Vacation Time Wax Reviews

As most of you saw I was on vacation for the past week in my home town of Boulder, Colorado.  I brought along my entire wax collection along with me to test them out at higher altitude. Each day I tried a new wax, or combination of waxes to see how they worked at a higher altitude, and cooler temperature.  My experience at the higher altitude was almost the same as in California. Although It felt like I needed to spend more time warming up the wax than I normally do. Other than that I had little difficulties with each of the waxes I brought.

Since I brought and tried waxes that I have yet to spend a week with I will only let you in on a little about those waxes. As far as the ones that I have already reviewed I will spend a little more time on my experience up in the Mile High City.

I’ll start this review with the ones that I haven’t reviewed first, so I can spend more time on the ones I have already used for a week and reviewed. I will not put up a review on OWH, since that will be my next full review.

High Life Stache Wax:

High Life has a wonderful Coconut/Pina Colada smell that is a little over powering at first but wears off throughout the day. The wax itself is very light and soft. Not soft like the CVS brand(lotion like), but soft like a pomade. The wax went on smooth and was easy to work into curls although I needed to add more to keep them somewhat curled to my usual large curls. I did need to keep an eye on the ‘stache throughout the day to make sure that I was not a victim of DSS(Droopy ‘Stache Syndrome). Check out my full review of High Life Stache Wax

Count Justinian (Classic, Sticky As Hell):

Count Justinian Classic is what I would call a medium/firm hold wax. It is very easy to warm up in your fingers which is FANTASTIC (No need for a hair dryer at all). I had no difficulties applying it to the ‘tache as it is easily warmed. I did find that the hold was firm but easily adjustable, although it did wear off during the day. I compensated for the “softness”  of the Classic by using some of the Sticky As Hell as a strong base to the ‘tache. The Sticky As Hell is almost exactly like the Classic, only a lot stiffer. Warming it up takes a little bit more time in the fingers (might help using a hair dryer), and it didn’t quite soften up as much as the Classic. I did find that using a mixture of the both of them works fantastically throughout the day. Now the smell of the CJ waxes was quite…..ummm…Harsh/strong for a lack of better words (I’ll explain that more in my full review of the Count Justinian waxes)

Rex Wax:

Now I know I did a review on Rex Wax and was a little discouraged by my first experience. I will explain everything in my Revisited Review, but for now I will say that I think I have finally started to get a hang of how to use Rex Wax. And let me tell you, this stuff is Great! Since my ‘stache has gotten a little bit longer and unruly at times, the firmness of Rex Wax really can tame those unruly hairs and let me have a ‘stache that I can work with! Check out my full review of Rex Wax

Firehouse (Wacky Tacky):

This wax is still the same old great wax! Like I said earlier I did need to spend more time warming the wax up when first applying, and I did have some trouble keeping the wax at a workable temperature while working it into my ‘stache. I was a little put off by this at first, but since I’ve used Firehouse before I knew that it could be managed and worked in to a great ‘stache. Check out my full review of Firehouse (Wacky Tacky)

Bounder:

I have always had a little bit of trouble with Bounder, but I must say that I have figured out most of my problems with it I still have a few (still working on figuring those out!). Using Bounder in Colorado was not any different then using it in California or Arizona, It needs to be warmed up a little bit by keeping it in your pocket for a few minutes and then is easily worked into the ‘stache. I did feel that it did dry out a little bit faster up at this altitude since there was less humidity, but other than that I can’t complain about anything else! I must say that I always keep a tin of bounder in the “coin” pocket of my jeans, so I always have a wax with me to fix any problems I might have throughout the day. Check out my full review of Bounder Extra Firm

Make sure you keep checking back for my full reviews on Count Justinian, High Life, and OWH

Keep that ‘tache curled!

Warm Regards

-Mr.SuperCooper

Bounder Extra Firm Moustache Wax

Bounder is another one of the top known brands of moustache wax. I have read countless reviews on Bounder and other Wax Industries products. I was very interested in trying bounder ever since I first began growing a handlebar! After emailing back and forth with Mr. Wax himself we were finally able to work out the exchange rate (him being in London, and me being in the US) and were able to get me some of his fine moustache wax.

