Art Of Shaving Sandalwood

I will always have a soft spot for AOS sandalwood. It was the first DE product I ever purchased, sold to me by a diligent salesman at Nordstrom's who convinced me that I needed this if I was going to get a decent shave. I purchased the Perfect Shave Sandalwood Kit for $115 (or whatever they charged back then). At the time that seemed outrageous, but when I smelled the sandalwood, I had never smelled anything like it, and so I decided to splurge.

Pros: The sandalwood is a wonderful smell. In fact sandalwood is my favorite scent for a shaving cream. As I have tried more products, I have come to prefer the more natural, earthy sandalwood smell, as opposed to this one which is sweeter, though still very enticing. It seems that a lot of people sight AOS as their first DE shaving products. I think they are probably responsible for getting people into wetshaving more than any other company, especially now that they have been bought by P&G and have standalone stores in many of your hoighty-toighty malls and a large marketing budget. The cream gives a good lather, with a reasonably close shave, and good cushion. It is also easier to work with than a lot of other creams when it comes to cream/water ratio. If I had never tried the three T's I think I would have been perfectly fine to continue on with AOS, and get some very good shaves from them.

Cons: AOS products are overpriced. There is no two ways around it, in fact there is no one way around it. When you see they are priced at twice the price of a tub of TOBS, you realize you are paying too much. Some may argue that they are in line with T&H, I would argue that T&H is a far superior product in terms of more authentic scent, and more luxurious lather. I also don't think the cream is as good as it was before it was mass marketed. They are like the big corporate Goliath of the DE world now. That makes me feel like I am paying as much for the marketing and name recognition as I am the actual product. If I bought the same product without a label on it and you asked me what I would expect to pay, I would say $15, not the $25 they charge.

I bought this from the AOS store here in Buffalo as part of a kit mainly because of the smell and the fact that it came with a brush. I’m new to wet shaving and I have very little education on the accouterments that are needed/wanted.
In short I love the smell of the PS oil, Cream and PS Balm! It helps give me a great shave BUT I think I am sensitive to it as my face burns all day. That and the price is a killer on the wallet!
I would recommend it to anyone as it’s a great product.
Sadly I think I will need to try something else. I have some samples of Jack Black and I have had no problem when I use that. The problem there is that I don’t get that great manly smell that my wife likes. (Has some GREAT benefits!)
I guess I will need to try to find a Sandal wood Cologne!

Smells Great, works well, just pricy. First Cream and still a go to for me.

Just an excellent cream. I bookend it with MWF days b/c my skin gets a little dry from using it, but the lather is amazing, the blade slices the beard and glides over skin, and the scent is just incredible.

This is a very nice product with a pleasant scent. I t is somewhat costly but lasts a long time.

Small dab of cream whips into a rich, mosturizing lather for a smooth and comfortable shave.

Definately one of the better creams in it's price range.

Love this stuff. Smells *great* and lathers super! Expensive, but worth it. Will get the largest size next time.

Skin feels clean and healthy, and did I mention it smells fantastic? The wife loves it.

Awesome product with great attributes all around. Great lather and great scent. People complain about the price but for the size of this tub I feel like it will be around for a looong time considering it is part of a decent rotation of software. I don't use this everyday because I like a lather challenge and this product is just too easy to make thick lubricating lather. I also love that you can buy this whole line from a very large number of retailers like Nordstroms, Von Maur, Sephora and of course the AOS stores.

The scent is warm, natural and masculine. I like to use it before meetings and on special occasions.

The lather that this cream produces is THICK and CREAMY and super slick. I get a wonderful shave every time and I can even skimp on the cream a little bit and it still comes out just fine.

I recomed this cream to anyone for its fantastic perfomance and its ease of aquisition.

