Penhaligon’s Opus 1870 Shaving Cream

Tags

6/10, black pepper, cedarwood, cinnamon, cologne, Coriander, floral, Incense, musk, Penhaligon, Rose, sandalwood, shaving cream, spice, wood, Yuzu

Yes, yes, I know. I’ve been lazy about writing reviews lately. I’m sorry! So, here’s a new one! Penhaligon’s Opus 1870 Shaving Cream! Which, judging by the fact that I can’t find any information about it on Penhaligon’s website, appears to be discontinued. It still seems somewhat available elsewhere, but if you’re a fan you might want to stock up.

It lathers up quite nicely, although you shouldn’t go by how it looks when doing so. With just a tiny bit of water, it lathered up into something that looked like it was good to go, but was still rather severely lacking in lubrication; more water and a bit more elbow grease fixed that up quite nicely, resulting in a nice thick cream, with plenty of cushioning and good glide. All in all, a rather good shave.

The scent was a bit lacking. First off, I compared it to its corresponding cologne, which I recently got a sampler of. While similar, it’s not quite there. Here’s what it’s supposed to smell like:

Opus 1870 is a complex and elegant woody chypre. Opening with a luxurious accord of sweet citrus and fiery black pepper, the heart is lit by the delicacy of English Clove Rose and evocative incense. The base notes are glorious, smoky waves of aromatic cedarwood and sandalwood. Opus 1870 is wonderfully warm and comforting, a fragrance to wrap yourself in on cold winter nights.

There’s a bit of an additional scent that I’m picking up, it seemed to me to be somewhat silty; it reminded a bit of of J&E Atkinson’s I Coloniali mango shaving cream. Also, I didn’t really detect any of the black pepper notes that’s so noticeable in the cologne. However the florals and the woods seemed about the same.

But, all that which was noticeable was fleeting; it wasn’t strong to begin with, and I found it quickly faded.

• 8/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 6/10 Scent Strength
• 8/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I’ll say 6/10. Frankly, the lather isn’t nice enough to buy it just for the lather, and the scent isn’t nice enough / strong enough to buy it just for the scent. I wouldn’t bother unless you’re absolutely a fan of the EtD already.

• Cost: I had a sample sent to me by a kindly redditor who wanted to know what I thought of the cream. Otherwise, the cheapest listing I found was on amazon for $41.36, for a 150 mL / 5 oz tube.

Gear used:

• Brush: Mühle HJM Black Fibre
• Razor: 1966 Solid Nickel Gillette Tech
• Blade: Astra Superior Platinum
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Not sure! Probably rather similar to that of the Blenheim Bouquet, but I can’t find a listing online.

Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet shaving cream

Tags

9/10, Blenheim Bouquet, citrus, lavender, lemon, Lime, musk, Penhaligon, pepper, pine

I’ll admit, I try a lot of shaving soaps and creams that a lot of people rave about, and a lot of the time I just don’t really see what they’re going on about. Once in a while, I do, and Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet is one of those times.

It’s mainly a citrus scented soap, however after the first hit of the lemon and lime, it reveals a nice complex mix, tempered by lavender, and supported by pine, musk, and a bit of black pepper. I really really quite liked it.

The strength was great as well; not much fading, good strength throughout the shave.

The lather too was rather good. Relatively thirsty for a cream, once enough water was added it easily lathered up to a nice thick consistency with great glide. Rather voluminous as well. Nothing outstanding in the way of moisturization / skin care, bad or good. My only quibble would be that the stability could have been a bit better; it didn’t become unusable or anything, but the lather was visibly fading by the end of my shave.

• 10/10 Scent Pleasantness
• 9/10 Scent Strength
• 8/10 Lather Quality

Overall, I’m giving it a 9/10, and I think I’ll slot it in at #7 on the top ten list. Because, damn that stuff smelled nice. Seriously, I need to get the cologne. So… if anyone’s got a spare $120 kicking around, I’d really appreciate it!

• 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, I do recall Garry’s Sample Shop having had it in stock at one point, although he doesn’t right now, you might want to keep your eye there, and on the Wetshaving Sample Shoppe. Or, you could just go for it: 150 mL can be found for $45 in a travel tube or $55 in a glass jar, shipping included.

Gear used:

• Brush: Ecotools Kabuki Finishing Brush
• Razor: 1966 Solid Nickel Gillette Tech
• Blade: Lord Super Stainless
• Scuttle: Robert’s Feats of Clay #4

Ingredients: Aqua, stearic acid, myristic acid, glycerin, potassium hydroxide, coconut acid, glycol distearate, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, parfum(fragrance), limonene, linalool, citral, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, propylparaben