C&E Almond Oil Shaving Cream....

I, too, love this cream. The only thing I don't get is the scent...to me it smells like old Black Flag Scotch Whiskey. Maybe my sample is an old one and the aroma has left the stage, but I don't know...Other than that small gripe I love this cream. When I wisk it up I get great peaks and a merengue like appearance...I whip it in a 2" stonewear bowl, that has a rough interior surface and maybe that's why I get such good lather. I do like the afterscent it leaves on my face...I add a spritz or two of cherry blossom hydrosol and I'm good to go.

If there are are more to be had i would definatley buy them all...especially at $7.00 each...

That's a great bargain!

I FINALLY found some at Marshall's recently, and I couldn't be happier. After some time using it, I crown it the best cream I have used. The scent is a great eye opener in the morning, the cream is almost mindlessly easy to use with every brush I've thrown at it, and the performance during the shave is on par with anything else I've tried in the cream world. My favorite cream, the old formula Taylor's Avocado, finally has a worthy replacement. The packaging is first rate and I love the slightly rubberized labeling. Stays put on slick sink edges. It's a shame that the jars are no longer available at C&E. Perhaps this will change in the future as out little hobby continues to get more popular.

I love almond scented items and was really hoping this was going to be the end all cream that would destroy all competitors in my rotation. Sadly, it didn't work out that way.

The scent is very light, and very sweet. It does come off as an almost flowery lilac scent as one person mentioned it. The packaging is well done, and the tubes (which I bought) come with a cute little "key" to assist with rolling. The lather is excellent, although it did take me a bit to get the right amount of water without getting bubbles instead of foam.

The first pass was pretty good. But here's were my problem developed. The lather started to lose it's lubricity very very fast. By the second pass I was getting skipping from the cream, with a notable feeling of dryness.

Now that said, this cream is still in my rotation. I am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. One, almond is known to be irritating on some skin types, and I just might be one of the unlucky few. Two, I use straight vegetable glycerin pre-shave and this soap may not like it - I'll try it without next time. Three, I am used to hard soaps, so the water and mixing ratio took a little time to get used to, perhaps affecting the final lather. Finally, I am a full face and head shaver, which means a total of six re-lathers and passes. This ends up taking some time and the last section sometimes just isn't as moist and warm as when stepping right out of the shower.

In closing, I'd say this cream deserves a chance at your rotation. Even at the full 15 dollars for the tube, it's worth a try for the excellent fresh scent and the great full lather. Sensitive skin people need to be prepared to be a little less impressed though.

I've never felt compelled to rate any of my products but I just picked up a tub of this stuff yesterday and it knocked me for a loop this morning. I'll explain...

I'm new to this whole "lather your own" shaving cream routine. I've been doing it since early October and I've been less than thrilled with all of the products I've tried. Proraso irritates my face. KMF products smell nice and lather like a madman, but don't protect me as well as I'd like and also leave my face a little tight feeling. Taylor's Sandalwood hard soap shaves nice and close but dries me out. Tom's peppermint smells good enough to eat but left me irritated and burned. Palmolive lathers and shaves great but the smell is a bit of a turn off. So I went in search of the perfect cream. Last Wednesday I bought a tub of Truefitt and Hill Ultimate Comfort. I thought I had the holy grail of creams. The smell alone was enough to make me swoon. It lathered up nice and thick but after my first shave with it I was really pretty underwhelmed. It left my face kind of raw feeling...not as bad as some, but definately not worthy of the "ultimate comfort" moniker. So as I was researching Taylor's Avacado, I came across a post about C&E Sweet Almond. I read that it can be had at TJ Maxx of all places at rock bottom prices, and that it is one of the most comfortable and moisturizing luxury creams to be had so I went and got a tub last night (the last tub they had) on my way home from work.

