Opinions on these cream choices for my shave den.

I'm new to wetshaving and all the different products out there. In my short time in this, I've discovered that of the soaps and creams I have used, I prefer creams. I've been looking at different creams to see what i might like to try, and I'm thinking of putting together 6 or 7 creams that I can keep stocked in my den that would allow me a lot of variety day to day.(I'll be starting a thread like this on soaps as well. I still think they should be represented in my den)
I have come up with a tentative list. Keep in mind that I have only tried the first two, the Bigelow and RSC. I have no idea how the others smell, feel or work. I also set a limit of $15 per tube. Keep in mind also that I am a preacher, so I don't want to smell like tobacco or liquor, either.
Do you think the following creams would provide a good variety of creams for a shave den, so that I might have a good set of choices to go to?
C.O. Bigelow, Real Shave Co., Tabac(does this have a tobacco smell? If so, alternatives?), D.R. Harris Almond, TOBS Sandalwood, Geo F. Trumper Coconut.

I for one cant recommend the TOBs sandalwood enough. But then I love the smell of sandalwood lol. It has that old worldy scent in my opinion. Something classic.

Tabac in my opinion does have a slight tobacco scent to it. But not burnt tobacco, more like a fresh planty smell if that makes any sense.

Geek

srnewb, I would recommend buying a sampler set of creams. I think many samples come with enough cream for @ two shaves.

+1 for the TOBS Sandalwood. The TOBS Avocado may be the best of the bunch.

You might try La Toja too, $9.50 for large 150 ml tube and Speick for $6.50 for 75 ml.

One of my favorites is an inexpensive cream from Hungary, Barbon: $389 for 85 ml.

I keep all of these on hand.

Musgo Real cream is pretty good, if you have trouble finding it as a shaving soap, and I'll +1 on the DR Harris Cream. I use Arlington, but that's because I'm not much for Samdalwood in anything I've tried so far. I really like the Arlington scent.

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Originally Posted by SRNewb

C.O. Bigelow, Real Shave Co., Tabac(does this have a tobacco smell? If so, alternatives?), D.R. Harris Almond, TOBS Sandalwood, Geo F. Trumper Coconut.

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Personally, I'm not a big fan of Proraso (C.O. Bigelow) either in the scent or performance department.

Tabac is a pretty good performer, but it has a very strong scent. If you like it, it's great. It's old fashioned musky, very 1970's.

TOBS Sandalwood...decent performance, but in my opinion a bit of a moldy sandalwood scent.

I have recently tried The Real Shave Co. and I have to say I'm very impressed. The scent is not all that, but performance wise it performs way above its price range. It's a Creighton's product, they make among others the Truefitt & Hill shaving line. I'd put it up against the famous English brands (TOBS, D.R. Harris, Trumper, Penhalligon's, etc.) any day, at least as far as performance goes - really good and very underrated.

Thanks, guys. More to look for.
Pithor, I share your opinion of the Real Shave Co. cream. Great deal on a great lather.

At the $15 price point I'd highly recommend Speick. Smells a bit herbal but very pleasant and the performance is excellent.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

At the $15 price point I'd highly recommend Speick. Smells a bit herbal but very pleasant and the performance is excellent.

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I was hoping someone would chime in about Speick. I see it on just about every site, but I don't "hear" a lot about it on the forums.