Cella Brick vs Antica Barbieria Colla

Some of you may know that I've been mining the BST for trades the last couple of months. Two of the items that have been welcomed into the den via trade are these two famous Italian soft soaps, Cella cut from the brick (250g) and a new puck of Antica Barbieria Colla "Almond Oil Hard Shaving Soap". 

In a few days, I plan to kick off spending a week with Cella followed by a week with ABC.  I've used Cella from the tub in the past and it did not impress me and was promptly sold. However, that was early on when my lathering skills were in their infancy, and the brick version is supposed to be a superior product anyway. I'm excited to revisit this classic. 

So let me put this out there.... 

To those that have tried either of these classics, what are your opinions? And to those that have tried both, should Antica Barbieria Colla really outperform Cella considering the huge cost differential? I'll post my own thoughts on the matter as I get into it.....

This is a great question, one I'm very curious about. I have both ABC cream and Cella cream..... The Cella cream unfortunately I wouldn't use to shave my neighbors cat
The ABC cream however is in my top 3..... So this begs your question about the hard soap versions..

Tappan

I had both.  Cella from the brick is very good.  But the ABC cream is far and away the better of the two.
I sold all my Cella and kept the ABC.  Cella is MUCH cheaper though.

(05-21-2015, 09:12 AM)shevek Wrote: Some of you may know that I've been mining the BST for trades the last couple of months. Two of the items that have been welcomed into the den via trade are these two famous Italian soft soaps, Cella cut from the brick (250g) and a new puck of Antica Barbieria Colla Bitter Almond. 

In a few days, I plan to kick off spending a week with Cella followed by a week with ABC.  I've used Cella from the tub in the past and it did not impress me and was promptly sold. However, that was early on when my lathering skills were in their infancy, and the brick version is supposed to be a superior product anyway. I'm excited to revisit this classic. 

So let me put this out there.... 

To those that have tried either of these classics, what are your opinions? And to those that have tried both, should Antica Barbieria Colla really outperform Cella considering the huge cost differential? I'll post my own thoughts on the matter as I get into it.....

No too long ago I procured a puck of ABC soap and a sample of Cella (soap). Tried them side by side and the level of satisfaction was very high and very similar, though I prefer the smell of ABC more.  After a week of experimentation I ended up purchasing three more pucks of ABC and a 1kilo brick of Cella. IMHO you cannot go wrong with either.

I've only used the RR ABCBA (which I believe to be the same) but have used both the Tub and Brick Cella.  I can't use the Cella as I constantly get weepers and irritation, not to mention the blah soapy scent.

ABCBA on the other hand gives me great shaves and a much more cherry scent, which I prefer.  If ABC is anything like the ABCBA I used (and still own), it is far superior in my books.

I suspect the performance between these two to be similar, with an edge to the ABC puck.

That being said, I agree with Erik....the ABC cream/croap wins by a large margin. 

It's very hard to beat ABC crema. You pay for it but IMO you DO get what you pay for.
I prefer the crema over the harder soap.
I have not tried Cella bc the description of the scent does not appeal to me.
However, ABC crema has an awesome scent and I don't say that often about Almond products, only very few.

For instance ABC soap and Boellis I find to be very bland. I certainly would not recommend buying these 2 if you are looking for memorable scents.

The performance of ABC and scent are better the. Cella a little bit.
IMHO, ABC and Boiellis is at the same league.
But you can't beat Cella in cost effective ratio.
Recently I've tried 3p shave soap block and found it to be a cheap and great Italian shaving soap.

I used the ABC hard soap for the first time last night. While the scent fades away quickly, the slickness is on par with the best of anything I have tried to date. Certainly a re-purchase when the time comes.

(05-21-2015, 04:27 PM)nervosa1901 Wrote: I used the ABC hard soap for the first time last night. While the scent fades away quickly, the slickness is on par with the best of anything I have tried to date. Certainly a re-purchase when the time comes.

Yeah, with a good loading of soap on the brush, the ABC soap does offer a flawless shave.  Protective as anything.

(05-21-2015, 09:12 AM)shevek Wrote: Antica Barbieria Colla Bitter Almond

I realize a lot of people do this, but saying "bitter almond" in reference to this brand (the real ABC) is incorrect… it is actually Sweet Almond, the ingredients list says "prunus amygdalus dulcis" … dulcis =  sweet.  Nero took Latin   
I think we all know why "bitter" stuck, though.

(05-21-2015, 04:58 PM)Nero Wrote:

(05-21-2015, 09:12 AM)shevek Wrote: Antica Barbieria Colla Bitter Almond

I realize a lot of people do this, but saying "bitter almond" in reference to this brand (the real ABC) is incorrect… it is actually Sweet Almond, the ingredients list says "prunus amygdalus dulcis" … dulcis =  sweet.  Nero took Latin   
I think we all know why "bitter" stuck, though.

Thank you for the correction! OP updated ^^^. "ABCBA" was definitely in my mind when I wrote that.

Sounds good, but now people will think there's a new product, haha, j/k.

I've used both. There is no contest IMHO. Lets see what you determine!

Can someone post the ingredient list for the ABC cream/croap?

I don't have the ABC cream, but here are the ingredients for the ABC soap and Cella:

ABC





Cella (Brick):
Cocos Nucifera Oil, Tallow, Stearic Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Aqua, Potassium Carbonate, Parfum.

---

These lists are looking good. All common, familiar soap ingredients. Both high in Stearic and Coconut oil. Two points stand out:

1) Cella is a tallow soap, ABC is a veggie soap. I used to be a tallow snob, but Catie's and LPL set me straight. Still, if a company made two versions of their soap - tallow and non-tallow, I'm the type to pick the tallow. 

2) ABC has Sweet Almond Oil. Googling this ingredient reveals a long list of potential benefits. Obviously it contributes to the scent. But it's also touted for being excellent for the skin. Notably for moisturizing, soothing irritation and inflammation, and softening hair. Looks like the post-shave may be something special with this soap!

I avoided ABC for a while not liking Almond scents. When I finally gave it a try WOW followed by a smack to my forehead for not buying some earlier ensued. Great soap. 

I was really hoping you had the ABC cream and not the hard soap.  Everything I've read on here points me to the cream.

I at some point have to replace my Cella red tub.  I wish I had bought the other Cella version but I was starting out so I didn't know - maybe I'll try to find someone selling a slice of it like you did.  The performance is definitely satisfactory but the scent is heavenly to me (then again I have a sweet tooth and the cavities to prove it).  Cella, Valobra, Boellis, ABC, Vitos, P160, 3P, Matador.  People here collect soaps but I don't have the space for it in my place so only one will do from that list!

Old town shaving sells samples of both. 

I actually did not realize the Cella brick was different from what's inside the red containers. (Never used either.)