Wrapping up our review series on the Dauntless Grooming products today, and we saved the Matte Paste for last. This water-based product, like the others in the line, advertises a medium hold. This one is meant to be the driest and most matte in its finish while also providing more volume and texture than the others.
Let’s cut to the chase and dive right in.
Dauntless Grooming Matte Paste Video Review
First Impressions
Packaging and Presentation: 5/5. This is my favorite take on the Dauntless labels. I’ll admit that I’m a bit biased; considering green is my all-time favorite color. This label just seems to be the best of the 3 so far, in my opinion. It’s cool, sleek, and sporty and rather different from all the of the other men’s grooming products to come out of the homebrew scene.
Scent: 5/5. Same scent as the other Dauntless products. Refer to my previous reviews if you want to know more about that.
Application
Consistency: 5/5. It’s a smooth, yet also slightly waxy scoop. This is the thickest and most-waxy feeling product of the 3, but it’s not hard to remove from the jar by any means.
Application: 3/5. Smooth enough to get the job done, but I could see this tugging and pulling a bit for people with finer or thinner hair if their hair isn’t damp.
PErformance
Control: 3/5. For me, dry hair products are always a tossup. I either get some amazing control, or my hair just disintegrates into a wavy mess throughout the day. This one kind of straddled the line for me. It has enough control to reign in an overall hairstyle, but the dryness chips away at the structure throughout the day; albeit slower than many other dry hair products that I’ve tried.
Hold: 5/5. Advertises a medium hold, and out of all 3 Dauntless products, the Matte Paste is definitely the most medium. Medium hold, tons of natural shape to your hairstyle, and almost zero weight.
Endurance: 3/5. Again, for me, this was tough to gauge because my hair doesn’t respond well to dry products. Tops, I could get about 4 hours with this product if I don’t touch my hair and the weather conditions are favorable that day.
Matte: 5/5. Perfectly matte in its finish.
Texture: 5/5. Absolutely beautiful texture. Coarse, fine, you name it; this one delivers.
Dryness: 3/5. Unfortunately, the Dauntless Matte Paste is a bit too dry for my hair. It’s not as dry as some others that I’ve had really bad experiences with. Still, it’s a bit too dry for me to get something effective out of for the majority of the day.
Restyling: 2/5. I did not have a good experience when I had to restyle with this product. The more I move a comb or my fingers through my hair, the more the control withers away and my hair gives into a more wavy mess.
Rinsing: 5/5. Should come out with just some warm water.
Final Verdict for Dauntless Matte Paste: 3.83/5
Of all three Dauntless products, the Matte Paste was the one I enjoyed the least. That doesn’t mean that it’s bad. If you’ve followed the blog for a while now, you know that I do not do well with products that are distinctly dry.
If you want a dry-finish product that allows for lots of natural-moving texture and a true matte finish, look no further. I would certainly recommend this one over hair products like O’Douds, Arcadian Clay Pomade, and the Holy Black Matte Clay.
If you want to check out this product for yourself, you can do so here.
Dauntless Matte Paste Product comparisons
O’Douds Matte Paste: O’Douds is stronger, but is also far more dry and stiff-feeling in the hair than Dauntless. Dauntless gives better texture and is easier to restyle later in the day.
Arcadian Clay Pomade: Same exact reasons as O’Douds.
The Holy Black Matte Clay: Same reasons as above.
Spruce & Sharp 