Taylor of Old Bond Street Eton College Shaving Cream Jar, 5.3-Ounce Eton College Collection 1009

This soap is everything I would want in a shaving soap. Nice and creamy, lathers up to an incredible lubricating lather using a very tiny amount, and smelling great. I’m surprised how little I need on the shaving brush to get a thick slippery lather, so a little goes a long way!This shave soap makes the razor glide smooth and cut effectively. I use a safety razor and the combination of shaving soap and razor gives me the best shave, with no nicks, cuts, or irritation.

I’ve been wet shaving all my life. Though I just called it “shaving”, and didn’t know there was any other way. Started as most do: Barbasol and a Mach 3. And I hated shaving. I’d go with a week of growth frequently. Shaving was something to be done as quickly as possible, a necessity of the male persuasion unworthy of thought. Then I discovered double-edge razors and have never looked back. A review of the scents from left to right follows:* Sandalwood: My first. Your first. When you hear about or are recommended TOBS, Sandalwood is almost always mentioned. As it’s name implies, it possesses a strong sandalwood scent which cannot be described. If you’ve smelled the wood, then you know. I won’t mess with a winning formula—if you can only get one, get Sandalwood and decide for yourself.* Tobacco Leaf: As an infrequent cigar and pipe smoker I was eager to try this. The smell of tobacco leaves is so unique, but is not present in large amounts here. Still pleased, as it’s best described as earthy smells which fellow smokers will love. If you’re thinking of cigarettes or an ashtray, get those obscene thoughts out of your head. Mild, mellow, and earthy.* Royal Forest: When I think of a forest, I don’t typically think of an apple orchard. Strongest scent here is Apple, and green/Granny Smith if I had to hazard a guess. Still slightly earthy, but “brighter” than Tobacco Leaf. Refreshing, crisp apple.* Rose: Some will ignore this and sorely miss out. My favorite scent bar none. If you’ve walked by rose bushes from afar and smelled the slight aroma as bees pollinate on a crisp spring morning you know the scent. The scent is slight. Some may enjoy that and not want to be buffeted by overpowering scents. Be forewarned though that some cannot smell it: one person I’ve asked said try as they might they get nothing but clean soap smell. In an environment of post-Covid anosmia, if you’ve trouble discerning scents you may have to skip it. Look to more powerful scents: Sandalwood or Cedarwood.* Peppermint: I’m a fan of a mentholated shave, especially in warmer months. I’ll go 100% cold some days, finishing with a mentholated rub. This is not like that. Don’t worry if you can’t take the cold, this is cool only. Focus on the peppermint. It smells like candy canes and is slightly cool only, making for a pleasant refreshing shave. Some have said it’s not strong enough. I believe they have expectations coming from highly mentholated creams or aftershaves. A solid player in the lineup for warmer months.* Cedarwood: Strong cedar scent, but still less strong than Sandalwood. Love refreshing wood smells, they’re really great for guys and give a great experience when lathering under the nose.* Eton College: Think citrus. Bright and smelling of citrus fruit. Scent is medium bodied. I cannot discern one specific type of citrus fruit. It’s not orange exactly, but also isn’t lemon or lime. It is, however, refreshing.* Platinum: I wanted to love this. Alas, it has no real scent to speak of other than clean or soapy. It’s claim to fame is it’s slickness, and I agree it does lather up to be slicker than the aforementioned, but only just. Combine that with a very mild scent with no discerning qualities and those looking for something out of the ordinary should look elsewhere. It is much softer than any of the other scents. It’s an ok soap on par with the rest, but not enough to justify $25+, when as of this writing many can be had for $17. You are in this case paying extra and getting nothing. And trust me that wasn’t a fun realization, knowing I’d just spent more on a cream that I personally like less than all the others.Part of the fun of this all is trying new things. New creams, preshaves, soaps, brushes, razors, razor blades, techniques, and aftershaves make for an infinite number of shaves. I haven’t mentioned latherability, and that’s because they’re all great. Load a brush conservatively and 150g will last a long time. Scents don’t linger very long, giving way to the aftershave’s scent and not intruding.

This is a classic glycerin based shave soap that offers up a dense long lasting lather that works throughout three plus passes. The fragrance is both subtle and mature.

This soap is more paste than solid. Therefore, less is needed to achieve a close shave with minimal usage. I have used a boar and badger brush to apply, after mixing in a shaving bowl. Lather's quickly and has a lemony scent.Also of note, some reviews indicate the container is not full. This item is sold by weight and not quantity. There are some that build their lather in the container. There is room for that, if one wishes.This is not the only TOBS shaving cream. I use. Just another fine product, in my opinion.Shave on and enjoy.

What an amazing shave cream! At first, I wasn't sure if it was a keeper but it turned out I just didn't use enough water when lathering so the cream dried out a little on my face, even flaked off like snow flurries in the air all around my bathroom. Still yet, it gave a great shave regardless and was the best shave I ever experienced. My next shave I used more water which prevented the cream from drying out like last shave. Instead I expereienced a wonderfully silky smooth lather that hydrated and lubricated my skin, which in turn allowed my Edwin Jagger 89lbl with Astra blade to glide ever so smoothly along my face. Then there is the scent, which I have to admit I wasn't fond of at first but after shaving the second time I found myself enjoying it quite a lot. Also worth mentioning, my wife loves the scent.The only other cream I can compare this to is Gentleman's Hangar Sandalwood scent. I am still new to shaving with a double edge safety razor with a brush and cream so have to experiment with many more products until I find what works best. However, I can already say TOBS will always have a place in my rotation of creams and soaps. For those who are interested, I initially gave the Gentleman's Hangar a five star review but after trying TOBS I lowered it to 3 stars. Between the two I feel TOBS provides a far superior shave. My next cream from Taylor will be the lavender or coconut.For those who haven't tried TOBS I hghly recommend you try it. The TOBS Eton College is a strong citrus scent, thus if you do not like citrus then choose whatever scent you prefer. I would imagine all of their creams lather similarly.Update 20 June 2015:I have been so excited with my new DE shaving hobby that I bought many other soaps and creams to try. I purchased 10 samples from Maggard Razors, which by the way is an EXCELLENT business with top notch customer service and shipping. I also purchased two shaving soaps in full size tins, both artisan soaps, one from Soapy Bathman and the other from Cattie's Bubbles. Now that I have tried other soaps and creams I can tell you that artisans are my favorites by far. The only other large company product I purchased was a sample from Castle Forbes, and it is definitely as good as TOBS and I would say superior because it doesn't dry out as much. I rank Soapy Bathman, Cattie's Bubbles, Dapper Dragon, and Mickey Lee Soapworks at the top in no particular order but all are in my permanent rotation. I only use TOBS when I am in a hurry because it is faster to lather than the soaps. From here on out I will be using artisan soaps primarily, but may try a few more from the larger companies such as Pre De Provence and L'Occitan.