Cubebe

This soap earned the reviewer's first-ever perfect score, a straight 35 out of 35, across a run of reviews covering many brands. He records a fifteen-second load producing a smooth, slick and voluminous lather, calls the glide unbelievable with no tug or hint of dryness, and concludes that Cubebe had taken the top spot in the range away from the 70th Anniversary. Worth noting where it did not max out: he rated the scent's raw strength only a 3 out of 5, praising instead the complexity of how it unfolds.

A year later the same reviewer scored eleven Varesino soaps side by side, and the picture is more measured: Cubebe finished on 51 out of a possible 55, level with the 70th Anniversary and a little behind Opuntia and Desert Vetiver on 54. The shape of the result is the interesting part — it took full marks for latherability, lather stability, glide, cushion, post-shave nourishment and skin sensitivity, and every point it dropped was on a fragrance-related measure or face feel.

A 2019 thread on this forum is where the scent takes its heaviest criticism, and it is worth reading precisely because the performance still survives it. One poster reads the fragrance as sweet, synthetic and slightly balsamic, picking out lemon, pepper, amber and vetiver; another is blunter, saying it smells like a shower gel off a supermarket shelf. Yet the same thread has posters calling the performance and post-shave feel superb, one summing up the split neatly: even if you dislike the scent, the lather itself has excellent properties. A separate note on value: two triple-milled Varesino soaps in regular rotation can comfortably last a year.

A UK poster tracked the soap over two weeks against his previous favorite, the 70th Anniversary, and reached a divided conclusion that echoes the wider record: Cubebe lathers better, feels better on the face and is the slightly stronger performer of the two, becoming a firm favorite — but he still prefers the 70th's fragrance, as, he notes, does his girlfriend. He also found the matching aftershave sits more sharply alcoholic on the skin than the 70th's.

A user with over 40 years of traditional shaving under their belt describes the lather as "incredible, like silk," calling this soap a new benchmark; others in the same thread note, however, that the scent, while pleasant, is among the least memorable in the Varesino range.

The review highlights the triple milling and a "supreme" lather, slick and able to take care of the skin post-shave.

Among verified reviews on this Italian retailer, the consensus is very high (almost 5 stars across 14 reviews): one buyer puts it head-to-head with the 70th Anniversary, which stays their favorite by a hair, while others praise above all its glide, protection and a scent they call "spectacular" and never overpowering.

The single review on this US retailer sits at 3 out of 5, and the reason is instructive: the buyer calls it a great, very soothing aftershave and says he loves the fragrance, but docked two stars because the bottle leaked inside its box in transit, costing him some of an expensive product. His complaint is with the packaging rather than the lotion, and he still recommends the retailer.

On this product, verified reviews are even more unanimous (5 out of 5 stars across 9 reviews): buyers appreciate the quick absorption, an alcohol level that stops bothering the skin after the first moment, and a notable soothing effect, with more than one calling it the best aftershave they've ever tried.

This is comfortably the most-rated Saponificio Varesino fragrance on the site — 8.2 out of 10 across 36 ratings, several times the turnout of its stablemates, with longevity at 7.3, sillage at 7.0 and value for money matching the scent at 8.2. The one in-depth review, posted in late 2025, describes a fresh, slightly sparkling bergamot-fir-lemon opening that recalls Creed's Aventus for a moment before going its own way, warming into cubeb pepper and nutmeg over patchouli, benzoin and vetiver; the reviewer values it for staying present without overpowering, and calls it a small masterpiece wearable in any season. Elsewhere on the page it is likened to an "eau fraîche" reading of Terre d'Hermès, with the cubeb pepper singled out as surprisingly natural.

It has drawn more votes here than any other Varesino fragrance — 4.47 out of 5 across 15 — and the distribution is emphatic: 8 "love it" and 6 "like it" against a single "ok," with no dislikes or hates at all. Users describe it as a very successful spicy, peppery citrus, more than one calling it a solid summer freshie.