Crabtree & Evelyn - Nomad Shaving Cream - tube

As noted in the opening post, this is on the lower end of the fine grooming supply creams as far as price goes. An updated list of prices:

Trumpers: $13.30 + $10.40 shipping to CONUS = $23.70 (74g)
Truefitt & Hill: $21.00 + $4.50 shipping to CONUS = $25.50 (75g)
Taylor's: $9.30 + $7.70 shipping to CONUS = $17.00 (75ml)
Crabtree & Evelyn: $15.00 + $4.20 shipping to CONUS = $19.20 (75g)

So far, the C&E is looking like a rather good value.

The quality of this product is what you'd expect from Crabtree & Evelyn. I feel as though this category is redundant, though, as it represents all of the underlying categories. That being said, I have given it a 10, as that is nearest the average score of the below criteria.

I own many products from the Nomad line: Deodorant, shaving soap, shaving cream, after shave, and bar soap. Clearly I like the scent. Though the nomad scent seems to vary from product to produce, the hard soap and soft soap seem to be identical with respect to fragrance. For those of you who do not know what Nomad smells like, it smells like grass. Not "I just mowed the lawn and am now covered in clippings" grass, but a much stouter, darker grass note, with some clear wooden notes on the low end. The scent is simple, timeless, and manly.

Latherability is where this cream dominates. The usual amount of soft soap is enough to produce about 20% more lather than an identical amount of Trumper's cream, and it does it in half the time. It seems to be less touchy about water mixture than other creams, that is to say, it will accept a spectrum of water to cream ratios and still be perfectly usable. I bowl lathered this cream using a C&E Super Badger Brush, 22mm knot.

This lather performs. It is slick and protective. It doesn't dry out between passes, it lubricates like uberlather, and most importantly, it allows for a very close shave. Something in their mixture seems to do an especially good job of softening facial hair, because it took me one less pass than I usually take to finish my shave. However, there is slight room for improvement, as the lather will deflate if it is left on the face for too long, more so than other creams.

Though others claim that the calming and moisturizing properties of the Nomad cream are overstated, I kindly disagree. After most shaves, before my cold rinse, my face feels stiff and unpleasant to the touch (not as felt by my fingers, but as my face feels my fingers). The calming effect of Nomad is quite nice, and leaves your skin feeling fresh and clean. Moisturization was good, as my face did not feel dry and flaky before applying toner and aftershave.

I love the Nomad packaging. Their boxes are very classy, the tubes are well decorated and have an interesting cap, and they always include a nifty little tube key with the soft soap. What is there not to like?

Quality, nice (this is subjective of course) and clear scent that stays, very good lathering ability and efficacy, together with moisturizing properties.

A highly recommended cream, albeit a bit expensive.

Nomad was a pleasant surprise - some of the above reviews led me to think it would be sub-par, but it's actually both effective and great smelling. Not too barbershoppy (either in price or scent), but a nice, widely available dip into luxury.

Price: A tad high, $15 for a tube. If you're trying to maximize your shave quality to price ratio, look elsewhere (probably to Arko's unexciting but high-performing creams).

Quality: Both the packaging and the cream are extremely high-quality. A thick, luxurious-looking metal tube that comes with an old-fashioned, ornate key to help squeeze out all the product.

Scent: Delightful. Fresh, grassy, a little dry, a thoroughly modern, masculine scent that's light and dissipates quickly after the shave.

Latherability: This cream tends to make very dense, low-volume lather. It's not going to fill the bowl up like Taylor's, but the volume of the lather doesn't seem to affect its performance. I noticed it drying a little on my face, but again it didn't seem to affect razor glide or comfort.

Efficacy: Top notch. No irritation whatsoever in two passes with a fresh Israeli Personna. No complaints.

Moisturizing: Neither here nor there. Not drying, but definitely not moisturizing.

Packaging: Killer, the tube key had me sold.

So if you're in the mood for a modern luxe scent and don't want to go with one of the British big three, check this one out. No way to go wrong with it.

I, too, find that this is a great smelling cream. I get enough lather, but it takes more than the "almond size" generally required from higher quality creams. I also find that while it is "cushion-y", it is not all that slick or protective. I find my face feels the most chewed up after I use this cream - maybe I'm just more of a soap guy...

I just can't like this cream. Structurally it holds up well in most categories but the scent is not for me. Additionally, I find the quality to price not on par with other, equally available creams. I'll pass on C&E's Nomad.

No marks given as I had to go with a single sample taken from a jar.

