D.R. Harris Arlington Shave Cream

goose · Post by **goose** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 10:42 am

So today I had my last shave with the old formula Arlington. Personally, I think the older style Harris creams had more cushion than any of the other English creams including Coates. I always felt like the Arlington scent was unique as well, which makes it a shame that it has now been reformulated. So to those of you who have tried both the new and the old Arlington, how do they compare both scent wise and shave wise?

Thanks,
Clint

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 11:24 am

I would like to read this comparison as well.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:52 pm

Clint, Well, the newer Arlington I had was a sample, and I got it shortly after we'd noticed that there seemed to be some not postive changes in some of their creams. It came from Vintage Blades. The scent seemed pretty much the same, but the consistancy was that more cold cream-like stuff that Chris M. has reported on and photographed for us. It didn't lather properly, and I was not impressed. Perhaps they've sorted out whatever the problem was ( that's if they perceive it as a 'problem' ), but, myself, I wouldn't buy any Harris's creams today unless I could examine them in person, or they were coming from someone who's judgement I trusted to know the difference. The old Harris's creams were superlative, quality wise, but for some reason, some of them seemed to bother my skin a little bit, which is why I didn't use them more than I did.
Regards,
Gordon

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Sat Nov 08, 2008 8:56 pm

Clint,

I had a sample from the same shipment that Gordon writes about, and the cream was indeed not impressive (the Marlborough sample was even worse). It could have been reformulated, or it could have been from a bad batch or from shipping problems. Unfortunately, I haven't bought any D.R. Harris shaving cream since then. Why not call Jim at Vintage Blades and ask him?

Ken

goose · Post by **goose** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:39 am

Well, Jim made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I have a tub of the newly packaged stuff headed my way. I'll let everyone know my thoughts at the end of the week. Jim says Harris firmly denies any sort of formulation changes, so perhaps all of the bad reports were due to the issues Creightons was having.

Clint

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:47 am

Clint, Well, Trumpers stoutly, and at times, rather rudely, denied everything as well. Yet, the problem was there, for anyone who was familiar with these creams, to see. I understand that problems can arise, and that they have little control over boo boos at Creightons. What really bothered me was, especially Trumpers, curt denial that there was anything wrong with, or different about, some of these creams, when there clearly was. This cold cream-like goop was crappy, to put it bluntly, and here they were pretending everything was just jolly and what was wrong with us for questioning this.
Regards,
Gordon

timc · Post by **timc** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:40 pm

I never tried the old formulation Harris cream, but I was not really impressed with the consistency of the new one when I received a tub. That being said, six to eight months of sitting on a shelf greatly improved its quality, and I have been using it every day for a few weeks now. I'm not sure what it is, but I almost always get really close shaves when I use it, compared to using the same razor and blade combination with some of my other creams.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:36 pm

Tim, Well, my weird Trumpers Limes has now finally turned into a good cream as well, but by my estimate, it took probably about 2 years to get there. Now, it's dense enough to form lumps when you try to lather it, but at least the lather is good. Well, I don't know about you, but I'm disinclined to put pots of shave cream down to 'age' for a year or two. No. I'd like to see the Harris's and Trumper creams get back to what they were for decades. If they do, I will buy them, if not, then I won't.
Regards,
Gordon

timc · Post by **timc** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:16 am

I definitely agree. I have to wonder, though, if the creams have generally been allowed to age prior to distribution in the past. Could it be possible that when changes were made--be they repackaging or reformulation--that there wasn't enough lead time to allow the new products to age before they were distributed? Perhaps, given enough time, this sort of thing will just work itself out.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:04 am

Tim, Well, the creams were always set aside to 'settle' for a little while, and some brands specified a longer period than others, but we're talking in terms of weeks here, not months and years. Some argued that we were simply seeing a new production run a year or two ago with the various creams, but that doesn't wash. Some of us had been using these creams long enough that we'd certainly have seen new runs in the past, and we'd never seen ones like those. Bargepole has been shaving with Trumpers since the '70s, and Bill since the '80s for example. It was probably some error at Creightons; they changed locations, their supervisor retired, etc. But, it would have been much more appropriate and gentlemanly for Trumper etc. to admit this, even if they couldn't do anything about it, rather than 'harrumph!' at us, and some of their decades old retailers, telling all and sundry that there was no problem.
Regards,
Gordon

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:27 pm

The scent of my "new formulation" Trumper's violet cream is still wretched. Both pots. Feh.

