Apparently L'Occitane has reformulated its Cade Aftershave Balm for the worse. I've used it for years and am distraught as I loved its scent and performance. Anyways, I'm looking for a high performing balm as a replacement. Maybe even with a sweet almond scent to evoke a sense of Italy? Obviously the scent is secondary and performance is priority. What's out there in the world of balms? I honestly have never had to look with Cade being available!
Looking for top performing balm - what's available?
- Thread starter catchacoolbreeze
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CzechCzar
Use the Fat, Luke!
Best I have found is pre de provence # 63. I think I am going to stop with this one. Hawkins and Brimble works equally well, but is unscented.
Antica Barbieria Colla Apricot Hull Aftershave balm from Italy is within your search parameters but it's really expensive.
Agreed. I also like the Almond Oil Aftershave Milk which is a little lighter in feeling and also a little cheaper. The best prices I've found for both (for U.S. delivery) is at The English Shaving Co.
I also like the Zingari Man Unscented Sego balm. Other top balms for me are Castle Forbes, Weleda and Razorock Aftershave Wax.
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- #5
Awesome recommendation - I forgot there was another french company similar to L'Occitane. Just ordered.
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- #6
Not going to lie - I have definitely been eyeing some ABC! Does the apricot hull actually smell like apricots or is it another scent completely?
As for Castle Forbes - how does the lavender version smell? I like sweeter lavenders vs. the bitter variety. Thanks!
I like AOS balm, i think its way way overpriced but i like it a lot.
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- #8
After seeing some of the prices of it and others, I may be be feeling the same way. At this point, I still in the excited stage so anything goes!
Three that I believe are up there with Cade are Baume.be, Rockwell, and Rocky Mountain Barber.
Pre De Provence is good stuff.
B&M balm is excellent as well. I wouldn’t have bothered to try it if it wasn’t for the COVID alcohol shortage issue with aftershave, but I’m glad I did.
B&M balm is excellent as well. I wouldn’t have bothered to try it if it wasn’t for the COVID alcohol shortage issue with aftershave, but I’m glad I did.
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- #11
I've heard of none of these. I will check them out. Thanks!
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- #12
Forgot about B&M. I really only associated them with splashes. I just check there stock. I wish they made the balm in their Reserve Lavender Scent. That is the best lavender I've smelled to date!
Speaking of Pre de Provence, they have the original balm, now called Bergamot & Thyme. More of an herbal scent. Same properties as the #63 balm. A tiny dab is all you need. Pretty similar to the Cade balm, but much less expensive.
CzechCzar
Use the Fat, Luke!
I was and still an a huge B&M fanboy. For me, the PdP 63 both relieves better, curse irritation better, moisturizes better, and just generally smells better. It's one of the best smells I have ever smelled.
Which is not to say B&M is bad, far from it. For me PdP is just incredibly underrated. For the life of me I can't understand why it gets talked about so little.
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Baume is the best balm I’ve tried performance wise.
Pretty much the only one I use daily is Clinique Moisturizer for Men. It's light, disappears into the skin almost instantly and has no scent (important for me as I prefer cologne). It's not cheap, but like most expensive products it only requires a small amount and a tube lasts me about a year.
CeraVe is good, but it requires too much rubbing on my just shaved skin. Castle Forbes makes a very good scented balm (Lime is lovely), but it's difficult to only use 2 -3 drops - and if you use more you'll probably find it on your cell phone later.
CeraVe is good, but it requires too much rubbing on my just shaved skin. Castle Forbes makes a very good scented balm (Lime is lovely), but it's difficult to only use 2 -3 drops - and if you use more you'll probably find it on your cell phone later.
I prefer all of them to PdP. PdP is good, but Cade and the three I mentioned work better *for me*.
A bit of this is related to scent. With PdP, I did not like smelling like thyme (and, I think, some rosemary) for the original or an old Euro-man (63 - according to my wife, but I did understand her objection).
Baume has a light, sort-of medicinal scent. Rockwell is kind of an everything and the kitchen sink which works for me, maybe not others. Rocky Mountain Barber is a sandalwood-vanilla which I will probably not rebuy due to my dislike for vanilla. That said, it may be the best I've tried from a performance perspective.
I don't like to smell like my food. You may have guessed this.
I like some of the slightly medicinal scents, too. With PdP, I found the balms too strongly scented at first, which seemed a bit out of character for PdP. I experimented with applying only a tiny dab of the balm, with slightly wet face and hands. That cut the concentration, and the balm absorbed quickly while still working well.
Lidl sells a nice inexpensive balm called allmen. In 2 varieties, balm and gel (two varieties of gel). Not bad at all imho, in fact the opposite.
I always like GFT Skinfood and DR Harris Aftershave Milk. Although not really a balm, they are quite good. However, I always put them on my Christmas list since I am too cheap to buy them myself!
