Penhaligons Opus...leaves me unimpressed and wanting

[Chaucer498]

I gave Penhaligon Opus shaving cream a test run tonight. I have heard so many great thing about Penhaligons soaps being Gods gift to the shavin man. Well, the shaving cream has left me unimpressed thus far and wanting more.

First off, let me start off by saying that the scent was fantastic! It smells just like the EdT and I really had high expectations from this cream as I am a huge Penhaligons fan when it comes to their fragrances.

I used Dr Harris Arlington as a reference considering I used it last night and had nothing less than excellent results. I soaked my brush as usual and then pulled it out and flicked out the excess water. I swirled the brush in the same container (as I did Arlington) I tried to get the same amount I used for Arlington. Once the brush looked ready to hit the bowl I closed the sample and went to bowl.

This thing didn't lather very well at all. I expected to get the same luxurious lather I got from Arlington and it just didn't compare at all. I mean it looked cushioned but dried rather quick and didn't provide as much glide. I tried adding more water to the lather to get it more hydrated but it just didn't really take well. I expected so much more from this cream. I really wanted to like it.

In it's defense, I had a long day and it could very well be that I was tired and my technique was off a bit. What have you guys observed with this cream? Is it just me? I plan on giving it another run tomorrow when I'm more awake.

 

[Tom Ford]

Its hard to tell, perhaps it was a bad batch or a combo of poor cream and water/cream ratio?

I haven't tried Opus, but do have Penhaligon's BB which is awesome. Its very easy to get a great lather, although once previously I have added too much water too soon which produced a lousy lather and had to make another batch.

Out of curiosity what does Opus smell like for those of us that haven't tried it? Is it a Sandalwood, or something completely different? Is there anything mainstream on the market that possibly compares scent wise?

 

[strat1117]

I've never tried Opus either, but I get fantastic results with Endymion cream. Pure luxury!

 

[Rudy Vey]

I gave Penhaligon Opus shaving cream a test run tonight. I have heard so many great thing about Penhaligons soaps being Gods gift to the shavin man. Well, the shaving cream has left me unimpressed thus far and wanting more.

First off, let me start off by saying that the scent was fantastic! It smells just like the EdT and I really had high expectations from this cream as I am a huge Penhaligons fan when it comes to their fragrances.

I used Dr Harris Arlington as a reference considering I used it last night and had nothing less than excellent results. I soaked my brush as usual and then pulled it out and flicked out the excess water. I swirled the brush in the same container (as I did Arlington) I tried to get the same amount I used for Arlington. Once the brush looked ready to hit the bowl I closed the sample and went to bowl.

This thing didn't lather very well at all. I expected to get the same luxurious lather I got from Arlington and it just didn't compare at all. I mean it looked cushioned but dried rather quick and didn't provide as much glide. I tried adding more water to the lather to get it more hydrated but it just didn't really take well. I expected so much more from this cream. I really wanted to like it.

In it's defense, I had a long day and it could very well be that I was tired and my technique was off a bit. What have you guys observed with this cream? Is it just me? I plan on giving it another run tomorrow when I'm more awake.

If you do not like it the next time you use it, and you may decide to sell it, let me know.... I like it and may buy it from you or trade it.

 

[Chaucer498]

Gents,

I attempted to use this cream once again today and honestly I don't like it's performance. Maybe I have a bad sample? It did look a little moist. Anyway, the smell is amazing. One of the best smelling creams I have had the pleasure of smelling. I can't compare it to anything I know of because Penhaligon scents are (to me) very unique. Most I can comment on the scent is that it's peppery. It's very good and very manly. I wish I liked this cream. Once again this is just a sample so maybe the sample is no good. I loaded a decent amount of product into the brush too.

I had to rinse out my bowl and brush and lather up with Proraso just to finish up the shave. It could be that I may need more time to work the lather, but anything that gives that much difficulty is not worth the effort IMHO. There are other high end creams out there that lather with much less work. It could just be something with my water and the cream but it's not cutting it for me.

 

[heirkb]

If it smells that good, I would order another sample if I were you and see if you can get it to work.
Good luck

 

[Chaucer498]

If it smells that good, I would order another sample if I were you and see if you can get it to work.
Good luck

Yea, the smell really is great enough to give it yet another shot. I kid you not this stuff smells excellent. I would be willing to shell out the money for this cream if it started to show me what it's really made of as far as performance is concerned.

It's funny how a cream like Dr Harris which I didn't expect much from surprised the heck out of me and then a cream that I have high expectations from lets me down.

I'll give the rest of the sample another shot if I still can't get it maybe I'll get another sample.

Is there anyone who has tested or uses this cream that can shed some light on this cream?

 

[Ru4scuba?]

There shouldn't be any difference between Opus, BB etc other than the scent. So you might have a bad batch.

My BB lathers very well and smells like Churchill himself...I'd try another sample.

My two cents.

 

[duotone]

I use it with no lathering issues, but I think regardless of scent, proraso out-performs it.

 

[lsbrodsky]

I use it once a week as my luxury shave. For me, it lathers just as well as DR Harris Marlborough. I do find that i just need to use a little bit of the Opus cream, less than I do with T&H or TOBS.
Larry

 

[Chaucer498]

I figured I would give this cream another shot since I liked the smell so much. I ended up having to use a good portion of the sample to get this cream to lather (maybe its my water?). I finally did get a decent lather out of it, but I find it easier to get lathers from other creams. I think maybe this sample had lost it's power somehow. That's what it felt like anyway. I may end up getting a tube eventually to give it a fair shot again. On to testing a new cream tonight.

 

[duotone]

I figured I would give this cream another shot since I liked the smell so much. I ended up having to use a good portion of the sample to get this cream to lather (maybe its my water?). I finally did get a decent lather out of it, but I find it easier to get lathers from other creams. I think maybe this sample had lost it's power somehow. That's what it felt like anyway. I may end up getting a tube eventually to give it a fair shot again. On to testing a new cream tonight.

I dont think personally you had a weak sample, thats just the way it is imo.

I tend to use quite a lot of product.