Hmm, british creams appear to be verry popular. I wonder if anyone on the US side of the pond knows anything about formulating adequate creams?
Honestly the TSD stuff is great. Try them out. JoAnna has a quality product. My TOBS stuff is mostly PIF or traded for. I would not spend the extra plate to get it.
For North American creams AOS is pretty damm good, I think it compares with the 3T's as far as quality as it should for it is about the same price from our northerly friends in Canada JM Frasers shave cream is pretty good and considering how cheap it is with the large tub it is that much better Classic Shaving has a store brand which is very good too, it is a little pricey but compareable to the better creams as the ingredients are all the better stuff, there soaps unfortunately are just ok TGR and eshave are made in US too both seem to get great reviews but I haven't tried either of those yet. my favorites rotate from time to time Penhaligons BB would me by top pick, followed by TOBS Mr Taylor and then AOS Sandalwood,
I believe Kiss My Face (KMF) is made in North America. It's pretty good. AOS is an American company, but I'm pretty sure their creams/soaps are made elsewhere (If I'm wrong, please tell me). IMO, their creams aren't as good as their soaps. KOS and Neutrogena creams are brushless, if i remember correctly..
The best North American cream is JM Fraser's. That is some good stuff. My favorite cream seems to be whatever I happen to be shaving with I like Taylor's, Truefitt, JM Fraser's, and CO Bigelow. I think Taylor's Almond is the best of their offering I've tried. Truefitt & Hill 1805 is my favorite scent and could be my favorite cream. JM Fraser's Polar Ice is a nice classic scent that delivers the best bang for your buck. It shaves just as good, if not better than most of the English creams. It would probably be my favorite if I didn't like T&H 1805 so much.
Right in good ol' West Virginia is The Gentlemen's Quarter. Colleen's creams are fantastic and reasonably priced. Many scents to choose from, of which my two favorites are lavender and leatherneck.
My folks have a second home in West Virginia and I often go around the country side out there so stoping in is an option the next time I am out there. For now I would like to sample some of the stuff I can get from local stores which are - King of Shaves, Neutrogena, Cream O Cream and Burts Bees.
I would suggest just going out and buying them. They arent that expensive compared to the 3T's. That way you know what they are all about
The best cream/ soap/ whatever= the one you keep going back to, day after day. For me, that's the C&E Sweet Almond cream. It's awesome. Also happens to be discontinued. And it was way overpriced when still in production. TSD creams are a good standby. I really, really like the quality of the unscented cream I bought a few months back. A little bit of the suff goes a really long way. And you can't beat the customer service or the fact that you're supporting a small independent business. I found a local store that carries the Kiss My Face shaving cream, so that's next on my "to try" list. I also want to try the JM Fraser's, but that's not locally obtainable...
Next question: Is barbasol considered to be a cream or one of the caned goop? I have used Barbasol in the past.
