Review of Proraso Single Blade Azure Lime
For the better part of six months, I’ve seen these Proraso Single Blade creams being used, and I’ve always been curious about how they compare to the original Proraso creams as well as other creams that I’ve used. What’s kept me from picking up a box of it is that it comes in 9oz packages, and keeping it in the squeeze bottle is just not realistic for me out here. So, with another wet shaver co-located with me now, I went ahead and asked if he would like to split a box of it. I ordered a couple of PET containers and went ahead and split the bag up between the two, and finally got the chance to see what they were all about this morning.
First, let’s talk about the packaging. They come in a nice box with some silver embossing, quite a bit nicer than the normal Proraso offerings. The bag it comes in has a nice squeeze spout, but it’s in a bag, which I don’t really get. But, it became a moot point when I split the cream into the two jars. So, I’m not immediately a fan of the way it’s packaged. Value wise, you’re paying just over $2 an oz for the package, which makes it one of the better values on the market. That’s not why I purchase soaps or creams, however, so let’s get down to the brass tax, composition and performance.
As far as ingredients, they claim that the Single Blade line is a “new formula based on natural ingredients, paraben-free, no silicones, no SLS, no mineral oils or artificial colorings” they’re listed as:
Aqua (Water/Eau), Stearic Acid, Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Parfum (Fragrance), Glycerin, Oleic Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Metasilicate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Limonene, Linalool.
So, quite an extensive list in there, with a couple of ingredients that would cause those not versed in chemistry terminology pause in pronunciation. Not the simple ingredient lists that some soaps keep, though, as a cream I expect a few more ingredients.
Upon opening the jar of cream, I was hit in the face with the scent of limes. It’s a little different than the pure lime scent of Castle Forbes Lime, but it’s not far off of just a pure lime scent. There really isn’t anything else going on with it at this point. Loading is completely a non-issue, as is lathering. The cream can take quite a bit of water, as I dipped and swirled the brush to load, and ended up adding about 10 sprays of water (2 tsp) to get the lather where I was comfortable. It started out a little airy, which was worrisome, but quickly started to develop a nice consistency and sheen. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it was closer to a meringue than cool-whip or yogurt.
Application on the face was quite nice. It didn’t feel heavy on the face like some soaps/creams, and you could tell there would be a decent amount of cushion. Unfortunately, the lime scent became almost undetectable at this point, replaced with what I can only describe as the typical Proraso base scent. It’s not bad, rather clean and sterile smelling. What really took me by surprise was the amount of slickness and residual slickness this cream carried with it. This is what separates it from the normal Proraso creams, which are good, but due to the lack of slickness or residual slickness I hesitate to use with a straight blade. Water only touch-ups are possible with this cream, for sure, but I’m someone who if I’m going to buff over a location, I make enough lather that I’m going to just re-lather, because why not? Stability wise, because it was an airier lather, if you let it sit for a little while, it will break down a bit. This is a non-issue if you use the lather pretty much right after you’re done whipping it up. Here is how I rated it across the board. I don't include strength of scent or scent preference in my ratings as they are wholly subjective.
Lathering: 10/10 (creams are pretty much a shoo-in for this rating)
Cushion: 8/10
Slickness: 9/10
Moisturizing: 7/10
Residual Slickness: 9/10
Stability: 4/5
Total: 47/55
Comparable soap/cream bases from a performance standpoint:
Stirling (48/55)
Sudsy Soapery (48/55)
Saponificio Varesino beta 4.1 (47/55)
Chiseled Face Groomatorium (47/55)
Castle Forbes (47/55)
Geo F. Trumper Eucris (47/55)
TOBS Aloe Vera (46/55) (The Aloe Vera cream has much, MUCH better moisturizing than normal TOBS creams)
Mikes Natural Soaps (46/55)
Conclusion: This cream, due to its high slickness rating is right up there with the big hitters, as far as creams are concerned. It far outpaces normal TOBS creams, and is only slightly better than TOBS Aloe Vera in total score, and on par with Castle Forbes. It’s also right there with my baseline soap, Stirling. Post-shave moisturizing is where this product kind of runs into a wall when compared to soaps, which is not surprising. In my experience, most creams run into this issue. Packaging is also an issue if you are stuck for space, since it’s not easily stack-able unless you keep it in the box. The only other issue I have with this product is the fact that the scent really dissipated once lathered. I’m not sure if that’s just something to do with this particular scent, or if it’s across the board with this product line. All in all, this is a good product that is among the best creams going. If you are a cream user, this should be one of the first products that make it into your den for sure.