Scent: Nomad's scent is modern and fresh, but it has a sharp tang to it which makes it faintly disagreeable. This is not something I'd want to hover over all day long---my preferences are more in the fruity and slightly wooden-green-herbal direction. If you like 'cool' and 'blue' fragrances, you ought to give Nomad a sniff.

Latherability: With my custom Shavemac silvertip badger brush, this was a disappointment. Just like the OP mentioned I had to use an unusually large amount of cream, and then it still wouldn't truly transform into a quality lather. It was dense and creamy, but didn't resist me squeezing it too much as other brands are capable of. In other words, lack of cushion. I also found that the lather, voluminous at first, would gradually dissipate over time. I've seen this behaviour before with Body Shop cream, but whereas BS can be restored quickly, Nomad is much more finicky and apparently just calls it quits after a certain point.

Efficacy: It got the job done, but barely. The lather, when applied to my face, would disappear and dry up to the point where it resembled the dried trails of buttermilk---not a good sign. Despite the thinness of the lather there was no skin irritation at the end of the 3-pass shave, but it has to be said that I didn't really push for BBS either.

Moisturising properties: Unable to ascertain. My skin didn't feel dry at the end, in any case.

Packaging: Luxurious, solid, feels expensive. But quite frankly, I'd rather have good cream from a mediocre plastic tub than bad cream from a designer glass jar.

Price / quality: All things considered, below average. There's worse out there, but better too, and more of the latter to boot. Nomad is not a cream I'd recommend to a newcomer, and I'd even be hard pressed to forgive it its below-standard shaving qualities were I madly in love with the scent. For this price, there is definitely better to be had.

Sells for 135 NKr. in Norway. That's about $25!!
Overall below average quality/price ratio.
Smell is great, but lathering capabilities is mediocre. Have to use twice as much cream compared to GFT creams which are my preference.

In reading the reviews for Nomad, I notice that many comment on how this is hard to whip up to a good lather, and that some struggle with the water to cream ratio. I asked a friend if he owned this in tube form (as this was what was reviewed) or in jar form. He said that he owns both, and that there is a real difference in the consistencies of the two. Not surprising, as I've found that to be true with most any cream that's available in both forms. I only own this in jar form, so that may shade my review.

First, the presentation and packaging of this cream, in my experience, surpasses that of any other manufacturer. (Please take note, Castle Forbes) The jar is glass, yet somehow adheres to any and all surfaces. It gives great purchase, and is beautiful. The aroma of Nomad is hard to describe, even though Crabtree & Evelyn describe it as "a woody aromatic blend of ginger, citron, and green bamboo". I just call it outstanding, and exotic. Amazing fragrance.

I've whipped this up using brushes from between 20 and 28mm, and the only one that gives me trouble is my Shavemac 22579; but that brush causes me trouble regardless of which cream I use it on. I call it my "black hole" brush. It just soaks up every kind of cream I use, and it takes a hard squeezing after every series of whips to get any lather back into the bowl. But, using every other brush, this whips up beautifully. So, perhaps, if you like the aroma of Nomad, buy it in the jar form. I paid $25 for the large jar, and while it surely isn't the most reasonable cream available, I feel it's absolutely worth the price. You get a lot of it, for one thing, and I don't need to use as much of this compared with Trumper's, T&H, Taylor's, etc., to get the same amount of lather. And again, this is based on the formulation found in the jar form.

Nomad doesn't provide the cushion of Castle Forbes, but still, it's very nicely protective. I've used it with my Merkur Futur, Vision, and Slant Bar, as well as numerous straights, and with the exception of the Slant Bar, I never get any nicks or cuts. I find it very comforting to shave with. I don't judge this - or any creams - by my Slant Bar, btw. I call that my weapon of mask destruction, as it would nick me if I used marshmallow cream straight from the jar. Using any other razor, this has all of the protection I could hope for.

Nomad is really a wonderful product. I think everyone needs to try it at least once in their shaving career. And most likely, once you do, you'll buy more. I'll always have this in my rotation.

Much better than the hard C&E soaps that have little lubrication.

That's not blushing, that irritation form the hard soap. I digress. The cream I found did have calming properties, good lubrication and great smell. This really performed well for me. I am very happy with it and would buy it again. Availability is also a strong plus.