First off, the packaging is nothing short of gorgeous. From the satin finish and handsome lining of the embossed box, to the rubberized amber glass jar the cream comes in, this packaging is first class all the way and makes Truefitt and Hill look like something you'd buy at Great Clips. The aroma is the only place I deducted any points because I was surprised that it didn't smell like what I thought almond should smell like. It still smells good, but it is a bit of a shock to open a product called Sweet Almond Oil and not be greeted by that familiar almond smell. I scooped out a little dollip and placed it on the end of my Vulfix Super Badger that I left dripping wet. This cream holds a good bit of water and it lathered up nice and thick after about 90 seconds of swirling. I had more than enough lather for 3 full passes and 2 touchup passes. I shaved with a 40's Super Speed loaded with a 2-shave-old Isreali Personna. It felt so good on my face without any of the usual tingling I get, that I skipped my usual EW #2 pass and went straight from NS to SN. Then added another SN. All the while I was completely comfortable and had virtually no irritation. The lather was slicker than the Ultimate Comfort and there seemed to be a good bit less razor drag. I also noticed on my cleanup passes that I was able to go over the same area multiple times and still have a nice slick surface to work on, even with no visible lather. After washing up I usually require a good bit of moisturizing to keep my face from drying out. I applied my usual Thayer's Lavendar Witch Hazel, some aloe and tea tree oil, and Jojoba oil, but I think I could have probably skipped it all. My face it so soft and moisturized right now it's unbelievable. I just looked in the mirror and I have some spots that aren't quite as close as I would like, but that could be due to the fact that I was shaving with the bathroom lights on low this morning and I couldn't see all that well.

So, in conclusion, I highly recommend this product. I'm new to all this, but I do have a rather large selection of creams and soaps already, and these are the best initial results I've ever gotten. If you are looking for a comfortable, moisturizing shave cream, this one will fit the bill quite nicely, and for $7.99 at your local TJ Maxx, the price can't be beat. In fact, I'm going to hit the TJ Maxx by my office during lunch and buy another tub.

Josh

PS-I bought a cake of the C&E Sweet Almond Oil Hard Soap also at TJ Maxx ($3.00)...I'll shave with it soon and post a review of it.

I was suprised by the scent of this as well. I thought they were out of their minds calling it Almond, then someone put me on the right track when they said to get a raw almond and crack it open. Then split the nut in half and smell it. BINGO! Most of the almond we are thinking of is the toasted almost like an Amaretto scent. If you smell a raw almond then you will realise this is the scent they were going for. The characteristics of this cream are one of the best. It has great lather, great slickness, whips up easily. The jar is great looking as well. I rated this a 10 for price but that is because I picked it up for $7.99 at TJ Maxx. If it was the regular $25 that it was in stores I would have rated it a 7. I don't think the jar needs to be that much of the final price. The old tub worked well and kept it at $18 regular price and a good deal when on sale. This cream is one of the top ones in my rotation and actually if it were the only cream I ever used I would be happy with it. That probably explains why I have 4 new tubs of it stocked up.

In a word - "Beautiful"

I bought this stuff on the recommendations from members here, and 'Wow', I'm impressed! I've rated 9 everywhere because I haven't tried all the creams on the market, but this is my best so far. Others I have are:
Taylor of old bond street:Lemon & Lime, Lavender, Sandalwood, Rose.
Erasmic cream in a tube
Ingram Brushless
Proraso cream & soap (green stuff)
Wilkinson sword soap (black bowl)
C & E Nomad cream tube
Coate's rose

C & E 'Sweet almond oil' cream is great. From the moment you take the lid off, till 8 hours later when you still get a waft of that great smell.
Buy some today!!!!!, and if you don't like it......give it to me!!

This was the first cream I bought on the recommendation of the fine members here. I was fortunate enough to be able to get it at 1/2 off and in the glass jar. I would be willing pay full price or more for such a fine product.

When I opened it up I was just floored by the scent. It smells so good it should be a dessert topping. It looks beautiful and feels fantastic just between your fingers. Whip up a lather and put it on your face, pure heaven.

I consistently get my best shaves using this cream. It lubricates so well that I find it it be better than Proraso, the Trumper offerings, and the Truefitt & Hill offerings too. It honestly feels like I'm being spoiled and that no one has a right to feel this good shaving. Absolute magic.

Just talking about this cream makes me want to go and shave right now, it's that good. Oh, and I should include that my female coworker loves the scent it leaves behind, it's slight but she notices it. She's always shoving her face next to mine to get a whiff of it. Strange but true.

My only complaint is a slight one about the tub in that the print of the label is almost the same color as the rubberized coating they put on the tub. Difficult to read. Such a truly elegant jar deserves a better label. Particularly if you have two Crabtree & Evelyn creams and you want to choose one over the other for that day's shave.

Other than that, this is the best by far for me, but YMMV of course.

Am I the only one that is critical of this cream and not swayed by the fancy box?

Price, $29.50 cdn for the glass jar! Much better creams can be had for much much less.

The scent! Wretched! Nothing like almonds, more like lilacs. A sickly sweet scent of almost rotting lilacs. This scent polluted my brush for a couple days after the fact.

I suppose it shaved and moisturized okay, but I was more concerned with getting this stuff off of my face quickly. It was tingling my skin and getting closer to a burning feeling by the time I was done.

