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Crème Pogonotomienne shaving cream arrival from France; wow(!) and review.

Hi all. Happy Friday! 😁

How many here use (or have heard of) Crème Pogonotomienne?! (I will use "crème" and "cream" interchangeably--same definition here.)

WOW, this is next level stuff! No wonder(!), the company is 200 years old founded by Jean Vincent Bully in approx 1807, though he had started his Parisian perfume boutique on rue Saint-Honoré in 1803 (and was well known throughout Europe, and even though there were "139 perfumers" in Paris in early 1800s, he was successful and one of the last from that era. (Though there is one from the 1200s that started out as a Dominican friars convent, still operational, more modern today: Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella Since 1221 - https://us.smnovella.com/ , they also own the Idralia line for those who have seen other products. Anyway, they, too, have a shaving line of products, in particular this crème: Shaving Cream - https://us.smnovella.com/collections/shaving/products/7030915 )

Background: A couple months ago, as I was easing back into wet shaving after a several year/beard hiatus, I was sent a tiny sampler/half used tube by an eBayer from whom I purchased a mint Vikings Emperor Meiji (great buy). He is now growing a beard, and wanted to them sell all his shaving goods. Unlike many of us on here, he did not have a hundred of everything (blades, creams, 20 razors 🙄, and so on), but he did have the basics (brush, bowl, a couple creams, the shaver I wanted (Meiji) and a few blades. I bought the shaver and he sent the few other items as freebies. ONE of the items was a small, half used sample of Crème Pogonotomienne "Unctuous Shaving Cream".

Current: I used the Crème Pogonotomienne it for a shave (direct FACE lather), thinking "what the heck; might as well give a freebie a try", and it produced a smooooooooth shave; the scent is lovely too (sweet almond,m woody, teensy scent of lemon if you smell for it). GREAT stuff. I went online and could not find it for sale in the US nor on eBay. This led me to their website of the product: Crème Pogonotomienne - Crème de rasage - Officine Universelle Buly - https://buly1803.com/fr-us/products/soin-essentiel-creme-pogonotomienne. Mind you, a lot is in French, but they have English translation, and they only sell in Euro (not even in USD). SUre enough, I found the cream (crème) I wanted. It is sold in 75 milliliter (approx 2.5 oz) tubes, so I bought two (might as well since shipping all the way from France). I also bought two of the "after shave oil"; they do not believe in a traditional balm we use here, which is usually a lotion-like consistency. This comes in a smaller 30 milliter bottle. Photos posted below.

Package of my order arrived = VERY classy.
  1. Look at the handwritten greeting card they placed on top of the order? And then when I opened it up, wow.
  2. Opened the tube boxes, the tube itself is a work of art. It is all metal (not plastic as in many of our US creams) though Prosaro tubes are also metal (Made in Italy--see the trend here? Less plastic from European makers of these goods?).
    • Cremo, US/NJ based ---> plastic tube
    • Art of Shaving, ---> plastic tube
    • Gillette Soothing Shaving Cream in Tube ---> plastic tube
    • (you get the picture)
  3. The tube CAP is even metal and has a "B" monogrammed for Buly, the company name (after the longer "Officine Universelle Buly"). It even has knurling(!) on the cap (see photos!).🙌🏼
  4. The tube itself isn't cheap metal (not that I am an expert, but it feels very solid)
  5. Crème itself, most importantly, is wonderful on the face and in a shave. Smells great, "fatty" creating a wonderful lather (I would say Prosaro is very similar, but Prosaro cream is "denser", this is more "whipped" consistency--which they tell you outright that one does not need a lot of this "unctuous shaving cream" (uncutuous = dictionary definition, "excessively or ingratiatingly flattering"). 😁 😁 😁
  6. The packing material is even wood shavings (not tiny that gets everywhere, but refined long strands.
  7. Almost everything is recyclable, even the packaging! 👍🏼
So, the details aside, this cream produces an amazing shave in just TWO passes (WTG, XTG), though I usually do a third (ATG). Have not used the after0shave "oil" yet (consistency is not olive oil) but soon enough. 😁

Cheers,
Ezra


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(old storefront photo)
 
Forgot to add, but you can see in second photo above, I could not figure out at first what this was--maybe instructions. The first part of all their materials is in French, so I skipped past it as my French is not fluent (far from it).

Upon closer inspection though, it is a SAMPLER of fragrances (not even the peg holder in corner is metal!). The circle at the bottom of each card contains a scent of that card's explanation. Very cool!

