SCAD assistance needed

[Dennis]

I am looking to broaden my SCAD... Here is what I have and my brief opinion of said creams:

Nancy Boy - Not on the bandwagon here...
Proraso Green Tube - Good stuff
C&E Sweet Almond - Fantastic stuff
Tom's of Maine Mint - Pretty good stuff

Scotto-sent cream samples:
D.R. Harris Almond
Taylor Avocado (old fomulation)
Taylor Rose
Taylor St. James
Trumper Violet
T&H Almond

All of the almonds are excellent, the Avocado is most excellent, alas, not available anymore in that formulation. The Rose, Violet and St. James were nothing special in my shave mug. So, are you seeing the almond pattern here?!?

Since I already have a great almond cream (the C&E), it negates pretty much anything I would have gotten from the sample pack. I had kept my SCAD under excellent control and happily used Proraso and some hard soaps for a long time, but I think that is quickly being overpowered once one starts down the "sample" road.

So, based on what you see, can you throw some suggestions out what I should think about picking up? SCS, Salter, Coates, etc...? Or maybe if your top 5/10 includes the ones I like, what else is on that list?

Gracias -
Dennis

 

[Scotto]

The new Taylors avocado shaves as well (if not better) than the old one; however, the smell is very different. Stay tuned for a detailed comparison.

For creams, perhaps something different like Coates Tea Tree? Perhaps Salters Mint? Both are exceptional shavers. Or why not try out some soaps?

Of course, as usual, I have all the above creams (including the new Avocado) available if you want to try them....

 

[joel]

I am looking to broaden my SCAD... Here is what I have and my brief opinion of said creams:

Nancy Boy - Not on the bandwagon here...
Proraso Green Tube - Good stuff
C&E Sweet Almond - Fantastic stuff
Tom's of Maine Mint - Pretty good stuff

Scotto-sent cream samples:
D.R. Harris Almond
Taylor Avocado (old fomulation)
Taylor Rose
Taylor St. James
Trumper Violet
T&H Almond

All of the almonds are excellent, the Avocado is most excellent, alas, not available anymore in that formulation. The Rose, Violet and St. James were nothing special in my shave mug. So, are you seeing the almond pattern here?!?

Since I already have a great almond cream (the C&E), it negates pretty much anything I would have gotten from the sample pack. I had kept my SCAD under excellent control and happily used Proraso and some hard soaps for a long time, but I think that is quickly being overpowered once one starts down the "sample" road.

So, based on what you see, can you throw some suggestions out what I should think about picking up? SCS, Salter, Coates, etc...? Or maybe if your top 5/10 includes the ones I like, what else is on that list?

Gracias -
Dennis

Dennis,
I have a cake of "Potent Almond" soap from Mamma Bears on the way - so i'll let you know how that fares quality/almond fan wise. If you are an almond fan however (Almond is actually my favorite shaving cream scent) you owe it to yourself to try both Col. Conk Almond shaving soap, and Coate's Almond shaving cream. The conk and the Coate's are the best almond scented products out there in my opinion, as they are a TRUE almond, not a "cherry" scent like T&H, Taylors, SCS, Trumper, etc. While the "cherry" scented creams that pass themselves off as almond are very, very nice, the true "nutty" almond products are in a world of their own... REALLY refreshing.

Special note: The Col Conk almond aftershave balm smells NOTHING like the shaving soap and is VERY much scented like "cherry."

 

[Dennis]

Dennis,
I have a cake of "Potent Almond" soap from Mamma Bears on the way - so i'll let you know how that fares quality/almond fan wise. If you are an almond fan however (Almond is actually my favorite shaving cream scent) you owe it to yourself to try both Col. Conk Almond shaving soap, and Coate's Almond shaving cream. The conk and the Coate's are the best almond scented products out there in my opinion, as they are a TRUE almond, not a "cherry" scent like T&H, Taylors, SCS, Trumper, etc. While the "cherry" scented creams that pass themselves off as almond are very, very nice, the true "nutty" almond products are in a world of their own... REALLY refreshing.

Special note: The Col Conk almond aftershave balm smells NOTHING like the shaving soap and is VERY much scented like "cherry."

Sure - I'll look forward to the review on the Mama Bear stuff. I guess if it wasn't clear in the post, I have been a little almond-centric in what I have been liking and using so I was looking to branch out. I am going to drop an order in at QED I think or wherever I can grab some Taylor Avocado (I'll take your word on it Scotto - I loved the sample you sent) and whatever else funky or nice (other than almond...) might be high on your lists of likes. Maybe a soap too... -- Dennis

 

[jmhUT]

Hi Dennis:
Taylors Lavender
C&E Sienna
GFT Almond

While the C&E almond is nice it is not an almond scent at all. I like the Trumper almond and have Coates on the way.
Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Kyle]

Mike,
Pretty much anything Taylor's or T&H is excellent. On the off chance that you don't like one of the scents, it should be a quick sell/trade on the board. Also, SCS carries some excellent and very affordable shave soaps. I am awaiting the arrival of QED soap, Tabac soap, and some Salter's creams which I have heard nothing but spectacular things about. You might check out the reviews section as there is a lot of info on a lot of different products available there.

 

[greendyk]

From my many creams, my current favorite is Coate's Tea Tree. It's available for a steal here:
http://www.knoxcigar.com/coshcr.html

It's so cheap because the water has evaporated from it, but it doesn't matter, you just apply your brush more like it's a soap

John

 

[PottyDoctor]

Dennis: I recommend you try D.R. Harris Lavender [if you are a Lavender lover]; it is a great performing cream and the Lavender scent is awesome!

