Crabtree & Evelyn advise

[Eric83]

Wife was at c & e today and said they had Nomad, Sandalwood and West Indian lime in stock along with brushes and the aftershaves.

Searched and found mixed feelings about the product lines. My question is, are any of the items worth getting? I prefer creams, so soap is out of the question. Anyone purchased recently and happy?

 

[syngent]

I love the sienna scent, its good cream works well for me, id get it and feel good bout it

 

[Jeff_H]

I really want to try the West Indian Lime, but no actual experience here, sorry.

 

[Eric83]

She rubbed the West Indian lime on her hand and I smelled it when she got home. It's smelled really nice, but I wonder how the cream lathers.

She said the sandalwood smelled like my proraso sandalwood.

 

[tadas]

I've been using the Sienna pretty much daily for about a month and a half. It lathers well and does an excellent job for me, much better than the drugstore Williams I'd been using for 30 years.

 

[Eric83]

I know Edwin Jagger makes the brushes for them. I absolutely love the Crabtree handle on the brushes. Still debating if I want to drop the money on the brush, cream and aftershave. I don't mind, if the products perform well...

 

[Cobra0369]

I use the Sienna and Nomad. I have the West Indian Lime also. However, I can not get it to lather. I always get an airy, bubbly lather. I do like the scent though.

 

[Eric83]

Airy not good for me, very sensitive skin with heavy beard. Maybe the lime is formulated way different than the older scents?

 

[JerYnkFan]

I was interested in the lime soap, but found the scent way too light.

 

[Toothpick]

I have the Sienna soap. never tried the cream.

I also have the Sandalwood AS and the West Indian Lime AS. They call it an aftershave balm but IMO it is a lotion. I consider a balm to be more along the consistency of Niva Balm, more like a milky substance. C&E "ASB" is thicker like a lotion would be.

Besides that the Sandalwood AS is pretty darn good. Love the scent and it stays with you all day. Also the glass bottle and the pump action makes it really nice.

 

[Eric83]

Thanks for all the input everyone! Guess its gonna be a game day decision as I'm standing in the store tomorrow...

 

[Mick]

I have Senna, Nomad, and Sandalwood soaps. They are the older formulation and work very well for me.

I do find that I use them in conjunction with shave sticks more often than by themselves. Loading a shave stick directly on my face then loading a brush with the C&E for their excellent scent is best of the best for me

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/321719-Shave-Stick-Brotherhood-SSB?p=4750472#post4750472

 

[hawklet00]

I have the sienna cream. Really love the scent, but for some reason it doesn't seem to provide much lubrication between blade and skin. I only use it when my blade is brand new

 

[Morman Bridge]

C&E sandalwood soap was the first soap I used with a brush about a year or so ago, and I would have to say it not only lathers well, but it smells great too. When I get a chance I'm going to get another puck of it. It is a little pricey though.

 

[Alphonse]

I love the Sienna and Nomad soaps scents. However, the lather can be airy when left on the face so I'll only lather one side at a time and I like a rather wet lather anyway. Proraso cream provides much better lather IMO, but I'm still liking the C&E.

 

[CaderTheAlligator]

I have no problem lathering West Indian Lime. I have been using it for over a month and love the scent as well as the performance. To me, who used Proraso before, it performs quite similar and leaves my face feeling much more refreshed. I say give it a shot, I doubt it will be a disappointment.

 

[Jerry-built Hustler]

Searched and found mixed feelings about the product lines. My question is, are any of the items worth getting?

C&E men's products tend to be hard to agree on, as can already be seen by the responses here. As such, I doubt you'll get a clear answer to your question, and ultimately you'll have to try them out (most likely by buying them, unfortunately) to see if you like them.

For what it's worth, I think they are just OK, bordering on lackluster. The presentation (i.e., packaging) is top notch, and the scents are fairly high quality. But the products themselves...meh. My experiences are primarily with the Sienna line, of which I have the shaving cream, a/s balm and bath soap. Per my tastes, the cream just isn't in the same league as the best English stuff out there; the lather is thinner, less slick, and less protective. It does the job, but it doesn't wow me.

The a/s balm is a decent balm - fairly heavy going on, but moisturizing, and well-scented; it is a chemical soup, though.

Even the Sienna bath soap is surprisingly sub-par, relative to some of their other soaps, like the Jojoba Oil or Goat Milk varieties. Whereas the latter two are very hard-milled and produce rich, thick lather, the Sienna is softer, and produces more voluminous, "sudsy" lather. If I didn't know, I would not have guessed they're the same brand.

All in all, I can't say the products suck, but there isn't one I would recommend without hesitation or qualification. As always, YMMV.

 

[Eric83]

Awesome info guys... Wanted the good, the bad and ugly about this product line. Gonna take some time and play around with the product and see if its for me.

 

[Eric83]

I'm for sure very interested in the best badger brush. I love the handle design and would enjoy and upgrade from the horriable AOS pure badger I have...

 

[Chris H]

I haven't heard anything negative about the creams, but I'm hearing that the soap is made by the same company that makes the same crappy Trumper and T&H soaps.