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SV vs Trumpers…. My thoughts.

Not long ago, I had some Saponificio Varesino Opuntia delivered as a try out to see if is as good as Trumpers ( my go to cream). Having used both extensively, I thought I’d give you my thoughts on both if I may.
Firstly, both are fabulous. We live in a hard water area, so this affect the conclusion of my personal review.

Razor: Muhle handle with an Executive Braveheart head.
Blade: Personna Platinum.
Brush: Muhle pure badger.

Cream/soaps used:

SV Opuntia soap
SV Opuntia aftershave balm

Trumpers Eucris cream
Trumpers Eucris skin food


Usual routine of wetting the brush with warm water, wetting the face and face lathering both products. The SV needs a good few swirls to load the brush as expected, being a soap. The Trumpers, a few dips in the cream and job done.

Both lather up exceedingly well, and both are easy to lather and produce a superb, slick lather. I prefer the lather to be slightly wet, not like a double cream consistency, as I find a looser lather gives more slickness. However, the Trumpers cream stays more slick than the SV throughout the shave, and hence, the blade glides over the skin and beard easier throughout the shave.

SV Slickness 8/10
Trumpers slickness 9/10

Now, as living in a hard water area, scum can be an issue for me. This is where SV trumps the Trumpers. The residue in the sink from the Trumpers leaves a tide of scum, the SV doesn’t and is easier to clean up. This adds to easier cleaning of the razor, so no contest.

Scum residue or lack of:

SV 10/10.
Trumpers 7/10.

Packaging. SV, no contest. The aluminium tub and pressed lid with the SV moniker, together with the matching aluminium aftershave balm is superb. Very well presented and oozes quality…. Certainly reflected in the price. Trumpers, on the other hand, a basic plastic tub with plastic bottle for the skin food … not fab quality, but does the job and look great in the bathroom.

Aftershave balms.

Both are fabulous. The SV has a slight alcohol feel, and has that sting after applying after the shave. The Trumpers is thicker and more moisturising without the burn. The SV is absorbed quicker, the Trumpers feels more luxurious and can be sticky if you use too much.

SV 9/10
Trumpers 10/10

Scent. I love both, but they are as expected, totally different..
The SV has more of a cologne smell, I suppose more of a fashionable modern fragrance. It lingers well, and can get a whiff after a good hour or so. The Trumpers, however, is far darker and more old school sinister gentleman vibe. Think a nice Chesterfield suite in a gentleman’s club in the 1800’s with a brandy and cigar with a high end prostitute on your arm compared to a cocktail in a brightly lit bar trying to pull the birds.
Ones a trier, the others a dead cert.

Trumpers 11/10
SV 9/10

Longevity. SV FOR SURE. Being a hard, triple milled soap it will far outlast the Trumpers in the soap wars. No contest in this regard. However, in comparison to the balms,, that score goes to Trumpers. You simply don’t need as much. Equal scores.

Cost and value.

Trumpers is far cheaper, (half the cost) but will not last as long. I suppose for longevity for the £, then SV will win.

My personal recommendation out of the 2 would be Eucris. It is slicker, smells amazing and is cheaper per unit. It’s a hard call, I love both and my head hurts.
Trumpers it is.

YMMV IMHO etc….

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Eben Stone

Staff member
Opuntia and Eucris are fantastic scents. I'm amazed you were able to pick one.

I haven't tried Trumpers since the very early stages of my wet shaving journey. I tried 7 samplers but I was never able to make good lather with any of them. I should probably try it again now that the quality of my lather doesn't totally suck.
 
Nice review! I will second the comment about cream vs soap, but as has happened on this site many times, eventually the person gets the SV dialled in better. Considering there are plenty of straight shavers using it, I don't think SV is lacking slickness so long as enough water additions are performed. And it can take 3 and some swirling before it is noticeably well hydrated. That much would drown a cream and send you back to the tub!
 
