- oconnorj557
BLAZING MANE
Let Me Show You Mane
We are back again with another Viking themed UK beard care product company, and this wave of raids on the beard comes from the oils of Vikingsmane.
Vikingsmane beard company is a company owned by two business partners called Simon and Pete. Simon would meet Pete for coffee once a week to discuss business ideas as Simon desired to have a small business outside his day to day life. The idea for beard care hit him and Pete told him to go for it, and here we are after both of them going halves on the start-up cost. Simon at this point had a beard for 6 years and knew a lot about beard care products from experience. The name and theme came from Simon watching Vikings, the popular TV show on History channel and Amazon Prime and the fact he was getting into Norse mythology.
Simon is quoted to saying the following, “The fire pit scent is something I wanted to release because I found the smokey top note really reminded me of a camp fire. The leather and amber that come through later give it a cologne like twist. I found it a scent that changes through the wear when I was testing it. Which keeps it interesting through its wear time.”
A Fierce Fire Pit
On the first whiff of this new possession we raided, the scent gave off a sweet sherbet and floral scent, I honestly thought I had been sent the wrong bottle, maybe a human error of mislabelling. I was expecting a strong spiced smokey scent to hit me like a battleaxe splitting some poor villager's skull but when I gave it more deep long whiffs from the bottle I could pick up on the smokey vetiver, the amber, the cedarwood, the leather, tobacco, the citrus, and the musk. The only scent that escaped me was the moss scent, but I personally was not too bothered about this because the scent was just so sophisticated it really took me by surprise, like I had been given the heart of Saint Cuthbert that Ragnar Lodbrok himself had raided from Bebbenburg.
The scent profile of Fire Pit is :
Top notes : smokey vetiver, cedarwood, musk
Middle notes : leather, citrus, tobacco
Base notes : musk, amber, moss
As you can tell it is a very sophisticated scent profile one that matches the scent profiles of Beardtings but Vikingsmane haven't just thrown this in the bowl and expected it to work, oh no no NO! you can tell that they have blended this well. Now, when it comes to blending skills, Jason from beardmanners is someone I would consider as the Jarl (Viking term for leader) of blending, but he is going to get a run for his money with Fire Pit. I would even say to make a square and do a blend off, hahaha. The scent truly transports you back into Nordic woods with the dark skies of the night, the crackling of Cedarwood, the smokiness of the fire burning, the leather of the clothes getting warm and the scent lingering in the air and then you are met with a clean amber that glides on past the other scents like a hot sharp sword slicing through a poor priests flesh.
The scent at first application lasted for an amazing 15 hours this was from 11:45pm to 03:30pm the next day, this is when the power of the roaring fire died down into smouldering embers. However, three days at work and the scent would last 8 hours from 07:45am to 03:45pm until I can not smell it myself, but my partner could still make out subtle scents. This scent holds its own against my sweat, the dirt, and dust of a warehouse and fights against the elements of mother nature. Within the first 3 days of reviewing this product this beard oil and scent experienced dry heat and blazing sun rays and then cold, wind and rain. Crazy weather, as if Thor himself tested Vikingsmane.
In the second week my nose pallet if you may call it that, had become used to the scent and instead of the powerful 8 hours it would now last for a subtle 6 hours, even sometimes I would forget I was wearing the oil and then boom take an arrow of smokey vetiver up the nostril. On average, you will get a 6-8 hour scent longevity on a day to day basis from one full pipette application to the beard, which is massaged into the beard and then combed through to style. Why would this matter ? Well, scent power can be determined on a number of things :
The amount of oil applied
the thickness and length of your mustache area
Essential oils and Fragrance oils used within the blend of the oil.
This is what I have found in my experience of having a full Vikings mane to a pretty boy short styled beard that I am currently sporting nowadays.
Feel The Power Of My Viking Mane.
