Re: Palmolive tube
We are discussing the cream rather than the stick here, aren't we?
Used this for the first time today - I'll update this review once I use it again.
Price: £1.45 from Tesco, which compares favourably to the two other creams I use (Real Shave Co. Professional Moisturising and TOBS sandalwood).
Scent: Very pleasant, fresh, clean, soapy scent. Quite noticeable cucumber note with some spearmint and a hint of citrus.
Latherability: I lathered a large almond-sized squirt in my Woodhead lather bowl with a Kent BK2 pure badger brush. We have very hard water here. I found it took more work to generate the volume and quality of lather than the TOBS, but much the same as the Real Shave Co. cream. It didn't "explode" but the lather built steadily, though it did take a fair bit of water to attain my preferred consistency, which is large, softish peaks that wobble when shaken. The lather was very glossy in appearance.
In use: With around 48 hours' growth, the lather went on very easily, and felt very slick. The first pass confirmed a slick feeling; however, if I went back over an area that had already been shaved, there seemed to be no slick residue left, which I normally take advantage of with the two creams I normally use. I also felt it lacked cushioning. However, the real disappointment came with passes 2 and 3. Although the lather looked the same in the bowl, it seemed to lose some body and all lubrication - I could feel the blade almost as though I was shaving with just a wet face, and there was a fair bit of scraping and roughness as I shaved. It felt sticky in a strange sense; not tacky but the razor was sticking to my face quite badly and juddering as I stroked it around. After rinsing, my skin felt dry and rather sticky.
After the shave: I employed my standard post-shave routine of witch hazel followed by Nivea Sensitive balm. I had stinging on application of the witch hazel, which is unusual, and, though the balm didn't sting, it didn't want to sink in, as though the lather had left a dry residue on my face. The shave was pretty poor; I couldn't honestly rate it any higher than a SAS, whereas normally I achieve a DFS.
Conclusions: I don't think I gave this cream a fair chance. I was intending to merely practice lathering with it, prior to shaving tomorrow morning. I therefore skipped my usual wash with Musgo Real lime oil soap, and perhaps didn't soak my whiskers with the hot flannel for as long as normal. I also suspect that, in order to get the "Mr Whippy" consistency that works best for the Real Shave Co. cream, I added too much water for this less heavily-concentrated product to absorb, which I suspect caused it to lose body. All things considered, however, I was concerned by the way the slickness of the lather seemed to "drop off a cliff" between first and second passes. I'll give this another go with my Gillette Slim either tomorrow or Sunday with my full prep. routine and see how that works - I'll also reduce the amount of water I add to the lather.
