Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

What is your opinion on fine shaving creams and hard soaps? Do you like Trumpers, Coates, Taylors, Truefitt & Hill? Post your reviews and opinions here!
gsgo
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Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by gsgo »

Well had a first go with the vintage Coates Almond this morning. Have to report it seemed like a pretty standard UK type shave cream shave, I found the lather to be quite slick with a bit less cushion than the TOBS Shaving Shop I have been using pretty regularily. Scent is a bit subdued, possibly due to the age of the product but I found the almond to be more on the floral side than the foodie side, but in general I believe it has faded over the years. Seemed to whip up easily and took a bit more water to get any volume. Post shave is on par with my general experience with UK creams.

All in all, definitely worth the price of admission. The small tubes would be perfect for travel and the creams seem to all be in working order. I test lathered the Lime and Lavender, the Lime surprised me with a bit of a light "candy" lime scent while the Lavender was still quite punchy but definitely fitting the category, side by side with T&H Lavender I prefer the scent of T&H.

Looking at the range of shave creams out of the UK these days is quite daunting - DRH, T&H, Trumpers, CRS, CF (Scotland), Vulfix, TOBS, The Body Shop (still made in UK I think) and Simpson, a shavers selection will probably come down to either a brand or scent preference as they are more similar than different in performance.
Good shaving,

Gary
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by brothers »

I like the Almond Coates because of the scent. It's just mild enough, with just the right amount of fragrance for my tastes. I had a tub once, and let it slip away for some reason. I had always regretted that. So when I saw this opportunity to replace it, I didn't hesitate.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
bernards66
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by bernards66 »

Gary, Well, the old Coate's creams were, indeed, very similiar to the other top shelf old school English creams, but I always thought that they were just a tad even better than the others. However, this only applied to the cream in the pots; the little plastic tubed ones were not quite the same. Similiar has been my experiance with these creams from other companies when they're packed in plastic. Even the tube of T&H Lavender that I have is not quite AS good as the same cream in the pots, although it's still very good. A pot of the old Coate's Lavender cream, in optimal shape, was my favourite shave prep product that I've ever used. I was also partial to their Almond, as compared to the other similiar English almond creams and their Sandalwood the same. I was off and on with their Lime, but it was a punchy and 'true' lime scent in the pots. Their Rose, well, at the time I thought there were a couple of others that were as good, and the Tea Tree scent was just not my thing although some members loved the stuff. Those little plastic tubes could be a pain because if you weren't careful the caps would snap off, but they were very handy for traveling. They were originally made because the then US distributor for Coate's, Simpson, and Trumper convinced David Carter that a less expensive way for first time buyers to try one of these old style creams would help boost sales as many who were used to canned foams had sticker shock when they saw the price of the pots, or even the full sized Trumper tubes. Hence a tube that was half the size...and half the price.
Regards,
Gordon
gsgo
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by gsgo »

Went with Lavender this morning, fine shave, I pretty much expect the same for the Lime tomorrow. Followed my shave this morning with a nice splash of Lucido and then topped off the morning with a bit of Aqua Lavanda Puig which garnered me a "mmm, you smell nice" comment this am.

Once again Gordon thanks for the details, I love the tidbits you are able to share here at SMF.

As I lump most of the Italian Cream Soaps into a category that I rank very highly and feel that everyone should have one, I believe English Shave Creams are probably in that seem type of league, everyone should have at least a couple in their den, just a matter of picking your brand and scent.
Good shaving,

Gary
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Squire
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Squire »

Yes, we should all have some then get some more.
Regards,
Squire
bernards66
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by bernards66 »

Squire, Yes indeed!...and with your advice in mind I am in the process of ordering some of these Coate's tubes. Hopefully no one misunderstood my above post; although I did think there was a difference between their pots of cream vs. the tubes, the tubes were still very good indeed. I experiance the same sort of thing with the T&H creams of today. Everyone who has received any of these Coate's tubes and has posted about it seems happy with the condition they are in, so, I just could not pass up an opportunity to re-experiance some of my old favourites. Andy is being most reasonable with his prices as well, which clinched the deal for me. I'll probably post something about them when mine arrive, for old times sake if nothing else ( chuckle )
Regards,
Gordon
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Craig_From_Cincy
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Craig_From_Cincy »

I just ordered a stash of Coates as well. I can't wait to revisit this old favorite. Just remember: be careful with those caps Gents, they break easily.
Cheers,

Craig
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Squire
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Squire »

Yeah, caps break, so save the caps as tubes are used up for replacements, and the caps from other brands as well. Most of them will interchange.
Regards,
Squire
gsgo
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by gsgo »

Went with Lime this morning - more of the same - good stuff!

