Vaseline Makes Lotions for Men?

“Vaseline. Lotion. Guys.”  These are three words that aren’t – completely – unassociated.  Well, maybe there needs to be two more words there, like… “off-label use.”

Vaseline has a new product line out for men right now that seeks to break into the untapped market for men’s lotions.  It wasn’t so long ago that I was introduced as a young budding metrosexual to the men’s product line at Kiehl’s.  However, I was probably more pliable than most.  I’d be hard pressed to name more than five straight males in my cadre of friends that have ever seen the inside of a Kiehl’s store.

Of course, people like me aren’t the demographic that Vaseline seems to be going for anyway.  Vasline Men’s lower price point and widespread availability at the corner drugstore seem to indicate that they’re going for the brown belts and black shoes crowd.  (One step at a time, people. Step 1, moisturize. Step 2, match.)

So, how well does it work?  It’s certainly not quite as sophisticated as a comparable Kiehl’s or Sabon product, but at $7 for a 24.5 oz bottle, it doesn’t really need to be.  I couldn’t really tell if the Extra Strength version really provided any more “oopmh” than the Fast Absorbing version, but the Fast Absorbing version certainly lived up to its name.  It took approximately five to six seconds after application for the lotion to be completely absorbed.  This fact alone could probably get guys to start using the product or, let’s be honest, could help girlfriends in convincing their guys to use it.

The only thing, and this might be a dealbreaker for some, is that the associated “manly scent” is a little overwhelming.  I get it.  We’re guys, so we don’t do subtle — but if the scent doesn’t really work for you, and it didn’t quite work for me, then you might want to go for something a little lighter.  Ask your girlfriend (or maybe just a reasonably fashionable female friend) for a map to the nearest Kiehl’s.

Disclosure: All products were provided for review. No monetary compensation was received for this review. All opinions belong to the author.