I've decided to review the AOS Sandalwood because I am very familiar with AOS products. This might come off as too glowing of a review, so I want to make sure that I tell people that I'm in no way affiliated with the company nor do I get anything from doing this. Because I am making this entry as a chance to win the B&B contest I want to make sure that my review is not seen as being created to make it more attractive. I feel like I am qualified to review this product, as I have used AOS products for 5 years, 4 of which were using these products exclusively. Before I found B&B and DE shaving I was shaving with AOS products and a Fusion. After joining B&B the number of creams and soaps has grown (15 creams and about 12 soaps). Despite my growing collection of software, whenever I'm looking to treat myself or get a fantastic shave, I reach for an AOS cream. I have every scent in the line and sandalwood is my favorite. I'll get into some details about each later. I'm doing a pictoral review as well, with my favorite set up right now. My Shavemac loves this cream. Before I get into reviewing the actual product, I wanted to get the review of price and packaging out of the way.

Price: 8
At $22+tax/shipping for 5oz, this cream isn't the cheapest. But it is also by no means expensive. Some guys seem to knock AOS for their outrageous prices. Considering the quality of their products, I don't think the prices are outrageous. Are they expensive? Yes. Is it worth the price? YES! Now I would definitely stay away from buying the $100 kits because the pre-shave oil is not worth the price and neither is the brush. The creams, soaps (just the refills) and balms, however, are in my humble opinion, worth the price tag.

Packaging: 9
Of the products I own, the black containers the creams come in are my favorite. I'm not a fan of the PVC looking tubs of TOBS or GFT. The feel of the tubs is similar to the feel of the tubs of the DR Harris creams. The cap screws on nicely. The label is crisp and the colors to identify the various scents are a nice touch. What I really like about the packaging is that the labels are on the side of the jar rather than on top. As I like to stack my creams in my medicine cabinet, there is no other way to pick out my different TOBS and GFT creams because the label is on the lid. With the label being on the side of the jar for the AOS, I know exactly what cream to reach for. Minor details that make the experience more enjoyable. The box it comes in is similar to the boxes most of the other big names come in. Some information on the 4 steps of shaving, the ingredient list, the story of AOS, and the product name. It looks like it's worth its price tag, as it should. Would I trade away the nicer packaging for a cheaper price? Probably not. I like the way this looks in my medicine cabinet, especially when I can see the label.

Quality: 10
When I rate a product on its overall quality, I look at the shaves I get when I switch up the other variables. The question I ask myself whenever I evaluate a product is how it performs with any other combination of products. So how will my boars and badgers handle this cream. How are the shaves with an open-comb, a super-speed, or an adjustable? The great thing I like about AOS products is that I get a good lather every time. The shaves are also more consistent than with most other products. I have shaved with multiple razor types and blades and I continue to get irritation and nick-free shaves. For its consistent performance, this product gets a 10 from me.

Scent 10
Scent is definitely a YMMV rating so my opinions are only my own. I do however feel that it is important to like a scent of a product in addition to its performance. I have tried the following sandalwood scents and prefer AOS over all of these: GFT (close second), Salter, EJ, QCS, and TOBS. My nose likes the scent of AOS and GFT the most but the AOS seems to stay throughout the entire shave. Every time I bring up the brush to my face, I can take a big wiff of the sandalwood. It does linger a bit after the shave but it does not overpower the scent of any ASB that I wear. I like stronger ASB as I don't use any EdTs so most of my aftershaves overpower the scent of the AOS sandalwood. If i didn't wear aftershave, and you take a nice wiff of my face you can definitely smell it. SWMBO loves this scent. I of course love to pair this scent up with the AoS Sandalwood balm. It's a very pure sandalwood scent. I can't describe scents much but again, my nose is different than yours.

Latherabililty: 10
Here's where I think AOS products shine. My knowledge of ingredient properties is elementary so I can't tell you what about AOS creams and soaps for that matter is responsible for such thick and creamy lather. Of the 15 creams that I have, AOS and GFT are the easiest in my opinion to lather. I would really recommend these to a newbie who's first learning how to make lather to use these two products because it will at least keep them engaged. Wouldn't want to tell a newbie to start learning how to lather with (____insert product you think is hard to lather). I would be turned off by my inability to make good lather from a bad product. I think this is where the marketing folks at AoS really sell their products. But they are true to their word in that the lather created by AOS is thick and creamy. I love seeing the peeks in my Shavemac and then not seeing signs of skin when I apply it to my face. It is very forgiving when it comes to the water ratio. I've used some creams where adding a little too much water ruins my cream. I always find the sweet spot with AOS before I add too much water. There's no second guessing with it; once it looks thick you're set.

