Product Review: Suavecito Pomade, Lucky Tiger Bay Rum, Club Man
As most of y’all know, I like to put pomade in my hair: I’ve written before about my love for Murray’s Superior and its competitors.
In the linked article, I singled out the bizarre color and offensive odor of Murray’s water-based competitor Layrite, while at the same time highlighting its incredible hold.
Last month at Viva Las Vegas, I picked up a 4-ounce container of Suavecito Pomade, another water-based product.
It’s a major improvement over Layrite. First of all, it’s not bright orange: that alone is reason to choose the stuff. Still, I don’t understand why there’s any coloring at all: why does a product not designed as a hair dye have to be have color? It also has a less offensive smell: instead of reeking of Play-doh, it smells… OK, it doesn’t smell that good, kind of like cheap cologne, and a little too overwhelming too. Still, it’s a lot closer to a masculine scent than Layrite, with a hold that’s easily as strong. I’ll be ordering more of this, for sure. But goddamn, one of these days I’m gonna find a water-based pomade that’s not olfactorally offensive. And if I can’t maybe I’ll invent my own. The only decent-smelling pomade I’ve used is Murray’s: even Royal Crown is kind of nasty-smelling.
While unsuccessfully looking for a bottle of Gabels, I picked up a large bottle of Lucky Tiger Bay Rum.
Motto: “Lucky Tiger got your grandfather lucky, it got your father lucky, and it will get you lucky, too.”
I like it, although there’s definitely a bit of that alcohol burn after you shave. The bay rum scent isn’t overpowering (although it IS a bit flowery) and wears off over a couple of hours, which is exactly what I want in an after shave lotion. On the other hand, it’s not very lotiony: for my money, nothign beats the now discontinued Burt’s Bees Emollient Bay Rum. That stuff was, well, the bees’ knees, which is probably why Amazon can get away with selling 4-ounce bottles for nearly eighty bucks. If you want to smell pretty all day, buy cologne: you want something that soothes your skin after a shave, get something like Lucky Tiger or Gabels. Or, if you wipe your ass with hundred dollar bills, buy a few ounces of Burt’s Bees.
Another product I tried out was my drummer’s standby, Club Man.
Wow. The only way to describe this aftershave is to ask you to remember the last time you went to a barber shop -not a unisex hairstyling salon, but a real, honest-to-goodness mancave-barbershop like your grandpa went to- and think about that awesome barbershop smell. Got it? THAT, my friend, is what Pinaud Club Man smells like, and it is GREAT. It’s also really nice on the skin after a shave, refreshing and bracing with no burn. Christina hasn’t smelled the stuff yet, but i guarantee she’s gonna take to it. I need to buy a bottle of my own, and to be honest it will probably replace the Lucky Tiger as my after-shave of choice.
