Lush "Ambrosia"

(warning! this posts contains facts intermixed with personal opinions)
My girlfriend, who supports me in my shaving quests, has bought me Lush "Ambrosia" shaving cream. I have used it one time so I won't do a review yet, but I'll share some thoughts.

Lush, for those who don't know it, is a hippie-esque company in the soap and skincare business. According to themselves everything is made by hand and "using "only vegetarian ingredients [...] from companies that do not commission tests on animals"(see here). Now me and my girlfriend aren't into all that hippie stuff at all(and both a carnivore by heart), but she thinks the soaps and other products smell really nice(and she's kinda right).

Nyways, the cream is a 'no lather' that is rubbed into the stubble. At first it was a strange idea, making lather is a nice ritual during the whole shaving experience. But I tried it anyway.

The smell at first brings up memory of silly putty, but looking at the list of ingredients denies being it. It smells fresh, clean and 'young'(unlike tabac, which smells 'old' and 'sophisticated') with hints of citrusfruit(I'm really bad with identifying smells so forgive me if you think it's wrong).

So I used it once and I noticed a couple of things. It smooths and moisturises the skin really well, in addition it also softens the whiskers.
Lush claims it also helps prevent razor burn, That'll be under scrutiny the next times I use it.

One point on the plus side is: you can see the stubble under the cream. Which comes in handy when shaving around the goatee. Lather

I'm thinking of using it as a pre-shave for the softening of the whiskers it gives me. I'll report back here when I have more shaves with it and can form an opinion about it.

Do you guys(or gals) have any experience with with shaving product? Here's your chance to speak up.

I'd be interested to know how it works as a pre-shave treatment.

I have experience with Ambrosia and Shave the World, and honestly, I'm not a fan of either. I have a double whammy. I have very sensitive skin, and a ridiculously coarse beard.

I used the Ambrosia a number of times (about 1/2 the large bottle) before I pitched it. It just didn't cut it in terms of softening the stubble or preventing razor burn.

I do however, really enjoy Lush's "Breathe of Fresh Air" which is a post shave mineral water. I find that it suits my skin just fine.

Good luck with the lush, hope this post wasn't a downer, just my experience.
Maxi

[QUOTE=BrickBag;

I'm thinking of using it as a pre-shave for the softening of the whiskers it gives me. [/QUOTE]

I have been using the 3 different shaving creams from Lush as a pre-shave product quite often for the last year or so.
The 2 other one's are called Razorantium and Shave the planet.
I find they all softens the whiskers well.
The way I use it, is to apply it right after washing my face. I let it sit there while preparing my lather and stropping my knife.
Then I rinse and apply regular lather.

I don't have any experience with Lush products, but to date I haven't read any favourable reviews about their shaving soaps or creams.

I can't even stay in one of those stores for literally more than 2mins. The scent overload gets my eyes watering and I have to leave...lol.

I have a tub of "shave the planet" from lush that I use for a quickie or when I am on the road. I will say that after a few days my face feels clogged and I hate trying to get it off my hands after I rub it on.

I tried it and pitched it. End of discussion.

Alright, I've been using ambrosia as a pre-shave for a while now and I like it that way. Some observations:
- The smell gets more bearable each shave.
- It really softens the whiskers
- It's great when pressed for time, I can use it without wetting my beard thoroughly

Would I recommend it as a shaving cream: No. As a pre-shave: yes.