ed

[SeaD0nkey]

That bowl is becoming a a legend!!!

[Austin]

Thanks for the review Joel.

[guenron]

Great review Joel,
I wonder if they just sell the tubs? I find the stuff otherwise an underperformer. It seems I always have an early return of stuble with AOS.
Any ideas?
Regards,
Ron

[guenron]

Poke and twist. Followed by about twenty five or thirty swirls in the bowl.. Sometimes adding a little water (two drops). Plenty of lather, just seems my 5 o'clock shadow comes in at 10:00AM with AOS.. No problem with Taylors, Trumpers, Vulfix, or any of the hard soaps. Just AoS...

[guenron]

Poke and twist. Followed by about twenty five or thirty swirls in the bowl.. Sometimes adding a little water (two drops). Plenty of lather, just seems my 5 o'clock shadow comes in at 10:00AM with AOS.. No problem with Taylors, Trumpers, Vulfix, or any of the hard soaps. Just AoS...

Ron,
Just as I thought.... two things rang out - 1.) You are a poke and twister 2.) you didn't mention salter cream in the creams you don't have a problem with - so I assume you haven't used salter.

What I think your problem is - is with the "poke and twist" method on a soft cream like AOS or Salter you inadvertantly get too much cream... especially if you have a big brush. It looks like you are getting about the same amount of cream you would normally dip into - however the softer cream travels up and wedges into the bristles - so the surfact area looks about the same - cream wise, however it is embedded much deeper than you think. Try being much softer, or adding water to the bowl you are whipping lather up in. The first time I used AOS Lemon - I used it with my Vulfix #41 (I no longer have) and got wayy too much cream, and I had to add quite a bit of water in order to get the right water to cream ratio. This is why I feel people may dig on the cream. With the stiffer bristles of a shavemac or simpsons - you have to be VERY light with it - if you don't know any better - you will have to chaulky of a mix (and AOS doesn't show its chaulkyness as much) and you will not get as close of a shave.

Lemme know how it works!

That sounds like it might just be the answer. When I get home this weekend I'll try it with the AOS Sandalwood that has been relegated to paperweight status in my lower cabinet. Thanks. I would never have thought that as all my other creams work just fine.

[guenron]

Ron,
If you can't get the AOS to work for ya, lemme know and I am sure we can work out some kinda trade!

WOrst come to worst, sounds like a good plan..

[bernards66]

Joel, Fine photos, as always. Todd, it certainly is pretty individualistic ( I didn't have a problem with the Vulfix cream either ). AOS is definately "okay", I can only recall two posters saying that they thought it was flat-out bad ( they both apparently had experiances like Ron described, only even more so ). No, I think that it's a good shave product, and if one likes Salters alot, the AOS cream is likely to appeal. Lemon is the only AOS cream I've not tried. I've experimented with the other three repeatedly, over a period of time. To me, they're simply not quite as good as the traditional English brands, athough they are similiar. The lather I got was never quite as rich or lubricating, although it was certainly adequate. I experinaced no major problems with the shave itself. Some get quite enthused about the scents, but I didn't think they were in any way superior to many of the English creams. AOS struck me as a sort of 'watered down' version of T&H. I've posted elsewhere, that if the AOS cream was about 1/2 the price that it actually is, it would be one of those 'good buys'. As it is, it's considerably more pricey then Taylors, and about the same price as T&H, so, personally, I just can't see choosing it. I've never cared for their packaging. BTW, I really don't think that the sales of AOS products have much to do with their quality. They are marketed in dept. stores to a customer base that generally has no experiance with, or knowledge of, top quality shave creams. Even many of their reps. don't seem to know much about the subject ( unlike those I've meet from T&H ). Regards, Gordon

[ARenaissanceMan]

Count me in the "AOS Blows" camp. Their stuff is so overpriced and the quality is fair at best. Although, if I were to pick a product of theirs to buy it would be the shave cream. But its not anywhere in the same league as the 3 T's, Proraso, Musgo, or even some of the other designer brands like Men-U and Baxter.

Gordon - Good points all around. Interestingly enough, I had the same "watered down T&H" impression when I first tried out their cream.

[nteeman]

Count me in the "AOS Blows" camp. ...

Me too. Lather and scent aside, I just didn't get a good shave with AOS creams and for me that is the most important quality of a shave cream, everything else is secondary to that.

[Austin]

My experience with AOS Sandalwood has been good. I have no problems with lathering or lubrication. I pretty much follow the same regimen as Joel. I find no issue with the consistency of the product. I will probably purchase the Lemon cream next.

[growler]

I've been disenchanted with the Art of Shaving ever since they introduced their own product line (a year or so after their first shop opened, in NY). They stopped carrying other brands altogether. I believe they always wanted their own brand but had to wait a while for the free publicity generated by a press amused/interested in this supposedly old way of shaving. I think their goods are way overpriced, and not up to snuff when compared to more established brands.

[Drew]

I've always thought AOS was just as good as the other big names. The lavender scent is awesome!

Drew

[Sage]

I had some samples of the AOS creams, and thought they were okay, nothing to write home about. They sent the catalog along with the samples, and I couldn't believe how much they wanted for some of their stuff, insane prices.

For my money, I much prefer Taylors, T&H, and Trumpers.

Andy