Santa Maria Novella Crema Da Barba

First of all, I live in Italy so I could get this soap for 35 euros ($38). I would not have purchased it elsewhere for a higher price.

Second of all, it is not a cream, it is a typical Italian soft soap.

The scent is indeed very close to Proraso green and Omega (camphor and eucalyptus), which I actually love, especially in summer. However, it is not as strong as Proraso and has a light warm body. The packaging says "light Tuscan Tobacco scent". I almost don't feel it at all.

I have shaved with this soap for 15 straight days so far and the results are fantastic. It provides great cushion and post-shave feel (whereas Proraso green lacks in this department, IMO).

I pair it with Floid Blue and my face feels so good.

It should last quite a long time (I suppose around 5-6 months of daily use).

In summary: it's a fantastic shaving soap in what a shaving soap should excel: providing you a comfortable shave.

- Buy it if:
1) you or a friend of yours visit Italy
2) you like eucalyptus / camphor / menthol scent and feeling

- Don't buy it if:
1) You prefer strong-scented soaps
2) You prefer shaving creams or hard pucks

I picked this up in Bangkok and paid a phenomenal 2,850 baht (US$92), ok, I didnt have to pay that much but based on the reviews here, I felt at the very least I had to give it a whirl.
Bad news first; I had travelled light and took with me a tube of Omega. I opened up the SMN and thought that I had been ripped off, like buying a fake pair of ray-bans or copy rolex watch. I placed the 2 next to each together and smelt them...The same smell, carbon copy almost the same. Blindfolded, I would have been hard pressed to tell the difference. It has the same look when you open the tub, those round lines. Omega, Proraso and SMN seem to have been spawned from the same mother.
Packaging was a flimsy paper box, the tub was of good quality.

So, is it worth it? is it worth paying 2 or 3 times above the odds for 250ml (note the cream is weighed in volume as opposed to weight) of cream? IMHO, No. I hate to play devil's advocate here but I must disagree.Not everyone is fortunate enough to reside in Europe where they can pick it up at a decent price.

The lather created was outstanding and it's moisturising properties are excellent, for this, SMN scores top points, absolutely no complaints on this side.

Summing up, I feel that it is an expensive form of proraso or omega, even allowing for the high prices of taxation and shipping I would rather spend my money on something more.

Price - $52 for a 7oz tub of cream is rather pricey. This stuff is more like a hard cream though so I imagine it will last longer than a typical cream so that may offset some of the high cost.

Quality - I'm sure some of the price you pay is for the name itself, as SMN is regarded as a high quality product. That said this stuff blows proraso out of the water.

Scent - Mmmmm....Menthol and Eucalyptus. Not as powerful as proraso, but I like the subtle scent better and the feeling on the face is second to none.

Latherability - This is where SMN distinguishes itself from proraso. I get loads of thick, cushiony and slick lather.

Efficacy - The lather produced provides plenty of slickness to allow straights to glide right through your beard.

Moisturizing - It is not MWF, but the added lanolin in SMN does seem to provide some added moisturizing properties over say proraso.

Packaging - For $52 I expect a little more than a plain plastic tub, but it seals well I guess

Overall - This is an expensive product no doubt about it. That said, I anticipate it to last a very long time due to the more soap like consistency it has. I couldn't stand proraso, but absolutely love SMN and am glad I found something that works for me that has that menthol kick. This is basically a top 3 cream for me joining the likes of Domenico Caraceni and Acca Kappa.

Yes,it is good cream and it will last a very long time but the price is too high for most people to purchase this cream.

La "Crema da Barba di Santa Maria Novella" is one of the very best shaving creams available on the market.
It is produced by the "Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella", in Florence, Italy.
This pharmacy, founded by Dominican Friars in 1612, is considered the oldest in Europe and one of the oldest in the World.
With almost four hundred years of history, wisdom and experience the Officina di Santa Maria Novella is renowned for offering top quality products, which include soaps, colognes, bath and shaving preparations, skin care and aromatherapy oils.
The majority of these products are still made by traditional methods, using proven techniques and selected ingredients.
The Crema da Barba, as already stated above, is one of these top-shelf products.
It comes in a nice cardboard box with, attached, two parchments called "Nota", which describe the history of the pharmacy and list the entire range of products offered by the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.
These parchments alone are, without any doubt, a touch of class.
As about the cream, it comes in a 220 ml plastic bowl and costs € 25, with NO shipping charge, since here in Rome we have our authorized SMN shop.
It is essentially the same price I pay for other top-notch creams, like my beloved Castle Forbes, that costs £ 20, plus S&H.
The scent of the Crema da Barba, as its appearance and density, is very close to Proraso soap.
Anyhow the fragrance is not as strong as Proraso, although contains menthol and Eucalyptus oil.
I love this scent: it's fresh, clean and pleasant, not overpowering at all.
The latherability of this product is amazing.
Truly.
With a peanut size of cream I get enough lather for more than three passes.
And what a lather!!!
It's beautifully rich, slick, cooling, moisturizing and very, very protective.
Finally a question that most of you, who do not know the Crema da Barba, would probably ask: "How to compare SMN with Proraso?"
Here is my opinion: Proraso is an excellent, classical cream for having great, close and comfortable shaves.
The Crema da Barba, maybe for the added presence of lanolin, is simply an "upgraded version" of Proraso: better lather, more slickness, higher level of moisturzing and higher degree of protection.
The Crema da Barba di Santa Maria Novella is, with Castle Forbes Lime Oil and Castle Forbes Lavender Oil, in my top three shaving creams.
And it's also the very best our Italian barbershop tradition can offer.
I suppose no further commentary is needed.