My first shave cream after being introduced to the world of wet shaving and using a brush was C&E Sweet Almond Oil, and I found it to lather very easily, while the smell was nice if not a bit underwhelming. Nomad is the complete opposite. The smell will knock you out, and I mean that in a good way. It has incredible staying power, and can still smell it 3 hours later. The smell, IMHO, reminds me of a cologne I used to have called Grey Flannel, but with some fruity undertones. I love it, and love that you can actually still smell it after it lathers, unlike some other creams I have tried.
Unfortunately, getting it to lather wasn't as much of a joy. My first outing I used the same technique as with my other C&E cream, but the lather was thin and provided no lubrication whatsoever (my razor skipped across my face like a rock across water). I ended up finishing off with my Proraso. I tried it again today, and found that if I used about twice as much as the SAO, or the Proraso, that I could get a thick enough lather that would lubricate my face enough to get a smooth shave. Even so, it still wasn't as good as the SAO or the Proraso, or the Trumper samples I have been using.
That said, I got it on sale at an outlet store for $5, so I can't complain too much. Would I pay the full price ($15) that I paid for the tube of SAO? Probably not. I'd much rather spend the money on a tube of Trumpers, or something else. But if I can continue to get it for $5, it will probably stay in the rotation, if, for nothing else, the incredible smell.

I picked some up in the Halifax airport after having a half-full tube of my beloved Proraso Green confiscated from my carryon.

I paid $17CAD for it, and really had high hopes, especially considering C&E's reputation for grooming stuff.

In my Moss Scuttle it seemed to take a lot of water and effort to get a lather comparable to Taylor's or Proraso. I don't know what it is, but it seemed to increase the resistance of my razor over my skin. Every time I give this stuff another shot, I end up with terrible razor burn, and a really bad shave.

Nothing 'calming' about it for me.

I used this cream for the first time today, after lots of good experience with C&E's Sienna. The scent kept me away for a long time, but I picked it up during their recent sale, and I'm glad I did. From the jar, the scent seems like a mixture spices with grass and dirt mixed in, but once I put it on the brush and on my face the citrus aspects took over. The scent is unique, and I love it.

I have to disagree with Kyle's assessment of how good a shave it gives. Maybe he got a bad batch. But it's at least as good as Sienna, and it's competitive with Taylor's and AOS. I had no problems getting great amounts of cream from a normal dollop. More importantly, it provided great lubrication and a close, comfortable shave.

I've been using this cream for a while now love it.

A good performer with an very unique scent. I went back and forth many times on this before deciding I liked it. I do not care for cologne scented creams so this was a very nice compromise. Not a cologne scent per se but similar. Fragrant and exotic. I don't use it often but it is always a nice change-up when I do.

I picked up a sample of this creme at one of my local C&E mall stores. Unlike the other creme samples I received which were creme scooped into a nice small plastic container, I actually received a min-tube of the Nomad Creme gratis. I have to tell you, this tube does not stop giving. I have already got 7 shaves from it and it looks like there will be at least one more left, maybe 2.

This creme has a scent that I really like; to me it is a nice spice odor that has exotic undertones. It never fails to lather up extensively, no matter which brush I use and a little goes a long way. I always seem to be rinsing away more from the brush and bowl than I shave off my face. This is a very efficient creme IMO. It also leaves my face feeling real good, as a creme should.

I recommend that if you have a chance to grab a sample, you treat yourself to it. Would I buy it myself?......Sure would, but I just don't need any more choices in the morning currently. I could easily see this creme in an expanded rotation. (Though if mine expands any more.........)

-Scott-

I was one of the winners of a 5.3oz jar of this cream in the Badger & Blade Anniversary contest. I have been using this cream since Monday and here are my comments.

Price: At $25 a jar I think this is a price based on C&E recouping costs for the heavy, solid and pretty glass jar that the product comes in. Compared to other shaving creams that come in plastic jars and do a better job, I would not be willing to shell out this many clams.

Quality: There is quality in both the packaging and in the cream in that the cream looks solid and not like a store-bought canned gel. There is texture to the cream and it does its best to display itself proudly before the brush.

Scent: I now understand why people are so decisive over the smell of tea tree oil in shave and face products. To me that smells fine, but in terms of Nomad I need to strongly disagree with the positive scent reviews by previous posters. This cream smells like a citronella candle to the point that it only smells like a candle, overpowering the bamboo, grassy smell offered by the other components. I only fleetingly smell a little bit of the grass when the lather is applied but the citronella is all too pervasive otherwise. This cream, for lack of a better term, stunk up my bathroom when I undid the jar the first time. While whipping up a lather I've had to sometimes daydream about my QED Sandalwood soap that was sitting only two feet from me. I don't want to have to fight with a scent when I want to enter shave zen, but with this one I do.

