Edit: This version had been discontinued. There is a new XPEC cream out there, but it is a reformulation, thus I wouldn’t base a purchase upon this review.

XPEC Original’s scent is based upon notes of rose, thyme, lemon, pepper, ginger, cedar wood and oak musk, with the rose being the scent that predominates. It most reminded me of Truefitt and Hill’s 1805, with perhaps a bit more “spice” added to the mix, as the pepper was noticeable, although I didn’t find it quite as strong as some other reports I’ve seen. All in all, I quite rather liked it.

The strength started off quite strong, however it didn’t stay there; it faded significantly throughout the shave, although it kind of dropped off to a level I’d describe as “so-so” and stayed there, not disappearing completely.

The cream lathered up quite nicely. Initially, with very little water, it looked like something that would work, however that turned out to be a mirage, as it was somewhat lacking in glide. However, a splash or two more fixed that right up, without appreciably thinning the lather. It ended up with a really good balance of glide and thickness, and what seemed like a rather wide “sweet spot” for water content. It was fairly voluminous as well, I’m thinking that you could get away with making a tub of it last a fair while. Very nice stuff, which left my face feeling nice and moisturized as well.

9/10 Scent Pleasantness

8/10 Scent Strength

9/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I give it a solid 8/10, not really rounding up or down. It’s a quality shaving cream. That having been said, I’m not sure I’d say it’s worth the price.

Cost: I had a sample sent to me by a kindly redditor who wanted to know what I thought of the cream. For everyone else, however, samples don’t seem to be readily available, and a 250 mL tub will cost you $66.99. And… the manufacturer’s website doesn’t list a cream anymore, so it’s possible that it’s being discontinued as well.

Gear used:

Ingredients: Not quite sure. Couldn’t find a listing on-line of the ingredients for the cream, only for the soap. All I could find mentioned are that it includes Glycerin, Coconut oil, and Aloe, which let’s face it, could describe a heck of a lot of shaving creams!