Well, i'm quite new to wetshaving about 3 weeks, so my opinions are a little narrow. I got the L'Occitane Shave soap after seeing Guenron's review of it and found that it was quite nice and foamed really well. The light juniper berry scent is so refreshing in the morning.
As my SCAD has started to kick in, I ordered some Nancy Boy products, namely their shaving cream and after-shave gel; this is what they refer to as their "Perfect Shave Combo" on their website. Joined their club and got an additional 15% off too and they threw in the Ultramarine Night Cream ($45) for free! As for the shave quality, i found it very comfortable. I did have a little trouble getting a proper lather though. I had first tried using a bowl to make lather as i do with my L'Occitane CADE soap. I got a small bit of lather which all stayed in the brush. This is my first real cream so i'm a little new at this; possible user error. I found that i had to apply a small dab on my cheeks and chin and then lather with a warmly soaked brush (excess water removed from the brush). This allowed me to work up a really nice thick, fluffy, and very well lubricating lather. What followed was a wonderfully pleasant shave. My razor glided over my skin very freely, lightly picking up the stubble as it passed by. One problem was when i needed to relather for the second and third passes. Again maybe it's user error, but i found that had to apply more cream to my face and lather as described above. If i did not reapply fresh cream to my face, the second lathering produced a very thin and unimpressive lather, nothing like the first pass. However, i did really enjoy shaving with this. I was able to get a very close, irratation-free shave. I've used this the past four day's and the shave keeps getting better with each use. Maybe my technique is improving. My face is looking really great too. The little bits of irritation on my face have cleared up.
Scent is a pretty subjective matter, but to my nose it's quite refreshing. It's minty with some light herbal notes to it. They describe it as a "blend of lavender, peppermint and rosemary essential oils." I find the peppermint to be the dominent fragrance though.
The after-shave gel is quite good too. It feels very light and seems to nourish my skin quite well too. It doesn't mosturize quite as much as i need so i apply a little Jack Black face lotion/sunblock over it once its tackiness goes away (just a few minutes).
As my SCAD has started to kick in, I ordered some Nancy Boy products, namely their shaving cream and after-shave gel; this is what they refer to as their "Perfect Shave Combo" on their website. Joined their club and got an additional 15% off too and they threw in the Ultramarine Night Cream ($45) for free! As for the shave quality, i found it very comfortable. I did have a little trouble getting a proper lather though. I had first tried using a bowl to make lather as i do with my L'Occitane CADE soap. I got a small bit of lather which all stayed in the brush. This is my first real cream so i'm a little new at this; possible user error. I found that i had to apply a small dab on my cheeks and chin and then lather with a warmly soaked brush (excess water removed from the brush). This allowed me to work up a really nice thick, fluffy, and very well lubricating lather. What followed was a wonderfully pleasant shave. My razor glided over my skin very freely, lightly picking up the stubble as it passed by. One problem was when i needed to relather for the second and third passes. Again maybe it's user error, but i found that had to apply more cream to my face and lather as described above. If i did not reapply fresh cream to my face, the second lathering produced a very thin and unimpressive lather, nothing like the first pass. However, i did really enjoy shaving with this. I was able to get a very close, irratation-free shave. I've used this the past four day's and the shave keeps getting better with each use. Maybe my technique is improving. My face is looking really great too. The little bits of irritation on my face have cleared up.
Scent is a pretty subjective matter, but to my nose it's quite refreshing. It's minty with some light herbal notes to it. They describe it as a "blend of lavender, peppermint and rosemary essential oils." I find the peppermint to be the dominent fragrance though.
The after-shave gel is quite good too. It feels very light and seems to nourish my skin quite well too. It doesn't mosturize quite as much as i need so i apply a little Jack Black face lotion/sunblock over it once its tackiness goes away (just a few minutes).
