For almost every battle, we pit a very well-known and popular product against one that is slightly less well-known. This often produces interesting results. For this battle, we wanted to pit two products that both come from the Netherlands. Many people immediately think of Reuzel. One of the biggest brands in the field of pomade. We all know the story of Schorem from Rotterdam with their success. We have covered that one many times. Read the story here if you do not yet know the story behind Reuzel. Their most popular product is of course the Reuzel Blue, which every "pomade user" knows. Now let's find a very suitable candidate that fits perfectly in this battle, the Corleone Sticky Stuff!
Corleone is another Dutch brand and was founded by the man behind New York Barbershop, Robert Lagerman. Lagerman comes from a family with a long barbering tradition. As early as 1884, his great-grandfather started a men's hair salon in downtown Rotterdam. Over a hundred years later, in 1990, Lagerman came up with a whole new concept based on the old-fashioned barbershop, not knowing that he would set a trend with it.
He opened a store on the Oude Binnenweg where the craftsmanship and attention of the classic barber were combined with a friendly, café-like atmosphere. A place where men feel at ease, take the time for a chat and drink an excellent espresso or a beer. By now, the barbershop has become legendary. When Graziano Pellè played at Feyenoord from 2012 to 2014 and had his hair cut by owner Robert Lagerman, all the guys wanted the same haircut as the Italian striker. In addition, they had their own hair products developed including pomade.
Reuzel Blue Strong Hold Pomade vs. Corleone 'Sticky Stuff' High Shine pomade
The Reuzel Blue Strong Hold is incredibly popular, but one of the few water-based pomades that gives a high shine. The Corleone gives this as well, which makes the battle extra interesting. We tested them both to give our verdict.
Ingredients
What is immediately noticeable is how short the list of ingredients of the Corleone Sticky Stuff is. Looking at Reuzel's, there are a lot more. They are mostly substances that serve as preservatives, colorants, fragrances and substances that affect the substance. In terms of function for the hair, both products are similar in this as far as we are concerned. No specifics. Therefore, we leave the score at 0. Score: 0 - 0 equal
Fragrance
Always nice to have a nice scent in your pomade. For that, both pomades are actually quite good. We like the smell of the blue Reuzel the best of all Reuzel products. Reuzel calls the scent Vanilla wood. That's about right. A sweet and woody smell. Nice and subtle too. Corleone's pomade has a fresh masculine scent reminiscent of a typical masculine cologne. Very nice! Both scents will appeal to many men. Our preference is for the Corleone. Just a bit fresher and more masculine. Score 1 - 0 for Corleone
Structure and application in the hair
The first major differences become clear here. The Reuzel Blue strong hold you effortlessly take out of the packaging with your finger and the substance is nice and smooth. You distribute it very easily through the hair. The Corleone is different. It's not called Sticky stuff for nothing. The substance is a bit thicker and when you distribute it through your hair you feel that it is a bit more sticky, but without being annoying. You still take it out of the jar effortlessly and dividing it through your hair is still very easy. Because the Reuzel goes just a little easier this one gets the point. Score: 1 - 1 even
Styling
Where during application in the hair the Lard goes easier, it is now the Sticky Stuff that does a much better job at styling your hair. The advantage of the thicker and slightly more sticky substance is that your hair does exactly what you want it to. The Corleone Sticky Stuff gives an awful lot of control. No other pomade has done that so far so well. We are pleasantly surprised. The Reuzel Blue does this a lot less well. You apply it easily but have to put relatively a lot of effort into getting your hair into the desired style. This point clearly goes to the Corleone Sticky Stuff. Score: 2 - 1 for Corleone
Hold
Both products give high hold to the hair. Again, we notice a big difference here. The blue Reuzel stiffens up the hair a lot more, as if you were using a gel. We don't like that very much ourselves. On the other hand, your hair does hold well. A really high hold! The Corleone doesn't get stiff but has just as good a hold. Your hair stays in place and can even be redesigned slightly because it does not rise. So this point goes to Sticky Stuff. Score: 3 - 1 for Corleone.
Shine
Both Reuzel and Corleone call the product a high shine pomade. As far as we're concerned, it's a bit in between medium and high shine. Both of them give really good shine, but no real high shine. The Corleone gives just a bit more shine than the Reuzel. We also think the finish looks nicer with the Sticky Stuff. We give this point to Corleone Sticky Stuff. Score: 4 - 1 for Corleone.
Washing Out
Washing out is really effortless with both pomades. Of course, they are both water-based products and are both absolutely non-greasy. No obvious difference was really noticed while washing out. Therefore, we give both pomades one point. Score : 5 - 2 for Corleone.
Price
For the Corleone Sticky Stuff you now pay €19.95 for 100 grams. The Reuzel is currently discounted to €12.45 for 113 grams. Normally you pay €17,95 for this. So the Reuzel is more economical. So this point clearly goes to Reuzel. Score: 5 - 3 for Corleone.
And the winner is.....
The Corleone Sticky Stuff High Shine Pomade is really the clear winner for us. That makes the Reuzel Blue Strong Hold definitely not a wrong product. It is still among the top water-based pomades. But the Corleone Sticky Stuff does everything you would expect from a water-based pomade as far as we are concerned. Especially the amount of control it gives over your hair really pleasantly surprised us.