For those of you who follow the blog regularly you’ll know that The Bloke enjoys a lot of the perks that the blog affords me, particularly when it involves reviewing a restaurant, piece of tech equipment or a show. There are certain elements, however, such as make-up samples and beauty products that he has never got as excited about – this is a guy who can’t differentiate between eyeliner and lipstick (mainly because he doesn’t wear either) – so when I was asked to try out a new fragrance for men, he stepped up and got his review hat on to test it out for me.

As a woman, I’m quite picky when it comes to men’s fragrances, as I find many of them to be rather strong and overpowering (particularly when half a bottle is used on one go as many of my teenage students do), and The Bloke only wears aftershave when we go out, so I was interested to find out what he (and I) thought.

Gruhme No.14 (which retails at £45), is the second in the brand, and is labelled as a more concentrated version of their original fragrance (14% instead of the 10% of the original). It is the brainchild of Rob Hallmark, a former corporate lawyer who developed his own men’s products after finding it difficult to identify with a prominent male brand. It’s already proving to be a hit, winning the Beauty Shortlist Award for Best Masculine Fragrance.

I can see why. I love the simple black packaging and the design, being exactly the sort of look that would draw me to this product on a shelf. Above all, and perhaps more importantly, I genuinely and immediately loved the fragrance.

However, I wasn’t the one who would be wearing it, so I asked The Bloke to try it out for a week and see what he thought. He was impressed, to the point where he has worn it every day – applying just a small amount before he goes to work in a morning, and occasionally when we have been out in the evening, making it a very versatile fragrance for any occasion. In my opinion, The Bloke smells nice anyway, but he smelled really nice wearing this… I asked him to put a few notes down:

‘It’s a warm, citrus fragrance that, while it seems quite strong when initially applied, it quickly settles down to a subtle scent that suits my skin type. With ingredients like juniper berry, oakwood, ceder, bergamot and lemon, it is a classic masculine smell that is long lasting and isn’t overpowering. The packaging is simple and clean and the branding is modern with a distinguishable design.’

It is indeed long lasting, still retaining that subtle scent even at the end of the day when he returns home from work. It suits him, so much so that I will be purchasing another bottle as soon as he has finished this one. He was even inspired to take some photographs of the product, of which I think he’s done a fantastic job.

You can check out more information about Gruhme by clicking on their website here.
Disclaimer: I was given a bottle of Gruhme No.14 free-of-charge, but was under no obligation to provide a positive review.