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Does ManCave Mandarin Shower Gel make the grade? As a citrus shower gel – no. In fact, to me it’s more woody and herby than it is cirtusy. I actually like it very much, and it has something of the Molton Brown going on aroma-wise – but my multi-decade quest for a superior citrus shower gel continues. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been using these products regularly – setting aside my usual favoured brands. In this review of ManCave, I give you my honest opinion of both the good and the bad. Unfortunately, it didn’t do that much to exceed my fairly low expectations – but I am setting an awfully high bar. My personal favourite moisturiser is Biotherm Total Recharge. It disappears into my skin in seconds, leaving it soft and moist for at least 24 hours – BUT it also costs more for a single 50ml container than the entire ManCave bundle I’m reviewing here.
ManCave’s Hinoki Wood shower gel is much more interesting. It’s described as “rich and woody,” which is very accurate. It smells expensive, bringing to wind a luxurious hotel bathroom. I know I’ve mentioned Molton Brown a couple of times but this is the closest to those (much more spendy) products – and that’s a compliment. The Willowbark Face Wash has an intriguing smell – it manages to be rich and clean at the same time. It’s quite a strong aroma and good to snap you awake first thing in the morning! I’m very fussy about moisturiser, so this was always going to be the ManCave product that needed to do the most to impress me. Before I start, I should say that I was impressed by the size of them! I hadn’t paid any attention to the sizes included in the bundle, so I was pleasantly surprised that the shower gels were each 200 ml, and that the moisturiser was 100ml.
I have a bit of a thing for citrus shower gels. About 20 years ago, during a trip to the US, I grabbed a particularly amazing orange one from Tommy Hilfiger during a trip to Macy’s. It’s always been my benchmark for the perfect smelling shower gel, and every new product I try is fighting to live up to it. I’m producing this ManCave review after seeing the brand many times on my targeted Facebook ads. The algorithm robots clearly heard about my passion for skincare, and I have to admit that the prices – lower than I’m used to – attracted my attention.
This isn’t a range that I think intends to compete with Clinque and Clarins – it’s more “high end high street” than “high end department store.” Judged at that level, it’s great value, with some products standing out as particularly good.
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Even so, I am able to report that this has a strong, agreeable and – I guess – masculine(?!) smell. Furthermore, there is a way that I can judge a shampoo, and that’s how kind it is to my scalp, which can get sore and dry with some products. I’m please to say that wasn’t the case here. I guess I’ll thank the shea butter for that. This one isn’t especially exciting. It lathers nicely and smells like a perfectly agreeable shower gel – but the aroma is rather muted. In fact, the smell of the caffeine shampoo (below) lingered for longer in my shower room, despite me using far less of it.
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