I tried the WS stick, and it's excellent. Its scent is much lighter and more neutral than Arko's (which I myself don't mind at all). It lathers easily, provides very good slickness and cushion, and left my face feeling moist and soft. In fact, I used it together with a third-shave Rapira blade (Swedish Super Steel, from a Bestshave.net sampler), and the shave was an easy, comfortable, 2-pass+touch-up DFS (which is all I aim for).
btw, the day before I had tried a Tabac stick and the day after (today) I tried an Erasmic stick (all purchased from Connaught). Sure, the Tabac is "fancier" and indeed did great, but the WS is a terrific performer at a much cheaper price. I love Arko, but would suggest WS as an excellent alternative for those who don't like Arko's scent. The (new tallow formula) Erasmic, as discussed in another B&B thread, barely lathered and dried out fast--but, interestingly, with occasional touches of my wet fingers to my face it provided a very slick, very nice shave (with a fourth-shave Rapira, so I was really pushing things) and also left my face feeling moist and soft. Even so, I can't recommend the Erasmic stick in view of the lathering problem, but I highly recommend the WS stick. I haven't tried Palmolive, but WS could be a an excellent low-cost alternative to shavers who don't like Arko.
btw, the day before I had tried a Tabac stick and the day after (today) I tried an Erasmic stick (all purchased from Connaught). Sure, the Tabac is "fancier" and indeed did great, but the WS is a terrific performer at a much cheaper price. I love Arko, but would suggest WS as an excellent alternative for those who don't like Arko's scent. The (new tallow formula) Erasmic, as discussed in another B&B thread, barely lathered and dried out fast--but, interestingly, with occasional touches of my wet fingers to my face it provided a very slick, very nice shave (with a fourth-shave Rapira, so I was really pushing things) and also left my face feeling moist and soft. Even so, I can't recommend the Erasmic stick in view of the lathering problem, but I highly recommend the WS stick. I haven't tried Palmolive, but WS could be a an excellent low-cost alternative to shavers who don't like Arko.