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It helps, when discussing a particular shaving cream, to consider the main ingredient's celebrity spokesperson. Taylor's oft-overlooked and widely misunderstood Avocado shaving cream takes its name from the only produce ever endorsed by Angie Dickinson.

Why did Sgt. Pepper Anderson choose to promote the avocado over all other vegetation? How did Big Bad Mama decide that the avocado, and not, say, the kumquat, was worth the 1982 print campaign that sent sales of avocados skyrocketing? After having had Burt Bacharach, JFK, and Sinatra, what was it about the avocado that entranced the woman who turned down the role of Krystal in "Dynasty" so?

Some fun facts about the avocado:

1. The avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable!

2. The Aztecs called it "ahuacatl", and considered it a sexual stimulant and forbidden fruit!

3. Latin Americans wrap avocados up and give them as wedding gifts!

Taylor of Old Bond Street is the only company that offers an avocado-based shaving cream, and superb stuff it is. Even though it's loaded with avocado oil for an extra slick, extra moisturizing lather, the Taylor cream doesn't smell like guacamole the way I was kind of hoping it would, because I love guacamole. I used to eat it at practically every meal when I was in college in Texas, because every restaurant there, even the Magic Pan, serves guac and chips on auto-pilot, even if you don't ask for it. They just bring it to your table, and who can resist guac and chips? I defy you to show me a man who can. Even if you were deathly allergic to avocados and eating just a trace amount would kill you, you'd still munch on the guac and chips like you hadn't eaten in days. It's one of the most delicious things, and maybe the most delicious thing, of all time. Especially when the chips are really salty.

No, the Taylor shaving cream smells more like cucumbers, or just fresh vegetables in general, than any kind of primary avocado scent. It's a really excellent scent, fresh and pleasant, but would it kill Taylor to make this stuff smell like guacamole? Maybe it's a good thing they don't, because I know some early morning when I was half in a daze I'd probably eat it without even thinking.

And the shave? It's the best of all the Taylor creams I've tried, and I've tried most of them, though not their cologne-based creams. I'm not a big fan of cologne-scented shaving creams, and half of Taylor's line is scented to match their colognes, which are all excellent and smell like old British money, but for some reason my skin doesn't react too well with cologne-based shaving creams -- I do better with florals like rose, lavender, and violet scented creams.

Taylor's rose, lavender, lemon&lime, and almond shaving creams are all as good as shaving cream ever gets -- they all deliver a quality of lather that isn't bettered by anything else at any price -- except Taylor's avocado. As great as its other creams are, the avocado is a cut above in my book. Every time I shave with it, I decide that I'm never going to shave with anything else ever again. Not Proraso, not Trumper violet, not even Taylor's rose, which is one of the best scents to start the day with, and a great choice if you've beaten up your face a bit with an over-aggressive shave and you need a little tenderness. These are all creams at the top of my list, but if push came to shove and I had to choose just one shaving cream to use, I'd pick Taylor avocado. It's just a bit better than anything else I've tried. The smoothness, the creaminess, the incredible moisturizing number this stuff does on your face, which you can clearly feel long after the shave is finished -- these are just some of the reasons why I'd go with the avocado cream if I had to pick just one.

Yeah, it's a weird "flavor" of shaving cream. Avocado doesn't exactly scream Tarzan like some of the more macho creams like sandalwood, lime, and tobacco (yes, the Germans do a whole line of wetshaving products called Tabac!). And even if you like avocados, the Taylor doesn't smell like them much at all. But trust me, buy a tub of this stuff and tell me it isn't the best shaving cream you've ever used. Smells great, shaves great, and it makes you think about Angie Dickinson every time you shave. What's not to like?