I had high hopes about hubby reviewing these manly skincare products that he was (kindly) sent from Primal Earth. 

Yes, I had thoughts about us becoming #thebloggingdreamteam. You know, he could become a become a regular, manly blogging influence/contributor,  testing stuff then informing me with quality intel so we could write regular reviews of manly skincare.  You see, I reckon I spotted a gap in the market. Which NZ blogger is blogging about manly skincare?  Exactly. Nobody (or is there?).  Besides. The Boy’s ‘skincare’ video review of Pineapple Heads went down well, didn’t it?. Why not expand our options to have a wife/hubby duo this time? It’d be like a dream! I had lofty ambitions, dreams of seeing him review a number of products, from lotions and moisturizers to private label skin care products, and all else in between. It would have been perfect!

Alas, this is what happened… 

Me: “So, darling, how were the Primal Earth products?”
Him: “They were good.”
Me:  But, how were they?”
Him: “Good”.
Me: [Trying different tactic]: “Tell me how your skin feels since using them?”
Him: “Yeah, good. Good”.

(Note: Any question that starts with the words “tell me” is a stellar open question) 

Me: [Scraping the barrel, trying desperately to think of more, quality, open questions].  “How do you feel about using them again?”
Him: “Yup. Good.”
Me: “Would you buy them yourself if, heaven forbid, you found yourself at the supermarket in need of skincare?” 
Him: “Yup.”
Me: “Ah, anything else you’d like me to know about the products?”
Him: “Um. Nah. They were good. I like them”.
Me: “For Chuck’s steak! Help me out here!”
Him: “What?”

#lifewithanintrovert #extrovertversusintrovert*

Lou here: Looks like I’d better take over.

I give up. Here’s my thoughts.  Also, because Hubby was so un-bloody helpful, I tried out the cleanser and moisturiser myself.  Not the shave cream on my face, silly: That would raise all sorts of strange questions (although I have dark hairs sprouting on my chin – so unattractive, damn the aging process).  I used the shaving cream to shave my legs.

Here’s what The Wife has to say: 

• Easy availability: Widely available at the supermarket or pharmacy. This gets a big tick from me, you know how I roll: If you can biff a well priced beauty item that works into the supermarket trolley it gets big ups!  You can also buy it online here. NZ shipping is $8, FYI. Yeah, buy it at the supermarket or pharmacy.
• Affordable! Shave cream: $8.99; Shave Gel: $8.99; Moisturiser: $13.99.  This means we can afford to run two lines of skincare in our house: ‘Lou’s Products’ and ‘His Products’. I’m going to sound like a total be-arch now, but the translation of this is: He uses his own stuff, and not mine. That means my stuff lasts longer and, let’s be honest, my regime is expensive, given the (vast) array of products I use on a daily basis. Yes. I am selfish. I do share when hubby doesn’t have his own stuff.
• NZ Made. Whoop. I love this.
• Good variety: There’s six items in the range (click here), including options for man folk with sensitive skin, as well as normal skin types.  
• Oath: I love the ‘Primal Earth Oath’ which is 100% vegetarian. There’s also no: Animal testing, Artificial Colours; Parabens or Phthalates. Their list of ingredients is a good read.
• Downside: It’s not certified organic. I’m being really anal now, there’s lots of talk on their website about being natural and ‘powered by plants’ (which is commendable), but it would be O for Awesome if there was some sort of ‘official commendation’ (like Eco Cert or Bio Gro) that gives the ‘natural’ talk official credibility.

Verdict

Yup, I concur, these products are “GOOD” (hells bells) and if I was a fulla, I’d be in like Flynn. In fact, Hubby is in like Flynn, he ran out of the cleanser and moisturiser and asked me to buy him some more. Incidentally, this range comes from the maker of Essano. Big ups: We all know how much I love Essano. 

If the man in your life is hankering after a bit of skincare, I’d definitely recommend giving this range a go. They do a gift pack, aka: Mini skincare kit which contains a face wash, shave gel and moisturiser. At $15 this is brilliant bang for buck and you can try before you fully commit! Also, and I LOVE THIS – Primal Earth’s Sensitive shave cream is for him AND her. I’m buying this in my next grocery shop.

Thank you Primal Earth for kindly sending my hubby these products, alas, I don’t think he’s cut out to change the world with his opinions on manly skincare products… His talents, I might add, lie in other areas.

Has your man tried Primal Earth?

*Sigh.  Hubby’s introvert and my extrovert play out on a daily basis, this is but one example of many, conversations in our house. Every now and then he takes me by surprise and he’ll talk for ages on a random topic (like lightbulbs, seriously… Lightbulbs?! Oh and random trivia: He’s a good person to have at a Primary School Quiz Night).  

What does he have to say about my communication style? Good question you ask. That I talk too much…  I feel the need to fill silence with chatter. Oh, and that my bounces all over the place and he can’t follow my thought process (which is done in an extroverted way, i.e. out loud). Luckily opposites attract!

Second lucky for us: I’m a qualified consultant with MBTI, Belbin,  and  TMS. I can talk all day – and I have done on numerous occasions at workshops I run –  about the differences in personality types. Having bought this knowledge home this has, in all seriousness, saved our marriage: We are so different. This used to be a source of immense irritation, now, well, for the most part, we get each other – and we appreciate those differences.True story, my blog was nearly about personality types.  If Eventually, after extensive navel gazing, I recognised that a creative outlet on something non-serious and non-work related was required. Anyway, that’s a whole different blog post…

Side note: If you ever wondered what I do for a day job, one of the (several) hats I wear is to train and coach on the differences in personality types. If you are in business and the people in your business could benefit about learning more about how they think, act and behave (and in the process learning about those that are different to them), get in touch! 

Focus, Lou. Focus.