Review: Votre Vu Wrap Him Up Gift Set

I was given the opportunity to review this holiday gift set recently--my first experience with Votre Vu products for men!

The package a little over a week ago and when I opened it I was instantly impressed with the packaging. I thought the stickers were a slick touch, making it look like it had traveled quite a bit.  Once I opened the box I was a little shocked at how much packaging there was. I did feel it was a bit wasteful since the box could have been half the size and still looked awesome. That aside, the packaging is well branded.

Votre Vu puts a lot of effort into the packaging of the Wrap Him Up Holiday Gift Set inside and out.

The gift pack comes with three products in it--Formule 1, Habitude, and Beau Baume.  Formule 1 is a men's 3-in-1 hair, face, and body wash. Habitude is a men's daily face crème with spf 15. Beau baume is an organic lube shave balm that doesn't require water.

Here you can see the first view into the box. The insert shows an image of all of the products included in this holiday gift set.

Here are the actual products--great branding. These have a much more masculine look than the products my wife has tried by Votre Vu.

I used the Formule 1 in the shower and I think it did a good job leaving my skin feeling clean and my hair wasn't left feeling greasy or weighed down. It didn't lather as well as most body/hair washes I have used in, but it did clean very well.  At first there really wasn't much of a scent, but once I started working it into a lather there was a very pleasant citrus smell.

The shave balm is amazing and I would definitely buy this in the future. I didn't use any water like it suggested and at first I was a little nervous because my skin is very sensitive, but after the first swipe of the razor I realized it was very effective and msooth.  There was zero pull and I had NO razor rash after, even though I should probably put a new blade on my razor.  It has the same nice citrus scent as the body wash. The only thing that I would say that is negative is that it was very hard to clean the razor out after I was done.  I had to use very hot water and the shower head to shoot through the blades. Over all this probably the best feeling shave I have had recently.


I have been using the habitude daily face crème for about five days now and I have to say I love the citrus scent of the product. It leaves your face feeling smooth and moisturized, and it really doesn't take much to cover your face. As far as facial creams go this would be in my top 5. Over all this is a great gift set to give or get this holiday season!

Bluebeards Revenge Shaving Cream Review

A couple weeks ago the folks at The Bluebeards Revenge reached out to me and asked if I wanted to review their shaving cream since they will be releasing products once again in the states some time in the near future.  I said yes of course, since I am always looking for new grooming products to try.  I received a package last week and I've used the products a few times since. 

What came in the box:  One jar of Luxury Shaving Cream and one of their Doubloon Bristle Shaving Brushes.Unfortunately, it seems as though the shaving cream leaked out a bit during shipping (you can see it in my shot of the shaving cream jar below), but aside from the bottom of the box and some excess around the outside of the lid, the damage wasn't too bad.

Doubloon Brush package.

My first impression of the shave cream was that I loved the packaging.  The reflective skull and cross bones on the shaving cream box looks cool and the cut-out skull and cross bones on the brush box was eye-catching as well.  After opening the shaving cream I noticed there isn't an overpower scent or aroma.  I used the brush with the cream when I shaved and it worked great.  The shaving cream lathered up very nicely and applied very smoothly. As I lathered it up there was a very pleasant aroma that seemed to be released as I used the brush.  As far as the actual shave, I would say as far as drag/pull factor it ranks in the top 5 shaves I have ever had.  It even provided great results after I had made 4 passes with the razor just to see if it would hold up to the extra pass even thought I was smoothly shaven after just three passes.  Once I finished washing my face off my skin was left feeling smooth and moisturized and even as I write this the next morning it still feels great.  I had ZERO razor rash after using the shaving cream and didn't need to use any type of bump down/razor rash cream.  This is a first for me even when using a brand new razor!  The price point on the cream is very reasonable as you will get 50 shaves out of one jar, so I think $16 is reasonable (rough estimate as the website is in the uk so everything is listed in pounds).

Top view of the brush.

My final thought on The Bluebeards Revenge Shaving Cream is that it is a win all around and these guys offer a great shaving cream that truly works!  I have to say, I really enjoy the packaging and I think the branding is spot on, too. I look forward to trying some of their other product some time in the future. 

