Blu Atlas Review: What Makes This Men’s Skincare Brand Stand Out

Before we get into the Blu Atlas Review, I will just tell it to you straight: I was a bar soap-to-the-face kind of guy up until fairly recently. In the chunks of my life that I’ve shared living spaces with women, the shower and bathroom counter are usually 90% hers and 10% his. I thought minimalism was the whole point.

It’s less about minimalism and more about efficiency if I’m to be honest. It’s not that I don’t care about my skin and appearance, I just want to get out the door.

As I get older and start to notice my skin getting a little weather-beaten (one too many sunburns over the summer, and maybe a little too much dehydration as we come out of the summer months), I think it might be time to invest a little more into a good regimen for skincare.

Establishing a Fall Skincare Routine for Men With Blu Atlas

That being said, a quick Google search for men’s skincare will give you results all over the board, which can be more than confusing for a first-timer (or someone throwing away their cheap grocery store brand bar of soap). In short, it’s hard to look for healthy routines when most mainstream products are muddled down with unnecessary and potentially harmful chemicals.

This is where Blu Atlas comes into the fold. In having the opportunity to check out their full-spectrum line of body care products, I did a little research on them before cracking open any packaging.

The biggest draw is that the company sources over 96% of its ingredients from natural sources. Woah! With star-studded reviews on their site from major men’s-focused publications alongside tight branding and an elegant brand feel, I am eager to say that I was sold on testing them out before even touching the product. But despite my excitement, I’m still dealing with the reality that I know little to nothing in terms of what makes good skincare good versus the alternative.

Luckily, I have some help. My girlfriend is a recent and proud graduate of esthetician school (which I am told is more than just pimple-popping videos) and is raring to go on her new career helping people figure out solutions for unhappy skin and devising preventative methods to keep things looking great and feeling healthy.

I asked her to sit down with me and go through the Blu Atlas line (each product for sale on their website, to be specific) and help me notate some of the key differentiators in their product’s make-up. Of course, we tried out each product too (that’s the fun part).

After getting gray-masked and squeaky clean, these are our notes on the Blu Atlas collection and what stands out to us as surefire wins for your skin.

Blu Atlas Atlantis Cologne

• Alright, let’s start off with a first-inning home run – Blu Atlas’ signature cologne fragrance, Atlantis, is a knockout. The scent, with layered tones of bergamot, lemon, violet, and musk, is evocative of adventure and inspired by the experience of coastal Bali. In quick terms, the fragrance is light while having a pretty incredible depth, utilizing the strength of floral notes without relying on them heavily.
• If you aren’t immediately enticed by the smell, the elegant packaging will certainly do it for you. Packaged in a matte black bottle and inside its own box to open, it’s a standout on your top shelf for sure.

Blu Atlas Body Wash

• Blu Atlas’ stab at a body wash is all I’m looking for – a nice lather, light scent, and nothing too overpowering, with a light sugar exfoliant to boot.
• An outstanding universal ingredient found in Blu Atlas’ Body Wash is Green Tea, which is rich in antioxidants, green tea is known in skincare for its ability to help heal redness. Aloe, another star, also helps to moisturize and provide antioxidants.
• This product covers almost everything that the other products are not designed for. This will support healthy-looking skin not just on the face, but everywhere on the body!

Blu Atlas Shampoo and Conditioner

• Can’t have body wash without shampoo and conditioner. These two complete the shower trifecta, unified with one scent profile and naturally-derived ingredients that work together smoothly.
• The jojoba oil (the main ingredient) in the shampoo gives amazing nutrients, aloe helps to soften the hair, and Saw Palmetto which helps thicken your hair. In short, the shampoo’s job is to add volume and hydration to your hair. 
• Blu Atlas has employed the help of argan oil (used to shine and smooth hair), white tea (to help moisturize and condition the scalp), and barley protein (rich in proteins, leaving hair shiny and soft to the touch) in the conditioner. Altogether, the combo is anti-inflammatory and will support scalp health!

Blu Atlas Deodorant

• Deodorant can be hit or miss, especially when it comes to one that uses natural ingredients versus what you may be used to from the deodorant aisle. This one is a good one – from application to the end of the day, I found Blu Atlas Deodorant to support me through whatever I threw at it.
• It’s formulated with volcanic ash, which is highly absorbent. That’s a win for deodorant! Another interesting ingredient in Blu Atlas’ deodorant is horsetail extract – with anti-inflammatory properties, it calms and soothes skin irritations.

