Plisson Synthetic

Nick the Knife said:
Again seems very odd thing for an exclusive brand to do and if I'd forked out crazy money for a legit Plisson I'd be a tad miffed that now all manner of riff-raff are now able to claim Plisson ownership status - don't ghet me wrong this isn't something I do myself or think is vaguely sane - but 'exclusive' brands are normally really protective of their elite status (avoiding obvious sales, discounting, etc of their products and picky on distributors) - so that Plisson went this route is a head scratcher - but one I've happily embraced myself.
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OT for a mo. I think this happens all the time. A one-time exclusive brand like Louis Vuitton now sell all manner of tacky, hugely overpriced shit. The ridiculously expensive stuff the super rich buy for luggage is made to exacting standards, but with many 'affordable' products they clearly aimed for something that has become coined massclusivity.
 
stillshunter said:
This aint new Nick - think Panasonic making (some) Leica digital cameras…and allowing Panasonic cameras to brandish the Leica name on their lens. Similar relationship in the world of cars with Daewoo making cars for Holden, Sssangyong and Mercedes, etc., tis the way of the world I'm afraid.
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With all due respect neither of the examples you've given are the same as what I was saying which one of the premium brands in a given item allowing a massively cheaper item to be made (almost certainly NOT by them) - and to wear it's brand openly.

Your first example, Pana/Leica - which I'm not familiar with either reads like a licensing arrangement - Pana pay a royalty to Leica, maybe get some technical assistance - have Leica branding on the lens. I believe Sony did the same with another German lens maker (Schneider IIRC).

Whilst I agree that this does likely somewhat undermine the Leica brand (something Leica would have been 100% aware of but they essentially decided the royalty/extra revenues were worth this) however from what you're saying it's clearly a Pana camera which incorporates a Leica branded lens.

Your second example is again completely different as thats merely a multi-national with many sub-brands and manufacturing facilities, specifically GM in your example - reducing their costs by centralising manufacturing/design etc of certain models and then distributing them under their regional brands in other countries. So GM owns Daewoo and Holden plus many others, but as far as I know L'Occitane and Plisson are completely separate entities.

The key fact I'd use to support my point is that the EARLY L'Occitane-Plisson brushes were ONLY branded with Plisson branding on them- they had no branding on the brushes themselves stating L'Occitance origins. But then this was changed and they became co-branded with L'Occitane and Plisson being equally prominent. Plisson IMHO obviously got feedback from distributors of their own products or consumers etc and decided they needed to differentiate these two....hence the change from this:
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To this:
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Drubbing said:
OT for a mo. I think this happens all the time. A one-time exclusive brand like Louis Vuitton now sell all manner of tacky, hugely overpriced shit. The ridiculously expensive stuff the super rich buy for luggage is made to exacting standards, but with many 'affordable' products they clearly aimed for something that has become coined massclusivity.
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Again with all due respect, this is very different - thats just bringing in a whole bunch of slightly lesser priced product lines to increase overall revenues. And having just looked at the LV Australia website I'm really unsure what there is vaguely affordable or compromising their core.

When you see LV selling in Target or BigW then I'll agree completely.

Most of the horrid tacky LV items I've seen are clearly unlicenced knockoffs - as they're one of the most counterfeited brands.
 
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Nick the Knife said:
With all due respect neither of the examples you've given are the same as what I was saying which one of the premium brands in a given item allowing a massively cheaper item to be made (almost certainly NOT by them) - and to wear it's brand openly..
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Oh well I gave it a red hot go anyways looking forward to my French Tickler (a.k.a. Plisson) arriving soon.
 
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Anyway moving on just received my Plisson-L'Occitane synth - again much thanks to the very generous Filo and his parents for assisting me to receive this wonderful brush.

One of the first things I noticed was that it actually is made in France and therefore one would assume by Plisson, this was a major surprise for me as I completely expected it to be made by a third part to keep costs down.

Very nicely finished stained beech wood handle - overall the brush is very light - nice little stand included as well (if thats your kinda thing). The bristles are as reported very soft. Interestingly they're just a little softer than the Virginia Sheng 'Purtech' synth I have come to enjoy using, but they seem to have noticeably much less SPRING to them - and as such have more of a natural feel.

ANother interesting thing I noted is that the Plisson's bristles have a wave/crimp type effect on them - it's very noticeable and is around a 1mm wave over what I'd say is each 3mm of bristle length. The VS has this too but much, much lesser and erratically. Perhaps this is something applied to the synthetic fibres to make them feel more like natural ones by negating their tendancy to SPRING? As witht he crimp type pattern in them they'd be more likely to give/compress when pressure is applied to their tips.

The Plisson is more densely packed than the VS but not massively so - perhaps 10-15% more hairs (very rough guess). It seems as if the knot has been put in with some type of metai liner around it - perhaps to protect the wood from water seeping through from the knot - anyway its a very good quality of construction all over.

