I've had a puck of the Italian-made Valobra Fougére shaving soap for about two months now, and have only used it sparingly. Time to put it to the test in a comparison with 'other' fine soaps— two Italian croaps and two French-made hard pucks similar in style to the Valobra. Valobra comes in an indigo blue plastic 100g 'travel tub' with metallic gray, logo-emblazoned screw-on lid. The soap puck is light pinkish-hued butterscotch in color with the company's logo stamped into the center. The fougére scent is quite strong upon opening the jar. Very powdery at first sniff, but settles down and one begins to notice the other fragrances: pine, herbal. It is a rather 'nasal assault' initially, but tames down a bit after the canister is left open. Valobra is a tallow-based soap. Made in Genova, Italy. Price: $27-$30 100g jar Ingredients: Sodium Tallowate, Aqua, Potassium Palmitate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Palmitate, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Cocoate, Potassium Cocoate, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera, Lecithin, Parfum, Petrolatum, Zea Mays, Tocopheryl Acetate, CI 77891, Geraniol, Benzyl Benoate, Coumarin, Linalool. The Test: I am going to lather Valobra Fougére (VF) in a bowl with a badger brush, apply it to a portion of my face and shave the lathered section with a Mühle R41 (2011 model) loaded with a Feather Stainless blade. Concurrently, I lather another soap and follow the same process on the other side of my face. [PLEASE NOTE: This isn't a complicated fool-proof scientific experiment—I'm merely noting my initial impressions of how this soap performs compared to others I am quite familiar with.] Valobra and Cella — Both of these Italian soaps lather easily; both have strong scents; the Cella lather is billowy, while the VF lather is much thicker/denser. On the face, both of these soaps have very prominent aromas. Both of these soap provide very good glide and both leave a trail of slickness after the blades passes (common in tallow soaps). Overall, quite even results. I suppose it depends on which strong scent you prefer— the Italian almond or the Italian fern. Cella is about 1/2 the price of the Valobra. Valobra and Pre de Provence— Valobra lathers so much easier than the French-made non-tallow PdP; the PdP 'sage' scent is pleasantly subtle compared to the VF. The VF is also a tad slicker on the face than the PdP. Overall, the Valobra was the 'better' performer in this duo. PdP costs about half the price of the VF. Valobra and Martin de Candre Fougére— Two fougére (fern) soaps, both of these soaps lather with ease; the non-tallow MdC with a slight edge in volume, but the VF in density. The MdC fragrance is not as strong (rosemary and lavender more prominent) as the VF—which depending whether or not you like the 'fern' scent, can be a good thing. Both of these soaps cover well and provide outstanding lubrication. Two excellent performers. VF is about 1/2 the cost of MdC. Note: by the third heavy application of the strong-scented VF, I was beginning to find the scent overpowering. Valbora and RazoRock XXX — the RR XXX is an Italian-made tallow-based soft croap that gives up the lather nearly as easy as the Valobra. I found the VF lather, as in all over previous instances, to be thicker when lathered up. Both cover well-enough, although more effort was needed on the XXX to create the same density on the face. The 'old-school barber shop' scent of the RazoRock I found much more appealing. Performance-wise, I give the edge to VF. RazoRock XXX is about 1/3 the cost of VF. So there you have it. Overall, the VF is a wonderful performer as an everyday shave soap. The lather it generates is exceptional. Personally, a soap that works as beautifully as VF does belongs as part of my regular soap rotation. The VF scent, however, to my nose, is a bit much. It doesn't stink or remind folks of urinal pucks, but its strong powdery scent I can only endure on an occasional basis. I do look forward to using this soap again as it is such a strong performer, but not as my everyday go-to.
Great review! Thanks for all of the reviews that you do. This one reinforces my like for Cella, the Bella
Thanks for the review Kevin, I have had the Valobra Soft Soap for quite some time and like it quite a bit I might have to try this out too
Top performance every time from this soap, but you really have to fall in love with the strong fougére fragrance to continue to invest in the VF. I've only reached the slight infatuation stage with it at this point. Cella is one of those real bargains in top-performing soaps—and the scent is highly addicting for many users... I love marzipan! I believe the Italian Barber has the best price I've seen for it ($26.). Alternatively, Valobra does make an almond-scented soft soap ($14) that if it lathers as well as the hard puck, it could be real winner like the Cella.
Wife got me a same for father's day and i've yet to try it out ( she got me 9 different samples!), but i'm excited to try it out.
Nice review. Where can you get samples for Valobra? Also,does anyone know where you can buy a sample of MDC?
And Patchouli—and maybe the best of all possible worlds…an unscented version. I grabbed the Fougére version as I hope I would enjoy it as much as I do the MdC scent.
I just for this from Lee's and it's awesome. I think it's what Art of Shaving used to be before it turned to crap. I've only started to use soops and this is the best I've used so far. Tallow really does make a difference. It doesn't dry out or dissappear like the D. R. Harris. I still use creams, but the more I use soaps; the more I like them. I still love Trumpers Violets and that crazy color but this stuff really is great.
I picked mine up @ Bullgoose. I wanted to try it after finding that I loved the AOS hard soap in the new formula, and hearing that Valobra had made the old formula. I'm not a fan of shave sticks and was glad to see them offer it in a tub. It is indeed a fantastic soap, and I don't mind the scent.
The wife got mine at garry's sample shop, although just looking it,it doesn't look like he has valobra, but he still has MDC.
Thanks. I picked up some samples from someone here on the group. I have to say that by the time I was done with the MDC I was could see why people love it.
