Taylor's Reformulation

[sparky5693]

I've been hearing about it for awhile, but I finally got a batch of the different cream myself.....

I've heard all kinds of different information. I've heard "There is no reformulation", "This is new and improved", and "This is a production error that has since been fixed." I honestly don't know which the correct answer is but i'm told it has affected Trumper, Taylor's, and Truefitt & Hill Shave Creams (probably more). All of the above mentioned products are manufactured by creighton's in the UK.

Now on to my experience.

I used Taylor's lavender for the first time about a week ago. This is my first experience with their lavender (new or old formulation), but i'm very familiar with their shave creams as a whole. The cream in this batch is quite different from any other Taylor's cream i've seen. Normally their creams are fairly dense, but this product seems to be whipped. The container feels lighter than usual, and after scooping some cream from the bowl, the rest of the cream slides down to fill the crater. I found myself thinking, "Wow, this is new."

I went into my shave pretty skeptically as their cream has been great for many years, so why go messing around with it, but I actually found the cream to be better in every possible area from all my previous taylor experiences. It lathered easier, and produced a more dense cream that was very slick It provided me a very forgiving shave. In the end, my face was well moisturized, and as smooth as ever.

My nostalgic self wants the cream to return to it's original recipe, but the rest of me likes this "different cream" much better. I have no idea if it's creation is an accident, or was on purpose, but in the future I will be specifically be looking for taylor's like this batch of lavender.

[Sejanus]

I have been following this development for awhile now on SMF, since they seem to have a lot of info on it.

The general consensus is yes, something DID change but the info on if they were changed by mistake or on purpose is up in the air. However there is new info that whatever changed has been changed back or fixed.

According to a few of the posters from SMF it has been said that in the move to the new maker location something was messed up and it has been unofficially confirmed and has been fixed. There is about a 1.5 year gap between the 'old' and the 'fixed' so anything in between apparently is hit or miss. There have been posts that in the past few weeks that NEW new pots of the cream are nearly identical to the old.

I bought a tube of Lime and Rose Trumpers awhile ago and it seems to be the 'old' stuff and I really like it. I am waiting for the place to restock to see what I get.

The whole situation seems really complex to be honest.

[Michael]

I haven't purchased anything from the Ts in a while now, except the Taylors Rose cream I received for Christmas. It seems pretty much the same as my older stuff. The only one I have that is different is Taylors Almond. Gotta be 6-8 months old, but it's pretty much like a thick soup. No body to it at all. It works great though...no idea why it's so runny.

Now that's interesting. I haven't used it in quite some time (ever since I discovered JoAnna's soaps, in fact). So, I just opened the tub to take a look. It's no longer "juicy". It's still not like any of my others though...more like it finally set up into a thicker consistency. Think I'll try it in the morning and see what it's like. A strange concoction!

[sparky5693]

My lavender seems like it was whipped. Kinda like a whipped butter or something.

[Infotech]

Mine won't refill the hole created by taking some out but it's definitely less dense than my first tub of it a little over a year ago. The scent was also alot better back then IMO. Like I said in my review, it still provides a good shave for me and I'll keep on using it but I liked the old better.

I also don't know what to think about the reformulation business. I've read all about it on SMF, seen the videos, and now have experienced the difference in a shave cream first hand. They say Taylor's is the best out of worst so to speak, and as Michael pointed out, the longer it stays on the shelf the better it gets. That was also a report from one of the regulars on SMF who seems to be one of the most opinionated on the matter..

[Scorpio]

AS long as the cream performs I have no opinion as to the density of the cream in the tub. I would be concern if the performance of the cream changed.

Raf

[Padron]

I only have a couple TOOBS creams....a tub of the "OLD" Rose...that is dwindling and a tub of the new Rose...the new is certainly a different formula than the old and also has a whipped appearance....

I also have a tub of the new Avocado and it doesn't appear to be whipped at all???

Both provide a great lather and a nice shave....it's really sad they changed there Rose as the "OLD" version was very nice and had a great scent....very similar to Coates Rose.......

Trumper's creams are also reported to be back to there original quality...I did have a couple tubs of violet where there was a noticeable difference..

[msandoval858]

This whole reformulation thing effected all the big name creams because if my memory serves me correctly, they are all made by Creightons.

[Sejanus]

This whole reformulation thing effected all the big name creams because if my memory serves me correctly, they are all made by Creightons.

Yeah you are correct. Only difference between the 3T's and such were how they responded to the 'rumours'. Taylor's admitted a problem if I recall and Trumper's reacted like the world had lost its mind.

