P.160 has been a much loved soap in the shaving community for years. IMO, it really is the one Italian almond scented "croap" all Italian almond croaps should be judged against. Sadly, the person who hand made the kilo bricks of P.160 has passed away, and the family was unable to find a willing buyer for the recipe. This soap is to be no more. While I am not a huge fan of the Italian almond croaps, it is still a sad day to see such a distinguished piece of shaving history hit the dustbin. There should have been a better ending for this gem.
This was originally an inexpensive daily driver type of soap (ala Cella). After the discontinuation, the Italian Barber seems to have bought up a large chunk of what remained and Joe cut the kg blocks up and popped them into white tubs witha generic label for $12.99 which is probably a good bit more than the original sold for. Now all which seem left are 1kg bricks at a whopping $9,999.99 each. Hopefully shipping is comped.![Tongue]( "Tongue")
So why the review of a discontinued soap? Well for me it was simple. This represented what the other Italian croaps should shoot for. I've used several, Cella, RR, Vitos, 3P, and a few forgotten others.
P.160 seems to me like at its original price while being a lower end daily use soap, provided skin care and lather far beyond its price point. The scent is heaven, sweet almond with perhaps a small hint of cherry. You just want to lick it. As usual I have provided pics of it being bowl lathered, but also as usual you'll have to forgive me if you don't like the look of the lather. I face lather, bowl lathering is something I rarely do any more. I keep forgetting to load longer and mix longer than with face lathering.
My review shave was done during my 7 days of straights journey. This was my day 6 shave paired with a John Williams 5/8 full hollow round point. I opened the jar and remembered immediately why I love this stuff and why I will miss it when this jar is gone. That sweet scent hits you immediately. The scent is not subtle, it's right there in your face. 15 seconds of loading and I began to create a nice, rich, creamy lather. P.160 provides lots of cushion and slickness. Considering at the time I was struggling with straights, I thought the lather did a great job protecting my face from what were still newbie straight razor techniques. This is a soap which provides good protection. The best protection? No, but quite good nonetheless.
I am never quite sure why this isn't in my rotation more. Most likely as it is one of my "cheaper" soaps and I do tend to be drawn to the likes of the MdCs, Penhaligons, AdPs and I Colonialis of the world. Was it a good value in its day? Yes. Should you fork over 10k for a kg of it ...... good heavens no!
If you get a chance to try P.160 in a pass around, or if IB ever makes a few jars available again, do yourself a favor and get this one. Even if it doesn't make it into your main rotation I think most people will find a soft spot for this croap from a now bygone era.
Edit: At the moment there seems to be an issue with the rating system. Scent should be a 4, packaging should be a 1. If the two are still transposed, sorry .... it'll get worked out.
This was originally an inexpensive daily driver type of soap (ala Cella). After the discontinuation, the Italian Barber seems to have bought up a large chunk of what remained and Joe cut the kg blocks up and popped them into white tubs witha generic label for $12.99 which is probably a good bit more than the original sold for. Now all which seem left are 1kg bricks at a whopping $9,999.99 each. Hopefully shipping is comped.
So why the review of a discontinued soap? Well for me it was simple. This represented what the other Italian croaps should shoot for. I've used several, Cella, RR, Vitos, 3P, and a few forgotten others.
P.160 seems to me like at its original price while being a lower end daily use soap, provided skin care and lather far beyond its price point. The scent is heaven, sweet almond with perhaps a small hint of cherry. You just want to lick it. As usual I have provided pics of it being bowl lathered, but also as usual you'll have to forgive me if you don't like the look of the lather. I face lather, bowl lathering is something I rarely do any more. I keep forgetting to load longer and mix longer than with face lathering.
My review shave was done during my 7 days of straights journey. This was my day 6 shave paired with a John Williams 5/8 full hollow round point. I opened the jar and remembered immediately why I love this stuff and why I will miss it when this jar is gone. That sweet scent hits you immediately. The scent is not subtle, it's right there in your face. 15 seconds of loading and I began to create a nice, rich, creamy lather. P.160 provides lots of cushion and slickness. Considering at the time I was struggling with straights, I thought the lather did a great job protecting my face from what were still newbie straight razor techniques. This is a soap which provides good protection. The best protection? No, but quite good nonetheless.
I am never quite sure why this isn't in my rotation more. Most likely as it is one of my "cheaper" soaps and I do tend to be drawn to the likes of the MdCs, Penhaligons, AdPs and I Colonialis of the world. Was it a good value in its day? Yes. Should you fork over 10k for a kg of it ...... good heavens no!
If you get a chance to try P.160 in a pass around, or if IB ever makes a few jars available again, do yourself a favor and get this one. Even if it doesn't make it into your main rotation I think most people will find a soft spot for this croap from a now bygone era.
Edit: At the moment there seems to be an issue with the rating system. Scent should be a 4, packaging should be a 1. If the two are still transposed, sorry .... it'll get worked out.