Coate's Tea Tree Limited Edition Shaving Cream

Coate's was founded in 1875 by James Coate, a brush maker from London. In 1941 in the spirit of wartime cooperation, Coate's allowed Simpsons to use their factory and the companies eventually merged in 1990. Coate's shaving creams were produced until 2008 when Vulfix purchased Simpsons. The Coate's brand, however, remained with the original owners until May 2010 when it was sold to The Gentleman's Shop, who resurrected the widely anticipated Coate's shaving cream.

The packaging is slightly different from the old packaging, but it is nice and traditional. The old tub had the logo printed in bright colors, while the new tub has a refined sticker on the lid. The scent of the original tea tree cream was known to be unique and slightly medicinal because of the high concentration of tea tree oil. The new Coate's, however, is more pleasant in scent because it is formulated with the mixture of tea tree and rosemary. Also, the new cream was made without parabens, a controversial preservative in cosmetics that causes skin irritation for many and has been linked to cancer in some cases.

The cream itself is very soft and easy to lather. With only an almond-size amount of cream, I had no problem creating enough lather for a full shave. When applying the lather, the scent was very noticeable, and while it's more pleasant than the original tea tree, it was relatively strong and I didn't find it to be one of my preferred fragrances.

During the shave, the razor glided nicely along the skin and the Coate's cream provided suitable protection. The formulation of the cream didn't cause any sensitivity issues with my skin, and it rinsed away clean leaving a subtle amount of fragrance behind.

Overall, Coate's Tea Tree Limited Edition Shaving Cream was a quality cream, but I didn't find it to be anything extraordinary compared to other shaving creams, such as Truefitt & Hill or Geo. F. Trumper's. The cream didn't moisturize better or lather better than any quality shaving cream that you could enjoy from your favorite online store. It's a little less expensive than Trumper's, but the Coate's tub is a little smaller, so they work out to be about the same cost. You can find it for £12.99 at The Shaving Shack.

Coate's shaving cream provides a nice shave on par with other high-quality shaving cream products on the market. If you enjoy a strong tea tree fragrance, this is a good shaving cream for you. I was disappointed to discover that it won't reign supreme in my shaving rotation.