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A Cain and Able story.. of sorts (or a cream review)

Curse you Johnniegold!

Yes, it’s all Bobs fault, I have been reading his 3017 post and the finish it in 2010 post when I saw my glass bowl of the Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet shaving cream. Now as a diehard soap guy, this cream was destined to dry up and blow away before I got to it, then I noticed a slight “dent” in it. "I can actually kill this one” I thought. I started using it for every shave, my first shave monogamy in 5 years.

I have been using the BB Cream for two months already!

While the amount of cream is staring to dwindle slightly, there still is a heck of a lot left!
I had not used a cream for a regular rotation item before. I found soaps early in my wet shaving renaissance at the B&B. Creams were just little side dishes to flirt with. So… all is well, I have been enjoying the rich fragrance of the Blenheim Bouquet and copious lather of the BB cream.

The players>
full

But like in many stories the plot takes a turn- storm clouds appear on the horizon …….

After using the cream for two months straight, on a whim, I used my BB soap. I was quite startled to tell you the truth.

In almost all my quantifiable metrics, the soap is a better performer.

In two areas especially, cushion and face feel after the rinse. (Sometimes called moisturizing in the reviews)

One characteristic of the cream is it leaves a slight slimy residue on my face; a few times I actually washed my face with soap to remove the residue. I have seen it affecting my brushes.

The cushion is where the most difference came into play. The cream lather has a softer body. While the lather feels very slippery it lacks the density that you can get with the soap made lather. For me this translates into a (slightly) less comfortable shave.


Now don’t get me wrong, this cream is one of the best available and my comments are about percents of percentages differences. If I had not taken the Johnniegold monogamy challenge, I never would have made friends with this cream and learned its idiosyncrasies as well as I have. So my challenge continues. I really hope I can get through this cream in 2010 and send it to the Graveyard!
 
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I love the glass jar. It is elegant.

+1. Penhaligon's really knows how to pull that off. That's also the late, lamented tallow version of the soap. I would definitely use up the cream first, and never subject that gem to the "finish it" approach.
 

johnniegold

"Got Shoes?"
If I listed all the things in my shaving collection that I blame you for, the B&B server may blow up. :lol:

Btw, is that a sterling silver Chubby 1? :biggrin:
 
As a die hard soap fan, I agree with everything you said about Penhaligon's.

I pretty much gave up on creams, and gave away all of them (about 23) at a NYC meet last year. Except I kept 4: Castle Forbes, Crabtree & Evelyn sweet almond oil, Penhaligon's, and Tabula Rasa. Truth is, I haven't used any of them in months, and might never use any of them again. Still...

Penhaligon's is my favorite. One noticeable difference between Penhaligon's and the others is how little of it you need compared to the others. It makes the price a lot more reasonable. It's gonna be a long time before you send that jar to the landfill, unless you load it like the Dickens and wash most of it down the drain.

The only thing I wonder is whether cream fans judge by different criteria than soap fans, and therefore rate Penhaligon's differently.

Thanks for doing this and reaffirming my decision that it's safe to let this "dry up and blow away before I got to it". If you run out early, I have half a jar left.
 
I know what you mean on this cream. I really it both in terms of performance and scent. However, it sits in my cabinet obscured by a mountain of soaps that I still prefer over it. :001_rolle
 
Okay i will assist you guys and take your penhaligon's cream off your hands. My favorite cream by a landslide. If your tired of looking at that jar pm me and i will relieve you of your pain. :001_smile Just keep it reasonable please.:wink1::wink1::
By the way that is one killer brush. Have Mercy.....
 
I have a sample of the cream and I love the scent. Its a pretty sold performing cream but I don't think it can compete with the soap. If only they would bring back the tallow versions of the soap.

Good luck on finishing it in 2010:thumbup1:
 
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