Greetings, everyone. This is the first in a series of product reviews which I intend to post over the coming days/weeks.
Ever since I started wet shaving, Taylor of Old Bond Street is a name that has popped up very frequently, especially when the discussion is about the finest and most luxurious shaving products in the world. I always wanted to get my hands on one of their products. So, I cannot be blamed for having very high expectations when I ordered a tub of their Shaving Cream for Sensitive Skin (The Jermyn Street Collection). I am aware that their Sandalwood is far more popular and is the original variant, but the general consensus seemed to be that the Sensitive Skin cream was their best. I think I saw a YouTube video once, where the manager of Taylor of Old Bond Street himself claims that the SS cream is his personal favourite.
Now, a bit of context. For me, spending 1350 Rupees (~$20 or 16 British Pounds) on a shaving cream is a huge deal, especially in a country where creams in shops are generally sold for 65 Rupees (~$1 or 0.77 British Pound). I usually cannot afford something like that, so this was a special treat for me.
The first thing that I noticed when I opened the tub was, of course, the scent. Oh, what a wonderful scent it is! It is a complex, sophisticated and an extremely pleasant fragrance. I detected mild notes of citrus, vanilla, and so many other things. In an inexplicable way, it almost smells of luxury, and I fell in love with the scent almost immediately.
Next comes the actual performance of the cream. This is where I found the cream to be lacking. I took a small amount, and it lathered up really quickly and beautifully, creating a thick and voluminous lather. But, unfortunately, volume does not equal slickness. When I finished my first pass, I realized that the cream was really dry. I hoped that it would get slicker with the subsequent passes, but it did not. It gave me a proper amount of protection during the shave, but not much residual slickness after it, meaning that the post-shave feel was dry and mostly devoid of moisture. I have heard a few people complaining that the cream dissipated on their faces, but that certainly did not happen with me. I believe the lather is intrinsically quite dry, and it does not need to dissipate to "achieve" dryness.
Overall, the fact that most of my locally bought mass-manufactured creams are slicker than this is a bit of a disappointment. A pro is that the tub contains 5.2 ounces/147 grams of cream, so it will last you quite a while, provided that you can bear with its disappointing lack of slickness. It is not a bad product by any means, but it is certainly not up to the mark. What it certainly is is a "luxury" product, as advertised, because it is presumably aimed primarily at those who can afford to buy expensive creams only on the basis of scent, and not much else.
Overall ratings (on a scale of 1-10):
Protection and cushion- 6
Slickness- 3
Ease of lathering- 8
Scent- 9.5
Value for money- 5
MEAN SCORE- 6.3/10
Ever since I started wet shaving, Taylor of Old Bond Street is a name that has popped up very frequently, especially when the discussion is about the finest and most luxurious shaving products in the world. I always wanted to get my hands on one of their products. So, I cannot be blamed for having very high expectations when I ordered a tub of their Shaving Cream for Sensitive Skin (The Jermyn Street Collection). I am aware that their Sandalwood is far more popular and is the original variant, but the general consensus seemed to be that the Sensitive Skin cream was their best. I think I saw a YouTube video once, where the manager of Taylor of Old Bond Street himself claims that the SS cream is his personal favourite.
Now, a bit of context. For me, spending 1350 Rupees (~$20 or 16 British Pounds) on a shaving cream is a huge deal, especially in a country where creams in shops are generally sold for 65 Rupees (~$1 or 0.77 British Pound). I usually cannot afford something like that, so this was a special treat for me.
The first thing that I noticed when I opened the tub was, of course, the scent. Oh, what a wonderful scent it is! It is a complex, sophisticated and an extremely pleasant fragrance. I detected mild notes of citrus, vanilla, and so many other things. In an inexplicable way, it almost smells of luxury, and I fell in love with the scent almost immediately.
Next comes the actual performance of the cream. This is where I found the cream to be lacking. I took a small amount, and it lathered up really quickly and beautifully, creating a thick and voluminous lather. But, unfortunately, volume does not equal slickness. When I finished my first pass, I realized that the cream was really dry. I hoped that it would get slicker with the subsequent passes, but it did not. It gave me a proper amount of protection during the shave, but not much residual slickness after it, meaning that the post-shave feel was dry and mostly devoid of moisture. I have heard a few people complaining that the cream dissipated on their faces, but that certainly did not happen with me. I believe the lather is intrinsically quite dry, and it does not need to dissipate to "achieve" dryness.
Overall, the fact that most of my locally bought mass-manufactured creams are slicker than this is a bit of a disappointment. A pro is that the tub contains 5.2 ounces/147 grams of cream, so it will last you quite a while, provided that you can bear with its disappointing lack of slickness. It is not a bad product by any means, but it is certainly not up to the mark. What it certainly is is a "luxury" product, as advertised, because it is presumably aimed primarily at those who can afford to buy expensive creams only on the basis of scent, and not much else.
Overall ratings (on a scale of 1-10):
Protection and cushion- 6
Slickness- 3
Ease of lathering- 8
Scent- 9.5
Value for money- 5
MEAN SCORE- 6.3/10