SMF

I am interested in these specific 3 Sandalwood shaving creams --- (1.) Art of Shaving; (2.) Vulfix; and (3.) Cyril Salter. They each seem to have good reputations around here. Which one(s) do you prefer, and why? What should I expect from these?

Gary, from one who has never tried any of those three creams, LOL, I would say that I currently enjoy the AOS Ocean Kelp cream. The performance is very, very good and the scent very pleasant. I would suppose that the Sandalwood version would be similar in terms of performance.

Gary, I've only tried the Vulfix and the scent was very ginger-like, not really sandalwood. This was 9 years ago so it may have changed. The performance, if I recall, was pretty good, IMHO. Again, I don't know if it's the same cream I tried back in the day.

Good luck!

Chris

I jumped back in time thanks to the SMF archives. There are a lot of posts regarding Vulfix Sandalwood, and the description most often used to describe the scent is the word "odd". . . . By and large, they all like the scent, regardless of any relation it may or may not have to Sandalwood. Several of the posts are quite eloquent. Didn't take the time to search for AOS Sandalwood and Salter's. I suspect I'll have a lot of reading to do there also.

Gary - the AOS sandalwood, along with the Coates offering are the two sandalwood creams I like the best. Sadly, Coates is gone, and the AOS is pretty pricey - so I don't buy it any more.

Gary I found the Vulfix to be serviceable but didn't care enough for the scent to buy another. Salter I like more but the scent is also muted compared to Coates, Trumpers or, still my favorite, Taylors.

On the subject of Sandalwood, today I tracked down Andy ( SMF member btafan ) and bought "several" tubes of Coates Sandalwood. Gene, he's in your state, and apparently is still selling Coates. Just in case you're interested, I contacted him through SMF by PM. He's a great guy.

Only used the AOS which is excellent - great scent, rich creamy lather, excellent shave charateristics. Salter creams contain has sodium lauryl sulfate foaming agent that I generally avoid although the vetiver cream I had was very good. No experience with the Vulfix creams.

I think of the three, my most likely at this present time would be AOS. I am becoming more and more attracted to Sandalwood products. It has been an evolution for me. With father's day looming on the horizon, if anyone happens to ask for a suggestion, I could easily give them one.

The three candidates was narrowed down to one. AOS. I'm eager to use it when the time comes.

What, no TOBS's sandalwood? That would be my preferred choice. I haven't used AOS cream in years and I haven't tried Vulfix. I have used Salter cream, can't remember the flavour, but didn't like it at all; it made a lousy lather and I pitched it.

Rufus wrote:What, no TOBS's sandalwood? That would be my preferred choice. I haven't used AOS cream in years and I haven't tried Vulfix. I have used Salter cream, can't remember the flavour, but didn't like it at all; it made a lousy lather and I pitched it.

Yeah, maybe I'll eventually get one of those too. I had a tub of it a few years ago. This is one I can get locally at the same shave shop that also stocks Sandalwoods by AOS, Simpsons, GFT, and T&H. I've got to try to maintain some illusion of common sense when it comes to this stuff.

I'm a fan of the Vulfix "Luxury" Sandalwood shaving cream. Great stuff, great lather. The only problem with it is that it's not named properly because it doesn't smell like sandalwood. It should have been named something like "Spicy Pumpkin Pie" or "I'm not sure what this smells like but it sure smells good" or "Kind of like gingerbread". With a proper name the stuff would be flying of the shelf and into the hands of shaving aficionados everywhere.

Regards,
Mike

Gary, I know it's not on your list, but I have what's left of a tube (1/2?) of Proraso Sandalwood. It does smell like sandalwood and I only use it now and again because I have it. It's yours if you want it. It's a decent enough performer.

I agree Mike, sorta sandalwood but certainly other stuff in there, I still like the Vulfix version no matter what they call it.

The ones I started out talking about have come down to 4 Sandalwood shaving creams - Taylor's, AOS, Proraso, and Coates. Not bad, but the Proraso turned out to be not my cup of tea, so I'll eventually pass it along to someone else just as it was generously PIF'd to me.

brothers wrote:The ones I started out talking about have come down to 4 Sandalwood shaving creams - Taylor's, AOS, Proraso, and Coates. Not bad, but the Proraso turned out to be not my cup of tea, so I'll eventually pass it along to someone else just as it was generously PIF'd to me.

Following up on the subject of Sandalwood creams. Harris Sandalwood soap and cream, Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Sandalwood soap, and Proraso Sandalwood cream have come and gone without regrets. After two years, I still have TOBS soap and cream, AOS cream and tallow soap, and Coates cream, all of which are still in my favorites and hopefully will continue to be for the foreseeable future. (Isn't it against the rules of spelling to have three vowels together in one single word? I.e.: foreseeable.)

brothers wrote: Following up on the subject of Sandalwood creams. Harris Sandalwood soap and cream, Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Sandalwood soap, and Proraso Sandalwood cream have come and gone without regrets. After two years, I still have TOBS soap and cream, AOS cream and tallow soap, and Coates cream, all of which are still in my favorites and hopefully will continue to be for the foreseeable future. (Isn't it against the rules of spelling to have three vowels together in one single word? I.e.: foreseeable.)

Nope. Nothing wrong with it.

- Murray

Thanks Murray, yeah, I can think of a couple of examples now that you mention it. Example: copious. It just looked unusual.