Does anybody use the Art of Shaving soap and/or creams. My girlfriend purchased me some of the shaving cream. Wondering if anybody likes or dislikes it.
I have used AoS shave cream and find it to be an excellent cream. I have not used their soap but have heard many good things. My only issue with AoS is the cost. I purchased a travel pack that contained ceam,pre shave oil, a balm and a small brush. While the brush was useless the products were excellent but the overall value just wasnt there for me IMO proraso or TOBS or MWF are at least equal in performance ( if not better) at a much cheaper price. Enjoy the gift but shop around for your next purchase.
I've been using proraso soap and I really like. I have a really hard time finding things that don't irritate my skin. Prefer an unscented cream or soap. I've heard the Jack Black cream is good
Their products do perform well, but their prices are outrageous. I got one of their hard soaps in lavender as a gift and am using it now. It is very nice, but I don't think it's worth nearly 2x the cost of the same thing from TOBS. (And $13 for a styptic pencil!)
I'm also a bit put off by the company since learning they are owned by Proctor and Gamble. I have nothing against P&G really but I loath the thought of my dollar spent on their product funding the next octo-cartridge.
A few weeks ago I got back to Florida after living in San Francisco for a while. While I was in San Fran, I dropped by the Art of Shaving store downtown. I picked up a sample of a bunch of their products. I really loved everything I tried. I particularly loved their preshave oil. That stuff is awesome. You really can't go wrong with anything they sell IMO... though it is a tad pricey.
The soap's one of the best tallow soaps out there, and the creams are rather good as creams go (though I hardly ever use creams anymore). The scents are understated, but they pretty much always use EOs (while most companies use synthetic FO for, e.g., Sandalwood), making them some of the best-smelling soaps out there, too. The soap is relatively drying, but most soaps are...the lather more than compensates. I just wish they hadn't stopped production of their rose line...it was one of the best rose creams out there, despite AoS's insistence on marketing it to women (with the requisite "Oh G-d the pink!" packaging).
Also, don't bother with the stupid wooden bowl, considering it almost doubles the price of the soap. You can always grate the puck into a non-overpriced bowl, if you want.
Are you thinking of the cream or the soap? The cream I can definitely see...I'd be kind of curious if it was the soap you found to be inferior, given that it's pretty widely liked.
I have the sandalwood cream, it lathers really well even for a newby like me and smells good. The shave oil is a bit thick and the glass bottle is not a great design, I usually get far too much coming out at one time; I prefer American Crew shave oil.
I think they are very good creams and aftershave balms, but not the cream of the crop (pun intended). The preshave oil is just awful imo, but I have some sandalwood cream/asb on it's way right now. And yes, a bit overpriced.