Back again with another Tres Flores product. I wanted to review them back to back, plus I got a few requests for this one as well. As well as being one of my favorite brands out there. I was actually really surprised when I saw this stuff come out mainly because of the type of product it is.

This time I’m using their water based version. They’re most known for their grease and oil tonic, so I was surprised that they put out a water based. They do have a gel, a talc and an aftershave as well. I will most likely review those in the future when I see them on a shelf somewhere and can pick them up.

This one comes in a crystal clear plastic tub, and has their signature green lid. The labeling of this stuff is pretty similar to their grease. There’s only a few differences. It’s still the wrap around label, but up on top on either side of “Tres Flores” is NEW in yellow star box things. Then in the red it has “molding pomade” and “greaseless, water based, flexible styling pomade.” On the sides of the label it has the same stuff, but also includes a blurb about this product and directions for use.

Opening this container up, you don’t get quite the same strong flowery scent. I mean it still smells like flowers, just not as pronounced as their grease. And this one is a clear, yellowish goop. I got a little excited and scooped out the stuff before I took a picture of the surface. Luckily you can still tell what it looks like. It reminds me of pineapple jell-o.

Now on to how it scoops out, lets put the horse back in front of the cart. It has the exact same texture as Monkey Brains does. Nice firm, gelatinous goop. The color of it is a shade or two lighter than Bona Fide is. I was a little disappointed in the scents strength though. Unlike their grease, the scent didn’t get any stronger out of the tub. It almost got weaker after I scooped it out. What a bummer. I like my pomades to be nice a strong scented.

When I worked it in my palms the texture stayed the same unlike most water bases out there. It also got really shiny like Bona Fide does. The scent kind of got even weaker and dissipated as I spread it around in my palms. Dang what a bummer.

As I ran my hands over my hair I noticed that stuff goes in like a wax does. It really just stuck to the top of my hair and I had to scoop out another fingers full to really get my hair coated evenly. Which is another thing I don’t like in a pomade or water based. I just don’t like over saturating my hair with stuff.

Combing with this in my hair was really easy, surprisingly. I expected it to comb a lot more difficult, because of how it went in and how much I had to use. But it actually combed easier than most water bases do. And styling with it was also a breeze. Unlike most water based products out there, I was able to get a nice rounded pomp going. Usually my hair likes to stick straight and I end up with more of an angled pomp.

The height I got with this stuff on both days was really nice as well. I got a nice medium to tall pomp with it. I could have gone a little higher, but I just didn’t want to. I only pomp really high every once in a while. I did notice a little wispiness to my hair on top. You can kind of see the hairs flipping up off my hair. Not my favorite thing to happen. I like my hair to look smooth and proper, not wispy and messy looking.

The hold lasted all day and all evening long. I only noticed a few places in my hair go slightly astray or come undone toward the end of the day. And this one is like Monkey Brains and only gums up on you, it doesn’t harden. Which is a thing I really look for in a water based. I just don’t like the hardness to my hair very much. And if I ever do want that I’d rather just use gel and Aquanet, it costs a lot less.

When I washed this stuff out, on both days, I noticed after my hair had dried it was kind of coarse and really dry. Now most other water solubles out there leave your hair nice and soft ‘n’ smooth after you wash them out. So I was really disappointed when this one did the opposite.

So my conclusion on this water based is, I’m on the fence with it. It holds good, combs easy, smells good, doesn’t harden too much and washes out easy. However, the scent pretty much disappeared after I got it in my hair, it left some flyaways, didn’t have much shine to it, washes out with water, and left my hair feeling bad after it was out. So I don’t know if I like it as much as others yet. But if you guys liked what you saw/read, are into water bases or just like to check out new stuff, pick a tub up! You can find it at a lot of stores and beauty suppliers. And it’s relatively cheap, comparable to what Monkey Brains was, just a few bucks. Making it a pretty decent buy when looking for a new water based at the stores.

Well, til next time guys.

-JC