Xpec - Lather Ambrosia or an Illusion

In the last month or so I have been looking closely at shaving creams. XPEC seems highly regarded on this forum, mentioned as top tier product by many. I understand the product sold today is a reformulation so there is no need to discussion the old stuff no longer sold.

I obtained a sample and, to be frank, I was underwhelmed. For the first use of the product the scent was wonderful. Smelled like orange juice to me and it lasted the entire shave. Orange juice is a good scent in the morning. But the product dried out quickly and was not slick to me.

In my second attempt, I used a scuttle. The lather was nice and warm, but there was no scent at all. What's with that? Warming it up kills the scent? But worse, after 5 - 10 minutes, the lather just dried up. This is the bottom of my scuttle. That's not wet, thats drying.



So did I get a bad sample? Is it not up to the hype? $70 on one website. $59 on another. ~$7/oz. That's pretty expensive stuff.

Opinions?

I also tried Cyril R. Salter Sandalwood based on this recommendation http://www.badgerandblade.com/2014-awards-shaving-creams/ Yeah, I won't by buying that either. It wasn't anywhere near the same class, IMO, as the top 3 British "T" creams.

All my experiences with XPEC(both the old and new version) have been the extreme opposite of your experience. I find XPEC to deliver a thick,lustrous and slick lather every time. Superb in all areas.And it takes very little product. However,I never could tolerate the scent of the older version so I always bought the Unscented one. I've been using it at least 2 times a week for several years and still love it. Santa Maria Novella is the only cream I like better. You may have received a bad batch because your experience seems to be the 'exception to the rule,at least with people on this website.

Craig

I had no problems with the lather or performance of the xpec. My main issue was the skin irritation that I experienced. After experimenting with several creams (xpec, st. james of london, d. r. harris), I'm now back to using my mulhe organic and appreciate it a bit more than I previously did.

I have always been suspect with sample pieces, I can say Xpec makes an amazing lather and provides a wonderful shave.

I am betting that I'd you use more product and add more water you will experience a satisfactory result

Roderick said:

I am betting that I'd you use more product and add more water you will experience a satisfactory result

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+1

Agree with above. But I personally don't think XPEC is worth the money. I didn't care for the scent, and the performance is good, but not better than Baume.be which I much prefer, by a large margin, which is half the cost.

Received my tub of XPEC yesterday. Opened it up to reveal a quite 'hard' cream and a scent that I enjoyed very much, to my nose, very similar to Tabac, with a more citrus top note. Was very excited about the shave, performed the usual routine and using my trustworthy Semogue 830, began the swirling of the croap. I found it difficult to load and when I thought I had enough, began a face lather. Very disappointed with the resulting lather and the first pass. Had to reload for a second pass, same result. Reached for the Tabac stick and had a fantastic final pass. Considering the cost and reputation of this cream I was expecting a whole lot more. I have CF in Lime and it is, by far, a better cream.


My first experience with XPEC was extremely disappointing. It's a large tub and I hope that I can dial in this lather properly, and soon, before I fall out of love with this stuff.

Any suggestions?

I started out underloading my tub, hoping to get a full shave with 1g or so considering the expense. I didn't succeed. Eventually I simply loaded until I had a great lather, and then weighed the tub to see how much product that great lather required. For me, it was about 2g.

The quality of the shave itself is no better than other top tier products such as Valobra hard soaps and MdC. But I admit that the aftershave facefeel is better than any of my other products. I don't even use (or need to use) lotion, and this is the only soap/cream that performs this way.

Still, for shaving, I prefer Valobra and MdC.

Thanks guys. Some good experiences, some not so good. I'm not seeing overwhelming love for this product. I have a bit more of the stuff and will try again soon.

gmdnk said:

Received my tub of XPEC yesterday. Opened it up to reveal a quite 'hard' cream and a scent that I enjoyed very much, to my nose, very similar to Tabac, with a more citrus top note. Was very excited about the shave, performed the usual routine and using my trustworthy Semogue 830, began the swirling of the croap. I found it difficult to load and when I thought I had enough, began a face lather. Very disappointed with the resulting lather and the first pass. Had to reload for a second pass, same result. Reached for the Tabac stick and had a fantastic final pass. Considering the cost and reputation of this cream I was expecting a whole lot more. I have CF in Lime and it is, by far, a better cream.


My first experience with XPEC was extremely disappointing. It's a large tub and I hope that I can dial in this lather properly, and soon, before I fall out of love with this stuff.

Any suggestions?

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Wow, that is scary as I have a older tub from last year, there is really nothing to dial in. I soak my brush , flick out the water about 6-7 times, twirl for 20 and onto my face for a wonderful shave.

I have only tried the old formulation of XPEC and it is one of if not the best cream I have ever tried. I am glad I loaded up on backups when I heard the rumors of reformulation a couple years ago. I still have 2 sealed tubs (1 scented and 1 unscented) in my inventory. Its a shame they changed it. Really hope you guys can figure out how to dial the new formula in.

At that price, there is no excuse for a bad batch! Hope you get it to work for you.

This appears to be an anomaly. I have the new formulation and it has performed as advertised. Great product, definitely one of the best performing creams I have encountered. Don't give up.

GreggJ said:

This appears to be an anomaly. I have the new formulation and it has performed as advertised. Great product, definitely one of the best performing creams I have encountered. Don't give up.

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Ditto. Its a wonderful cream IMO

Craig

GreggJ said:

This appears to be an anomaly. I have the new formulation and it has performed as advertised. Great product, definitely one of the best performing creams I have encountered. Don't give up.

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Me as well.

I received a sample of Xpec from another member here in a trade along with a full pot of CF lime. Wish I had asked for the other way around.

The sample of Xpec BLEW AWAY the CF Lime, at least for me. The CF lime was very good, and if I hadn't tried the Xpec in the same time frame, would have been more than acceptable.

I think it performs satisfactorily, but it's unfortunate that the company did not stay with the Forester Milan [original "ORIGINAL" XPEC] version, which I find performed better.

In my experience XPEC needs more water to get a great lather compared to my other creams, also depending on the type of brush I use. I tried it on a new boar brush and had quite a hard time lathering and used up way too many product, but when I used my synthetic I only needed a little to get a great lather. I'm waiting on an SOC 2 band Badger brush, I hope the Semogue Badger brush will pair well with Xpec, obviously the break in period on the boar and Badger brush will play a big factor.

Keep at it, how many times have you used it?

Are you sure you know how to lather in general?