Barbon - A Hungarian Gem

Enuff said, I only wanted to add 2 things:
- it literally EATS up water when lathering (but then you get a very smooth and lubricating lather)
- the smell is incomparable to anything I've ever smelled, maybe some "forest" bath salt from my childhood, to be honest, it's awesome! Like Bobtrumpet says nothing from the common palette - it's unique.
For this price it's a no-brainer be sure to pick up a few if you hang around Hungary

Price

I paid about $7.50 for it from an ebay seller. That's a little more than I would have preferred to pay for an 85ml tube of cream, but I enjoy this one, so I think it's worth it.

Quality

Unfortunately, I do not have the ingredients. I did not get a box with my tube because it came from overseas. The quality seems quite good.

Scent

Green and plant like. From what I understand, the scent is chlorophyll. It may be a little medicinal for some guys but this is so different from any other cream I've tried that I really enjoy it. Once you get the lather going, the scent is very soft and muted.

Latherability

No problem whipping up a thick, rich lather with this stuff very quickly. Be careful not to leave it too thick or add too much water or your shaves will suffer.

Efficacy

I get great shaves from it, as good as pretty much any cream I've tried. Gentle too and provides great cushion and glide.

Moisturizing Properties

It didn't dry me out at all, but it didn't seem extra moisturizing or anything like that. Its not TOBS Avocado, but does pretty good on this point.

Packaging

Old fashioned metal tube...I prefer a plastic bowl, but it's fine.

Overall, one of the better drugstore/barbershop type creams I've tried. Very unique scent and gentle on my skin, so I recommend this without hesitation.

Man I know this one, I am from Bulgaria living in US. I grew up with my grandfather and father using Barbon and Caro.

Price - while I got mine for free as a gift at the DFW get-together (thanks, SmoovD!), the price is a bargain for a cream that performs this well.

Quality - top notch. Nothing about this product makes me think there are any limitations on the quality of ingredients or the formulation.

Scent - great fragrance, very clean, fresh, "green" smelling, if that makes sense. Not citrusy, flowery, musky, woody, etc. Nice scent to wake up to.

Latherability - monster lather. Very water range tolerant compared to Speick, Proraso, etc.. Can give a good shave with too much or not enough water, and a great shave even if you're only close to the sweet spot.

Efficacy - does everything pretty well. If I have one complaint, it may be that it's too cushiony; this may be the first cream where I have to use less product to get a great lather. A great combination of slickness and cushion. A little better than the ToBS creams I have tried.

Moisturizing Properties - I really don't feel like I have to use a balm or post-shave product with this cream.

Packaging - plain green box, nice metal tube. No glitz, but who needs that? I rated it a little lower because the packaging is plain (but I like plain).

Edit 8/13/09: I just had another great (and fairly quick - got up too late to use my routine) shave with this cream this morning. Two passes in the shower with a double-bladed Personna disposable.

I, too, picked this up from Shaving Essential a few months back. The scent is fresh but not overpowering. Barbon cream creates a very rich, dense lather which lasts through 4 passes. I found the cream to easy on the skin as well- moisturizing with plenty of cushion and more than enough slickness. I have found Barbon to be a real winner.

John over at Shaving Essentials sort of talked me into this stuff and it sat for a long time before I tried it. That was a mistake. Turns out I was missing out on one of the best shaves ever!

He says there is a menthol scent, but I don't get that. What scent there is is very subdued and mild. Inoffensive is an overused term, but one that applies here. The scent is mild and green I guess you could say. There seems to be no noticeable scent added to it.

What I DO get is a very very VERY comfortable shave. The lather does not take over your bathroom, but it's more than adequate and it does an absolutely superb job. I was BBS after two passes and some buffing with my Cobra Classic, because I wanted that glassy smooth feeling today. Usually I pay for that with some extra burn when I apply the aftershave, but there was ZERO burn (somewhat to my disappointment - I like a little sting! ). And my face feels great. There is none of the tightness that you get with some creams, nor is there any greasiness. The cream rinsed off clean and just worked to perfection. You owe it to yourself to try this stuff.

You get 85mL for $7. How can you beat that? I am off to buy a few more tubes before someone else finds out about it!