Proraso and Omega; both widely available and decently priced. The BodyShop; widely available and decently priced. J M Fraser's; decently priced and available on line. KissMyFace; widely available and decently priced. Nivea; widely available and decently priced. KMF comes in a wide variety of scents and also makes an unscented cream. It's the thinnest cream I use and I find I have the best luck skipping the bowl and applying it directly to the damp brush. Moist, not as cushiony as the others listed, but effective and pleasant to use. J M Fraser's is a thick paste that comes in a tub, and in a wide variety of scents. The citrus one smells alot like Pledge furniture polish, but I'm told some orf the other scents are a little more subtle. The citrus one is the one I like, though - a good strong clean smell. This one is for bowl lathering. It makes a dense cushiony lather. THe BodyShop cream comes in a tube or tub and behaves alot like Fraser's. It has a strong tropical fruit scent. Not a favourite of mine, but a good solid cream. Proraso/Omega come in tubes and work best in the bowl. They both have a strong eucalyptus scent to which Proraso adds menthol. They are made by the same manufacturer and behave in much the same way. Both make a lather as good as, or better than, Fraser's. Nivea is about on a par with KMF - it makes a nice lather, and you can find it at most Walmarts. goshawk
Godrej Shaving Cream- $4 , from the vendor Shaveabuck. Speick Shaving Cream-$6 on average, from most vendors.
I will probably name the cream that will beat any other with his price, but you won't probably find it anywhere, maybe on eBay from some seller in Russia: Comme Il Faut. This is Russian-made classic shaving cream with menthol and ceratine. Despite it has menthol in it, it's still very mild. Costs around... 10-15 rubles. Which is at most... half a dollar! The lather is decent.
I like the KMF creams. I can pickup the unscented KMF at my local Kroger grocery store. $8 for 11 ounces, and it explodes in my lather bowl on a badger brush. The KMFs are also wonderful for superlathering with shave soaps. I have the CO Bigelow cream available at Bath and Bodyworks. It has a nice menthol kick if you are into that. Watch for sales and you can get 3 tubes for $10.
I always wanted to try that cream. I have another Russian-made cream called Tet-a-Tet, which is wonderful. Have you ever tried that one?
The ARKO line works well for me, just about every online vendor carries it, and you can buy it in bulk for real cheap. I also like Rilanja cream. I can't find a U.S. vendor that sells it though. It's a European drugstore brand. Quite nice- I really like the scent.
The Arko Shave Sticks are great and dirt cheap. Arko cream is very nicely priced as well. http://shaveabuck.com/cart/shaving-cream-and-soap-c-36.html?alpha_filter_id=0&filter_id=1&sort=20a
Yeah I've tried Wars. I love the scent of it! Great stuff! Moisturizing and provides a great lather for me as well! I have Lider Classic and Active as well. They are all great for the price and smell great! Arko is surprisingly great stuff as well. Don't let the price fool you.
I just tried Kiss My Face recently and I couldn't believe how quickly it lathered. It also has given me the best shave yet. It wasn't too much for a large pump type bottle either - something like $8 or so...
Poraso is a very nice quality creme for the cost, if you dont' mind the "hint of vicks" so to speak. I consider it on par with TOBS, even, but the menthol isn't for every one (I actually detested it the first time I used it, infact). I agree with several other posters that Arko is a very solid contender for a cheap creme also. Also, not that it's a creme, but VDH soap is another readily available and inexpensive option that's pretty decent.
Yes. Nice, nice cream. So is the other Polish-made cream from the same company, which is called Pollena Lider.
J.M. Fraser's, Musgo Real, Palmolive Classic, Proraso, Kiss My Face, Godrej, and Speick are all fine creams for about $10 or less. J.M. Fraser's Original is about $12, but it comes in a huge 450 ml tub which is the best value of any cream I have seen. The other J.M. Fraser's scents are a little cheaper, but are half the size. Still a good value though.
I like all the creams from the Real Shaving Company. Cost is 5.99$ for 150ml. They lather extremely well. It's an above average product IMO. Andy
