Purifying Face Wash for Skin & Stubble by L'Oreal Men Expert

I have always wondered whether face scrub actually does anything to soften my grizzly stubble as it slowly turns into a scraggly beard! I can’t say I’d ever noticed a great difference until I started to use beard oils, so after moaning about the lack of male grooming advent calendars (gents, there are loads for women but not none for us), Mankind, those lovely purveyors of all things for male grooming sent me a sort of consolation package which included Purifying Face Wash for Skin & Stubble by L‘Oreal.

Result! Thanks guys, when you said goodies, I didn’t expect a much needed aid package for my face!

Even at first glance this had me chuckling - on the rear the first things are “Feeling Dirty? Feeling Rough?” - erm, yeah, that’s me every day….

A 150ml tube of this face wash from the L’Oreal Men Expert range costs £6.35. 

This is what the product claims to do:

‘Eliminates impurities, skin instantly feels refreshed and energised and no feeling of tightness in the skin.
For Your Stubble, it eliminates dirt & pollution from stubble and beard area, and conditions and softens the feel of facial hair’

So, with a filthy mind (I mean face) and feeling extra rough I took my face, stubble and half asleep body into the bathroom to give this a try as soon as it arrived. It was the shiny tube that drew my eye and meant it got first dibs in the testing stakes.

God it smells gorgeous, it has the familiar aroma of the Men Expert range but it is far stronger on the nose, it’s like someone has rammed some Aloe Vera up your hooter (in a nice way). Unlike other face washes however, once it comes into contact with warm water it doesn’t get any stronger and any fears of it masking or lingering on the skin and stubble proved unfounded (I even got the other half to give it a whiff after rinsing to see if it had lingered - it hadn‘t).

The pale blue face wash isn’t that thick in texture which I found rather surprising, but that didn’t hold me back. A quick rinse of the face, a good blob of it in my hands and away I went. After closing my eyes and rubbing away for what seemed like an age I could tell that this had lathered up, the bubbles were really evident as I gingerly opened my eyes. It had covered my face, had turned a bright white (strange) and it seemed to be slightly absorbed as I stared vacantly at myself in the mirror! 

After rinsing the face wash off I was rather sickened by the colour of the water - a very murky colour that made me feel slightly ashamed, even though I’d been out of the razz for a good ten hours the night before. 

It says it shifts impurities - well, I haven’t got any litmus paper to test the Ph levels, but boy it shifted the build up of dirt and pollution that comes from living in filthy London. So, massive tick in the box that says ‘does this face wash actually wash’.

But, that was day one, I was particularly interested in the softening effect - did I notice anything on day two, three or four? Erm…….nope. It wasn’t until day five when the other half commented that the bristles were getting long but felt much softer that it dawned on me - I’d had a stroke and had lost the feeling in my hands…..(I jest and before you all get some mock outrage there is serious information about Stroke prevention here), I just couldn’t tell the difference, but I’m assured that my stubble and eventually beard was softer to the touch.

The Men Expert range for L’Oreal was in my opinion the first product that made me think seriously about how I look after my skin, and this is a lovely addition to the range. It’s affordable, lasts for ages, has a great smell, removes grime from the face and has the added bonus of softening my stubble and beard. 

At these prices, and based on the results I would recommend this as a staple for every bathroom. 

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Movember 2015

The hairiest month of the year has arrived and the term 'Movember' is one that you will see banded about all over the place and as well as being quite fun, there is a serious side to it and one that we should all take a moment to reflect on. 

The Movember Foundation is a global charity that is committed to men living happier, healthier, longer lives. Since 2003, millions have joined the men’s health movement, raising £402 million and funding over 1,000 programmes focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical inactivity.

In order to raise awareness, social media plays a huge role and the idea is that for 30 days you begin to grow 'your Mo' and as it grows, you take photos and post them on social media. So in an effort to play my part, on the very last day of the month, much to the horror of my wife, I shaved off my facial hair with a helping hand from the following products:

Crabtree & Evelyn Moroccan Myrrh Shave Soap. - This I absolutely loved and you can read about it HERE. It is worth noting that Crabtree & Evelyn are partnering with Movember for the month of November and will be offering a £1 donation on each product purchase across our men’s ranges.

