Trafalgar Shaving Cream by Truefitt & Hill

Oh my! This cream is among the very best in every respect (except price, but you get what you pay for). I prefer Trafalgar over 1805, which seems to put me in the minority.

Lovely stuff.

All 10's for how it performs, except moisturizing. It's not drying, but I didn't feel nourished afterwards either.

Price gets a 7 because it is expensive. This is not to confuse it with 'Value' which I would have rated a 10 based on price vs. quality.

Scent is where the magic is. This is a very nice scent that explodes out of the cream and then quickly backs down to a delicious background. Every time I hit this stuff with a brush, I am amazed at how overwhelmingly strong the first bite of scent is and also how it quickly backs off to a more gentlemanly comportment.

The scent itself is primarily very botanical; woody, with strong hints of citrus. The most pronounced note I smell is vetiver , and the citrus is more citronella than lemon, there is a bit of pepper in there too.

The scent is very pleasant and lingers long on the neck. My wife *loves* it.

Trafalgar was my second T&H purchase, and I must admit that I still prefer T&H W.I. Limes in terms of scent. Trafalgar has significant sandalwood notes, but with a smoky lightness. Its not overbearing, but I still can't get into the sandalwood 'scene.' Its a good scent for the winter, IMO, as opposed to the Limes which I previously recommended for the summer months. The quality and latherability are typical T&H excellence, I am a big fan of their products, but I'll probably stick to W.I. Limes or try some 1805 at the next go-around.

Probably my favorite scent if I have one. I find myself returning to the bathroom all day to smell my brush after using this cream. Someone already said it was "very sexy without being a tramp" and I think that sums it up. It smells spicey to me at first and then very citrusy kind of like oranges. If you like citrus scents, I would bet you would like this. It is very luxurious too.

Provides plenty of cushion for me to get a great shave and doesn't dry out my skin. Now excuse me while I go smell that brush again...

Have used this for nearly a year. Not bad, but there are better creams out there (Salter's, Taylor's) for a much better price.

Quality: Good. Again, though, you can get the same quality from some of the other brands for quite a bit less $$

Scent: Nice. Not overpowering. Moderately heavy, fresh scent.

Latherability: See above comments.

Efficacy: Lubrication is fair. Not as slick as 1805, but good enough.

Moisturizing Properties: Fair. Tends to dry my skin out, but YMMV. Skin types are so variable, I don't know that I would let this sway me either way if you're itching to try this one.

First impression:
Attractive packaging, high quality tub. Raises expectations before actually trying the product. Keep in mind that this is my very first T&H shave cream.

Lathering:
No problem here, seems to need somewhat less water than TOBS.

Price: No comment, it is what it is, and for good reason.

Moisturizing:
Surprisingly well. Does not dry me out at all.

Scent:
With no doubt, the best smelling cream that I have used to date.

Efficacy:
For me, until now, only a triple milled soap would offer such comfort during and after a shave. Allows for nice touch ups without any worries at all, within good judgement of course, and I say this in all honesty since I use Feather blades exclusively.

Overall:
I thought I would be a soap guy for the rest of my life since I never came across a shave cream that would yield the same results for me, until now. In my book, that's quite a high compliment.

First impression: the blue box is very attractive. The blue tub is also nice. There was a problem with my very first impression, though, since the demo tub at Nordstrom had a huge crack in the lid. In fact, all the demos at Nordstrom were in awful shape (cracked lids, dried out product), causing me to leave without buying anything. A trip to the Grooming Lounge got me a tester that hadn't dried out and I bought a tub of Trafalgar with SWMBO's approval of the fragrance, but I'll admit I'm afraid I'm going to knock the tub off the window ledge in the shower and the lid will break.

Lathering: I feel like it takes more work and more cream than the AOS stuff I started with (they filled a bag with samples when I bought my brush). I could just be underestimating the amount of cream I really used with the AOS stuff, though, so that's neither here nor there. Once the lather starts, though, it really gets going. I have a big silvertip brush and I shave my whole head every time, so I go through the cream faster than most people would. It took me a while to get a lathering technique down -- I started adding more water, then I needed to add more cream, and so on. One tub lasted me exactly seven months. I shave about every third day, so that's something in the neighborhood of 70 shaves.

Price: 70 shaves (or so), $30. OK. I'd be happier if it were cheaper, but I'm also not that unhappy.

