Geo. F. Trumper Rose Shaving Soap

IanM

IanM

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My good lady and I quite often nip over the Pennines and visit Buxton. One advantage of this is being able to visit Clowes Chemists, an independant Chemist that stocks products from Trumper, Kent, Edwin Jagger and a few others. Last Saturday saw such a trip, and I picked up a bowl of Trumper's Rose soap.

I've read about a lot of people using this soap exclusively, so thought it was worth a go.

Packaging
Usual Trumper soap fayre. A nicely decorated box that contains a dark wooden bowl containing the cake of soap. The soap is wrapped in plastic, but you can still get a wiff of it.

Scent
Rose, unsurprisingly. Not as strong as the Trumper Rose cream or even the Taylor Rose cream, but still strong enough and very pleasent, if, of course, you like rose scents as I do.

Performance

Trumper soaps do not contain tallow, but if it wasn't for the ingredients list on the box of this Rose soap, I never would have known. I found it as easy to get a good amount of useful lather with this soap as I would with any other highly regarded soap. It lathers a little easier than the Harris soaps I have tried, and about the same as Tabac. It really is a doddle. I admit that the only brush I have used so far with it is a Vulfix VS/3 boar, but the lather is so good and so profuse that I don't want to use any other combination.

The lather itself works very well, with plenty of cusion and slippage, and the scent is really nice. The scent (as with all soaps on me) doesn't hang around for long.

Bottom Line

Not the cheapest, but certainly one of the best lathering soaps I have tried. It really is neck and neck with Tabac. I've used it 4 days on the trot, and I can't really see it leaving the bathroom any time soon. Well, at least until my Irisch Moos arrives!

I can understand how, for quite a few people, this is a 'goto' soap.

Ian
 
I noticed this as one of the few highly rated soaps I've not yet tried. So many thanks for putting temptation in my way. I'll put it on my short list for consideration when I need to stock up again in about 10 years time. On the other hand........


Thanks.
 
Been meaning to try some of this.

How does it compare to the Coconut? Is it the same soap just different scent, or do the ingredients in the Rose make it shave better somehow?

I used to think I liked strong scents but have been really appreciating subtle scents these days (GFT Coconut, Cella). You don't get sick of them as quickly and they don't interfere with any cologne/spash you wish to use afterwards.

John
 
jhclare said:
Been meaning to try some of this.

How does it compare to the Coconut? Is it the same soap just different scent, or do the ingredients in the Rose make it shave better somehow?

I used to think I liked strong scents but have been really appreciating subtle scents these days (GFT Coconut, Cella). You don't get sick of them as quickly and they don't interfere with any cologne/spash you wish to use afterwards.

John
Click to expand...

Differences are very subtle, I'd say. Maybe the rose gives me a very slightly more pleasant post shave feeling, but it's mostly a scent thing with GFT soaps. Exquisite scents, all of them.
 
I had a small bit of Rose soap and another bit of Coconut Oil soap left - so I got the old cheese grater out and mixed the two together. An interesting combo to say the least!
 
Nice review,

I haven't got the trumper rose soap but do have the cream. I have their almond, Limes and Sandawood soaps, the almond is good but the scent isn't really almondy enough for my liking. As for the other 2 I ain't opened 'em as yet.
 
Recently got the Lime version (which smells awesome!)

I'm still undecided on these.... they lather really well, smell great, but I'm just not sure their performance is all that. It's serviceable, but I just don't get enough slickness. Maybe I need to play with the water ratio a bit more.

John
 
My experience too. One of the things I picked up two weeks ago in London is a cake of Trumpers's Eucris. Interesting fragrance, but I find the soap to be less than stellar - which wasn't a big surprise given the ingredient list... It lathers well, but the lather isn't particularly stable, and the performance under the razor is average only. I'm afraid that the Penhaligon's English Fern will be the same, as it has the exact same ingredients list and the cake looks the same also (including the plastic wrapper - they're probably made by the same outfit...)

Next I will try the DR Harris soap, which has a different ingredient list. I also picked up a Taylor cream (st james collection), which I find to be much better than the Trumper's soap...
 
One of the best soaps out there if the forums are to be believed.

I had some of this in the past and thought it was great.

Not a 'girly' rose by any stretch of the imagination either.

Right up there with D R Harris Almond, Mitchell's Woolfat, Tabac and Truefitt & Hill Luxury soaps.
 
I have had this soap for more than two years, but only used it about a dozen times. I've read lots of reviews where people describe it as very easy to get fantastic lather. Yet I just can't get decent lather. I live in soft water area and I have tried with all types of brushes. Still bad lather. What could I be doing wrong? I get either very dry bubbly or very runny lather, zero glide. I actually have similar problems with DRH Marbourogh and EJ Sandalwood.

Perhaps English soaps are not for me? :(
 
Elman said:
I have had this soap for more than two years, but only used it about a dozen times. I've read lots of reviews where people describe it as very easy to get fantastic lather. Yet I just can't get decent lather. I live in soft water area and I have tried with all types of brushes. Still bad lather. What could I be doing wrong? I get either very dry bubbly or very runny lather, zero glide. I actually have similar problems with DRH Marbourogh and EJ Sandalwood.

Perhaps English soaps are not for me? :(
Click to expand...

Very strange. If you were a complete newbie, I'd be saying things like "you're not loading the brush enough" or "your brush is too wet", but you're not, so I really don't know.

Ian
 
I seem to have lost patience with all my hard soaps. I prefer the ease of lathering with softer soaps and creams these days. But I did enjoy a few decent shaves with GFT Rose soap before passing it on.
 
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