Art of Shaving

[King Junior]

Anyone here use there products? I did a search, but haven't seen anyone say anything pro or negative.

Junior

[JerimiahC]

Anyone here use there products? I did a search, but haven't seen anyone say anything pro or negative.

Junior

Most use the term AOS (Art Of Shaving). I don't mind them, I've tried the unscented sampler from a shop, but I can't bring myself to spend that much....Plus I don't like preshave. Just lather up, rub it into your beard and wait a bit. Possibly adding a hot towel (Kyle's method?).

[tony mack]

I think their stuff is overpriced and possibly overrated. You'd probably do better from the variety of reliable internet retailers mentioned on B&B.

[King Junior]

Thanks, will do a search for AOS.

I've been using their shave soap with a badger brush (with a fancy handled mach 3) for a few years now. I love the smell of the sandalwood soap, even though it's on the expensive end (but it lasts for so long that I don't feel so bad). I've gone around smelling other brands sandalwood, and I haven't found a descent substitute yet.

Any suggestions?

[letterk]

Some say the shaving soap is the finest you can find. I can't comment as their soap is one I've never tried. I know, better order some... Their creams are nice, especially the Lavender.

[ScottS]

I think their stuff is overpriced and possibly overrated. You'd probably do better from the variety of reliable internet retailers mentioned on B&B.

The cream is cheaper than T&H cream, and by a considerable margin. The soap is expensive, less so if you buy the refill and not the soap in the bowl, and fantastic stuff-- rumored to be made by Valobra.

[smoothshaver]

I haven't tried their shave soap, but their unscented shave cream is one of my favorites. :smile: The shave soap seems to be well regarded.
I like their ASB, too, though it's pricey.
I don't care for their pre-shave at all.

[mparker762]

Their shave soap is pretty decent. I've never understood the carping about the price of hard soaps, AOS or otherwise - those things last for 9-12 months of daily use. I haven't tried their creams or preshaves or other whatzits.

[adrox]

The AOS soap is the best I've tried out of several glycerin and triple milled soaps. It lathers beautifully and is the only soap to not irritate my neck on ATG passes.

The sandalwood scent is excellent but people have told me it's a little old-manish. When it's gone (in many many months) I plan on buying the lavender.

[jnich67]

I think a lot of guys - myself included, will admit that their shaving soap and cream is pretty good stuff. AOS rubs me and some others the wrong way because they present themselves as "old school", but then go in for the mass marketing crap that you see with all the other usual suspects found in the Dept. stores. I've also not been impressed by the information given out at their stores. But hey, thats just me. I realize that they have to pay rent.

Jordan

[greendyk]

Say what you want about the corporation called AOS, but IMO their shaving soaps rank among the best you can find anywhere.

Regards,
John

[BigGreenHat]

The lavender is fantastic. I hope they stick to the tallow version and resist converting them to veggie.

[daniel.boone]

I use their sandalwood. Picked up a tube when i was at the mall. SWMBO loved the scent. The lather is good but doesn't compare to Taylors.

[loueedacat]

I have their lavender cream and unscented soap. The lavendar cream is very good - I don't get as close a shave as I do with some other creams but the difference is really pretty negligible, and the stuff is great for the skin. The soap performs wonderfully but I regret not getting some scent, because it smells like cardboard.

I dislike the very heavy pre shave oil. I dislike the ASB, which is far too expensive and makes me break out.

The rose hydrosol is fantastic.

Their products are terrific. They cost a few bucks more than some but over 9 months of use that's irrelevant.

[riooso]

I bought their oil and aftershave sandlewood balm. The oil was unsented and I do not use it much but seem to use it when my skin is dry and it helps for that on the pre-shave. The balm is very nice, it does my skin very well and I use a lot. I really like it. It moisturizes my face without getting a greasy thing going.


Richard

[DirtyDave]

I got some AOS Sandalwood as Christmas gift and I have to admit I really like it. It lathers well and the scent if fantastic. I love using it when I am in no hurry. I know it costs a bunch, but I love scent too much.

[cr8n]

AOS seems to want to be the American equivalent of the 3Ts, but 3T's for the American metrosexual. So long as their marketing game is schizo in that manner, they will not be as well received as maybe they should.

I like every AOS product I've tried:

Unscented SC, PS oil, ASB
Sandalwood EDT
Lemon ASB

The scents are uncomplicated but pure and (?) punchy, if that makes sense.

OTOH, I can't help but feel I'm paying 10-20% more than I should for each. It's hard to believe that the soaps (admittedly untried) would be different, both in quality and price.

Paul

[JerimiahC]

Based on all these good comments, I'll have to try them out. I held off for a long time because of all the overpriced razors and things. Even when I recieved the sample while visiting a store that carried it, the salesman had to turn away when showing me the Chrome Fusion....with a LIGHT. He then looks at me and puts it down and excused himself. I think he had to laugh because of the shocked WTF look on my face, so went into the back room to let it out. I'll have to re-evaluate my thoughts on the soaps and creams. I'm glad this thread was started.

