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Grand Classic Grooming E85 Natural Race Blend review

The product we're reviewing today hails all the way from the land down under. From newcomers, Grand Classic Grooming, Jay and the team was generous to send in their E85 Natural Race Blend. This take on a classic medium hold oil based pomade has a twist to it as the brewers have sourced out synthetic beeswax as a vegan-friendly substitute. Enough chit chat, let's speed away to the actual review.

Packaging

The E85 comes in a black 3.5 oz metal tin with a screw top lid. The bold yellow label features white pinstripes across it with the brand and product name clearly presented. You'll find more details of the product on the back of the tin such as ingredients, performance breakdown and further information. A rather simplistic design approach, but it still looks well-presented nonetheless and the race car motif gives it a unique identity.

Scent

To make things simple, the scent breakdown is a smokey tobacco and citrus with woody basenotes. I personally get a strong woody tobacco smell that's slightly sweet which I do quite enjoy. Although not an overbearing scent, it definitely makes its presence throughout the day.

 

Application

Scooping out the product requires some effort, but it doesn't take much to get a nice amount out. Breaking down it down might be met with a few wax beads separating, but just keep working it till everything breaks down into a smooth buttery grease. It applies into the hair with practically no tug and pull. I would suggest applying it into dry hair in order to achieve as much hold as possible.

Slickness

This pomade is able to provide a really nice amount of slickness. It's not overly greasy, but still definitely slick and sticky enough to keep control of your strays and comb down more stubborn areas.

Control

You can get a fair amount of control using this pomade. It has a medium weight which allows for a good amount of height and volume but will still provide some backbone structure to it. It's more suited for moderate hairstyles, so don't expect to get a lot of height from it.

Strength

The hold is slightly on the lighter side of a medium, but still really nice overall. Has enough strength to keep the style in place in temperate conditions.

Shine

Provides a nice medium shine.

 

Durability

Being a slicker and lighter medium, it's not going to fair against hot weather incredibly well. It will put up a fight and you will still be able to recomb and restyle without issue. Just don't expect things to sit nice and pretty if you're walking around and sweating all day long.

Washability

Washing it all out will require about 2-3 shampoo washes. It does leave behind a slightly oily buildup.

Price-point

Including shipping, it costs $41.60 SGD ($30.94 USD). Obviously not the cheapest option out there, but a fair price overall.

Verdict

Grand Classic Grooming is a pretty interesting brand. I really do think that their motor sport theme gives them some uniqueness, and I like how they try to support other Australian businesses when it comes to sourcing out their ingredients.

As far as the E85 goes, I think it's a great medium hold pomade. The synthetic beeswax gives it this odd, frothyness that breaks down nice, slick and smooth. Applies like an absolute dream and has a great balance of hold and control to support multitude of hairstyles. As mentioned earlier, it's definitely on the lighter side of a medium which also leads it to lack slightly in the endurance department. I've also tried to let it buildup over a few days to see if the overall performance gets better, but I find that the improvement is pretty minimal overall.

At the end of the day, Grand Classic Grooming's E85 is a solid choice for a medium hold oil based pomade. It's a great vegan-friendly option and has the characteristics of a good medium. If you're willing to show some support to these boys down under, definitely give Grand Classic Grooming's E85 Natural Race Blend a shot. It'll be sure to get your motor running.

Click here to visit Grand Classic Grooming on their online store

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Ziggy Supply Temasek Pomade review

We've been looking at a lot (and I mean a lot) of Malaysian products as of late. We're gonna take a short break from that and have a look at another Singaporean made product. Ziggy Supply is no stranger to this channel. The products they've released in the past have all been texture-driven, but here we have their latest release; Temasek Pomade. This is their brand new unorthodox water-based pomade featuring a firm hold. This will be the first homebrewed Singaporean pomade that we'll be reviewing, so let's just dive into the product.