I can’t comment on SV, but Eucris is my top soap, skin food, etc. I’ve loved the scent ever since my Uncle arrived visiting from Scotland and I thought “what IS that scent?”. Thank you for a truly great review. You’ve made me want to explore SV now. Best. - Tom
 

JCarr

More Deep Thoughts than Jack Handy
I very much enjoy using Taylor of Old Bond Street shave creams, but have never tried the Trumpers brand. I'm fighting the urge to get a tub as I need more soap/cream about as much as I need a second mortgage. Nevertheless, thanks for the great review.
 
Not long ago, I had some Saponificio Varesino Opuntia delivered as a try out to see if is as good as Trumpers ( my go to cream). Having used both extensively, I thought I’d give you my thoughts on both if I may.
Firstly, both are fabulous. We live in a hard water area, so this affect the conclusion of my personal review.

Razor: Muhle handle with an Executive Braveheart head.
Blade: Personna Platinum.
Brush: Muhle pure badger.

Cream/soaps used:

SV Opuntia soap
SV Opuntia aftershave balm

Trumpers Eucris cream
Trumpers Eucris skin food


Usual routine of wetting the brush with warm water, wetting the face and face lathering both products. The SV needs a good few swirls to load the brush as expected, being a soap. The Trumpers, a few dips in the cream and job done.

Both lather up exceedingly well, and both are easy to lather and produce a superb, slick lather. I prefer the lather to be slightly wet, not like a double cream consistency, as I find a looser lather gives more slickness. However, the Trumpers cream stays more slick than the SV throughout the shave, and hence, the blade glides over the skin and beard easier throughout the shave.

SV Slickness 8/10
Trumpers slickness 9/10

Now, as living in a hard water area, scum can be an issue for me. This is where SV trumps the Trumpers. The residue in the sink from the Trumpers leaves a tide of scum, the SV doesn’t and is easier to clean up. This adds to easier cleaning of the razor, so no contest.

Scum residue or lack of:

SV 10/10.
Trumpers 7/10.

Packaging. SV, no contest. The aluminium tub and pressed lid with the SV moniker, together with the matching aluminium aftershave balm is superb. Very well presented and oozes quality…. Certainly reflected in the price. Trumpers, on the other hand, a basic plastic tub with plastic bottle for the skin food … not fab quality, but does the job and look great in the bathroom.

Aftershave balms.

Both are fabulous. The SV has a slight alcohol feel, and has that sting after applying after the shave. The Trumpers is thicker and more moisturising without the burn. The SV is absorbed quicker, the Trumpers feels more luxurious and can be sticky if you use too much.

SV 9/10
Trumpers 10/10

Scent. I love both, but they are as expected, totally different..
The SV has more of a cologne smell, I suppose more of a fashionable modern fragrance. It lingers well, and can get a whiff after a good hour or so. The Trumpers, however, is far darker and more old school sinister gentleman vibe. Think a nice Chesterfield suite in a gentleman’s club in the 1800’s with a brandy and cigar with a high end prostitute on your arm compared to a cocktail in a brightly lit bar trying to pull the birds.
Ones a trier, the others a dead cert.

Trumpers 11/10
SV 9/10

Longevity. SV FOR SURE. Being a hard, triple milled soap it will far outlast the Trumpers in the soap wars. No contest in this regard. However, in comparison to the balms,, that score goes to Trumpers. You simply don’t need as much. Equal scores.

Cost and value.

Trumpers is far cheaper, (half the cost) but will not last as long. I suppose for longevity for the £, then SV will win.

My personal recommendation out of the 2 would be Eucris. It is slicker, smells amazing and is cheaper per unit. It’s a hard call, I love both and my head hurts.
Trumpers it is.

YMMV IMHO etc….

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If you bloom the SV soap, and load heavy I think you will have a different experience. As a straight razor shaver I notice a big difference between Trumpers and SV. If I use a DE most soaps and creams work just fine.
 
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