****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
What is a review but one man's opinion in a sea of opinions? I'll do what I can to be as objective as possible with aspects of this review.My normal beard balm is Viking Revolution because I liked the sent (pine and cedar) and because it seemed to have a good hold. What made me reach out to another brand is that the Viking Revolution seemed to rely a LOT on wax, which meant that most beard washes didn't do much to get the older oils and wax off my beard. I had to do a once-a-week wash that really stripped back the oils, and it was getting to be a hassle. I have used several different beard balms and butters, and nothing really grabbed my attention quite like this one.This beard balm really does feel a lot like coconut oil. In the tin it's pretty solid. Using my thumbnail to scrape up enough for application feels like it's going to be tough to spread, but it melts really, really nicely into an oil. VERY like coconut. As a result, it goes on nice and easily, spreads easily, but then in the beard it seems to do a decent job of hold and keeping the beard in shape. A quick brush throughout the day seems to keep the beard in check, and I appreciate that. Decent hold.Best yet, washing this with a gentle enough wash that doesn't strip ALL oils gets my beard clean enough on a daily basis. There are about as many opinions of how frequently you should wash your beard as there are beards, so take this for what you will. I don't need old oils and who knows what else sitting in my beard for a week. The Grave Before Shave wash is gentle enough that it doesn't strip all protective oils, but still gets the beard clean, and it works really well with this balm.The scent is definitely long-lasting. I catch whiffs of it all day, and my wife says she can smell it after I've had it on all day. *WE* have not found it to be overpowering, but in this, as with so much else, your mileage may vary.As for whether the scent is good or bad....well, that's where the subjective part comes in. They say this is leather and cedar notes. I guess I can see that. With my experience, and my wife agrees, this smells very similar to Drakkar Noir cologne. Did you ever smell that? It's not a dead ringer for that scent, but it's close. I used to wear Drakkar in the 90's and it's tied to so many memories. Meeting my wife, good friends, late movie nights. This beard balm brings a lot of that back, and I am really enjoying it. So if you want to know what it smells like without buying it and maybe hating the scent, go to a department store and find one that has a tester bottle of Drakkar Noir. If you like that, chances are you'll like this balm.
