Castle Forbes Cedar/Sandalwood Shaving Cream 6.8 fl.oz.

I've used the Castle Forbes Lavender and the Castle Forbes Sandalwood and Cedarwood for many years now. I've tried the "best" of the "best" in shaving products and I can assure you: with proper prepping NOTHING is better than Castle Forbes, nothing. The Lime is great but here's the issue. Authentic lime essential oil can actually be slightly photo-toxic. It's very healing oil but the lavender and Sandalwood/cedarwood versions are just as fantastic. In my personal opinion the scents of any of the Castle Forbes line are equally natural and impressive. The lavender is extremely fragrant and is most certainly french lavender essential oil. Very healing and good for redness and or acne. The Castle Forbes Sandalwood and Cedarwood is very fragrant and has a strong cedar note with sandalwood coming in at the background. Castle Forbes probably did not use much sandalwood because true sandalwood essential oil is EXTREMELY expensive and this is the only product I know with authentic oil. I can still smell the sandalwood though others claim they can't. The sandalwood and cedarwood oils cause a slight redness in my skin compared to the very gentle lavender essential oil cream. Though my skin feels slightly more moisturized using the sandalwood/cedarwood cream than the lavender for some reason. All in all I love all the scents. I tend to favor the sandalwood/cedarwood more than the other scents because of the way is reacts on my skin. Castle Forbes cream will leave my skin moisturized all day. People ask me if I wear makeup because the close shave and my skin is so smooth. Here is the recipe for the ultimate shave. First immediately leave a hot shower and head to the sink without completely drying the body or face. Buy pure organic grapeseed oil (you can also add essential oils directly into the grapeseed oil for skin and fragrant benefits) and add a small amount to one of your hands. Now wipe the grapeseed oil around the shaving area and massage it in good for about a minute so it absorbs around skin. Nothing absorbs as good as grapeseed, I've tried everything else. Now apply hot water to your shaving brush (I recommended Simpson Super Badger Chubby 2 as the best) and then shake some of the excess water off the brush so there is some water still on the brush but not too much. Now in a circular motion use the Castle Forbes cream adding to the brush (small quarter-like amount). Now apply the cream directly to the face on top of the grapeseed oil that you massaged into the skin. Do this until it creams up quite nicely and now perform the double-edge razor shave (I recommend the Feather AS-D2 as the finest razor). I also highly recommend shaving with ONLY Polysilver blades. They are among the sharpest and definitely the most long-lasting high-end blades on the market they are also shockingly forgiving on skin. After you are done shaving you can apply the cream again if you need to for an ULTRA smooth shave (think tuxedo night). Once the entire shaving process is complete go ahead and apply the grapeseed oil to the skin all over again as an aftershave, you will be AMAZED at the results. Now you have the perfect shave, perfectly moistened face, and by repeating this daily ritual you might even attract a few compliments.

I purchased my first bottle of Castle Forbes Lime Oil Aftershave Balm in October of 2011, and I am just now replacing it with a new one. Yes, this stuff is a little pricey, but it is well worth the price to me. This balm comes packaged in a very nice box, and inside you will find the actual bottle. It is a heavy, solid bottle, with a nice cap, and it looks very attractive sitting on your counter or in your medicine cabinet. The first thing you will probably notice when using it is the delicious lime smell. It smells wonderful, but is not overpowering once on your skin. It is a fresh, light scent that I enjoy all year. The balm itself is very high quality, and makes my skin feel great after even the closest straight razor or double edge shave. In the past, I used several different "sensitive skin" aftershave balms from all the big names you find in chain drug stores, and non of them work as well as the Castle Forbes. This balm works so much better that I can actually use less than the big brands, and my skin still feels more moisturized and less irritated. While a bottle of the competitors balms would last me a month, maybe two tops, the Castle Forbes has lasted me 9 months as of now, and I still have about a month's worth left in the bottle! After using this, I have no redness, no irritation, and no razor burn. It leaves my skin feeling soft and moisturized, without being greasy. If you apply too much, it can make your face feel "sticky" for a while after, but that just means you applied more than you need. With a product as high quality as this, less is more! Overall, yes it is expensive, but you can use much less than competitor's offerings, it smells great, it feels great, and most importantly, it works!!

