Next up on the cavalcade of brands I haven’t reviewed yet is Gentleman’s Tonic Traditional Shave Cream.

The lather was good but not great. I found that I needed to add a bit too much water in order to have it give adequate glide, which ended up thinning out the lather more than I like. Not terribly so, mind you, but enough to be irksome.

The scent to me seemed to be a fairly complex “cologne-y” scent, with a fair amount of citrus, which developed as it was lathered. It didn’t really get stronger, like some do, but it did change. For some reason, I thought I smelled a fair amount of anise and a bit of ginger, but that’s not really listed at all in the ingredients or the description, so maybe my nose is just acting weird, or maybe it’s just one of those weird combinations that smell like something else to some people. Overall, I found it fairly pleasant, but nothing to write home about.

Strength-wise, it was so-so. Medium strong when first applied, with a fair bit of fading as the shave went on.

8/10 Scent Pleasantness

7/10 Scent Strength

7/10 Lather Quality

All told, with a so-so scent profile and good but not great lather, I think I’m going to round down on this one to a 6/10.

Cost: Seth over at Men Essentials provided this sample for me for the purposes of this review. A 4.4 oz tub of the stuff is available for $25.

Gear used:

Ingredients: Aqua, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Coconut Acid, Glycerin, Parfum (Linalool, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Coumarin, Eugenol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone), Triethanolamine, Sodium Hydroxide, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Mel (Manuka Honey).