Taylor St. James

This will be a permanent cream in my rotation. Wonderful scent, nice slick lather.

Price: TOBS is affordable but not a steal...this one is no exception.

Quality: TOBS makes great creams; this one feels good and doesn't cause irritation.

Scent: Some people seem to love this...to me, it smells like generic perfume-counter smell mixed with bug spray. It's both to feminine for me and reminds me too much of swatting mosquitoes. I figured I'd give this a try, since I love their Mr. Taylor's cream, but this one's just not my scent. YMMV...some people adore the stuff, to judge by other reviews.

Latherability: It's TOBS. It isn't going to be rivaling MWF or Tabac anytime soon, but it's a solid contender in the lather department.

Moisturizing: I've got really moist skin, so I don't really care about moisturizing. FWIR, it's really good for that, though.

Packaging: It's a standard TOBS tub. Effective & classy.

Well I have shaved about five times with this fabulous cream. Not much more can be said about its wonderful properties but here is my two cents worth.

PRICE:
Can't argue with 13/14 dollars a container and let me tell you you get a ton of product for your dollar. The tub is actually bigger than it looks in most pictures.

QUALITY:
Taking a look at ingredients one will find a few chemical additives but there are also many natural ingredients. The price is just right for whats in it though.

SCENT:
Very manly, I mainly sense pine in this particular cream. It is really hard to describe, but it is also very pleasant in my humble opinion.

LATHERABILITY:
WOW! This is were this product really shines through. Other creams can take a little while to really whip up, but this stuff is thick and creamy with just a few whips of the brush. It becomes a wonderful lather after just 20 seconds of mixing, but hang in there for a little while longer for even more richness.

EFFICACY:
Can't say much here that hasn't already been said it gets the job done!

MOISTURIZING PROPERTIES:
This was actually surprising to me. It rinses away really clean and left a nice smooth face in its wake. I was quite pleased.

PACKAGING:
Not really an issue for me, but it is pretty plain. It is just a PVC type container in an off white color. They slapped a sticker on the top and label on the bottom and shipped it off. However, if this helps them keep the cost so low all the more power too them. If the way your product looks in your shave den is a top priority for you then maybe consider a different product.

Price

$14 for a 3T cream makes it difficult to try the other 2T's.


Quality

Excellent quality. I've had this cream for 3-4 months now and it still smells terrific and provides an outstanding shave when called upon. This is typical for the TOBS creams that I've used.


Scent

I'll be honest. I didn't like this scent at all initially. Out of the container it was very powerful and almost too per-fumy for my allergies to take. However, a funny thing happened on the way to using it. Once it went from container to brush and brush to lather it mellowed into not only a tolerable scent but one that I rather enjoyed. So, if you like cologne based creams this is one that I would recommend. It's a strong and masculine scent but one that will not stay after the shave. So if you're looking to go with another scent for aftershave/cologne you're free to do so.


Latherability

In the spirit of TOBS creams, this cream will generate huge volumes of lather from a small amount of cream. The lather is thick and creamy and can hold a good amount of water.


Efficacy

Also, like other TOBS creams will be slick and protective even if you're using an aggressive blade/razor.

Moisturizing

It's a fair moisturizing cream but not the most at the top of the scale. If I were looking for moisturizing, I'd go with TOBS Avocado. However, if you're simply looking for an enjoyable shave with a great scented cream this is the way to go.

Packaging

This was not a consideration when I got this cream so it gets an N/A. Its a tub of PVC with stickers on it. Not awe inspiring like a soap in a wood bowl but then again I was not looking for the packaging to inspire awe - I wanted a great scented product and I got what I asked for.

I've tried a handful of TOBS creams and this one remains my favorite. Its moisturizing properties fall just below the TOBS avocado for me, but the amazing scent of this St. James cream more than makes up for it.

Cost
I received my tub of TOBS St. James in a trade, but advertised prices for this product are very reasonable

Quality
I've had no problems with this container of TOBS St. James. I've read about others who have consistency issues with some of the products, but of the numerous containers I've used from TOBS, they've all been great.

Scent
To me it smells manly. Not smoke/musty manly some colognes go for, but like a nice cologne that won't be mistaken for a womens' scent.

Shaveability
It produces a thick, velvety lather. Great cushion and moderately slick. I could use it as my only cream and would be happy with it.

Moisturizing
Better than other creams I've used. I still need a little moisturizer after the shave, but it's pretty good. For great moisturizing from a cream, try TOBS avocado.

Packaging
It's the typical white, plastic TOBS tub. But it's what's inside that really counts

St James - my favourite TOBS!

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It works as well as any TOBS cream (which is really well), but its the scent that makes this guy a winner for me. Tis a nice and subtle scent, it smells like citrus and spice (and all things nice?) and is great to breathe in as you shave.

