Will I get shot for saying... I think Santa Maria Novella shaving kit kind of sucks?

**MerkurFTW** · 07-28-2011, 06:02 PM

So I got some SMN "Crema de Barba"... Close to $60 after taxes. I tried it, horrible results. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get as thick or creamy a lather as the Gold Daches shaving soap I'd been using... But that wasn't the main issue. The lather was creamy enough, I suppose- I would have liked it thicker- I don't like when you can see the pink of the skin through the lather- it should paint your face a solid white in my opinion. The SMN also felt great on- tingly and very refreshing... But I digress- the main issue I had with it was that it made my skin incredibly "tacky", for lack of a better word. The razor couldn't glide properly, and skin seemed to want to get bitten... A few nicks, with a nice beauty right under my nose.

Here's the rub- they seem to be a terrific company in terms of customer support- I phoned the store and told them my experience, and they offered to allow me to exchange the tub for something else... I chose the pre-shave cream, and tried it today... Again, felt great on- that tingly, refreshing feeling- almost like an invigorating numbing, if that makes sense. It certainly felt as if it was capable of making my whiskers softer... Anyway, lathered up with the always flawless Taylor of Old Bond Street sandalwood, and had at it... Again, the extremely tacky skin issue! Terrible bite under the nose! It was so bad that I washed my face after the first pass and lathered again... The second pass with just the TOOBS was lightyears better, but my skin was still slightly burnt and bit from the first pass.

I know people love this stuff... But in my estimation, this tacky issue supersedes any positive qualities the products may have... I feel that it's nice if a product smells great, has ingredients that invigorate or refresh the skin, etc. etc... But what's actually important is how they inform the glide of the razor during the shave... And to my mind, "tacky" is the exact polar opposite of that. Terms like "lubricated", "smooth", "moisturized", etc. etc. seem more inline.

Again, they were super nice to allow me to exchange one product for another... But at the end of the day, I'm out $60 for two products that for me, at least, were just awful. My upper lip hurts. Ha.

**Eric V** · 07-28-2011, 06:08 PM

Will they refund your money?

I won't shoot, since I haven't even heard of SMN. It is not fun to feel tacky!

**MerkurFTW** · 07-28-2011, 06:21 PM

No monetary refunds... They made it clear that the exchange for the pre-shave stuff was a one-time deal... They actually didn't even want the shaving cream back- told me to keep it, since it was used. Again, really, really nice people in that regard.

**ackvil** · 07-29-2011, 04:37 AM

That's one brand I have not tried so I can't comment. However, I have yet to find a soap or cream that did not work. I guess I have been lucky. It's just that I like some more than others.

**Price** · 07-29-2011, 04:39 AM

Put 'em on the BST & you'll make most of your money back.

**forcemajeure** · 07-29-2011, 04:58 AM

This, as all other high quality creams and soaps, is a product that more or less guarantees stellar performance. The cushion, slickness and moisturizing properties of the SMN cream are well beyond what the competition offers. This is a top end stuff, a hard shave cream with very carefully selected ingredients and long time performance testing.

I would suggest you to try lather with it again and experiment a bit. There may be a high possibility that there is something you may be doing wrong there. Too much soap, perhaps? No disbelief on the tackiness experienced but when such product is loaded well and face or bowl lathered properly, there's no chance things will go wrong. Soap/water mix ratio is essential to get right, make sure you're good with that when using the SMN.

Good, well moisturized lather is of primary importance for an enjoyable shave. It took me months to achieve that, and I now understand that when I used to say "...this soap/cream is not good..." it was usually result of my inadequate lather prep rather than a fault of the soap. These soaps, from cheap to very expensive ones, are used by thousands of shavers every day. They will work and perform as expected provided one knows how to find the 'sweet spot' of the particular soap and depending on the water hardness in each respective location.

**Gustav** · 07-29-2011, 05:25 AM

I have no idea about the performance of SMN since I have never tried it. Golddachs on the other hand is one of my absolute favourite's and a very solid performer so if you are expecting SMN to be stellar and vastly better than Golddachs I think you might be setting your expectations too high.

**Go West Young Man** · 07-30-2011, 10:43 AM

Is this your first experience with creams?

**sdaniels** · 07-30-2011, 03:56 PM

i honestly think proraso is a little better than SMN...proraso cost me 10 bucks, while SMN cost 52 if I recall correctly.

**Isaac** · 07-30-2011, 03:58 PM

I really dont know what to tell you . SMN is one of my top soaps/creams. I think it earns the price tag.

**Greyfox** · 07-30-2011, 04:50 PM

Well you didn't like. Nothing wrong with that. That's one of the reasons there are so many different soaps and creams out there.

**DSB** · 07-30-2011, 05:24 PM

It's one of my best performers. You may want to experiment with some different soap/water ratios, and see if there is a sweet spot for you. As Price said, you can always put your SMN of B/S/T and make some of your money back. It's nice to hear the shop did a good job with customer service, even if the product didn't work for you.

**spoonsacola** · 07-30-2011, 06:36 PM

SMN...hehehe

**spoonsacola** · 07-30-2011, 06:37 PM

Just kidding. I haven't used it myself. Do people who have used it find that it requires a different technique or water ratio etc?

**Eric V** · 07-30-2011, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by MerkurFTW

No monetary refunds... They made it clear that the exchange for the pre-shave stuff was a one-time deal... They actually didn't even want the shaving cream back- told me to keep it, since it was used. Again, really, really nice people in that regard.

Dang! I hate those expensive lessons!

**Easttexasman** · 07-30-2011, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by spoonsacola

Just kidding. I haven't used it myself. Do people who have used it find that it requires a different technique or water ratio etc?

SMN works best if used like it is a soap.I even put warm water in the tub to loosen up the cream.It also works better if you face lather and use plenty of water.

**DSB** · 07-30-2011, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by Easttexasman

SMN works best if used like it is a soap.I even put warm water in the tub to loosen up the cream.It also works better if you face lather and use plenty of water.

I agree. I'm not sure why it's even labeled as a shaving cream. My opinion is that it's a semi-soft soap. My advice: Face lather, add more product AND more water.