Almost.. The format for reviews did not allow what I really wanted to do and many of the creams have been separately reviewed in depth. But this review puts a bunch of my observations in one place.
Larry
My journey over a number of weeks has been to sample most sandalwood shaving creams or those that purport to have strong tones of sandalwood. My go to cream for a decade has been Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood, long before I started DE shaving. So it was unavoidable to not have a little bias in that direction.
Every cream was used for both face lathering with a Rooney Alibaba brush and bowl lathering with a Custom Shavemac brush. My shaving routine involves 3 standard passes and a fourth or touch up pass on my jaw and neck. Now the results:
TOBS- Fragrance pleases me with identifiable sandalwood, musk and just a hint of spice. Lingers the right amount. Cream is the consistency you would expect. Lathers very well, good lubrication. Price is reasonable for the good creams.
Trumper’s- Spicier, sharper, more floral than TOBS. Cream is a bit thicker. Lather is a bit richer than TOBS, but the lubrication seems about the same. More expensive with no real basis unless you like the fragrance.
Truefitt and Hill-Even spicier than Trumper’s Too strong, rather unpleasant on the nose. Cream and lather are comparable to TOBS. Pricier than TOBS.
Salter Indian Sandalwood- Not as spicy as T&H or Trumper’s, but more tones of cinnamon than TOBS. Took much more cream to make a good lather, but not as rich and lubricating as the three T’s.
Green Pond- Nice woodsy, not spicy aroma. Oriental remembrance. Stronger fragrance than TOBS. Rich lather and lots of it, good lubrication.
.........- No trace of sandalwood, just soapy aroma. Cream is thick, takes more cream than expected to lather well, but then the lather is rich and lubricating. This cream seemed to moisturize my skin more than any other cream tried; the soft skin feel lingered for hours.
Art of Shaving- Pure sandalwood, no hint of spice, lingering fragrance is clean but unidentifiable. Aroma is not as exotic as the spicier creams. Consistency is more fluid than the others. Good lather, excellent lubrication. Somewhat pricey but may be worth it for pure sandalwood.
Castle Forbes Cedarwood Sandalwood- Woodsy aroma, all cedar, could not detect sandalwood. After several shaves, the cedar aroma seemed too strong, penetrating. Consistency is very thick and takes effort to whip up into a nice rich lather. Easier to face lather as a soft brush leaves clumps in the bowl. Excellent lubrication. A little goes a long way but price is not justified.
D.R. Harris Marlborough- Aroma is light cedar with something a little floral. A touch of musk. Could not identify sandalwood unless it is the musk. Lighter fragrance than Castle Forbes. This made the most lather of any cream tried. Very rich lather, very nice lubrication. High price but all attributes seem to justify it.
Edwin Jagger- The purest sandalwood of all with maybe something botanical. No musk, no spice. Clean fresh lingering fragrance. Difficult to get the water mix correct, takes less water than other creams. This was the most lubricating cream of anything I tried. Expensive and hard to find, but nicer than AOS for pure sandalwood.
Both Penhaligan’s Opus 1870 and T&H Trafalgar purport to have sandalwood tones. I could not detect sandalwood. Both are very pleasant fragrances to me and the Penhaligon’s is an excellent cream providing lots of lather and lubrication.
Where do I end up? For pure sandalwood, I would pick Edwin Jagger and AOS, in that order. For more spice or musk I like TOBS and Green Pond, in that order. For something a little different but close, D.R. Harris Marlborough is a winner. Overall, it is hard to ignore the value of TOBS since it is about half the price of some of the other creams and provides a perfectly acceptable shave. But then maybe I am fond of its familiarity.
Larry
My journey over a number of weeks has been to sample most sandalwood shaving creams or those that purport to have strong tones of sandalwood. My go to cream for a decade has been Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood, long before I started DE shaving. So it was unavoidable to not have a little bias in that direction.
Every cream was used for both face lathering with a Rooney Alibaba brush and bowl lathering with a Custom Shavemac brush. My shaving routine involves 3 standard passes and a fourth or touch up pass on my jaw and neck. Now the results:
TOBS- Fragrance pleases me with identifiable sandalwood, musk and just a hint of spice. Lingers the right amount. Cream is the consistency you would expect. Lathers very well, good lubrication. Price is reasonable for the good creams.
Trumper’s- Spicier, sharper, more floral than TOBS. Cream is a bit thicker. Lather is a bit richer than TOBS, but the lubrication seems about the same. More expensive with no real basis unless you like the fragrance.
Truefitt and Hill-Even spicier than Trumper’s Too strong, rather unpleasant on the nose. Cream and lather are comparable to TOBS. Pricier than TOBS.
Salter Indian Sandalwood- Not as spicy as T&H or Trumper’s, but more tones of cinnamon than TOBS. Took much more cream to make a good lather, but not as rich and lubricating as the three T’s.
Green Pond- Nice woodsy, not spicy aroma. Oriental remembrance. Stronger fragrance than TOBS. Rich lather and lots of it, good lubrication.
.........- No trace of sandalwood, just soapy aroma. Cream is thick, takes more cream than expected to lather well, but then the lather is rich and lubricating. This cream seemed to moisturize my skin more than any other cream tried; the soft skin feel lingered for hours.
Art of Shaving- Pure sandalwood, no hint of spice, lingering fragrance is clean but unidentifiable. Aroma is not as exotic as the spicier creams. Consistency is more fluid than the others. Good lather, excellent lubrication. Somewhat pricey but may be worth it for pure sandalwood.
Castle Forbes Cedarwood Sandalwood- Woodsy aroma, all cedar, could not detect sandalwood. After several shaves, the cedar aroma seemed too strong, penetrating. Consistency is very thick and takes effort to whip up into a nice rich lather. Easier to face lather as a soft brush leaves clumps in the bowl. Excellent lubrication. A little goes a long way but price is not justified.
D.R. Harris Marlborough- Aroma is light cedar with something a little floral. A touch of musk. Could not identify sandalwood unless it is the musk. Lighter fragrance than Castle Forbes. This made the most lather of any cream tried. Very rich lather, very nice lubrication. High price but all attributes seem to justify it.
Edwin Jagger- The purest sandalwood of all with maybe something botanical. No musk, no spice. Clean fresh lingering fragrance. Difficult to get the water mix correct, takes less water than other creams. This was the most lubricating cream of anything I tried. Expensive and hard to find, but nicer than AOS for pure sandalwood.
Both Penhaligan’s Opus 1870 and T&H Trafalgar purport to have sandalwood tones. I could not detect sandalwood. Both are very pleasant fragrances to me and the Penhaligon’s is an excellent cream providing lots of lather and lubrication.
Where do I end up? For pure sandalwood, I would pick Edwin Jagger and AOS, in that order. For more spice or musk I like TOBS and Green Pond, in that order. For something a little different but close, D.R. Harris Marlborough is a winner. Overall, it is hard to ignore the value of TOBS since it is about half the price of some of the other creams and provides a perfectly acceptable shave. But then maybe I am fond of its familiarity.
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