SCS Shave Creme - Very V Scent

This is my fifth different cream from SCS. They have all been top notch performers with outstanding fragrances. I have had the EDT for a few years and am only too happy to have this cream in in my den. The lather is slick and moisturizing, like all of Sue's creams (soaps, too). The scent is considerably less potent than the EDT but still a very nice vetiver.

IMO, it is really worth the time to find the sweet spot with SCS creams. The reward is a great lather.

Although I have not tried this particular scent, I have some real questions about the description on "an half an almond" sized amount to get the results shown. To me an almond is a fairly small sized nut. I had a real problem getting a thick lather with this product with less than a penny sized dollup of cream. I e-mailed Sue and she described the quanitiy as a "dollup" of cream. I subsequently used more. Some of the creams are thicker than others but lets just say that a nickel sized round worked great for me. The review is great and accurate othewise but I wound up with a thin, poor shave the first time by using too little product. I would rather have too much great lather than too little thin lather.

O.K. I was mystified to find out what this Very V smelled like. I still don't know what it smells like. The scent is very mild in my opinion and does not last long while shaving.

But like the other SCS quality creams I have tried, Very V produces a great lather and has good moisturizing properties.

The only other thing that I would like to see changed is for SCS to go back to the clear tub shown in the pix that accompanies the original review. Nothing wrong with the tub I have, just like the looks of the clear tub better.

I do say, that Sue has created some quality creams of which this is one. I read the forums and find guys tooting the horn of some very expensive creams, the 3T's just to name three. I have never tried them and probably won't because of the great creams at great prices I get from SCS

michaelskar;194666 said:

But I am very glad to hear you liekd it. I have only recently begun to get into vetiver scents and I have been curious about the very v. Please let us know how similar the scent of the cream is to the EDT...seems like a nice combo that I would like to try as well.

Click to expand...

My pleasure!

I found the scent of SCS Sue's "Very V" shaving cream to be exactly the same as her "Very V" EDT, but not as powerful. However, once I'd begun working-up a lather (which I do on my face, rather than in a bowl), the scent was "right there", and continued to be so, throughout the four successive passes I made on my face, over a 30-minute period.

The lather remained rich and moist, and never dried-out on my face. Even after the fourth pass, there was lather remaining on the brush for a fifth pass... and this was with me only dipping the very tips of the central brush bristles into the cream.

I hope this helps, and I'm going to also post what I've written here, in the Shaving Cream forum.

Another top creation from the mind and kitchens of one of our favorite Sueswink: ).

I really enjoy the fact that this cream needs more than the usual amount of water added to it for best results-after all, we are wet shaving!

The scent doesn't reach out and grab me, but it provides a nice background to the overall shave.

Get it while it's hot.

Marty

Kyle, thanks for your thorough review. I agree with your assessment. This shave cream makes you work for the lather but the final result is well worth it.

Personally, I am less concerned with producing whipped cream amounts of lather. I really look for slickness and quality of lather. This shave cream does not disappoint me in this regard.

Finally the scent is wonderful. I am a big vetiver fan. Again this shave cream does not disappoint me.

Well done Sue!

Price – The Saint Charles Shave shave crèmes are competitively priced. While not the cheapest shave cream on the market, this product still represents a great bargain when you consider its high quality.

Scent – I’ve been fortunate enough to try 4 of the 5 scents that Sue currently has available (Very V, Bay Rum, Fairway, & Lime) and have been very pleased by all of them. I know that Sue holds each product she develops under a very extreme level of scrutiny before ever releasing one to the public, and it certainly shows in each of the fine scents that she is marketing. While I would like to claim the Very-V scent as my number one favorite, every scent I've tried is so very titillating that it is nearly impossible to pick one over the other. Very-V is likely the most unique of the scents available but all are excellent.

Packaging – While SCS’s presentation of clear plastic tub with black lid is not as regal as some of the offerings available on today’s market, it certainly outclasses the craptastic PVC tubs put out by the 3 T’s. In my mind, SCS has found a nice balance between an attractive presentation and a low price point.

Moisturizing Properties and Latherability – You may want to fasten your seatbelts at this point as, in my mind, this is where things really begin to get interesting.

Several months ago Sue welcomed me into her group of product testers and brought me up to date with her top-secret project of developing a Luxury Shave Crème. Along with the rest of the team, I watched this product go through many permutations along its journey to becoming the astonishing product that is now available to you.

Despite the many tweaks that Sue’s shave crème formula has endured, the crème’s properties of moisturization and lubrication have, since day one, been like nothing I have ever used before. This unique blend is fantastically slick and leaves the skin so conditioned that on many occasions I find an aftershave balm unnecessary and simply finish with a spritzing of witch hazel.

On the topic of latherability, this product can be a little bit deceptive. Keeping in mind that as a tester I have created 30-40 lathers with this crème (that is 30-40 with the current formulation), I will boldly say that it can create the best lather that you have ever used. Now, I realize that there will be some folks ready to argue after reading this statement, but there is a secret to making this product really perform for you and ironically, it is the very thing that makes our little hobby so special – WATER!

This crème is devastatingly hydrophilic or water-loving. From my findings, the amount of water that I use to create a meringue-like lather from any of the 3 T’s is simply not enough to satisfy the thirst of the SCS crème. I actually got as scientific as to measure out the water necessary for lathering several different brands of shave cream and found Sue’s products to require anywhere from 2 to 3 times as much water. This can be a difficult discovery to make because the early consistency of the lather will lead you to believe that it has too much water in it (i.e. a little bit runny). I encourage you, however, to continue to add water and watch as after several additional teaspoons of water have been added, the crème will actually firm up and create those beautiful meringue peaks that we all love so much.

PICS
This lather is from about a half an almond sized dollop of cream and a few teaspoons of water (what is normally left in a moderately sized brush after a shake). Notice how the cream appears a little bit runny and does not have much volume.


This is after slowly adding in 3 more teaspoons of water. See how the lather is building in size and beginning to thicken up.


This is after adding in 2 more teaspoons of water. Things are really starting to shape up nicely now. Additionally, despite the massive influx of water, rubbing the lather between finger and thumb shows no loss in slickness.


Here is a pic of filled brush and bowl next to an Aristocrat razor for scale.


Finally, here is a close-up of the lather-filled bowl. Notice the nice volume, the peaks, and how the crème glistens with moistness.


Overall – I will boldly say that the SCS shave crèmes are better than anything that I have previously used. Yes, they are even better than my beloved Taylor’s Lavender and Avocado (please, no booing or throwing of vegetables). When properly lathered, these crèmes can consistently provide you with a BBS shave and highly conditioned skin. When you combine the outrageous performance of these crèmes with their unique and wonderful scents, I think you will be hard pressed to find another product that can hold a candle to them.

For comments on this review, see this thread.