[msandoval858]

That's pretty much how Trumpers reacts to everything. If you're not with them, you're wrong :rolleyes:

[sparky5693]

That's pretty much how Trumpers reacts to everything. If you're not with them, you're wrong :rolleyes:

Yeah, if you read the lid, it claims it's made at the "celebrated location" or something like that. Whatever it said made it sound like there is a 200 year old guy in the back office cranking this stuff out.

I still like this new stuff, but to date it's the only "reformulated" cream i've came across.

[Sejanus]

The new lids of Trumper's no longer have the address printed on them to avoid the issue of where they are now made.

[bjrn]

Normally their creams are fairly dense, but this product seems to be whipped. The container feels lighter than usual, and after scooping some cream from the bowl, the rest of the cream slides down to fill the crater. I found myself thinking, "Wow, this is new."I'm too new to this to have experienced the old formulation creams, but I've read about the consistency of Taylor's creams being somewhat ... well, consistent.

The Taylor creams I have (avocado, lemons & limes) or have had (rose) have all been quite loose compared to the dense creams I've tried (Castle Forbes, J. Peterman), but definitely not so loose or liquid that they'd slide to fill in holes made from scooping.

[sparky5693]

The slide i'm referring to isn't like an instant thing. It takes awhile, but it does happen. The whipped consistency is rather neat, whenever I open the container, it looks full again.

[Michael]

...whenever I open the container, it looks full again.

Like TSD Soaps! I swear they seem to regenerate themselves! :)

Sorry, I know this is a cream thread. :o

[Infotech]

I decided to take a trip to British Isle's, the local carrier of english creams, today. They had the full line of Taylor's so I checked them all out. I came away with a good tub of Taylor's Lavender. It's dense, the scent is on, and the tub was full - no bubbles. Here's a picture of the bad tub I got back in March online and the good tub from today.

In the old one you can tell that it has more dye in in and there's a peak where I dipped my brush to get cream out. Also, the majority of it is on the right side from being in my suit case and gravity taking over. What you can't tell the difference of is the scent. The new tub is exactly how I remember my first ever tub being.

I don't think the new one will be a problem...

Across the whole line most tubs were full, a few had air pockets and some were wetter looking than others, but they looked and smelled normal for Taylor's. They weren't like the bad tub I got.

[Padron]

Hmm James,

I like the looks of the one on the left better :o Glad you found the new batch closer to your liking and more like your first tub :)

The lavender looks great, too bad I'm not all that fond of the scent :(

Congrats! :happy005


BTW.....I like the new Avatar :cool:

[Infotech]

Hmm James,

BTW.....I like the new Avatar :cool:

Thanks :)


I guess the picture doesn't do the tub justice ;)

[Queen of Blades]

Of those 2 tubs, the one on the left looks like every Taylors cream I've ever seen. And I've seen quite a few.

The tub on the right? Doesn't look right. :confused:

[suffolksupplies]

Alot of the new Taylor creams look like the one on the right. The consistency is of cool butter, firm but not solid. Occasionally you get a very sloppy Lavender or Sandalwood but not often. They all seem to shave great I have never experienced an off pot.


Regards,

Paul

[moviemaniac]

Thanks for the pics and comparisons!

@Paul: As you noticed the "new" ones to be stiffer, do you need more or less cream of the new batches to create the same amount of lather compared to the "old" ones?

[suffolksupplies]

They don't seem to be anymore concentrated than the wetter creams, the Almond size amount seems to work with any Taylor cream. Although because of my water I always have to use 2 almond size amounts to get enough for four passes.


Regards,

Paul

[moviemaniac]

They don't seem to be anymore concentrated than the wetter creams, the Almond size amount seems to work with any Taylor cream. Although because of my water I always have to use 2 almond size amounts to get enough for four passes.


Regards,

Paul
Thanks, Paul!

I'm happy to report that a hazelnut-sized amount of cream works with my "old" St. James cream.

[Infotech]

It's my pleasure to contribute something useful to the forum.

Queen, as a reference I bought my first tub of lavender in January 2007 and it was exactly like this new tub. Shortly after in Febuary 2007 I bought a tub of St. James which wasn't like the lavender but had a sheen to it and looked creamier, but was also dense. The second tub of Lavender I bought in March 2008 is very light and the scent is awful, really bitter compared to the clean sent of the original 07 tub and the one I just bought. The cologne scented creams I looked at yesterday had the creamier sheen to them and the floral all looked like the picture of the new lavender. None of them looked like the March 08 Lavender. Some had air bubbles, some were full, and a couple looked drier than others.

I shaved with it this morning and it was great. I didn't spoon out a portion, I just dipped my brush in, swirled around a couple of times and had enough lather for 3+ passes.

I've heard Taylor's is hit or miss and from what I saw yesterday I won't be buying another tub online since I can get it at the store for about the same price as a tub + shipping online. If I do buy it online I'll ask the vendor to check the tub before they ship it.