Grave Before Shave™ Gentlemen's Blend Beard Oil (Bourbon/Sandal Wood Scent)

I bought the Gentleman’s Blend and Cigar Blend at the same time, and I think I will review them together, as I think they actually have a slightly similar aroma. Each package was a sturdy padded mailer with the bottle packed in an additional bubble packet. Seemed packed sufficient for shipment. Fun label art on all GBS products. I had my first experience with beard oil just recently, with my purchase here on Amazon of the Grave Before Shave 4-pack sampler. I was so happy/ impressed with those, for the most part, that I decided to explore other scents in the GBS line-up. As some background on me, and my hair-type, since I think this may be pertinent (we don’t all have the same type of hair, right?): I am a middle-aged Caucasian man with thick beard growth. It used to be brown, now it’s heading toward gray… I have grown a beard every winter for ages, but I’ve always kept it trimmed pretty tight. This year, I decided to let it grow out, just to see what it looked like a bit longer. I was worried about it being a frizz-bomb and I didn’t want to look like a vagrant, which is what led me to exploring grooming products for my beard. I have now tried 6 of GBS’ scents and can say that they all are pretty uniform in their ability to soften the beard. It’s a pretty noticeable change, in my opinion. Also, my beard is starting to get pretty “bushy” by now, and I can tell that the oils help tame it a bit, though certainly there is no hold like a wax would provide. Not that I was expecting that, though I did want to mention it specifically. I suspect that somebody with a finer facial hair may get more control with this product, though. Initial impressions of the Gentleman’s and Cigar blends: -Gentlemen’s Blend: I received this first, and when smelling it from the bottle, I mostly noticed a sweet vanilla aroma. Honestly, I was worried about ordering this one at first, because I wondered if I was going to smell like I spilled bourbon on myself. I don’t need to buy beard oils to achieve this particular scent. Well, fear not, as this doesn’t smell anything like a real bourbon (and as somebody that has been born and raised on bourbon, I am intimately familiar with the scent). After my first application, I am reminded of a sweet vanilla scent. Maybe something like a cream soda, or a vanilla Coke, or something like that. It’s a “sweet” vanilla, though not cloying. If there’s any liquor that it reminds me of, it may be a spiced rum. It’s pretty nice. I put some on this morning before I left for work at about 7am. As I’m writing this, it’s about 3pm, and if I stroke my beard or curl up my mustache, I can still catch a whiff of the scent, though it’s not at all overpowering, even when first applied. -Cigar Blend: This came the next day. And the reason I wanted to write this review paired w/ the Gentlemen’s Blend is because when I first opened and smelled it in the bottle, I thought it was the same. Like, I was thinking it was mislabeled. I actually went and got the other bottle and did a side-by-side sniff on them. Once I got them together I did notice a difference, but the first impression was very similar. One thing I’ve noticed among all of the different scents is that they really “open-up” when given some air. Anyways, back to the Cigar: I think that this has a very similar vanilla note to it upon first applying it, but as it warms up and diffuses a bit, you definitely get the tobacco notes. Although I would argue that it’s more of a pipe tobacco than a cigar, which is a good thing in my opinion. It’s a sophisticated scent for sure. I noticed that this scent stayed strong pretty much all day. I put some on in the morning, and could still plainly smell it when I took a shower that evening. I have only used these two scents a couple of times each at this point, but I wanted to jot down my initial impressions. I will follow-up after some time. My thoughts on all of the scents that I’ve tried, in order of favorite to least-favorite: -Currently, I think the Bay Rum is my favorite, with the Cigar maybe coming next. These are both very strong and sophisticated aromas that easily last all day. Perhaps these are more of a “special occasion” scent. Date night? Drinks with the boss? Buying a cheesecake at Costco? You know, fancy stuff. -The Viking and the Gentleman’s Blends are probably my favorite “workday” scents. The Viking blend is not totally scent-free, but it is very subtle. It’s the one I’ll probably run out of first. I’m liking the Gentleman Blend, and think it’s also subtle enough that it won’t be “too much” to wear everyday. -The Pine scent fades super quick, but starts out rugged and manly smelling. Complimentary of my pine tar soap. It’s my weekend scent, until I’m finished with my bottle. I haven’t decided if I’ll re-order this one, unless I get the 4-pack again. -The OG scent just reminds me too much of a household cleaner. It’s actually not an offensive (or even a bad) smell, I just don’t want to smell like lemon Pledge is all. I would not re-order this one, but I didn’t throw the bottle out. When the Pine bottle is gone, I’ll probably switch to this to use it up.