Santa Maria Novella. I can’t think of another brand that says “I must be great, but you can’t afford me” like SMN. Because of price and mystery, I spent more time courting this product than my wife. What I came up with surprised me.

Price
Does a higher price always equal better shaves? No, definitely not. In the case of SMN the tub is bigger and the product is as dense as a soft soap. So, it costs 50 clams, but you get more and it last longer.

Quality
Luxurious. Ever hear guys complain about their favorite cream that was discontinued years ago because the ingredients became too expensive to source? This is that cream continued to be made with quality ingredients.

Scent
Nice and light. Almost medicinal - some camphor there. I like it fine, but the scent does not bring me back like a coconut or lavender. I was hoping it would be scented like the Pre Dopo in Melagrano (Pomegranate) or another exotic SMN fragrance, but it is a generally fresh scent much like Omega.

Lather
SMN produces rich lather. You can slightly feel the presence of menthol or camphor. It feels wonderful on the face, but is not numbing like Poraso. I have waded through over 100 soaps and creams, and consider this more rich and effective than any other cream on the market. I scoop a dollop of cream out with a teaspoon into an empty Trumper’s soap bowl. Treating it as a soft soap works great and that dollop has lasted two weeks already.

Efficacy
It is winter time and I needed to find a better solution. I am catching the best shaves of my life. BBS with no irritation. What’s not to love about that? I have never understood why guys rated creams as moisturizing until now. It leaves the skin soft and moist. It is one of the few products I can use without an aftershave.

Controversy
Shave geeks say that SMN cream is made by Martelli Cosmetics and manufactured the same as Poraso, Omega and Bigelow. Many say it is repackaged Bigelow. If I blindfolded you and lathered your face with Proraso and Bigelow, you'd never know the difference. But with SMN you'd find it superior in lather and overall shave comfort. I do.


This product kicks serious ***. There is a reason I have been a hardcore soap guy for years. My pansy boy skin demands the highest quality lather or else I deal with redness and irritation. This stuff has blown my socks off. Welcome to the next level.

I'm not a fan of Proraso, not by a long shot. However I purchased SMN a long time ago, before finding B&B as canned goo irritated my skin. I couldn't get a descent lather, and then found AoS. Now that I know how to generate lather correctly I pulled this out of the bottom of my bathroom cabinet for another run, before considering putting it up on BST.

Price: This stuff set me back a fortune $60AUD, and that was 2 years ago.

Quality: Top notch. Can't go wrong with this stuff, although scent wise it's similar to Proraso that's where the similarity ends

Scent: Not as strong as Proraso, but has the same clean eucalyptus and menthol scent. The scent doesn't linger after your shave either, which I personally lilke.

Latherability Takes a bit more water, but the lather is dense, slick and cushioning.

Moisturizing This is where SMN shines, its the one of the most moisturizing creams/soaps I've ever come across. I didn't need to use a AS balm as I normally would.

Packaging The box it comes in is very old and traditional. The tub, is old and understated, with a simple plastic branding sticker. I like the box, its quite classy, however the tub is a bit plain jane, but its the stuff inside the tub that counts.

Overall, one of the very best out there. It certainly deserves praise for its lather, performance and moisturizing. Certainly comparable and deserves to be mentioned with the likes of Penhaligons, AoS and Floris creams which IMO I find are unparalleled in performance.

Price: You get lots of cream, and it seems to last long. It's well worth the cost.

Quality: The tub is a bit on the simple side, the Florentine paperbox it comes in is a nice touch. The cream itself is great quality. "Proraso like", however I must admit it is a better product in so many ways, regardless of its origin.

Scent: Again, "Proraso like" however weaker, and there is a woody undertone somewhere in there that's quite nice mix.

Latherability: It likes water, and needs a bit more work to get the rich later that a british cream may yield right away, however once you get, you got it! It stays with you throughout the shave.

