Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream Bowl, 5.3-Ounce

I decided to upgrade my morning routine and give myself something to look forward to when I'm feeling lazy and thinking about sleeping in. I also felt like it was time to stop using an electric razor since it was leaving me with a very amateur-looking shave (lots of stray hairs that I couldn't get no matter how much I tried). I wanted to get the most out of the safety razor experience, so I did a lot of research into which products are needed and how to use them. I made all of the purchases together on Amazon and tried them out as a set. After using an electric for the past 10 years, I was pretty worried that I would get some serious razor burn, but to my surprise I had none whatsoever! I was pretty careful to not get too aggressive with the shaving, so I went WITH the grain and only made one or two passes on each area. The result was a shave that was 100X closer than an electric with no discomfort, nicks, cuts, or razor burn!Here's what I bought and why:Safety Razor: Parker 96R – Long Handle Butterfly Safety Razorhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IFFSOS/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_2This safety razor has a great weight to it, a long handle for a comfortable grip, and a black and chrome coloring that looks great with the other items on the list. The butterfly razors seem to be the easiest to open and close for changing blades.Razor Blades: Astra Superior Premium Platinum bladeshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXPTR0W/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_4One of the great things about safety razors is that the blades are SUPER cheap. These Astra blades are some of the most popular and highest quality blades I could find. At $0.10 each, you can clearly see the cost advantage to regular razors. I have been told that one blade should last about a week. That means that 100 is nearly 2 years’ worth! Do yourself a favor and buy the best blades you can get. There’s no reason to save a few cents to get blades that dull quickly and give you razorburn.Brush: Perfecto 100% Badger Shaving Brush - Blackhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VF1NI5M/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_40This brush is a fraction of the cost of the higher end brushes and it felt GREAT and worked up a nice, foamy lather very quickly. I don’t see any reason to buy a more expensive brush, especially if you are just starting out and want to see if you enjoy this process before you commit to a high-dollar brush. Personally, I still wouldn’t get anything more expensive.Bowl: Schöne Stainless Steel Shaving Bowl with Lidhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OQDEL8Y/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_37I think this is a matter of preference and taste in aesthetics. This bowl matches the other items that I bought and has a lid, which I am hoping will allow me to make my soap last longer. It seems to be well made and is a great size for working up a lather with the brush and is shaped well for holding it in your hand while you apply the lather. I think there are a lot of options for you to choose from, so pick something that matches your style if this one isn’t for you.Razor and Brush Stand: SimplyBeautiful Deluxe Razor and Brush Standhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AG92BXY/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_35This stand looks great and is balanced well so that it holds my brush and razor without falling over. I chose black for two reasons. One: It matches the other things that I bought (razor and brush). Two: It should resist rusting better since it is coated.Pre-shave Oil: The Art of Shaving Pre-Shave Oil, Sandalwoodhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FGTTTM/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_3The Art of Shaving makes some great products, but some of them have changes in recent years, so you can’t rely on the ratings alone. I read through them and found that the pre-shave oil is still a very popular product and from my experience, it definitely helps prep your beard and skin for the shave. Applying the oil is step 1 in safety razor shaving.Shaving Soap: Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shavinghttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007MW2ZW/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_1TOBS shaving soaps are the highest quality soaps I could find based off of smell, quality of lather, and consistency of the product quality. This soap is more like a cream. I scooped out some with my fingers, put it in the bowl, added some hot water, and then worked up a lather. It felt and smelled amazing! In reality, I didn’t want to wash it off because it just felt so good!After-shave Balm: Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood Aftershave Balmhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B004OWPW0I/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_29This was my biggest splurge of the whole set-up and I did so for several reasons: First, using after-shave balm is said to be gentler on your skin than alcohol-based after-shaves. As I mentioned before, I switched from an electric to a safety razor with no skin irritation at all. This cream soothes the skin and makes it soft. It was the perfect way to finish my shave. Second, this stuff is rated as the absolutely best smelling after-shave balm out there and I can attest to that. It smells so great that I stopped using my cologne. Based on the small amount that is needed, this bottle should easily last for a year or more. Three, there are other “luxury” brand shaving balms that have been bought out by big brand companies and their formulas have changed significantly as a result. That means that some of the products out there have great ratings, but only because of the number ratings BEFORE they recently changed. If you look into other luxury shaving brands, then you will see what I mean.Razor Disposal Case: Feather Styling Razor Disposal Casehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DWGEY1K/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_36Even used razors are sharp, so I bought this little case to keep stray razors off of the counter, or better yet, off of the floor. Just drop in the used razor when it’s too dull for shaving. It holds over a hundred, so you can go without emptying it for a few years. It’s pretty cheap, so maybe you can just throw it away when it’s full? Your choice.That’s my whole set up. If you want to get into safety razor shaving, then I highly recommend the products on this list. All-in-all, you will spend about the same on this list than you would on a TAOS starter kit that only has the oil, brush, soap, and balm. I’m a morning shaver, so the sandalwood scent works great for me, but evening shavers may consider the same products in lavender scent if you want a relaxing experience to help you sleep.