The feel of your manhood.............. your beard is what I am talking about is something we all get addicted to. Some of us may get aroused, some of us may feel more dominant, but something we can all agree on is that we touch our beards a lot and it becomes our identities. So it is only logic that the carrier oil blend is just as perfect as the scent blend in my opinion. Forget your heavily fragranced products of the American world of beard care (if you can call it care, with basically no product restrictions) having that Valhalla feel in your beard is what it's all about and this is where Vikingsmane barges through the gates with it's epic war cry coming to take over your mane.
Vikingsmane gave me an epic 12 hours of soft, smooth, fluffy and a hydrated beard feel, but this changed, not dramatically but rather noticeably when work got busy and I had to put in more graft to meet deadlines. The increase of sweat, dust, and dirt dulled down the war cry of beard feel from 12 hours to 8 hours, giving me a straw like feel, dry and bristly. I can tell you now that environmental factors such as chemical cleaning agents, dust and dirt effect this and scent longevity, as well as weather elements and day to day physical activity. Someone sat at home playing Call of Duty will have longer effects than someone working a fishing boat in the North Sea.
What is in the carrier oil blend :
Sweet almond oil - this is a light oil which helps sink into the beard hair and skin, meaning fast absorption. It increases beard growth with it's high levels of magnesium, biotin, and vitamin E. It also treats and prevents beardruff and with fatty acids and vitamin E it helps fight inflammation and strengthens hair.
Argan oil - reduces inflammation with it's omega 9 and 6 fatty acids, it helps moisturize the skin and hair and is a non-greasy oil. It is also a lightweight oil and helps regulate sebum levels and prevents beardruff.
Golden Jojoba - now, I always remember John from Bigphat beard and Docks (Docks bearded reviews) debating whether this is a form of wax. But it is actually a liquid wax ester that has a similar composition to sebum, which is an oil naturally produced by our skin. Golden Jojoba contains vitamin E and B and monounsaturated omega 9 fatty acids, it's a lightweight oil which helps with absorption rates.
Grapeseed oil - provides moisture and is a natural cleansing agent, it helps remove excess sebaceous oils that clog pores and slows the rate of beard growth. It also stimulates blood circulation and conditions the beard.
A powerful 4 combos of carrier oils which help with everything a grown man with a beard needs. It obviously comes down to the mixture of these oils but no sane beard product owner would publicly disclose their mixture recipes. This is because it is what gives them their unique edge compared to other brands.
A MANES DOMINANCE.
What could set Vikingsmane a part from everyone else in the UK beard care market and other Viking themed brands ? Honestly, in my opinion it has to be sophisticated scents such as Fire Pit. More scents like this will draw more consumers to join the raids for mane power, and I know this because I am already thinking about coming back to Vikingsmane for more scents. Their logo is a runic styled VM enclosed within a circle, with the companies name around the edging of said circle. It is a simplistic design but yet it stands out and you know who the fuck just came ashore on your land, let me tell you that. The bright coloured labels that go with the scent theme help with their presence within the community.
CONCLUSION.
At £12.99 for a 30ml bottle and fast delivery I would say this is your average pricing across the market but for the scent alone it is worth it never mind the carrier oil blend. Scent longevity lasts 6-8 hours and feel of the beard lasts from 8-12 hours, placing Vikingsmane above the average mark across the community. I have used this bottle for 15 days now, and by shining a light inside the solid black bottle design, I have discovered I have just less than half. This Vikingsmane has established it's dominance in the market and not only gained a settlement in the lands but also defended it too. Any complaints or criticism from my end ? hmmmmm, maybe not criticism but advice, push the boundaries of carrier oil blends, you will see this carrier oil blend across a lot of beard care products within the UK due to CPSR restrictions. And yes, this Viking abides by UK law by having all of his cosmetic products CPSR certified. It is for your safety as a consumer that all products you buy for your skin or hair are CPSR certified. Do not go out there and tickle the pickle of an egotistical beard product company owner who has not got CPSR certification... and YES, you do have a right as a consumer to ask to see his/her CPSR certification.
Stay safe, Stay fire, Stay bearded.