John: If you are a Tea Tree lover, you should order a tub of QED Patchouli/Tea Tree/Peppermint soap...an awesome scent combo and as always the QED soaps get rave reviews here. I have used Coate's Tea Tree and it is definitely a great performer but I actually like the blended scents of the QED soap better.

 

[greendyk]

Ron

Thanks for the recommendation. I use QED Sandalwood; it too is very imrpessive.

John

 

[Dennis]

Thanks all for the recommendations. I sent Charles at QED an e-mail and he wrote me back promptly with excellent comments and recommendations. I can see why he is highly recommended here on the boards. Placed an order for some Tabac in the glass jar, Salter's Mint and his Patchouli, Tea Tree and Peppermint soap. That will keep me sated for a bit, maybe. -- Dennis

 

[mrob]

Dennis,

I have the QED Patchouli, Tea Tree and Peppermint shave stick, and its outstanding--I think you'll love it.

Let me know how the Salters mint and Tabac are--I've been meaning to try them. We must have similar tastes!

 

[Drew]

are all of the QED scents now available as a soap, and not just shave-stick? That tea tree/patchouli/mint sounds like it's right up my alley, but I do not like shave sticks. I have also heard the QED bay rum is a good product... can anyone verify? If anyone has a QED soap that he no longer wants (regardless of scent) please let me know. I may want to take it off your hands for $ or a trade.

As far as creams that I think are great that have not been mentioned:

trumpers coconut
t&h lime... this stuff is awesome!
art of shaving lavender

Drew

 

[guenron]

are all of the QED scents now available as a soap, and not just shave-stick? That tea tree/patchouli/mint sounds like it's right up my alley, but I do not like shave sticks. I have also heard the QED bay rum is a good product... can anyone verify? If anyone has a QED soap that he no longer wants (regardless of scent) please let me know. I may want to take it off your hands for $ or a trade.

As far as creams that I think are great that have not been mentioned:

trumpers coconut
t&h lime... this stuff is awesome!
art of shaving lavender

Drew

Hello Drew,
You may wish to look here for the soaps in jars or you can email Charles. Looking at the QED website may not tell you much though.

 

[JohnP]

Hi Dennis:
...While the C&E almond is nice it is not an almond scent at all. I like the Trumper almond and have Coates on the way.
Cheers,
Jeff

Why does everyone keep saying this....my C&E almond cream smells EXACTLY like a bag of uncooked almonds (for baking, etc). Everyone is just used to the roasted almond "amaretto" flavor of all the other creams/soaps. I think C&E is the only almond soap/cream which to me actually smells like raw almonds. Go to the supermarket and take a whiff of sweet almond oil, or a bag of almond slivers for roasting, and the smell is the same. It is a sweeter, more floral type of a smell than people usually associate with almonds, but it IS the real deal.
That said,
almond products I have(and like):
C&E (soap and cream both)
Conk Almond (soap-I like it a good deal)
eShave almond cream (this one's a sleeper...I have gotten ridiculously good results with every eShave product I've tried)
T&H almond cream -very good stuff
SCS almond soap-this is a VERY "cherry" almond smelling soap. Smells like it was made with soap base and a bottle of Amaretto...but I do like it.

I also like almond scents. I have had coates almond, and I liked it also, but I no longer have it, having traded it and some Taylors for a cream I liked better.
John P.

 

[jmhUT]

Why does everyone keep saying this....my C&E almond cream smells EXACTLY like a bag of uncooked almonds (for baking, etc). Everyone is just used to the roasted almond "amaretto" flavor of all the other creams/soaps. I think C&E is the only almond soap/cream which to me actually smells like raw almonds. Go to the supermarket and take a whiff of sweet almond oil, or a bag of almond slivers for roasting, and the smell is the same. It is a sweeter, more floral type of a smell than people usually associate with almonds, but it IS the real deal.
That said,
almond products I have(and like):
C&E (soap and cream both)
Conk Almond (soap-I like it a good deal)
eShave almond cream (this one's a sleeper...I have gotten ridiculously good results with every eShave product I've tried)
T&H almond cream -very good stuff
SCS almond soap-this is a VERY "cherry" almond smelling soap. Smells like it was made with soap base and a bottle of Amaretto...but I do like it.

I also like almond scents. I have had coates almond, and I liked it also, but I no longer have it, having traded it and some Taylors for a cream I liked better.
John P.

Hi John, I don't think most people know what unroasted almonds smell like. I don't but I'm happy to take your word that they smell like the C&E cream. Pretty much everybody knows what roasted almods smell like and for that reason we associate this more familiar scent with the term "almond". I use the C&E and quite like it but ultimately prefer the Trumper scent. Naming convention aside, I would not at all be surprised if C&E almond turned out to be more popular cream.
Cheers,
Jeff

 

[mantic]

Mike-- If you like Proraso, consider Em's "Strengthening" shave soap. Wonderful stuff (as are all her shave soaps. QED gets a lot of attention--all justified--but Em's is every bit as good). Count me in as another vote for Coates Tea Tree, one of my favorites. C&E Sienna is also worthy of your consideration.

--Mark

 

[JohnP]

Jeff,
You make a good point....in fact when I first got it I didn't think it smelled like almonds either....to be honest, I like it for its shave far more than for its scent, which is nice but not particularly intoxicating or anything.
Just a thought, but if you like the Trumper, have you tried the eShave version? I think it gives Trumper a really good run for its money. It is a tough call, but it may even be better than Trumper. Since I am a Trumper fan, that is saying quite a bit.
It's not to be missed....almost as moisturizing as the C&E, but with the same scent as Trumper...
It's not to be missed...they also have a few others that are really good (like white tea) but in this case it is the almond I am referring to.
Good stuff!
John P.

 

[jmhUT]

Thanks for the tip John, I'll definately check it out.
Cheers,
Jeff