Charles + Lee: premium mens skincare from down under that won't hurt the wallet

Charles + Lee hail from Melbourne, Australia where the name sake founders shared a frustration over the state of mens skincare. Their goal is to offer products that are “effective, affordable and look great”, giving men the tools they need to keep their skincare neat. Charles + Lee have a hands-on approach to product development and boast over 10 years experience in skin care formulation and cosmetic science. A solid recipe to make honest skincare.

The pricing is very attractive and worth trying a couple of products that you seem to run through quickly in your daily regimes. I tend to go through facial moisturisers and body washes the most, so I choose a similar product that you could get the most use out of.

Disclaimer: I was gifted the Full Compliment Gift Pack range of products to test. The following reviews are my own honest opinion. A few of the products in the Gift Pack were shaving products which are unfortunately wasted on me so I gave them to someone else who would benefit more from them.

Moisturiser SPF15

There is a regular moisturiser but I have the SPF15 version which I was a little apprehensive getting the full benefits of using in the winter, but in all honesty I found it really good. It’s kind of creamy and takes a little longer to work into the skin (I find this in quite a lot of SPF moisturisers as they need to obviously provide the protection they promise).

It has a shea butter in it which reminds me of the time I visited a women's collective in Ghana where they collected shea and hand crushed to make shea butter and sell. The smell of shea butter always takes me back and it has a soft and warm aroma to it in a wholesome sort of way. My face seems to be getting quite dry skin these days so it was a welcome addition using this moisturiser that includes chamomile and aloe vera to help soften and smooth the skin.

Body Wash

I've been using Charles + Lee's Hand & Body Wash for a couple of months (interspersed with other body washes). I started off using as a body wash which was all good but wanted to get the most of out it and treat my whole body rather than just the hands to a good clean.

It does its job very well without all the bells and whistles which is what I like. Being a hand wash you can take it with you from the shower to the kitchen and back to the bathroom again. It comes in a large container with a pump dispenser allowing for easy use while in the shower. The only downside is that I found it didn’t really go a long way so I had to use a few extra pumps which I felt wasn't as economical as other body washes, hence it being finished a little earlier than I would have thought. But it had a good innings, as you'd expect from an Aussie all-rounder.

Face Wash

Following on from the Body Wash mentioned above, this packs a lot for its dollar. Every bit of value as you won’t need that much – a pea size to a penny will be enough – and give you all over fresh face coverage. My face felt really refreshed and awakened. I gave it a bit of time to allow this natural freshness before applying the Charles + Lee Moisturiser. I find that if I forget to apply any moisturiser I can start feeling my face get dry, so there’s a fine line between allowing a natural post-wash calm down, and applying moisturiser before it dries out too much. If I go over that threshold I find I need to apply extra moisturiser or twice ensure efficient absorption.

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Aftershave Lotion

I tried the aftershave lotion a couple of times – just on the neck area after I trimmed my beard. I use an electric beard trimmer on the neck which can leave my neck feeling raw and itchy. Charles + Lee’s aftershave lotion was light and easily absorbed. With a combination of Kakadu plum (native to Australia), sandalwood oil, witch hazel and green tea, it made me feel like I should apply a couple of slices of cucumber to my eyes as I tilted my head and stretched my neck when apply the lotion. Calm and soothing.