Review: new products from Axe

As many of you might already know, sometimes I like to feature affordable men's grooming products on my blog, and I also like to have my boyfriend, "Mr. G", write reviews. I like to give you ideas for affordable drugstore products for the men in your lives, and I REALLY like it when those products can be used by both men and women (more bang for your buck, right?). 

So although Mr. G won't be writing this review today, I did use him as a guinea pig for these products and he gave me his detailed input so that I can give you both my perspective, and his.

I was fortunate enough to receive some new products by Axe for review recently, and after testing out all the goodies, I'd like to give you both a man's perspective and my own, about each product.

First let's talk about the three products with the red, black and white packaging.  These products belong to a new collection called "Music" (see the little guitar pick on the bottles?). In conjunction with this new collection, Axe launched a concert series called Axe Music One Night Only and you can enter to win tickets to these concerts via their website. 

So with a name like Axe Music, you'd think that the scent of these products would be very rock & rollish, right? I've gotta say, the fragrance of the Axe Music Deodorant Bodyspray (retail: $4.99, 4 oz) really does have a "night on the town" type feel to it. I very much like the scent--it's sort of spicy yet clean at the same time, and even though it's not a fragrance I would personally wear, I am liking it on Mr. G.  For me, it's not over-the-top headache-inducing, and Mr. G agrees. You can smell this, but it's not in-your-face.

The Limited Edition Axe Music Daily Clean Shampoo (retail: $4.99, 12 oz) was an instant hit with Mr. G.  The shampoo itself is translucent red in color (to match the packaging) and the fragrance is slightly different than the Music Deodorant Bodyspray. To my nose, it's almost got an underlying coconut note to it, which means I had to steal it from Mr. G and try it for myself! I was pleasantly surprised to find this shampoo gentle, yet effective for cleaning my hair.  I LOVE the way it makes Mr. G's hair smell, and he said it ranks right up with this his Holy Grail shampoo (Suave Daily Clarifying).

The Axe Music Revitalizing Shower Gel (retail: $3.99, 12 oz) is also translucent red in color, and in the bottle is has a slightly different scent than the bodyspray and shampoo. I'd say it's a tad bit cleaner and fresher smelling. But after you use it, the scent lingers on the skin, and both Mr. G and I both found that the scent that lingers on the skin is actually very close to the scent of the bodyspray, which means it would make for excellent layering. Mr. G liked the way this body wash cleansed his skin, yet didn't leave it dry or itchy.

 And finally, we have my favorite product of the bunch (the bright yellow bottle in the above collage): Axe Rise Shower Gel with Himalayan Minerals & Lime Extract (retail: $3.99, 12 oz). Anything with lime extract in it immediately gets my attention, ESPECIALLY when it's in the form of body wash. I LOVE body washes with lime notes to them because they really help wake me up and feel invigorated in the shower.

All I've got to say about Rise Shower Gel is, if you're a lime fan, you might want to try this one. Yes, it's designed for men, but I LOVE it. It's got this clean, green, lime fragrance that instantly perks me up and gets me going for the day. I find it refreshingly unisex and I swear, if you put it in a different bottle, you'd never immediately assume it was for men.  It just smells fresh and tart incredibly clean. Also, it leaves my skin clean and soft and doesn't make it feel tight or dry. I've been calling it "my little unexpected guilty pleasure". Oh, and there is also a bodyspray in this fragrance as well (click here for the details).

I get a kick out of buying fun little inexpensive "beauty" products for Mr. G every once in a while (especially when they're on sale, as Axe products often are). If you like to do this for the men in your life as well,  I hope this review helps you out a bit the next time you're at the drugstore!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.