Thread: PannaCrema Nuàvia Nera Just Released

Very nice review Marine. I’ve got a box on the way and glad it looks like I will approve of the scent. Tough to nail down a scent with just a description but you did a better job than their website did by just listing scents. I am a fan of citrus so I think this jar will be a home run. I do like the verde but that scent does not linger past the bathroom door.

Originally Posted by SemperFi

Two shaves in and Nera is a solid performer in terms of lathering and producing a nice, thick lather. Likewise, its after-shave moisturizing properties are very solid as well--my skin feels great, even during this cold and dry winter. It's not quite there in PC's claim that the soap will serve as a full-on aftershave. Had a touch of razor burn after my first shave with the soap and the soap wasn't much help in this dept. However, in fairness, I think a soap or cream also being able to knock out burn is a bit too much to ask.

On to the scent. As Nelson said above, its citrus note really dominates. The bergamot gives it a more bitter citrus top note, and that bold citrus note dominates during the shave, though some heart notes popped in and out during my 2nd pass. About 10 minutes after finishing both my 1st and 2nd shaves, the heart notes, which are much more subtle, began coming through. The flowery scent of the heart isn't cloying or etc., it's solid without being too much--masculine if you will. The heart note then slides gradually into the soap's amber/musk base. Here the soap's tonka bean and vanilla take over and compliment each other well with a soothing blend that is bolder than the heart notes.

This soap's scent is definitely more aligned with perfumes and complex colognes, so I suggest trying an unscented aftershave/balm with the soap to give its scent a chance to open up after the shave. Also, the balm should do the trick for any burn or etc. (Lab Series is a very reasonably priced and solid, unscented balm that I like when I don't want an aftershave to clash with a finish EdC or etc.). I think a more robustly scented balm or finish will overpower the subtler heart and base notes of this scent--they both definitely are more subdued than the citrus top note.

I did a test lather (2 applications) w/o shaving earlier this evening to see what the soap's scent would do. In this test, only the citrus scent came through and dominated, even during the dry down. Near the end of the soap's longevity, which is about 1.5 - 2 hrs, the base just very faintly began coming through. These results were very different than my two post-shave experiences with the soap's scent. Not sure on this test and I will shave the soap a few more times, but my initial hunch as of now is the soap may need to be on the face for a longer time--i.e., a 3-pass shave duration--for it work in and thus allow the soap's scent to open fully through its range of notes.

Final thoughts for now, the soap's performance is excellent. If you're not a citrus fan or a fan of bitter citrus scents, give the soap a pass. The heart and base of the soap is subdued but nice if you enjoy more masculine floral and tonka/vanilla scents. I also suggest not using a scented balm or finish for the first times with the soap, as they may overpower the soap's heart and base notes. I'm still not sure with regard to my test lather...will shave the soap a few more times to see if I consistently get similar scent results as I experienced with my two shaves.

Agreed - stuff is fantastic - a little close to the MdC Argumes, but the MdC pulls the citrus off a little better...but a superb soap, the Verde and Blu are epic soaps in my opinion....was Verde today, still lingering scent.

Thanks Blamo and Andrew! Yep am with you, Andrew on MdC's Argumes citrus being a nicer note...indeed, it's my favorite MdC scent and one of my favorite citrus scents.

CRSW does a couple of nice citrus scents, as well, in the Select line. Will be great if they put out a Glide citrus!

AAARRGH. I need help. Just ordered the Nera. Marine, very helpful-and balanced-review. Thanks!

I placed an order today with Handle Bar Mustache and it was shipped in under an hour and a half. Pretty acceptable service.

Lol, Michael! That's what we're here for: Enablement!

Hope you enjoy the suds!

Thanks, Jay. I really think I've got a problem. I've got WAY too many soaps, and I'm working through the three original Nuàvias, got backups when they had a Christmas sale, and yet-AND YET-when HandleBar sent me the email that they had the Nera in stock, I couldn't click fast enough.

Like Lazarus, I was amazed at how fast they shipped it.

