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Men's grooming products: December '09 reviews

Just in: our gang of product testers has reviewed the goodies you'll want to stash in your X-mas stocking this silly season!

Edwin Jagger Premium Shaving Cream in Sandalwood, R180.00 for a 75ml tube

Reviewer: Wimpie Engelbrecht, construction project manager

This product is amazing! I usually have to shave twice before I get a proper shave. This time I had a satisfactory result after only one shave. The sandalwood smell is beautiful and it left my skin feeling soft and supple. With previous creams my skin felt taut and dry. Not with this one. My skin felt clean, "cool", refreshed and nourished. Enhanced by natural extracts, the product consists of 99% natural components and is free of parabens, mineral oil, paraffin and other synthetic substances. This shaving cream is also available in Aloe Vera and Sea Buckthorn. Edwin Jagger products are available for purchase online at www.luxury-grooming.co.za.

Vo5 Mega Hold Gel, R44.99 for 500g

Reviewer: Simon Williamson, content producer, GoTravel24.com

I have horrible hair. It is thick and does what it wants, whenever it wants to - it needs to be held in place or it sits down in a horrible position and destroys any remote chance of sex-appeal, whatsoever. So it was a relief to find hair gel that holds it in place without making it look like I’ve dipped my head into a barrel of oil. Vo5 Mega Hold Gel holds my hair where I want it for the whole day and looks the same after work as it does 10 minutes after I put on the gel in the morning. I will certainly keep using it.

Yes to Cucumbers Cleansing Cucumber shower gel, R 79.00 for 500ml

Reviewer: Andreas Späth, freelance journalist

I used to think that vegetables and personal hygiene were two mutually exclusive subjects. Well, after trying Yes to Cucumbers’ Cleansing Cucumber Shower Gel, I’ve changed my opinion. This is a really nice, cleansing and refreshing body wash with a very pleasing clean and fresh fragrance. In fact it’s nothing like your granny’s old veggie patch. While the design of the bottle - industrial is the word that springs to mind - could do with some attention, the product itself is flawless. I’m particularly impressed by the fact that it contains 99.6% natural products and, what’s more, that many of them are certified organic, including organic cucumber juice, organic broccoli extract, organic olive oil, organic tea tree extract and more, as well as Dead Sea minerals and Aloe Vera. The gel is silky and smooth in consistency and that’s exactly the feeling it leaves on your skin. A big thumbs up for this one!

Nivea for Men Active3 Shower Gel, R24.99 for 250ml

Reviewer: Denzil Daniels, web designer

The fact that you can use this product for multiple purposes - as a shampoo, a shaving cream and a shower gel - has added ease to my rushed early morning routine as well as to getting ready for a night on the town. The first thing that impressed me was the refreshing, awakening, yet calming scent of the gel - it left me eager to start using the product. Using it as a shampoo was a pleasure. I was worried that I’d be stuck washing my hair with shaving foam. Turns out the gel turns into foam just the way ordinary shampoo would. As a body wash it feels as though it leaves a pleasantly fragrant protective barrier on my skin. In fact, it leaves the skin so smooth, I’ve realized that I don’t have to use lotion afterwards. After “Movember”, shaving was just what I needed. Ordinarily applying shampoo or body wash to your face wouldn’t be such a clever move, but this gel actually works like shaving foam as well, giving you both protection and that pleasant fragrance. Nivea for Men Active3 is multi-purposed, easy to use and invigorating: a must have for guys on the go and a product that I’d happily recommend to any man.

Meadowsweet Awakening Peppermint spritzer, R39.95 for 50ml

Reviewer: Niels Colesky, International Man of Mystery

Yippee! It is summer again. 

Unfortunately, the reality of summer isn’t all beaches and tall, cool drinks served by pretty girls in bikini tops and grass skirts doing the hula. No, the reality of summer, regrettably, is that outside of our air-conditioned offices, we are hot and bothered. Spritzers, like quiche, aren’t overwhelmingly manly; and men seen to be spritzing themselves in public are sniggered at. But anyone who knows anything knows this is nonsense. Real men have the confidence to rise above prejudice. The people at Meadowsweet make it easy. They have come up with an excellent range of spritzers with essences ranging from Comforting Eucalyptus to Intoxicating Jasmine to Serene Sandalwood. The one I am keeping in my bakkie is Awakening Peppermint. I have been using it for a few days now and it is really good. The initial blast is rich in peppermint but the fragrance isn’t one that is sickeningly lingering. The blurb on the bottle says that peppermint oil encourages things like concentration and vitality. I have no arguments there. A quick spray from the nozzle definitely produces a revitalising rush. It definitely helps when you are stuck in traffic when you would rather be in a swimming pool with a beer in your hand.

Moosehead Forming Wax, R59.99 for 100g

Reviewer: Chris Mason, surfer

Moosehead forming wax may not have the most appealing name, but at least it smells like coconut surf wax. Not to be confused with those sticky see-thru gels, Moosehead is a malleable hair wax that comes packaged in a container which reminds me half of an energy drink and half of a new-fangled kiddies play dough. It works well to give hold to whatever hair style you desire, but can make for a sticky handshake if you forget to wash your hands after application. For the first test of Moosehead, I applied a modest amount of wax to my hair and, styling it upwards like Joey from Friends, went for a walk. In less than five minutes I had received two compliments about my hair from some of my lovely neighbours. To me this is solid proof that Moosehead will get you noticed, especially if like me, you never put anything but your fingers into your hair. Unfortunately the wax is made mainly of petroleum products, so it doesn’t score highly on the enviro-scale. But then again, hippies don’t need hair-styling wax.

More men's grooming product reviews:
November '09
October '09
September '09
August '09

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