 |
Paloma Picasso Minotaure
by paulie1975
I bought a bottle of this recently on Ebay, the reason for my purchase was that when I was in my early twenties, this was my favourite aftershave for going out, it was exotic, different and represented something more exciting than the bland asexualness of the Calvin Klein brand at the time, or the established smells such as Joop or ... Davidoff. I recognised the black box with the inflamed red writing immediately and realised I hadn't seen this at home for years.
My bottle cost £49.99 for a 125ml spray version, it was actually £29.99 when I previously bought a bottle, however I think over the last 15 years it has become more exclusive and less mainstream, I bought it on a whim because the fragrance takes me back to evenings out with friends in my teenage years and partly because this is one of the most memorable fragrances I've ever owned and I've struggled to really find it in the UK, as it isn't available in Boots, Debenhams, John Lewis or any of the major players in the smellies industry, which is a shame as it is a really underrated and personal smell. It is available on-line but costs more than70 Euros, so it is rare and expensive.
Created by Paloma Picasso, the name itself screams of mystery and excitement, Minotaure, a fearsome greek legend, filled with power and anger, passionate and yet mildly uncomfortable with itself, for me it always conjured up a Mediterranean smell which was light yet passionate and gave me confidence on evenings out.
The main thing I took from this scent was that it wasn't a very popular one, therefore I'd often have people asking what it was when they smelt it, I liked this as who wants to smell the same as everyone else. It is individual and slightly leftfield and it creates a favourable impression.
Nowadays, I think the smell suits me even more, it works perfectly in an office environment, it is fragrant and memorable without being overwhelming, I've received compliments for it on several occasions already and have only been wearing it for a month.
Paloma Picasso is the daughter of Pablo Picasso and a famous designer of Jewellery in her own right, she has brought some of her family style to this fragrance, the bottle is unique and the smell is too.
The bottle is really interesting it feels as though it is made of glass marble, with the Minotaure logo protruding outwards from it, you can see the fragrance within and it is perfectly contrasting to the engraved black cam, in many ways it looks like a Picasso painting, all curves and angles, but from other angels it looks incredibly ugly, again this is a positive, its more interesting than a minimalist straight bottle with a small corporate logo. The bottle has a spray top which you can take off to clean and refill if needs be, it is convenient and useful.
The smell is almost oriental in many ways, there are some lovely touches of vanilla but the most powerful scents are Jasmine and Lavender and a citrus like overtone which gives an almost spicy element to the smell.
From reading the box, there are some lovely ingredients involved in this scent, from Lily of the Valley and Tonka bean through cedar, amber and coriander, there are many other elements which really do make this a complex and individual scent which you want to keep using, as it changes with the weather, on hot days the cooler elements seem to come into play and the vanilla and flowery notes take hold, on colder days the musk and amber are more prevalent with the citrus smell overwhelming.
My last bottle lasted for just over a year, this one will last 3 months at the most but I'm happy to buy more as its one of the scents that suits me better than any others and its individual.
Overall I really rate this after shave, its different it smells incredibly good and it really is a pleasure to own. I gain great confidence wearing this as I know I smell smart, different and very fragrant without needing to smother myself in it and smell like that bloke whose married with three kids but still tries it on with everyone in the office to prove 'he's still got it'. This is a sophisticated, confident scent which is sadly not readily available in UK shops anymore for some reason, I'm glad I found it and I've also found it online now that my interest has been reignited so I will continue to purchase this old favourite in the future, possibly with a view to keeping one bottle as a collectors item due to its increasing rarity.
Read the complete review |
 |
Lynx Instinct Aftershave
by Apple_Review
So it came to my attention that Lynx actually manufactured aftershaves too, which I thought was a great idea considering some of their very popular deodorant sprays smell so lovely. At the time, I decided to buy this aftershave as it was new and I quite liked the deodorant version. I must say that for what I paid (just over £10), it ... wasn't a bad purchase. However it certainly isn't up there amongst the best in terms of lasting power and general quality.
The aftershave comes in a dark cardboard box in the colour scheme of the Instinct variety. Inside is a 100ml bottle, which is shaped like an arch. The bottle is pretty much transparent and the black opaque lid easily twists and comes off to reveal a dripping mechanism for the aftershave to be released. This is good in a way as you can quickly and easily get out a good deal of the aftershave. However it means you must always apply it to your hands before rubbing it on your neck/wrists/wherever else you want to put it.
I tend to use a fair bit of the aftershave due to its worse lasting power than other ones. However I wouldn't smother myself in the stuff as it'd still give off quite a dull but obvious smell, which could become overpowering to anyone around you! The aroma itself I would describe as slightly woody, quite spicy and very masculine as you'd expect from the Lynx range. It's worth a try and it may appeal to you. I can assure that it does smell very similar to the shower gel and deodorant too - both of which I have tried.
I'd give the lasting power of this aftershave a 4/10 as it is below average. You need to apply a fair amount for it to have some effect. However at the price you can buy it for, it's affordable to apply a fair amount and even re-apply throughout the day, although this is obviously quite inefficient. Others seem to find the scent reasonably nice on me, but it doesn't stand out like other aftershaves as it has no class or quality to it, and simply resembles the deodorant, with quite a generic masculine fragrance to it.
To conclude, I would perhaps recommend this aftershave to someone of the younger generation as they would appreciate it more and it wouldn't be overly classy or over-looked to be worn by someone of a younger age. It's a fair aftershave to have if you are on a budget but you require a fair amount to be applied for it to have an effect. It can currently be purchased for under £10 online, which is quite cheap, and the 100ml bottles last quite long even with the amounts you may use.
Thanks for reading
Read the complete review |
 |
Nivea After Shave Balm Men Sensitive
by Lakerfanster
**Introduction**
A while back I bought a Nivea travel wash bag which also included a few Nivea toiletries including deodorant, face wash and After Shave balm. I bought the wash bag as I was going on a camping holiday and needed a new wash bag and some smaller toiletries. I can't remember the exact price of the Nivea wash bag ... but you can find the balm as it is widely available and you'll be able to find a big 100ml tube for around £4 or £5 in most supermarkets and stores like Boots and Superdrug. There are other shaving products available from Nivea in the range which are also excellent but today I am reviewing the After Shave Balm.
**The Balm**
The balm is a cool white coloured balm which has a scent which is a lot like sun cream and is applied on the skin after your shave which is pretty self explanatory. I was very impressed with the feel of the balm once applied. It has a cool feel which gives your skin a very fresh and smooth feel without any irritation at all which is ideal for people with more sensitive skin. I love the way the balm feels when the balm is applied and it's ideal for cooling your skin on a hot day. This balm is an extra gentle, alcohol-free formula that is Formulated with Chamomile, Vitamin E and Provitamin B5, it really helps calm and soothe the skin from the shave and as it's free from alcohol it won't irritate your skin as some balms can. I like the fact that the scent is subtle and won't clash with any deodorant or eau de toilette that you may be wearing as well.
**Overall**
I am very impressed with this product, It like the other products in this particular Nivea range is a top product which will leave your skin feeling refreshed and it can also be used as a moisturiser for your skin. An excellent product which is an important shaving aid, I'm sure all of us have experienced skin irritation from a bad shave and this will certainly combat that and the great thing about it is that it will last a decent amount of time as you don't need to use all that much when you apply it. I've still got quite a bit left in mine as I had two 30ml tubes of this in the travel bag and I use it along with the face wash which is also an excellent product which would be a step up from a cheap alternative or nothing at all.
Read the complete review |
