I received my Castle Forbes Lime Oil shave cream yesterday and used it for the first time today. Wow great scent and super shave. I love this stuff. Great lather and feel. I can't stop touching my face this AM. This is my new favorite.:y
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I received my Castle Forbes Lime Oil shave cream yesterday and used it for the first time today. Wow great scent and super shave. I love this stuff. Great lather and feel. I can't stop touching my face this AM. This is my new favorite.:y
Awesome Rich.
I compare every other lather to the Castle Forbes cream. It is truly the standard.
Lynn
Great Summertime shave = CF Lime Cream/ Lime soap Uberlather followed by Pussers Lime Aftershave Ahhhhhhhhh
CF is the best, period end of story :D
I love the Lavender even more than the Lime and finally got to smell the Sandalwood/Cedar at the NC meet up, not bad but not my style......
Castle Forbes is the best shaving prep in the universe period.
I just wish there was a store that carried it locally. I would definetly have more...:tu
Did a lime shaving cream shoot out over the last two weeks. Samples provided by Jens Pönitzsch of The Different Scent in Berlin. Mighty generous of the old fella.
Now then. Been using CF Lime for more than half a year. Splendig stuff. Scent, lather, nothing to criticise here. Lubrication is perfect, thick and creamy, yet slick. The eminent Joel of The Other Forum has been whining about the plastic tub. Never dropped it, has he? Long story short, it is hands down the best lime shaving cream with the most natural lime scent of the three creams I tested.
Cyril R. Salter - Essential Lime is much more like what you would expect to get when you buy a shaving cream. Lathers up well, but the scent did not excite me. At all. All nice and dandy them saying it is natural, only it does not smell that way. Add to that the soapy component, and you have a bog standard cream with artificial flavour. Shaves well, but no match for the CF Lime. Lubrication is worse than CF and T&H, up to a point where my blades started to pull. Also does not moisturise at all. Decent show, nothing more, nothing less.
Truefitt & Hill - West Indian Limes Shave Cream is an interesting one. Nice scent, albeit more chemical smelling than CF. Nice lather, too, both in terms of texture and lubrication. But (and this may well be because I did not sacrifice sufficient amounts of goats to the God of Straight Shaving, or simply because my technique leaves everything to be desired) I ended up with no less than six ingrown hairs. Needless to say that I was underwhelmed by this result.
Summary: CF Lime is bloody expensive, but it will last longer (in the case of T&H significantly so) than the other two creams. Is it too expensive? Well, no. Admittedly, you can get a good razor for the price of one jar. But if you have sensitive skin or have room for optimisation with regards to your shaving technique, it is also the most forgiving cream of the bunch, and will significantly add to a satisfying shaving experience. And at the end of the day, that is what this is all about. That, and the fact that you can train your survival instincts if and when the wife has caught you buying more kit on BST. Again.
P.S. Just in case you are wondering why I did not give Geo F. Trumper's Limes Shaving Cream a whirl: I found the scent completely disheartening.
P.P.S. If you live in Germany and are looking for a good online shop, The Different Scent is for you. If you are lucky enough to live in Berlin, do pay Herrn Pönitzsch a visit. His shop is wonderful, and carries massive amounts of stunningly good hand crafted perfumes beside a nice variety of shaving kit.
CF Cederwood and Sandlewood is my absolute favorite cream of all time. It's got a very earthy scent though that might not be for everyone. I liked it so much I recently got some of their aftershave balm. Can't get enough of that scent.
Oh my!!
Well I e-mailed CF a few days ago requesting some samples and forgot about it.
This morning I received three samples in the post - a Lime Oil cream, a pre-shave sample and the Cedarwood and Sandalwood cream as well.
I opened the Lime Oil sample first... the scent was sooooo good. In fact, my cabinet now smells of it and I am kind of addicted to it. I may use up all the others first, so saving the best for last. All I need to do now is check that I can actually shave with this cream (I don't see why not), before placing an order for it.
All these glowing endorsements of CF products pushed me over the edge. Just ordered up both the Lime and Lavender shave creams and also the CF Lavender after shave balm. Separately ordered up some Pussers Lime Aftershave to go with the CF Lime SC. :D
I've mostly been using MamaBear shaving soap.. how does this stuff compare to that? I just found it on straightrazordesigns.
What's the best place to order from in the US?
How does the cream work in comparison to the soap?
I love Sue over at Mama Bear and I have serveral of her soaps that I use regularly. Infact they lather so well I often mix them with creams to get a super later. That said, There is nothing like Castle Forbes cream. It is the crispest scent with the most outstanding lather of anything I have tried and a quick walk over to the shave den says that it is out of 26 different soaps and creams in the cabinet. And I use less with it than I would use with other creams and often still have some left in the bottom of the lather bowl left over. Its worth it.
Yesterday I finally finished my tub of CF lavender cream which I got for Christmas 2006 and have been using for at least every other shave since. Good value for money in my book and I suspect I'll be buying a tub of the lime shortly as I've never used anything which lathers as well.
Where is the best place in the US to order from?
I got mine from vintage blades.
I just got a jar of CF Lime in the other day. Have used it once. It's very good. Is it worth the price? I guess it depends on how long it ends up lasting. It's definitely the best I've used, although not overwhelmingly so.