Efficacy: Holds its own with Aqua di Parma Shave cream, and other high end products. It's quite slick and razor glide is almost effortless.

Moisturizing Properties: Yes, and yes. The touch of lanolin leaves your skin very soft. An aftershave can "almost" be optional in some cases.

Package: As previously stated, the tub is simple but functional. A touch of extra class comes from the Florentine paperbox that the tub comes in. I cannot bring myself to discard it.

So to summerize, if you like a Proraso type shave cream, you'll really love this one. If you're not a fan, you'll still enjoy this gem because of the differences to the Proraso product.

I rated this highly on price. Yes, at $52/tub its pricey, but the large tub lasts forever. Great protection, washes away clean, what more can anyone want?

As good as it gets. This might be my desert island cream, it's pretty much perfect.
People comment on the price but I have shaved 20 times with my tub and it was so full when it arrived that there is still more in it than the picture in the first review. Yes the tub is expensive but it is huge and it lasts forever.
It is certainly not the easiest soap for creating lather, it takes a bit of work. In fact, I have triple milled soaps that lather up more quickly, but once you put the work in, you get a beautifully slick and cooling lather.
Almost nothing leaves my skin feeling as good as this stuff.
I will definitely rebuy when my tub runs out, in 10 or 15 years...

Introduction: No shaving cream receives from controversy than Santa Maria Novella (SMN). Not even Acqua di Parma receives have the criticism for it price that SMN receives...and SMN is $10 cheaper. Some people will argue that SMN is nothing but overpriced Proraso. I'm a fan of Proraso, so let's see how SMN compares.

Price: For $52 you get 250 mL/8.4 oz. of shaving cream. Considering how much that is and how incredibly dense SMN is, I would say it's worth the price. Most people would agree that SMN ends up being cheaper per shave than Proraso.

Lather: You need to treat SMN like a soap. That means, you swirl the brush around a few times on SMN and then move to a bowl or your face. I produced a rich, creamy lather.

Scent: What strikes me as odd is that some people will go to great depths to say how horrid Proraso smells, yet no one ever complains about the SMN's scent. In my opinion, SMN smells good. It smells like an Italian barbershop (whatever that smells like...). It is not as strong as Proraso, which some, myself excluded, think is a good thing. The menthol is also not as strong as Proraso.

Shave: I got a DFS in three passes. In my opnion SMN shaves no different than Proraso. I am sure many will agree with me and many others will disagree with me.

Moisturizing properties: SMN is decent at moisturizing. Even though this about the last thing I care about (aren't men supposed to have rough skin?), I do think it should be mentioned.

Packaging: Does the word "horrid" suffice? SMN is packed in a three-part container. There's the lid, the tub, and another unit that holds the cream (see third picture below). That's a great idea, but the unit that holds the cream is not glued in place. So, the unit that holds the cream sometimes comes out. That's very awkward and appalling for a $52 cream. The quality of the packaging leads me to believe that SMN is secretly being produced at Italy's Fiat plant...

Final thoughts: I think SMN is worth the $52. For $52 you get an ultra-dense cream, and a lot of it. In the end, I think it will be cheaper per shave than a tube of Proraso. The packaging also looks nice. Plus, who doesn't want a cream that is/was produced by priests in Italy? Who knows, maybe there's some indulgence tied in with SMN...

Where to purchase: SMN can be purchased for $52 from LeesRazors.com. Make sure to use the promo code "BBSHIP". This will give you free standard shipping.

I shaved today with a sample of Santa Maria Novella that I was able to secure, in advance of purchasing the big tub at full retail. Others, wiser and more experienced than me, have told me to proceed with due deliberation because this product is the same substance as Proraso/COBigelow shaving cream. I have read other posts disputing this position strongly. So, I decided I would try a sample before springing for the big shaving cream investment. First, I need to say without hesitation that I am very fond of Proraso/COBigelow, and enjoy shaving with it often. Second, I need to say that it is my opinion the SMN is the identical substance, and to my nose and face, it is the exact same substance with a different name, container, and price. I have tried them both, and they are in my opinion, virtually identical. I didn't detect any noticeable differences in SMN and my beloved Proraso, none whatsoever. As you can see, this is not a negative review, it is just a note of good news, that if you are interested in SMN, then you are fortunate because you can get it cheaper at Bath and Body Works, under the brand name of COBigelow. It's $10 for a big tube. No need to pay an extra $47 for the price differential plus shipping. No matter what you pay, a little, or a lot, this shaving cream is a very good product with good performance, but it does seem to leave my face dry, with no detectable moisturization.

One of the absolute best you can buy.

I scored the price category a little off because this is a $50.00 tub of cream, *but*....it's a very, very large tub and should last over a year even if used daily. Based on the quantity the price rating can be misleading, but there are certainly less expensive and effective creams on the market, but where most creams excel in some areas and falter in others this one is perfect in every respect.

