AOS Products .........

**HairyCarey** · 09-18-2006, 10:36 AM

I am still very new to wet shaving. I am reading voraciously. I read post after post and follow all the links and read what is on those sites. Yesterday, I was reading the "Method Shaving" thread and encountered a link that took me to The Art of Shaving site. It is quite impressive in some ways. Is it just slick advertising or are they offering quality products? Is the $38 "Starter Kit" worth a look, see? I'm only asking because I haven't found any reviews of their products. If reviews are out there, I'd appreciate hearing some directions to where I can read those reviews. Thanks, Carey

**Austin** · 09-18-2006, 10:40 AM

Welcome to the forum. I have bought that very kit for christmas gifts. I kept one and still use their brush for soaps. It's very good in my opinion.

**gc_30286** · 09-18-2006, 10:44 AM

i do not know about the aos products but i would like to welcome you to B&B

matthew

**ada8356** · 09-18-2006, 10:44 AM

The AOS set is nice, but it does include pre-shave oil, which you'll probably find (like most others) is useless.

If you have a Target nearby, you might consider visiting their spa section to purchase some Proraso products.

You should get the Pre/Post (in a small glass jar), the brush, a tube of shave cream, and maybe a bottle of their Aftershave balm. All of that will probably set you back about the same as the AOS starter kit.

Edit: I do have the AOS lavender cream and it is a very nice product.

**Steelforge** · 09-18-2006, 10:48 AM

I got 2 samples of the AOS 'Unscented' Cream recently. I thought it was great stuff, it had a slight scent of coconut to it and shaved very well indeed.

If I didn't have a pot of Trumpers Coconut already I'd definately buy some, I may still pick up one of their creams at some point.

Not sure about their other products.

**Dinder1** · 09-18-2006, 11:06 AM

I just recently purchased some AOS creams. I love the real EO scents, and the shave is great as well.
AOS Sandalwood

Cheers, DJ.

**Scotto** · 09-18-2006, 11:52 AM

The AOS lavender and lemon creams are superlative, IMO. They will always have a place in my cabinet. Their other products are just meh, though, with the possible exception of their hair care products.

**NMMB** · 09-18-2006, 12:13 PM

The AOS products that I have tried have been good but perhaps a little overpriced with a couple of small exceptions. First, I don't think that the cream is especially overpriced. Yes, it is expensive, but it is within a resonable range (IMHO) and it is a great cream. Second, I have no use for the pre-shae oil (AOS or other brand). I just do not find these to be of any benefit to me, though YMMV.

**bearbeard** · 09-18-2006, 12:23 PM

I have tried most of the AOS products, (my wife worked at Nordstrom when they first started selling at that store) I think that they are great products. However the price of some of the products keeps me from going all out AOS. In my experience with different aftershaves. The AOS after shave balm is the most moisturizing out there. And I love the smell.(doesn't matter which kind) And I love their lip balm.
Basically for cremes and soaps and aftershaves you are getting top notch products (use them and you will notice).....but if you purchase razors and brushes from them, you are waaaay overspending for what you get (IMHO)

The pre-shave oil I use when I do a S-N pass and it has helped a lot, then again my blade angle is still a work in progress. If you are still using a Mach 3 then the oil helps quite a bit.

**Scorpio** · 09-18-2006, 05:11 PM

I have two badger brushes and I use the Lavender cream. In my opinion they are excellent products. Stay away from the razors..way overprized. Both my brushes were bought at discount, a good buy for the money.

Rafael

**TraderJoe** · 09-18-2006, 05:19 PM

AOS has some good products

1. The Shaving soap is a fantastic product
2. The ASB is a fantastic product
3. Their Alum Block tears me up something fierce

With that being said, I think their hardware (brushes, razors) are pricey, but widely available and if they had a DE handle that I found attractive I'd probably buy one.

**Jason** · 10-01-2006, 12:28 AM

I hated their shave cream and pre-shave lotion.

**TimmyBoston** · 10-01-2006, 12:59 AM

Welcome to B&B Carey,
I dont' know much about that starter kit, but IMO I wouldn't recommend it. First the pre-shave oil especially when paired with a brush is pretty useless. Wet shaving is a lot about customization, and since you're a reader, check out a lot of reviews here and see if you can get samples or find stuff you know you'll like and taylor the products you buy to exactly what you're looking for.

