Nuavia soaps- Thoughts a year later

Nick please share your Top soaps with us. I'd really like to hear what your favorites are right now.

My Top 5 list consists of the following:

* Savon de Volcans
* I Coloniali
* CRSW
* Nuavia
* Le Pere Lucien

Great list! I haven't tried Savon de Volcans yet but I will need to try it.

Thank you!

SdV Lavande Orange is my favorite soap at this moment.

The lather is not the same with the lather we get from some great tallow artisan soaps, no doubt on that.

The fact that the maker recommends 20-30 swirls means nothing to me.

If you do two passes for example, like I do, and you use the excess lather, 20-30 swirls are not enough. I have a full and tough beard and I want a protective lather when I shave.

I read somewhere that the maker said that 40 swirls make a divine lather. In my honest opinion, after having tried the soaps too many times the last year with different brushes and different lathering techniques, you make a divine lather when you do 80+ swirls. But again, it's not like making lather with a Dapper Dragon soap for example, it's not that easy. You have to pay attention to the product-water ratio, otherwise you will have to load your brush again.

That huge price increase was the biggest mistake they could do. And they do not even offer refills. Do they want me to buy the bowls again? For what reason?

They started with really promising plans about the Nuavias, now I do not really know what to say.

I will just enjoy my shaves until I finish them.

My take as well as far as just finishing the soap out.

I will also agree with you on the amount of swirls. I lather this up and load it just like I would any other soap, but that means I load the absolute living daylights out of it. I've never counted the amount of swirls I do, or the amount of time I swirl. Instead, I just load the soap until the lather looks the way I want it and I almost mostly build my lather on top of the soap. That means a good bit of water, and tons of swirls and loading. Anyway, thats how I get a pretty thick lather out of this stuff, at least as thick as one can get a veggie soap like this.

Great soaps. Have thoroughly enjoyed using them and ordered another lot of Rossa and Blu today.
I think the issue of price is just a waste of time considering the amount of time we spend here. If you spend half an hour here and then worry about the cost of a soap, I don't get it. What is €55? Not even the cost of a shave in London.
I enjoy receiving a soap properly packed and presented. It's reeks of quality and that adds to my enjoyment much more than buying a replacement puck and using the coffret again. When you buy a bottle of cognac in a decanter do you get the next bottle in a replacement pouch or paper carton!

Great soaps. Have thoroughly enjoyed using them and ordered another lot of Rossa and Blu today.
I think the issue of price is just a waste of time considering the amount of time we spend here. If you spend half an hour here and then worry about the cost of a soap, I don't get it. What is €55? Not even the cost of a shave in London.
I enjoy receiving a soap properly packed and presented. It's reeks of quality and that adds to my enjoyment much more than buying a replacement puck and using the coffret again. When you buy a bottle of cognac in a decanter do you get the next bottle in a replacement pouch or paper carton!

I agree. I have all three crocks, Rosso, Blu and Verde. Although I enjoy the scents of Blu and Rosso much more than Verde, I find all three to make great lathers, without excessive loading. Maybe the water is magic here in Seattle, or my slightly damp modern synthetic brushes are just the ticket for loading, but I suspect these three crocks will provide me with hundreds and hundreds of shaves. I will find replacement uses for the crocks. Spice bowls, salt bowls, herb bowls? I'm reminded of my freshman roommate's dad in Berkeley in the early '70s, who kept his marijuana in candy bowls throughout the house....

... I think the issue of price is just a waste of time considering the amount of time we spend here. If you spend half an hour here and then worry about the cost of a soap, I don't get it. What is €55? Not even the cost of a shave in London.
... When you buy a bottle of cognac in a decanter do you get the next bottle in a replacement pouch or paper carton!

I don't know about anyone else but I'll take the cognac in the paper carton if it sells cheaper. I'm not about to tell anyone else how to spend their money but here is where I believe your argument falls apart. If you are among the 1%, then just ignore this as money has little value in comparison.

1. If this were durable goods, I would agree. It's not. They are consumables no different than gasoline, tires, detergent, and yes booze. One consumes them. A pretty container does not make the consumable any better. Its just marketing and a package.

2. I usually discuss technical performance and don't care about price but eventually, money always talks. I don't know anyone who regularly gets shaves at barber shops. Even back in the day - very, very few people. Seems a bit foolish to me. You need to do it again the next day. A special occasion? Sure. Every day? Not so much.

