Stop right there, don't buy that! or Shave goods best avoided...

I'll add another crappy cream to the pile:

Pre de Provence Shave Cream. it *looks* like it'd be great... and its certainly not cheap. for some reason this is the most gifted shave cream ever, or so it seems... I think I've gotten it 4 times. for the life of me i can't this to lather worth squat. seen similar reports around these parts.

I also have a tube of the Cade shave cream sitting around, also incredibly NOT CHEAP, and haven't had much luck with that either. are all the L'Occiatane shave creams bad or just this one?

 

its weird how, looking at it and smelling it before you try to make lather with it, it seems an awful lot like some of my other 'expensive' creams. i'll take my trumper creams any day over either pre de provence or l'occitane though. its also weird how depressing my ratio of bad-expensive creams is to the good ones i own, at least when i look in my medicine cabinet. alas.

 

Thanks for this thread. I was planning to buy some Herban Cowboy shave cream today. Now I know not to waste my money.

 

Alba Shave Creams...

Although in the interest of full discloser I only use straight razors, so this was a no go for me... I tried two different ones too, can you say DUH !!!!

It could be alright for a DE user BTW if they are good for DE shaving, you can have the two that I bought...

Smelled good though

 

I've used the Alba mango vanilla with a Gillette Fusion and it works ok but I haven't been real happy with. It sure does smell purty.

 

Anything made in China.

 

Parker 82R. The so-called new head Parkers. Blade loaded crooked on mine and could not be straightened to even the exposure across the bar.

 

Wilkinson shave soap

Wilkinson shave soap, Blue BOWL
I gave it, 3 tries but I have to conclude that the problem is not the water, the brush or my technique . The problem is that it's a low quality product. I just don't like when my face looks like ground meat.

AVOID IT AT ALL COST

 

+1

I demoted mine to the tool box, where I use it to lubricate stiff woodscrews. I found it entirely useless for anything shaving-related, including defunking new brushes.

Add to that Parker 90R TTO - the silo doors are prone to pinging off if you slightly overtighten, 7am (not Gillette 7 o'clock) blades - wildly variable in performance within the same 5 pack.

 

New formula non-tallow Erasmic Shave Stick. It is totally totally worthless, and can't be made to generate anything close to a usable lather. I think I ran across just one person who liked it, everyone else agrees it is a disaster of a product.

It's so bad, that Bullgoose Shaving was clearance it out at some $.75 cents a stick back around Christmas just to get rid of it.

 

Cella
Cremo Cream
Lilac Vegetal

 

I think you'll find general disagreement on Cella, which is commonly liked. I found it decent but nothing special.

No comment on Cremo, I've never tried it.

LV is a strange one. It's very sensitive to body chemistry and goes from bad in the bottle to worse on most. But, it you're one of the few whose body chemistry agrees with it - then it's not bad and some people really like it.

 

Mostly agree on the Erasmic new formulation shave stick. I've found that I can actually generate a decent, usable lather, but it takes a lot of work, more water that usual, and there isn't enough left on the brush for a second pass. I have to rub the stick on my face again. Just decent enough to use at intervals until it's finally gone. I don't like throwing stuff away, but don't buy it if you haven't got it.

"Equaline" brand DE blades. It's probably just one label put on some generic brand that's sold in grocery stores. If it's the only DE brand you can find in some traveling emergency, buy the Bic disposables instead.

Oh, Cremo actually works quite well for me. Although it's a brushless cream, it can actually be used with a brush. You get this slick, thin coating instead of the lather you may be used to, but it works.

 

I have some Burts Bees after shave that is crap...

 

Good to know AP. I had it in my greedy little hand at CVS the other day, and something inside of me said "put it back and walk away slowly". I can vouch for the Burts Bees Bay Rum Cologne, however. Great smell and lasts a very long time. AFAIK, the only place to get it is online.

 

great thread for noobs like me.

 

Shall I let loose a teaser - No one has any opinion about Williams Mug Soap ?:happy102

BTW I love Williams.

Since this is about products which don't work, to me it is Super Max Stainless, Zorrik and Topaz blades from India.

 

As a newbie, I can tell you that information like this is invaluable. When deciding where to toss $100s, it's good to know you won't be buying junk. Thanks for everyone's posts, you've definitely saved me a good bit of bad experiences from what I've read here.