Bath & Body Works, Signatrue Collection~Cologne Sprays for Men

If I may be honest, it's been a few years since I've gone into a Bath & Body Works store, although I do enjoy the free samples they pass out at the mall. My husband and I recently gave three of their Cologne Spray for Men scents a whirl and unfortunately, it looks like we won't be visiting a B&BW anytime soon.

CITRON: This scent is boasted as smelling of "white woods and lemon zest", my husband described it's components as "old man and lemon", I would explain Citron as "masculine, yet fruity". This scent is very strong-in fact, we found all 3 of the reviewed colognes to be overly potent. I attempted to maneuver a half-spritz of sorts, but to no avail.

NOIR: Bath & Body Works sells this smell as "a bold, exotic blend of black cardamom and white musk", my husband's review exclaimed it "vanilla and dirty, old man", and I found Noir to remind me of that guy in a restaurant or bar, who you can smell from every table. It was again, much too strong. This flavor is a very cologne-like smell as compared to the other 2  more Earthy scents reviewed.

OCEAN: This "refreshing blend of cypress, vetiver and yuzu" gave my husband and me an instant headache. The scent of Ocean is a cleaner flavor than Citron or Noir, but it too, was much too potent.







My husband found these 3 sprays to smell inexpensive and of nothing unique. He described them as smelling cheap and like so many other colognes out there.

Overall, I am excited that Bath & Body Works is making Men's products, but my experience with their Men's line has left me disappointed. Although underachieving in the scent flavors, B&BW have overachieved in the areas of spray volume and potency. I have definitely experienced sprays that seem to disappear after 20 minutes, but these colognes hit you hard and keep swinging until showered off. Perhaps the scents would have struck me delicious, if they were tamed. I'm pretty sure my Uncle Doug will appreciate our re-gift of these colognes as he is A. getting older and unable to smell as well, and B. that Uncle that rocks just a little bit too much cologne.

Cartier~Declaration

I remember walking by the Cartier store as a child. I remember staring at the store's sparkling window displays, intimidating Security Guards, and closed doors. I remember wondering if you needed an invitation to go inside, or maybe a secret password. At the very least, I knew that you had to be someone special to shop at Cartier. As an adult, Cartier still says "Special" to me, but it also says "Elegance", and "Regal". Cartier has taken it's class and style and bottled it into it's newest liquid form: Declaration. This scent for men is masculine, but not musky, and noticeable, but not overwhelming. Declaration is an absolutely delicious representation of the prestige that is Cartier.

I recently tested 2 new products.

1) Signature Collection Bath and Body Works Oak For Men Cologne Spray. I like the product, but I don't think it suits me--the aroma, while pleasant, is way too powerful. So much that my eyes tended to water when using it. If you want to make a lasting impression this is the cologne to use. But in minute quantities.

2) Oooh lala of Beverly Hills (yes, there are 3 o's) Bohemian Blue Organic Body Wash. I like this product. It was just the right consistency, lathered well, but not excessively so, and washed off easily. The aroma was light but not especially pleasing. A little to chemical for an organic product.

I would buy it but I would have to decant it into a bottle with a regular cap--the pump dispenser that it came with was just too hard to use in our small, one person shower.

Votre Vu products

I have recently used the following 3 Votre Vu produts:

1) Formule 1 Men's 3-in-1 Wash

I liked this product quite a bit. It was light and gentle with a pleasant aroma, but it is suggested to use an ample amount, and that is what one really has to do. The 88 ml tube only lasted for about 5 washes. I would buy it for my own use, but would use a separate shampoo.

2) Beau Baume Organic Shave Balm

This is a great product, but I found it too dense and hard to spread. It protected the face well, but was hell on sink clean up.

3) Habitude Men's Daily Face Creme (SPF 15)

Really great products. I try to stay away from men's face products, but this one is odor free, spreads easily and leaves no residue. I used it for the SPF 15 for daily protection and as far as I know it did it's job. The SPF 15 may be too light for extended outdoor use in the summer, but it works well for everyday activities.

Redken for Men

From Nick:

Mint Shape Forming Paste

Waxy Feel, but does not leave residue on hair.

Very mild hold.

Maneuver Working Wax

Waxy Feel.

There is some residue that leaves hair a little pasty.

Mild hold, hold gone after 8 hrs

Look like the Stars!

Let Jenny Balding, Redken For MenConsultant, help you get the LeadingMen’s Red Carpet Looks:

Bradley Cooper’s Swept Back Style

Recommended Product: Redken For Men get groomed finishing cream

How to: Have hair slightly damp and work the cream into the hair using small amounts at a time. You can always add more product to the desired shine and control. This will give you that loosely pushed back effect off of the face.

Ryan Reynolds Laid-Back Waves

Recommended Product: Redken For Men clean spice conditioning shampoo and outplay texture putty

How to: Prep hair with Redken For Men’s new clean spice shampoo to moisturize and condition thicker locks to look healthy all night long. Apply outplay texture putty, a softer paste which will create that definition and texture but still looking slightly polished.

Zac Efron’s Multi-Textured Mane

Recommended Product: Redken For Men high rise hard wax

How-to: use a small amount of product in hands and rub together to loosen up the product with the heat from your hands. Apply hair in all directions, starting from the back. This will give that multi-textured finish that Zac Ephron sported on Sunday.

Shampoo

Redken Shampoo for men--great stuff. It's worth the money. I buy it myself and use it everyday. Mild, foamy, rinses clean, and leaves no odor. I advise men to buy their own supply and guard it!

Face washes

The last couple of months I have used 3 different face washes, two were OK, one I liked and would buy for myself.

The two that were OK were "skin milk" foaming face wash and "Cures by Avance'". Both claim to be foaming, but did not--not to my satisfaction, anyway. Both were more like body lotion with cleanser in it, and no grittiness

The one that I did like was "Billy Jealousy liquidsand" exfoliating facial cleanser. It foamed and had just the right amount of grittiness.