I could buy all my gear again, I'd start with a good razor, my personal recommendation is a Merkur Heavy Duty, aka HD, aka Merkur Hefty Classic, its around $30 and a fantastic razor and will last a lifetime. But 1940's Gilette Super Speed's have wonderful reputations as well and are less expensive. Then I'd think about a starter blade sampler from Letter K, its cheap and you can get either 5 or 10 of the 5 major blades types. Once you find the blades you like, you can order a bulk order of 100 from the internet and you'll save a bundle. Israeli Personna blades work the best for me.
For a starter brush, I'd go with the Proraso Boar Brush availabe at Target ($13) and a very good brush. Then down the line, really research and find out which badger brush you'd like (if you like). I went out and bought a badger and just wasn't for me, finally though I did find one I like, but not after I wasted quite a bit of money, so I really wish I had waited and did more research.
Cream, I'd get a tube of Proraso to get yourself started, $6 at Target in the Spa section, great stuff and it's inexpensive. Then read some of the reviews here, check out the tabs at the top, second from right. And read about creams to try to figure out which ones you may like or dislike, then order sampler for Scotto, 6 creams all for $20, and each sample will last about a week. So it's a good value and a great way to try new things. I went out and ordered some Trumper Violet from internet right away and when I got it home the smell made me sick, so it was useless to me. But after taking some time and researching I love every sample Scotto sent me, well worth the $20 IMO.
For a lather bowl which is a smart purchase, get a cheap one. I picked up one at Target for $2 and it looks great. They also have large latte mugs for the same price if you'd prefer a mug.
Aftershave, Scotto also has samples which is very nice, but to get yourself started, I'd look at Proraso Liquid Cream After Shave Balm, Nivea Sensitive Balm, or Nuetrogena Razor Defense. All reasonably priced and good products.

Always feel free to ask any specific questions you think of. Everyone here is very helpful and there are so many experts around and their knowledge base is incredibly vast.

**mactrack** · 10-01-2006, 06:37 AM

Originally Posted by Iwan

I got 2 samples of the AOS 'Unscented' Cream recently. I thought it was great stuff, it had a slight scent of coconut to it and shaved very well indeed.

If I didn't have a pot of Trumpers Coconut already I'd definately buy some, I may still pick up one of their creams at some point.

Not sure about their other products.

Hi Iwan,

I have AOS lemon (like you

) and I find it to be the best performing of my creams. I also have a tub of GFT coconut which is only a little way behind in terms of performance. So ideally I would love an AOS cream that had a coconut scent. Gven that it is sold as unscented how does the scent compare to GFT coconut? Thanks.

**Steelforge** · 10-01-2006, 08:00 AM

Well, like you say it's sold as unscented but I when I took a sniff of the lather I thought "hmmm that smells of coconut". I took another look at the label and coconut oil is on the list of ingrediants. The smell is nowhere near as strong as Trumpers Coconut (which I also have), but rather than calling it unscented I'd have called it "Unscented - with a hint of coconut".

Any chance you can get a sample of it from Robert at TGS or anywhere else?

**dszpiro** · 10-01-2006, 02:37 PM

I'll throw in my $0.02 re AOS too. I used their lemon shaving cream and ASB for the first time this morning and I was very pleased. The ASB is really quite something with respect to moisturizing: it feels as if it lasts the whole day! The scent of the lemon is very nice (although I was really quite tempted by the lavender).

Cheers,

**TimmyBoston** · 10-01-2006, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by dszpiro

I'll throw in my $0.02 re AOS too. I used their lemon shaving cream and ASB for the first time this morning and I was very pleased. The ASB is really quite something with respect to moisturizing: it feels as if it lasts the whole day! The scent of the lemon is very nice (although I was really quite tempted by the lavender).

Cheers,

I think the lavender shave cream is great.

**JohnP** · 10-01-2006, 10:56 PM

Welcome to B&B,
and no, nothing wrong with AOS. There's been disagreement over AOS's marketing tactics, but not so much with their quality. I like their creams quite well. Just remember they aren't the only game in town like their marketing implies. Trumper, Taylor, and several others have been at it for over a century and also offer good products, sometimes even cheaper than AOS.
That said, I have AOS lavendar, sandalwood, and lemon-and like all of them.
John P.

**rtaylor61** · 10-01-2006, 11:00 PM

AOS Lavender is on my list of shaving creams to purchase. Since the local distributor is well out of my way, it will be a couple of months. But is is definitely on my list!

Randy

**ouch** · 10-01-2006, 11:18 PM

It seems that the knock on AOS is the high price. In some instances this is undoubtedly true, but some who complain about the price of their creams have no such objection to the price of T&H, Trumpers, Coates, or Harris.

I have all three creams. The lavender and lemon are marvelous, and although Scotto was so uninspired by the sandalwood that he gave it to me, it shaves like a dream. And if you can't whip up a mountain of lather from these, find another hobby.