I'll start with the scent: it is artifical citrus, but I found it to be a very pleasant one, great for warm days. There is much worse out there.
This Arko has, in my opinion, two things going for it: it is dirt cheap (I payed €2 for 100 ml, and from what I read that is a high price already), and is loaded with glycerin which moisturises my skin very well.
But there are a few snags. For one thing, it is not a very concentrated cream so in order to create a meaningful amount of lather you cannot economise. However, at €2 I really cannot complain: you're already economising by buying the product. The second issue is much worse: despite a good-looking lather which feels okay between the tips of my fingers too, the actual shave is lacking. The lather is not sufficiently slick nor protective no matter how much cream I use to build the lather (I've varied between a lot and a little), with the result that my skin is scraped too hard, even when being very careful with the blade. After the shave, the skin is smooth, but tender, more so than with other products I've tried to date. And then there's a third issue, closely related to number two: the lather begins to bite gently on the third pass, meaning that my skin, already slightly irritated, disagrees with something in the cream.
I would have loved to put this cheap product in daily rotation with a triumphant feeling of 'quality needn't be expensive', but alas, it was not to be. The tube ended up in the trash. Still, given the price it is amazing what you get---you'd do well to find out if you agree with Arko.
This Arko has, in my opinion, two things going for it: it is dirt cheap (I payed €2 for 100 ml, and from what I read that is a high price already), and is loaded with glycerin which moisturises my skin very well.
But there are a few snags. For one thing, it is not a very concentrated cream so in order to create a meaningful amount of lather you cannot economise. However, at €2 I really cannot complain: you're already economising by buying the product. The second issue is much worse: despite a good-looking lather which feels okay between the tips of my fingers too, the actual shave is lacking. The lather is not sufficiently slick nor protective no matter how much cream I use to build the lather (I've varied between a lot and a little), with the result that my skin is scraped too hard, even when being very careful with the blade. After the shave, the skin is smooth, but tender, more so than with other products I've tried to date. And then there's a third issue, closely related to number two: the lather begins to bite gently on the third pass, meaning that my skin, already slightly irritated, disagrees with something in the cream.
I would have loved to put this cheap product in daily rotation with a triumphant feeling of 'quality needn't be expensive', but alas, it was not to be. The tube ended up in the trash. Still, given the price it is amazing what you get---you'd do well to find out if you agree with Arko.
If you stick your nose right into the cream, you can smell the citrus scent pretty well. Reminds me of orange popsicles with a hint of orange juice. But the aroma is very faint.
This stuff just doesn't sit right with my face. The lubricity is bad, very bad. My face feels so sensitive and raw after I'm done shaving that I won't be touching this stuff with a ten foot pole. This is the first cream I've used in quite a long time that will leave weepers on my face and red splotches all over it. In fact, when I hydrosol after the shave, it stings my face and that NEVER happens. Funny enough, this doesn't happen with the Arko shave soap, so I don't know if this is only a cream problem or if it's just a Citrus problem. Both times after I shaved with this crap, I've immediately told myself 'tomorrow has to be Taylor's Avocado just to help calm my face down. 