Crabtree & Evelyn - Nomad Shaving Cream - tube

I know that there are many gents who really like this product. It is, however, simply not for me. As I stated in a prior post, there could be an outside chance that I received a mildly defective tube, but I love my shaves way too much to take the chance of another tube's worth of average shaves.

Price - It depends on whether you choose the tube or the tub. The following is a price by ounce comparison to Taylor's and Trumper's in tubes and tubs:


Oddly enough, when bought in the tube, C&E is priced very competitively, however, when purchased in the tub, it is NOT. I am sure that the justification for this is the fact that the tub is of higher quality (glass) than those issued by either Taylor's or Trumper's. Even still, if all tubs were of equal quantity (7 oz tub for the sake of the argument) the prices would be as follows:


So, is the glass tub worth $8 - $15? Not to me. Go with the tube.

Packaging - The tube is a standard metal tube. It is neither special nor underwhelming. It is what it is, and I feel indifferently towards it. The bonus of the package would be the metal tube key. This thing is kind of cool (nostalgic) and when I'm done with the C&E, it will be passed on to the Proraso, toothpaste, etc.

Scent - very nice. The first time I smelled this scent was directly after smelling the Sienna and Sandalwood scents, and with those fragrances still floating around, I wasn't overwhelmed. To give it a fair chance, however, I left the store for a few minutes and then returned, giving it first whiff. I found/find this to be a very clean, almost grassy smelling cream with the scent provided by ginger, citron, and bamboo. I was impressed enough that I decided to go for it. Even now, the biggest deciding factor that keeps it in my collection is the scent.

Moisturizing Properties - As this cream is classified as a "Calming" product, I was a little disappointed to find it very average in the arena of moisturization. I suppose the "Calming" claim gave me some false expectations. That being said, it does OK in this area.

Latherability - This cream has lathered oddly for me. The first three shaves in which I used this product, I relied on a visual judgment to determine when I had whipped it to optimal consistency. These shaves were average, and the cream acted more like a soap than a cream in terms of lather and shave. The next shave improved some as I used a larger (seemingly almost wasteful) amount of cream. For the 5th shave, I used a truly disgusting amount of cream and whipped/mixed it about half as much as I did on prior attempts. Finally I generated a lather that lubricated and shaved like a cream. The disappointing part of the shave was that I nearly ran out of cream before the t/c. If I had used this much of a Taylor's cream, I would have had to break out the shop-vac to find my way out of the bathroom.

Efficacy/Quality - Overall, this is not a bad cream, but for me, it is just an average performer. It can aid you in achieving a close shave, but the lack of lubricity really makes you stay alert while shaving. I will continue to use this cream until my tube is gone, but I seriously doubt that I will buy another.