I gets some mighty dry skin in the winter, and although my TSD Aftershave milk does a good job of taking care of my skin, I feel like I should use it more sparingly as it is an import...and imports are special.
So, when I was standing in the drug store the other day with some yen burning a hole in my pocket, and the men's skin care shelf passed before my eyes, I took an interest.
In this:
Look at that. What a bottle. What style. Man, that is one PRETTY bottle of skin conditioner. I couldn't help but pick it up. Reading the back, it looked like this was a soothing, slightly medicated moisturizing lotion for use after washing or shaving--just what I was looking for.
Ingredients (Maybe, this was a tough one...):
Dikalium Glycyrrhizin (Anti-inflammatory), d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), Aloe Extract, dipropylene Glycol, Water, Ethanol, Ethylhexyl palmitate, methylphenylpolysiloxane, Polyoxyethylene, Polyoxypropylene decyl tetradecyl ethyl, Cetanol, Carboxyvinyl polymer, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Sodium hydroxyl, Polyacryl alkyl, Trisodium Edetate, Propylene Glycol, Paraben, Fragrance
The "Trocken" in the name is, in keeping with the Auslese, German. It means "dry", as in "dry white wine" or "dry sherry". Dry as in not sweet, slightly bitter...And the label says that the scent is "A gentle, non-sweet fragrance..." There's a whole line in this scent, Colognes, AS Lotions, Hair Tonics, and I had such good results from the Original Auslese I figured this was a good bet.
So I got that puppy home and took her to town.
My first reaction when I opened the bottle was, "What scent?" This is a SUBTLE fragrance. Even when applying it, I could hardly make it out--it was like walking into a room that had just been occupied by someone wearing a very tasteful cologne. There's a touch of floral scent to it, perhaps Rose or Lavender, but it is fleeting, and almost imaginary. Subtle. Not a reason to buy this product, but a nice touch.
The product itself is VERY thick; the shaker on the bottle is almost too small, it's kind of hard to get anything out, but that's fine. As with most milks/lotions, a little goes a long way. The product absorbed fast and did not leave any sticky or oily residue. Plus.
Now, as for the effects...Hmmm... This contains Aloe, which is good, it is pretty soothing after a bad shave (luckily, I don't get those too often, it as it goes, I got one today...) and it calms razor burn pretty well. However...it really isn't moisturizing enough for me. It is better than nothing, and certainly better than an alcohol based splash, but in both the soothing/healing and moisturizing aspects, it is not quite to the level of the TSD milk, which is my gold standard. It's better than The Gentleman's Refinery Aftershave Balm, in my opinion, if that helps, but not immensely.
I will use it as a moisturizer at night, to save my AS Milk, but it won't be my daily-use aftershave.
So, with an almost imperceptible scent, and slightly above mediocre results, I can't wholeheartedly recommend Auslese Trocken Skin Conditioner. But man, WHAT A BOTTLE.
7 comments:
Howdy, after reading your reviews of the Bravas and Auslese aftershave's. I went out and bought a couple travel bottles for myself. I like the Auslese a lot more.
My question is, how does the ingredient list of the Auslese Mild and Auslese Trocken stack up against the regular version? I also believe I spotted an Auslese aftershave balm that was clear with a milky like substance lurking at the bottom of the bottle, until shaken up. I'm positive it wasn't the skin conditioner you reviewed here.
Keep up the great blogging.
Hey, thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked the Auslese, it is a very nice product.
I have to admit, I'm not sure what you mean by "Mild"...never seen it. And I only have the Trocken skin conditioner, so I'm not sure how the ingredients would compare at all. I can tell you that the scent, from what I've been able to pick up, is much more sophisticated and much more old-world than the regular...
I think I know what you're talking about with the shaking thing, too...I think I saw that in Kokura the other day. I'll keep an eye out...
Thanks for your kind comments, as well. I'll do my best!
I saw these aftershaves at BIC camera, or was it Yodabashi. Anyways the huge one next to JR Akihabara station.
They had the whole Shiseido men's selection on hand. Bravas, Trocken, Auslese. The "mild" Auslese might have looked slightly less green, but said mild aftershave lotion on the front of the bottle. The Trocken aftershave lotion looked clear with a slight purple tint.
I'll try and get a couple photo's to send you, of the front and back of each.
Ahhh...I bet that purple tint was form the bottle; it seems to have a steely blue hint.
If you can get pictures, that'd be awesome.
Only the liquid is purplish, the bottle is clear, regarding the Trocken AS lotion.
Doesn't feel like it has any menthol either. I really like this scent.
Auslese trocken? That must have been the stuff the marketing guys where drinking when they came up with this name, as "Auslese" denotes a certain grade of quality in German wines.
Hi Tido, thanks for reading!
Yeah, it does refer to wine. It's actually not a bad name for the product, though, because "Auslese" denotes something like "Choice, Select." It's used for a higher-than-average quality thing. They use it for wine because the grapes are specially selected by the Winemaker before pressing.
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