Longtime lurker on this fine board, looking to give back with results from my unrelenting pursuit of the top sandalwood-scented shaving cream. I bought, used, and reviewed every sandalwood cream I could get my hands on. Below find my notes and my conclusion.
Methodology: I face lather and shave in the shower (highly recommend both!). This makes my shaving rather forgiving; your mileage may vary. I used each product multiple times, with both an Edwin Jagger DE89 with Astra SP blades and a Gillette Fusion ProGlide. Edwin Jagger Super Badger Brush. Thayer's Original aftershave followed by Aesop Moroccan Neroli aftershave lotion.
Shaving Creams:
Art of Shaving Sandalwood (AOS): Gold standard scent, strong and addictive, made with Sandalwood essential oil. Paraben free, although it contains Tetrasodium EDTA. Viscosity is airy, light, and perfectly uniform. Great latherability. Great lubrication. Excellent jar, although nonstandard size compared to the classic British tubs.
Castle Forbes Cedar and Sandalwood (CF): Scent is strong and clear. The cedar overpowers, with little sandalwood to my nose. The intense cedar conjures an odd association: dried beans, almost like peanuts. It is such a clean, powerful scent I can’t help but like it, but it isn’t sandalwood. Paraben free. Viscosity is thick, gloopy, and not uniform. Great latherability—a little bit explodes on my face, although it is so thick I could see it being a pain to bowl lather. Excellent lubrication. Good jar.
D.R. Harris Marlborough (DRH): Strong, clear scent of sandalwood with just a hint of cedar. I’ve seen this alternatively described as cedar-rich or wet ashtray; neither are right to my nose. Paraben free. Thick viscosity, almost gloopy. Great latherability. Great lubrication. Fine jar, but the lid is absurdly cheap—I haven’t broken it yet from over-tightening or mis-threading, but I certainly will before I finish the product.
Edwin Jagger Sandalwood (EJ): Very little scent—certainly no sandalwood. I’ve seen others compare this to AOS Sandalwood. Is there a new formulation? I tried two jars from different vendors to confirm...I only get the slightest floral scent on the nose. Paraben free. Viscosity is airy, light, and perfectly uniform. Great latherability and lubrication. Excellent, well constructed jar.
Geo F. Trumper Sandalwood (GFT): Scent is clean, floral, old-barbershop smell. Similar to TOBS but not as artificial. No trace of sandalwood. Contains parabens. Moderate viscosity. Great latherability. Good lubrication. Good jar.
Proraso Sandalwood: Nice sandalwood scent—with real essential oils—but not particularly strong. Scent of shea butter is equal in prominence to the sandalwood. Paraben free, although it contains Tetrasodium EDTA. Good latherability, good lubrication. Viscosity is thick, uniform, and hard—nearly a soap. Jar comes across as cheap but it works well.
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood (TOBS): Artificial, overpowering scent, not at all of sandalwood, reminiscent of a bar of white soap. Paraben free. Viscosity is very thick, almost like a croap. Great latherability—a little bit explodes on my face. Good lubrication. Good jar, solid although unattractive, with a ribbed lid to ease opening.
Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood (T&H): I don’t know what is going on with this scent: Top notes of citrus and spice, base note of oakmoss and musk. It smells like Nautica Classic—my wife joked, "it smells like middle school." Nothing like sandalwood; I do not care for it. Contains parabens. Viscosity is thick, almost oily. Great latherability. Good lubrication. Good jar, with a ribbed lid to ease opening.
Summary:
Price: None of these except Proraso are what I would call cheap. That said, they all last a long time, so I'm not giving price too much consideration. If you are price sensitive, it is hard to beat Proraso.
Ingredients: AOS, CF, DRH and Proraso (maybe others?) utilize essential oils, with AOS and CF scented purely by essential oil. TOBS and T&H very clearly contain artificial scents. Only GFT and T&H contain parabens. Only AOS and Proraso contain Tetrasodium EDTA (a replacement for parabens with similar cytotoxicity).
Viscosities were all over the place: Some products were airy and uniform while others were thick, gloopy, almost oily. There wasn't any correlation with latherability: Both AOS (airy and uniform) and CF (gloopy and uneven) lathered great. I did find the gloopy, almost oily offerings to have the nicest lubrication, however.
Latherability: AOS, CF, DRH, EJ, TOBS, and T&H all offered great latherability. The others were good—not a lot of variance here.
Lubrication: AOS, CF, DRH, and EJ were all great, with CF the best. The others were good.
Scent: The "sandalwood" scent is all over the place. I confess to a mild obsession with the authentic sandalwood essential oil. AOS and DRH were the purest expression of sandalwood; Proraso also had a discernible sandalwood essential oil scent although it was mixed with spice notes and Shea butter. Sandalwood is seemingly also used as the label for a spicy, slightly floral, soap-y scent reminiscent of fine, gentlemanly barbershops. GFT and TOBS fit this bill; Proraso also to a lesser extent. There were singletons too: CF easily had the most impressive scent, but it was of cedar with little or no sandalwood. EJ had very little scent to my nose; I cannot recommend it based on smell. TRH was hideous, a dead ringer for Nautica Classic.
Conclusion:
AOS, CF, and DRH were all high performers, with pleasing (albeit varied) viscosities, great latherability, and great lubrication. AOS had the purest, strongest scent of sandalwood essential oil—it is the gold standard. CF had a wonderful, impressive scent, albeit mostly of cedar not sandalwood. DRH was not as strong or pure as either, but nonetheless had an impressive mix of sandalwood and cedar utilizing essential oils. I can easily recommend all three.
