Bottega Verde Uomo crema da barba – Figaro’s lost brother?

Got some for X-mas. Was a bit anxious at first, as last year I had to give up on Cella, because of the almond. However so far (touch wood) no irritation from the almond fragrance. Do not like the scent: too sweet for my taste. I do like how it works. Get a thick and slick lather in an instant. Razor glides smoothly and can do his job very well. My skin likes it too, feels good afterwards. For the price (2,99 euros) a very good cream. You do not need much of it, so the 150 ml tub will last for a while. My guess would be 2 months. Try it

Bottega Verde Uomo crema da barba – Figaro’s lost brother?



What I bring to you today is a shaving cream, available in Bottega Verde stores, scattered a little across Europe, and available online at http://bottegaverde.eu/. This cream is made in Italy by Biochimica s.p.a, makers of the well-known (and sadly discontinued) P.160 shaving soap and the Figaro/Fitness shaving creams, also available in the USA under the trademark “RazoRock”.



1 - Ingredient list:
Well... I really don’t know fore sure what to think… In the sticker under the package, you can read:

Aqua, Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Propylene Glycol, Myristic Acid, PEG-150 Distearate, Simmondsia Chinensis Oil, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Theobroma Cacao Butter, Tetrasodium Edta

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Apparently, it includes coconut oil, cocoa butter and jojoba oil. It is indeed a vegetable-based cream. However, here’s what you find if you remove the sticker:

Aqua, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Cocos Nucifera, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Myristic Acid, PEG-150 Distearate, Jojoba Wax, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Tetrasodium EDTA

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This second formulation is exactly the same formulation that you can see in the Figaro/Fitness shaving creams:


(image taken from the excellent review of Figaro, made by Marco)

Well, this left me a bit of doubt… what is the correct formulation of this cream? The difference is in the presence of propilenoglicol and cocoa butter in the “Bottega Verde” formulation, and the presence of Palmitic oil and glycerin in the “Figaro” formulation. I don’t really know what happens: maybe the manufacturer is using these packages and puts a sticker with the correct formulation over it? Or this cream is just Fígaro with another name?
Oh, well, let’s leave the theory and move on to the practice, because, as the British say, “the proof is in the pudding”.

2 - Presentation:
This cream is presented in a 150mL bowl. This is a plastic bowl, very similar to the bowls used by Omega/Proraso. When I bought it, it came with an aluminium foil protecting the cream and keeping it safe from air contact till it gets to the consumers hand. Unlike other Italian products (that have a consistency somewhere in between a soap and a cream), this one is really a cream. A thick and sticky cream, but much softer that Valobra.

3 - Durability:
This is a quite large bowl (150mL), and there’s no need to load the brush very much. Certainly about 2-4 months, even used on a daily basis.

4 – Soap loading:
Very easy and quick. This is a cream, there’s no need to moisten the surface or anything like that. You can easily scoop a portion with a spoon and place it in your lathering bowl. It is a sticky creamy product, very easily adheres to your brush.

5 – Ability to lather:
Excellent! This is one of this cream’s best characteristics. At the beginning, it seems that it’s not going to lather, but a few drops of water and… BOOOM, it just explodes into a beautiful, amazing, plentiful lather. And it doesn’t even takes too long; easily and quickly you obtain high quality lather.

First pass:


After my first pass, I added some drops of water and the lather exploded even more!


6 – Water/soap ratio:
Very permissive. It takes very well a small amount of excess water, without compromising the quality of your lather. It likes a little more water than other soaps and creams.

7 – Lather quality:
Very good, creamy, dense and long-lasting, the lather adheres to your skin very easily. The type of lather that is beautiful to look at, and nice to feel between your fingers.

8 – Protection and slickness:
Excellent. Slickness is one of the strongest points of this cream. The lather is also very cushioning, and delivers an excellent feeling of protection. Nearly perfect.

9 – Skin sensation
Excelent. There isn’t any refreshing or mentholated feeling, but it gives a very good sensation of confort. It provides a very comfortable shave, every time I use it, without any nicks, cuts or irritation.

10 – Moisturising and post-shaving sensation:
Very good. It leaves the skin very moisturised, (maybe because the jojoba oil that it contains) but without any sticky or oily feeling.

11 - Fragrance:
The scent of this cream is like bitter almonds or marzipan, and a little stronger than Valobra. The lather is not so strong-scented, and it features a fragrance like pure almonds. Very old-school, and very barbershop. Personally, I like it A LOT!

12 - Price:
A real bargain: €2,99 for the 150g bowl.. An excellent example that a very good quality product doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive.

13 - Conclusion:
A very high quality cream, much higher than you may think if you judge it only by its price. In quality, I believe it is on pair with Omega/Proraso, if not better, and easily leaves behind other soaps and creams two or three times more expensive. This cream is inexpensive, easy to obtain (especially if you are able to find it in Bottega Verde retail stores), so easy to lather, very moisturising and very kind to your skin, delivering an excellent glide and protection during the shave.

Do I recommend it? A big YES! For a rotation, or even for using on a daily base. If you like almond-scented creams, this is a must for you!



P.S.: If you have any comments to do about this review, feel free to do it here.


EDIT:

In this thread, Joe, owner of RazoRock, contacted Biochimica s.p.a. asking about the correct formulation of this cream. Biochimica's answer was clear: the correct formulation is the one that is described in the sticker. This cream is different than Figaro/Fitness/Razorock creams, with a slightly different formulation.