Which Portugese cream to pick

[ayodh]

I am looking to try a cream with lanolin and people have pointed out that the Portugese creams all have them and are pretty good.

The following are what I have in the list, so far:
- Musgo Real
- O Melhor
- Lavanda
- Veleiro
- Top secret

Any thoughts on performance? Can someone describe the scents?

Also please vote :)

[SEnSE]

Wait for the new scents from Musgo Real.

[dpm802]

Wait for the new scents from Musgo Real.

Say WHAT? I haven't heard anything about this ... Please, tell us more.

[Captain Coconut]

I just picked up O Melhor, Veleiro, and Top Secret a week or two ago. O Melhor and Veleiro are similar enough that I'd say the only reason to have both is SCAD. I've been using Veleiro, and I like it a lot, but I'm no good at describing smells.

[ayodh]

Wait for the new scents from Musgo Real.

This seems to be months away. I am sure I can find an excuse to by again :)

[mistercitizen]

I just picked up O Melhor, Veleiro, and Top Secret a week or two ago. O Melhor and Veleiro are similar enough that I'd say the only reason to have both is SCAD. I've been using Veleiro, and I like it a lot, but I'm no good at describing smells.

I, on the other hand, only have tried Lavanda and Musgo Real. My vote between those two goes to Musgo, but not by much. I enjoy both scents and feel they perform equally good. I want to acquire the others but I am being patient.

Ben

[dpm802]

I love O Melhor's Confianca this time of year ... it has a lemony scent, it is easy, almost foolproof to lather, and gives me a terrific shave every time. The design on the metal tube harkens back to an Art Deco sort of bygone era.

Lavanda smells just like you'd think. Lavender. It is another Ach. Brito product, so it performs just like Musgo Real with a different flavor. I pick up Lavanda for $2.25 a tube at a Brazilian supermarket about 30 miles from me. I pass through that area about once a month, and that store is a great source for a lot of Portuguese products, including Musgo Real bath soap, lots of other Ach. Brito soaps and a few other shaving and grooming items like colognes, all from the Iberian Peninsula. And all are dirt cheap. I think I paid $1.59 for a huge bottle of Lavanda EdC. It was listed on the shelf tag at $10.59, but when it scanned at the register for $1.59, I kept my mouth shut and paid what the clerk asked for.

Some people say that Lavanda is discontinued, but the shelves are always full whenever I visit that particular supermarket. I don't know where they get it from, but it doesn't look they're going to run out any time soon. And at just $2.25 a tube, its great to PIF or include in newbie kits. Don't worry if the tube you get appears gray, chalky and dried out when you open it. You may think it has gone stale, but I've never had any problems with it.

Musgo Real is one of the Four Horseman of the Shavepocalypse, so it should be in every shave-den in the world eventually. Its scent is unique and hard to descibe, but I've never heard anybody say they don't like it. It is a seasonal scent, perfect for Springtime. Some people say it smells like fresh-mown grass, others describe the prominent aroma as Vetiver. I don't know how to describe it, it just smells good to me.

I haven't tried Top Secret yet, but I'll get to it eventually.

Bear in mind that some people have an allergy to Lanolin, so you might want to try it on your forearm first before you go for a full-blown shave.

[ayodh]

I just picked up O Melhor, Veleiro, and Top Secret a week or two ago. O Melhor and Veleiro are similar enough that I'd say the only reason to have both is SCAD. I've been using Veleiro, and I like it a lot, but I'm no good at describing smells.

How about describing what other creams/soaps it is close to in terms of scent? Also where did you pick these up?

[ayodh]

I love O Melhor's Confianca this time of year ... it has a lemony scent, it is easy, almost foolproof to lather, and gives me a terrific shave every time. The design on the metal tube harkens back to an Art Deco sort of bygone era.

Lavanda smells just like you'd think. Lavender. It is another Ach. Brito product, so it performs just like Musgo Real with a different flavor. I pick up Lavanda for $2.25 a tube at a Brazilian supermarket about 30 miles from me. I pass through that area about once a month, and that store is a great source for a lot of Portuguese products, including Musgo Real bath soap, lots of other Ach. Brito soaps and a few other shaving and grooming items like colognes, all from the Iberian Peninsula. And all are dirt cheap. I think I paid $1.59 for a huge bottle of Lavanda EdC.

