Truefitt & Hill Grafton

This is the first T&H cream I've ever tried. I chose the Grafton based solely on the descriptions provided by the T&H site and vendor's sites:

"Conjures up images of fireside chats regarding important matters and romantic encounters at black tie affairs." Hey, that's for me! But, all hyperbole aside, this is the description that appealed to me: "Grafton has a fresh herbaceous opening combined with a spicy floral heart, leading onto a rich, woody, amber background with a hint of leather." What's not to like about that?

Price: A little high, not much less than CF. Still, I like it enough to buy it again.

Quality: I like the color and consistency of the Grafton very much. This cream is dense and solid, but not hard at all. It's quite gratifying to scoop a snurdle out with my finger, it's a hard thing to explain.

Scent: I found the Grafton scent to be very similar to Taylor's "Mr. Taylor" cream. After a few weeks of smelling them both, I do find there are differences and the Grafton seems just slightly more appealing to me. It's a refined, very gentlemanly fragrance.

Latherability: You can't beat this stuff. I like to face-lather it, and it is so pleasant to smear a snurdle around on my face and enjoy the intoxicating fragrance. Once I hit it with a brush, it just (insert alternative verb for "explodes") into lather. The lather is thick, comfortable and cushiony. It gives the kind of smooth, clean cutting action I get from top performers like Tabac soap or CF cream.

Efficacy: Since the desired effect is a fine lather, the efficacy of this product was addressed in the previous paragraph.

Moisturizing Properties: I never pay much attention to this, my skin never feels dry so I guess I'm not a good judge of this. I gave it a 9 because it's so great in every other dimension, why not this one?

Packaging: I don't hold anything against a product if the packaging is uninspiring. However, in this case I think the black PVC tub with gold lettering is more elegant than the tan offerings from Taylor or the flat hockey puck from CF.