Moisturizing: this is a non-issue for me. It certainly doesn't dry my skin out, but I can't speak with any authority on the matter.

Scent: fantastic. I think SWMBO likes it partly because it smells vaguely like a gin and tonic as it lathers. I'm sensitive to fragrances and I still like this one after going through an entire tub.

Efficacy: dinged a point because of a problem area above and behind my ears. I have to lather and stroke several times, even though I get smooth shaving everywhere else. Also it seems to kill the lubricating strip on my blades, where the cheap Trader Joe's stuff I use when I don't have time to lather up the T&H makes the same strip last longer. I have no idea what's happening there.

Overall: considering my sensitivity to (and pickiness about) fragrances I'm happy enough with the Trafalgar to overlook its minor faults. So it takes me a long time to get a good bowl of lather. That's OK, 'cause it sure smells nice. And there's a definite satisfaction that comes with using something that really feels like a luxury product.

I bought this on a whim -- I wanted to try one of the three T's, this was available locally at Nordstrom's and it sounded intriguing after reading the reviews here and the descriptions of the scent found on the various store sites.

After I bought it but before trying it out, I became concerned that perhaps I'd made a pricey mistake with this expensive cream because I couldn't figure out the unusual scent, which smelled to me a little like bay rum with black pepper and citrus mixed in. After trying it though, I now see the attraction folks have to the Truefitt & Hill poducts: The Trafalgar cream lathers perfectly (perhaps even a little better than Proraso, but not as slick - better than Nancy Boy, but not as thick), it's very effective for giving a good close shave, and the scent, once applied, smells like a fine cologne. Everyone's sniffer is different, but to me its maybe similar to the scent of Ralph Lauren Polo Crest but with an definite bad boy overtone of black pepper. This is the antidote to Trumper's Violet. It's the prep-school shaving cream that got kicked out of Eton College for fighting.

It is expensive. I bought the travel tube ($21) instead of the tub ($30) just because I just wanted to try it out and I knew it wasn't something I'd use as a daily shaver on account of the heavy scent. I'd recommend as a general rule that it's far more economical to buy the tub because Truefitt & Hill travel tubes are 1/2 the quantity of product for nearly the price of a full tub. However, I also notice that the cream in the travel tube is plain white and not the hokey blue-dyed color of the cream from the tub. This plain-Jane flip-top tube has a small opening that makes the cream come out in a skinny string that makes it a little difficult to estimate how much is enough.

To me, it was neither moisturizing or drying -- but I have relatively sensitive skin and encountered no irritation, so that's a plus. I would appreciate a little more moisturizing quality, so that's another reason this won't be a daily shaver for me.

Overall an excellent and unique cream -- makes me want to try other Truefitt & Hill variations in the future.

This is one of my favorite creams. I just love the scent and the wife does too! I find that it whips up a pretty good lather and the shave is smooth. Awesome when paired with the aftershave and cologne. Not the cheapest stuff on the planet, but a lot of this English stuff isn't. I try not to use all of my expensive creams daily (a couple times a week will do to stretch it a bit). With great smelling ones it is tough though.

Comparable to the other T&H creams, but the scent isn't quite as nice as the 1805.

Lathers pretty easily but the quantity doesn't seem as high as with Proraso (my preferred cream) and the lather seems a little dry. Price is high.

This cream is at the upper end of the scale.

An outstanding English cream.

The shaves are always very nice, smooth and effortless.

The scent is one of my very favorites - light, summery, just the hint of sweetness. Very sexy without being a tramp. It's just plain happening.

A snurdle goes a long way and a tub will last you for a long time.

This cream bears-out its name: You could imagine Lord Nelson smelling like this as he faced the French and Spanish Navies in the battle where he lost his life.

Reviews that I and fellow B&Bers have written about other T&H creams tell you everything you need to know about their quality and efficacy. Though pricey (ca. $25/tub), most wetshavers will agree that the English supercreams justify the investment.

One of the pleasures you purhcase with most of the creams made by the 3Ts comes from a great fragrance, and this proves especially true with Trafalgar: Interestingly, experience has shown that this fragrance works well when preparing for office wear in colder weather, as well as for a casual day wearing shorts in warmer weather--muskier in the cold, spicier on the warmer days.

Someday, I'll treat myself and buy a bottle of the cologne--I like the fragrance that much.