[Mojo88]

I feel the sandalwood cream is second to none, however they should come up with some different offerings. The positive in having the products stocked in department stores is the option to actually see if the scent is for you. This all started for me with a sample from AOS provided to me by my son. I am getting him back by spending his inheritance on shave gear..

[krayziehustler]

i think AOS gets a bad rep because its American. It is still cheaper than some Euro creams but since its American they expect the price to be equivalent to the pharmacy cream and goo we can get so cheaply here....

i'd bet that if u do a blind test, lots of ppl will choose them....but other than that i think their Sandalwood scent is the best cream i've tried

[King Junior]

Yeah the sandalwood is old mannish, but I love it. I even use their sandalwood cologne. When I'm broke I usually use Old Spice, so yeah I love that old man scent. I'm like an 80 year old 30 year old, anyway. hahahahahaha

I'm glad to see that although people don't seem to like AOS for personal, people do feel that it's quality.

Thanks.

Junior


The AOS soap is the best I've tried out of several glycerin and triple milled soaps. It lathers beautifully and is the only soap to not irritate my neck on ATG passes.

The sandalwood scent is excellent but people have told me it's a little old-manish. When it's gone (in many many months) I plan on buying the lavender.

[tony mack]

The cream is cheaper than T&H cream, and by a considerable margin. The soap is expensive, less so if you buy the refill and not the soap in the bowl, and fantastic stuff-- rumored to be made by Valobra.

By overpriced I was referring to their made in China brushes, and the Merkurs they sell for a substantial premium over online venders...Not sure about their other products.

T

[crankymoose]

I really like there creams and after shave balms, I feel they are on a level quality and price with some of the best, the creams make some of the best lather of any shaving cream out there. I haven't yet but plan on trying some of there other lotions and creams as well. I don't particularly care for there pre-shave oil it just seems to heavy to me although it does lubricate well if you are into pre-shave oils.

I wouldn't buy a razor from them as they are overpriced and just rebranded for them, I did get the $50 pure badger brush but as part of the large Kit that was on sale otherwise they over price on the brushes as well. Like others I don't particularly care for what seems to be there corporate direction but the US market is different and they need to do what they must I guess to make a profit and remain in business.

[ScottS]

By overpriced I was referring to their made in China brushes, and the Merkurs they sell for a substantial premium over online venders...Not sure about their other products.

T

Just about every relabeler of brushes and razors jacks up the prices substantially. Look at how many brands sell astronomically priced Vulfix brushes.

For some reason, I'm real sensitive to price knocking of AOS products, because I think it started from some mention from some shaving forum knocked way out of proportion, and it doesn't really hold true.

We whine about low availability of products in Brick and Mortar shops, and how hard it is to get a good straight razor shave in a barber shop. Well, with AOS, we're getting what we've been asking for!! When a business comes along and tries to make a go of it, we should be supportive, and not go in to argue with a 19 year old sales clerk behind the counter just to show him we know more about shaving than he does. The more shops AOS opens, and the more vendors that stock AOS, the better.

[Barbelus maximus]

Finally, a positive thread about AOS. Having lived in the good old UK for nearly 40 years and having used soaps and brushes all of my shaving life, mainly the 3 T'S and C & E, it was a breath of fresh air when I visted The Gentlemans Shop in Hungerford a couple of years ago and stumbled across AOS products. Unfortunately, I came away with a brush I ended up not liking and some AOS lavender cream and ASB. The brush was my fault and although the cream smells heavenly I am not a cream person, however, the ASB is absolutely top notch. A couple of months after my initial purchase, I dropped in again and this time came away with yet another brush which I ended up not liking, but this time I also came away with the Lavender soap -result! Until that point I was only fairly impressed but after one shave with the soap followed by the balm I knew I had found the 'If I only had one ....' soap. I have since added the Lemon soap and balm as well. They do contain Tallow which I and many others believe to provide a superior shave to vegetable based soaps, as well as coconut oil and many other fine ingredients. Their balms contain all the necessary essentials such as shea butter etc. What people should remember is that the mighty Trumpers are very heavily into re-branding so why not AOS. I think they have done the only thing possible to break into a very traditional market ie. backing their excellent products with marketing, lets face it, any company which is content to rest on it's laurels and try to trade on it's past is at greater risk of falling behind. In my opinion AOS products retain their traditional slant whilst adding a more modern edge with their packaging and shops. Trust me, if you think the assistants in the AOS shops know very little, try TGS, their mail order is first rate as is their stocklist, but no female is ever going to convince me that a cream is superior to a soap, a mach 3 is superior to a DE and that the Dovo straights they stock are shave ready! Thumbs up to AOS.