Castle Forbes Cedar/Sandalwood Shaving Cream 6.8 fl.oz. is a high-quality shaving cream, and won Badger & Blade's Best of Category in 2015 (http://www.badgerandblade.com/2015-awards-shaving-cream/). The scent is not sweet, but rather the actual smell of fresh-cut sandalwood & cedar - very manly, heavily woody. The lime and lavender scents are the same - these are the smells of the actual essential oils, not a fake perfume. The scent blooms as you apply the lather, allowing you to get the full range of fragrance. Castle Forbes Collection is not a faceless, mindless corporation, but a small outfit dedicated to quality above all and run from the seat of the Forbes clan in Scotland. They only make small batches to have absolute control. Along with Lady Forbes, Mr. Andrew French and his wife Judy created the brand in response to his failure to find a shaving cream which performed to his standards. The resulting cream has a very firm consistency, and lasts a long, long time. It may appear expensive, but the use you will get balances out the price nicely. The high quality is apparent most after you finish your shave - your skin will feel softer and smoother for many hours. Use it regularly and your face will reward you, as will your significant other. As with any manufacturer, you are more likely to get a quick response to a product inquiry from your selected retailer. That said, I recently had an exchange of emails with Mr. French, and found him absolutely committed to customer satisfaction. Even with his busy schedule, he was generous and diligent about answering my question about a product characteristic. Given that he is as likely to be conducting a show at Saks 5th Avenue or keeping company with Scottish Peerage, I felt the time he spent with a single customer was extraordinary.

Splurged on this after all the reviews. First I noticed was scent. Great. Lathered up like no other. Thick and fine suds. Shaving was so better. Places that had a slight pulling, like around chin and nose were gone. It does dry out a bit fast so just applied foam again and fine. Real surprise was washing face afterwards. Almost like an a smooth film on skin. I'm sold. Don't care if it's a bit pricey. It's worth every extra cost.

After reading all the positive reviews, I decided to give this shaving cream a try and it did not disappoint in the slightest. I've owned and tried countless shaving creams and this is now my favorite. The cream lathers easily and provides the perfect combination of cushion and slickness. The lime scent is just amazing. It's perfect. It doesn't smell like candy or lime scent #12 or anything artificial. It smells like a key lime but not key lime pie. It just smells fresh and, well, awesome. I love starting my day with that smell and this shaving cream. I know it's pricey but the smallest amount on my brush will create more than enough lather for all the shaving passes I need. I figure the can will last me a year or so of regular shaving so it's a good investment. My only complaint, if I have one, is that this amazing shaving cream comes in a plastic container. I wish it was glass or metal because it just seems like too classy a product to put in plastic. Other than that, it's perfection.

Great delivery, great product

I’ve tried a ridiculous number of high-end and popular artisan soaps/creams, and nothing comes close to Castle Forbes. It’s insanely easy and fast to lather—no special tricks required. Touch the tips of a wet brush to the tub and it explodes into dense, creamy lather. The scents smell genuinely natural (no harsh “cologne burn”), and the slickness/glide are the best I’ve found—perfect protection. The standout, though, is the post-shave feel: my skin is so moisturized and calm that I usually skip balm entirely. Yes, it seems expensive, but it’s super concentrated, so a little goes a long way. Castle Forbes has a permanent spot in my shave den. Highly recommend.

The scent is not that good at all, the reason for the 4 star rating. In my thinking it in no way smells like the description. I was thinking a fresh cedar smell with a hint of sandalwood. At first impression smelling it from the tub it reminded me of driving down a gravel road, that dusty earthy smell. The other thing is it smells like an musty old antique cedar chest and not in a good way. The good part: the performance/slickness is quite nice. For creams I scoop out an almond sized amount and reading the reviews here I thought maybe I used too much. Well, with hard water I am glad I used what I did as I had just enough for my 3 pass shave and not much left. It was easy to whip up and made a nice rich lather the way I like. There is good residual slickness after the razor pass. The post shave feel is quite nice. I just wish it had a better scent. If it wasn't for the fact that I already have 3 lime scented soaps/creams(none of them all that great) I would have tried that instead.