Efficacy: 9
I'll echo some of my statements about how effective this cream is. I have yet to get a shave with irritation or nicks regardless of what combination of blades and razors that I'm using. And I think this is due to how consistent this lather is. With other creams, my shaves can vary. The brush I use might make the lather different than the next (perhaps due to the water retention differences in the brushes). With AOS, I am able to find the right ratio and the lather is consistent with whatever brush I use (from a shea, to a tweezerman, to an omega, a semogue, and a shavemac). I can't wait to try this with a Simpsons. The lathers are consistent and to me, consistency is the definition of effective. If I get a consistent lather, followed by a nick-free, irritation-free shave, I am a very happy guy. Only P160 seems to give me an even better shave.

Moisturizing Properties 7 (read below however)
To me, moisturizing properties aren't as important, but that's because I use aftershave regardless of what cream or soap I use. I will comment that my face is a little drier with these creams than with my favorite soap P160. I can use P160 and not have to worry about an aftershave. With AOS, a little balm goes a long way. But like I said, not important in the ultimate scheme of things for me.

I give AOS products high marks and great praise because of the consistency of the quality of shaves that I am going to get. I have 3 tubs of the AOS sandalwood cream and the creams looks exactly the same. Now as a researcher, I want to bring up a point that this is a cream that I've used exclusively for 4 years prior to joining B&B and finding others, and that naturally, I have had more experience using this product over others. This might be the reason why I get more consistent lathers, because I've figured out the sweet-spot for this product after so many years of using it. I do however hear the same things from other members on this board, that AOS is a product that is easy to lather. I have all four scents and find very close similarities in lather I get from each scent. I enjoy all of the scents. I use the AOS unscented as a combo for a superlather with a soap.

NOTE: When I first joined B&B, I saw that people talked about how expensive AoS products are, that the hardware is overpriced, and that the sales-staff are pushers. I didn't know about B&B and about the TRUE art of shaving then, so I took the word of the sales folks. I bought the fusion handles (worst mistake ever) at the advice of a sales guy. So with these opinions, I do agree. Stay away from the $100 kit, stay away from brushes and the pre-shave oils, the shampoos and handles. What I did not see on B&B, however, was guys knocking AOS for the quality of their creams/soaps. What value you place on it is what makes a guy decide whether this is a product worth continuing investment. With 15 creams looking at me when I open up my cabinet, I tend to reach for this cream, because i love the scent and the great shaves it gives me. I've used this for years, so please take my review for what it is worth. The fact that since I found B&B and bought so many more creams, I still shave with AOS sandalwood more times than I have with any other cream (P160 is the only exception) is a strong indicator that I haven't found anything that performs better for me.

Some pictures

Our players


Here's the open tub with about 30% remaining.



Here's some cream in the bowl. I usually go with more product because I go with a four pass shave. Almond size amount is stretching it so I go with MORE product!



The brush after about 10 seconds.


Brush is ready to go! Look at all that lather.



Bowls is looking pretty good. It's got a few bubbles but I like my lather on the wetter side.



Here's the lather applied to my face on the second pass. I didn't like the pics of it when I applied on the first pass of shaving, so this was a good looking round two.



Here's the leftover lather on my hand after a four pass shave. You can really see some bubbles in there but I actually splashed some water in my bowl and didn't want to do this over again. Clearly however, you can see how much lather this cream builds. Obviously with a great cream brush you'll get even better results, but I used to get good lather from the AOS brush as well.

A friend of mine received the tub of AOS sandalwood scent as a gift, which was pleasing to me because it allowed me to try a sample without blindly buying. I liked it so well I bought the shave cream, as well as the ASB and the EDT.

