Arko Regular Shaving Cream

This is simply the best shaving cream I ever used in my entire career as a professional wetshaver
It cost me 2 euros (which is more than what some here got it for, so I did not give it a 10 on the price) and I actually took it by mistake.
I was confused thinking that the red ARKO is the regular, and that this blue one is the Cool one. I was afraid at first to get this one because people were saying it smells awful. What happened is that I found it to smell exquisite! If you want to smell something awful, go smell the European Palmolive. This one smells like you would expect a Turkish barber to smell. It's even a little flowery so you could easily picture yourself shavenic in a beautiful garden (play on picnic).
Well, it lathers better than anything I have ever used, and I do have incredibly hard water. It makes your beard area as slick as a wet lac, and did I already mention the smell? It is not a strong one, I must admit, but it is more of a delicate hint beautifully done.
I actually had my best shave ever with this cream, without changing anything in my routine. I never thought shaving creams could be this lubricating, this protective, and this incredibly appropriate.
It is exactly like going from a citroen 1960 to an F430, it blows your mind!

About the packaging, I felt it was totally appropriate. I mean it is cheap, and you buy the performance, so I could care less if it came in a glass jar or in the already very slick and beautiful tube.
Anyone who didn't try this has to!

HEY NOW - My brush doesn't look like the picture!


Ok - so the verdict on this stuff. First off, the packaging is crap. very, VERY cheap and the tube couldn't feel any cheaper (more shotty than a toothpaste tube) once you get this stuff in your hand you immediatly know it ain't no trumper/truefitt. Next - you untwist the cap and you are greeted with an annoying circle of foil glued to the top which you have to dig your nail under and peel off. No big deal - just a minor gripe, but it is annoying nonetheless.

Ok - so getting back to the point, after giving it a whiff or two I decided the scent was medeocre. Blast a little bit into a shave bowl, whip the brush around a little and you've got a wet, interesting lather. This cream lathers much differently, as it does not create peaky merengiue like lather... it is more of a slimy lather. So after the brush was ladden in arko lather, I began scrubbin' up, and IMMEDIATLY came to the conclusion I very much dislike this scent. (other scented versions of Arko are much better) This is the first shaving cream I have ever tried whereby I thought the scent was just awful. It is one of those single note, medecinal scents that keeps disgusting you more and more. The good news is the shaving cream works outstanding and for the money, it is without question the best stuff out there.

My main gripe is that this stuff was over-hyped. I was expecting this cream to blow my mind... and it didn't. It was in no way superior to a top quality british cream... well maybe the fact that it is much easier to use, but efficacy wise, it was no better. Arko is also NOT a luxurious cream. When lathering up with one of the T's, you are taken on a scent journey that puts body and soul at ease... ALL arko creams are simply "scents" - some better than others, but nothing that's going to really stand out. This product works well - but sort of takes the luxury and elegance out of shaving to me... it just smells and feels cheap.

Overall verdict - it is nice stuff, and would be a superb shaving cream for fellas not in love with the 3T scents, as this cream is scrape the bottom of the barrel cheap, and works every bit as good as its more expensive cousins. Good stuff, but I probably wouldn't buy it again.

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