Anyone tried this Italian soap. Apparently it has been around since the dinosaurs and is said to be among the best. pretty spendy. Is it worth the $$?
Thoughts on Antica Barbiera colla
- Thread starter Bladeslinger
- Start date
I have tried this soap, courtesy of a sample from The Old Town Shaving Company. It's an excellent soap that excels in the "slick department"; it's one of the slickest soaps that I've tried (and that's over 100). The scent is a straight forward almond scent, not a marzipan scent (at least to me). I'm a big fan of the marzipan scent (i.e. Cella), but not so much plain almond, so therefore the ABC is not for me, especially at the price point. Is it worth it? Depends. If the cost doesn't make you blink, and you like almond, then yes. It's one of the best performing soaps I've ever tried. For me, though, since I don't like a straight forward almond scent very much, the price doesn't justify it being a better buy than Cella or the new P160. Just my opinion; YMMV of course.
There are a few reviews linked below for RazoRock ABCBA which is repackaged Antica Barbiera Colla.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/376851-Razorock-ABCBA-Limited-Edition-soap-review
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/380529-ABCBA-PIF-d-Soap-Review
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/380752-RazoRock-ABCBA-Review-WITH-PICTURES!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/378387-ABCBA-Shave-Soap-PIF?p=5768180#post5768180
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/378387-ABCBA-Shave-Soap-PIF?p=5779408#post5779408
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/376851-Razorock-ABCBA-Limited-Edition-soap-review
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/380529-ABCBA-PIF-d-Soap-Review
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/380752-RazoRock-ABCBA-Review-WITH-PICTURES!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/378387-ABCBA-Shave-Soap-PIF?p=5768180#post5768180
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/378387-ABCBA-Shave-Soap-PIF?p=5779408#post5779408
Never tried the soap only the cream (croap). Nice almond scent, lathers nicely and slick. However MdC is still my 5 day a week soap where abcba falls into the rotational soaps. My brother would disagree as abcba is his daily soap like my MdC. So IMO worth a try as I never see any on the BST.
So is RR ABCBA/CiT truly the same soap as Antica Barbiera Colla?
I'm using RR ABCBA right now and LOVE it...but there is no way I'm paying $70 a jar for it when I run out. At $20/300ml, it was a fantastic deal and we can only hope it's offered up again some day.
I sure can't say whether RR is the same product. For the difference in price, I doubt it. But that's strictly my opinion.
I've had many RR products and let them all go. They just don't resonate with me.
And, I had the ABCBA croap. It was a fine itialn product. But the almond scent wasn't something I wanted to use.
We each get to choose. If you're getting good results from the RR product, I'd say 'carry on."
I've had many RR products and let them all go. They just don't resonate with me.
And, I had the ABCBA croap. It was a fine itialn product. But the almond scent wasn't something I wanted to use.
We each get to choose. If you're getting good results from the RR product, I'd say 'carry on."
I'm getting great results, just trying to see why I've seen a few say the ABC is superior to the ABCBA, when others say it's identical.
Joe might be the only one who knows for sure, but I read that they were the same soap and that he bought it in bulk and portioned it out to 300ML chunks. Before Joe offered ABCBA soap a few years ago I believe the only way to get it was by the kilo directly from the ABC barber shop in Italy.
At that time the shop didn't offer it in smaller quantities as they do now. Actually I just read the old thread and it looks like they did offer smaller sizes.
I don't have my ingredient list for ABCBA anymore so I can't compare to ABC. Found my image of the label...
At that time the shop didn't offer it in smaller quantities as they do now. Actually I just read the old thread and it looks like they did offer smaller sizes.
Thanks, Gary! I wasn't aware that this was possible, a little Google-fu turned up the website.
EDIT: I don't see kilo bricks available on the website, just 125 gram hard shaving soap and 100 ml shaving cream.
EDIT 2: More Google-fu turned up that the kilo bricks are a special request and likely won't be 1 kilogram, rather more like 800-900 grams.
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IMightBeWrong
Loves a smelly brush
I've had some since the summer. I had a honeymoon period with it where I really loved it but then that went away and now it mostly sits with just some occasional use. I won't replace it when it runs out. It's definitely slick and has decent protection. I loved the scent initially but the scent has completely faded away and it didn't really stick around for long in my puck. If the stuff sold for about $15 I would probably replace it but truth be told I don't think it's as good as RazoRock's Argan Oil stuff which comes in at a much lower price.
I just received from Italy the soap and the creme. Tommorow the soap comes up in my rotation for the first time 
Friday the creme comes up. First impressions, the packaging is second to nothing in the shaving world. My wife when she smelled the creme said she would be Hanibal Lector and eat my face. The soap smells like just soap, like no smell. I will report in tommorow with further details
Friday the creme comes up. First impressions, the packaging is second to nothing in the shaving world. My wife when she smelled the creme said she would be Hanibal Lector and eat my face. The soap smells like just soap, like no smell. I will report in tommorow with further details This soap is great ! Cushion, Slickness and great comfort, my favorite soap, right up there and perhaps above MdC ! Love my ABC View attachment 548260
Franco Bompieri's soap is excellent. It's my favorite Italian soap.
how are those aftershaves? you dropped some coins bro.
I like them, the splash is perhaps not as good as spieks but i really like the scent, same with the balm, i love CF Balm as well as Cade and TH Balm, its right there with those.
I really like the Antica Barbiera Colla cream and aftershave balms. I had a sensitivity reaction to the cream when I first used it and my faced turned bright red. I didn't have any burning or itching, but it was about an hour before the redness only started to fade. I left the cover off of the cream for about a week. The next time I used the cream I didn't have any redness. The aftershave balms are really nice too and the come in heavy glass bottles.
Does the soap come in a container?
which product is the splash? ... the apricot hull or ?
no it comes wrapped
apricot hull is the balm, the splash is capsico and mentolo
I just had my first shave with Antica Barbieria Colla. All I can say is WOW!
The almond scent is almost non-existent in my puck, which is disappointing.
But the lather was out of this world. It took on an amazing pearlescent quality while I was whipping up up in the bowl, and once I applied it to my face it was amazingly slick! The cushion was incredible. The lather was thick and yogurty and stable with peaks all day long!
After shave face feel was really nice too, though I'd have to give the edge on that to MWF or Mystic River.
It was one of my best shaves yet! This goes into my top five for sure!
The almond scent is almost non-existent in my puck, which is disappointing.
But the lather was out of this world. It took on an amazing pearlescent quality while I was whipping up up in the bowl, and once I applied it to my face it was amazingly slick! The cushion was incredible. The lather was thick and yogurty and stable with peaks all day long!
After shave face feel was really nice too, though I'd have to give the edge on that to MWF or Mystic River.
It was one of my best shaves yet! This goes into my top five for sure!
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