Sticky: Soap and cream reviews

[Bargepole]

This is a thread specifically for reviews of shaving creams and soaps. It's intended as a resource for consultation. Anyone can post but please keep it to specific review of specific creams. Banter, dissent and thread drift can be continued in separate threads. (That's me fixed, then.) Enjoy.

[george]

Here is a post with links to all of Squire's excellent cream reviews. As we all know, YMMV, but this still gives one a reference point. Hopefully you will all find this a useful post.

I'll try to add new reviews as Squire does them...

Dettol - Full Review

Fa Oceanic - Full Review

Godrej Shaving Cream - Full Review

Old Spice Lime - Full Review

Speick - Full Review

Tryphon Lime - Full Review

[drumana]

Here's the link my review of Institute Karite shave soap:

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewto ... highlight=

[Boyextraordinare]

Why so few reviews?

[notthesharpest]

Why so few reviews?

There are hundreds, they just aren't all collected here yet.

[Boyextraordinare]

I can imagine. I just wish they were neatly compiled. I'll add whatever I use, which thus far has been limited to Proraso, VHD Sensitive and Williams. Tomorrow-ish I'm going to try the new Body Shope's cream - probably on my GF, since I've nothing left but brows and the lovely locks atop my head.

I need more bases for comparison.

[DCLawyer]

Here's what I wrote in another thread re: the new Clubman Shaving Cream, which sells at about $7 a tube at Drugstore.com:

I used some this morning and I'm happy to report I am VERY impressed.

A small (pea sized) amount in my palm turned into a very large amount of lather on my brush. It was a tad watered, but not much. At $7 a tube, I plan to use this product regularly now when I travel.

I hadn't plan to use it while I still had some CW Greenbriar cream in a tub left, but frankly that stuff is so subpar I decided to lather up again with the Clubman.

I don't know how it compares to other tube creams, e.g., Taylors, T&H, etc. I can compare it to creams in jars and I'd say it's = to Taylors and not quite up to T&H standards (ergo, not up to Trumpers and Harris, which are my personal favs).

Again - I was delighted that a $7 product provided such a fine shave, though.

Rating: a provisional **** out of ***** rating (similar to Taylors). Note: this is subject to revision as I have only used it once.Further edit: further use has only confirmed my initial, very favorable impression of this cream as among the best in shaving cream values.

[TRBeck]

Here are a few of Chris Moss's excellent reviews dating back in some cases four years.

Tabac

TOBS Sandalwood soap

New Style Vulfix creams

Musgo Real cream

New style Taylor creams

Salter creams

Col. Conk soaps

These are insightful reviews as you would expect, written by someone who has a huge frame of reference, having tried nearly everything on the market.
It's also interesting to read these and realize that even four years ago the English and German soaps we take for granted were very difficult to come by.

Regards,

[TRBeck]

And here are some other cream and soap reviews by some other longtime members:

Trumper Violet cream by Ben (Occam)

J. Peterman 1903 cream by MOSES

TGR Unscented cream by John 5

Nancy Boy by Danny (Chaps)

Olivia’s Shaving Cream/Soap by Gordon

Noxzema cream by ubuntu

There are hundreds more, as David said...

Regards,

[DCLawyer]

Caswell Massey Greenbriar Shave Cream 11.08

Caswell Masswell's Greenbriar line comes in a stately green package, with vintage golf art adorning the jar. It has a fresh, somewhat lime infused scent that probably makes a nice AS or cologne.

I started with those so I would have something nice to say about this otherwise dreadful product.

The cream itself is a very odd substance, which seems to repel rather than hold water. The result is when you brush it on, the water from your brush runs down your face, rather than soaking into your whiskers. In order to get anything more than the thinnest coat, you need to use a lot more product than from a higher end cream.

Unfortunately, despite its performance, it is marketed and costs about the same as a higher end cream ($15-$20 on the CW website). Yet, its performance does not merit the cost. In fact, the end result is no better than the cheapest of drugstore aerosol creams.

This is the second very poor experience I've had with a CW shave product. I won't be trying any more.

Rating: * (out of 5 possible): comparable to a low end drugstore cream such as Foamy or Barbasol.

[Lou]

I just finished a sample of Floris JF Conditioning Shaving Cream and am impressed by it. Of the small number of creams and soaps I've used, this had the best lather and consistency.

The sample set arrived with the cream hardened inside the jar to the point of resembling a soap. It wasn't a big deal in terms of using the cream. The only drawback was that it broke into small chunks when I scraped it out of the jar, making it awkward to lather with the brush. Even with that challenge, it still built an incredibly smooth lather with ease and covered my face just right. The lather had what I consider an ideal consistency. It built a creamy, just-enough layer on my face, but wouldn't go overboard to an excessive meringue. I liked that restraint. The cream provided for excellent razor glide. Overall, it had a very luxurious, well constructed feel.