It's right up there with my very favorite soaps. Yet, someone divided a jar of it on a group buy, and weighed it before sending the sections out. It came out to about 6.6 oz by weight. That's almost $10 per ounce.

And yet I buy more...

The Nera arrived today and I was able to give it a go. First impression...BAM, lavender, BAM, BAM, BAM...more lavender. This has got to be the strongest flowery soap in my arsenal. Did I mention it smells strongly of lavender? It reminds me of those old ladies (think mother in law) who are completely nose blind and dump perfume all over themselves not knowing how strong it is. I have the Verde and can tell you that the scent is completely subdued compared to the Nera.

As for the soap performance, yup, this is a great soap. Lathered quick into a dense slick fluff that provided a comfortable 3 pass shave.

An interesting thing happened about 15 minutes after my shave. SemperFi hit it right on the nose (pun intended), the lavender slowly gave way to a musky vanilla scent that was oddly pleasing. I don’t know what a Tonka bean smells like but magically that overpowering flower scent gave way and continues to change even as I type.

Good soap? Performance wise, fantastic. As far as the scent? The jury is still out. I finished my shave with some Fine snake bite and lemon Trumpers skin food so, I think I want to play around with this soap before I make a final decision.

I do have soaps that, when I am not shaving but find myself in the bathroom, I pop off the lid for a sniff. I do not believe this will be a soap that I do this to.

Time will tell if I end up loving this soap but, as it stands, I am wishing I had ordered the Blu or Rosa instead.

Originally Posted by Blamo

The Nera arrived today and I was able to give it a go. First impression...BAM, lavender, BAM, BAM, BAM...more lavender. This has got to be the strongest flowery soap in my arsenal. Did I mention it smells strongly of lavender? It reminds me of those old ladies (think mother in law) who are completely nose blind and dump perfume all over themselves not knowing how strong it is. I have the Verde and can tell you that the scent is completely subdued compared to the Nera.

As for the soap performance, yup, this is a great soap. Lathered quick into a dense slick fluff that provided a comfortable 3 pass shave.

An interesting thing happened about 15 minutes after my shave. SemperFi hit it right on the nose (pun intended), the lavender slowly gave way to a musky vanilla scent that was oddly pleasing. I don’t know what a Tonka bean smells like but magically that overpowering flower scent gave way and continues to change even as I type.

Good soap? Performance wise, fantastic. As far as the scent? The jury is still out. I finished my shave with some Fine snake bite and lemon Trumpers skin food so, I think I want to play around with this soap before I make a final decision.

I do have soaps that, when I am not shaving but find myself in the bathroom, I pop off the lid for a sniff. I do not believe this will be a soap that I do this to.

Time will tell if I end up loving this soap but, as it stands, I am wishing I had ordered the Blu or Rosa instead.

So, you be a sniffer eh?

Don't feel bad many of us are.

I thought the Nera was a bit much on the citrus side and the lavender was trying to muscle it out.

I think the Blu is fantastic stuff. Either way though they are all technically perfect soaps.

I'm generally not one to post reviews, but this was such an outstanding experience, I just had to:


I have the other three Nuàvia soaps, just got the Nera. Having accumulated literally hundreds of shaving soaps, I have to say that the Nuàvias are at the very top. It is simply remarkable that this soap can be such a great performer with such simple ingredients. It checks all the boxes: shiny lather, glide, cushion, staying power, and yes, you can leave it on your face after shaving while you clean up and feel like you simply don't need after shave products. When Nuàvia was first released and Marco made this claim, I was skeptical. Try it, it's quite wonderful.

The scent out of the ceramic jar is 'soapy'-lavender, bergamot. But when lathering, it opens up and smells more complex to me, the vanilla, amber and tonka come out, but subtly. To me, it smells like walking into an Italian bakery.

A big thumbs up also to Gareth and the team at Handle Bar-super fast shipping, great communication, and to go with the beautiful box and packaging of the Nuàvia, a very classy presentation of the Handle Bar invoice and specials.