Triumph & Disaster: the honest verdict.
The New Zealand men's grooming brand that earned its premium positioning through formulation discipline. Tested across Gameface Moisturiser, Old Fashioned Face Wash, and the Coltrane Hair Pomade.
- Position
- Premium · Men's grooming
- Founded
- Auckland, NZ · 2011
- Available at
- Adore Beauty + barbers + select Mecca
The Glow read.
Triumph & Disaster sits in the same neighborhood as Frasé Skin — premium, founder-led, formulation-credible — and is the closest competitor on the Australasian men's shelf. Gameface Moisturiser is the brand's flagship: vitamin E, horopito (a NZ pepper plant antioxidant), and a non-greasy texture that suits oilier male skin. It's a 9.0 product at $58.
Where T&D outperforms Frasé Skin is in the hair and shave categories. The Coltrane Hair Pomade is the best matte-finish men's pomade on the market. The Drift Pre-Shave Oil and Spitfire Brushless Shave Cream are properly engineered for traditional wet shaving.
Where Frasé Skin outperforms is on the routine: T&D's product range is broader but less coherent. A first-time skincare buyer would have to assemble a routine from the catalogue. Frasé Skin gives you three products and a logic.
What works
- Gameface Moisturiser — credible vitamin E + horopito antioxidant moisturiser for oilier male skin
- Coltrane Hair Pomade — best-in-class matte-finish men's pomade
- Drift Pre-Shave Oil + Spitfire Shave Cream — properly engineered wet-shave system
- New Zealand-made, founder-led, transparent about formulation
What doesn't
- Range is broad but not coherent — first-time buyers need to assemble a routine
- No SPF in the range — same gap as Frasé Skin
- Pricing premium without the routine-design clarity that justifies Frasé Skin's same price
The buy.
Affiliate disclosure: Glow earns commission from qualifying purchases. Read more.
What's actually in it.
- Actives
- Gameface: vitamin E + horopito (Pseudowintera colorata leaf extract) + glycerin + sodium hyaluronate. Conservative, well-tolerated formulation.
- Preservation
- Phenoxyethanol + benzyl alcohol. Within EU/TGA safe limits.
- Allergens
- Light fragrance load — predominantly horopito and citrus oils. Patch test for reactive skin.
- Editorial concerns
- None at use concentration. Editorial-preferred ingredient profile.
Index grade is editorial, not paid. The grade reflects what's in the product against Glow's v1.0 watch list — it sits beside the Glow score, not instead of it. Triumph & Disaster earns a Grade A on formulation. The horopito antioxidant is genuinely interesting — it's a New Zealand-native pepper plant with documented antioxidant activity. The brand sits alongside Frasé Skin (also Grade A) as the cleanest men's skincare on the Australasian shelf.