Prince Triple Orange Blossom Shaving Cream Review by Alex

About the Item:

Prince Triple Orange Blossom Shaving Cream

7.9 oz. 21.45$

3.5 oz. 12.55$

The Official Lush Website describes this product as an “exotic citrus shaving cream to leave skin soft and smooth… Mucilage and moisturizing oils and butters protect your skin and form a smooth barrier between you and the razor, which means a closer shave with fewer nicks. Rose water and witch hazel soothe skin to keep you bump and burn-free.”

It contains: Linseed Mucilage (Linum usitatissimum), Rose Water (Rosa centifolia), Fair Trade Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Glycerine, Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), Linseed Oil (Linum usitatissimum), Stearic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), Beeswax (Cera alba), Triethanolamine, Perfume, Neroli Oil (Citrus amara), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Dulcis), Vetivert Oil (Vetiveria zizanoides), Orange Oil (Citrus dulcis), Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), Tincture of Benzoin (Styrax benzoin), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), *Citral, *Limonene, *Linalool, Hydroxycitronellol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben,.

My Review:

Hear that? You don’t, do you. Try again. Still nothing? What you should be listening for is silence. Something in short supply these days, especially when you live next to the highway like I do, and 18-wheelers routinely chug past your windows, causing chunks of plaster to come loose from the ceiling and fall into your morning coffee. But there’s something to be said for silence, especially when it comes to shaving. Guys, you know what I’m talking about. When you drag a razor down your cheek, you don’t want it to sound like nails on a chalkboard or some brat crunching through fallen leaves. It should sound like soft caress. A gold bar lightly stroking a silk pillow. I think Prince described it best when he crooned “this is what it sounds like when doves [shave].”

Why such an elaborate opening just for the sake of a really lame Prince reference? I admit, that was a little contrived, but you should know by now that there is always a method to my stupid introductions (and besides, I couldn’t resist a reference to the God of Sex himself and neither could you, I’d wager). My point is this: The Rule of Silence (one of Alex’s Golden Rules of Shaving) dictates that in choosing a shaving cream, a good indicator of the right viscosity is what it sound like when you scrape the razor over your chinny chin chin. And as everyone knows, a good shaving cream is key (though it is not the most important factor in shaving) and in my estimation, Lush’s Prince shaving cream passes the test (and many others).

I recently acquired a small sample of Prince, a product I’ve wanted to try since I first discovered Lush. I am pretty particular about shaving stuff, as are most men, I think, and I especially am always up for trying something new. Bottom line: I was stoked and maybe a little fool-hardy. I wanted to put this stuff to a real test, so I let my stubble grow for an extra day before shaving. I hopped in the shower (as you should know, guys, you always shower before you shave to warm up your face and make you whiskers supple) and when I got out, I quickly set myself up, following Lush’s recommendation to “let the shaving cream sink into your skin for 3-5 minutes before you begin to shave.” I used a brand new razor blade to eliminate as many variables as possible and began to shave.

My first impressions was that it was really thick and slippery, almost the consistency of lard (or if you prefer a less nasty goop, shea butter). But I found that it smoothed out as I warmed it up on my face and a little amount spread easily over my neck and upper lip (I have a ¾ beard so I leave that alone). I shaved and it felt pretty good. Nice smooth action, no raspy scraping sound, lovely rich orange and cream smell, but I really wanted to put it to the test. So, I re-lathered and inverting my grip on the razor, prepared to shave AGAINST THE GRAIN!

This test proved ill advised, as it turns out, and although I got a much closer shave, I also gave myself a gnarly case of razor burn. But I didn’t give up. As soon as my skin was healed, I gave Prince another shot and again I was quite pleased. I shaved with the grain and got a nice, close shave out of it.

The thing that impressed me the most was how smooth my skin was after. I mentioned the fatty texture before, which is caused by the incredibly high concentration of moisturizers. Moisturizers in your shaving cream are INCREDIBLY important. It comes down to this: there is an upper limit to how close you can get based on cream alone. Most of shaving has to do with your razor. Fact. Mostly what shaving cream should do is lubricate well without getting in the way, but the thing that seperates the Barbasols from the “3 Ts” is what it does to your face after you shave. I’m talking about recovery, and when it comes to this quality, Prince can stand up to the best. Witchazel and rosewater both calm, tone and help heal skin that’s been torn up by a razor (every time you shave, this is what you’re doing) and it’s so moisturizing you don’t even need after shave lotion. Just rinse it off, work in what’s left on your skin (It’s like 90% moisturizer anyway) and you’re all set!

As for over all cost, Prince is a little pricey by my standards, but somewhere in the upper-middle range by luxury shave product standards. A 5 oz. of cream at The Art of Shaving will run you about 22$, which is pretty typical of the luxury industry. However, I’d be willing to bet that 5 oz. of Prince would go a lot farther than most other creams though (I only had about a tablespoon and I got 2 and a half shaves out of it). Over all, if you’re looking for a luxurious shaving cream, Prince is just about as good as it gets (which for me is saying something), but if the price tag scares you, there’s no shame in it.

Oh, and for you ladies, just about all of this stuff applies, but unless you put diamond dust in your coffee instead of sugar, I’d go for another product. The volume you’d need to shave your legs and whatnot would make this particular cream economically unfeasible for most (not to mention its kind of like using a Rolls-Royce to deliver pizzas).

Overall Rating: 5

Bang-For-Your-Buck: $$