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Thoughts on Samples I Recently Acquired

Recently I bought 10 samples and have used all of them once. Some quick thoughts on these samples are as follows. Obviously YMMV and there may not be logical reasons for me to not buy some of the ones I liked, except for reasons I liked other samples, or soaps/creams I currently have better. Basically I got a fine shave from all these products.

I like sandalwood, so three of the samples were sandalwood scented:
1)Stirling sandalwood (its the only soap, all the rest of the samples were creams) - excellent all around, just like all the Stirling soaps I have tried; excellent lather, cushion, slickness and post shave feel. My second favorite sandalwood scent behind Proraso. Would purchase again.
2)Geo. F. Trumper Sandalwood - excellent all around, except the scent was almost non-existent. On par with Stirling except for the scent issue. Probably would not purchase again due to the scent being so subtle.
3)Castle Forbes Cedarwood & Sandalwood - Also an excellent shave, wonderful post shave feel, maybe a bit better than the others. But scent was more cedarwood, minimal sandalwood to me, if at all. Probably would not purchase again.

Other creams:
1)Castle Forbes Lavendar -outstanding all around, great post shave face feel, really enjoyed the cream. Would purchase again.
2)Geo F. Trumper Rose - really enjoyed this cream, also outstanding shave and the scent just was excellent. Much better scent than TOBS Rose (the only other rose cream I have tried). Would purchase again.
3)Stirling Gentleman - one of my favorite scents, although I cannot explain it well, but it just grabbed me for some reason. Typical Stirling excellent shave. Would purchase again.
4)TOBS Grapefruit - very nice shave, just like all the TOBS creams. I did not find it as perfumy as I do other TOBS creams. Might be a good summer cream.
5)Taconic Eucalyptus Mint - Did not have high expectations of this one but it was also excellent. Nice scent, great shave. Used it 8 hours ago, and may face still feels clean shaven. Would purchase again.
6)Barrister & Mann Latha Oceana - Nice shave, no complaints at all. Scent almost non-existent. Probably would not purchase again.
7)Cella - The worst shave out of the bunch. Not terrible, and it is the least expensive cream of the bunch (at least in purchase price), but I found it to be inferior to Proraso (similar price) and not as good all around as Stirling Almond Creme. Would not purchase again.

So, all of the above lathered up easy ( I face lather), had good cushion, good slickness, good post shave face feel. Maybe the CF had a bit better post shave face feel, but not by much. So many good products to choose from and so many more samples to try........
 
^Great report!
Congrat's on the good 'scientific' method!
Disappointed that Cella did not work for you!
Was this the Cella cream or croap?
 
Thanks. It was the Cella Croap. I might try it tomorrow morning and give it a second chance. Almost all I have heard about Cella is positive, so I might be the issue, not Cella.
 
Great report!
+1 on the CF Lavender. I use that and it's the best Lav out there IMO.
I just ordered a tube of T&H Rose. Since I love T&H products, my expectations are high.
Based on all the Sandalwood comments from B&B members, I ordered a tub of AoS Sandalwood.
Have you tried the Stone Cottage cream samples? If not, here's my skinny.
All the SC creams lather really well. You get 5 samples (in a little jar) for$10. Each sample will get you 4-5 shaves.
The scents are described on the site for each sample. Of the 5 samples,
include at least Almond Flower, Hesperide, Cedar Noire.
Mikey
 
I used Cella again this morning and while I got a decent shave, it just did not measure up to the other products. No slickness and the post shave face feel was no where near as good. I will use up the rest of the sample, but not purchase again.

I have not tried Stone Cottage yet but it is on my list of samples to try, once I get through some of the samples I just purchased.

I tried AoS Sandalwood a few years ago and was not pleased with it, but based upon all the positive reviews here, I may try it again.

I like rose creams so please let me know how you like T&H rose. The GFT rose was excellent.

So many products to try.....
 