Some people say that Lavanda is discontinued, but the shelves are always full whenever I visit that particular supermarket. I don't know where they get it from, but it doesn't look they're going to run out any time soon. And at $2.25 a tube, its great to PIF or include in newbie kits. Don't worry if the tube you get appears gray, chalky and dried out when you open it. You may think it has gone stale, but I've never had any problems with it.

Musgo Real is one of the Four Horseman of the Shavepocalypse, so it should be in every shave-den in the world eventually. Its scent is unique and hard to descibe, but I've never heard anybody say they don't like it. It is a seasonal scent, perfect for Springtime. Some people say it smells like fresh-mown grass, others describe the prominent aroma as Vetiver. I don't know how to describe it, it just smells good to me.

I haven't tried Top Secret yet, but I'll get to it eventually.

Bear in mind that some people have an allergyc to Lanolin, so you might want to try it on your forearm first before you go for a full-blown shave.

Thanks for the info! The lemony smell of O Melhor seems enticing. I do have sensitive skin, so thanks for the info about the reaction.

[dpm802]

How about describing what other creams/soaps it is close to in terms of scent? Also where did you pick these up?

http://www.theportugalonlineshop.com...aving-grooming

http://vintagescent.com/

Everything you want right here ... shipping will kill you, though.

Domestic dealers usually carry Musgo Real products, but for the more exotic stuff, you have to get it from Portugal.

[ayodh]

http://www.theportugalonlineshop.com...aving-grooming

http://vintagescent.com/

Everything you want right here ... shipping will kill you, though.

Domestic dealers usually carry Musgo Real products, but for the more exotic stuff, you have to get it from Portugal.

This must be really popular, most of the stuff is out of stock (only shows out of stock when you try to checkout).

[Captain Coconut]

Vintage Scent doesn't stock any of them anymore.

I ordered mine from Royal Shave, which currently has free shipping when you buy $25 worth, and they have a 10% discount for B&B members as well (BANDB is the code). They carry all of these creams except Lavanda.

[Captain Coconut]

Here is a rundown on the scents that oversaturn posted in another thread:

Veleiro -> "marine", aquatic scent
O Melhor -> something similar to Veleiro, but a little more "cologny", with a little musk
Lavanda -> earthy Mediterranean Lavender
Top Secret -> Rosy and woody, with a little musk

[Captain Coconut]

I should add that while they don't perform identically, they all perform very similarly, as they are all made by the same company (Ach Brito).

[Alphonse]

while veleiro is an aquatic scent that reminds me of a cologne, it also has a strange nutty smell that kind of makes me not want to buy it again. the shower gel did smell nice though, so I'd buy a big bottle of it if I could find it. I bought Speick at the same time and I like speick cream a lot better. I'll get around to musgo at some point.

[Oblique Human]

If you can afford to, buy them all. Else, Musgo Real.

[STJ529]

I have not tried the others, but I can easily recommend Musgo Real. The performance is great, and the scent is my favorite out of all the creams/soaps I own. I'm sure you know that it has lanolin as well, which is great for my skin but YMMV.

[Sir_Eider]

I like much Veleiro aquatic scent for summer time. I own most of the Veleiro range (bath soap, shaving cream and after shave lotion) and love this combination for warm weather. Musgo Real have a lovely scent and for me is a bit better than Veleiro, but is much expensive and unfortunately excepting the bath soap the rest of the range has different scents, so I use it less...

By the way, if you like lemony scents try Via Men shaving cream. It's made by Confiança as well, lanolized and at least as good as Veleiro but a lot cheaper! You can buy it at ThePortugalOnlineShop.

Cheers!

[bhorsoft]

I've only tried the Lavanda so I didn't vote. Not a bad cream, but takes a fair amount to make a lather. The scent is pleasant enough, but there are better lavender scented creams. The color of the stuff out of the tube is unusual - kind of a grey speckled affair. It kind of reminded me of JB Weld or something similar.

[Captain Coconut]

I've only tried the Lavanda so I didn't vote.

That's a good enough reason not to vote, but I think that there are some people who voted for Musgo Real that haven't tried anything else either. Musgo Real will definitely get the most votes, because it's so much more common. If there were a vote for soaps, I think that Tabac would get many more votes that Klar Rasierseife for the same reason, even though I'd say Klar is miles ahead on performance (and scent too, IMO). This doesn't mean that Musgo Real isn't the "best" (if there is such a thing), but it should be taken into account when you look at the poll results.