I've shaved with C&E Sandalwood cream and soap and it is good stuff. I can't understand the hooplah over this Sweet Almond Oil Cream. Sure it looks nice, but there are better creams to be had for less. The smell! Terrible!

If you are in Canada, Toronto area specifically, don't be pulled in by how easy it is to get this over priced cream at your local C&E. Head to Toronto Barber Supply and pick up a giant tub of JM Fraser's for under $10 instead. JM's has a fraction of the ingredients and is much better for your skin, it is not loaded with chemicals.

An excellent cream.Very lubricating and gives a very close shave. It may contain Almond Oil....but to me it smells of Lily of the Valley, and in no way resembles the Almond smells of Taylors or Saint Charles Shave. For that reason...I perhaps do not use it as often as I should....but it is definately in my rota. I bought mine in one of the old style plastic tubs. Not as asthetically pleasing to look at.......but better value for money. Of all the C&E products I have tried...IMO...this is probably the best.

Brian

I'm rating this based on the $25 glass jars, as that's what's sold now. I managed to pick up two plastic tubs during the sale for $12 each. At that price, they're a steal.

Excellent cream. Great lubricity and really takes care of a beat up face. However, as with all C&E creams, it takes a little higher cream/water ration than any others I've tried. It took me a while to figure this out and know others have had the same problem. Once figured out, it's a top performer.

The smell is very nice, but not as bold as many almonds.

I'm with Joel on this as far as the scent goes. It's a very pleasant scent, but it just doesn't smell like almond at all (to me, anyway). Maybe it's a little different than other almond shave creams because it's "sweet almond oil" .... ??? This almost seems like it has more of a floral essence to it.

At any rate, the performance and feel of the shave cream itself is outstanding. Very high quality product.

This is probably the best cream out there, it gives unbelievable shaves. It is a bit on the high side costwise but not that much more than other maker's products. I think it's worth it and I have a jar 90% full and bought another last weekend. You can never have too much of a good thing.

Wifey bought this as a gift for me after I tried a sample and liked it. At $25 it is kind of on the expensive side but this is a really nice cream. The quality is fantastic, smooth and slightly waxy to look at this stuff is soft enough to scoop out with finger or brush.

I love the fact it actually smells of real almond, rather than a fake "sweet" almond smell this scent is truly that of almonds that have been pressed to release their oils.

Once on the brush it explodes into a rich, moist lather that just oozes that lovely almond smell....yummy!

I got a good three passes of my lather filled brush, I'm still learning good lathering technique so I might be being a bit stingy with the cream. My brush is probably also not the best, that's next on my list to upgrade!

I almost didn't use balm after this shave it's that moisture intensive! My face is BBS, a really good shave this morning with this cream, zero irritation at all.

As for the packaging....well it probably accounts for $5 of the price tag. Gorgeous glass jar with some kind of clear brown rubberizing compound on it making it non slippery. It's heavy, professional looking and the cardboard packaging is gorgeous too.

All in all this is a fantastic product. I don't doubt that their other creams are as good but I wasn't sold on the scents. My advice for the Sweet Almond Oil shaving cream.........GET SOME!!!

This is my favorite almond. I even picked up a tub for my son's graduation dopp kit. For my skin, the C&E Almond leaves my face as moist as Taylor's Avocado. The price is a bit on the high side, but worth it due to the presentation of the product.

Randy

Excellent product. Great scent.

When my lovely lady presented me with this as a present for X-MAS, I was shocked...

This is not the same product I remembered from C&E. It "used" to come in a drab box, with a jar identical to the 3 T's... nothing special. Now it comes in a gorgeous box worthy of displaying, in a GLASS jar... REALLY has a great overall appearance.












The Jar the cream comes in is simply gorgeous... well as far as shaving cream jars go










Now the serious business.... with all the fancy packaging and impressive jar, can the cream itself hold it's own?



A long answer made short.... yes. Not only is this shaving cream AS good as ANY of the 3T's.... it might be just a nudge superior, as it tends to leave your skin softer and provides a bit mroe protection than the "traditional" english shaving creams. My only gripe - which is not so much a "gripe" is the scent. It is not an "almond" scent - it is more of a cologne/perfume/natural scent of some kind, but it certainly is not almond. With that said - it is not so much a "gripe" because I happen to REALLY enjoy this scent. As far as scents go, everyone is different, but if you bury your nose in this cream, it is not going to give you the response you'd normally associate with almond.

Rating Scale – Each Quality from 0-2 (2 being best)

Price – 1
Quality – 2
Scent – 2
Efficacy – 2
Moisturizing properties – 2

Total – 9 out of 10