SMF

Company: The Art Of Shaving
Products: Balm/Shaving Cream
Location: Walt Whitman Mall

When you dive into this hobby, information comes at you from all directions eventually someone tells you about "The Art of Shaving". At the time, I didn't know any better and was willing to just get started so I took a visit to my local mall called Walt Whitman. This is considered a high-end mall you'll find no food courts here no Burger Kings or McDonald's. I located the directory and to my surprise, a brand new The Art of Shaving Store has just opened.

So, I started walking at a brisk fast pace like one of those elderly mall walkers do and found myself in front of the store. I could hear the angels singing as I found myself entering the doorway. This was my utopia my Shangri-La which unfortunately was short lived when I started to notice the prices. They had everything I was looking for they even had a sink for testing products.

I gazed at all the shelves and spoke to the shave consultant and asked a million questions then he reached into the top drawer of the showcase he then showed me the line of shaving creams and balms and razors he even let me try them out. I glanced at the price for the cream my eyes started to roll back into my head but I found a kit that had everything I needed for $95 it included everything but the razor so I broke down and purchased my very first DE razor the R89Grande.

Fast-forward to present day and I hardly use this shaving cream anymore. My knowledge of shaving soaps and creams has surpassed the shave consultant I used to rely on. We have so many great artisans making Brushes, Bowls, Shaving Soap and Creams that I no longer need to visit the store.

This doesn't change the fact that the Sandalwood shaving cream which I still have is one of the best scents of sandalwood out there. The balm is also outstanding I used to come back to the den during the day to apply more even though I didn't really need to. I guess you can say I was hooked.

My shave today was a testimony to how well the products hold up. Mine was a little dry from being dormant for so long. All that was needed was a bowl lather and a little more water than I usually use. This did the trick and I created an amazing amount of lather still rich and creamy and the scent still the best. The slickness and glide had decreased a little but still? I was able to get a close shave without any irritations. My post shave feel was a good one too.

To say The Art of Shaving is expensive would be an understatement. You're going to pay top dollar for the branded products. That being said the R89 Grande was $75.00 you can find it for much less elsewhere. If you're starting out I would suggest the kit if you want to stay with TAOS products. It got me involved and it will for you too.

Company: The Art Of Shaving
Products: Shaving Cream $40.00 Balm $25.00

Gee - I think your store is out of line. I did check the TAOS official webstore just now, and unscented cream is $25 while the scented varieties are $30. In all cases, significantly less than the $40 in the picture shown in the original post. Yes, TAOS is expensive but their creams are top shelf and not as expensive as the picture indicates.

Currently I have a good supply of the old formula tallow sandalwood shaving soap. The shaving creams are also top shelf. I have 4 of their creams, sandalwood, peppermint, rose, and lemon. I consider these to be equal to the best of their peers.

I just finished a full tub of Ocean Kelp cream and was very impressed with the product. It's the only North American lathering product I have used since C&E discontinued their sweet almond oil (which still sits in my craw - it was that good). AOS scents are very strong - so they can be a bit offensive for me sometimes. Notwithstanding, I did find the Ocean Kelp to be outstanding and would consider buying it again as I don't think they are all that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

Very nice to see you out and about Wendell. Where have you been hiding???

A partner of mine loved the scent of ocean kelp and bought me a bucket. Its a very nice scent and a very nice cream, however it always makes my face tingle in a not so pleasant fashion, ergo I have stopped using it

clive

I love theirs creams and considering most artisan product pricing has been creeping up to the $25 mark and above, their pricing is well within the norm.

Just an update to this older post. I am seeing AOS creams selling on the bay for as little as $11.00 with free shipping. I wonder what's up with that? I hope they are genuine. I am currently working on a tub of the Lemon cream and find it to be excellent. Along with the Lemon I have used the Ocean Kelp. Both of these creams are the newer version made in the USA. I find them every bit as good as the older version made in Europe.

On another note, I found AOS cream at my local Sam's store the other day. The label says that it's made in Canada. I think they wanted about $17.00 per tub. Didn't buy any so can't compare.

I noticed that a while back AOS offered a Vetiver Citron fragrance shaving cream for a limited time, but never got around to getting one for myself. I probably should buy one while they're still available on a couple of the most publicized internet outlets. I have too much stuff now, and chasing fragrances is something that I am trying hard to get away from.

Just an update - The Art Of Shaving store which was in the best part of the mall is now gone!. This was a big surprise since we have all high-end retail here I think it just lost favor it was always crowded but if nobody buys this is what happens.

They've closed our AOS in the mall here also.

AOS stuff is good but I very rarely bought anything in the store. I used to buy a couple of tubs of unscented cream usually online now and then to mix with high quality rose or sandalwood oil to replenish my old AOS tubs. About a year ago I switched to Xspec unscented for this purpose. Comparable or better quality cream. I generally avoid malls but AOS was a good place to kill 20 mins if I went with my wife. Always lots of goodies but nothing that I had to have.

Yesterday I was in Target and saw they have a small area set aside for men's shaving and grooming. There on the shelf I noticed some AOS products such as shaving cream, aftershave balm, DE razors, shaving brushes, and I don't remember what else.

I miss the AOS products a lot here.

Hello Lynn, and welcome to SMF. Where is here?

jww wrote: ↑Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:28 pm I just finished a full tub of Ocean Kelp cream and was very impressed with the product. It's the only North American lathering product I have used since C&E discontinued their sweet almond oil (which still sits in my craw - it was that good). AOS scents are very strong - so they can be a bit offensive for me sometimes. Notwithstanding, I did find the Ocean Kelp to be outstanding and would consider buying it again as I don't think they are all that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

I'd love to try the ocean kelp cream as I have had good results with any kind of seaweed-based aftershave. I may have to buy some even though it's crazy expensive.

Weishi's new shave cream has an aquatic vetiver scent. I actually am starting to like aquatic scents, at least the ones that focus on the aquatic bit and not the fruity notes.

For me the very best of their creams is the discontinued Rose Absolute. Wonderful fragrance and lather.

I must admit that I like the store, art of shaving, however the prices are too high for me.