Their website  http://www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk/shop/home.php

Link for the shaving cream http://www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk/shop/The-Bluebeards-Revenge-Luxury-Shaving-Cream-100ml.html
price -

£9.99 - USD $15.7797  

link for the brush  http://www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk/shop/The-Bluebeards-Revenge-Doubloon-Bristle-Shaving-Brush.html
Price -

£6.99 - USD $11.0358

I found their packaging very funny!

Bonnie and Clyde 2011 Holiday Gift Giving Guide: Week 6

Hopefully you've started your holiday shopping, but if you're like most guys and either forgot or keep putting it off, better start soon! Here are some more ideas for those of you still looking for the right gifts to give this year...

Where to Buy
Japonesque Train Case (medium in black) - You can purchase this train case on a number of different sites, including this one HERE. If you'd prefer to purchase a train case from another company, google is your best friend. Just make sure you check out reviews before purchasing.

Kyoku for Men Skin Essentials Travel Kit - This effective skin travel kit for men can be purchased from Barneys HERE.

Birchbox Man Coming Soon!

If you have a woman in your life that subscribes to Birchbox, you may have experience a twingle or two of jealously every time she received a box filled with stuff she loved. Guys, we've finally got something of our own to look forward to every month! Birchbox recently blogged about their upcoming male-focused sample subscription service--Birchbox Man.

According to Birchbox's blog the first limited edition collection for men will launch some time this month. Filled with grooming samples from some of the most popular male-focused companies, Birchbox Man aims to make it easier for guys like you and me to try out new products without having to break the bank. You can sign up at Birchbox Man's site to be notified of upcoming announcements if you're interested. After my disappointing experience with His Black Box (see post HERE), I'm hoping that Birchbox (which is more established) will get it right from the start.

You can sign up for updates HERE.

Who else is curious to see what Birchbox Man has to offer us guys?

His Black Box Epic Fail

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. The freak snow storm caused some major havoc and we were without power for a bit, then we moved. So needless to say, I have been very busy around here.

Anyway, as of today I have had to place a stop payment on my his black box subscription payments through my bank.  I was billed for last month's Black Box (October) on the 24th and waited a few days to receive it in the mail.  However, after a week there was still nothing in my mail box.  I decided to send them a friendly email since there was confusion with my account in the beginning (resulting in having to hunt down my second month's box and have them fix my account after my card was billed, but my box was not sent out in a timely fashion).

Back to the current issue with His Black Box. I waited a few more days and still found nothing in the mail. I never even received an automated email response from the company in regards to the email I sent about my missing box.  I then asked my wife to email the company owner directly since she had communicated with him in the beginning when they originally sent me one to review.  She heard NOTHING from the owner or the company. She tried emailing the general customer service email a couple of days after that--nothing.

The long and the short of it all is that after trying to get a hold of anyone from the company for two and a half weeks I still have not gotten last months black box.  I have emailed them literally four or five time through their site and directly to the owner with no response. I have also called all the numbers they have listed including the number on the bill that was automatically paid on the 24th of October. I reluctantly contacted my bank and put a stop payment on all future His Black Box charges as there's no way to stop your account on their site, only "pause" it. Ironically, right after I went through the long drawn out process with my bank (who tried to contact the company through a conference call with me on the line and could not get a hold of anyone as well), my wife received an email from one of the owners asking what my account information was so that they could track my package. No apology, no explanation as to why 9 days into November I hadn't received anything. She responded to the email stating she had no tracking info as none was ever sent and that the account was still under the same email. Not sure what information he was looking for, he had emailed back and forth with my wife when he originally sent the first His Black Box for review, then again when I had issues with my account after subscribing. Again, I was charged, received no box, and received no communication at all in response to my many attempts to contact the company regarding my account.

Taking everything into consideration I've formed an unpleasant opinion of His Black Box, which I've been hesitant to do because the concept behind the boxes is so great. Nonetheless, I want to be honest with you about my experience. Here is my advice to every single person that subscribed to His Black Box. Cancel your account and make sure you put a stop payment on your account for future charges.  I am not sure if they're still working out the kinks or if their customer service is simply lacking, but in my opinion His Black Box had epically failed when it comes to my account and I doubt I will never use there services again.