Packaging

Temasek Pomade comes in the same 3.5oz plastic tub that most of the other Ziggy Supply products come in. Has light brown labels with all the information displayed well. Features a new rendition of their dapper lion logo on the lid, has ingredients and some extra information on the side. The overall presentation looks fairly simple, but still aesthetically pleasing. I should also note that Temasek Pomade are available in glass jars as well, but I personally prefer the practicality of plastic tubs.

Scent

The pomade comes in a spiced vanilla scent. It smells fairly reminiscent to the clean scent on Singa Pomade, but it has a slightly more sweet and almost chocolatey undertone to it. It smells really smooth, pleasant but also not too overbearing to be obnoxious.

 

Application

Scooping out the pomade requires practically no effort. It feels a lot like a thick cream and has this almost spongey consistency to it. Breaking it down is really effortless and you'll start to feel these beads in the product, almost like a body or face scrub. These beads are actually the cinnamon powder. There are several benefits of cinnamon powder for your scalp such as stimulating hair growth and exfoliating your scalp. Applying the pomade into your hair is really easy and smooth, and you'll pretty much not even feel the beads anymore. I would also recommend applying the product in dry hair to help provide even more hold.

Slickness

The product combs through really easily, but a lot of that initial slickness dries up later on. It's not a very sticky pomade so I do have trouble slicking down some areas, especially trying to gain control over my strays and cowlick.

Control

The pomade styles pretty well. It's got a decent amount of hold and is lightweight enough to give you plenty of height and volume, but I find that it's too lightweight for me. Especially with firms and heavies, I'd prefer a bit more density to the product so that it won't feel as frail and flimsy.

Strength

You do get a good amount of hold with the pomade, but it feels more like a medium firm rather than a true firm. As mentioned earlier, it feels a bit too lightweight and doesn't feel as sturdy as how I'd prefer firm holds to feel like in my hair.

Shine

Advertised as a medium shine, but I'd say it's more to a matte shine or even matte finish.

 

Durability

Despite the lack of density, the product holds up throughout the day fairly well. It still feels a bit too flimsy for my liking, but it retains a good amount of hold and is able to restyle really well. It also feels a bit more dryer after a few hours so it feels more like a lightweight texturising product rather than a pomade to me.

Washability

1-2 showers with shampoo should get all the product out. Rinsing leaves behind a very light buildup behind.

Price-point

Temasek Pomade costs $20 SGD ($14.86 USD). Shipping costs are excluded for us locals, but prices will vary depending on your location.

Verdict

The products that Ziggy Supply have put out in the past have mostly been catered towards clay and wax users, seeing how the main demographic amongst Singaporean men use such products. I was pretty excited to see Matin brew an UWB pomade to cater towards the small pomade community here.

I really like the creamy and soft application with this pomade. The beads of cinnamon powder gives it a rather unique quality that you don't often see with homebrewed products. Styling with it is fairly effortless and it also has a pretty good scent. My main issues with it would be that it's a bit too lightweight for me and doesn't feel sturdy enough for me. It also gets a bit too dry and loses slickness to keep some of my strays in check.

At the end of the day, I feel that Temasek Pomade is a pretty unique take on an UWB pomade. How I see it is that it'd suit people who like lightweight products with a more matte finish. It feels pretty clean in the hair and it's not as greasy as compared to most pomades in general (which shouldn't even be a complaint to begin with). It seems like a pretty decent transitional product for clay and wax users who want to try give pomades a shot. Overall, I'd say that Temasek Pomade is pretty worth checking out. Come have a taste of Singapore.

Click here to visit Ziggy Supply on their online store

VAMPH Grooming The Prestige Water-Based Pomade review

Quite sometime back, we had a look at VAMPH Grooming's The Prestige Water-Based pomade. The pomade has since then been reformulated and Shen was kind enough to send me one to review. Here we have The Prestige Water-Based pomade; an unorthodox water-based pomade with a heavy hold. It goes without saying that I'll be making plenty of comparisons to the old formula which you can read up over here. With that being said, let's dive into the review shall we.