I'm apprehensive about perfumed shaving creams and soaps. I have a touch of vasomotor rhinitis, and being hit with the wrong scent while I'm waking up can make for a horrible start to my morning. Luckily, JF was just right. It was pronounced enough to be recognizable as JF, but light enough to not offend a drowsy proboscis.

I highly recommend this Floris cream. Its luxury is rivaled only by its efficacy. You'll pay Floris prices, but it's worth it if you want an outstanding cream.

[brothers]

Review: Irisch Moos Shaving Cream

This shaving cream surpassed all of my expectations. They were high expectations, and I am very pleased that in my humble and respectful opinion, Irisch Moos is better, for me, than it's sibling Tabac from the same manufacturer.

The scent is pleasant. It is not overpowering like Tabac. It doesn't hit you in the nose. I am just a guy, and never an authority on what stuff smells like. It is masculine, but it reminds me a little bit of how stuff smells like when you are mowing. That includes plants other than grass. Just any plant. Kind of like when you cut wheat or other crops, or when you are clearing out an overgrown area. Freshly cut or fresh growing plant growth.

I don't think it is flowery, but in general, considering that most growing things produce flowers, then in that sense it is pleasantly reminescent of flowering plants, including the nearby areas where things are blooming in the late spring or early summer. That, to me, is always pleasant and refreshing. I have never been a guy that wears or tolerates perfumes or colognes that just linger around and knock everything else out of the way. I'm talking about the fragrance of the Shaving Cream, not making any comments about Irisch Moos colognes or other products.

The fragrance of Irisch Moos might be described as being somehow related generally to Musgo Real's fragrance. Musgo's is kind of musky, where Irisch Moos's fragrance is more mossy or grassy. Needless to say, I like it and look forward to smelling it.

I face-lather, so after soaking my face, I squeezed out about a 3/4 to 1 inch long dab of the Cream onto my badger brush that had been soaking in warm water, after the excess water was shaken out. I went straight to my face, and worked it and pumped it vigorously for a few moments, taking a couple of dips of the tips of the brush into warm water, in order to add more water to the lather, as it grew.

Irisch Moos Cream is a very light green in color, somewhat similar to Palmolive Classic and even Musgo Real, which may be even lighter green.

The lather that it created was luxurious and firm, not watery or runny. It lasted through 3 full passes, as I wanted to draw the shave out as long as possible, for two reasons, 1) to test it, and 2) because it was a very much anticipated shave, and I was enjoying it. The lather on my face didn't get thick or dry out. The lather in the brush did not wilt or wither in the heat of the shaving scuttle. When I re-lathered for the subsequent passes, I dipped the tips of the brush quickly into the hot water, and the lather never diminished, or failed to enthusiastically continue to keep my entire face and the brush loaded with pleasant warm and fragrant lather.

I paid strict attention to the cushion and the texture of the lather. It was remarkable. The lubrication was high, and the cushion never faltered. I was using a new blade in a new-to-me Gillette Tech, and I made sure to take my time and go with the grain, across the grain, and finally, against the grain. No cuts, no nicks, nothing damaging to my skin whatsoever.

After I finished, I grasped the bristle of the brush and forced all remaining lather up onto the back of my hand, and I had plenty of rich, firm left over lather to wash my entire face with it, allowing it to sit there a few more moments while I rinsed the scuttle and the brush out. I washed the lather off with a warm wet washcloth, and then I noticed how moisturized my face was. There was absolutely no drying. The ingredients of Irisch Moos seem to reflect several things that are good for your skin. I'm not going to try to either remember them as I type this, or to try to back up and look at the list. You will be able to read for yourselves. The manufacturer has taken pains to make Irisch Moos Shaving Cream something that is good for your skin.

I really hope that this review has been of some help. Personally, I hope that the product finds wide acceptance and becomes readily available to those of us who enjoy and appreciate shaving with dependable high quality creams. I have nothing against using Irisch Moos as a soap or in any other form, but I do personally prefer the texture and composition of shaving creams whenever possible.

Because of the very close relationship between Tabac and Irisch Moos, before I was able to smell it, I was very concerned about the fragrance of Irisch Moos. I can now honestly state that I will not miss Tabac, if it ever goes away, because the manufacturer has provided us with a comparable, if not better, product, in the form of Irisch Moos Shaving Cream.

Here is the Ingredient list:



Here is the manufacturer's description of the product:


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[a-cut-above]

Here's my review of Kingsley Shave Soap:
Kingsley Shave Soap

Dave

[hicabi]

Here is my short review and comparison of 19 soaps.

[TRBeck]

Cella Crema di Sapone

Cella is a soft soap along the lines of Valobra soft soaps, Fitness soap, or P.160. A 150g tub currently costs $12 from Razor & Brush. I ordered it several months ago because it was tallow-based and had no preservatives. I subsequently discovered how well-regarded it is.

Packaging: Cella comes in a small red tub with a twist-on lid, which provides a seal that keeps the soft soap from drying out. The tub is a bit small for proper brush-loading with anything bigger than my Commodore X2. I transferred to an Anchor Hocking bowl and found huge improvement in the experience. Still, the small tub is nice for travel or for storing other things.

