Shaving does not have to be boring.... it can be a glorious sensory exploration - whereby each morning is a new adventure - a new combination... a new way to start your day. If I wake up in the morning and think to myself "I'd be better off dropping my head back down and going back to sleep" I'll force myself up, stumble to the bathroom and grab something that really kicks me into gear - like a tub of salter mint, QED espresso, QED peppermint, or proraso. After my shave I will follow up with a "zippy" aftershave product, and a energetic, sharp, zesty cologne that focuses on the "highs" such as Zirh, T&H 1805, domain etc.... on the other hand, when I wake up feeling like the Greek god Zeus looking down at the small world below me, I grab for a bottle of this....
I had/have never seen a review or even so much as a commentary on this product in the past, and after having used it several times now, I am completely baffled why this is the case. Maybe it's $22 price is a bit steep compared to a bottle of proraso a/s splash at nearly 1/2 the price, or Musgo not having as illustrious a reputation on message boards as its competitors from Italy and England. Whatever the case may be, I find this product to be simply intoxicating, and worthy of much greater attention. This is the first product in quite some time, that has REALLY wowed me, and so long as they make this product I will ALWAYS have a bottle or two handy.
When you first grab hold of this product, you are immediately taken aback by the texture of the box.... looks just like cork - then it dawns on you..... it IS cork. How neat? They cover the box in a very thin layer of actual cork... really gives the box a gorgeous look and feel, and really makes this product stand out in a positive and unique way. Very elegant text on the front and back of the product that reads.....
This relaxing splash is blended from fragrances imported from Grasse, France including patchouly and vetyver, offering a a subtle infusion of woody and spicy scents to create a sophisticated and masculine aroma. Added are glycerine and allantoine, to calm and comfort just-shaved skin, resulting in a superb incorporation of sense and scent.
Once you take the bottle out of the cork-box, you are greeted with a simplistically elegant clear glass bottle - with whats that? A label made of cork I really like it when products exude attention to detail, class, and just plumb doing things right, and the look and feel of the bottle/label is really first rate. Hats off to Musgo!
When the bottle arrives, it will have a plastic stopper in the top as shown....
Simply take a ball point pen, punch the tip thru the top of the plastic, and you can dispense the product with ease in the desired proportions.
Ok - with all that out of the way - what makes this product so fantastic? For me it is the incredibly elegant, hoity toiety old world scent. I have not smelled another fragrance which has such a "rich, lofty" scent to it.... I feel it borders on majestic. Throughout the day it constantly reminds you in an elegant fashion that it is still there, and although (at least for me) present nearly the entire day, it was NEVER overpowering or annoying - it was simply there, calming, relaxing and inspiring you along the way. The fragrance is just so delightful in my opinion pictures and words simply cannot do this concoction justice.
As far as the efficacy of this product, I found it to be surprisingly soothing, especially for an alcohol based a/s splash. It lightly moisturized my skin - beyond anything I have typically experienced from an alcohol based a/s splash, and soothed and toned my skin with the best of them.
Truly magical stuff - and if you are want or need to have one of those days where you calmly swagger around as if you own the globe.... reach for a bottle of this magical liquid.