Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood shave stick

The Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood is an interesting stick. Where the container seems pretty sophisticated, it broke on me when I was trying to extract the stick for a picture. It seems that the container only detached itself and had to be pushed back in. See here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/310894-Shave-Sticks-Review-Project?p=7312415#post7312415

The stick itself is very oily and fatty. You can feel it on your fingers when you touch this soap. It's also a medium-soft soap where it's not the softest that I had but it's below average in terms of softness.

I compared the stick to the shave cream (TOBS stick vs TOBS cream). All TOBS creams performed the same way (they did great). The stick is probably a notch below the cream. While the Shave stick is still a good product, I get better lather with less efforts from the shave cream.

The scent, sandalwood, is not very woodsy. I find it to have a soapy, clean type of scent but you could sell me this by saying a soapy scent and I wouldn't notice the sandalwood. So, if your primary objective is to obtain a sandalwood soap, I do not think that this one is a good representation. The sandalwood soaps that I had in the past (and AS) where very woodsy so this one was a big surprise when I used it.

I now need to consider the price vs product. Like D.R. Harris, the TOBS Stick is expensive for what you get. It's a fast melter, they don't sell recharges for the container (unlike Tabac).

I also compared the soap with other sticks to know where this stand. I believe that D.R. Harris and TOBS are very similar in terms of performance, consistency and price. That's why TOBS is rolling around there.

I wanted to try a sandalwood scent, and needing a travel soap tried this TOBS product.

The quality of the soap is very good, and the scent is very pleasant.

It is easy to apply, just wet your face and rub on. The amazing thing is how much it lathers, and very quickly and easily. Giving you a nice rich lather.

It results in a slick rich lather that offers a more enjoyable shaving experience.

I bought this primarly as a travel soap as I don't use creams that often anymore and it does the job perfect. I also face lather all the time now so this works great for soap sticks. Just a quick rub against the grain, apply damp brush and 30 seconds later, tons of lather. The scent is exactly the same as the Taylors Sandalwood cream which I also like. I'm not sure if this is the same soap as the one in the bowl though. While I have tried most of the Taylors creams, this is my first Taylor soap and I will be certainly trying the other ones.

I bought this as my travel shave soap, and must say I was pleasantly surprised. For travel I use a Truefitt & Hill or C&E Badger travel brush and face lather. I've found that for face lathering this soap works great, wet face run the soap under hot water for about 30 seconds and wipe it around your face, take the moist brush and start swirling around your face. Add a little water a time or two and great smelling lather rather quickly.

I was concerned with face lathering that it would possibly burn or leave a residue that would burn later if not thoroughly rinsed off, but no such issue. Washed off easily, matter of fact it made enough lather to do 3 passes and a little touch up to boot.

Once bit of advisement with face lathering. I've long used either Proraso or Truefitt & Hill preshave, but for face lathering those products really mess it up and make it had to generate a good lather. Wet face alone worked great, my face felt moisturized, not dry at all, so a big 2 thumbs up for this classy good smelling soap. I'll definitely buy another when this one needs replacing.

Got this have stick along with the aftershave, I don't know why it took me so long to get round to reviewing it. I don't know if it's the same soap as in the bowl, so I've started a new review for it.

The price is alright, the cheaper end of what you'd epect for a "posh" product. The quality of the soap is good too- although it behaves rather differently to most. It is quite soft and "slimy" when wet, and this coupled with the hugeness of the stick means that you get a lot on your face very quickly. This is all good because it helps you get a nice rich lather. It took me a few tries to get it just right, I wasn't sure if I liked it at first. The lather it forms is very wet despite the amount of soap in it, and has excellent lubricating properties. It is also very dense, with no large "frothy" bubbles. It does not dry out on your face, nor does it dry the skin- I find it quite moisturising. I don't think it will break any records for how long it lasts, as you sue so much each time, but you get a generous amount of it in the stick.

The scent is a perfect match for the aftershave, sweet, a hint floral, with oakmoss and just a hint of Sandalwood. It is quite generously scented- a lovely smell to have under your nose first thing in the morning, as it is not overpowering, but strong enough that you can smell it throughout the shave.

The plastic tube makes it a great idea for a travel bag, although it is quite a chunky stick compared to others such as the Boots stick.

Good soap, I'd recommend it strongly to anyone who likes the aftershave.