I'll give my newbie (Day 28!) two cents for what they're worth. I started with a tube of Proraso, a puck of Conk Bay Rum, and a Tweezerman brush, purchased through Amazon, a Filly strop from RupRazor, and Nivea Extreme from Safeway. I use a small bowl from my kitchen, and dry the razor on a shelf. Razor was shave-ready from the classifieds.

Now, I've loved the Bay Rum smell since I was a kid, so I was rooting for it. I tried both the Conk and Proraso by themselves, and very much preferred the Proraso. I have not bothered to get any glycerin or other additives yet, so I'm not whipping up uberlather. I really liked the lather from the Proraso, but found the Conk dried up too easily on my face. So, score one for the cream.

I then got a sample kit from the local Art of Shaving store (freebie!). This was a revelation in lather production. An almond-sized dollop of cream VERY quickly gave plenty of whipped-cream consistency lather for a shave, and the shave was more comfortable. Best of all, since it was unscented, I could mix in some of the Bay Rum soap for a nice scent. Score another for the cream, but give the soap some credit.

I then got samples of Lavender and Bay Rum soap from SRD. (I now own more scented products than my wife, who thinks I'm nuts.) They had a MUCH more intense smell, and made a much better lather than the Conk, but I still found them a bit too drying. The introduction of glycerin might help, but mixing with a little AOS cream made for a really luxurious shave. Cream wins again, but a really top-notch soap is a fantastic addition.

I have some Castle and Forbes Lime on the way, so we'll see how that compares to what I've done so far. It gets great reviews for lather production. I'm planning to get some of Mama Bears soap at some point as well, but I'm definitely leaning toward favoring creams.

I should also point out that in my limited experience, the smell is really more for your benefit during the shave than anything else. I don't find it to have any lasting effect, which I think is good.

Good luck!

Fred