Geo F. Trumper’s is another one of the “Big Boys” of the British shave cream scene. Unlike their peer Taylor of Old Bond Street, they don’t seem to neglect the shave soap side of the house, with all but two scents that are available in the soap as well as the cream, and another two that are exclusive to the soap. TOBS on the other hand has a full eight scents which you can’t get in the soap. I typically prefer to get the soap when available, but in this particular instance I was just shopping locally, and the store didn’t have any of the soap in stock for this scent. Oh well. So, here’s what Trumper has to say about their Extract of Limes scent:

Bright green bursts of life-force charge from the tangy sharpness of tropical Limes, while vibrant citrus flashes allow a gentleman’s mind to surge with the majesty of life. And as every pore is infused with the zing and zest of freshly squeezed West Indian Limes, so an exhilarating thrill is marvelously bestowed.

At first, I wasn’t all that much of a fan of the shave this cream provided. Initially, it was severely lacking in glide, making it feel as though I’m scraping even a new blade across my cheek. Turns out, when I was whipping it up to my preferred consistency, that wasn’t quite enough water for this shave cream. Adding a fair bit more fixed the glide problems, while reducing the thickness of the lather a bit, but not dramatically. So if you’re having problems with this cream, a bit more of the old H2O might be the key.

The scent is so-so. It kinda sorta smells like limes, with a tinge of a “chemically” smell. It’s not a bad smell, per se, but not one I particularly find all that pleasant. Strength-wise, it’s not terrible. It was strong enough that I was able to smell it while shaving, just not all that strongly.

5/10 Scent Pleasantness

8/10 Scent Strength

6/10 Quality of Lather (reflects new scoring as outlined here)

Overall, I’d say it’s a 5/10. I don’t recommend this stuff. It’s not bad enough that I’ll be throwing away what I haven’t used yet, but it’s not likely to make it into the rotation all that frequently. I certainly don’t think it’s worth the rather high price you’ll pay for it. If you do get it, just be sure to also use plenty of water.

Cost: A 200g pot can be had for $29.99.

Gear used:

Ingredients: Water, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Parum (fragrance), Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, CI 19140 (FD&C Yellow 5), CI 42090 (FD&C Blue 1), CI 14700 (FD&C Red 4), Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Citral, Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool