Men-ü Matt 'Skin Refresh' Gel

The last thing anyone wants is a face that shines either due to far too much moisture on the face, an overdose of moisturisers or the dreaded greasy skin - eurgh. It’s not a good look. In a hands up confession I have to say I suffer from none of these things (it’s a blessing and a curse to have this skin) but when the chance comes to give a new product a try  I’m not one to say no, so when the chance presented itself to try out Men-ü Matt Skin Refresh Gel on my face, and more pressingly on my crows feet I jumped at the chance. 

Winding its way through the snail mail a 100ml tube of the gel arrived and was put to one side to give it a good couple of weeks as part of my daily cleansing and moisturising routine.

A 100ml tube of the gel will set you back £14.45 (a weird price for anything) from Mankind here.

This is what Men-u say about the gel as part of their sales pitch:

‘An anti-shine, fragrance free gel with natural salicylic acid & witch hazel that leaves your visual frontline looking better for longer! For normal, combination and oily skin. Removes & controls excess oil that contributes to blocked pores & breakouts. Cleans pores from impurities, toning & tightening the skin. Soothes & calms – great after shaving & helps overcome ingrown hairs. 

Use on towel dried skin after shaving or washing and as required. Contains willow bark extract that has been used for centuries as a mild analgesic, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. If using a moisturiser, men-ü matt moisturiser recommended.’

Now I think I have normal skin, well as normal as the skin of a 36 year old smoker can be. Anything that can freshen my face up is welcome and as a long time user, and possibly abuser of the L’Oreal Men Expert range I couldn't wait to see what this could do for me.

A quick shake of the tube and I was surprised that the contents sounded like shaking fluid in a flask, if anything I was going to have to be careful, I didn’t want to dispense too much, particularly if it was going to be uber runny. With two pumps of the dispenser I had enough of the gel in my palm to cover my huge face and really work the gel into problem areas (at my hair and jaw lines in addition to around my eyes).

Yes, it isn’t strictly a gel, it has a consistency of a watered down hair product and without being careful if is likely to run off your hand. Be careful. 

In terms of fragrance this screams “I’m a product for blokes” with a very basic, yet masculine fragrance. Thankfully, the fragrance isn’t that synthetic, I like the subtle notes of bark that make this stand out as a little bit rugged, a little bit earthy. Spot on people, spot on.

The fragrance aside, after all, if it’s pants the fragrance is irrelevant, it’s the results that matter. The gel is absorbed really quickly and at the first time of using I actually re-applied and again, that was absorbed really quickly which suggested to me that my skin needed a bit of love. After about a minute on the skin I could feel a change in my face, not numb, but that sensation you get when extreme cold touches your skin and is then immediately removed. Weird, but actually a little bit enjoyable. If anything, it means that something is happening.

Once absorbed there is no shine on the skin, and the matt finish gives that natural look. There is no danger of looking like you have just stepped out of a make up artists chair.

On day one, I noticed that my skin felt tighter on my face, particularly around my forehead, eyes and cheeks. Nice one.

By day three the tingling sensation had stopped and only one application a day was needed first thing in the morning. Each time of using the results were the same, a lovely tightening sensation and visibly clearer skin. 

When making a comparison on day seven I was astounded by the results. The Gordon Ramsey trenches (also known as the stress lines on my forehead) and crows feet were less pronounced. They weren’t gone, but boy, they definitely were not as deep and noticeable as before and that readers is something on a par with a miracle considering the depth of them before using. 

I’m really glad I had the chance to try this out and will be looking to add more of their products to my daily cleansing and moisturising routine in the mornings. At the moment I am complementing this with The Bluebeards moisturiser but will be taking up the Men-u recommendation and trying their own matt moisturiser.  

The tingling, the fragrance and the results are to be blunt bloody brilliant and well worth the initial purchase price. At just shy of £15 for a tube this represents good value for money and will last for ages. After ten days of using I’m delighted with the results and have used around a tenth of the tube.

Banish impurities, unblock pores and let your face breath, Men-ü Matt Skin Refresh Gel is for the gent where performance matters.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Osmo Effects Detoxify Shampoo

With the endless amounts of lotions and potions that get rubbed, smeared and massaged into my hair it is no wonder that from time to time it has the texture of straw and can look tired. Until late last year, washing my hair consisted of picking up the nearest bottle in the shower (and there are a lot to choose from). 

Osmo Effects Detoxify came as part of the Osmo Male Grooming gift set and it sat around for a while until I finally got to the stage where my hair just couldn’t take any more.

Detoxify is a one day a week clarifying cleanser - it’s basically a shampoo that strips away all of the gunk and junk added over the course of seven days.

I have a 250ml tube of Detoxify, and when looking to see how much this costs when sold separately I was surprised to see that it is only £4. 

This is what Osmo say about Detoxify:

‘A deep clarifying cleanser designed to effectively remove product build-up and impurities whilst retaining the hair's natural moisture.

Achieve super clean results with this unique formulation which combines Rosemary and Tea Tree Oil. Jojoba and Wheatgerm condition and soften.’

First things first, with any shampoo I tend to be drawn back by the fragrance - anything remotely sweet in nature and I’m hooked. While Detoxify isn’t sweet, you can pull out the light fragrance of tea tree which makes it smell fresh and clean, but to be honest, no hints of rosemary whatsoever. Personally I like the fragrance of this, it doesn’t hit the senses it is so subtle and doesn’t have that underlying synthetic smell you can get with some shampoos. 

This is the first shampoo I have used specifically to remove product build up in my hair so I can’t compare the fragrance with others like it on the market, but take it from me, it smells lush.

A tiny amount, a quick massage onto my hair and whoosh, my head was encased in a light lather. It didn’t have the thickness of my usual shampoo and it quickly faded as the shampoo stripped away at my hair. After a couple of minutes my scalp tingled ever so gently and I decided it was time to rinse it off. 

After a thorough rinse my hair felt light and it squeaked when I ran my palm over the crown of my head. 

Now for the gross bit - I first used this in the bath and as soon as I had washed my hair the water turned an awful, stomach churning beige. Eurgh….The shampoo had clearly removed a lot, and I mean, a lot of residual gunk that had been glued to my hair. 

While still wet my hair had an amazing shine that remained even after drying. My hair did feel a bit lighter and before styling the individual strands were much more fine to the touch. 

Styling was also much easier after using Detoxify, in fact, much less product was needed to sculpt the style I wanted. Excellent (said while tapping fingers together Mr Burns style).

This is the perfect shampoo for removing build ups of hair products. It doesn’t irritate the scalp, has a strange tingling sensation when using and strips away impurities. It does what it says on the tin (it’s a tube stooooopid) and doesn’t cost the earth. Using this once a week has improved the health of my hair - there is also certainly less hair product residue throughout the week that can flake off onto clothes.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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