Happy Friday, my brethren of the razor!
I recently bought St. James of London's Black Pepper and Lime cream. Since I haven't seen much in the way of reviews of any of their products, I thought I would offer my thoughts. If it matters, I ordered directly from the St. James site. The site was easy to use and the product was shipped promptly. I ordered Friday and it was shipped out on Monday. The product was packaged quite well in the box, with plenty of padding. I was actually surprised at how much box there was for what was inside. On to the cream!
The retail packaging of the cream itself was nice. The cardboard box is sturdy, and the packaging attractive. The cream itself comes in a clear glass jar with a metal lid. The labeling, too, is attractive and conservative.
Like any B&B'er worthy of the association, I immediately opened the jar and sniffed it. The black pepper is the dominant scent, which is to say that it's the most noticeable, not that it's overpowering. Underneath, there are hints of lime. If there was such a fruit as a "lime pepper", this is probably what it would smell like. I didn't get the immediate "WOW" I did when I first smelled, say, Trumper's GFT or Coconut, but this particular scent combination is unlike anything else I've tried. I have a favorable impression of it, but we'll see if it becomes olfactory love or not.
Moving on to actually using the cream, I scooped out a slightly more generous amount than I would normally, since I have no experience with this line of products. It's worth noting that the cream is a firmer cream as compared with, say, AOS or Trumpers. It is not a croap by any stretch of the imagination, however, as it easily yielded to the spoon I use for scooping.
Lathering was easily accomplished using my typical amount of water, and generated an appropriate amount of lather given the amount of water and cream used. There was enough lather for three passes plus a touch-up, with enough left over for another pass (and another touch-up). This is what I usually shoot for with all of my creams, so it looks like I hit the sweet spot. The lather was slick and had ample cushion. It's worth noting that once lathered, the scent complexion changed a little with the lime making itself more known. That said, I stand by my "lime pepper" description above.
Overall, I'd say this cream is exactly what it claims to be in terms of scent, and the quality is what I'd expect from a cream in this price range. I'll have some follow-up comments after Sunday's shave, but my initial impression is favorable.
I recently bought St. James of London's Black Pepper and Lime cream. Since I haven't seen much in the way of reviews of any of their products, I thought I would offer my thoughts. If it matters, I ordered directly from the St. James site. The site was easy to use and the product was shipped promptly. I ordered Friday and it was shipped out on Monday. The product was packaged quite well in the box, with plenty of padding. I was actually surprised at how much box there was for what was inside. On to the cream!
The retail packaging of the cream itself was nice. The cardboard box is sturdy, and the packaging attractive. The cream itself comes in a clear glass jar with a metal lid. The labeling, too, is attractive and conservative.
Like any B&B'er worthy of the association, I immediately opened the jar and sniffed it. The black pepper is the dominant scent, which is to say that it's the most noticeable, not that it's overpowering. Underneath, there are hints of lime. If there was such a fruit as a "lime pepper", this is probably what it would smell like. I didn't get the immediate "WOW" I did when I first smelled, say, Trumper's GFT or Coconut, but this particular scent combination is unlike anything else I've tried. I have a favorable impression of it, but we'll see if it becomes olfactory love or not.
Moving on to actually using the cream, I scooped out a slightly more generous amount than I would normally, since I have no experience with this line of products. It's worth noting that the cream is a firmer cream as compared with, say, AOS or Trumpers. It is not a croap by any stretch of the imagination, however, as it easily yielded to the spoon I use for scooping.
Lathering was easily accomplished using my typical amount of water, and generated an appropriate amount of lather given the amount of water and cream used. There was enough lather for three passes plus a touch-up, with enough left over for another pass (and another touch-up). This is what I usually shoot for with all of my creams, so it looks like I hit the sweet spot. The lather was slick and had ample cushion. It's worth noting that once lathered, the scent complexion changed a little with the lime making itself more known. That said, I stand by my "lime pepper" description above.
Overall, I'd say this cream is exactly what it claims to be in terms of scent, and the quality is what I'd expect from a cream in this price range. I'll have some follow-up comments after Sunday's shave, but my initial impression is favorable.
