Sandalwood is probably one of the most popular scents in the shaving world. Most major producers carry it, often mixed with other scents, like the infamous Castle Forbes "Cedar & Sandalwood". Crabtree & Evely (henceforth, "C.&E") have graced the market with their own interpretation. I received this cream as part of a large surprise package, but have since obtained a fresh sample from C&E in Berlin for comparison purposes. C&E stores have always left me with mixed feelings, because they sell country living for children trying to look, smell, and dress like their non-existant English grand parents. What few of their products I have bought over the years were always decent in quality and indecent in price. But I digress.

Let me start the review by stating that the cream holds well over several years, apparently.

Packaging: A dark brown glass jar. Thick, heavy, and with a rubber sticker at the bottom to prevent it from sliding around. A nice touch. The artwork is subdued, leaving the overall impression of something you would expect to find in a 19th century pharmacy. But this is purely hypothetical for the contemporary shopper, because C&E have replaced the glass with plastic in the meantime (without adjusting their prices, mind you). The new plastic jars are tacky, and cheap.

Texture: Mine has become rather dense over the years, but the sample was creamy, as it should be. Both textures work well. Loading a large brush is a bit of a challenge because the jar is not overly wide. Truth be told, the only jar wide enough for a large Thäter brush is Castle Forbes', anyhow.

Scent: Sandalwood, and an almost pure variety at that. Very little else in the way, resulting in a sweet, slightly pungent scent that lingers. If you like sandalwood, this is perfect. If not, you should avoid this cream.

Latherability: Good, but not exceptional. It is relatively easy to produce good amounts of lather, but it fails to really get dense. Think "steamed milk from a lower class machine like Saeco or Jura". Yes, there is lather, but it lacks the meringue texture that separates the good from the outstanding. Should work nicely for DE shavers, though.

Cushion: Below average, as is the glide. That mis-feature firmly puts this cream into my personal "would not buy unless forced" category.

Moisturising: Good, but again not outstanding. The added vitamin E apparently helps, but my skin slightly disagrees with this cream.

Price: USD 25 or thereabout. Given that you can get English made high end creams for the same price, this cream is a non starter.

Overall impression:  The cream underperforms for its price, I do not like its scent, and the glass jar is history. Sorry, but there is much better value to be had for less money.