Packaging

As per usual with all VAMPH products, the pomade comes in the familiar black, brown and gold box. I've said it once and I'll say it again, it still looks really good and well presented.

The product itself comes in a 3.5oz amber glass jar with a black lid. All the design work is still retained from the previous version, but one main difference is within the labels itself. What previously was a sandstone coloured label is now printed on this reflective foil label. I think it looks absolutely stunning and makes the overall packaging just pop even more.

Scent

Shen told me that the scent that I received is different than the final scent for the pomade. I believe the final scent is lemon, frankincense, myrrh, bay leaf, atlas cedar and juniper berry. The only difference for the scent I received is that it doesn't contain lemon. It smells a lot like dried spices and in fact, reminds me a bit of dried chilli. Not the best scent, especially seeing how VAMPH usually nails it with scents, but once again this isn't the final scent. It's also a pretty subtle scent so it doesn't bother me especially once it's in my hair.

 

Application

The product scoops out with minimal effort. Feels pretty similar to the old formula, but has an even creamier consistency. Breaks down really smooth and applies into your hair just the same. Has some tugging and pulling, but definitely not as bad as the previous iteration of the pomade. Applying into damp hair will lessen these issues as well.

Slickness

One issue I had with the old formula was the lack of slickness; something that is definitely fixed with this current formula. It combs through much easier and doesn't feel as dry. Has a small amount of stickiness to help keep strays in place. Overall, a definite improvement.

Control

Styling with this product feels rather similar to the previous version. It styles really well, gives you plenty of shape and stays well in place where you want it to. It's not heavy in weight but still has a good amount of density to it to not feel flimsy and weak.

Strength

Despite the creamier application, it's still able to provide you with the familiar heavy hold that it's older formula had. Provides great height and doesn't lose it's hold throughout the day.

Shine

As expected, it's a low to matte shine.

 

Durability

Another great quality that was kept from the old formula is the endurance. It easily puts up with hot weather and even if a restyle is needed, I've found that the product is able to be restyled much better compared to the previous version. It does lose a bit of it's slickness throughout the day which means stubborn strays and clowlicks, but the overall endurance is still great.

Washability

1-2 showers with shampoo will get all of the product out, but I've found that a lot of the pomade washes out within one rinse. Leaves behind a fairly light and clean buildup.

Price-point

Buying it directly from VAMPH will cost you about $21.52 SGD ($16 USD) with shipping. Shipping costs may vary depending on location. I'm very pleased to see quite a number of these reach American shores and I've even heard that Tadashi from Hedgelion is bringing them in, so my American friends will have an even easier (and cheaper) time purchasing these Malaysian goods.

Verdict

The Prestige Water-Based pomade was one of the first few UWB pomades that I've ever tried. Even though I had some minor gripes with it, it was still a great pomade and I really liked it. It's one of my go-to recommendations for people. Seeing how it was reformulated, I was rather interested to see what was further improved from it.

One of the most obvious improvements from the old formula is with the application. The previous version had a more thicker, grippier application where the reformulated one is more smooth and creamy. It still retains a lot of the styling qualities it had previously and still provides the same amount of hold, something that didn't need to be adjusted, which is great. Endures through the day just the same and even washes out much better than the old one which is a definite upgrade. My main issue with it would be a problem that I had with the old formula, and that is with the slickness still. Even though it's better with this formula, it still gets lightly dryer throughout the day and loses control of some stubborn areas.

With all that said, it's pretty safe to say that the reformulated The Prestige Water-Based pomade is a clear improvement from the old version. A lot of the issues that I personally had with the pomade has been amended and the overall performance is still unaffected. It's just in time that these products hit American shelves cause now, you don't have a reason not to check them out. You will not be disappointed.

Click here to visit VAMPH Grooming on their Facebook page

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