I've been using a soap and brush for my shaves for over 20 years, prior to that I used the canned gels and foams. I've tried a pretty good variety over that period of time. I can say that Taylor of Old Bond Street products rank quite high on my list of quality products.The grapefruit scent is a very strong, vibrant, "pure" grapefruit aroma. It really smells as if you had just cut a ripe grapefruit open and squeezed it. Unfortunately, after the shave is done and the face is rinsed, the scent doesn't linger on my skin. Some people may report some longevity, but most citrus scents just don't seem to linger on my skin. ( After my first shave with this, I splashed on some Lucky Tiger aftershave, and had a few moments of rich citrus bliss, that sadly faded all too quickly.)From a technical standpoint, this cream performs similarly to the other Taylor of Old Bond Street creams that I've used. That is: very rich and creamy lather that is easy to produce with a brush. I use a boar brush and face lather, and after a few swirls of the brush on top of the cream, I was able to quickly whip up a dense lather on my face. I use a DE razor, so I really prefer to have a soap/cream with good slickness to it, and ToOBS is always a safe bet in that regard. After the shave, this rinses off easily, and leaves the skin feeling good.I find this to be an above-average shave cream, the scent is quite nice, and the performance is top-notch. I will purchase again, and will recommend to others.**** The following information was not factored in with the above review, as it is a reflection on the seller, not the product itself. I know that there is a place for "seller reviews" but I want to make sure that as many people as possible see this so that they can be informed of possible issues.My tub of shave cream was purchased from the seller "eSource" and handled by Amazon. When the tub arrived, it was not sealed in any manner. There was no leakage in the shipping box, though. When I opened the tub, it sure seemed like an awful lot of container for such a small amount of product. As I stated in my review above, I've used ToOBS products before. I know that product is packed by weight, not volume, usually, and that some companies will put shave soaps/creams in big containers to leave room to lather. This seemed off to me, though, so I weighed my tub. I have access to certified/calibrated scales at my workplace, and my tub weighed in at under 4oz., inclusive of tub. The container specs 5.3oz. of product. This is a significant difference, in my opinion. Did I receive a return, or was this a filler error? Either way, this should not have shipped to me as a new product.I contacted Amazon through the standard "return item" protocol on the order page and listed my issue, and they refunded a portion of the purchase price. There was no discussion with me about anything, and it's practically impossible to actually talk to anybody, just a generic email that said, "we refunded X amount to your account, sorry blah blah blah".The seller never responded to me.Overall, I'm just very disappointed with the experience, despite being very happy with the actual product. I know that this is the danger of internet shopping vs. brick-and-mortar stores. Amazon is usually on-point, but this one slipped through the cracks.So, if you receive a tub of this that seems peculiar, do yourself a favor and weigh it. Get the amount of product that you paid for! This isn't the first item that I've received that I have suspected of being a returned product which is why I'm taking the time to write all of this out.I hope this helps somebody.

This is not a shave cream for the everyday plastic razor. On no! This is perfect for my grandfather's straight blade. It lays down a protective barrier that grabs the hair, holds it firmly upright and allows the blade to smoothly cut the hair at the flesh line. My shaving has never been so well controlled. My woman also loves it. She claims it is so much easier to control the blade.The cream lathers easily and thick on the beaver tail brush. It spreads smoothly and covers completely. And, most importantly, it does not cake up as it dries out! It stays moist throughout the entire shave.The Sandalwood sent is not overpowering. You know it's there and for anyone who gets close enough, it can be found throughout most of the morning. Only if you desire someone to "be that close". Shaving now tak a just a bit longer than it used to!This was an excellent purchase. I was hesitant at first. I was really just looking for something that would travel well. Keeping my soap puck in a baggie and making room for the heavy marble bowl I use at home was just not working out at checkin. I admit, it was the container that really caught my eye. I figured I could scoop out whatever came in it and replace it with my soap puck.But, my soap puck was getting harder to find. A change was being forced upon me. So I did my research. Price, availability, reputation, chemical mixes, even size all factored into my decision.I am very happy with my choice. In fact, it turned out much better than I ever thought it would.Try it for yourself. These people truly know shaving!