I don't care for lavender, but I really like Truefitt & Hill, so I decided to give the T&H Lavender sample a try. I think that it's pretty cool that T&H have a sample set of all of their creams. It gives you a chance to try out all of the scents before plunking down $30+ for a jar of cream that you may end up disliking. There are a lot of places that sell samples of soaps and creams, but there aren't a lot of nonartisan companies that put there entire range into a sample set, I think that speaks pretty highly of T&H.
Along with the lavender cream I am using my newly reknotted mixed loft brush. I've managed to remove most of the shedder hairs and destinkify the knot in just a couple of days, but the breaking in will likely take a while. In the mean time I have to say that I am really impressed with this brush so far. The handle is plastic, but it still has an elegant feel, the knot was purchased off of eBay from China (but not from Ace, Frank, or Liojuny). It's a mixed loft badger/boar (the description actually called it a badger/bear hair knot, but I'm pretty sure that was a typo) 20mm diameter knot with a 64mm loft that cost me a total of $8.44 ($4.94 for the knot, and $3.50 for shipping). This mixed loft plastic handled frankenbrush of unknown origin is quickly becoming my favorite.
To finish off I am back with my Gem 1912 and a carbon steel blade. I'm getting the hang of this beast and will soon be moving on to the Clog Pruf to further hone my SE razor skills.
I did a typical three pass wtg/atg/xtg shave followed by a cold water rinse and some SAL Alum. The results were a BBS shave with zero nicks and mild irritation along my jaw line on the right side. The T&H lavender wasn't as slick or as easy to lather as the Ultimate Comfort and I dislike the scent, but it did a good job and left my skin feeling untouched. Like the UC, this stuff leaves absolutely no residue and while it does not dry out my skin it also does not moisturize it much either. The Gem did a fine job and is absolutely worth the effort, it's an uncomplicated efficient razor. This was a pretty good shave that mostly just reenforced how I already feel about lavender, T&H, and the Gem 1912.
Pre: Hot shower and warm water splash
Razor: Gem 1912
Blade: Gem carbon steel
Brush: Mixed loft badger/boar
Soap: Truefitt & Hill Lavender cream
Post: Cold water rinse and SAL Alum