Text, Mark Behnke
Images from www.mens-groom.com
Edited by Vivian G. Kelly
ABOUT MENSGROOM
MensGroom, the male grooming line launched by Cherry Robinson and Gerd Schwarzkopf was based on the notion that men want a one-stop brand to buy all of their grooming needs and that those needs will be expanding. They did an extensive amount of research to understand what men want and MensGroom is the result. MensGroom is a full line of products for men’s hair, face and body needs. A number of their products come in these sleek modern plastic encased dispensers that add a touch of style to any sink or shower they might be found in.
MANNETAKE MUSHROOM – THE MAGIC MUSHROOM
The focus here will be on two of their products; Soothe The Shaven Beast After-Shave Balm and Sore No More Muscle Cool Down Lotion. The common thread between both of these is the inclusion of Mannetake Mushroom as a key ingredient. I’ve spent a lot of time with mushrooms in my misspent youth but using them in a lotion that is a new usage for me.
SOOTH THE SHAVEN BEAST: RESULTS
I used the Soothe The Shaven Beast after-shave balm for two weeks. I am one of those wet shaving fanatics. I use the brush to lather my face, the double-edged razor, and I make four passes on my face before I am through. After all of that my after-shave balm needs to live up to its part of my routine. Soothe The Shaven Beast is dispensed as a light white lotion which goes on really nicely. It has a vague menthol scent to it but it goes on virtually unscented. It took three squirts to have enough to cover my face. It absorbed nicely and because it is alcohol-free there is none of that nasty stinging some associate with after-shave. I like the unscented part because I regularly wear cologne and this takes the worry about whether my cologne and after-shave will compete. After two weeks of using the product I noticed that my skin felt better than when I was using my previous after-shave balm. Another by-product I also noticed is I was getting a smoother, closer shave over the past two weeks. I don’t know that I can explain it but because the balm was the only part of my routine I changed there must be something at play here. I mentioned the slick packaging earlier and this comes in one of the sleek plastic cases which look pretty snazzy.
SORE NO MORE: RESULTS
Sore No More is a product I didn’t know that I needed. I walk eight miles a day and I play beach volleyball for two hours a couple of days a week. Usually after my shower I feel a little muscle soreness in my legs. MensGroom recommend massaging Sore No More into your muscles after your workout. Again, for the last two weeks I’ve been applying the Sore No More after I get home from my walk or the court. It is applied as an opaque lotion. One drawback is it comes out of the squeeze tube a little too easy as there were a couple of nights I ended up with more on my body than I intended. This might be a nice product for them to think about putting into a pump dispenser like the after-shave. This contains the Mannetake Mushroom and Menthol present in the after-shave but here they also add Aloe. The Aloe adds the cooling feel to this lotion and the Menthol gave a fresh feel to my skin as I massaged it in. This was refreshing and did seem to give my muscles a little added resilience than I normally felt I get. I really felt the difference the next morning as my legs felt much fresher as I got ready to take on the day. When you hear muscle-soothing lotion your mind probably drifts to thinking about Ben-Gay and then you remember the hideous medicated smell of it. Sore No More like Soothe The Shaven Beast is also pretty much fragrance-free after application. This allows the well-dressed man to use this after his workout but before going out and not having to worry about smelling like Grandpa’s medicine cabinet.
I give these two products high marks as I believe Ms.Robinson and Mr. Schwarzkopf have fashioned a winning line of men’s grooming products and these are two standout examples of that line.
MensGroom products are available through their web site:
www.mens-groom.com
MensGroom products are also available at selected Macy’s.