Reading about Bounder online you learn that it is made with Pure British Beeswax and Fine Caribbean Rum – Think about that… Fine Caribbean Rum.. Now that is something I think every man would have no problem with smelling throughout the day!!

The nice classic looking package that it came in

Upon receiving my Bounder I read everything that was written on the envelope/package that the wax came in. I saw in the ingredients that it also contained Vanilla Extract. This made me even MORE excited to get this stuff open and have a whiff! Upon opening it I was a little bit shocked with the color and consistency of the wax. When people say wax my mind goes to the “Clear” shiny wax (like Firehouse, Rex Wax and many others.) But when I opened up my first tin of wax I saw a creamy off white colored wax. – This does keep the ‘stache looking more natural throughout the day without the high sheen of other waxes.

I don't know if off white is the right explanation for the color, but you get the idea!

Ok Ok, on to the smell!! The smell is what I was most excited about with this wax. The fact that it has Rum in it, I mean come on!! The first whiff of this stuff what a bit over powering to me and I couldn’t make sense of what it exactly smelt like, But I think that was just the fact that it had been sealed up for while! After airing it out real quick I started getting everything that was in this stuff! At first I just got the vanilla and it almost smelt like, And I know this is going to sound weird but… Vanilla cake frosting. You know like Betty Crocker… Yea, then I started to take my time and I could really get the rum and a hint of the Glycerin soap (I feel that it has a hint of a soapy smell, but hey soap is clean! And it’s good to be clean!!!) Overall I really like the smell of it! Its vanilla frosting with rum, and you can’t be mad at that! – Unless your more of a chocolate frosting guy… Ok enough with the frosting talk!

On the inside of the package it says to keep the lid on tight or the wax will dry out, I read somewhere from Mr. Wax that the way the wax gets its firmness is by drying into a firm hold. This is a fantastic idea, because this stuff dries STIFF! It will hold all day even in the hottest of places (I lived in Phoenix AZ during the summer, and it got HOT. I’m talking like 118 degrees hot!) The fact that it dries out is also what I think makes this wax one of the more difficult to get a hang of. While applying it to my ‘stache I  could feel my fingers and my ‘stache getting really sticky as the wax was starting to dry out. This would cause me to pull a hair or two out if I wasn’t careful! The way I got around that was by heating up the wax with a blow dryer (for about 10 sec), applying it to the ‘stache and working it through until I felt my fingers getting sticky then washing off of my hands (this stuff comes really easy with warm water) and grabbing a little bit more wax and finishing off the curls. It did take me a couple of days and multiple tries to get this right. To tell you the truth I still have not perfected application process, and have yet to get a hang of the wax. – Although the wax does come with some sort of disclaimer stating “Bounder is an old-fashioned product and behaves in an old-fashioned way.” So this might be Mr. Wax’s way of saying it is tricky to get the hang of!!

Throughout the day Bounder really stays where you put it! If it doesn’t you can wet your fingers and fix it up and the wax will reset itself to the new position. When Mr. Wax says “Extra Firm” he means EXTRA FIRM! This stuff is AWESOME when it comes to its strength and holding power! A little of this stuff goes a long way so like it says on the package use sparingly!

Overall I am very happy with Bounder Extra Firm Moustache Wax. It has a fantastic scent which is not overpowering one bit and wares off throughout the day. The holding power is top-notch while still being (hot) water-soluble, and again because I’m not a fan of yesterdays wax in today’s ‘stache that is a good thing, but if you were to leave it in for a second or third day all you would need is a little touch up with some wet fingers. The one thing that gets me every time is the trickiness of the wax when trying to  apply it. This may just be my own experience with the wax but it is something that I still need to figure out.

Bounder Extra Firm Moustache Wax is definitely another wax that every ‘stacher should have in their collection!

Go check them out and order some wax! It comes in a 3 tin package Each of the tins is 10g so in total it equals out to be about 1oz of wax. But you have 3 little tins, one for your pocket, bathroom, and anywhere else you need to stash some ‘stache wax!

Until next time

-Keep that upper lip stiff!