It's a rather hard cream meaning that swirling the brush across the cream rather than taking out a dollop would be the preferred method, but the lather simply explodes and a few quick swirls of brush against cream loads the brush for a 4 pass shave with ease.

Efficacy is perfect with excellent lubricating properties. I have achieved consistent BBS shaves with this cream and a corked Swede G loaded Futur os setting number 2 for the first two passes and setting number 4 for the third pass and blade buffing finale.

Nice, fresh and clean scent that is a milder version of Proraso with menthol and eucalyptus evident.

Highly recommended!

The major gripe heard about this cream is the price, it made me think twice but when you compare the size of the jar for the price its on par with most other creams. The only con to this cream is the scent, which smells great just very faint, kinda like the opposite of Proraso. To sum this review up I've been shaving with a disposable straight (ie Focus, Magics, Shavette) for ten years so lubricity is to me is "the" factor when pairing a cream with a razor and the only two creams to see my Feathers are Proraso and this one. I highly recommend it as I've been using it a minimum of three times a week for ten months and I've hardly put a dent in it! I see a couple of years of use from one of these jars with constant use, for fifty dollars you can't ask for much more.

MBW and I are staying at the American Club in beautiful Kohler,Wisconsin and after visiting the Kohler Company showroom, which had a Crabtree & Evelyn shave soap dish glued to one of the displays, I set out to find some top quality shave soap. I could not find any C&E anywhere, but one shop had The Art of Shaving and after asking a few questions and looking around one of the clerks found a 250 ML tub of Santa Maria Novella, crema da barba. She said it was made by monks in Italy and this was the last one they had. I saw the price had been reduced to $19 from $38 USD, so I bought it.

I almost passed on it because the smell reminded me of Proraso (which I don’t like). But since there was nothing else in this town that I could find, (go figure, 5 star resort, golf course ranked #3 in America, top notch Water Spa and no place to get a shave), I went ahead with it.

Price:
This is the only negative thing I found with this product. Even though I only paid $19 the regular price of $38 seems a bit steep for me. Albeit a 250 ml tub is a pretty good size.

Quality:
The quality was misleading at first. The initial appearance is not that of a premium product, (i.e. plain package, very old styling, looks/smells similar to Proraso shave soap). The shave results proved otherwise.

Scent:
Thankfully it is not as strong as Proraso, but it does have that menthol eucalyptus smell. I am not a big fan of menthol scent but I will not lower my rating because of that, it’s still fairly pleasant and may even have a hint of lavender. Overall it is a pleasingly light menthol eucalyptus scent that I think most will enjoy.

Latherability:
I will have to update this when I get home, since I was using my old brush and the water seems a little on the hard side here. Even the spa soaps did not lather well here. It did do what it was supposed to do and after a little coaxing it lathered up quite nicely. It was rich & creamy and lasted for the entire shave.

Update from home: Now that I am home and the water might be treated different, (comes from the same lake I think), I have only noticed marginal improvement on lathering, even with my fairly new Art of Shaving pure badger brush. It does take a little effort to get a good lather. In whipping the lather it makes a transition from sudsy foam to a rich creamy lather after a minute or two of whipping. This is when I begin shaving. Once it gets to this point though it lasts the entire shave and one brush full is enough for my usual three passes.

Since this is a hard cream it has to be worked off the top with a wet brush. One nice thing about it, is it is not wasteful since you can’t accidentally smoosh the brush in too deep and get more than you needed. On one of my shaves I had to go over the top a second time to get enough to make a good lather.

Efficacy:
It is very hard for a cream, but not as hard as soap, so a little went a long way. The picture I took of the open tub was taken after I used it and you can still see the ridges from when it was filled.

Moisturizing:
This is not a property I pay a lot of attention to since I normally use an aftershave balm. However, it was not drying and left my skin feeling quite refreshed, soft and smooth. I could probably get by without even using any ASB.

Packaging:
The packaging of the tub was a plain card stock box. The tub itself is a modern plastic shave cream tub with a screw on lid that holds 250 ml of cream. It does what it is supposed to do and that’s about all there is to say about that.

The Shave:
This is what it all boils down to and it was wonderful. It provided excellent lubrication for the blade and left my skin irritation free. Using my Gillette travel DE and a red pack Personna blade, I was able to get a very smooth BBS finish.

Continued from home:
I have had two more excellent shaves using my 1962 adjustable and a Derby Extra blade. Overall I find this to be an outstanding product and if you happen to come across some in your travels I recommend it. The usual disclaimers apply, but next month, when I am in Italy I know what I’ll be looking out for.

View attachment 7591

View attachment 7592

View attachment 7593

Here is a link to the discussion thread for this review.