Nivea for Men Skin Essentials After Shave Replenishing Balm

Having discovered that a beard is not a look I can carry off, rather a few days growth soon looks like a tabby cat has been squashed against my face, I'm now resigned to the fact that I will always have to shave as a minimum every other day and really I need to shave every day. Also I find that a wet shave is the only real way to effectively shave, I have yet to find an electric shaver that can do a closer shave no matter what the adverts might claim.

Normally my skin is fine after a wet shave as I tend to shave while under the shower thanks to a conveniently placed mirror however occasionally I do get some irritation and this is where a shaving balm comes into its own. I'm currently using the Nivea for Men sensitive balm. Unlike the Dooyoo picture mine comes in a white box and inside there is a white bottle with a screw top lid. The first time I used this I did get caught out as without really paying attention I expected a small aperture for the balm to come out of however that is not the case, once you take the lid off the whole top of the bottle is open hence you have to be very careful when tipping it up otherwise you will be left with hands covered in the white balm.

The balm is alcohol free and is meant to be a neutral fragrance however it does have an odour and for me this is the big negative for this product as to be honest the smell reminds me of my grandmother as it has that slightly musty, clinical smell to it. I have to say, with no disrespect meant to Gran, that it is not the most pleasant of smells. Fortunately it is not that strong and easily masked with a little aftershave so after you have applied it then it is no longer noticeable unless you do not use aftershave. Then you will be able to detect it as I rubbed a little on my wrist and after a couple of hours there was still a feint smell.

On the plus side it does do a very good job at protecting your skin against inflammation and irritation. I have also found it very easy to apply, you only need a small amount and it absorbs really easily into your skin without being greasy or oily. The balm contains Chamomile, Vitamin E and Provitamin B5 and these do have a soothing effect on your skin. In addition the product does help to moisturise your skin which does help to keep it smooth feeling.

I certainly did not notice any markedly improved visual impacts from using this balm, it will not make you look younger or anything like that, having said that when you look as good as I do who cares, however it does do a good job at reducing any post shave irritation which is the main point of using this product. I have found that it is very gentle on my skin and there have been no adverse reaction to using it.

I paid £5.99 for a 100ml bottle at Superdrug. Personally I'm happy to use the remainder of the bottle however I'm not sure that this is something that I would buy again mainly because of the slightly unpleasant smell that it has.

Thanks for reading and rating my review.