Paul Molé EVERSHARP Shaving Cream

I was sent the full plastic jar-very kind of them. Today I used it with a previously owned Simpson Tulip 4 shave brush. I used a speader to put some cream in the bottom of a shave mug that I had put about 1/4 tsp of water at the bottom. It was difficult to make a lather, it was more loose and slather than lather.
When I pumped the brush soapy water exuded instead of lather. It's a difficult water/cream ratio to produce a suffiicient lather. I dipped my brush in jar since the mug was futile. Got a thin slick lather shaving with a Schick Quattro. FInally did produce a thin greasy lather. It was a bit difficult ot wash off since I sport a beard. The whole shave took 22 minutes. Nice scent, very slick, but makes a poor lather. After I showered I put on some Shiseido Basala emulsion on my face accompanied with John Varvatos VIntage edt. But thank you for the generous size jar. Bladerunner

After two shaves with this product early on, I let it sit while I used other products. It is just such a different type of cream, that I felt I needed to really concentrate on learning to use it.

So, this week I have decided to use it for everyday/weekday shaves. I'll post a full review after the entire week, but I did want to make a few comments.

1. The product IS slick, as mentioned. I'm not sure it's quite as slick as Cremo, but Cremo is the only product I have tried that is similar. I.e., both are non-lathering and provide slickness rather than cushioning.
2. The scent is strong on coconut, which is not surprising given the ingredients. Some people hate coconut scent, fortunately it doesn't bother me even though it's not my favourite.
3. I am finding it hard to get the right amount on my face. If my face is very wet, the cream runs. I'm going to try applying it when my face is just damp.
4. I do get close shaves. This morning with a Feather (2nd shave) in a 40s SS, I got a very good shave with only 3 passes and not taking nearly as long as my standard "luxury" shave.
5. My biggest problem, I think is ... IT'S NOT WARM LATHER! The combination of it being "cold" plus oily is just weird. Of course, canned goo is cold too, so maybe it reminds me of my old, sinful ways.

First off, this shaving cream is...different. I opened the container and was a bit surprised that the product was very "loosey goosey," in that I could pour it out if I chose to. I'm not sure if that is intentional, but then, a look at the label indicates that the first two ingredients are water and mineral oil.

I spent many fruitless minutes trying to whip it into a lather using my Merkur Silvertip and my shaving bowl, to no avail. After giving up on that, I just applied it directly to my face from the tub. It went on very thin, almost like runny whiteface stage make-up.

I used a fresh Feather in my SS and did a single WTG pass. I rinsed with hot water, reapplied, and then did a second WTG pass (but using the "slide" on my cheeks). Given that the stuff is mostly oil, it made for a very slick shave.

The oil in this product is apparently meant to stick with you post-shave. I rinsed, then rinsed with Thayer's, but the oil remained. I applied a wet alum block, and still the oil remained. I gave up and just rubbed in some Nancy Boy Replenishing Balm.

I'm really not sure if I was using the stuff correctly, or if my experience is intended to be typical. I will say that I didn't care for the post-shave oiliness of the product, or the fact that I couldn't whip it into a proper lather. Barring some clearer direction, I won't be using it again. It might be perfect for my wife to use when shaving her legs, but I can't cope with the post-shave feel of this product.

I'd like to thank the folks at Paul Molé for giving me the opportunity to try their product. I don't mean to denigrate it in any way--my shave seemed fine--it just isn't my cup of tea.

I received this product direct from the folks at Paul Molé to test. Because of that, I have no idea what the price of this product may be. I didn't realize it was brushless when I volunteered to participate in the trial and I've never really cared about brushless products. My brushless experience is limited.

The cream comes in a simple white tub (a bit more elaborate than, say, Fraser's) containing 13.3 oz or ~ 400mL of slightly blue/green tinted goop. It is fairly liquid, bordering on runny and the scent is a VERY strong coconut/piña colada. In fact, I can even smell it when the jar is closed.

Ingredients: Water, mineral oil, stearic acid, cocamidopropyl betaine, glycerin, aloe barbardensis leaf extract, vanilla planifolia fruit extract, cocao seed butter, shea butter, tocopheryl acetate, fragrance, hydrogenated soybean oil, cetyl alcohol, PEG-3 distearate, sodium laureth sulfate, propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, blue #1, yellow #5

Now I want to comment on the ingredients a bit. First, I used common names where I could even though the actual list on the tub has chemical as well as common names for some items. Second, mineral oil?! Wow. I'm surprised and bit concerned. Third, why would a brushless cream need SLS. That's a detergent normally used to make things lather better. Anyway, on with it.

This stuff is really slick. Slick to the point of being greasy. It's got a ton of mineral oil in it and it shows. Rubbing it between my fingers leaves a very slick sheen. I had intended to try it with a brush as well but not anymore. This will never touch one of my brushes.

I used the pre-shave oil they sent me for the first shave and not for the others. The shaves went great except for a few things.

Bad News:
1. I hate this scent. You may love but I do not. It smells like the suntan oils from my youth that had SPF 2 and came in a translucent brown bottle.
2. My razor kept clogging. Serious clogging. I spent way too much time clearing the razor and the whisker/cream suspension that came out of the razor floated around in my sink in chunks that really didn't dissolve all that much.
3. I washed my hands after applying the ceream to my face but they still feel really greasy/oily. It was so slick that I had a hard time stretching the skin to make a few problem areas easier. My razor handle became very slick as well. This could be a problem if you have a smooth handled razor.
4. The greasy feeling lingers well after the shave.
5. My postshave was ineffectual at cutting the greasy feeling. After my first shave I washed my face with a bar of Ivory just to feel clean again.

Good... no Great News:
1. This stuff is super slick! I barely felt the blade at all and had a very hard time not applying too much pressure. This must be why they used all that mineral oil.
2. I was able to do my usual three passes with ease and could have kept going if I'd wanted or needed to. I didn't need to.
3. For my second shave I did absolutely zero prep. I just splashed my face once and set about shaving. It did pretty well and I had very little irritation.
4. The greasy feeling lingers but eventually feels smooth and silky if you can stand to wait long enough.
5. You don't need much in the way of postshave. I usually use an ASB but I just used a touch of a alcohol-based splash and was fine.


Comments on ratings
Price: Free. I have no clue where this should be priced.
Quality: I think they succeeded in making the product they intended even though I think a mineral oil base was a poor choice. It seems well made for what it is.
Scent: Blech! I gave it a 1 because it is possible that someone could like this scent. If it smelled like feet or armpits... that would be a zero.
Latherability: I love my brushes too much to subject them to this. It didn't lather in my hands or during application at all.
Efficacy: Great shaves every time. This product would be amazing if it weren't for the scent and all that greasiness.
Moisturizing Properties: This got a 5 because I really can't tell if it moisturizes or not. My wife said my face felt very moisturized but I only felt oily.
Packaging: The packaging is adequate. Nothing special. This is fine with me, preferred even. I just wish the scent didn't leak out of the jar so much. I've taken it out of my cabinet because every time I open the door this is all I smell.

I really appreciate the folks at Paul Molé giving me the chance to try this for free. I hope they find their audience because this could very well be someone's dream product. Unfortunately, it isn't for me.




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