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I bought the Gentleman’s Blend and Cigar Blend at the same time, and I think I will review them together, as I think they actually have a slightly similar aroma. Each package was a sturdy padded mailer with the bottle packed in an additional bubble packet. Seemed packed sufficient for shipment. Fun label art on all GBS products.
I had my first experience with beard oil just recently, with my purchase here on Amazon of the Grave Before Shave 4-pack sampler. I was so happy/ impressed with those, for the most part, that I decided to explore other scents in the GBS line-up. As some background on me, and my hair-type, since I think this may be pertinent (we don’t all have the same type of hair, right?): I am a middle-aged Caucasian man with thick beard growth. It used to be brown, now it’s heading toward gray… I have grown a beard every winter for ages, but I’ve always kept it trimmed pretty tight. This year, I decided to let it grow out, just to see what it looked like a bit longer. I was worried about it being a frizz-bomb and I didn’t want to look like a vagrant, which is what led me to exploring grooming products for my beard.
I have now tried 6 of GBS’ scents and can say that they all are pretty uniform in their ability to soften the beard. It’s a pretty noticeable change, in my opinion. Also, my beard is starting to get pretty “bushy” by now, and I can tell that the oils help tame it a bit, though certainly there is no hold like a wax would provide. Not that I was expecting that, though I did want to mention it specifically. I suspect that somebody with a finer facial hair may get more control with this product, though.
Initial impressions of the Gentleman’s and Cigar blends:
-Gentlemen’s Blend: I received this first, and when smelling it from the bottle, I mostly noticed a sweet vanilla aroma. Honestly, I was worried about ordering this one at first, because I wondered if I was going to smell like I spilled bourbon on myself. I don’t need to buy beard oils to achieve this particular scent. Well, fear not, as this doesn’t smell anything like a real bourbon (and as somebody that has been born and raised on bourbon, I am intimately familiar with the scent). After my first application, I am reminded of a sweet vanilla scent. Maybe something like a cream soda, or a vanilla Coke, or something like that. It’s a “sweet” vanilla, though not cloying. If there’s any liquor that it reminds me of, it may be a spiced rum.
It’s pretty nice. I put some on this morning before I left for work at about 7am. As I’m writing this, it’s about 3pm, and if I stroke my beard or curl up my mustache, I can still catch a whiff of the scent, though it’s not at all overpowering, even when first applied.
-Cigar Blend: This came the next day. And the reason I wanted to write this review paired w/ the Gentlemen’s Blend is because when I first opened and smelled it in the bottle, I thought it was the same. Like, I was thinking it was mislabeled. I actually went and got the other bottle and did a side-by-side sniff on them. Once I got them together I did notice a difference, but the first impression was very similar. One thing I’ve noticed among all of the different scents is that they really “open-up” when given some air.
Anyways, back to the Cigar: I think that this has a very similar vanilla note to it upon first applying it, but as it warms up and diffuses a bit, you definitely get the tobacco notes. Although I would argue that it’s more of a pipe tobacco than a cigar, which is a good thing in my opinion. It’s a sophisticated scent for sure. I noticed that this scent stayed strong pretty much all day. I put some on in the morning, and could still plainly smell it when I took a shower that evening.
I have only used these two scents a couple of times each at this point, but I wanted to jot down my initial impressions. I will follow-up after some time.
My thoughts on all of the scents that I’ve tried, in order of favorite to least-favorite:
-Currently, I think the Bay Rum is my favorite, with the Cigar maybe coming next. These are both very strong and sophisticated aromas that easily last all day. Perhaps these are more of a “special occasion” scent. Date night? Drinks with the boss? Buying a cheesecake at Costco? You know, fancy stuff.
-The Viking and the Gentleman’s Blends are probably my favorite “workday” scents. The Viking blend is not totally scent-free, but it is very subtle. It’s the one I’ll probably run out of first. I’m liking the Gentleman Blend, and think it’s also subtle enough that it won’t be “too much” to wear everyday.
-The Pine scent fades super quick, but starts out rugged and manly smelling. Complimentary of my pine tar soap. It’s my weekend scent, until I’m finished with my bottle. I haven’t decided if I’ll re-order this one, unless I get the 4-pack again.
-The OG scent just reminds me too much of a household cleaner. It’s actually not an offensive (or even a bad) smell, I just don’t want to smell like lemon Pledge is all. I would not re-order this one, but I didn’t throw the bottle out. When the Pine bottle is gone, I’ll probably switch to this to use it up.
Well, it doesn't smell anything like a cigar, tobacco, or even pipe tobacco (as I see some reviews have mentioned). Like, nothing at all similar to any sort of tobacco product I have ever smelled. To me, it smells like...well...some sort if cola. It's definitely a sweet smell, and the hints of vanilla give it an odd coca cola or root beer smell. It's not necessarily bad, but it was completely unexpected.
And that's just in the bottle (before you apply it). Once it goes in the beard it, somehow, smells a bit different. The vanilla tones definitely stand out more, but there still is no tobacco smell. It's just a nice smell that isn't overbearing, but, again, unexpected.
Regarding the moisturizing purposes, it does its job. My beard and skin both felt great, and they looked great too.
What I liked best about the product is that the smell just kind if wears off instead of changing to a newer, unpleasant smell. If you've tried as many scented beard oils as me, you know what I mean by this. Instead of changing to something less pleasant after a few hours, the smell just sort of fades, which I like a lot.
All in all, I'd buy the product, and this scent, again.