The highest quality natrual brush that I have is a Muhle Kosmo SIlvertip badger (which I have STILL not gotten around to using!) so I pulled that out from its storage box to compare and it's apples with oranges. The Muhle is like a scrubby old $2 boar brush in comparison - honestly I thought they'd be vaguely similar but NO WHERE CLOSE.

Anyway I will be very interested to see how the Plisson handles both bowl and face lathering - and also hard soaps vs softer ones but the initial reports have me thinking this may be one of my best ever buys! I also note that the brush essentially has no odour, if anything it almost has a very faint natural brush odour from the bristles - if I didn't know otherwise I'd think it smelt like a well broken in badger/boar. The VS Synth had a bit of a chemically/plasticy scent at first, so again I guess another good thing. Will be interesting to see how these are received as around 6-7 members seem to have come into them all at once, I'm definitely impressed with the first looking over anyways.
 
Really good and comprehensive initial thoughts, Nick.

I bowl lathered Proraso Green with the Plisson this morning. Mama Mia it churned up a lather that Marco would have been envious of. I'm terrible with a bowl but you wouldn't know it if you saw the creamy goodness that was produced.
 
Thanks LaP, appreciate the feedback.

I really do tend to think that this current generation of synthetics has turned the corner into becoming a viable contender for THE choice of brush to have. Previously they were always seen as a curio or for that vegan guy at your work who wears birkenstocks and insists on almond milk in his coffee! But these are very high performers that I suspect will keep even very good badgers fearing possibly being put on the sell/trade block by their owners.

As even Drubbs noted these latest synthetics have a knack for making very low/micro bubble lather. They also seem to do this REALLY rapidly and aalso need naticeably loss loadingeto get these excellent results done. Pretty impressive combo of traits.
 
Locitane is quite popular in Asia! Where the French ness and natural etc hold a bit of weight. As for coupling... I think CADE soap is very high quality. And gives good access to market
 
Ok debut use....lathered CRSW Bergamot &Bay, the Plisson was only very measily loaded and then I bowl lathered. Worked it for 1min or less and then finished on my face. Really high end lather with zip bubbles! W

What was immediately apparent to me was the very friendly backbone as opposed to the springy VS Synth. It has the usability of a very high end Badger but much softer tips.

Face lathering would be no issue, it will never be confused with an exfoliating boar but I have no idea how folks can say it is a floppy mop etc.

Made waaaaaaaaay more lather than needed, cleanup was a cinch, shake out, rinse and twirl in a towel and its almost touch dry.

Very glad i got this and suspect it will be a long time keeper as hard to thinkmany brushes could out perform this.
 
Big thanks to @Nick the Knife who enabled my owing the Plisson - thank you very, very much Nick. Of course, kudos to @filobiblic for his small part too. ;)

My debut use was good but not sure if it is the best brush in my arsenal. I am looking forward to trying the STF2 and the Plisson more immediately to see how they compare. I can easily say right now that the Plisson is softer, much softer. It might have been just the hardness of the Jabonman soaps - highly unlikely as most (talking @Marlow as the pioneer here) can load MWF with this brush no dramas - but I felt this brush didn't charge as well as my silvertip badger or STF2. Again this is just a suspicion at this stage as I need to delve on this one a little further. As per synthetics this knot is economical though and does well with what it has. I did find that I had to work the lather a little harder than my silvertip badger - needs more water added and I think it needs more water than the STF2…not sure why???….needs more testing. Plisson is so soft on the face - so luxurious. The Plisson slaps a little more than the STF2 which acts more like a badger to my mind. STF2 splays more like a silvertip badger, Plisson forms and flows in a different way. I feel I can control the lather better with the STF2 - just stays where need it easier, though I do know it better. So far I think STF2 is comparable to silvertip badger and Plisson is a very different but very capable brush.

Again these are just my first impression and I reserve the right to do a complete u-turn, contradicting everything I just said with further testing.
 
Great initial thoughts, Stillsy. The STF2 must be a damned fine brush to put it ahead of the Plisson, but it's early days. I'm certain your impression of the brush will improve with a bit more use time. The feel of the brush as you describe it is on the money.

For me the Plisson does a stellar job of lathering MWF and another hard-as-rock soap and stable mate of the Plisson, L'Occitaine Cade.
 
I might have to get mine back out and use it more. I had put in a box with all the other lesser brushes. But then... I love my badgers.
 
dewy said:
Not sure where to put this but these are on a decent discount at the moment via the local store. http://au.loccitane.com/plisson-shaving-brush,23,1,39509,439432.htm#s=65321
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Normally you'd put something like this into the "Heads Up" thread (near BST section).

For $40 in store, that's as much as you'd pay in the States. Sure, it's advertised as US$30 but after conversion, state taxes (and possibly transport) you are looking at A$40. So this is as cheap (in store) as you'll ever get it here in Oz.
 
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