Disclaimer. I make no claims to scientific rigour, valid methodology or objectivity. All I can say is nobody is paying me, and anyway both products are from the same brand! This is purely for Saj's edification and in the interest of talking about shaving.
As advertised above, preshave routine was a bath and the judicious application of Nivea post shave balm cool sensitive. I know the clue is in the name but I'm not the only one to think it makes a better pre than post.
Razor is the Koraat 14/2.0 with a keen edge freshly stropped.
The closest I could get to 2 vaguely equivalent brushes was a £10 Men-ü boar and a Haryali "roadkill" badger. I could have used 2 badgers but pitting a Simpsons Best against an ebay mistake would be no better than 2 cheap natural brushes from different materials.
Right side of the face received the Palmolive Classic green shave stick, NOS, fresh out of the box. Applied with the H badger.
Left side got the Palmolive Classic green cream in a tube painted on with the boar.
Scent is much more prominent and fresh with the cream. The stick smells comparatively neutral, almost unscented.
Lather is more creamy and less fluffy with the cream iyswim. The stick gave me a nice mix of glide and cushion with very little effort.
Both have excellent performance for the price. The stick wins for me, despite the cream being easier and having a nice scent. I prefer the more traditional soap lather which I struggled to replicate with the cream. The cream was smooth but I felt it wanted to stick to the razor, which might not happen with DE but is undesirable with a big square point SR.
3 passes, including the Fool's. Enjoyable, an interesting experiment, but the stick edges it for me. YMMV!
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