Latherability: This cream loves water more than the thirstiest shaving soap out there. I started with my usual tablespoon of water in my Moss Scuttle but quickly had to work my way up to five tablespoons before it stopped resembling the first swirl of Proraso out of the tube! The lather fluffs up well but does not seem to hold onto the moisture all that well once it forms up. I did not use any of my Pacific Shave Oil on my face during any of my Nomad shaves and always felt like something was "wrong" with the shave, as if all between me and my razor was whatever water was on my face!


Efficacy: I got the distinct impression that this cream was repelled by my razor approaching my face! I did not feel all that protected during my shave and the lather wanted to wash off my blade as fast as possible. The post results of each shave have been less than stellar. With other creams my face will at least feel smooth after the N-S and W-E passes, but I can still feel the stubble on my face even with a fresh Feather installed in my Merkur HD on Monday. I did not feel comfortable with considering the option of using this cream on a S-N against the grain pass at any point.

Moisturizing Properties: None. This cream wants any and all moisture it can get its mitts on but it will not give any back. My face felt irritated and dry after each shave, and I had to go with a heavy Nivea or L'Oreal Men's Comfort balm which I have not had to do with other cream products.

Packaging: A very nice, heavy amber glass jar.

One other point to mention with the scent is that following my shaves I found that the scent would fight with a EDT that was applied. Floral scents are tainted by the citronella smell (my different Phengallion's smelled like cheap department store detrius!!!!) and it took a liberal application of Trumper's Sandalwood EDT to make my nose happy once again. When a shaving cream can overpower the Nivea for Men scent, there are issues in my book.

It appears like C&E are no longer offering Nomad in a jar format, only a tube.

This is my first proper cream, as well as being my first time reviewing anything, so take it into account with a good pinch of salt.

The first thing that struck me was the scent. I know its not for everyone, and it's quite heady and strong, but personally i think its the nicest scent i've come across (bear in mind that in Aus, there's very little range in this stuff)

I found that it took me a while to work out the best combo of water cream to get proper hydrated cream rather than suds, so it does require a bit of work, but i've pretty much nutted the combo out correctly, however, despite playing with water ratios, i still find this slightly drying for sensitive skin (nothin compared to my cake of C&E Sandalwood though...

It is a little pricey, but it seems like I'll be able to get away with using small amounts when alternative between this and my other stuff (proraso) and using this in conjunction with the C&E Almond soap. The 2 scents work well together.

Packaging is a nice touch, with a slick metal tube and included key, although i'd much prefer the simplicity of a plastic tube with base cap. The metal tube looks a bit ratty after a lot of use.

Anyways, for me it looks like a keeper. I might try the Nomad Soap to see how the scent/performance compares when my Sandalwood runs out (not anytime soon) otherwise i'll spring for the large pot version. Local pricing doesn't impose a burden for the glass jar, and i'm not saving money by going the tube.

Pete D

I have to give this cream a mixed review because the packaging is magnificent and elegant, the lather is sumptuous, the scent turns me off, the moisturizing, and general performance are great, but I hate the price. That's a cream which my sister-in-law who's a C&E employee can't get a discount on. I still say C&E is a class-A, Top Notch company.

Jeff

I was graciously gifted a tube of this from Scotto and now that I've had a while to use it, I second a lot of opinions on here that it takes a little experience with water/cream ratios to get C&E stuff to explode in lather.

In terms of a "calming" cream, I don't know if that's just a marketing phrase or it's actually supposed to "calm" your skin, but I don't feel it. I mean, it's nice, but it's a bit underwhelming in terms of my expectation when I read a tube that says "calming."

The scent is very nice, very earthy & leathery. It has a hint of tobacco & cedar in the scent. Overall, I like it a lot.

After my shaves, my face does feel a bit more supple and soft, I don't know if it's my imagination but it does feel very nice. I give this a thumbs up and would recommend it to all to try. I'm not sure if I'll buy a tube of this or not, as I'm more inclined to go with the C&E sandalwood.

I really like the smell of this stuff. Like many others, it's what sold me.

It was also my first real shave cream buy, so I am partial to it even today.

However, as I've dabbled into the 3T arena, I see that it does lack some of the extra lathering & mositurizing that the English Creams give you.

But truth be told, this is a difference on the margins. In the end, the scent is so grrrrreat that I have to have it in my rotation.

Afterall, we shaved with such crap coming out of a can for so long, that almost everything is an improvement. And for me personally, the great smell wafting through the room when I crack open a tub of good Shaving Cream is almost half the reason I enjoy shaving so much in the morning anyway.