This is a cream I do not want to be without - it will always have a spot in my den, its not quite my desert island setup, but I would be ecstatic if it washed ashore.

Great scented cream, though it dries a little too quick for my taste, leaving my face less mositurized than other creams & soaps of course YMMV. Nontheless this has found it's way into my rotation and has inspired me to find the cologne of the same name to carry that classy aroma throughout the day.

Echoing the sentiments of all the gents on this particular offering from Taylors, this is a great "cologne" based shave cream. It has a slight smell of the Safari by Ralph Lauren scent, which isn't bad, a very nice woodsy, classical, masculine scent. And surpisingly for being "cologne" based this cream offers all of the qualitys you'd want and come to expect from a Taylors cream. Great shave, scent and price!

Horrible scent. Lathers well. Adequately moisturising. Typical of TOBS - great price!

but...never again...horrible scent!

Great cologne scented cream that is very subtle. I find it lacks a bit in the moisturizing department but it's not the end of the world. It is the driest cream I own out of the tub and is very light and fluffy.
One of the best values out there.

I received this particular cream as a gift from my future sister-in-law, hence the top mark for the price. At first I was not very impressed with the scent, it reminded me somewhat of a certain canned goo I used a long time ago. But it has certainly grown on me, I especially like the ozonic top notes and how it evolves during the shave: my favourite shaving scents are those which smell clean, and this one falls right in this category.

But St. James really comes into its own upon lathering. Its consistency is softer than, for instance, Taylor's Lavender or T&H 1805, which makes loading the brush very easy. It literally explodes into gobs of thick, scent-drenched lather, to quote Mr. Scotto. And it retains water in the right quantity.

The shave itself is just perfect, the lather softens the whiskers for the smoothest shave I have experienced in months. People say that shaving after a day or two is really pleasing and satisfying. But St. James gives this same feeling every day, plus lots of moisturizing. Daily BBS shaves are possible with St. James.

The tub is the typical Taylor tub, but it is improved with a better sticker: the words "luxury shaving cream" and "the St. James collection" really make this a nice tub that outshines the rest of the Taylor tubs.

To sum up, one of the best Taylor creams I have ever tried. In fact, I plan on buying the aftershave, and even the cologne, it has convinced me that much.

That was my first Taylor's cream.
It is not a bad cream, but not so good as other Taylors, especially Avocado and Almond, which I like the most.
The main disadvantage is the scent. Too heavy, agressive, and naive.
I used a whole bottle of St James eau de cologne, and I enjoyed -- well, most of the times, and only at wintertime.
The scent in the cream though... I cannot bear it anymore.

This was my third jar of shaving cream and has become my daily shave cream and love it. All I need after shaving with this is a little Lucky Tiger, or Thayers and I'm good to go. The scent, while not my favorite, is very good yet subtle.

My favorite colonge scented shaving cream, it smells really good and it lathers like a dream, its one of my favorite creams.

Really, really, really nice stuff. It's a great change of pace, too. Whenever I can't decide what to use, this makes for a great alternative. Smells very proper and old tyme, and delivers the typical Taylor goods.
This product has caused me to rethink my stance on cologne based creams, which I now thoroughly enjoy.

Agreed. A truly fantastic cream. Almost up there with GFT's coconut.

What can I add to Scotto's review? Hmmmm, well, he's right! Awesome stuff. Right up there with Shaving Shop and Mr. Taylor's as my favorite ToOBS creams!

Randy

Before trying this gem, I had convinced myself that I don't care for cologne-scented creams. Getting a tub of this stuff in trade changed my viewpoint forever. This stuff smells so darn good and shaves so well, that I think it is near the pinnacle of all shave creams. Just awesome.

Price
Taylors tubs are pretty darn cheap compared to a lot of other stuff out there.

Quality
Well, Taylor's has come consistency issues with their texture, but this cream hasn't shown any issues for me.

Scent
Here is how it is described by Taylor: "A very complex fresh herbaceous accord with crisp citrus top notes; it starts with bergamot and lavender on a layer of rosemary and coriander; it continues with juniper and clary sage on a heart of warm clove and thyme; then it finishes with base notes of patchouli and olibanum with a touch of amber". What more can I say? This stuff just reeks masculinity

Latherability
The tubs of St. James I have had seem to have a different consistency than the other Taylor offerings - more along the lines of the Avocado. Very soft and rich. It just explodes into gobs of thick, scent-drenched lather.

Efficacy
Shaves like a dream. No worries about all that scent mucking things up - it just plain works.

Moisturizing
Actually pretty high on the moisturizing scale for me.

Packaging
PVC - who cares?

Look, if you like creams with really intense scents, you cannot miss this one.

This review is being discussed here.