The caps on all of my tubes seems sturdy and work well screwing on and off without problem and seem to provide a tight seal. I wouldn't worry about them if mine are an example of all of Andy's lot.
Good shaving,

Gary
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btafan
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by btafan »

Nice to see my Coate's are getting generally good reviews. :D I'm also learning a lot about them from Gordon and the other experts on SMF.
The caps definitely are a weakness at times, as there are always a few per box that are either firm or completely hardened. Sometimes the cap is torn off the thread, and sometimes the cap just leaks air. The lavenders seem especially susceptible for some reason. But I hope I've done a good enough job of squeezing each tube I send out to check for what I'm guessing to be the right consistency. I'm collecting a small pile of unfortunate dried out Coate's, but is there any reason to save them to be able to do anything with them later?
-Andy
gsgo
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by gsgo »

Thanks for clarifying the cap issue Andy, we do not want to see wild internet rumors get loose on a great stash of shave cream. :wink:
Good shaving,

Gary
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Craig_From_Cincy
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Craig_From_Cincy »

gsgo wrote:Thanks for clarifying the cap issue Andy, we do not want to see wild internet rumors get loose on a great stash of shave cream. :wink:
Definitely. I didn't mean to imply anything about the creams that Andy is so generously offering. I was just going my past experience with the caps on Coates tunes, I've had similar experiences with TOBS caps by the way. Don't wrench them down super tight and all should be well.
Cheers,

Craig
gsgo
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by gsgo »

No harm done Craig, your intentions were good from the start.
Good shaving,

Gary
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Sam
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Sam »

Andy, Id save them or offer to sell a dried out one for say $1 with the purchase of a package. Why? Well, if you are able to somehow get it out of the tube (not solid in it, but even then you could cut away the plastic) you can put it in some other shave pot or container and rehydrate it and maybe even nuke it if necessary. 4 or 5 dried out lavendars could do the trick and make a pretty nice pot of lavendar. Right now, the last remnant of my Trumper lime is like a soupy consistency, but as I am able to scoop it with a finger and insert it into the brush, it works just fine.
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Squire
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Squire »

btafan wrote: I hope I've done a good enough job of squeezing each tube I send out to check for what I'm guessing to be the right consistency. I'm collecting a small pile of unfortunate dried out Coate's, but is there any reason to save them to be able to do anything with them later?
Andy you can empty out the tubes into a ziplock type bowl and use it like a shave soap.
Regards,
Squire
bernards66
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by bernards66 »

Andy, Hope you got my last PM with my address.
Regards,
Gordon
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Nitrox »

Craig_From_Cincy wrote:I just ordered a stash of Coates as well. I can't wait to revisit this old favorite. Just remember: be careful with those caps Gents, they break easily.
I had a tube of the Almond and the cap broke. Fortunately, the caps from toothpaste fit nicely and did the job until I finished the tube.
After all, Coates is more important than a tube of toothpaste. :wink:
Bruno

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shave every day and you'll always look keen."
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btafan
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by btafan »

Sam and Squire: Thanks for the info! You've enlightened me once again: I tried using the putty-like consistency of a capless sandalwood like a soap and it worked like a charm. I also tried out a brick of lavender and it still worked, although not quite as well obviously.

Gordon: I got your address and will ship out tomorrow as I replied via PM just now. Thanks!
-Andy
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by churchilllafemme »

Can any of the almond or sandalwood cream be bought anywhere now? I certainly would be interested in purchasing some.
_______
John
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Re: Vintage Coates Almond Shave Cream

Post by Craig_From_Cincy »

churchilllafemme wrote:Can any of the almond or sandalwood cream be bought anywhere now? I certainly would be interested in purchasing some.
Funny you should ask John:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=52337
Cheers,

Craig
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