I have tried a few other beard oils that worked pretty well at helping my beard to look neater and healthy, but after using this one for about 3 days, I noticed my beard was dramatically softer and easier to manage. I know that sounds like a line from those terrible shampoo commercials where ladies scream in pleasure, but seriously, my wiry thick beard hair is now soft to the touch. The only reason I'm not giving this a 5 is the scent. The scent is very strong- you can still smell it in my beard at the end of a long day. It also does not smell like cigars or tobacco. I smoke a pipe daily, I know what tobacco smells like. It doesn't smell like this. Others have nailed the scent down pretty accurately as a vanilla cola type aroma. The vanilla note is very strong, but there's also lots of cola in there, probably from the teatree oil. While it's not a bad smell, it's a little sweeter than I would like. I have a feeling that the high amount of teatree oil in the blends means that most of their oils will have a similar cola-like aroma. If that's the case, I'll deal with it because damn, my beard feels and looks good!
UPDATE: I used a little less oil this go round and noticed the smell wasn't so unbearable. My beard is also noticeably softer with this oil vs other oils. And I have no allergic reaction. So, I changed my rating from a 2 to a 4! But it still smells like Christmas, and not cigars.
anyone who thinks this smells like cigars has no idea what cigars actually smell like. i smoke cigars, this smells nothing like cigars.
anyone who thinks this smell like vanilla coke has never had a vanilla coke. i drink vanilla coke, this smells nothing like vanilla coke.
it smells like the mall during christmas when they spray that artificial christmas pine tree scent in the air. it's intense. way too strong verging on disgusting.
usually stuff with perfumes in them make me itch like crazy—so far, nothing in terms of a reaction, but i'll update if I do have a reaction.
After years at a job with strict facial hair rules, I was able to finally grow my beard out recently. I was tired of how dry and raggedy things looked initially, so I decided to look into some balms and oils. I'll be perfectly honest, I didn't really do a ton of research. I just typed in "beard oils" and "beard balms" into Amazon's search function, and picked this because I liked the logo design.
Thankfully this "shoot from the hip" decision has worked out pretty well. After a few weeks of use (in conjunction with the same scented beard balm and a boar bristle brush), my beard is feeling softer, and a looks much neater. The "Cigar Blend" aroma isn't overwhelming in any way, and sort of gently lingers throughout the day. As I've seen others point out, the scent is definitely more "vanilla" than anything else. While I've still come to enjoy the smell, I do wish it had a little something extra to it in order to justify the "Cigar Blend" moniker. If anything the scent reminds me more of those cheap "Black&Mild" cigars you see at the gas station.
Nevertheless, I'll definitely be sticking to this brand for awhile, and intend to look into other scents soon.
Feature Product
- 1 OZ. Dropper Bottle
- keeps the beard shiny, and healthy
- Helps condition the skin underneath the beard, aiding in itch relief and beardruff
- Rich Cigar scent, with Vanilla afternotes
- conditions the beard and mustache
Description
GRAVE BEFORE SHAVE Cigar Blend Beard Oil (Cigar/Vanilla scent) Contains all natural ingredients that condition, moisturize, and strengthen those precious beard hairs promoting healthy growth!! This product is also designed to help condition the skin under your beard preventing dandruff and flaking to keep your beard life comfortable...the way it should be! G.B.S. Cigar Blend Beard Oil has a rich Cigar scent with Vanilla after notes. Enjoy the spicy scent of a deep flavored cigar while keeping your Beard Hydrated, Healthy, and shiny!
This stuff is amazing! Do not let the description of a "cigar" smell intimidate you, it does not smell like second hand smoke, or first hand, or of smoke of any kind. It is more like when you smell an unlit cigar, mixed with vanilla. But that isn't even right really. It just smells good! Trust me, your wife/lady will think so too. This stuff is like woman attractant. I have never received more compliments on the way I smell since I started using this stuff... Does not really grease up my beard either, just takes some of the frizz out.
First off I smoke "Real" cigars, not those fake flavored ones you can pick up in any gas station. So I was kind of disappointed when the oil didn't have what I was expecting to be a cigar aroma. However, I still like the smell and not sure what others think; but every time I start rubbing it into my beard, it reminds me of Vanilla Coke.
This beard oil is proper for the family man and polite gentleman. The scent does say cigar and you get a very mild hint of it, but it's more on the sweet smell side of things with a very pleasant musk. The feel after application is silk smooth and hydrates throughout the day. Size is optimal unless you're rocking a ZZ top style beard to which you need two full droppers full to tame your beast of a beard. It'll last you up to a year granted you apply the proper amount. This oil is definitely purposed for the man who hangs with the family and is more on the tamed side of things. Best way to put it is if you got church to attend and then a pile of wood to cut and a truck to fix after you drop the kids off at grandma's, we'll then this is the optimal beard oil for you. Of course you can't go wrong with the other scents provided by grave before shave/fisticuffs.
I've had a beard for over 8 years now and this is the best beard oil that I have used. I was a little hesitant with the vanilla/cigar smell but once i used it for a few days, I loved it. I will put it in my beard in the morning and even in the afternoon I can still get a little whiff of the smell still. Since using it, my beard has much much much softer as well. Even after the first day I was surprised and pleased by how well it was working.
As a side note, Grave Before Shave's customer service is amazing. I ordered an item that turned out to be the wrong size. I got it straightened away, was kept informed sending it back and getting a new size, and am happier now afterwards. HIGHLY recommend their products.
A the owner and user of at least a DOZEN different brands and scents of beard oils, this has moved to #1. Works great, and the scent is low key enough for daily wear at work without causing issues, but it's there and still going strong by evening. Definitely softens well. Skin is happy. Can't go wrong!
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