Toothpick's Never-Ending Aftershave Reviews

[Toothpick]

Will start with these and as I acquire more aftershaves I'll review them here over the next few forevers. Really can't imagine much difference except the scents but we'll find out!

Aftershaves

Duke Cannon After-Shave Balm Ice Cold would highly recommend	Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm would recommend	Every Man Jack Face Lotion would not recommend
Harry’s Post-Shave Balm - would recommend	Goodline Aftershave Lotion Would not recommend	Neutrogena Face Lotion - Would recommend
Hawkins & Brimble After Shave Balm - Would recommend (almost highly)	Truefitt & Hill 1805 - would highly recommend	LaToja Aftershave Balm - highly recommend
Speick Aftershave Balm - the scent is a turn off	Myrsol Emulsion - recommended with caution	Geo F. Trumpers Skin Food - Not Bad, but I expected more
Art of Shaving After Shave Balm - Basic balm, luxury cost	L’Occitane Cade - pretty darn good!	Proraso Aftershave Balm - Just a good ole balm
Pre de Provence No. 63 - I like it!	L’Oreal Hydra Sensitive - pretty good stuff!	Nivea Men Skin & Stubble Balm - exactly what you’d expect
L’Oreal Hydra Power - need to use again

 

[Toothpick]

Duke Cannon After-Shave Balm Ice Cold

Quite impressive! The initial blast of menthol is quite nice. Even after a cold water rinse that I do. And it sticks around for roughly 10-15 minutes. I really like the scent as well. Can definitely smell the menthol but it is not overpowering, like say Vicks Vapor Rub is. The scent also sticks around for roughly the same amount of time as the ”cool” feeling. I probably used a bit more than necessary but that’s just what I do with AS, I don’t skimp. On the hands and while applying to the face there is a bit of a greasy feeling. But guess what - it goes away completely once dry. My face feels smoooooooth and great. No sting or burn (no alcohol). Really impressed with the first application. We’ll see how this performs a 2nd time, and 3rd.

 

[Toothpick]

Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm

No scent at all. None that sticks around anyway. There might be a slight scent out of the jar and maybe a minute or two until it dries on your face. But overall I‘d call this unscented. I had some irritation from my shave so I was looking forward to something soothing. Can’t exactly say this was soothing but it left my face soft and smooth. Maybe the shave just really sucked. It goes on greasy which I don’t like. BUT, it does dry quickly and the greasy feeling goes away completely. Overall I’d say there is nothing wrong with it that you can’t get used to. It’s pretty decent stuff. I think the Duke Cannon above is better though.

 

[ajkel64]

The Nivea balms have little to no smell for me as well but this means I can use a decent EDT to spray on the neck and chest. Best of both worlds and the Nivea Balms soothe my skin after a shave really well.

 

[Toothpick]

The Nivea balms have little to no smell for me as well but this means I can use a decent EDT to spray on the neck and chest. Best of both worlds and the Nivea Balms soothe my skin after a shave really well.

That’s a good idea actually. Unscented balm, followed by whatever good smelling cologne you want.

 

[Toothpick]

Every Man Jack Face Lotion and Post-Shave.

Pretty meh on this one. Maybe even bleh!. Really thick, like yogurt, thicker even. Definitely more of a lotion and less of a post-shave balm. It says “natural menthol” but I didn’t feel any cooling effect. Goes on really thick and therefore takes several minutes to dry completely. Just not impressed with this at all.

 

[BigJ]

Great reviews!! Thanks!

 

[ridinshotgun]

I tried Nivea in the past and it was too greasy for me and felt like it left a residue on my face. I had bad experiences with balms before so it will be interesting to see the results!

 

[KeenDogg]

My skin tends to be dry. Nivea soaks right in. Love it.

 

[Toothpick]

Harry’s Post-Shave Balm with Aloe

Not bad! A very light scent that to me smells like clean laundry but it’s quite pleasant. It is thick and goes on thick. It dries within 5 minutes and is not greasy at all so that’s a plus. All around feels pretty good. Would recommend

 

[Toothpick]

Goodline Grooming Co. After Shave Lotion

First off, I would call this a gel not a lotion. It’s clear and feels like a gel. Dries like a gel too. I didn’t realize there was a bit of alcohol in it so the sting was a bit of a shock. I thought “why is this stinging?” Then looked closer at the ingredients and there it is. Smells like Vicks Vapor Rub. After it dries the smell turns kind of sour. Pretty well crap IMO.