As the beard and 'Mo' begin to grow, Mankind have a range of products which help keep the itching at bay and the hair soft and smooth rather than wild and grizzly. It's well worth popping over to their site this month (November!) as they are also running a social competition, offering weekly prizes for the best progress photos. To enter all you need to do is upload your photo to twitter and tag @mankindcouk and include the hashtag #MKMOVEMBER.

In addition, throughout November, Mankind will be offering 3 for 2 on beard and moustache products so well worth checking out their site.

But, should you choose to shave it all off, or just to remove the beard to show off the moustache I have to say, you could do a lot worse than checking out the huge range from Rehab London. I have already sung the praises of their shave oil here, but combined with Calm Balm and you have one of the most pain and hassle free shaves going. In fact, apart from getting shaved professionally, I'm yet to experience such few problems like razor bumps, burn and rash after using them.

What will you be doing for Movember? 

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Men-ü Shave Crème

After that horrific shaving experience (no, I’m not talking man-scaping gone wrong) with Clarins Men Rasage Ideal Smooth Shave a few weeks ago and at least 24 hours of an itchy, blotchy face and neck the opportunity to try Men-ü Shave Crème was very welcome. 

Me being me I launched the packaging (read threw the packaging in the direction of the bin) and was just about to dive straight in until I realised that this usually leads to much swearing, stamping of my feet and generally being a grumpy git when I have to accept that I should read the directions. I’m glad I took the time to read them, as I got the chance to use my shaving brush again - even though it‘s as good just rubbing between your palms and applying using your hands (it’s the little, inane things in life that make me smile the most).

Beardage pre shave.....quite long and thick hair.....

The brush is back....boom boom....

This is what Men-ü say about the shave crème over at their website:

‘Takes you to a whole new level of shaving. Includes tea tree oil (a natural antiseptic and antibacterial) that helps protect from spots and shaving rash. Packed with lubricants including silicone and moisturisers, and provides optimum slip without drying the skin. Less resistance, less irritation and less nicks mean a longer lasting blade! 

With a fresh mint & menthol fragrance, can be used with or without a shaving brush. 

Many foams and gels generate too aerated a lather. What is in contact with skin & beard matters, all else is wasted! With men-ü shave crème you see where you have shaved and the crème breaks down upon contact with water, so will not clog multi blade razors.’

As directed, I washed my face off, wet the brush and used two squirts from the pump dispenser. It covered about half of my face. Yes, I have a big face (the first person to say I look like a horse gets punched) but two squirts of the crème was just not enough. Based upon the recommended amount you should be able to get 165 shaves out of this 100ml tube of the shave crème. In my experience, I had to pump four squirts to get proper coverage of the beardage as you can see from the photograph.

Even despite this, 80 shaves from a 100ml tube costing £10.95 from Mankind here to me doesn’t seem that expensive, especially when you consider that the massive costs for blokes when shaving lies with the cost of blades (you should check out Razor Brite and their blade cleaning kits if you want your cartridges to last longer).

So, the lather, it’s immense, not too thick and it explodes from the crème as soon as any pressure is applied. Personally I prefer using a shaving brush to distribute this across my face, it’s far more even and helps once shaving starts as you can see the bits that have been done.

Using the shave crème again this morning to get a better feel for it I have to say it wasn’t as great as the first time I used it. That said however, it still had lots of things going for it. While the lather did clog the blades in my razor (this in fairness could have been due to the fact that my beard was quite thick) the fragrance, ease of shave and finish on my skin were exceptional. 

You can really smell the mint and tea tree, two of my favourite scents and like all things, if it smells good you are going to continually be drawn to it. While strong, the fragrances don’t linger on the skin once any excess lather has been washed from the face. Like all good grooming products, you don’t want it to be too strong, so that it alters the fragrance of any aftershave or cologne.

Post shave and no irritation.....bonus!

The marketing claims that it provides optimum slip are spot on. A fresh blade glides across the face and even with a thick beard being removed it seems to come off effortlessly. No snags, no swearing and what’s that, no bleeding - result.

After washing off the excess lather and drying my face I was impressed. As directed I used the Skin Refresher gel (again from Men-ü) and let it soak in. Wow, hours after shaving and my face feels baby soft, no signs of irritation and no blotches, not a dot. At this point and if I lacked self respect I would probably dance a little jig.

It’s cost effective, it smells great and it does exactly what it says on the tin. You can’t ask for much more than that. The fact that I hate shaving and fear the break outs afterwards means that a product like this is fantastic, and a very welcome addition to my ever growing collection of shave crème. 

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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.

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