As for the Harris Arlington cream, I'm too gun shy at this point to pull the trigger on a blind purchase. Since no one in my area sells Harris creams, it will take quite a few thumbs up from knowledgeable Harris users before I purchase another pot off the internet.

TorzJohnson · Post by **TorzJohnson** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 9:05 am

I had a similar experience as some of the members above. I received an Arlington sample almost 2 years ago that came with a good dense consistency. Then I got another one around the start of this year that was very soft and not at all like the old cream. I put it on the shelf and forgot about it until last week when I tried it again - and it had firmed up to exactly the same consistency as my old-style Arlington sample. Interesting.

TRBeck · Post by **TRBeck** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 9:14 am

I got an Arlington sample in June from Jim at Vintage Blades. I'm assuming he has pretty high turnover in his products and samples. The stuff was almost the consistency of a soft soap, and in fact, I smeared the sample into the bottom of a lather bowl and used it as soap. I believe I got five good shaves from that sample jar.

That said, we're talking about samples, which are a notoriously unreliable representation of what the product is actually like, at least when it comes to shave creams. As such, I eagerly await Clint's results.

Regards,

goose · Post by **goose** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:33 pm

The Arlington Shave Cream arrived today. Again, can't say enough good things about the service level from Jim. First thoughts, the consistency looks pretty good. It is pretty firm and doesn't have any of that sheen to it that was present in the tubs that Chris Moss posted pictures of. The only difference I can tell so car is the scent isn't as strong as the the last tub of Arlington I had, which might not be such a bad thing since the older stuff was pretty heavily scented. I'll give an update once I have actually shaved with it.

Clint

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:42 pm

I might be interested if the scent is light enough.

Hodari D. · Post by **Hodari D.** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:02 am

Any update Clint? Have you had a chance to shave with it yet?

Scott

goose · Post by **goose** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:47 am

Here are my thoughts on the new cream. I shaved with it 3 times over the weekend, and the shave properties are very close to the old cream. The lather might be a hair less rich, but I am still very impressed with how it shaves. The cream has a very dense consistency, that is similar to the tub of Coates Limes I have. It sounds like it is probably similar to the sample Tim received. The scent in mine is much lighter than the scent of the old cream. It actually is one of the lightest scents of any cream I have ever used, whereas the old tub I just finished was pretty potent. I have actually come to prefer lighter scented shave creams because I find they agree with my skin better, so this isn't a deal breaker, but I would have liked it to be a little stronger. Overall, the cream is a great performer and would be most suited to those who prefer lighter, citrus scents.

Clint

gr_elias · Post by **gr_elias** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:08 pm

goose wrote: I have actually come to prefer lighter scented shave creams because I find they agree with my skin better, so this isn't a deal breaker, but I would have liked it to be a little stronger.
Clint

+100 I think light scented creams/soaps are better for sensitive skin.

Have you tried Arlington soap? If so, does it have a much stronger scent?

goose · Post by **goose** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:16 pm

I haven't tried the Arlington soap, but I have used the almond and lavender, and the scent of the Arlington shave cream scent is similar in strength to the Harris shave soaps I have used.

Clint

woodsrider · Post by **woodsrider** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:41 pm

Well, this is an interesting thread. I recently opened a new tub of Harris almond cream that's been stashed in the basement for a few months. I've shaved with it several times, and it has been a disappointment. The cream itself has a shiny appearance, and the resulting lather is also shiny and similar to that generated by a cold pour soap. It's nothing like the lather I got from my T&H rose cream this morning.

I must have gotten a tub of the off stuff from a while back. Next time, I'll probably play it safe and stick with Taylors or T&H.