Geo F Trumper

Used this place for many years but never again. One cannot fathom why it is more important to answer the telephone than sort out the problems of a regular customer in front of you. When one receptionist answers the phone whilst talking to you about resolving an appointment problem (double booking) its a pain but when the second does the exact thing in mid flow its time to move on to new pastures, and thats exactly what I have done. Shame it was quite a reasonable old fashioned barbers!

This is a review for the place on Curzon street.

After a rushed 15min cut-throat shave during which two hot towels were used (no preshave oil, no cold towel, no advice on anything) I was led to the counter for the £38 bill. While I was paying, I caught a glimpse of myself on a mirror and there was a big blob of blood running down my throat. They didn't even bother to take care of it. They just let their customer go out in the world like this. The shaving cream and moisturizer they used were unimpressive; I stepped out of their shop without feeling fresh or rejuvenated. Their shop felt genuinely old and classic though. The quality of the shave was acceptable. All in all, it didn't worth it.

The one stop shop for everything a gentleman will ever need to apply to his skin [medicines aside]. It's pricy, though. If, like me, you have one of those girlfriends/wives/lovers who likes to spend fortunes on fundamentally pointless cosmetics, having an expensive shop of your own can help you get even.

Particularly recommend the shaving soap, stick deodorant and colognes - all are beautifully presented with a delicate, tasteful scent. And, rarely these days, the deodorant does exactly what it's supposed to - fresh pits all day. The "Skin Food" is an essential part of my shave and well worth its extraordinary price tag.

Never had a shave here, so can't comment on this side of their business.

Located on Jermyn Street in the heart of Piccadilly, Geo F Trumper’s looks like a filmset from a hundred years ago. Selling gentleman’s grooming products upstairs and doing haircuts and shaves downstairs, I half expected Disraeli or Gladstone to walk through the door after me.

Skipping the 4-6 week queue for a cut-throat shave by going on a weekday rather than a Saturday, I was led downstairs, sat back in a barber’s chair and got to work on, first of all being smothered in a warm towel, then having my face scrubbed with a proper shaving brush to make the hairs stand on end.

The shave itself took about 15-20 minutes before being wrapped in a cold towel and then having moisturising fluid applied. While all of this was relatively relaxing, having the cut-throat almost rip the hairs was far less comfortable than a good wet shave at home is.

The assistant was excellent, took her time and got very close indeed. She also gave me various tips on how to improve my shaving technique, which I’ll follow.

While this was a bit of a treat for me, I think it’s more of a one-off place - it wasn’t so much better than something I could do myself to justify the £30 price tag on a regular basis.