SCS Sandalwood Rose

I have to +1 all that JB mentioned above. This one is a winner and the new formulation is a good thing. My only niggle is that I'd've preferred the rose to be a hair more dominant than the sandalwood, but that's a personal preference thing and I could have communicated that better to Sue in my initial inquiries. Even in the current fragrancing (sandalwood dominant), you won't be disappointed.

Like many others, I've wanted an "out of the box" Sandalwood and Rose shaving cream; and, like many others, I've had to make-do by skillful combinations of two separate products: Sandalwood soap with Rose cream (or vice-versa), sometimes from the same manufacturer, but more often than not, not.

Now that's changed. Saint Charles Shave has introduced a limited-edition pairing of these two scents, Sandalwood Rose. My two jars arrived in yesterday's mail, and I used it this morning; here's my take:

Scent: Although the Rose could easily overpower the Sandalwood, SCS has done a great job and managed to strike a balance between the two. In this case, the "balance point" is placed with Sandalwood as the dominant scent, but the Rose is by no means difficult to detect. The scent is both immediate and enduring; where other shaving creams have a strong initial aroma, they often fade by the end of the first pass. Not so, with Sandalwood Rose; in fact, by the time I had finished shaving, I wasn't sure if I'd even apply an EDT... but I did (a few shpritzes of SCS Sandalwood and Savory Rose).

Latherability: I first noticed that the shaving cream was visibly thicker than previous shaving creams I'd purchased from SCS; this is a Good Thing. Making a quick "dip-and-twist" with a dampened brush, I began building a lather in my shaving mug. With no more than a teaspoon of hot water, I quickly developed mounds of rich, fragrant lather!

Efficacy: I had showered just before shaving, so my beard was well-prepared and the lather "took" readily. I continued to develop the lather on my face, and then commenced my first pass (1921 Bostonian w/2nd-day IP). I shave at a leisurely pace, and by the time I reached my upper lip (end of pass) the lather was still thick and moist. Ditto for the second and third passes.

What is worth noting is that even after rinsing my face with cupped-handfuls of hot water over the sink, my face was still slick from the previous pass; nevertheless, I did re-lather before continuing.

I had more than enough lather for a fourth pass (stubborn chin!), and it took longer than usual to rinse out the remaining lather from my shaving brush.

Moisturizing Properties: I've never been one to suffer from dry skin, or other negative effects from shaving creams/soaps and/or AS/EDT/EDC. Having said that, my face felt refreshed... smooth and silky.

Quality: With the exception of a "re-gifted" tube of Proraso and a tub of Salter's Almond (the latter bought at a QED "special"), I own no other shaving creams other than SCS. This new Sandalwood Rose trumps all of them (as well as the other two). Even though I bought two jars, I will have to be careful, lest I overuse them and run-out.

Price: A steal! Given the little amount that goes a long way, the $10 price-tag is really only pennies per-shave.

Packaging: As always, the SCS shaving-cream jars are sturdy, with screw-on/off lids that stay there. But what I like most is the inner lid which sits between the top of the jar and the screw-on lid: no worries about losing product if the jar turns upside-down. The only minus is that there's no label on the side of the jar, opposite the maker's label, for easy identification (only a round sticker on the bottom, with "Sandalwood Rose" printed on it).

Overall, I'm the happiest of campers, with SCS's new Sandalwood Rose!