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Separately, since I post here once in a while (and not everyone "cross-pollinates" forums), I am hosting a GIVEAWAY here, for two packages (10 blades) still in Retail, of Wilkinson Sword Sword-Edge, Made in England. I want to make sure my shaving cream enthusiasts know! 😁

Link to GIVEAWAY:
 
Lather. It is FACE lather in the first place, so perfect for me. 😁

well, i actually tried this and it arrived yesterday.
nice scent.
unfortunately, definitely this is brushless and does not lather like a Proraso or similar lathering cream.
i'll still give it a try with a live shave, but right now looks disappointing.
likely will gift my tubes to family or friend.

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Oy. @sarimento1 Sorry to hear; I'll take it off your hands for cost bc it might hit your wastebin ort likely long term storage as we all have a place for "I don't use it, buuuut I don't want to get rid of it.! I almost always start with FACE lather (after my pre-pre-shave workup, hot towel, oil so on). Then I FACE lather with this, THEN I paint with a very-moist brush (awaiting a new badger brush from @Rudy Vey ); currently using a VIelong (Spain) horse brush that just keeps getting batter (I'm not in Badgerary 2024!).

Proraso, which I also use for FACE lather sometimes, is "denser"; this stuff is more "whipped". I am sure you know what I mean when you compare side by side.

Cheers
 
Oy. @sarimento1 Sorry to hear; I'll take it off your hands for cost bc it might hit your wastebin ort likely long term storage as we all have a place for "I don't use it, buuuut I don't want to get rid of it.! I almost always start with FACE lather (after my pre-pre-shave workup, hot towel, oil so on). Then I FACE lather with this, THEN I paint with a very-moist brush (awaiting a new badger brush from @Rudy Vey ); currently using a VIelong (Spain) horse brush that just keeps getting batter (I'm not in Badgerary 2024!).

Proraso, which I also use for FACE lather sometimes, is "denser"; this stuff is more "whipped". I am sure you know what I mean when you compare side by side.

Cheers
Also, @sarimento1 , out of curiosity, are you using DE or straight razor? I use this mostllllllly with straight razor (or shavette :facep: )

Cheers
 
Also, @sarimento1 , out of curiosity, are you using DE or straight razor? I use this mostllllllly with straight razor (or shavette :facep: )

Cheers
thx. doc. for your note, condolences and offer!
i'm usually using a straight, but often use DE and shavette.
(i'll send you a pm to see if you're still interested in a great deal on my two Pogo's!)

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thx, the friedellkos are nice shavers, almost full hollow, take nice edge. seven-day set, missing friday.
Wow. Seven day sat. Amazing. Holy cow.

Just did a quick search and I see an entire set, incl Friday, is listed for $499 on the Bay. Whoa

 
Wow. Seven day sat. Amazing. Holy cow.

Just did a quick search and I see an entire set, incl Friday, is listed for $499 on the Bay. Whoa

indeed, nice set, i've seen it earlier.
these sets are somewhat like pets, require care and attention.

a few years back, i grabbed a WWII vintage no-name set of 6 on auction, looked hardly used, but required honing to work out some chinks in the edges. there were some interesting papers that came along with it. ultimately sold it here on B&B and recovered my o-o-p costs. a fun project, but I certainly couldn't justify keeping another set!

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well, i actually tried this and it arrived yesterday.
nice scent.
unfortunately, definitely this is brushless and does not lather like a Proraso or similar lathering cream.
i'll still give it a try with a live shave, but right now looks disappointing.
likely will gift my tubes to family or friend.

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Was intrigued by @phdezra 's nice review (thank you, an enjoyable read!) so I took a look at their web site. You are right that this is meant to be a brushless product. Their instructions for this are (translated from French to English so some grammar is off):

"Massage the cream into the skin to soften the hair and skin. Using a clean razor, slowly shave the chosen hairy parts of the face and rinse with warm, clear water between two strokes. Remove any extra trace with a warm, wet cloth, or rinse thoroughly, depending on what you prefer."

One of the product reviews on the sellers web site from 2020, likely from someone who didn't realize this is a brushless product, state that:
"While it holds a beautiful smokey woody scent which is a plus, it does not however “lather” well, it takes a lot of work to lather up with a brush and even then your left with a thin layer, I really do hope that a newer version will be introduced in the future as I’ve fell in love with the scent."

If you like the scent it may be worth shaving with this as the brushless product it is intended to be. The reviewer above gave this four stars entirely because of the pleasant scent.

P.S. Prior to Phdezra's post I'd never heard of this retailer, Officine Universelle Buly, before. Have a look at their list of stores in Europe and Asia with photos (linked below). This has to be one of the most upscale retailers out there with a nice range of personal care products that go well beyond shaving.

 
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