[loueedacat]

When a business comes along and tries to make a go of it, we should be supportive, and not go in to argue with a 19 year old sales clerk behind the counter just to show him we know more about shaving than he does. The more shops AOS opens, and the more vendors that stock AOS, the better.

+ 100%.

One thing I always appreciate with AOS is that whoever is making the final calls on product release does not let them put out a crappy product. They only stock good stuff, whether it's the cream (surely manufactured by someone else) , the soaps (surely manufactured by another someone else), the hydrosols, the balms, or what have you. Yes, they rebrand Dovo and Merkur, but doesn't GFT and everyone do exactly the same thing? And isn't that why most of us buy our hardware on the web? But isn't it cool we can actually look at the rebranded razors, whose brand we know, before ordering them?

And given how long these things last, any price differential is insignificant, and I'm not sure they really are more expensive than a number of popular creams like GFT, CF, T&H, DR Harris, Tabula Rasa etc.

I'm actually not above buying from AOS simply to do my little bit to encourage brick and mortar stores, just as I sometimes buy products from Colonial Drug in Cambridge even though I know I can get them for less on the net. If you want to be able to check out these items in person, you need to support the stores that are making that possible. But slick marketing aside, AOS creams and soaps are simply top notch.

And by the way, the "unsophisticated" male salesmen [it never ceases to amaze me that any female thinks she has anything to tell men about face shaving - I wouldn't give her advice on female sanitary products] occasionally have good ideas, because the bottom line is shaving is a YMMV kind of thing and anyone that actually shaves with a product may have something interesting to say about it or some useful pet technique.

[Broogiedad]

I have used the Lavender, Sandalwood, and the Unscented creams. I don't know if any of my other creams lather more easily than AOS. The creams have always provided an excellent shave and the fragrance is heavenly. I plan to try the soap (lemon) very soon.
As a plus, it is nice to know that I can run out to a local men's shop and buy top notch shaving products.

Sam

[g4willy]

I use the unscented pre-shave when I don't have time for a good prep and use the unscented AS balm about half the time. If you have a Norstrom's close by you can usually ask for samples.

[drumana]

I've used their unscented shave cream and it's good enough. I'm looking forward to trying their shave soaps which I have never heard anything negative about. . . :thumbup1:

[cr8n]

OK, a positive thread. Hmm.

Rebranded hardware. Rebranded consummables apparently, if what is posted above is true.

Rebranded products marketed as old style British shaving for the new American male.

What is confusing about that?

Paul

P.S. They work nicely, the consummables.

[loueedacat]

OK, a positive thread. Hmm.

Rebranded hardware. Rebranded consummables apparently, if what is posted above is true.

Rebranded products marketed as old style British shaving for the new American male.

What is confusing about that?

Paul

P.S. They work nicely, the consummables.

I don't think the consumables are rebranded - AOS just isn't a manufacturer. Ie if you take a dovo, which is sold as a dovo, and stencil AOS on it, that's rebranding. If you tell a certain expert cream manufacturer to make a cream to your unique speicifications, that's not re-branding, that's just normal - most retailers don't make their own product - I think techically that's an OEM relationship. The three Ts don't make their own creams either - just give (often the same I believe - Creightons or something) manufacturer the specs.

So the AOS creams are only sold by AOS, and therefore are not rebranded. AOS razors (Dovo), C&E brushed (EJ), GFT raxors and brushes (I don't know who makes those, but I bet it ain't GFT) are rebranded.

The Gap doesn't have employees making clothes either for example, and I'm not even sure the big computer brands makes it's own computers - but they are the only ones selling their particular computer. Ok, I'm way over my head now.

[Barbelus maximus]

I thought somebody would have to try and add a negative slant somewhere. To me the argument is simple, I use AOS because it is exceptional, not because it comes in nice packaging - just like the car I drive, it does what I need it to do, I could buy something more economical and smaller with no extras and save a stack of cash, but I don't and I don't moan about it either. If someone is under the ridiculous misapprehension that the little blokes at Trumpers and Taylors etc. are at this moment stirring magic ingredients into a nice cream...well...I have a rather nasty shock for you all....guess what....they're not. If you had any idea on how manufacturing has gone in this crap hole we call 'Great' Britain you would realise that absolutely sweet FA is made here anymore, and that which is happens to be largely crap or useless. So good luck to AOS, they source excellent products which are far superior to any supplied by the 3T's, long may they continue.

[ScottS]

OK, a positive thread. Hmm.

Rebranded hardware. Rebranded consummables apparently, if what is posted above is true.

Rebranded products marketed as old style British shaving for the new American male.

What is confusing about that?

Paul

P.S. They work nicely, the consummables.

Every one of the three T's, as well as several other companies, sell rebranded creams, mostly from Creightons. I don't think any of the big houses make their own hardware, either.

Why should you care how the product is marketed? Fortunately, you've managed to find out that its a good product despite any marketing practices you find objectionable (though I don't pretend to understand why its objectionable)?