The first shaving soap I ever used was Wilkinson Sword. It was ok, but it seemed to require an enormous amount of effort to get any sort of lather out of it. So I tried Hawkins & Brimble shaving cream after browsing the shaving supplies in my local branch of Sainsbury's.
Imagine my surprise when I found that a very small, end-of-the-forefinger-sized amount in the bottom of my shaving bowl, combined with a fully-soaked, pure badger brush and vigorous circular mixing motions gave me more lather than a) I could shake a stick at but, more importantly b) I needed for a decent three-pass shave. After my experiences with the Wilkinson Sword soap I felt like a blind person having their sight restored. I felt compelled to share my place in shaving lather heaven with my girlfriend and you can probably imagine her reaction as I shoved the bowl in her face, screaming 'Look at it! Look at it! Look at my lather!'
It's got a great scent – of elemi and ginseng, unsurprisingly – and you're rewarded, post-shave, with a feeling not unlike being patted gently around the face with a cold flannel soaked in elemi and ginseng. I know because I've actually had someone do this to me.*
Hawkins & Brimble is definitely in my shaving cream top 5. Once you've painted it on to your face I'd recommend adding some water and working it in, just to make sure it's suitably slick for your razor to glide across as it has a tendency to feel a little dry. That might just be me, though. Others may disagree. * Although Mrs Cressel from across the road has avoided me ever since.