For me, I'm going to a two-cream rotation: AOS and CF.
— Robert
Methodology: I face lather and shave in the shower (highly recommend both!). This makes my shaving rather forgiving; your mileage may vary. I used each product multiple times, with both an Edwin Jagger DE89 with Astra SP blades and a Gillette Fusion ProGlide. Edwin Jagger Super Badger Brush. Thayer's Original aftershave followed by Aesop Moroccan Neroli aftershave lotion.
Shaving Creams:
Art of Shaving Sandalwood (AOS): Gold standard scent, strong and addictive, made with Sandalwood essential oil. Paraben free, although it contains Tetrasodium EDTA. Viscosity is airy, light, and perfectly uniform. Great latherability. Great lubrication. Excellent jar, although nonstandard size compared to the classic British tubs.
Castle Forbes Cedar and Sandalwood (CF): Scent is strong and clear. The cedar overpowers, with little sandalwood to my nose. The intense cedar conjures an odd association: dried beans, almost like peanuts. It is such a clean, powerful scent I can’t help but like it, but it isn’t sandalwood. Paraben free. Viscosity is thick, gloopy, and not uniform. Great latherability—a little bit explodes on my face, although it is so thick I could see it being a pain to bowl lather. Excellent lubrication. Good jar.
D.R. Harris Marlborough (DRH): Strong, clear scent of sandalwood with just a hint of cedar. I’ve seen this alternatively described as cedar-rich or wet ashtray; neither are right to my nose. Paraben free. Thick viscosity, almost gloopy. Great latherability. Great lubrication. Fine jar, but the lid is absurdly cheap—I haven’t broken it yet from over-tightening or mis-threading, but I certainly will before I finish the product.
Edwin Jagger Sandalwood (EJ): Very little scent—certainly no sandalwood. I’ve seen others compare this to AOS Sandalwood. Is there a new formulation? I tried two jars from different vendors to confirm...I only get the slightest floral scent on the nose. Paraben free. Viscosity is airy, light, and perfectly uniform. Great latherability and lubrication. Excellent, well constructed jar.
Geo F. Trumper Sandalwood (GFT): Scent is clean, floral, old-barbershop smell. Similar to TOBS but not as artificial. No trace of sandalwood. Contains parabens. Moderate viscosity. Great latherability. Good lubrication. Good jar.
Proraso Sandalwood: Nice sandalwood scent—with real essential oils—but not particularly strong. Scent of shea butter is equal in prominence to the sandalwood. Paraben free, although it contains Tetrasodium EDTA. Good latherability, good lubrication. Viscosity is thick, uniform, and hard—nearly a soap. Jar comes across as cheap but it works well.
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood (TOBS): Artificial, overpowering scent, not at all of sandalwood, reminiscent of a bar of white soap. Paraben free. Viscosity is very thick, almost like a croap. Great latherability—a little bit explodes on my face. Good lubrication. Good jar, solid although unattractive, with a ribbed lid to ease opening.
Truefitt & Hill Sandalwood (T&H): I don’t know what is going on with this scent: Top notes of citrus and spice, base note of oakmoss and musk. It smells like Nautica Classic—my wife joked, "it smells like middle school." Nothing like sandalwood; I do not care for it. Contains parabens. Viscosity is thick, almost oily. Great latherability. Good lubrication. Good jar, with a ribbed lid to ease opening.
Summary:
Price: None of these except Proraso are what I would call cheap. That said, they all last a long time, so I'm not giving price too much consideration. If you are price sensitive, it is hard to beat Proraso.
Ingredients: AOS, CF, DRH and Proraso (maybe others?) utilize essential oils, with AOS and CF scented purely by essential oil. TOBS and T&H very clearly contain artificial scents. Only GFT and T&H contain parabens. Only AOS and Proraso contain Tetrasodium EDTA (a replacement for parabens with similar cytotoxicity).
Viscosities were all over the place: Some products were airy and uniform while others were thick, gloopy, almost oily. There wasn't any correlation with latherability: Both AOS (airy and uniform) and CF (gloopy and uneven) lathered great. I did find the gloopy, almost oily offerings to have the nicest lubrication, however.
Latherability: AOS, CF, DRH, EJ, TOBS, and T&H all offered great latherability. The others were good—not a lot of variance here.
Lubrication: AOS, CF, DRH, and EJ were all great, with CF the best. The others were good.
Scent: The "sandalwood" scent is all over the place. I confess to a mild obsession with the authentic sandalwood essential oil. AOS and DRH were the purest expression of sandalwood; Proraso also had a discernible sandalwood essential oil scent although it was mixed with spice notes and Shea butter. Sandalwood is seemingly also used as the label for a spicy, slightly floral, soap-y scent reminiscent of fine, gentlemanly barbershops. GFT and TOBS fit this bill; Proraso also to a lesser extent. There were singletons too: CF easily had the most impressive scent, but it was of cedar with little or no sandalwood. EJ had very little scent to my nose; I cannot recommend it based on smell. TRH was hideous, a dead ringer for Nautica Classic.
Conclusion:
AOS, CF, and DRH were all high performers, with pleasing (albeit varied) viscosities, great latherability, and great lubrication. AOS had the purest, strongest scent of sandalwood essential oil—it is the gold standard. CF had a wonderful, impressive scent, albeit mostly of cedar not sandalwood. DRH was not as strong or pure as either, but nonetheless had an impressive mix of sandalwood and cedar utilizing essential oils. I can easily recommend all three.
For me, I'm going to a two-cream rotation: AOS and CF.
— Robert
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