Thanks to the sample haul back in July, there were a couple of lathers that I really have wanted to add to the collection. I put them on my wish lists for the family, but all I got from that was the Oliworks M3teorite aluminum red razor. (Okay, that sounds less gracious and thankful than I meant.) So I pulled the trigger on Christmas Day and ordered Cella Organic and Cella red pre-shaves, soaps, and after shave balms from Shave Nation in the Chicago area.
Those items have just arrived, and in addition to a couple of other things I’ll discuss further on, this should settle me pretty well for the time being on the software side of things.
I’ve tried the Cella Organic soap, in the sample stock that I got back in July. I have not tried anything from the red line, nor have I tried out the organic pre-shave or aftershave balm. But you see the red soap frequently–people do love it, as it’s a classic with a wonderful sweet almond fragrance.
I don’t see a lot of people using either of the balms very often, and the pre-shaves even less. And as someone who appreciates a good pre-shave, I thought it was worth a try and added it to the collection.
Cella, by the way, seems to be pronounced “chella.” Though I have seen some pronunciations putting in a hard “S” at the beginning, making it “sella.” But it seems more likely that “chella” is right, so I’ll go with that for now.
Cella is another Italian shaving product maker, established in 1899 in Milan. Their advertising tagline is “extra extra purissima!” or “extra extra super pure!” And this is something that they stress on their website must be tested by a Master Soap Maker to guarantee that each batch deserves the tagline.
The organic line has a fairly cohesive scent, a fresh, aloe vera fragrance with a reinforcing punch of a nice, fresh, spring-like, soapy smell.
The red line soap–I’m trying to decide on what the fragrance notes are of the pre-shave and aftershave balm–has a sweet almond fragrance, almost exactly like marzipan. But the others have less almond and maybe a more typical masculine barbershop scent profile.
I haven’t tried either line in full yet–my only experience with any of these has been with a sample of the organic soap. And that was rich and luxurious, wonderfully slick and providing nice lubrication to the skin. A full trial will be coming in the next couple of weeks.
The rest of the haul came in a different shipment, this time from Stirling Soap Co. in Arkansas. I’m still working on some samples I received from them in April, along with what would become one of my primary beard oils. I’ve loved using their Sheep soap, so ordered a refill puck, along with 4 metal soap tins, 4 labels, and a bar of their unscented pre-shave soap.
I moved the Stirling samples I had from ad-hoc storage (an old pomade container and two old Rubbermaid glass containers) to the metal containers, applied the labels, and used my wife’s label maker to label them. I cut the Sheep puck in half horizontally and put it in one of the containers, and smashed the remaining sample stock on top of it.
I don’t have a good container for the pre-shave soap, so for the time being, I cut about 1/3 of the bar off and dropped it in the 4th tin, and will keep the rest in the box.
The tins are a little disappointing, but I suppose for the price ($2 each), I shouldn’t care. But they feel a bit flimsy. The stickers cover the entire cover and then some, overlapping the edges slightly. And the full refill puck fits nicely, but sticks over the top of the tin slightly, which is why, with the remaining sample to add, I cut the puck in half. The leftover half of that soap is wrapped in a double-layer of plastic wrap and will keep nicely for however long I need it to.
So within just a couple of days, my pre-shave product count went from 5 (and really 4, since I don’t like the Edwin Jagger pre-shave lotion sample) to 7 (or 8 if you count the Edwin Jagger lotion). And the aftershave balm/lotion/serum count went from 10 (9 if you drop the Zingari man sego balm that I’m also not fond of) to 12 (or 11).
So here at the end of 2025, I’ve expanded the collection by 1 brush; 1 razor (with 3 different plates); 1 blade (a tuck of Filoso blades came with the Oliworks); 1 new to me soap, but 4 full tubs of soap overall; 3 pre-shaves; and 2 aftershave balms. I’m still awaiting an order of 3 new to me soaps (2 samples, 1 full tub) and 3 new to me after shave balms (all samples) from a Canadian shaving product maker, but that’s waiting to clear customs.
You, of course, will get full on reviews of each in the coming weeks, if I haven’t already mentioned them. Stay tuned!