Saturday 16 March 2013

Simpsons Luxury Shaving Cream



If you are a traditional wet shaver then you will have found it hard to avoid the name Simpsons. Most, if not all, of us have either owned or tried one of their world famous shaving brushes. They have now branched into the world of shaving creams but does their cream live up to the name they have created with their brushes?

How does it look? At first sight the tin looks professional if not a little plain. The red lettering hits you right between the eyes but you might be forgiven for not immediately associating it with the Simpsons shaving brushes brand due to the font and “funky” use of different sizing not seen on their brushes. The tin itself is small and light with a screw top which makes it great for traveling with.

So down to why you are really reading this post. The scent? Simpsons describe the cream’s scent as “The cream is scented only with pure essential oils & herb extracts and no added fragrance”; I’m not sure what essential oils or herb extracts they have used. I would describe the scent as none descript, not unpleasant but not really present. When I first opened the tin I first thought it smelt very clean with a very mild background sent that I could not and still cannot place. When I put this cream through “the other half test” my wife too was unable to place the scent but thought it was quite pleasant.

How did it lather up? Over the time I have been using the cream I have lathered both by face method and bowl method:
Face method – using my NF Tubby 2 pre soaked in hot water I dipped the tips in the cream and whipped up the cream. I was very happy with the ease and speed that the cream lathered up to a thick and smooth lather.
Bowl method – again using my NF Tubby 2 and an almond sized scoop of the cream I achieved a similar result.

The lather itself was exactly what it says on the tin, luxury, lathered up quick and easy to a thick, creamy, and stable lather. There were no big bubbles and it held the warmth from the water very well. After each pass there was the expected slickness left on my face and it hydrated my skin quite well.

The shave was very smooth and well cushioned. The cream reduced friction on every pass and even on one day when I had a three day growth to my beard and I was using a 4 shave old blade there was very little irritation.

Simpsons on their website make a bold statement: "We guarantee that this luxury cream will enhance your whole wet shaving experience, leaving you revitalised and your skin feeling fresh and super smooth" I'm not going to make much comment on this as it will be up to you to decide if the cream lives up to this statement but overall I really enjoyed this cream and the shaves I’ve had with it. The thing that lets it down a little is the scent (or lack of it). It is a little on the pricy side with an average £12.99 for a 125ml pot but not as expensive as some creams from the established cream producers. Would I use it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes to both beginners and experts alike.

Scent
Lather
Hydration
Overall
3/5
5/5
4/5
12/15

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