ManCave Cedarwood Shower Gel 200ml for Men, Fresh & Wood Aroma, Natural Formulation, Sulphate and Paraben Free, Vegan Friendly, Tube made from Recycled Plastics, Made in England

Product Information

It’s attractive and understated, but doesn’t feel as premium as something from a Biotherm or Molton Brown counter. This isn’t a heavy criticism; While it doesn’t feel that expensive, it isn’t that expensive. My bundle of seven generously sized products only cost as much as I’d spend on a single item from one of those brands. 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! 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. ManCave is a men’s grooming brand with strong credentials for being cruelty-free and vegan-friendly. The company sells a wide range of products including shower gels and moisturisers. The products claim to provide “aromatherapeutic benefits that are good for both your skin and your state of mind.” 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.

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.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.

This isn’t a bad moisturiser – it’s just not an amazing one. It takes a lot of rubbing in before it’s absorbed, and leaves my face on the greasy side of moisturised. On the plus side, it does last well – really cheap and nasty moisturiser can leave your skin dry again a few hours later – and this is also kind to my sensitive and eczema-prone skin. This is much more suited to daily face-washing than the charcoal scrub, coming out the tube as a lightweight gel. The feel and aroma of this particular product both lean toward “premium”– impressive for the price. 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. This is definitely a scrub, with surprisingly abrasive charcoal powder bits in it. It’s the kind of thing you’d use once or twice per week, not every day. It smells of nothing, and seems to be the only unscented product in the bundle.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. 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.