Thursday 30 August 2012

Village Baber Aftershave Balm


Normally I will use upall of the product before I start my review but to do that with this productwould take far too long. Also Iain (owner and Village Barber and producer ofthe balm) asked me to review this product and I didn’t want to keep him waitingforever. In total I have used the aftershave balm for over a month everyday.

When I was asked toreview this product I agreed happily as on most of the forums this product getsvery good mentions and recommendations. First things first I generally do “judgea book by its cover” and the Village Barber Shaving Balm is packed very nicely.The bottle itself is a 125m/5 fl oz plastic, squeezable bottle, which isimportant as the balm is quite thick. The bottle is an attractive cobalt bluecolour similar to the Bristol/Bath glassware with a gold screw to cap alsoplastic. My main hang-ups are with the presentation of the packaging, whichreally shouldn’t matter if the product is good but we can all buy cheep stuffthat does the job and don’t mind how it is packaged but traditional shaving,for me, is about luxury. As you will read I really like this product and Ithink the quality packaging should reflect the quality of product.

Anyway down to whatreally matters! This is a very thick velvety balm and you really do not needtoo much to do the job. I use enough to cover the tip of my middle fingerspread over the hand then apply to my face with a small amount of pressure.When the balm touches my face I feel instant a cooling/calming effect on thepost shave areas. Even though the balm is very thick it is easy to apply andspreads well leaving a non-greasy layer on the skin, which is quickly absorbed.Within a few seconds my face feels smooth hydrated, and irritation free. Now, Ihave problem skin and can get spots very easily and using a thick balm got meworried that I would develop spots as my pores clogged but this did not happen.In fact my skin has looked healthier in the short time I have been using it andI even use it a general moisturiser for the rest of my face.

The scent – thisunfortunately is my other hang-up about this balm as I’m really not sure whatthe scent is meant to be. I have to say right from the start that it is a nicescent and one I have come to enjoy but I am confused as to what it the dominantscent. I get mixtures of juniper, citrus (lemon and lime), and woody scentwhich I think is sandalwood. There were mixed results on the “other half test”with my wife saying that she also was unable to identify on dominant scent andgenerally found the scent present. For those who have read my reviews of otherproducts you will know I really like woody scents and I am coming around tocitrus as well but this balm is trying to be both and given the quality of thebalm itself I’m not sure it needs to be. It might be best for this balm toeither warm woody scented with sandalwood, cedar, and/or pine or citrus withlemon, sweet orange or lime.

Iain Kane, owner ofthe Village Barber products, gives what I thought is a very brave guarantee ofa full refund and keep the product if you do not feel a difference after thefirst shave. Having used this product I can see why he gives this guarantee.Although I do have some issues with the packaging and scent the quality of thisbalm is unquestionable and can easily compete with other well-known products onthe market. One of the selling points form me is knowing that this productcomes from small producer with an extensive experience in the field and usesthe product in his own barber shop. I 100% recommend this balm and willcontinue to use it daily.

Scent
Hydration
Cooling/calming
Presentation
Overall
3½/5
5/5
5/5
4/5
17½/20

3 comments:

  1. Have just discovered your blog through doing a search for a review of the NF Tubby 2. I must say that apart from the odd typo (I've no doubt you can spell but fingers go wayward when typing, I really enjot reading your posts and thoughts. Just one suggestion and not a criticism: it would be good to have more photgraphs. I know there are plenty of images of the products you discuss out there on the web but it would make things more colourful and likely draw in more followers. That said, I am terrible with a camera and couldn't imagine ever doing a blog like this especially as I'm fairly new to DE shaving, having wet shaved with a Sensor/Mach 3 for years with a brush and ordinary soap. I look forward to reading more as you clearly know your stuff. Thanks.

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  2. Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I hope you enjoy traditional DE shaving it really is better than multi blade razors. On another note get a NF Tubby 2, I love mine!

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  3. Hi there, I’ve been looking for a new aftershave for my boyfriend (he's actually also from shropshire and a blogger hah!) because his skin is super sensitive and breaks out a lot (bad food, smoking, etc doesnt help hah!) - i just can't stand his whining anymore lol. What do you think – should I get this for him? I’ve been eyeing one of these armani aftershaves ’cause he’s got some other ones from that brand but I’m just not sure :( HELP!!!!

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