Proraso red is easily the best of the lineup. Better performance than white or green (pretty low bar to clear but still) and I personally think the scent of blue is horrific. Genuine synthetic chemical is all I get from it. Paint stripper, mineral turpentine, paint. Thats what it smells like to me. At least the red is a soapy, cheap Sandalwood. The splash is fantastic though, a nice powdery oriental sandalwood. Not a true sandalwood scent but enjoyable and hard to find in other frags.
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I'm a big fan of the white and use it mostly in the spring/summer ..... the blue line is my favorite for winter
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The Red in terms of formulation and yield is certainly the best having shea butter
As a fragrance, Blue is my favorite
As a fragrance, Blue is my favorite
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Had an disturbing experience today. Well, actually started a few months ago.
I like Proraso red, a lot. It's always in my rotation. But when I finished my last tub, I opened a tube of cream that came in a set with preshave and splash. It doesn't smell right. The same soapy, chemical notes, but not even a hint of sandalwood. I have some older Red cream that I had transferred to a sample container for travel a while back. Comparing the two, they're very different. Performance is the same, though. So I just chalked it up to being a bad batch. This was a few months ago, as I said.
Today, I finished a jar of Red preshave. It's the jar that came in the set with the "off" cream. It smelled great, as always...maybe the best scented member of the lineup. I opened a new jar that I just got last week. It smells nothing like the old one. Almost no scent at all, except faintly sweet like an unflavored buttercream frosting. Consistency seems the same.
Anyone else notice this? I could write off one product as a bad batch and move on, but this is really worrisome...I really liked the Red Preshave...used it with virtually every shave regardless of the soap I used.
I like Proraso red, a lot. It's always in my rotation. But when I finished my last tub, I opened a tube of cream that came in a set with preshave and splash. It doesn't smell right. The same soapy, chemical notes, but not even a hint of sandalwood. I have some older Red cream that I had transferred to a sample container for travel a while back. Comparing the two, they're very different. Performance is the same, though. So I just chalked it up to being a bad batch. This was a few months ago, as I said.
Today, I finished a jar of Red preshave. It's the jar that came in the set with the "off" cream. It smelled great, as always...maybe the best scented member of the lineup. I opened a new jar that I just got last week. It smells nothing like the old one. Almost no scent at all, except faintly sweet like an unflavored buttercream frosting. Consistency seems the same.
Anyone else notice this? I could write off one product as a bad batch and move on, but this is really worrisome...I really liked the Red Preshave...used it with virtually every shave regardless of the soap I used.
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Any info how old they were? I had one tub of Red spoiling during usage but hadn’t had any problems with their tubes and AS (400ml professional size).
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Hard to say, I bought the cream in the metal box set from Amazon within the last year (and the preshave in that set was great). The current "unscented" preshave I got last week from Italian Barber. I did snap a pic of the lot numbers so I may contact Proraso directly.
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+1 for the blue scent. Although I like the red too.
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Should the Ludovico Martelli Company come out with a Proraso Purple containing Lavender Oil, ideally with the same base and performance of the Blue, I may be seriously tempted not to use anything else.
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No, not quite the same, but about a dozen years ago (maybe more) I had a tub of the Proraso green pre-shave. The tub contents looked thinner, more liquid than what I was used to and after a few days I promptly developed a rash.
I am generally not one who puts a lot of faith in ‘bad batch’ theories, but as Proraso pre-shave is less popular than their shaving cream it might have been that the pre-shave was either incorrectly stored or past its prime.
Since then I have used Proraso (in any form) only rarely - usually on trips to Italy.
People may not agree, but in my book there a plenty of other products out there that can take Proraso’s place and I always found Proraso kind of ‘synthetic’ or ‘chemical’ and not coming across like a traditionally manufactured (think Valobra †, MWF, D.R. Harris or Haslinger) product.
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With the winter winds blowing I have been using the white line. It's a great shave but unscented for the most part. The pre shave cream does have a nice lemon scent that pairs well with just about anything...
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My current favorite is yellow. It's quite heavy and rich, but with a very pleasant scent. Highly recommended.
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I started with Proraso White as my skin is easily irritated, but actually found the Green to be the best performing and gentlest on my skin. No irritation, the preshave keeps me protected, the cream is slick as hell, and the balm leaves my skin feeling amazing. I'm going to try the lotion next, but just can't get over how top notch the line performs, especially for the price.
Plus, there's something to be said for it being the original line and direct descendant of the progenitor "Crema Miracolo"!
Plus, there's something to be said for it being the original line and direct descendant of the progenitor "Crema Miracolo"!
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My take:
Green - too cold
Red - too cloying
Blue - juuuuust right
Green - too cold
Red - too cloying
Blue - juuuuust right
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For me the answer is always green. I don’t care what the outside temperature is—it’s 70 degrees in my bathroom when I’m shaving. Second is red. I don’t care for white and I’ve never tried the blue.
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Red… only the red.
Just the pre/post shave and the shaving cream, too. Not the aftershave.
Better than the Proroso red, is the Cyril R. salter Indian Sandalwood. It is the best sandalwood shaving cream fragrance.
Just the pre/post shave and the shaving cream, too. Not the aftershave.
Better than the Proroso red, is the Cyril R. salter Indian Sandalwood. It is the best sandalwood shaving cream fragrance.
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