Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Stick, 75ml

Did a review on it previously and I didn't like. Ouch. Have left to "air" for 3 weeks and decided to give another try. Face lathered fine although was ready to wash off immediately if it started burning like before. Now the intense smell is reduced and more subtle (I have been keeping a paper towel handy and wiping off excess ??oils. Much better shave got 2 passes with ease with just a face lather with the stick. More glide than I expected and nice cushioning. Really dried out the skin and have put on GF Trumper Sandlewood skin food which made it feel nice and clean like I just had a shave (der!) To be fair I have been using MWF and Tabac last 3 weeks (tallow) and I find I need to use ASB after glycerine based soaps anyway. Would be good for travel but I like to bowl lather rather than face but is worth a try if you are into face lathering (and air it for a few weeks) I am going to keep this for a while but use it infrequently. As has been mentioned, a hard milled soap will last longer but for a travel soap would be quite convenient as I didn't need a bowl to lather.

Starters: I have sensitive skin. Never had a problem with any soap before and love the TOBS sandalwood soap - pure luxury with great sandalwood smell. This however was a very pungent "fake" sandalwood "soap" smell to me. What made it worse is when I face lathered it was like someone had pooled acid on my face. I couldn't get to the shave stage and had to wash off immediately. It may be a fresh batch and I will try again once it airs out for a few months but not expecting much.

Bought for travel and for that, the size is perfect and will last a while when doing such. Lather just exploded on my face and for that I was happy with. I just cant use it. Hope you have better luck as was well reviewed on B&B.

I've had two shaves with this using a Merkur barber pole 38C and Feather blades. It lathered up nicely but I did find it just lacking a bit in slickness and softness. With a brand new feather DE blade in the razor and a two day growth I set about getting a really good lather rubbed into my beard and it was a pretty rough shave. Quite draggy. No nicks or cuts, but it was not the smoothest experience. Not the worst soap I've used but really lacking in cushioning. It's got a very nice old-world smell and it will come in handy for traveling because it's so easy to store but it won't last as long as a tub of Cella or a straight up hard milled soap.