My Florence shopping spree

After two whole weeks in Florence wandering back and forth trying to find some gear and with a little help from B&B, I've been able to come home with this nice little care package



- The whole range of Proraso shaving foams
- Santa Maria Novella Shaving soap
- Spezierie Palazzo Vecchio Shaving soap
- Small and large tub of Münstermanns Shaving soap
- FaTip Piccolo
- 2 x Alum sticks
- 2 x Palmolive shave cream. €1.5 each! Can't even buy a pack of gum in Denmark for $1.5!

Currently I've managed to try out the FaTip, the SMN soap and the Spezierie Palazzo Vecchio (SPV) soap.

The FaTip was loud, and maybe slightly more aggressive than I can handle at this moment.

SMN soap was amazing! I'm not overly fond of minty soaps but this thing smelled and worked great.

SPV was good. Pleasant almond and coconut scent and good slick lather. Not creamy as SMN but still, it worked.

Münstermanns shaving soap is almond scented but I haven't been able to try it out yet.

These three soaps were supposedly made in house by their respective factories, all of them a couple of centuries old.

The rest, you all know

Cheers!

bananhunden said:

- The whole range of Barbasol shaving foams

Cheers!

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You mean Proraso? I sure hope you didn't go to Florence to buy Barbasol

Nice haul!

Aw crud!

I really don't know why I wrote that

Fixed!

I sometimes use the green Proraso shave foam that got pushed to the back of the shelf. I'll bet I've had that stuff for 6-7 years I never used it until very recently) and it works as well as any foam I've ever had. Plus, it is probably the old formula because it has a better menthol effect that the new green soap and cream I have.

I want the whole range of Proraso creams!

nice work!! enjoy!!

Can't seem to find a site that carries. All the Proraso canned foam. Shucks.

Sweet!

Munstermanns! I walk by there all the time! Wish I knew you'd be there and we could have met for coffee or vino!

Toothpick said:

Can't seem to find a site that carries. All the Proraso canned foam. Shucks.

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It's common in the supermarkets. Usually a proraso section.

nice score!

I had no idea that there is a yellow Proraso, or that Santa Maria Novella had a shaving soap!

You might have missed the thread I started enquiring about the shopping opportunities in Florence.

It would have been fun sharing a drink and a laugh with a fellow B&B'er

Although now that I look closer, I'm a little confused.

Isn't your location NYC? Or were you also there on vacation?

StubbleTrouble said:

Munstermanns! I walk by there all the time! Wish I knew you'd be there and we could have met for coffee or vino!

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bananhunden said:

You might have missed the thread I started enquiring about the shopping opportunities in Florence.

It would have been fun sharing a drink and a laugh with a fellow B&B'er

Although now that I look closer, I'm a little confused.

Isn't your location NYC? Or were you also there on vacation?

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I'm in Florence quite often. I just got back to NYC Saturday, so I was definitely around while you were!

We're planning on moving to Italy for good in the next few years, so more frequent trips are in order for real estate, planning, etc.

Well, I'll be...

I got back this Saturday as well.

Oh well, next time then ;-)

Where are you planning to move to, the city or the countryside?

StubbleTrouble said:

I'm in Florence quite often. I just got back to NYC Saturday, so I was definitely around while you were!

We're planning on moving to Italy for good in the next few years, so more frequent trips are in order for real estate, planning, etc.

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bananhunden said:

Well, I'll be...

I got back this Saturday as well.

Oh well, next time then ;-)

Where are you planning to move to, the city or the countryside?

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Yes, I hope to be back in September/October, but we'll see! What we need here is a meet and greet schedule, divided by location. I certainly know I would meet with other members if I knew when they visited NYC or Firenze.

As far as a target landing spot is concerned, I'd say 50/50 Toscana/Umbria, but definitely a farm house for some small scale growing. We're starting a small agriturismo, sans lodging. Somewhere within an hours drive from a major tourist spot would be ideal.

If you like straights, there's a famous blacksmith near Perugia (Umbria) if you have a car.

Yeah, a meet and greet sounds like a wonderful idea.

It would be fun meeting B&B'ers from across the globe

An agriturismo in Italy sounds like a great way to earn a living, I wish you luck with that endeavor.

I'll have to visit the blacksmith on my next trip to Italia.
I know it'll cost me ;-)

http://www.mastrolivirazors.com/index.html

Well, yes, very coveted razors if straights are your thing!

I would be more than happy to set up a Florence meet and greet. It is only about 1.5 hours from Rome or Milan by train, and I've been meaning to share some American products as well. Say, can you recommend any good cheap product from DK? I have colleagues coming next week! Hahaha

Nice score. Thanks for posting. The soaps and foam should last a good while.

Ohh mama... Now I know it'll cost me if I visit that place.
Beautiful razors!

Danish stuff, I'm sorry to say, there really isn't anything around here.

Last week I found this shop searching for Danish products but I haven't managed to visit the store yet.

FLENSBORGGADE 22
1669 KØBENHAVN V

Opening hours are:
Tue-fri: 1100 - 1800
Sat: 1000 - 1600

It's just a 10-15 min walk from the main train station so the distance is bearable.

Or else there's always public transportation that'll get you closer ;-)

They only have two shave soaps but it looks promising because it's supposedly handmade, organic, fair trade etc.

And at 70DKK it's not too expensive either.

I could recommend brick and mortar shops with the usual international fare like Proraso, TOBS etc. but they don't sell Danish stuff.

What can I say?

Danes keep their whiskers long and drink beer instead ;-)

EDIT:
Maybe they could also try the department store Magasin in the city centre and ask for soaps from Badeanstalten.
They make artisan soaps and sometimes you can find one of their shaving soaps as well.

StubbleTrouble said:

http://www.mastrolivirazors.com/index.html

Well, yes, very coveted razors if straights are your thing!

I would be more than happy to set up a Florence meet and greet. It is only about 1.5 hours from Rome or Milan by train, and I've been meaning to share some American products as well. Say, can you recommend any good cheap product from DK? I have colleagues coming next week! Hahaha

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