Le Pere Lucien 1st Impressions

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Presentation: In the pics I have seen, I loved the idea of a vintage tin jar with the label on top. I liked the smaller jar so much, I decided that it be the one I order. Alas, I received a different looking article. The sticker won't hold, quickly creasing and tearing. I wrote to Cyril and he replied that he has packaging issues and although the general presentation is 'similar', he uses whatever is available and to expect variances with every order.

One thing that ticked me though, was that the inside of the jar's lids were already accumulating black substance, metal tarnish/oxidization I believe. I wet the soap and gave a few swirls with a brush I don't care much for and the black substance came on the top layer or the soap making a mess. I spent a good hour cleaning the soap and the inside of the jar with earbuds and cotton so that it doesn't happen again. I was worried with cutting oneself and open skin, not a good idea.

Scent: At the first whiff, Vicks VapoRub immediately sprung to mind. I got worried and although I had already shaved the day it arrived, I quickly went to the bathroom to lather it. Phew! Better. It's definitely a fougere aroma, I'm thinking a North American woods in the winter. It's much better when thinned/less intense I guess with water, but now I'm thinking Ingram no idea why.

Lather-ability: This soap lathered easily, no issues here. Quite nicely actually, albeit a bit thirsty I have found. Very creamy but very soft, i.e not very cushioning as other soaps I have tried.

Performance: Meh.. I really want to like this soap, help! Alright, it shaved okay. Not the most protective IMHO. I had to be slightly more careful than usual with my ATT R2. A little goes a long way, which is good I guess to continuously apply more lather.

Post-Shave: The scent lingered for a while after my shave. Sometimes, this is a good thing, a nice reminder so to speak. But you would want to match it with a complimenting AS. My skin feels alright.

Conclusion: At £20 delivered to the UK for 200g, considering the above, I would personally say skip it. There are literally tons of soaps out there that cost much less, smell better, clinically tested and give you equal to better performance.

As above discussed, my biggest gripe was with the packaging. You pay for what you see advertised and if changes are expected, I would like to know beforehand. For that amount, I also don't want to be worrying if it is 'safe' to use.

That's not to say that it isn't promising. Maybe with time Cyril will be able to streamline or standardize his craft, bringing the price down or resolving his packaging issues. I would love to see other scents being developed.

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Horses for courses I guess but I could not disagree more with this post. Firstly, you can get it in this country for far less. More importantly, it's second to MdeC in terms of easy lathering and performance. I bought the smaller open version and keep it in the cellophane it came in. Great value and great performance.[/b]
 
UKRob said:
Firstly, you can get it in this country for far less.
I think you would have a Herculean struggle to get 200g for less than £20 delivered.

FF - "the inside of the jar's lids were already accumulating black substance, metal tarnish/oxidization I believe."
The containers are meant to be stainless steel, so I'm not sure why this would be the case.
 
Geofnay said:
UKRob said:
Firstly, you can get it in this country for far less.[/b]
I think you would have a Herculean struggle to get 200g for less than £20 delivered.

FF - "the inside of the jar's lids were already accumulating black substance, metal tarnish/oxidization I believe."
The containers are meant to be stainless steel, so I'm not sure why this would be the case.

I wouldn't really know how to tell the difference, but I have a stainless L'Occitane bowl and it's nothing like it. I want to say tin... You know in the old days they used to out bonbon candy in something metal? That's the type.


UKRob said:
Horses for courses I guess but I could not disagree more with this post. Firstly, you can get it in this country for far less. More importantly, it's second to MdeC in terms of easy lathering and performance. I bought the smaller open version and keep it in the cellophane it came in. Great value and great performance.[/b]

Hey buddy.. I looked everywhere online, no one neither sold them nor had them in stock. I ordered from Cyril directly and that's what it cost.

The lather is great, I said that myself. But I felt it wiped off easier under the blade, good slide maybe but little protection. I don't know.

But the tin and the black substance is legit.

I haven't been lucky enough to try MdC, so..
 
I've just bought the 200g size twice the amount of the soaps in the UK.
I bought from yourshaving for 20.66 euros I managed to get 10% off with a voucher they sent me. Plus the postage of course. I haven't lathered it yet. The container looks and feels solid and long lasting.
Most of the reports I've read compare it to MDC but better post shave feel.
 
Geofnay said:
That IS a good price. Not come across yourshaving before - now bookmarked.

+1
Back to LPL, I wasn't overly impressed with the lather I got from the sample he sent. Granted, samples tend to behave differently than the full product. But I didn't get any warm fuzzies from either the performance or the scent.
 
I should have made myself clearer, if you want to try it you can get 100 g from Gallant & Klein- I paid about £11 for the tin without a lid but I notice they now have it at £15 with lid.
 
I paid £15 from Gallant & Klein for the small 100g bowl with lid.

The bowl really is tiny and one cannot load from it using a large brush. I used a 21mm knot and the diameter of the bowl was still an issue. After I'd finished I wiped the excess lather from the sides / edges of the bowl and this caused a "lovely" black smear on the white towel. I also noticed some poor finishing on the edge of the bowl as though it hadn't been deburred. Fortunately, the burrs go up not in toward the center of the bowl so they didn't damage the hairs. This bowl is not fit for purpose. The soap is now in an Ikea container.

The soap however, is absolutely wonderful. I love the herby smell. It lathers very easily, fantastic glide and doesn't dry my skin (unlike MdC). If I was forced to choose only one shaving soap it would be LPL.
 
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