The Obie Memorial First Tier Soaps and Creams Thread.

[Phrank]

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata Isos Shaving Soap.



So this soap is extremely pleasing, very nice on the nose, and one of the first soaps that for me, has highlighted the meaning of "cushion" and "glide", was always somewhat perplexed as to what that meant - this soap clearly demonstrates those two factors.

On top of that, the scent is beautiful, this is the Isos:

Pleasantly scented with notes of Elemi resin, black pepper, and wood, this soap gives forth a spicy, clean aroma.

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata is:

One of Italy's oldest brands, the Farmacia Santissima Annunziata, dates all the way back to its first-known manager, who took charge in 1561. The apothecary featured in these historical records still stands today, bearing an antique look, with shelved jars lining white walls.

Truly a wonderful soap, and will remain in rotation, can't wait to try the Argumi as well.

[OCDshaver]

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata Isos Shaving Soap.



So this soap is extremely pleasing, very nice on the nose, and one of the first soaps that for me, has highlighted the meaning of "cushion" and "glide", was always somewhat perplexed as to what that meant - this soap clearly demonstrates those two factors.

On top of that, the scent is beautiful, this is the Isos:

Pleasantly scented with notes of Elemi resin, black pepper, and wood, this soap gives forth a spicy, clean aroma.

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata is:

One of Italy's oldest brands, the Farmacia Santissima Annunziata, dates all the way back to its first-known manager, who took charge in 1561. The apothecary featured in these historical records still stands today, bearing an antique look, with shelved jars lining white walls.

Truly a wonderful soap, and will remain in rotation, can't wait to try the Argumi as well.

There's a shiny new object.

[lloydrm]

How do you guys make Valobra/CnS work for you?
I have puck of unscented Valobra and can only use super-überlathered. It tends to dry and the lather itself is not good at all.

[mainaman]

How do you guys make Valobra/CnS work for you?
I have puck of unscented Valobra and can only use super-überlathered. It tends to dry and the lather itself is not good at all.

How hard is your water? What brush are you using?
I have very hard water and I get pretty good lather from Valobra, it is hard soap so it likes brushes with some backbone.
I also found that distilled or at least filtered water helps with some soaps that otherwise do not perform well.

[lloydrm]

How hard is your water? What brush are you using?
I have very hard water and I get pretty good lather from Valobra, it is hard soap so it likes brushes with some backbone.
I also found that distilled or at least filtered water helps with some soaps that otherwise do not perform well.

Stefan, Thanks for your reply. I never paid much attention to water hardness since I didn't have any problems even with finicky soaps like Mystic Water. Today I tried with filtered water and the protolather didn't look very promising. On the face it turned into a beautifully understated and great lather. It didn't dry out at all. Excellent soap. Now I get it. By now I already "wasted" 1/3 of the puck ... the cost of ignorance ...

To answer your brush question: I've used synthetic, 2-band badger and boar, all with similar results. Today I used badger. Thanks again.

FWIW, the city reports indicate moderate hard water.

[Big]

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata Isos Shaving Soap.So this soap is extremely pleasing, very nice on the nose, and one of the first soaps that for me, has highlighted the meaning of "cushion" and "glide", was always somewhat perplexed as to what that meant - this soap clearly demonstrates those two factors.On top of that, the scent is beautiful, this is the Isos:Pleasantly scented with notes of Elemi resin, black pepper, and wood, this soap gives forth a spicy, clean aroma.Farmacia Santissima Annunziata is:One of Italy's oldest brands, the Farmacia Santissima Annunziata, dates all the way back to its first-known manager, who took charge in 1561. The apothecary featured in these historical records still stands today, bearing an antique look, with shelved jars lining white walls.Truly a wonderful soap, and will remain in rotation, can't wait to try the Argumi as well.

I've been very curious about this soap. Would you please let us know the main ingredients? Is it a tallow or veg Soap? Thanks.

[dinnermint]

Found this ingredient list for the Isos soap, dunno about accuracy since I pilfered it from another forum. Google's great like that.

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua/Water, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Parfum/Fragrance, Glycerin, Palm Kernel Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Chloride, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Limonene.

[Big]

Found this ingredient list for the Isos soap, dunno about accuracy since I pilfered it from another forum. Google's great like that.

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua/Water, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Parfum/Fragrance, Glycerin, Palm Kernel Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Sodium Chloride, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Limonene.

Interesting. Sodium but no potassium. And lots of palm oil. Still I'm intrigued. Who wouldn't want to use a soap made by monks

[Phrank]

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata Isos Shaving Soap.


So this soap is extremely pleasing, very nice on the nose, and one of the first soaps that for me, has highlighted the meaning of "cushion" and "glide", was always somewhat perplexed as to what that meant - this soap clearly demonstrates those two factors.

On top of that, the scent is beautiful, this is the Isos:

Pleasantly scented with notes of Elemi resin, black pepper, and wood, this soap gives forth a spicy, clean aroma.

Farmacia Santissima Annunziata is:

One of Italy's oldest brands, the Farmacia Santissima Annunziata, dates all the way back to its first-known manager, who took charge in 1561. The apothecary featured in these historical records still stands today, bearing an antique look, with shelved jars lining white walls.

Truly a wonderful soap, and will remain in rotation, can't wait to try the Argumi as well.

So I have now tried the Farmacia Santissima Annunziata Agrumi Shaving Soap, and is it superb, the bouquet of this soap is tremendous, full, robust and touches both high and low notes, from citrus to the bergamot to the light touch of the eucalyptus, I have not been more pleased with a soap since I first experienced my first use of Castle Forbes Lavender - it is that good in my opinion.

If there was a soap that you could describe as summer, bright, warm, vibrant, this would be it.

I plan on using this soap for the next few shaves, if it's anything like the Isos shave soap, this soap will continue to develop and become even more robust. Thick lather, great cushion, whips up in the scuttle very easily - excellent performer.

On a whim, I matched it up with Santa Maria Novella Patchouli aftershave, and my wife and daughter thought it was quite really nice.

If you're a soap aficionado - this is a must try IMO....