The other day I stumbled on a company called Esbjerg which is located in Vienna; they make natural shaving creams and natural aftershave products. However when I searched I found no mention of them whatsoever on this site. So my curiosity peaked, as normally every shaving product I have tried has been reviewed so I had some idea what I was getting into. With Esbjerg I had no idea what to expect.
A week ago I placed an order for their Grapefruit Shaving Cream, and Grapefruit Aftershave Gel. And today it arrived
The cream has more of a soft soap consistency similar to my Santa Maria Novella and TFS.
Ingredients of the gel (Esbjerg also offer a milk which is for more for people with dry skin, but I already have a balm that is wonderful so I decided to try the gel). Note the top five ingredients are Water, Alcohol, Aloe, Glycerin, and Centella (a plant which has mild anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties).
Ingredients of the cream
Now on to the actual review...
Upon opening the cream I got a nice smell of grapefruit, however when lathering the soap the smell is more subdued (smells like a milky grapefruit smell to me). I loaded the product heavily on my brush but it seemed to not put a dent in it. This looks like a cream that will last a long time which worries me as my SMN still isn't empty
I bowl lathered so that I would have some lather pictures (please bear in mind I face lather since over a year so bowl lathering is no longer my forte).
I then face loaded the brush again, I used a fairly wet brush) and face lathered. This stuff is absolutely incredible, the resulting lather was slick and like yoghurt. Absolutely wonderful stuff, my shave was an absolute pleasure. I used a straight for my WTG and XTG and a DE for my ATG. This cream protected me decently given the fact that my technique was subpar (wanted to see how well this cream protected).
My face was soft and moisturised afterwards, similar to how it feels after MWF (although there is no lanolin in this cream). I had my girlfriend smell to see how it smells after the shave. Apparently my face smelled nicely of grapefruit but only extremely up close.
Then I applied the gel, only using a tiny dab as per the instructions, and gently rubbed it in. It dried extremely fast leaving my face even softer and much calmer. Now because I went so rough my skin is still a bit uncomfortable, but overall this product faired excellently. Because of the amount of aloe, and glycerin, my face does not feel dry like it normally does with alcohol based aftershave products. The smell isn't the greatest when applying (guessing this is due to the alcohol) but afterwards it leaves your face with a nice faint smell of grapefruit which won't interfere with your cologne.
So the price, currently this cream is selling for $25, but the website says that price will go up. Even when it does, it is still a cream I want in my rotation. The tub is around the size of my tub of SMN, so it is on the large size. I have tried Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet, AdP, SMN, TFS, and many others and this cream really is in lines with the big leagues. This lather was incredibly slick, perfect for straight shaving. I still have my SMN but I think for the next few days it will take a backseat, although I will miss the menthol. The only things I would change about this product is adding a bit more of the grapefruit extract, and making it wider to make it easier to load with a brush.
I am truly surprised Esbjerg has not been spoken of before. I can't stop touching my face due to the softness thanks to the cream and gel
Absolutely top notch!
A week ago I placed an order for their Grapefruit Shaving Cream, and Grapefruit Aftershave Gel. And today it arrived
The cream has more of a soft soap consistency similar to my Santa Maria Novella and TFS.
Ingredients of the gel (Esbjerg also offer a milk which is for more for people with dry skin, but I already have a balm that is wonderful so I decided to try the gel). Note the top five ingredients are Water, Alcohol, Aloe, Glycerin, and Centella (a plant which has mild anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties).
Ingredients of the cream
Now on to the actual review...
Upon opening the cream I got a nice smell of grapefruit, however when lathering the soap the smell is more subdued (smells like a milky grapefruit smell to me). I loaded the product heavily on my brush but it seemed to not put a dent in it. This looks like a cream that will last a long time which worries me as my SMN still isn't empty
I bowl lathered so that I would have some lather pictures (please bear in mind I face lather since over a year so bowl lathering is no longer my forte).
I then face loaded the brush again, I used a fairly wet brush) and face lathered. This stuff is absolutely incredible, the resulting lather was slick and like yoghurt. Absolutely wonderful stuff, my shave was an absolute pleasure. I used a straight for my WTG and XTG and a DE for my ATG. This cream protected me decently given the fact that my technique was subpar (wanted to see how well this cream protected).
My face was soft and moisturised afterwards, similar to how it feels after MWF (although there is no lanolin in this cream). I had my girlfriend smell to see how it smells after the shave. Apparently my face smelled nicely of grapefruit but only extremely up close.
Then I applied the gel, only using a tiny dab as per the instructions, and gently rubbed it in. It dried extremely fast leaving my face even softer and much calmer. Now because I went so rough my skin is still a bit uncomfortable, but overall this product faired excellently. Because of the amount of aloe, and glycerin, my face does not feel dry like it normally does with alcohol based aftershave products. The smell isn't the greatest when applying (guessing this is due to the alcohol) but afterwards it leaves your face with a nice faint smell of grapefruit which won't interfere with your cologne.
So the price, currently this cream is selling for $25, but the website says that price will go up. Even when it does, it is still a cream I want in my rotation. The tub is around the size of my tub of SMN, so it is on the large size. I have tried Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet, AdP, SMN, TFS, and many others and this cream really is in lines with the big leagues. This lather was incredibly slick, perfect for straight shaving. I still have my SMN but I think for the next few days it will take a backseat, although I will miss the menthol. The only things I would change about this product is adding a bit more of the grapefruit extract, and making it wider to make it easier to load with a brush.
I am truly surprised Esbjerg has not been spoken of before. I can't stop touching my face due to the softness thanks to the cream and gel
Absolutely top notch!
Last edited:
