Hey guys, I’m sticking with some water based pomades this week and I’m finishing up the Grant’s Golden Brand line. I’m starting with their Medium Blend today. After buying their Matte Dressing and liking the quality of it, I had to pick up their other two. And they shipped them out super quick, I had them 2 days later! Now that’s what I call customer service! Thanks Grant!
Like the other pomades this one comes in the same can. A metal can with a screw top lid, and this one has the two labels like the Matte Dressing. The lid label is an awesome royal blue background with yellow and orange accents. Around the edge of the blue is a yellow ring and on the very edge of the label is an orange ring. At the top it says “Medium Blend” and in the center is their signature design/name layout. Next to the banner is their “USA” highway sign, and at the bottom it says “Royal Hawaiian Scent.” Which this label layout and colors fit perfectly, they look Hawaiian.
The bottom label is very similar to the other tins label as well. This background is yellow and the writing is black. There are two rings close to the edge around the writing, one blue, and one orange. At the top is their name, then a blurb about this pomade. Underneath that is their instructions, followed by the ingredient list, and at the bottom is the barcode, weight info and website. I really dig the layout of these labels, they really pop with their colors, but they’re simple at the same time.
When you unscrew the lid of this one you see a yellowish colored pomade. It kind of looks like watered down pineapple juice. It’s not completely clear like most water bases out there, which makes me wonder why it’s a “Medium Blend.” Usually the less you can see through a pomade, the more it holds. The scent is just as the label says, a royal Hawaiian smell. It reminds me of pineapples and flowers or pineapple flowers. It’s nice and sweet, not overpoweringly sweet, nice and subtle, but still very present. I hope it lasts all day long, cause this stuff smells good.
When I dug my finger into this pomade I was met with somewhat of a familiar feel. It was kind of similar to Lone Star Super Hold, but it also had the bounciness like your average water based. Kind of a half greasy, half water based texture, it was really cool!
In my hands it felt like most water bases out there, and it was on the heavier side. I have a feeling this one is going to hold great though. Much more than a medium water based pomade would. It just has more resistance and a harder texture than a medium, at least to me it does.
However, when I applied it to my hair it felt more like a medium. When I ran my hands over my hair, it didn’t stick on top like the heavier ones do. More like Bona Fide, it just went in smooth and very evenly. I didn’t have scoop out a second time to get the back side of my hair. One scoop completely coated my entire head and it coated everything surprisingly very even.
I didn’t have to comb around very much to spread it around, it dispersed on its own fairly quickly from just my hands. When I did comb my hair though, it didn’t comb like a medium or hard water based, it was more like a medium petro/wax pomade. I am really liking that!! Those are my favorite types of pomades, so the fact that this one combs like that is awesome!
It styled great as well, just really easy to comb and form your hair into place. And this stuff has a little bit of shine to it, which is another plus in my book. I’m really starting to like this pomade a lot. On the first day my pomp was kind of average height, how I usually wear it. I was able to comb my hair in under 3 minutes, making this one very comparable to my favorite, Monkey Brains. That one was discontinued, and so far it seems like this one may be my replacement for that one. Yeah, I’m digging it that much, this stuff rocks!
I think my hair looked great with it in, it had some shine, but not too much, and some nice hold. Over the course of the day I did find that the scent disappeared, bummer, that smell is so good! As you may know, water based pomades harden up when they dry, well most of them do anyway. However, this one wasn’t like most. It did harden, but it felt more like a frozen waxy pomade rather than a gel. Like if you were to put in a waxy pomade, then go out in the snow for a long time. I know kind of a weird reference, but that’s the best way I could describe it. And like other water bases, it washes out with just water. Another thing I noticed that I loved, my hair wasn’t coarse and dry after I washed this stuff out!! YES!!
On the second day, I tried to get more height to my pomp with it, but it didn’t want to stay. I got maybe another 1/4″ but it didn’t have enough hold for anything taller. The stuff still made my hair look great tho. It was nice and full looking with a little bit of shine all day long. I noticed that on the second day it didn’t harden up as much. Maybe my hair was less damp that day, as more or less water can affect the drying of pomades.
After trying to get as much height as I could the second time, I decided to just form a low profile pomp for work. And I was really pleased with how it looked and held up all day. I took a look in the mirror after my 10 hour shift was over, just before I went home, and everything was right where I had left it in the morning. When I washed it out the second day I was very pleasantly surprised. My hair was really soft, I’m talking baby hair soft. I am really stoked on this water based pomade now. I finally have another one that makes my hair not get super dry and coarse after using it.
I love this water based pomade, a lot! I think this one may have won out my top spot for water based pomade. Now I haven’t tried everything out there yet, but so far, this one is at least tied for first with Monkey Brains, if not ahead of it. It really is a top notch, quality water based pomade, and I’ve had my run ins with bad water bases, this one is great! Grant’s Original is up next!
Stay tuned