Scent: Bittersweet almond; this is more complex than any of the English creams, and not nearly as sweet. In a sense it reminds me of apricot kernels or peach pits as much as almonds.

Performance: Because it's a soft soap, less brush loading is required timewise for Cella than for hard soaps. 10-15 seconds of swirling and I get an explosion of lather, even with fairly hard water. I face lather, and it does take some time - in this regard Cella functions like a cream - to get the tight, dense bubbles I'm looking for, but the payoff makes it worthwhile. 60 seconds of face lathering produces copious amounts of thick and slick lather, enough for 4-5 passes, probably. I have never had better (Harris and Tabac are as good, though). I am able to get a good, close cut with Cella on a consistent basis, but there's plenty of cushion for my sharpest DE blades.

Skincare: This is an area where Cella excels. No product leaves my face feeling more moisturized and healthy than Cella, including IK and MWF (in many regards, though, Cella is similar to the former in terms of its feel and aftereffects; it's just easier to lather).

At any price, Cella would be a remarkable performer. At its price point, it's among the best values in wetshaving. If its packaging were more user-friendly, I'd probably rate it 10/10, but I'll nick it a half-point for that: 9.5/10.

Regards,

[brothers]

I thoroughly enjoy it because it is such an excellent product. The fragrance is neither very good nor very bad, in my opinion, it is just a unique part of the personality of the product.

[brothers]

Review of Irisch Moos Shaving Soap January 30, 2009:

I purchased 2 fresh new sticks from a seller in Germany. The cost of the soaps plus the shipping puts it right at a total cost of $15 each. Not cheap, but it's about the same as a stick of Tabac. You get 100g, 3.5 ounces. After about 10 days in transit, it was delivered to my door. When the package came in the mail, my wife opened it, and the first thing she said was "It smells good!". She's right. The fragrance is pleasant, masculine, and not excessively strong, while being unique enough to be memorable.

The stick is the push-up type. The soap is firm and easy to use, and anyone who prefers to relocate the soap from the plastic holder into a bowl will be easily accomodated, if they prefer loading the brush from a puck rather than rubbing the soap onto the face. Either way, the soap works just as it was intended, with no nonsense.

There was no problem with raising a nice firm lather. There is cushion, lubrication, and protection, in addition to pleasing fragrance and an enthusiastic lathering propensity, and all of that leads me to call it a no-hassle, world-class shaving soap. I must add that if you can read the ingredient label in the photo, you will see the presence of tallow.

Because of the easily produced top-quality lather, the user will be able to focus on the job at hand: shaving. I had a tight, smooth lather for as many passes as I needed. I was using a relatively aggressive razor and a new blade, and I experienced no nicks, cuts or otherwise. I enjoyed the shave, and I said "Wow", after the experience was finished.

As is my practice, I squeezed the remaining lather out of the brush and rubbed it over my entire face, and left it there for a few minutes while I busied myself cleaning the razor, brush, etc. Afterward, my face felt very moisturized.

I've given the product high marks. This product did not disappoint. I have confidence in it. Irisch Moos soap, along with it's sibling soap from Maurer and Wirtz, has easily earned a place in my rotation.

[DCLawyer]

Truefitt and Hill Ultimate Shaving Cream - 03.09



This is definitely one of Truefitt's finer products, which is saying a lot. Like other T&H creams, it lathers up richly, perhaps only a shade less so than Trumper's but a bit more than Taylor's.

It does seem to generate a little less razor burn (not that there's much with T&H to begin with) allowing for an even closer shave than usual than I get with T&H creams, which makes for a superior shaving experience.

My one caveat is that I don't truly perceive it as fragrance free. It has a definite, though mild, fragrance, which is fairly neutral and short lasting.

In terms of pure shaving experience (i.e. excluding whatever pleasure you derive from the scent), this is T&H's finest product.

Rating:

***** (out of 5 possible): As good as shaving gets

[rbaloha]

Shaved with this cream using em's pre shave oil, merkur slant, new iridium super blade and $21 ebay silvertip badger.

First, only a dab is required to quickly create a nice thick menthol cooling lather. Menthol effect is better than Noxzema.

Blade glided over the skin creating a nice clean efficient shave. Face also felt wonderful post shave. Initially the price appears slightly high but very little is required. Price effective product.

For Italian Noxzema lovers this product as a worthwhile replacement.

[brothers]

Shaved with this cream using em's pre shave oil, merkur slant, new iridium super blade and $21 ebay silvertip badger.

First, only a dab is required to quickly create a nice thick menthol cooling lather. Menthol effect is better than Noxzema.

Blade glided over the skin creating a nice clean efficient shave. Face also felt wonderful post shave. Initially the price appears slightly high but very little is required. Price effective product.

For Italian Noxzema lovers this product as a worthwhile replacement.

Where can the Palmolive Rinfrescante Al Mentolo be purchased?