I haven't seen much of anything said about this brush-less cream, so I thought I'd leave a review here for anyone who might be curious about it. I was looking for a brush-less cream for those mornings when I'm running too short on time for a proper shave, and I spotted this on an eBay auction where I was the only bidder. I got it for under $6 US, shipping included. It was well worth the 6 bucks for the intended purpose, but still mot something that I will work into a regular rotation. I used it through most of the past week, shaving with a 1960's Gillette Tech loaded with Bevel or Feather blades. To apply, I wet my hands, dispensed a generously almond-sized dollop of cream, rubbed my hands together to mix, and applied the cream to my wet face.
Appearance and physical properties - It comes out of the tube as a milky, translucent gel. The scent is a synthetic marzipan odor. The Cella cream in a tub smells better. It is slightly runny, in that when I tilt my palm it will start to slide. When applied to wet skin it is practically transparent, only a wet glint showing where it is applied. It dissolves easily in water, rinsing effortlessly from the razor and down the drain. I expect that cartridge users would have no problem with it clogging up their blades.
Slickness - This is likely the slickest substance I've every applied to my face. In fact, it is maybe a little too slick. I can not feel the blade at all when I use it. Even a very dull blade glides easily across the face with no feedback as to whether or not hair is being cut.
Residual slickness - There is plenty of residual slickness for buffing. There is almost enough for my to just re-wet my face and do a quick second pass.
Cushion - None to speak of.
Postshave - It's OK. I don't get a tight feeling after the shave. But an hour or so afterwords, my face does not feel as smooth and soft as it would after using my favorite soaps or creams.
Latherablity - Poor, obviously. It is a brush-less cream. I can work it up into a thin sort of lather. Slickness does not suffer, but it also doesn't gain any cushion. The one benefit to lathering is it makes the cream easier to see on my face. However, it leaves an oily residue on the brush, so I would not recommend using a natural hair brush with it. Also, it does not later easily, so that takes the "rapid" out of "Rapid Shaving Cream".
Context - You probably want to know how it compares to Cremo. Sorry, I can't tell you. I've never used it. I've only used one other brush-less product. That was Origins Blade Runner, which I think is a pretty good product. I find Cella Rapid Shaving Cream to be slicker, but harder to use.
Overall - It's not a bad product, but not something I will ever enjoy using. It does what it is meant to do without fuss. I get irritation free shaves from it. I was even able to do a quick, touch up shave with 12 hours growth without tearing up my face. I have never been able to do that with any other product. But unfortunately, I don't get close shaves from it. Because it goes on clear, it's hard for me to tell where I've already shaved so I tend to miss a few hairs. It's so exceptionally slick that I can't feel or hear feedback when buffing. I can't reliably feel if my angle is all wrong and the blade isn't touching skin. I can't even feel with my off hand where I have a little stubble left until I rinse the stuff off at the end of a shave. I bought this to get me quick, socially acceptable shaves when I'm short on time. This does the job for that purpose, but I will never look forward to using it.
Appearance and physical properties - It comes out of the tube as a milky, translucent gel. The scent is a synthetic marzipan odor. The Cella cream in a tub smells better. It is slightly runny, in that when I tilt my palm it will start to slide. When applied to wet skin it is practically transparent, only a wet glint showing where it is applied. It dissolves easily in water, rinsing effortlessly from the razor and down the drain. I expect that cartridge users would have no problem with it clogging up their blades.
Slickness - This is likely the slickest substance I've every applied to my face. In fact, it is maybe a little too slick. I can not feel the blade at all when I use it. Even a very dull blade glides easily across the face with no feedback as to whether or not hair is being cut.
Residual slickness - There is plenty of residual slickness for buffing. There is almost enough for my to just re-wet my face and do a quick second pass.
Cushion - None to speak of.
Postshave - It's OK. I don't get a tight feeling after the shave. But an hour or so afterwords, my face does not feel as smooth and soft as it would after using my favorite soaps or creams.
Latherablity - Poor, obviously. It is a brush-less cream. I can work it up into a thin sort of lather. Slickness does not suffer, but it also doesn't gain any cushion. The one benefit to lathering is it makes the cream easier to see on my face. However, it leaves an oily residue on the brush, so I would not recommend using a natural hair brush with it. Also, it does not later easily, so that takes the "rapid" out of "Rapid Shaving Cream".
Context - You probably want to know how it compares to Cremo. Sorry, I can't tell you. I've never used it. I've only used one other brush-less product. That was Origins Blade Runner, which I think is a pretty good product. I find Cella Rapid Shaving Cream to be slicker, but harder to use.
Overall - It's not a bad product, but not something I will ever enjoy using. It does what it is meant to do without fuss. I get irritation free shaves from it. I was even able to do a quick, touch up shave with 12 hours growth without tearing up my face. I have never been able to do that with any other product. But unfortunately, I don't get close shaves from it. Because it goes on clear, it's hard for me to tell where I've already shaved so I tend to miss a few hairs. It's so exceptionally slick that I can't feel or hear feedback when buffing. I can't reliably feel if my angle is all wrong and the blade isn't touching skin. I can't even feel with my off hand where I have a little stubble left until I rinse the stuff off at the end of a shave. I bought this to get me quick, socially acceptable shaves when I'm short on time. This does the job for that purpose, but I will never look forward to using it.