The scent is very woody, and sweet. It's balanced and not over-bearing. The shave cream performance-wise was up there with the 3 T's like someone mentioned in an earlier post. Very rich, slick, and protective, the way a shave cream should be. The scent is strong (but not offensively strong), and will linger for a while because AOS uses essential oils. That's a big plus. I am glad I ran across the stuff, it's been a major player in my warm months rotation so far.

You pay about as much as you do Taylors, and you get a product of equal, outstanding quality.

Truly lovely scent, made me like sandalwood. A quality cream that you should try if you haven't done so already.

Highly recommended.

I have used Proraso and TOBS Mr Taylor. This is the third cream I have purchased. The price is high $22 for the tub, but worth the money

The quality is equal to or better than TOBS.

The scent is subtle, soft and warm. I have never used any other sandalwood products, but I like this scent.

The lather was easy to whip up. I'll use the term explodes, because a tiny amount of cream was enough for two passes on my head and face.

The shave was close with my Merkur 34C with a merkur blade. This stuff works well.

The moisture was excellent. I didn't need any ASB.

Overall, I will have to say that AOS is well worth the money, I'll be using this as my Sunday morning shave. It's a real treat.

This was my first gourmet shaving cream and its my favorite. I have tried some of the less expensive ones (Kiss my Face, Nivea, etc.) and a few expensive ones (Trumper) and this is the best for me. The scent is wonderful but not overpowering, the lather is great, protection is outstanding. It is a little pricey ($22 for a tub) but not outrageous. Overall its the one I reach for the most.

I bought ToBS Sandalwood and love it. Then I read these reviews and when I got a gift certificate for my birthday I went over to my local AOS store and got the Sandalwood. Now I own the Lemon, Lavender and Sandalwood. I think the Sandalwood is my first choice, then the Lemon. The Lavender is harsh smelling.

As far as comparison to ToBS, IMHO, YMMV, the AOS is more moisturizing. They tie in amount of lather and the ToBS scent is just a wee bit stronger.

Price - not too bad, a tad on the expensive side.

Quality - Top notch, nothing to complain about here.

Scent - Holy *smokes*! This is my favorite scent of any product by far. Really rich.

Latherability - Really easy. This is a very soft cream, and does not take much to make tons of lather. Just a little on the tips of the brush bristles is plenty.

Efficacy - I can get a very comfortable, close shave with this cream.

Moisturizing - Very good. I suppose it really depends on your skin type if it's enough for you or not.

Packaging - A+ Very nice black plastic jar. Looks very sharp!

I might be biased since this is the only cream I have used since I started shaving with a DE. I love it though!Price is a bit high, but with a military discount, I don't worry about high SOCAL taxes.

Hi guys,

I recently got done with a tub of AOS lavender. This cream was on top of my "NEXT CREAMS TO TRY" list. Ordered this right away it was there within 2 days

Let me start my review by saying "What a scent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Seriously this is top class stuff. As soon as I opened the tub the whiff of smell was amazing!!!. Just couldn't wait to shave with it. When I did, the smell was enhanced with lather. Lather was as good as the AOS lavender. Moisturizing properties (IMHO) were a tad more than the AOS lavender cream. WoWWW!!!!!

I got a nice meringue lather even with my AOS pure badger I think I have mastered the art of lathering

Anyways the shave was very very good. On par with the lavender.


Price! hmmmmm...........everyone says it is an issue. My last tub of lavender lasted me for about 10 months now and I shave every other day. You guys do the math.

THIS SHOULD BE A DEFINITE TRY IN ANYBODY'S LIST

Interesting cream, a big benefit and a big disadvantage. First the disadvantage: I made anything with him the foam, dries very quickly, little cream, much cream, much water, little water, test with softer water. On all of them vainly. Benefit: His fragrance stays for a long time and more women with who nearly I got into a contact for very manly one it was found. For who we the important one, it is possible to make a choice!

great

One of my favorite creams. The scent is just luscious and not over powering.

Like all of their creams, they shave excellently.

I like the fact that you only need the smallest amount to whip up a huge bowl of thick, rich, lather.

A+