What it is: Dove‘s newest Beauty Bar, the Men+Care. This one’s “Extra Fresh,” but the bar also comes in “Deep Clean.”
The manly-man aspect of it: For starters, they’ve dropped the name “Beauty Bar” and instead labelled it the “Face and Body Bar.” They’ve also tinted it a pale minty green, and made the box a rough-looking steel grey. Oh, and how could we forget — the normally rounded edges have been chopped into a more “manly shape”! Amused? Why yes, yes I am.
The actual product: For all of my hemming and hawing (and laughing) over this product, I have to admit — I kinda really like it. The bar is stiffer than the original Beauty Bars, feeling more substantial in my hands but still cleaning and lathering well, as to be expected. It does seem less moisturising than the “feminine” beauty bars, but that still means that it’s more moisturising than most bar soaps.
The real reason why I like it: Puns and mockery aside, I’ve always been a sucker for men’s scents. They can be done quite poorly, and they can be done quite well. This definitely places on the drugstore end of “quite well“! It has the typical “fresh” smell of a masculine fragrance when you use it (which it basically infuses the bathroom with, mmm!) but leaves a softer, more vanillic version of that freshness on your skin. The scent mainly dissipates after ten or fifteen minutes, but if I put my schnozz near my hands an hour after washing them, I can still catch a wiff! It’s perfect for me, personally, because I love men’s scents enough to enjoy them but not enough to wear them all the time — and I can easily wash my hands with this and enjoy it close to my skin while touting the sillage of my more feminine fragrance!
The verdict? Most men don’t buy soap — their moms or sisters or girlfriends buy it for them, and they use whatever’s in the tub. (Harsh truth!) But they do like things that a) smell good, and b) aren’t too drying. So, I’d definitely recommend this for your guy ;) In my case, however? Well, I’m without a guy at the moment, but that’s not going to stop me from rebuying this… for myself!
