Shaving Foam and After-Shave Gel by Dans un Jardin

Some months ago, Mrs. Style4men.ca and I were at one of our local Pharmacies (Familiprix) and we stumbled across this awesome perfume for her, called: Mirabella.  This perfume essentially smells like a sophisticated, refined and complex candy.  There were also notes of sweet fruits.  I know!  How else would like your lady to smell?! 🙂

This eventually led me to check out these guys web site where I became aware that they also offered a men’s line of products.  Specifically, shaving products.  I debated a bit about buying on line and absorbing the shipping costs until I decided to go back to my local pharmacy to see if they might not have these products on hand.  As a matter of fact, they did and the line was on sales.  I walked out with the EXPERT shaving foam and GLACE/ICE after shave gel.  Oh yeah, and a new bottle of Mirabella for Mrs Style4men.

The brand “Dans un Jardin” is essentially focused on fragrances in its multiple delivery forms: candles, etc…  This brand is also a Canadian enterprise.  Something we are always interested is supporting here at Style4men.ca.

The men’s products line is very well presented where the products are in black bottles with a simple and elegant label.  Straight forward and classy speaks to me.  There should be no difficulty differentiating the men’s line of products with those intended for our ladies.

The pricing of this brand is not outrageous at roughly $10-$12 a bottle on sale.  It’s more than Gillette’s for sure, but we are also expecting more.

I should mentioned that since I have started shaving with a safety razor, I have also gradually moved away from foam.  Not because foam is not a good option, far from it.  Rather because, shaving like it’s 1918 generally required a thicker product that can offer higher levels of lubrication and protection.  Shaving creams, shaving soaps along with pre-shave products is essentially the way I have been shaving.  In so many words returning to a foam will almost be rediscovery.

With no further ado, let’s tackle the shaving products.

For the shaving foam I ended up doing 2 separate tests.  In the first scenario I shave used only the shaving foam. Sadly, although the foam is of nice quality and looks like it contains a good level of oils, it had very little staying power, essentially being all whipped off with a single pass of the blade.   This obviously means that you would need to re-apply more foam for any second pass.  I also found that there was very little moisture or lubrication thus making for a rather dry shave.  It goes without saying that foam rinses out very easily off of the razor.

This wasn’t a rough shave, but it did not offer what I was expecting of a luxury shaving foam.  I actually had a couple of nicks. For the premium price point I would expect impeccable protection and moisture.

In my second shave test I introduced another player; the Proraso white pre-shave cream.  Basically, I wanted to see if by further preparing my skin if the shave would be equally improved.  It most certainly was!  After the application of the pre-shave, the foam stuck to my mug without issues and the shave was tremendously improved. I was able to do second passes in the trouble areas in total comfort.

The shaving foam on it’s own is not a strong enough barrier to offer that comfortable shave when using a safety razor.  I wouldn’t consider this an option for a straight razor shave.  But if you help it along the way with a pre-shave, then things turn for the best.  I will assume that this will also be true for a pre-shave oil with the small caveat that using an oil could lead to the foam not adhering as efficiently to your skin.

TEST STAGE:

• State: Out of the shower
• Razor: Rockwell 6C – plate 2
  
• Blade: VOSKHOD Teflon Coated
• Pre-Shave: Proraso White
• Shaving Foam: Dans un jardin EXPERT CARE
• After-Shave: Dans un jardin GLACE/ICE

The after shave gel on the other hand is a more interesting proposition.  First off, there aren’t too many after shave gels out there.  There are splashes, creams and balms, but few gels.  Just for this originality, Dans un jardin should get a few bonus points.  Then there is the actual concoction of this gel.  There is a fairly high level of alcohol, thus placing this after shave along side of the classic splashes.  Working with a gel is different and somewhat cleaner than working with a liquid.  In that sense, if you are looking for a change to your usual splash, this gel will be a welcomed twist.  You will also be using and wasting less product thus making your bottle last longer.  Now I should be careful in my comments; yes there is alcohol but it is not an old-school after shave. The alcohol is accompanied by a number of other players making it a considerably smoother experience.  Yes, there is that cooling sensation, but this could be coming from the gel and/or the alcohol.  The sensation itself is milder and very short lived. Your skin will feel more refreshed than with a pure splash.  It is easy to apply and goes it smoothly.

My overall shave was OK, but not perfect.  Here’s why.  Because the foam offers less protection and lubrication and also wipes completely off with the passing of the blade, there is nothing left to support a second or third pass in problem areas.  The shave is thus a quick and dirty thing.  Honestly, up till about 4 years ago, I wouldn’t have known any better and this would have been fine.  Now that I have tasted the difference, this isn’t enough.

In closing, if you are a foam user this will be a nice and different option.  If on the other hand you are using pre-shave oils, shaving soaps or shaving creams you will find this to be a dryer approach than your normal routine.  The after shave on the other hand is an interesting twist to the old-school splash by combining a gel and mild splash experience.  Out of the two products, the after shave was my favorite.

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