Saturday, January 21, 2017

Review - Saponificio Varesino Manna Di Sicilia Beta 4.0

Company: Saponificio Varesino
Product: Manna di Sicilia Beta 4.0
Location: Italy
Website - Just Google the company name you'll find a a number of offerings.  

My first encounter with Saponificio Varesino was in the form of visiting their website. Luckily for me all I had to do was click the US flag for English and I was ready to explore. Nothing could have prepared me for the actual experience of using the product for the first time. Not only did I order the puck but the wooden bowl as well. (I’m not sure they still sell the wooden bowl) When they arrived the first thing I did was open the box to the puck. It was beautifully warped and the scent was breathtaking. I thought my god this hobby is getting better all the time and I was right in thinking that.


The bowl was simply called the “Wooden Shaving Bowl” and the puck fit perfectly inside. The bowl appeared much heavier than it looked and the lid had this stamp which seemed to have been branded on its top.

The scent on this soap is heavenly. Manna Di Sicilia Beta 4.0 - Lightly scented with Top notes of Orange, Bergamot and Sage. Mid notes of Tobacco flower, rose, cloves and hydrangea and Base notes of Cedarwood, Amber and sweet patchouli. This scent is what really got me hooked into wet shaving. The way Manna Di Sicilia is formulated is truly amazing. When it comes to disclosure the company has nothing to hide explaining everything in detail including what the 25 or so ingredients are the percentages of them and why they are used. The reason for the Beta 4.0 is to show how many revisions this formulation has gone under.

This puck is triple milled which is one of the reason for it’s hardness so blooming is required. Placing worm water in the blow for about 4 – 5 minutes is all you need for your prep. The lather is nothing more than spectacular. You’ll be able to load your brush in no time and the lather it produces is thick, rich and creamy with excellent slickness and glide. Your post shave feel will be one of the best you’ve ever had.

So as you can tell this is one of my top shaving soaps and I’m sure your going to love it as well.

Company: Saponificio Varesino
Product: Manna Di Sicilia Beta 4.0 $25.00- $28.00
-------------------
 Side Note - Every time I use this soap it reminds me of why I love wet shaving so much and also brings to mind my friend Peter Depp. I was always trying to get him into wet shaving. I kept introducing him to all kinds of products trying to get him to stop using his electric razor. When he would come over for visits his face would be all red from that thing. So I let him use this soap and gave him a brush and a beginner's DE razor and he just was blown away. Unfortunately, Peter’s battle with cancer got the best of him and he passed away last week. This brings me to the reason of this side note.


I’ve been hearing lately from other YouTube personalities not to waste your time buying expensive soaps that we have other artisans with cheaper superior products to offer wet shavers. This is true most of the shaving soaps other artisans have are just as good. Also you shouldn’t go over your family budget and put yourself in hock just to have the latest shaving soap but I think if you do have the means buy what you want because you only go around once in this life. So enjoy your hobby and Don’t let the opportunity pass you by life is just too short.


No comments :

Post a Comment