The Gentleman's Refinery Black Ice

I was drawn to this cream by its distinctive scent; black licorice. I had read several positive reviews of this cream, so I decided to try it. This product deserves all of the praises it receives.

The scent is heavenly. It's black licorice, but it's not overly sweet or overly bitter. The scent strength is right in middle. Not too strong or too weak. It will stick around after your shave is complete, but it won't interfere with scented aftershaves or balms. I pair this with TSD Iced Absinthe, and it matches wonderfully. The TSD balm is on the sweeter side, but it compliments Black Ice nicely.

The performance of this cream is top notch. This cream is on the same level as AoS, D.R. Harris, and Truefitt & Hill. It's slick, protective, creamy, and is very forgiving. I face lather, and all it takes is two swirls in the tub for enough lather for a three pass shave.

It's slick without being greasy. It's creamy, but doesn't turn soupy after a few days of use. It's difficult to mess up the water/cream ratio because it's very forgiving. When using it for the first time, however, I would err on the side of less water and then add a little more as needed.

The packaging is very tasteful. The tub is transparent with a white lid and black label. It's easy to load from because the mouth is nice and wide. I had no trouble loading my Chubby 3.

Overall, it's a wonderful product and, to me, it's worth every penny I paid.

Just tried a sample of this and I liked it a lot. A nice lather, but more importantly on the first pass, the razor slid through it nicer than most of the creams I've tried.

The scent is the scent. Black licorice for sure. I kind of liked it but it's very secondary to quality of the shave I got.

The Genetlemen's Refinery strikes me as one of the many "here today, gone tomorrow" mens products companies, so I hope they stay around.

I agree with Nikoxy, it's premium priced but it's quality is on a level with the best of the creams out there.

Great anise scent: you cannot find elsewhere.
Excellent and easy lathering. It doesn't dry out.
The lather I get is rich and creamy, just like "creme fraiche"! Very lubricating too.
Great organic formula: No chemicals, petroleum subproducts and parabens, just essential oils and natural soap.
The high price reflects the high price for organic, natural ingredients.

A premium product in every aspect, comparing to other British shaving creams.
In my experience I find it superior (or at least equal) to Taylor's Avocado, AOS Lavender, D R Harris Lavender, Trumper Rose, C. Salter Citrus, Taylor's Almond.

I'm not too impressed with this either. It seems to dry my skin moreso than usual. I don't get an ice affect at all. The standard cream is much better.

I'm surprised at these reviews. I was pretty impressed with this stuff. I can't say I care for the smell. Don't get me wrong I like licorice. I like the smell of licorice. I don't, however, want to be overwhelmed with a licorice smell while I shave.

As for the shave, it was top-notch. Lathered VERY easily, very moisturizing, good lubrication, etc. It's just so darn expensive. If I'm going to spend this much, I might as well get some T&H 1805, which has a GREAT scent.

This cream is suppose to be one of the best creams out there but it is horrible!!!!! It takes tons of water to make it lather and t dries up very fast, I cannot empahsize that enough. It's one of the most expensive creams out there and not worth buying IMO.

I resonate with most of the above. While on the pricey side, the cream tends to lather well for me. I, on the contrary, believe it provides a nice barrier for shaving, and find that the more water I use, the better shave. As you know, scent is a personal thing, and this cream is no different. The scent is immediately noticeable: black licorice. While not repelling, it's not the greatest scent. Because of the price, I'd go elsewhere and find a cream that performs just as good, for about half the price. Overall, on a 1 to 10 scale, I give this cream a 5.

This is a company that doesn't get much exposure here so I thought I'd put in my 2 cents.

First I must say that their customer service is Top Notch! When I called to get more info on their products, much time was afforded to me by an extremely knowledgeable staff member, who was courteous to a fault.

That said without even asking I was offered a complete kit of their full line of products at no charge! This review will be confined just to the black ice cream.

I found it to be luxurious and quick to lather with an intriguing aroma not to be found elsewhere in competitor lines. At $28 for a tub it is priced as a premium product. The ingredients as listed would explain for the high pricing, as great care and thought went into the formula. Having said all that, now comes the hammer.

IMO The resultant shave was average at best. The cream seemed to dry to quickly. While shaving I always felt as though there was not enough of a barrier to protect me from my blade. Consequently I did not get a very close shave. By the time my 3rd pass came my skin was pretty hot and I was nervous about slicing myself so I backed off and went no further. Mind you the product was nice in the bowl and pleasing to the senses, but just didn't get the job done to my standards.

It did however leave my face moist without any tightening, but overall still hot enough that I did not want to use any aftershave (Possible spontaneous combustion).

Bottom line is that there are many choices out there that offer better value and effectiveness. So unless you can't live without the fancy Licorice scent you may want to look elsewhere. But then again for a free trial you might find that it works better for you than me. As always YMMV. More to come.