Has anyone else tried The Art of Shaving

I've always liked AoS creams, and their NoS Tallow shave soap was excellent.

I've used T&H, CF, many of the high rated creams, and I would rate AoS close to their level (CF is probably the best). It's as good as Trumpers or TOBS (Pricier though).

I don't feel it is for new shavers only - their products are pretty good in general, and the creams are good performers.

The Art of Shaving doesn't get near the credit that it deserves for bringing the joys, tools, and software of wet shaving to more people than any other single business, save Gillette in its early days! While many on here extol the virtues of Pasteur's, or Merz or strolling Jermyn Street in London, the average person simply doesn't have that access and never will. Gonna learn or shop at Walmart/Walgreen's/CVS/Rite-Aid? Nope. Jump on the interweb and find a consensus of opinion on how to start or what to buy? We wouldn't need YMMV if that were the case. Have an Art of Shaving in the big mall? Yep, and it's a friendly, inviting place with lots of new smells.

I started wet shaving a dozen or so years ago - with Art of Shaving Sandalwood cream & balm. Still have it in my den 12 years later, along with the AoS Fine Badger brush that is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Have I tried other things? You betcha, but I still like my Sandalwood.

It's good stuff, filled a niche in its early days, and its acquisition by P&G let it extend its reach beyond what anybody else has done in the field. We should celebrate them for bringing so many new converts into the fold!

AtreyuOcampo said:

You must be extremely NEW to B&B, with that I say welcome! and to answer your question, Thousands of us here have either used, or began our wet shaving journey's with Art of Shaving. The main cause as to why you think a lot of us don't mention their brand is because they are mainly over priced and not highly sought after. Their sandalwood cream, while it is enjoyed by many of us users here, Is not by any account the best or one of the best out there. A lot of their products are either, not that good or completely useless IMO. The products they do have that are great (razors mainly) are overpriced there. Art of shaving is a beginners first stop, and should remain the first and only. Once you step up, learn more, you will find glorious other products at better quality and at far better costs... If you're a cartridge shaver and are accustomed to just shaving for the sake of shaving and not into the craft or learning beyond what is the normal, then art of shaving is fine! If you're a wet shaver and are serious about mastering the craft and learning/trying products out in the world that will just make shaving a great experience rather than a chore, then art of shaving should be useless to you! I apologize if my response sounds in anyway biased, or offensive, i assure you its not. I'm just stating reality as far as it goes IMO. Some may disagree, and some may agree, but this is the best detailed answer I could give you as to why many of us tend to not really praise art of shaving.

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+1, except B&B saved me from a step. I'd do an AOS restraint, but it wouldn't be hard.

OK as I am still on my first large tub of their unsented cream it is the best I have used thus far but all other creams I have used came in a red striped can. Is their a unsented cream out their.

Tried a tube of the unscented. Slick, but not much cushion.. A little pricey compared to others..

I'm certain many have purchased and tried their products. I'm also certain their products are good. That said, there are MANY shaving creams, soaps, etc that are good and you don't have to spend upwards of $20. The #1 reason why I haven't purchased a single AOS product is b/c of the price. I just don't see it.

But to each his/her own. If you like, great. Continue using it and enjoying it.

I have tried the Lavender scent in the Shaving Cream & After Shave Balm and the Pre-Shave Oil in Unscented. I find the scent to be pretty good and I like how smooth and soft my face feels after using it. The only downside IMO, is that it can be a little pricey. I haven't tried anything other than Gillette shaving cream (prior to finding B&B), so I couldn't tell you how it performs against other soaps/creams.

I know that they changed their formulae, but their original soaps and creams were some of the best ever, and certainly worth the price of admission.

I never tried their old stuff, so I have no opinion on that, but I have a tub of the newer Sandalwood cream, and it's easily one of my favourite products. Fairly pricey, yes, but a little seems to go a long way.

ouch said:

I know that they changed their formulae, but their original soaps and creams were some of the best ever, and certainly worth the price of admission.

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The new creams are still excellent. They're now made in the USA, whereas the older ones were English (presumably from Creighton's). The new ones are not as dense as before, but I don't find that the slightly goopier texture (for lack of a better term) has affected performance or longevity of the product. Using the same amount as before gives me great results.

I haven't used the new soaps. The old soaps were indeed excellent, and similar formulas are available from Valobra (who made the old AOS), as well as Czech & Speake (made by Valobra).

mwebby82 said:

+1, except B&B saved me from a step. I'd do an AOS restraint, but it wouldn't be hard.