For the better part of six months, I’ve seen these Proraso Single Blade creams being used, and I’ve always been curious about how they compare to the original Proraso creams as well as other creams that I’ve used. What’s kept me from picking up a box of it is that it comes in 9oz packages, and keeping it in the squeeze bottle is just not realistic for me out here. So, with another wet shaver co-located with me now, I went ahead and asked if he would like to split a box of it. I ordered a couple of PET containers and went ahead and split the bag up between the two, and finally got the chance to see what they were all about this morning.
First, let’s talk about the packaging. They come in a nice box with some silver embossing, quite a bit nicer than the normal Proraso offerings. The bag it comes in has a nice squeeze spout, but it’s in a bag, which I don’t really get. But, it became a moot point when I split the cream into the two jars. So, I’m not immediately a fan of the way it’s packaged. Value wise, you’re paying just over $2 an oz for the package, which makes it one of the better values on the market. That’s not why I purchase soaps or creams, however, so let’s get down to the brass tax, composition and performance.
As far as ingredients, they claim that the Single Blade line is a “new formula based on natural ingredients, paraben-free, no silicones, no SLS, no mineral oils or artificial colorings” they’re listed as:
Aqua (Water/Eau), Stearic Acid, Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Parfum (Fragrance), Glycerin, Oleic Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Metasilicate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Limonene, Linalool.
So, quite an extensive list in there, with a couple of ingredients that would cause those not versed in chemistry terminology pause in pronunciation. Not the simple ingredient lists that some soaps keep, though, as a cream I expect a few more ingredients.
Upon opening the jar of cream, I was hit in the face with the scent of limes. It’s a little different than the pure lime scent of Castle Forbes Lime, but it’s not far off of just a pure lime scent. There really isn’t anything else going on with it at this point. Loading is completely a non-issue, as is lathering. The cream can take quite a bit of water, as I dipped and swirled the brush to load, and ended up adding about 10 sprays of water (2 tsp) to get the lather where I was comfortable. It started out a little airy, which was worrisome, but quickly started to develop a nice consistency and sheen. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it was closer to a meringue than cool-whip or yogurt.
Application on the face was quite nice. It didn’t feel heavy on the face like some soaps/creams, and you could tell there would be a decent amount of cushion. Unfortunately, the lime scent became almost undetectable at this point, replaced with what I can only describe as the typical Proraso base scent. It’s not bad, rather clean and sterile smelling. What really took me by surprise was the amount of slickness and residual slickness this cream carried with it. This is what separates it from the normal Proraso creams, which are good, but due to the lack of slickness or residual slickness I hesitate to use with a straight blade. Water only touch-ups are possible with this cream, for sure, but I’m someone who if I’m going to buff over a location, I make enough lather that I’m going to just re-lather, because why not? Stability wise, because it was an airier lather, if you let it sit for a little while, it will break down a bit. This is a non-issue if you use the lather pretty much right after you’re done whipping it up. Here is how I rated it across the board. I don't include strength of scent or scent preference in my ratings as they are wholly subjective.
Lathering: 10/10 (creams are pretty much a shoo-in for this rating)
Cushion: 8/10
Slickness: 9/10
Moisturizing: 7/10
Residual Slickness: 9/10
Stability: 4/5
Total: 47/55
Comparable soap/cream bases from a performance standpoint:
Stirling (48/55)
Sudsy Soapery (48/55)
Saponificio Varesino beta 4.1 (47/55)
Chiseled Face Groomatorium (47/55)
Castle Forbes (47/55)
Geo F. Trumper Eucris (47/55)
TOBS Aloe Vera (46/55) (The Aloe Vera cream has much, MUCH better moisturizing than normal TOBS creams)
Mikes Natural Soaps (46/55)
Conclusion: This cream, due to its high slickness rating is right up there with the big hitters, as far as creams are concerned. It far outpaces normal TOBS creams, and is only slightly better than TOBS Aloe Vera in total score, and on par with Castle Forbes. It’s also right there with my baseline soap, Stirling. Post-shave moisturizing is where this product kind of runs into a wall when compared to soaps, which is not surprising. In my experience, most creams run into this issue. Packaging is also an issue if you are stuck for space, since it’s not easily stack-able unless you keep it in the box. The only other issue I have with this product is the fact that the scent really dissipated once lathered. I’m not sure if that’s just something to do with this particular scent, or if it’s across the board with this product line. All in all, this is a good product that is among the best creams going. If you are a cream user, this should be one of the first products that make it into your den for sure.
