Hey Forum I will make a double review of these two VERY nice ShaveCreams. I will call Acqua Di Parma: ADP & Acca Kappa 1868: AC1869 in my review. Please notice that my review is of the ADP in the pot/tub and the AD1869 also in the pot/tub. The Acca Kappa 1869 in the tube is not the same high quality cream as the pot version !! I got the ADP on sale for half price. With that price reduction I still paid more for the ADP than what I gave for the AC1869 !! Wrapping: ADP - Elegant round brown cylinder box with a yellow base. Like the ADP Colonia colours. The pot is in brown colored see through glass with a dark brown silver coloured lid. Truly exquisite wrapping and pot. 10/10 AC1869 This came in a boring White box and the pot is in light brown plastic with a dark brown plastic lid. Pretty boring compared to the ADP, but the AC1869 does only cost 40% of what the ADP costs. Still the pot serves its purpose well and it's on par with the 3 T's. 8/10 The scent & cream: ADP has a very nice classic ADP Colonia smell of barbershop with an added light soft citrus and a tiny bit of mint in the background. The cream is very thick, dense and glutinous, to a degree where i actually have trouble getting some of the cream on my finger (no matter if my finger is dry or wet) Very sticky cream, but not as hard as the AC1869 cream, but extremely glutinous & sticky. Dipping the brush in the pot always does work, but I like to apply a bit of cream directly in my face before I dip my brush in the cream. This creams only negative point is that it's so sticky that even with hot water it's still difficult to massage a thin layer into my beard area using my finger, which I always do before applying with my brush. I have very hard water and need more product to get a thick proper lather. This is why I always apply a thin layer of cream directly to the beard area before dipping the brush in the cream and start making lather with my brush. 9/10 AC1869 has a sweet perfect blended almond scent. Truly Italian almond tree scent. Great The cream is extremely hard. But dipping my finger in water and then in the cream immediately softens it up so I can apply some cream directly to my face before dipping the brush in the cream. This cream turns very soft very fast so it's easy to massage a thin layer into the beard area. Awesome! This cream screams HIGH QUALITY to me, even more so than the ADP. 10/10 Latherbility & Shaving experience: ADP needs a bit of work, 1-2 minutes and you get an explosion of high quality lather. Extremely nice feel on my skin, protection is top class and skin feels soft and moist after the shave. Cushion is great during the shave, but not too much, so you can still get a close shave. I feel perfect after the shave. Top class product ! 9.5/10 AC1869 almost immediately explodes into a thick & dense lather-party. Perfect cushion, perfect lather, perfect soft feel while I still get a VERY close shave. Fitjar creams protect and cushions, but to a degree where a close shave is not as easy to obtain. Not so with the AC1869 ShaveCream. I get a VERY CLOSE shave, but my skin feels FANTASTIC after the shave; moist and soft !! This cream is - believe it or not - EVEN BETTER than my ADP !! KING OF SHAVECREAMS: Acca Kappa 1869 Tub Version !!! 10/10 FYI Here is my ShaveCream Top 5: 1. Acca Kappa 1869 Tub/Pot Version 2. Acqua Di Parma Tub/Pot Version 3. Santa Maria Novella 4. Castle Forbes Lime 5. Castle Forbes Lavender / Truefitt & Hill Ultimate Comfort Penhaligon is too fickle - sometimes I get a great shave with it, other times the lather is sub par. I have 3 Penhaligons ShaveCreams. Smell is not that important compared to shave quality and moisturising properties - are you listening Penhaligon Still have to buy and test Xpec and Tabula Resa ShaveCreams And then there is that cream called Domenico Caraceni 1913 Shaving Cream, but very hard to find since it's been discontinued......oh well
So at $15 per oz. it should go well after a steaming cup of monkey poop coffee ( 1 lb of beans for $400. :biggrin Even so, both are probably worth a try, except maybe the coffee. I think it's called provenance ( if the coffee's got it, I don't want it).
Just an Update - I think that the best value-quality ShaveCream pound for pound right now is Acca Kappa 1869 Tub version. Bought an extra tub for £15.95 at shaving.ie - a fine Irish online shop. No other cream gives you this quality for that cheap a price in my opinion