Blu Atlas Eye Stick

• The Blu Atlas Eye Stick is a really cool product that I (and maybe you) likely wouldn’t have considered before now. This lip-balm-shaped tube will brighten, reduce puffiness, and protect from free radicals. There’s a nice cooling effect on the application with the metal roller ball, and the product comes with no real noticeable scent for easy use. Gotta keep those eyes safe!
• When it comes to ingredients, this is a well-rounded product. It’s just packed with the good stuff, like rose water, which helps reduce puffiness.

Blu Atlas Aftershave and Shave Cream

• I’m a big beard kind of guy, so I rarely find a use for shaving cream and aftershave, but these options from Blu Atlas have a refreshing and calming scent that is not evocative of the aftershave of the past.
• The big selling point of the shave cream is the ingredients that bring strong antioxidants to the forefront of the fight – they’re there to hydrate your skin pre-shave and protect the barrier functions of the skin.
• On the aftershave front, it’s loaded with ingredients that will moisturize and soothe the skin- again, we see rose flower water in this case to help with wound healing (think razor burn or bumps).
  

Blu Atlas Face Moisturizer

• Blu Atlas has another top score in the “well-rounded product” category. Nice and thick, the Face Moisturizer melts into the skin quickly and leaves your face feeling smooth and nourished with a minimal scent profile. Plenty to keep you moisturized and stay moisturized but also contains ingredients that benefit your skin more than just moisture. 
• This one is all about the vitamins! Vitamins E, C, and A are all well represented in the Face Moisturizer, and working hard to help support a healthy skin barrier.

Blu Atlas Face Cleanser

• Volcanic ash, a primary ingredient in the Face Cleanser from Blu Atlas, is great at absorbing excess oil while having hydration and soothing effects. This is definitely a winning combo for a daily face wash!
• The cleanser has an earthy, natural scent to it, feels nice during the application, and leaves skin feeling clean without feeling stripped.
• Pomegranate seed oil, another active ingredient, is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and has anti-aging properties (but no, you can not turn back time).

Blu Atlas Exfoliating Scrub

• Alright, everyone has used a bad exfoliating scrub in their lifetime, and there’s no shame in admitting it. Blu Atlas uses walnut shell powder, a much better alternative to microbeads (which can damage the skin, is better for the environment as well as being an effective exfoliant). This part is important – exfoliation helps remove any build-up on the skin allowing better product penetration for all of the other products they offer, making them more effective.
• Bamboo is a nice addition to the ingredient roster – it’s antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory and will soothe inflamed or irritated skin (so, great for acne-prone or easily upset skin!). Hibiscus also brings a lovely smell, as well as adding a rich creaminess to the formulation.

Blu Atlas Face Mask

• Okay, boys, we love a face mask. You can’t deny it. This one is the real deal. It left our skin feeling soft and smooth, without feeling tight like cheap grocery store masks tend to do. I have been hesitant to use face masks in the past on their silly color alone, but this sick matte black color dries to an even cooler gray.
• Ingredient-wise, clay, and charcoal are power players to draw out and dry out blemishes, while goji berry will help nourish and promote even skin tone.

Blu Atlas Vitamin C Serum

• I hate to choose favorites, but we saved the best for last. This Vitamin C Serum got the strongest “if you don’t use it, I will” response. The Vitamin C Serum helps neutralize free radicals on the skin (which causes skin damage and premature aging) through the use of four active ingredients, all in the top 4 slots of the product.
• The serum is easy to use in dropper bottles to avoid contamination from bacteria on your hands or face, and sinks into the skin really nicely without feeling oily. The gentle citrus smell right from the bottle is really pleasant but fades quickly to allow your other fragrance choices to shine brighter.

Final Thoughts on the Blu Atlas System

In short, the team consensus over here is that Blu Atlas is indeed an incredibly thoughtfully put-together brand, and we applaud their effort to a) source most ingredients naturally and b) employ all ingredients intentionally. To our investigation, there really is nothing in there that isn’t directly beneficial to the skin.

Another big win across the board for Blu Atlas – most of the active ingredients fall pretty high up on ingredient lists, meaning that they are the top contents of the product. In short – you’re not paying for a Vitamin C serum where the Vitamin C itself is the last ingredient on the list. 

I think the biggest win for Blu Atlas revisits the earlier discussion on efficiency – if you are willing to put in the time, you can make your routine as simple or complex as you would like, based on your preferences and specific skincare needs. In this house, the face cleanser, Vitamin C serum, and face moisturizer build the core roster, thereby starting a foundation to build on beyond that. This is a concise, easy-to-use line while having options to up your game should you like. 

Additionally, our little research project here can confirm that this is a great skincare line, and not just for men. Make sure to check out Blu Atlas products for yourself. We’ll be ordering double next time!