Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream Review – A Spicy Cinnamon Treat
Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream
The Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream was a little tricky to get the lather and water ratio right with at first, and the mixture is quite gooey and sticky. However, I was quite happy with its protective effect while shaving and a fair post-shave moisturizing effect.
Pros
It has a very distinct bay rum scent that's kind of spicy
It has a good organic ingredient profile
The ingredients are suited for promoting skin care and moisturizing
Taconic creates soaps and creams in batches so they can refine and improve them
Cons
I found the cinnamon a bit strong and dominating the scent
I had to add quite a bit to get the lather ratio right
A smaller tub compared to many others
If you have been wet shaving for a while, you’ll have used or heard of the USA brand Taconic.
Taconic has a range of artisan shaving soaps and creams, which includes the Taconic Bay Rum in a tub I used–up for review today.
Taconic offers another three scents of shaving cream in a tub, which includes Urban Woods, Tequila Lime, and Eucalyptus Mint. They also have five types of these creams in a pump-style 8oz bottle, which includes the Bay Rum (the ingredients between the Bay Rum tub and pump bottle do differ among other aspects).
In the review, I will run through what the cream features and tell you all about what I think of the scent, texture, and the during and post-shave experience.
Description and Features
What I was not aware of when purchasing the Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream was the size. It’s only a 4fl oz/118ml tub, which is generally smaller than many others that are closer to the 7fl oz/200ml size. That’s kind of okay, though, when considering the price (get into that later).
When I opened the tub, I caught a good whiff that was clearly Bay Rum. The top of the cream kind of looks like a rum and raisin ice cream I had bought before (minus the raisins–and I abstained from tasting it).
Ingredients
This shave cream is glycerin-based, which is a humectant (i.e., absorbs moisture) and one of the main components that provide the glide and lather ability, among other important aspects that make a shave cream/soap perform well.
The safflower and coconut oils are going to provide moisturizing properties, and the cocoa seed butter is a natural emollient that is said to have healing properties that are good for the skin.
The orange peel, bay leaf, and cinnamon oils are also beneficial for the skin and will contribute to the bay rum scent.
All in all, it is a good combination of ingredients that will make up the lather, scent, and post-shave moisturizing effects. Check the full ingredients list, though, if you have sensitivities.
Full List: Stearic acid, distilled water, cocos nucifera (*coconut) oil, glycerin, carthamus tinctorius (*safflower) seed oil, theobroma cacao (*cocoa) seed butter, honey, sodium borate, spiced Jamaican rum, laurus nobilis nobilis (bay) leaf oil, cinnamomum cassia leaf oil, citrus sinensis dulcis (orange) peel oil, phenoxyethanol, and caprylyl. *certified organic
Scent
If you have never used a Bay Rum shaving soap or cream, then this cream from Taconic could be a good option to try out as your first. If you are already a fan of the Bay Rum scent, then you are likely to enjoy this one–but you do need to like cinnamon.
The top notes definitely come from and are strong on the cinnamon and spice within the mid notes. I also get a mild citrusy scent, which could be from the orange peel oil.
The scent is not overpowering, and I continually get a sense of it while shaving. The scent stays around slightly for maybe a couple of hours, but I do have a good sense of smell.
Lather and Shaving Experience
I used the Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream on a number of occasions and even tried it out with the Unscented Pre-Shave Oil from Taconic.
I used a Parker Injector Adjustable and Muhle R41 razors when using the cream before reviewing. The Parker Injectable was a new razor to me that I reviewed.
Texture
The texture was a bit odd to me at first, as it is what I would call gooey when picking some out ready to lather. As it is quite sticky, I would guess that the glycerin ratio is quite high, but that is just a guess.
The texture, once it is lathered enough and applied, is a good creamy texture that clings to the skin well.
Latherability
It took me some time to get the right water and cream ratio, and much longer than it did with the last two creams I used (i.e., Proraso Red and TOBS Oud). It was very foamy, and I needed to add more soap inside the bowl a couple of times.
I did try both bowl and face lathering, but as I have been using this Simspon Trafalgar T3 Synthetic brush, using a bowl is best as this is what the T3 synthetic brush prefers.
The bottom line is it finishes up with a nice creamy lather. Still, the ratio takes a little effort, and quite a bit of cream was used on each occasion (in comparison with some others).
The lather would dry up slightly if left too long on the skin, but nothing unusual about that.
Post-Shave
Post-shave seems to be become more important to me recently. I don’t want dryness, and I want to test and rate soaps and shaving creams on the post-shave without anything else added to the skin to find the best soaps/creams out there.
The scent lingered for a while and was pleasant, and I felt a kind of spicy feel on the skin, like the opposite of peppermint, which would feel cool. I am not a fan of any cooling or hot effect on the skin after shaving, but other gents like that.
The skin was moisturized, and I felt comfortable after. While I had a slightly dry feeling, it was only slight and didn’t last long before natural skin oils kicked in.
Value For Money
A tub of Taconic Bay Rum Shave Cream costs around $16 (USD) for the 4fl oz/118ml. When compared with (TOBS) Taylor of Old Bond Street or GEO.F Thumper 7oz/200g tubs, I feel I am getting a better deal with the latter two (between $18 – $24).
It is most definitely not an expensive shave cream, and if it ticks the right boxes for you, then all is well with parting with the $16.
Final Thoughts – Should You Try It?
If you are a Bay Rum type of guy, then you might want to try this that Taconic offers, although I do feel the scent leans heavily toward the cinnamon (this can change as they only produce small batches).
The stickiness of the cream before lathering and having to make an effort to get the lather right stood out to me. I’m not sure if that should put you off or if that’s just the things I am picking at ‘at’ the moment.
Once I got the lather going well, all was quite positive from then onward, including the post-shave.
