First, a background: I've been using a DE for about 3 1/2 months now (brush & soap lather with cart for about 2 years before that) and have tried C&E Sandalwood, Nomad and AOS Sandalwood soaps. All did a fine job of lathering, cushioning, etc. I've recently started a business, and SWMBO & I found out a couple of weeks ago that we will be expecting our first child in April, so finances have been a little tight. As a result, this Christmas we're just asking for essentials (dryer sheets, dishwashing detergent, etc), in quantities to last us throughout the year. My list, of course, contained a few different shave soaps. Well, my mom went Amazon-crazy and the first package showed up on our doorstep yesterday. On to the review...
I really like that Cella comes in its own container with screw-on lid. It should be great for travel. When I opened it, the smell of almonds (think amaretto, maraschino cherries, marzipan) was pretty strong. I was a little worried that it would be overpowering during a shave. More on that later. I'm a head-shaver, too, so brought it into the shower with my brush (GBS silvertip) and my Fusion (carts only for head-shaving. I like taking a little extra time on my face, but my head gets a single ATG pass. Never any irritation).
At first, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to load my brush with enough product. The Cella opening has a smaller diameter than my C&E wooden bowl, and the bloom of my brush had about the same diameter as the opening, so I didn't think I could get enough motion on the brush without coating the outside of the Cella container. I needn't have worried. I loaded for about 30 seconds and proceeded to head-lather. It took a little longer to work up a nice lather with the Cella than the AOS, but the lather was really nice. It seemed like it could have lasted for 16 passes if I needed it to. As I began to catch some of the aroma, I noticed that the smell had changed. The almond had mellowed, and I began to pick up a bit of..baby powder? Talcum powder? Something like that, but not in a bad way. It was a very pleasant aroma. I did my typical blade-buffing with the fusion, and really didn't notice a huge difference between the Cella and anything I'd used before. Probably due to a month-old cart.
On the face, however, is where the Cella excelled. Still using the same brush-load from the shower, I lathered my face. Still no signs of running out of product. Made one pass with my DE86, using a 1-shave old Astra SP blade. Felt nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. I had a 3-day stubble, and usually get a good shave with anything, with varying degree of (minimal) post-shave irritation. Added a bit of water to the brush for the 2nd lather and pass. Still plenty of product, it had just dried a bit. 2nd pass was a combo XTG/ATG, and this was where I noticed a real difference in the performance of the Cella over what I had used before. I would make a pass XTG and then a quick, short ATG and even with no visible lather in the area, the blade slid nicely across my skin. I don't really know how to describe the feeling. It was like there was some residual product though there was nothing visible; like a bit of slickness but not slimy residue. It may have just been the way the Cella conditioned my skin and it held a bit more moisture. Whatever the reason, it was great, especially on the neck where I'm prone to irritation if I attempt more than a single WTG. I lathered once more for a final ATG pass and finished with a DFS. Rinsed with warm water and a cool alum block (also a first) and finished with AOS sandalwood ASB. Also ended up squeezing enough product out of my brush for at least two more passes. This morning I awoke to: absolutely no irritation. I'm not sure whether it was the Cella, the Alum (I usually finish with a cold-water rinse and/or witch hazel) or a combination of the two, but even with an XTG and ATG pass on my neck, nothing. Cella has definitely earned a place in my regular rotation.
tl;dr version:
Aroma: good. a little overpowering at first, but fades
lather: took a little longer, but a better lather
performance: no difference on head or 1st face/neck pass, but amazing on subsequent passes
Irritation: none (though may have been d/t use of alum block)
Price: at $12 with its own container, pretty darn good
Would I recommend this: absolutely.
I really like that Cella comes in its own container with screw-on lid. It should be great for travel. When I opened it, the smell of almonds (think amaretto, maraschino cherries, marzipan) was pretty strong. I was a little worried that it would be overpowering during a shave. More on that later. I'm a head-shaver, too, so brought it into the shower with my brush (GBS silvertip) and my Fusion (carts only for head-shaving. I like taking a little extra time on my face, but my head gets a single ATG pass. Never any irritation).
At first, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to load my brush with enough product. The Cella opening has a smaller diameter than my C&E wooden bowl, and the bloom of my brush had about the same diameter as the opening, so I didn't think I could get enough motion on the brush without coating the outside of the Cella container. I needn't have worried. I loaded for about 30 seconds and proceeded to head-lather. It took a little longer to work up a nice lather with the Cella than the AOS, but the lather was really nice. It seemed like it could have lasted for 16 passes if I needed it to. As I began to catch some of the aroma, I noticed that the smell had changed. The almond had mellowed, and I began to pick up a bit of..baby powder? Talcum powder? Something like that, but not in a bad way. It was a very pleasant aroma. I did my typical blade-buffing with the fusion, and really didn't notice a huge difference between the Cella and anything I'd used before. Probably due to a month-old cart.
On the face, however, is where the Cella excelled. Still using the same brush-load from the shower, I lathered my face. Still no signs of running out of product. Made one pass with my DE86, using a 1-shave old Astra SP blade. Felt nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. I had a 3-day stubble, and usually get a good shave with anything, with varying degree of (minimal) post-shave irritation. Added a bit of water to the brush for the 2nd lather and pass. Still plenty of product, it had just dried a bit. 2nd pass was a combo XTG/ATG, and this was where I noticed a real difference in the performance of the Cella over what I had used before. I would make a pass XTG and then a quick, short ATG and even with no visible lather in the area, the blade slid nicely across my skin. I don't really know how to describe the feeling. It was like there was some residual product though there was nothing visible; like a bit of slickness but not slimy residue. It may have just been the way the Cella conditioned my skin and it held a bit more moisture. Whatever the reason, it was great, especially on the neck where I'm prone to irritation if I attempt more than a single WTG. I lathered once more for a final ATG pass and finished with a DFS. Rinsed with warm water and a cool alum block (also a first) and finished with AOS sandalwood ASB. Also ended up squeezing enough product out of my brush for at least two more passes. This morning I awoke to: absolutely no irritation. I'm not sure whether it was the Cella, the Alum (I usually finish with a cold-water rinse and/or witch hazel) or a combination of the two, but even with an XTG and ATG pass on my neck, nothing. Cella has definitely earned a place in my regular rotation.
tl;dr version:
Aroma: good. a little overpowering at first, but fades
lather: took a little longer, but a better lather
performance: no difference on head or 1st face/neck pass, but amazing on subsequent passes
Irritation: none (though may have been d/t use of alum block)
Price: at $12 with its own container, pretty darn good
Would I recommend this: absolutely.
The smell is nice to me and the lather is top notch, there must be something in the ingredients that doesn't agree with me. It is the only soap so far that has done this to me. It is a shame because Cella would probably be my top soap if it wasn't for the burn.
