Shaving Cream/Soap Samples – Lessons Learned, A Ton of Empty Jars and Process Results

For the last month or so, I've been using Nuavia Rossa about every other day. I find it a good scent for the fall and probably the spring. With winter rapidly approaching I decided to try ABC back to back.

Wow, what a difference. Now I consider both "Elite", top 5 brands. I always thought Klar provided the best cushion and ABC was the slickest. Nuavia, of course, has the best after shave feel. But these differences are tiny. I have been annoyed lately with residual slickness in Nuavia. When I used ABC I realized just how nice it was to go back to a simple, or simple to me straight up scent and none of this complex stuff.

But what struck me was how good the cushion really was. I don't think I could get a closer shave. But the slickness was over the top. It was so slick that I was afraid to touch anything else in the bathroom for fear of dropping it

Old Town Shaving considers ABC the "Queen"  with XPEC the King of shaving creams with MdC a distant third (but miles ahead of the rest of the pack). I don't think XPEC anywhere near as good as ABC but if you have never tried it, its something worth trying. Sure, it costs about twice Nuavia per OZ from my calculations but there is a reason ABC has been around for 100 years and  its not because its a poor product. IMO, this is the old "You get what you pay for" thing along with the Law of Diminishing Returns.

I think Rossa is going back into the closet for the winter and Blu is coming out. ABC will be staying awhile during the Christmas season. Smells like Christmas cookies to me.  and about the closest shave I can get.

While doing my initial analysis, there was one soap I did not test simply because it was not available – Boellis Panama 1924. Coffrets, for $115 were available but the chances that I would buy that, instead of a refill, are as good as buying a C&S $160 container instead of a $32 refill – zero. The Boellis refills recently became available after missing from the marketplace for nearly a year or so. So, how good is it? One online review is not that great claiming it not as good as Cella.    OK.... We'll see.

The first thing I did was weigh it. There is controversy over the weight with the package stating 250g (zoom in and you will see it) but some websites claiming 175g but others having numbers all over the place.  



If a package says 250g, then I expect a MINIMUM of 250g net. I took the soap out of the cellophane and it weighed 214g. I doubled checked, weighed it in the cellophane – 216g. In the box it was over 300g. So much for 250g. My evaluation is as follows. See https://damnfineshave.com/thread-the-ver...5#pid40465 as I concur mostly with NeoXerxes  and it makes sense to compare Boellis with ABC.

Scent: Almond. Weaker than ABC and not as sweet. Compared to ABC – There is no winner – tie. ABC is stronger but sweeter. This is not a sweet baking almond scent but a simple and pure almond scent.

Scent Strength: Weak. ABC is stronger. ABC wins

Scent Dissipation – Tie. Both last the entire shave.

Slickness – Excellent but slightly less slick than ABC. ABC wins. ABC is about the slickest soap I have tried.

Residual Slickness – Excellent – Tie with ABC.

Cushion – My new gold standard and I concur with Neo. Shave was BBS and I consider it better than Klar Classic, which was my gold standard for cushion.

Ease of Making Lather – Trival – Tie with ABC.

Hydration – Not a strong suit. Tie with ABC but it could be more moisturizing. It feels old school, if that makes sense rather than the new artisan soaps.

Lather Feel – Excellent, luxurious, tie with ABC. Lather did not look like this picture https://shavesoaps.files.wordpress.com/2...a-1924.jpg and as noted by Joe from RazoRock, I made the lather on the bar. This is excellent lather, trivial to make, and luxurious.

After Shave Feel  - Unlike Nuavia or Mystic, it falls down, IMO, in this area, tie with ABC.


So how do I rank this? It is an elite product and joins my rank of the elite soaps (SMN, Nuavia, ADP, Boellis, ABC, MdC) all separated and ranking holistically by trivial differences. Now what do I do with this bar? I could put it in one of the plastic empty containers I have but I’m going to wait. Now I know what do with the Nuavia crocks.

Now money. Since this is a soft soap, there is no way to compare this with the triple milled soaps like C&S until I go through it. It comes to $6.36/oz. In this league, this is cheap, less than SMN, Nuava, and MdC and far less than ADP and ABC. To put this in greater perspective, its cheaper than Klar, LPL, and GFT Tubes (at full list). Would I buy this over ABC? Probably. Scent is about the same. Cushion is superb. I would consider it a summer thing when hydration and after shave feel is not all that important because humidity is up. Its hard to justify paying twice the price for a product I consider about equal. In the end, I need to continue using products to find the true cost/shave.

Boellis Panama 1924 - Good stuff

This is a great thread and I thank you, sir Grim, for continuing to post your thoughts on soaps and creams.

