy soap for retail therapy purposes. Particularly over the pandemic.
 
Scorpio93 said:
Yep pretty sure - it happened with GFCC Caribbean lime, also with one of the signature soaps too (can’t remember what was the name of that one). Strangely with e.g orange or lemon in soaps I’m fine - and haven’t really encountered that issue with anything else yet.

With GFCC I’ve got bergamot and neroli - and it’s all good for me, same as a while back I tried other signature soaps and the feel was fine too (same base)
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That’s interesting, wonder if it was Hibernia (citrus blend Lime , Lemon, Lemongrass, Sweet Orange and Lavender) - could be your skin doesn’t like Lemongrass judging by the fact that you seem ok with Orange, Lemon, and Lime? My cosmetic assessment limits the amount permissible for lemongrass.
 
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