I think this is CVS’s brand of grooming products.

 

[Wogus]

Loves me some Duke Cannon. I find it's easy to use a too much, though... A little dab'll do ya.

 

[Chandu]

Here's what I picked up at the local drug store today:

View attachment 1397596


Will start with these and as I acquire more aftershaves I'll review them here over the next few forevers. Really can't imagine much difference except the scents but we'll find out!

Aftershaves

Duke Cannon After-Shave Balm Ice Cold would highly recommend	Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm would recommend	Every Man Jack Face Lotion would not recommend
Harry’s Post-Shave Balm - would recommend	Goodline Aftershave Lotion Would not recommend

Thanks

My take on the ones I have used

Nivea, definitely, but can get oily for me.
Harry's - good but didn't like the smell. They make a post shave spray though that I really like. It's lighter than a balm and ticks all the boxes for me
Duke Cannon - I liked the menthol, but not the sandalwood after scent that lasts pretty much too long for me.

I have not tried the others.

 

[Toothpick]

I got that vibe from Harry’s as well. Good, but the scent is lacking. I didn’t think it was bad though.

 

[FoolishMortal]

I've been a big fan of the Neutrogena option in the past. The scent is probably too heavy for some, but it's vaguely cologne-like (to me) and so it can be worn without (other) aftershave. I got, um, compliments on the scent from various lady-friends in the past, so there's that. As a bonus, it supplies SPF15-level sun protection.

Most days, though, I'm using a Stirling balm.

 

[KUfan]

My thoughts on some of these--Nivea Sensitive, can take or leave, kinda oily on me. Everyman Jack, real sticky and the mint scent is a deal breaker for me. Duke Cannon, nice menthol cooling, the "sandalwood" scent is cloying, waxy feel on my skin after a while. Harry's, feels nice on shaven skin, but the scent is weird. Balms must be a real challenge to get scented to appeal to users. Of these, Nivea wins out for me, but it doesn't impress either. No wonder all this stuff hits the clearance bin at retailers.

 

[Chandu]

I got that vibe from Harry’s as well. Good, but the scent is lacking. I didn’t think it was bad though.

I think I might be mistaken. I might be thinking of the scent of their shave gel. Have you used the gel? If so does it smell the same.

I picked up their shave mist product about a month ago. I tried it in the store to make sure it it didn't smell like the gel. It does not and the smell dies away quickly. It's more like an AS than a balm, but it is enough for me. I don't need a balm usually. With balms, most are too heavy and oily for me.

I will by more of the mist when it runs out. I suspect it will last a very long time. I have not used a mister that was that fine of a spray. I will keep the bottle for other use like custom mixes of witch hazel and what not. Although with the Harry's mist, I don't know what else I need.

 

[Toothpick]

Neutrogena Face Lotion

It’s just a middle of the road lotion basically. It’s good. But there is no scent and it’s very thick. Which makes it more of a body lotion than an aftershave balm IMO. But it does work well. Goes on thick but dries quickly without any leftover residue or stickiness. All around it’s alright.

 

[Toothpick]

Welp, out of aftershave balms until my order from Smallflower gets here. So I’ll review some splashes next week.

 

[Toothpick]

Hawkins & Brimble After Shave Balm

I’m not sure what distinguishes a balm from a lotion but this is more like a lotion IMO. I suppose when I think of balm I think of more on the liquid side, maybe milky almost. This is more of a lotion but I digress.

A little goes a long way! So I‘m sure I used to much as I tend to do. Because of that it took a while to dry. Probably 10+ minutes before my face was fully dry. After I applied it and even now while dry it almost has a powdery feel on the skin. Very soft and smooth. So no leftover residue or greasy slimy feeling. Absolutely no sting at all. I suppose it has a very light pleasant scent. Hard to describe and I suck at that anyway but it‘s pleasant scent. You can probably wear a cologne over it and only smell the cologne.

It reminds me of the Neutrogena Face Lotion I reviewed above. But with a better scent and softer face feel. It’s pretty darn good so I’d recommend it for sure.