Product Review: Axe Groove Shower Gel

On a recent trip to Wal-Mart to replenish my shower gel supplies, I ran into a sales representative for Axe, a product that I have used regularly for quite some time, and she informed me of a new item that they were introducing. It's a shower gel called "Axe Groove" and I decided to try it and compare it to their original products.

Like all their other products, Axe Groove is very reasonably priced compared to other shower gels and smells great. The packaging is excellent as the container is molded to fit snugly in your hand with a cool plastic flip top. Included in this new package was a rubber stick pad that adheres to the shower wall which you can then attach the bottle to. Here is where the problems with this new product started. The rubber mat stuck perfectly to the wall and the bottle fit nicely on the mat but after a short time, both fell off, smashing the plastic top to pieces.

The gel itself was labeled as "energizing guarana (which is apparently a small fruit found in the Amazon basin) with power beads." The gel is a putrid purple color with little red beads floating around inside. It looks more like something that would be served at a witch's cocktail party rather than something you smear on your body. While washing, the power beads do not dissolve and it feels as though someone had poured grit into your soap and is particularly uncomfortable when washing your more sensitive areas.

To me this is a perfect example of a company trying to be hip rather than just sticking to the tried and true products that have made them a success. The original Axe products, particularly "Kilo", are great and they really didn't have to re-invent the wheel to come up with something new. A couple of different fragrances would have been fine.

This is a mistake that a lot of companies make, think of how many different versions of coke there are now, and regular customers would just as soon they continue to provide the same quality products rather than bring out a whole host of new ones that fall short of the originals. If they took out the power beads I'd buy Axe Groove again as the new scent is great but until then, I'll just go back to "Kilo" and some of the other fine products that Axe produced in the beginning.