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+1 for this cause I actually wish I had discovered B&B before buying 2 of the AOS full size kits, cause I assumed AOS was the best thing under the sun before coming to B&B.. $174.20 later and Now I don't even touch the oils (I PIF'd those) The balm is still useful so i'll keep that. The brushes were worthless IMO so I PIF'd those as well, and the Sandalwood cream, I kept one for myself (but its used rarely), and I gave the other one to a newbie (co worker of mine) who proudly, I converted to DE shaving

My wife purchased one of the full kits with preshave oil, shaving soap, aftershave balm - all in lavender, and a silvertip brush for Christmas 2013. I still use the brush, the balm, and the soap regularly. The soap is ok, but has a great scent, the brush is very good, and the balm is great. I'll replace the balm once it's gone.

Ordered some sandalwood cream and aftershave balm since I've heard so many good things.

I have a 5oz tub on my way to my dads winter place in Florida for when he come back to Canada to bring it to me. I heard good about it, and based on my interests and semi sensitive skin I went with the Ocean Kelp.

I think the AOS creams are good stuff. I have some. I just find some of the other brands to be just as good or better at an equal or cheaper price. Like TOBS or DR Harris. Just my opinion.

tomharr51 said:

I think the AOS creams are good stuff. I have some. I just find some of the other brands to be just as good or better at an equal or cheaper price. Like TOBS or DR Harris. Just my opinion.

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+1. AoS is a great performer. But many of my favourites can be found at the same price point--or cheaper.

I was short on time when I got started with DE. At that phase, I wanted to measure, touch, and smell the hardware and consumables I would consider buying. I got in there, got what I needed, got it home, and just as I had measured, the stand base fit precisely in the cupholder of my mini-shelf. The pre-shave, cream, and AS balm are matching lavender. I have no complaints about the performance of the products, at least not once I found what it took to whip up a lather. However, at $25 to $40, I will not be replentishing. I've already stocked up on Bigelow and India Old Spice, with Arko on the way. I have Shave Secret oil in one of my road kits and it seems to prep just as well as AoS Lavender. I have some American Crew oil on order.
Other products work just as well, if not better, for a fraction of the price. Worse yet, some old hands say they have noticed a decline in product quality since the P & G acquisition of 2009, though I would not know without the basis of comparison. At worst, I may miss having decent but overpriced products that all smell the same. If so, I can wait for some windfall and splurge to put their stuff back in my rotation.

Billt said:

I just bought the sandalwood cream and I must say it's very nice. I don't see many posts about this brand. Any reason?

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Their sandalwood cream is one of my staples! I'm still on the fence on their sandalwood edt, just love their sandalwood scent, but 75 bucks is a lot for 100ml edt right?

They get a bad rap because some of the items in the store are a bit pricey. It's not hard to figure out which ones once you've been on these forums a little while.

Things I will buy from them are shaving soaps, shaving creams, after shave balms, and their sandlewood cologne and that's pretty much it. I find the old version of the soaps that were made by Valobra to have a better lather but a bit of a clay scent to them. The new soaps that are in the stores now have better scents without the clay smell but can be a bit more drying. Both versions to me are very good and far better than anything soap wise from DR Harris, TOBS or Truefitt & Hill. The cost of a puck of soap without the wood bowl is $30 which I think is fair considering the longevity that you'll get from it. If you give them your email they will give you coupons twice a year that will save you 20% bringing a puck of soap to $24. They will tell you that you can use a puck for a year but lets say 4 to 6 months with an average size brush. This is less costly than buying enough RazoRock soap (about 3 or 4 tubs) to last you that long and nobody complains about the $10 price for a tub of that.

Things I will avoid are $90 plastic Fusion handles, Pre shave oils, brushes, safety razor blades. $90 for a Fusion handle, enough said there. The PreShave oils are something that you can create from oils you have around your house. Most people here skip the preshave oils all together as you really don't need it with a good quality soap. The brushes are either low quality or the higher quality ones are much more expensive than you can buy a high quality brush for somewhere else. The Merkur blades in my opinion are not very good and you'll pay about $12 for a pack of 10. You can get 100 better quality blades for about that same amount.

So for me what it comes down to is what are you buying, they will continue to get my money for some things in the store while I'll shake my head and walk away from others.

A couple things that bug me about AOS creams: the tubs come with a false bottom, so you're not getting as much cream as you think you are, based on the appearance of the tubs. Also, the creams are packaged by volume, rather than weight. A number brands do this, but when P&G reformulated the AOS creams, they got a lot lighter and less dense, while the price went up. Since the lighter weight doesn't affect the volume, P&G could make it look like they were selling the same amount of cream for only a slight increase in price, when in reality, there likely is less cream in the tubs than before. (They essentially did the same thing with the pre-shave oil, too, by adding water to the formulation, while also increasing the price. The older formulation had no water, only the base and scenting oils. So again, you're paying more for less.) I never thought AOS was a great bargain to begin with, but P&G is taking two bites out of the apple to extend their profit margins.

That said, I think AOS cream is an excellent product. I'm just not so keen on the company's business model.