I used to buy a men’s magazine called Cargo which was basically a buyer’s guide for hip men. It featured everything from skin care products to the newest cell phones to designer jeans to new music and DVDs etc. What was really cool about Cargo was that it came with two sheets of colored stickers so you could tag the pages with the items that you planned on buying at some point. The magazine went belly up a few years back but lucky for me and modern age hip men in general. Uncrate exists. Uncrate is a web site that features really cool products for the same target base that Cargo went after obviously with a much lower overhead. They feature dvd’s, cars, cameras, games, speakers, bbq equipment etc and I have bought more than a few things that I have found on the site.
Well it was maybe a little more than a month ago when they featured men’s colognes and shaving products from the Portland General Store. Let me say that I have always been into colognes and my current collection includes: Jean Paul Gaulteir, the new Gucci fragrance, Curduroy by Zirh, Polo Black, Fresh’s Cannabis Santal, Prada, Armani Code Black, Unforgivable by Sean John (don’t laugh it actually smells really good), Dior Man amongst others.
I have also been into skin care, specifically shaving creams, lotions and oils as I have a thick beard and my face becomes easily irritated. I also have rather unmanageable, curly hair so I’ve tried a generous amount of shampoos, conditioners, gels, wax, mousse and foams as well. I am a straight male who is not all afraid that to admit that I love shopping at Sephora and Barney’s for the wonderful range of products that they carry. My favorite brand of all is Anthony Logistics but I also use Zirh, Lab Series, Jack Black and Kiehl’s.
When I visited the Portland General Store site through Uncrate I was literally in seventh heaven. They featured cologne scents that appealed to me(whiskey and cardamom amongst others) tobacco after shave splash and whiskey old fashioned shave jelly. What’s even cooler are the old fashion dark glass apothecary bottles everything come in complete with vintage labels. I did not know what to get as everything looked so appealing.
Luckily for me and all of you they have an amazing sample set that comes in vintage cigar boxes from the owner’s personal collection and costs a mere $25 (around $35 with tax and shipping). How much cooler can it get? After waiting for about two weeks (they are getting a lot of orders as the brand grows and there are brief shipping delays) I received my box. I don’t think I’ve ever seen men’s skin care and toiletries presented so elegantly.
The box contained small samples of both Whiskey and Palo Santo colognes, a small container of old fashion whiskey shave gel, a small container of tobacco shave soap, a nice sized bottle of tobacco after shave, a well sized jar of wood body cream, a mysterious little packet of different sized intricate buttons and a rather delicious stick of hard clove candy.
So far I am in love. The tobacco wet shave soap is a godsend. Basically I run some warm water over the badger hair shaving brush that I have and then rotate it quickly in the bottle of shaving soap to create a thick lather. After I’ve applied a warm towel to my face I then use the brush to get a layer of soap on my face and neck. I shave with a Gilette Power Fusion razor and splash on some of the tobacco after shave when I am done.
So far I have tried and really loved everything but the colognes and shave soap remain favorites. I look forward to the Portland General Store’s releases of a men’s deodorant, new lines of fragrance and a skincare line for men. They have made me a client for life and I can guarantee that it will not be long before I place my order.
Oh! One thing I’d like to request from the owner is bigger size bottles for retail even if it would cost a lot more I would love to display some of the products in those wonderful, large bottles on the web site.
Filed under: Skin Care and Fragrance Tagged: | Anthony Logisitics, Armani, Barney's, Cargo, Curduroy, Fresh, Gilette Power. Badger Hair Brush, Gucci, Jack Black, Jean Paul Gaulteir, Kiehl's, Lab Series, Palo Santo, Polo Black, Portland General Store, Prada, Purchase Of The Week, Sean John, Sephora, Tobacco, Uncrate, Whiskey, Zirh