Great report!
+1 on the CF Lavender. I use that and it's the best Lav out there IMO.
I just ordered a tube of T&H Rose. Since I love T&H products, my expectations are high.
Based on all the Sandalwood comments from B&B members, I ordered a tub of AoS Sandalwood.
Have you tried the Stone Cottage cream samples? If not, here's my skinny.
All the SC creams lather really well. You get 5 samples (in a little jar) for$10. Each sample will get you 4-5 shaves.
The scents are described on the site for each sample. Of the 5 samples,
include at least Almond Flower, Hesperide, Cedar Noire.
Mikey
Update from SC: Almond Flower was pulled from Dave's inventory so it's no longer available. Too bad.
Mikey
 
Did you overload the Cella? Try loading for 90 to 120 seconds and same with lathering. It likes quantity and time
 
Thanks for the recommendation on using Cella. Sample is finished and there are so many other creams that work well for me, used Proraso Red today and it was excellent, as usual, I will probably not give Cella another try. I also found out I am not a fan of the almond scent.

Tried Stone Cottage samples and found them to be very good. Got an excellent shave from all the samples, but Hesperide and Vanilla & Vetiver are my favorite. Need to buy these in the near future.

SC Sandalwood and Lavender were excellent also, just not as fond of the scents. Also tried Almond Flower, which was my least favorite scent, but I saw in an earlier post that this was discontinued.
 
The scent is overwhelming for sure Like a gourmet gelateria. You gotta try unscented xpec if you like cremes. Best crème found to date with castle forbes next in line
 
Thanks for the recommendation on using Cella. Sample is finished and there are so many other creams that work well for me, used Proraso Red today and it was excellent, as usual, I will probably not give Cella another try. I also found out I am not a fan of the almond scent.

Tried Stone Cottage samples and found them to be very good. Got an excellent shave from all the samples, but Hesperide and Vanilla & Vetiver are my favorite. Need to buy these in the near future.

SC Sandalwood and Lavender were excellent also, just not as fond of the scents. Also tried Almond Flower, which was my least favorite scent, but I saw in an earlier post that this was discontinued.
Dave pulled it about a month ago. He thought the Almond may be too much for a sensitive skin. Check in the Vendor forum for any Stone Cottage Soapworks updates or new upcoming products.
Mikey
 
Dave pulled it about a month ago. He thought the Almond may be too much for a sensitive skin. Check in the Vendor forum for any Stone Cottage Soapworks updates or new upcoming products.
Mikey
This notice from Dave is in the Question & Answer thread:
"Just an FYI, as of June 16, 2017 we are no longer selling "Almond Flower" Premium Shaving Cream. Almond is a scent that may not be appropriate for those of you with sensitive skin so for the moment we have removed it from our online and in-store offerings! Don't worry, we have several new scents that we will be trying out in the next few weeks which should make you happy and content!"
ps: I have the original formulation of Almond Flower before the scents were increased. More Floral than Almond.
Mikey
 
Dave pulled it about a month ago. He thought the Almond may be too much for a sensitive skin. Check in the Vendor forum for any Stone Cottage Soapworks updates or new upcoming products.
Mikey

Stone Cottage has a bumper crop of new scents coming out. Very exciting.
 
This notice from Dave is in the Question & Answer thread:
"Just an FYI, as of June 16, 2017 we are no longer selling "Almond Flower" Premium Shaving Cream. Almond is a scent that may not be appropriate for those of you with sensitive skin so for the moment we have removed it from our online and in-store offerings! Don't worry, we have several new scents that we will be trying out in the next few weeks which should make you happy and content!"
ps: I have the original formulation of Almond Flower before the scents were increased. More Floral than Almond.
Mikey
That's a shame.
 
This notice from Dave is in the Question & Answer thread:
"Just an FYI, as of June 16, 2017 we are no longer selling "Almond Flower" Premium Shaving Cream. Almond is a scent that may not be appropriate for those of you with sensitive skin so for the moment we have removed it from our online and in-store offerings! Don't worry, we have several new scents that we will be trying out in the next few weeks which should make you happy and content!"
ps: I have the original formulation of Almond Flower before the scents were increased. More Floral than Almond.
Mikey
What's the original formulation called?
 
What's the original formulation called?
Same thing. "Almond Flower". The original formulation had less almond and more of a floral scent with just a hint of almond. I have a tub (50% left) and I really liked it. Too bad it changed.
Mikey
 
Same thing. "Almond Flower". The original formulation had less almond and more of a floral scent with just a hint of almond. I have a tub (50% left) and I really liked it. Too bad it changed.
Mikey
I agree. I looked after I ran out. No more. That and Fougere, old scent, are my favorites. I hope the new fougere hasn't changed too much.
 
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