Simpsons Vanilla & Rose Luxury Shaving Cream

jpb1974

OK, so I received a tub of this cream as part of a product trial giveaway on another forum.

It arrived yesterday and I spent a while playing around with it, mainly smelling it and comparing it to it's closest rival in my stash, Trumpers Rose, and a little test lathering.

I'm going to reference the Trumpers Rose from time to time simply because, for me, it is it's closest rival (that I own).

I shaved with it for the first time this morning.

Here are my views -

Packing
Simple, no fuss metal tin. The diameter is mainly irrelevant because you simply have to dab you brush tips in the cream.

Consistency
It's a very soft cream. Trumpers in comparison would be significantly firmer. If anyone has the Vulfix Sicilian Limes, then the consistency of the Simpsons cream might just be a fraction firmer than this.

Scent
The scent is described as 'Vanilla & Rose' but it's effectively 'Rose'. When compared to the Trumpers it is ever so slightly sweeter so I'm guessing that's where the vanilla is kicking in. Rose seems to be a strong, powerful, lasting scent... certainly not one that goes missing on you before, during or after the shave.

As I messed around yesterday I found that scent of the Simpsons to be more pleasant than the Trumpers. Taking a little bit of each cream and rubbing it on my arm, the Trumpers scent disappeared whilst the Simpsons remained and was quite pleasant. The sweetness of the Vanilla came through a little more.

Ingredients
I've included a photo of the bottom end of the tin so those who are interested in ingredients can take a look. For the most part, ingredients don't mean that much to me, the only thing I will say is that there appear to be quite a few more than the Trumpers Rose.

The Shave
Using my Duke 2, I lightly dabbed the brush tips in the cream. At first glance it appeared there might be too little cream (and third pass in there was), but I decided to go conservatively on it based on the other reviews. I then began face lathering and it lathered up like a champ. Very easy to lather, no fuss at all.

The shave itself was really good (ATT Kronos with a Gillette Rubie blade #2). Smooth, protected, cushion, glide... and all the other things you want in a good performing lather. It was very noticeable that the cream performed very well. The scent was rich and pleasant all the way through the shave.

The lather did begin to thin out on the third pass, but admittedly I had been very conservative when initially applying to the brush. One light dab in the cream and it lathered up like a champ once again.

Post Shave
The scent was still strong on my skin. Skin felt very smooth but a little dry and subsequently tight for my liking. I had to reach for some ASB just to alleviate the minor discomfort. The ASB basically killed off the Rose scent, not the end of the world as most people don't rely on their soap and cream for scent after the shave.

Wrap Up
The cream will go a long way. A small amount produces a lot of lather. The scent is rich and pleasant. The shave was smooth and hassle free. The post shave was ok.

Would I rush out and buy the other scents - honestly, I'm just not sure. As a soap man, there's so much happening on the artisan front that's new, exciting and different. The Simpsons, whilst pretty decent, isn't super exciting. It's going head to head with creams from Trumpers, T&H, DR Harris etc, that are all pretty similar. I think the range of scents are probably a bit on the safe and predictable side and the cream is pretty solid but doesn't have the wow factor that maybe the post shave could have given it or something a little different or extravagant on the scent side might have achieved.

All I'm going to say about the cost is the obvious - the cream is reasonably priced but the shipping is too high (when purchased via Simpsons website).

Thanks Mark/Vulfix for the opportunity to try the cream. I'll keep testing it during the week and post any additional thoughts.