Hey Grim, Based on all of your research and many positive comments by others regarding the quality of Nuavia, I went ahead and ordered it on Black Friday since it was 30% off.  Can't wait to give it a try.

Black Friday - You gotta love it .... And Exchange rates too!

Does anyone know if ABC hard soap is being discontinued?  It appears that the US / Canadian vendors have discontinued carrying it, but you can still order it from the ABC web site.

I was looking around for it. Several vendors say discontinued. At least one other forum said discontinued, but yeah, you can order it directly. The cream is much more expensive. So I'm not sure but gave up on looking for it.

Double post

While doing my initial analysis, there was one soap I did not test simply because it was not available – Boellis Panama 1924. Coffrets, for $115 were available but the chances that I would buy that, instead of a refill, are as good as buying a C&S $160 container instead of a $32 refill – zero. The Boellis refills recently became available after missing from the marketplace for nearly a year or so. So, how good is it? One online review is not that great claiming it not as good as Cella.    OK.... We'll see.

The first thing I did was weigh it. There is controversy over the weight with the package stating 250g (zoom in and you will see it) but some websites claiming 175g but others having numbers all over the place.  



If a package says 250g, then I expect a MINIMUM of 250g net. I took the soap out of the cellophane and it weighed 214g. I doubled checked, weighed it in the cellophane – 216g. In the box it was over 300g. So much for 250g. My evaluation is as follows. See https://damnfineshave.com/thread-the-ver...5#pid40465 as I concur mostly with NeoXerxes  and it makes sense to compare Boellis with ABC.

Scent: Almond. Weaker than ABC and not as sweet. Compared to ABC – There is no winner – tie. ABC is stronger but sweeter. This is not a sweet baking almond scent but a simple and pure almond scent.

Scent Strength: Weak. ABC is stronger. ABC wins

Scent Dissipation – Tie. Both last the entire shave.

Slickness – Excellent but slightly less slick than ABC. ABC wins. ABC is about the slickest soap I have tried.

Residual Slickness – Excellent – Tie with ABC.

Cushion – My new gold standard and I concur with Neo. Shave was BBS and I consider it better than Klar Classic, which was my gold standard for cushion.

Ease of Making Lather – Trival – Tie with ABC.

Hydration – Not a strong suit. Tie with ABC but it could be more moisturizing. It feels old school, if that makes sense rather than the new artisan soaps.

Lather Feel – Excellent, luxurious, tie with ABC. Lather did not look like this picture https://shavesoaps.files.wordpress.com/2...a-1924.jpg and as noted by Joe from RazoRock, I made the lather on the bar. This is excellent lather, trivial to make, and luxurious.

After Shave Feel  - Unlike Nuavia or Mystic, it falls down, IMO, in this area, tie with ABC.


So how do I rank this? It is an elite product and joins my rank of the elite soaps (SMN, Nuavia, ADP, Boellis, ABC, MdC) all separated and ranking holistically by trivial differences. Now what do I do with this bar? I could put it in one of the plastic empty containers I have but I’m going to wait. Now I know what do with the Nuavia crocks.

Now money. Since this is a soft soap, there is no way to compare this with the triple milled soaps like C&S until I go through it. It comes to $6.36/oz. In this league, this is cheap, less than SMN, Nuava, and MdC and far less than ADP and ABC. To put this in greater perspective, its cheaper than Klar, LPL, and GFT Tubes (at full list). Would I buy this over ABC? Probably. Scent is about the same. Cushion is superb. I would consider it a summer thing when hydration and after shave feel is not all that important because humidity is up. Its hard to justify paying twice the price for a product I consider about equal. In the end, I need to continue using products to find the true cost/shave.

Boellis Panama 1924 - Good stuff

Great review, Grim.

I actually enjoy your way of going in depth with the soap/cream you review.
I agree with you.

I love my Boellis as well as my ABC.
My CRSW limited edition blue ceramic big soap container with ceramic lid will be the new home for my Boellis croap, once I have finned the CRSW Drakkar Noir clone soap that currently is in it.
Dare I say I prefer the look of this CRSW ceramic coffret to the Boellis one ?

Yes I dare say it. It looks far more stylish !!

[Image: 92aae84e83045096797be662a5ea8e2e.jpg]
[Image: a9459adda4ab7a17ea9fad5d185cfd94.jpg]

2016 graphic representation by soapmaker. Small numbers of items not included. The larger the ball, the more times used.

2016 graphic representation by soapmaker. Small numbers of items not included. The larger the ball, the more times used.

Does this graphic represent your soap use grim ?

yes sorry if not clear