I have bought two bottles of this over the past couple of years. I love it, and my wife loves the smell. It seems to make my beard softer and helps hydrate the skin underneath. This beard oil smells great in the bottle and after applied (It might seem unnecessary to even state that, but a couple of years ago I picked up some beard oil from a Renaissance fair, and while it smelled great in the bottle, after you applied it the scent changed, and it was quite unpleasant) I think the only caveat I have, and I think this would apply to any beard oil product, would be that you do need to use it all within about a year timeframe or the oil will begin to get sticky (and if you are using it regularly, that shouldn’t really be an issue).

Scent: I love the smell of this beard oil, it’s the best out of all the ones I have. I have Every Man Jack Sandalwood, Beard Octane cold start and Dr.nicks amazing man stuff #7, and this beard oil smells the best imo. I am a big fan of woodsy (non cologne) scents and this one is amazing. Feel in beard/on skin under beard: Feels great in my beard. It’s a thin oil rather than thick, so I do need to use a little bit more than some others but I vastly prefer a thin oil anyway. Thick makes my beard feel too greasy no matter how much I use, so this one is perfect for me in this regard. It also makes the skin underneath my beard feel hydrated and clean, so it works well. Duration: The scent lasts for most of the day. It’s not obnoxious at all, it’s very subtle but I can definitely smell it when I try to. It isn’t strong like cologne which is good for me as I hate that, don’t want a headache from a strong smell all day. It’s just a subtle woodsy scent that lasts a while, exactly what I was looking for. Ingredients: It’s as it says, all natural. Lots of great oils in there like Argan oil and Jojoba oil. Not much to say here, the ingredients are good. Some people may not react the same to certain things as others so definitely look through, it’s a very short list of ingredients as there’s nothing bad or unnatural in this.

This beard oil has a great texture—light, non-greasy, and absorbs well. It leaves my beard soft, healthy-looking, and itch-free with a nice shine. The bourbon and sandalwood scent is warm and masculine without being too strong. It keeps hair moisturized all day and noticeably improves beard quality over time. While it doesn’t provide much hold (more for conditioning than styling), the overall quality and scent longevity make it a great value.

A more detailed description given below... Grave before shave is my favorite beard oil and these are my favorite scents in order. 1. Cigar 2. Bay Rum 3. Bourbon So, I've tried several brands and scents and even the beard wax. After the numerous brands of beard oils I have stuck with the Grave Before Shave brand. Maybe it's just me but most all the brands out there come in bottles that look like they were made in the same factory. Some even seem to have the same product inside with maybe a different scent. But I can say that Grave before shave is as good or better in terms of scents and in terms of the quality of the oil. I've learned a few things since using beard oil that I'll share for what it's worth. 1. Don't apply beard oil with an expensive shirt on. I was in a hurry and thought I'd put a little on a ruined my shirt. I now apply right after getting out of the shower and have dried off. 2. Don't expect beard oil to be a miracle growth agent. While it doesn't hinder beard growth, I can't see that it helps either. 3. My personal method to apply is to fill the dropper full and apply a one drop at a time on the top edge line of my beard every 1" or so until I have worked my way all the way around to the other side. Then I massage it in. I don't know how you could apply one drop and get enough to work it into your beard thoroughly unless you have more face than beard. For what it's worth my beard is trimmed with a number 2 guard and sometimes a 3. 4. Beard oil does help with beard it. It stays in my beard for most of the day depending on how active I am. 5. Even though I don't believe beard oil helps growth, it does enhance the depth of color which makes a beard look tamed, rich, tight, clean and darker. Especially if you have a beard with red or lighter tones. 6. Because it is oil, be careful not to use too much with a high collar shirt. The oil can transfer to anything it comes into contact with. Including your wife's face if you go to kiss her. (True Story) 7. Not all beard oils scent last very long. Most last 20 min to 3-4 hrs. Very few last most of the day. The cigar scent and the bay rum are two of the best in this regard. 8. Beard oil and beard wax are very different in my opinion. The wax is more greasy to me and is a pain to dig your fingers into the wax to put into your beard. Wax does a better job of shaping while the oil does a better job of conditioning and defining. I don't care for the wax at all.

I bought this product and I have to say it does what it is for and smells great I got the cigar blend and the smell is not too strong or light it is perfect.

Ive used this beard oil for over a week and have seen really good results. I tend to use it at night before bed so that my beard does not look so scandalous in the morning and also to reduce itching. What I have observed is that the oil is a wonderful skin moisturizer as well. The beard does look more managed but the key benefit for me is the moisture my skin gets under. Whatever oil is left over on my hands, I just use it on my forehead and the rest of my face. I was not a huge fan of the scent. It is not bad... but it does not smell like Pine/Cedar. At least not what I expect Pine/Cedar to smell like. Honestly, it smells more like unused motor oil. It does not smell bad, I just didn't like it as it was not what I was expecting. Luckly the smell is subtle, and I don't smell it after I apply it. The product is of excellent quality and next time I will order a different scent. I do recommend it overall.

The smell is amazing! Not an over powering smell just the right amount! Smells exactly like high end cologne!