Nuavia costs about $62. What does that get us in terms of consumables?

- about 30 gallons of gas
- 62 items on the Micky D $1  menu. Thats a LOT of food
- dinner for two out at a family restaurant  maybe 3.5 times
- 4 large pizzas

But this is soap so lets talk our world and tell me if Nuavia with container, hopefully in terms of $/shave is worth   ...

A. 2 triple milled pucks of Czech and Speake?
B. ~ 2.5 quintuple milled Klar Seifen?
C. ~ 3 tubs of Trumpers?
D. 4 tubs of TOBS?
E. 4 or so tubs of any of the major artisans (e.g., CRSW, BM)

And here is the killer ... since Nuavia is about the king of after shave feel ...

SIX Mystic Waters - that's SIX (6) which has virtually the same, not quite, but just about the same after shave feel.

Is it worth it? Do you know how long six tubs of Mystic will last for $60 for virtually the same experience? celestino how long will six tubs of Mystic Waters last you? More than a year?

Just saying.  I guess that what makes a horse race. Someone might take the two C&S refills or nearly 3 Klar refills or 4 CRSW or BM or 6 Mystic tubs.

While surely some people collect stuff. For others, every dollar or Euro, counts, even on a hobby forum. When the difference between products reaches the point of the Law of Diminishing Returns, the cost of the packaging weighs heavy in decision making. Hmmm...

$160 for C&S in a pretty package? or $32 for the refill???? Hmm ....

I'd rather buy 4 large pizzas or have a couple dinners for two than a single Nuavia soap.


Also, CRSW v.2 are excellent performing soaps. I prefer them to Nuavia soaps. They have very nice scents too.

It's not about being cheap. I have no idea how much money I've spent the last years on shaving stuff. But, in my honest opinion, 55€ for a soap is a ridiculous price.

I want to make it clear I like Nuavia. I consider it #2, top notch stuff. Its the packaging I object to and dislike paying for a container I have no use for after the initial purpose. I can recycle the container with other soap refills but buying another one would be difficult for me to justify.

I enjoy receiving a soap properly packed and presented. It's reeks of quality and that adds to my enjoyment much more than buying a replacement puck and using the coffret again. When you buy a bottle of cognac in a decanter do you get the next bottle in a replacement pouch or paper carton!

This is one of the reasons why they don't offer refills. It's the way the try to promote a luxury product. Personally, I don't get it. When you have sold so many soaps the last year, but you don't want to offer refills then I don't know what to say. It's bad for their business. If Pannacrema makers read this thread, I believe they do, it's obvious that the market wants refills in order to continue buying their products. Otherwise, they are going to lose their customers.

Most gentlemen in shaving forums learned this brand when they launched the Nuavia line. It's a product that made them popular, no doubt on that. I bought my first Pannacrema soap about 3 years ago I think. Back then, they were offering limited quantities of soaps, people have to be a specific hour on their site to be able to order a few. That way they tried to increase the demand by controlling the supply. It's just marketing.

I like Pannacrema products that's why I'm a returning customer. I have bought almost all of their offerings except of the Verde.

Is it worth it? Do you know how long six tubs of Mystic will last for $60 for virtually the same experience? celestino how long will six tubs of Mystic Waters last you? More than a year?

Well, if you load the pucks, liberally and heavily, at the minimum, it should last one month, but realistically, with a heavy load (enough for 3-4 passes), a puck should last you 2 - 2 1/2 months of every day use.

Is it worth it? Do you know how long six tubs of Mystic will last for $60 for virtually the same experience? celestino how long will six tubs of Mystic Waters last you? More than a year?

Well, if you load the pucks, liberally and heavily, at the minimum, it should last one month, but realistically, with a heavy load (enough for 3-4 passes), a puck should last you 2 - 2 1/2 months of every day use.

I consistently get between 35-40 shaves from each puck of MW. That is the average over 3 pucks. I do use MW in shave stick form which tends to go through the soap faster. The last two B&M soaps I finished in 32 & 35 shaves. In fact most artisan soaps I have finished in around 40 shaves more or less. I have enjoyed using both the Rossa and Blu but will hold off judgement of the economics until I have finished the tubs.