Use a brush. Get one of the Omega boars. They are great values for the prices.
Side question - best to apply with hands or use a brush?
I have the red. the soap is easy to lather, was not crazy about the sandalwood scent.
Dave,
You're leaning towards a wonderful family of products. I currently have all four--I think I may be able to help you out or at least do a quick compare/contrast for your benefit. Hopefully it helps answer your question.
On Proraso's website, the red is meant for coarse beards, and it is super moisturizing and slick. The smell is also a more masculine rendition of sandalwood.
White has a bit of a cleaner, lighter scent, not as luscious a scent as bar soap but not far off from a fancy one. This one is meant for sensitive skin but in reality shaves just as nicely.
Green, as you know, is basically a mentholated pleasure, and it's meant to register a sort of astringent property to the skin to help prevent razor burn.
Blue is blue, only a cream is offered, it smells like speed stick deodorant but shaves vey nicely.
The answer to best depends on your mood / preference / need. I like them all, but some may require the need of one over the other. I will say I prefer Soaps to creams, so, if you choose to buy, for example, proraso white in a tub, be sure to check out some lathering tutorials to make the best assessment!
If you have any more questions, post them here and we'll answer. Good luck.
Proraso White Ingredients: Aqua (water), Stearic Acid, Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid, Parfum (fragrance), Menthol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Hydroxymethylgycinate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Geraniol, Citral Limonene, Linalool, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Thymus vulgaris (Thyme) Flower/Leaf Extract, Etidronic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA
It always freezes my face off, almost to the point of being painful. I get no such freeze from Green, just light cooling.