Vittoria
Member
Great review @Bladerunner7 and a history lesson to bootSANTA MARIA NOVELLA – CREMA DE BARBA
First Look - A white plastic container with green text on it reminiscent of the vintage ones that housed a moisturizing skin cream or an all-purpose ointment the entire family used. A bit under whelming packaging for a pricey shaving cream from a high end brand if you ask me but it still deserves a few points for its originality.
Side note – Santa Maria Novella fragrances is regarded as the world’s oldest apothecary with its roots being traced back to the year 1221 when newly arrived Dominican friars in Florence and set up shop at Santa Maria Inter Vineas, a small church just outside of the city walls. Using herbs and flowers growing in the monastic garden, the friars made soothing balms and remedies to serve the local community. In the 16th century perfumer Renato Bianco raised by the Friars designed a fragrance for Catherine de’ Medici who was to marry Henry II of Valois, it was the first perfume to use an alcohol base instead of the traditional vinegar or olive oil. Acclaimed as the first modern perfume, it is still sold today as the Acqua Della Regina (“The Water of the Queen”). Over 400 years the Italian fragrance house has evolved into a top shelf brand with numerous fragrances, bath and grooming products. The Monks may no longer be a part of it but their formulas and dedication to using the finest ingredients is still maintained.
First Whiff – Santa Maria Novella Crema da Barba features notes of menthol, eucalyptus and Tabacco Toscano cologne, there are no layers of multiple scent notes but just three players in the field. At first whiff I get a hint of menthol followed by a stronger eucalyptus note, a second whiff and that Tabacco Toscano cologne comes through. The scent is refreshing and fairly invigorating with a masculine persona. Unlike some tobacco fragrances this one is refined, delicate and at the most a little above mid strength. Tobacco Toscano cologne is an SMN creation and was created around Manifattura di Lucca's iconic Tuscan cigar with oriental woody notes and smoky vanilla thrown into the blend, I have the cologne and am a huge fan of it. The soap comes across as a lighter and slightly mentholated version of it and is very plesant.
First Lather – Impressed by the fragrance I was eager to see if the lather matched up to it. The list of ingredients include water, stearic acid, coconut oil, potassium hydroxide, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, sodium hydroxide, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, fragrance, camphor, menthol, and allantoin. Using my damp omega Boar brush and a teaspoon of soap smeared across my cheeks, I proceeded to face lather painting multiple strokes for over a minute before splaying the brush for a good scrub. The result was a thick pasty cream on my cheeks and neck, adding a few drops of water I continued with the brush strokes and a scrub for a minute more, the lather was still thick and low structure. Another fifteen drops of water and a minute more of face lathering followed. I still wasn't happy with the result and added ten more water drops to my brush, thirty seconds later and I had a nice creamy and luxurious lather, not dense but very satisfying. It is easy to whip up a great lather with SMN Crema De Barba but unlike what other shavers boast of, this is a thirsty soap and requires a decent amount of hydration. To be fair, bowl lathering would definitely work better for this product.
First Performance – Pleasant fragrance, impressive lather and it was over to the performance. Using my Blackbird with a Wizamet I found the first pass to be decent, the lather helped the razor glide easily over a five day growth but there was something missing. I put that down to my high expectations of the product and proceeded with the second pass to finish with a BBS. There wasn’t too much residual slickness but the product did its job of aiding a fairly smooth shave. The residual slickness was a little above average and then it hit me, what was missing was the level of cushion and protection that so many top shelf brands offer. The cushion and protection were there but at the most it was average for me. SMN Crema De Barba receives high praise for its post shave feel from tons of wet shavers but for me personally, it failed to hold a candle to brands like Barrister & Mann, Zingari Man, Saponificio Varesino and Officna Artigiana to name a few. This shaving cream needs a post shave routine for sure.
First Opinion – Being my first shaving cream review and with all the high praise Santa Maria Novella Crema De Barba receives from its fans, I really wanted to like it but it was just about average for me. While I loved the Tobacco Toscano fragrance, it could have been a bit stronger. The actual performance of the product was a bit of a let-down , it did its job alright but then so many cheaper alternatives would as well. Being a 220 ml pour and with a minimal amount needed for every shave, It is a misconception that it is an over priced product but I can’t see myself going through a tub of it without getting bored before one third was done. You can wisely split the quantity and price with a fellow shaver to experience it, but for me a Proraso green tube would deliver a similar performance at a fraction of the cost without the mild hint of tobacco in it, and I could live with that.
Cover Art Work – 5 / 10
Lather Quality – 8 / 10
Fragrance – 7 / 10
Cushion & Protection – 6 / 10
Slickness – 7 / 10
Post Shave Feel – 6 / 10
Value – 10 / 10
Total Point Score – 49 / 70
Availability – https://noah.com.au , https://au.smnovella.com , https://www.libertineparfumerie.com.au and other online retailers.
On a more humorous note would that make the origins of this soap older than the fabled Yardley?
looking forward to your next review
cheers.
Never tried that one, I had the white tub "Green Tea and Oatmeal". I don't remember it smelling like any of those, but it was OK, got the job done. But it did leave a white deposit on my hardware.