Interesting info Kevin re the almonds. I probably would have guessed the culprit was power of suggestion with the bright red tub! (and I'de probably have been wrong...)
I wondered where people got cherries from. Love that almond scent. I was planning to buy a brick of Cella next year but I may have to try the new P-160 before I do that.
I revisited Cella today. My first run was good, but not great. Today. WOW! I now know why it's so regarded. The only I think changed was.. I soaked my brush longer, and I used more water. Primo!
I used this a couple days ago. It has forcefully made its way into my top 5 favorite soaps. The lather, skincare, slickness, cushion, and scent are great.
This morning , I has another chance to use the Cella. After two consecutive days of using the Martin De Candre, I was interested in seeing how the Cella compared in lather-development, application, and glide. Firstly, as mentioned previously, the Cella scent is terrific first thing in the morn. Standing there a hot cup of coffee in my hand, the cream smells like a fresh-baked bear-claw pastry. A half-dozen swirls with a boar brush was enough to load the brush. I face-lathered & the cream developed a nice, thick lather fairly effortlessly. The Cella provided an adequate slippery cushion upon which to shave. Two full face lathers from the initial brush load, too. Overall, a very nice shaving experience. Compared to the MdC, the Cella has slightly less 'slickness' to the 'feel' of the lather (finger rub), but like the MdC, develops a good lather quite easily. For the cost of the Cella (about 8¢/gram for 150g— or 3¢ if you buy the 1000g block— versus 32¢/gram for the MdC), it's a pretty darn good bargain.
Makes me miss Cella. The tub I got was JUST on the verge, so I got about a dozen shaves before it went pretty rancid and I tossed it.
Again, what an interesting read for someone like myself who's never managed to hear of this Cella before - thanks gents! But what's all this about the soap becoming rancid?? My Williams and Arko seem to last me a very long time, sometimes years even, without any hint of going off (I've been known to let the beard grow in fully for a few years, so they can last a very long time... ) Please enlighten me - have I just been incredibly lucky up to now? Also, those wee red tubs look nice, but something about the big ol' block seems to call to me. Has anyone any personal experience with both who'de like to comment on how similar they might be? Virtually the same product or what say you?
It can easily be stored in a cool dry place while bagged up nice and air tight. Some people swear by hermetic seals but Italian Barbers have been cling rapping their blocks and hucking them in cellars for decades without issues. Cella in the red tub CAN get rancid but its rare and depends on a ton of factors such as age of the product, storage conditions, etc. You can find a few different schools of thought through google. Incidentally you can but slices "Off the fresh 1kg brick" from ItalianBarber, that might be my next bet since its obviously fresh.
As soon as Connaught gets some 3P in..I'm ordering some http://connaughtshaving.com/3psst.html I raised the same concern with Italian barber some time ago and he said that the chunks of Cella they sell in white tubs is never older than 6 weeks.
I like his brick idea, the red tubs are a potential mystery, I found my last one opened up and it was already yellowing.
I suppose it could be, and obviously if guys have experienced their soaps going bad than it would be the first suspect IMO - being an animal product and whatnot. But I thought that tallow was rendered more or less spoil-proof and that's the quality that basically distinguishes it from suet. But as I say, my own experience is limited to just Williams and Arko. Maybe the chance is only slight and/or maybe it varies a bit between manufacturers. Cheers for the heads up! Do you know if they sell it by the ounce or gram or what? That sounds like it'de be right up my street.
125g repackaged into a white screw top container. Nicer, fresher option for those who don't want to store a full kg. I'm still trying to decide which to buy lol. It doesn't seem to happen often so don't make me give you the wrong impression of Cella, some guys who have been buying it for decades have never had it go bad, others like me may have gotten a tub that met the random right conditions one day that allowed it to turn.
If you go back and look at my last post, that is the slice of brick in the white tub from Italian Barber. It would take a "lifetime" to go through the whole brick.
I got a red tub from Italian Barber last summer and it was nice and white. I liked it so much I used it daily from start to finish so no worries about spoilage I'm not sure exactly what's behind it but hard soaps do seem to last forever. Not sure if it's preservatives or maybe there's just not as much extra fat left in them to go rancid.
Cella doesn't have any preservatives and being a soft soap has more moisture content as well. That makes it more apt to mold and spoilage, I guess.