I think Trumper's is slightly better than Taylor's, but the difference is not justified by the price. I think Forbes is slightly better than Trumper's. We'll see about the price.
Hi Gents,
I really like the CF Limes cream - Lather, slickness, scent and ease of shave are among the best in class. As a novice, this stuff has helped me greatly with shaving.
I did not care for the Lavender when I was using a DE as I found something in it bugged my skin.
Well i ordered some of the sandalwood, and Norton 6/8k
After trying the cream and liking it, I'm wondering if it's worth going for a bottle of the balm to go with it. How does it rate with you guys?
Have not ordered or compared prices, but you can order in US$ directly from Castle Forbes.
Castle Forbes Collection Limited
Under $50 is $5 shipping, over $50, shipping is free.
Tony
Got it in yesterday. I like the shave quality/cream, although I don't know what I was thinking ordering the sandalwood/cedar.. scent is definitely not what I was looking for. I wish they made something along the lines of TGQ black cavendish, or Mama Bear smokin soap. Might try some Lavender and see if I like that. Not too interested in the lime as I'm not real fond of citrus.
I'll 2nd the question about how people like the balm, aftershave, and they also have a pre-shave.
I am not a fan of other people's citrus scent but theirs smells just like a fresh key lime. There is no chemicalness to it like most others. They seems to smell more like Pledge!
Also their site does not list all of their products but it seems to be similar in price so why don't you just support the local vendors who support us?!?!
Just got my CF Lime and Lavender SC from Shaving Shop along with the Lavender balm. Tried the lime SC this morning and wow very real lime scent. Delicious :) Finished off with Pusser's Lime AS had a great start to the day. Im gonna try the Lavender tomorrow.
Now then. You had better believe that this is what the stuff smells like. CF gives you the undiluted smell. Might resemble moulded folders, but that is what you ordered.
It won't make you happy, then. I did a little lime shaving cream shoot out the other day. CF came up first. Not least because it smells like fresh lime. Admittedly, that is a bit different from your Caipirinha on the Clapham bus. But only because they use synthetic flavours.
CF or bust, as our Americans cousins might say. Damn bloody expensive, but worth every penny. If you're going down the leg shave route, you might not need the pre shave. For a straight shave, it just might give you the little extra in terms of comfort. No scent, which is good. There is a very wordy review over at the B&B's which you might actually find useful.
As for the aftershave, I could not live without it. But the scent is intense, although it will not stick for very long.
Well I just had no idea what cedar and sandlewood would smell like. For whatever reason my mind subcounciously associated cedar with a cigar humidor, so I was expecting wood, leather and tobacco.. definitely not what I got!!
I don't like citrusy smells, even actual fresh fruit.. I don't like my shaving routine to associate with food for whatever reason. Even though I am somewhat fond of the rum scents some offer.
Plus, the little card that came with the cream said to try Lavender for sensitive skin, lime for "knicks and cuts" and C&S for "general".. I do tend to have fairly sensitive facial skin so maybe the lavender would help with that.
I'll probably try their aftershave as well. I've been using British Sterling the most, only one I've got that has EO in it and actually cools my face rather than light it afire.
I do love the lather and shave qualities of the CF cream though. And I imagine the tub will last a while. so far I've gotten 2 shaves just off the bit that was stuck to the little plastic cap that was inserted in the tub.
Just a random question... does anyone else here feel like they just moved up a tax bracket or two now that you're buying your shaving cream from the "first lord of Scotland"?
I've tried the Sandalwood and Cedarwood shave cream but I'm still going through the Limes sample though. Both are great in lather, slickness and so on, but it's just that I think after all that fuss I think the Limes is a strange kind of smell. It reminds me of sweets like Skittles!! Is it just me? I sort of tried the Sandalwood and Cedarwood first to so as to "leave the best for last" (meaning the Limes), but it seems like the former has just grown on me. I should get another sample of that and try it out some more I think.
Meanwhile I am still evaluating the pre-shave. I tried some the CF fragrances too (even the Neroli!), but they last even less so than T&H fragrances!! I gave the Limes balm a whirl today and it didn't seem bad. However, I've just got a pack of Korres' after shave balm and I loved it, so I won't be buying any more balm any time soon :-)
Don't get me wrong, I think the CF range is superb - their quality is unmatched!!
In my limited experience Castle Forbes may be the best suds out there, but the Cedar so overpowers the Sandalwood that the fragrance leaves me cold - and we all know the lather should be nice and warm.;) Thus my favorite is Lavendar - I save my limes for gin and tonic.
Something to try is Classic Shaving's creams, their Lavendar to me smells mostly like soap, but it makes some wonderfully soft, sudsy, greasy lather.
good shaving,
I'm pretty sure this stuff was priced so as to not be within reach of the peasants..
Though I do concur with others that you need so very little of it that a tub should last almost forever.
I agree... the CF gives a great shave; if not the best you can find. I'm not sure I'm bothered about the Cedarwood being too strong. So many people don't get teh Sandalwood scent right, so I'm just put off by the thought of anything Sandalwood these days - even if the smell is authentic. I did use it whilst in a hot climate, so I wonder if that's influenced my decision at all.
I'm not really into Lavender scents. Neither do I purchase own-brand products - especially as Classic Shaving is based abroad for me.