16 Thursday May 2013
Posted in News
Tags
buttocks, harlequins, molton brown, naked, rugby, shirtless, sporno, sport collection, ugo monye
Having met Ugo Monye – the face/body/buttocks of the new Molton Brown Sport Collection - I can assure you he’s utterly charming, clever, funny and very dapper as well. 
13 Monday May 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Baz Luhrmann, Carey Mulligan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, get the look, Leonardo DiCaprio, male grooming, Matches, matchesfashion, pomade, slicked back hair, Star Trek Into Darkness, the great gatsby, Tobey Maguire
Alongside Star Trek Into Darkness it’s the film everyone’s talking about right now and since Jay Gatsby’s look is a little easier to emulate than Spock’s (copying those pointy ears is hard) I thought I’d focus on how to groom like The Great Gatsby rather than how to Vamp it up like a Vulcan. So to discover how to get the Gatsby look check out my piece for MATCHESFASHION by clicking on the pic below.
12 Sunday May 2013
For a whole generation living in the scent shadow of Paco Rabanne’s 1 Million – a fragrance which, whether you love it or loathe it, has set the kind of commercial benchmark most contemporary fragrances can only dream of equalling – it’s easy to forget that there was another Paco fragrance that grabbed the male fragrance market and made it its own.
That fragrance, of course, was Paco Rabanne Pour Homme which, remarkably, is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. Again, whatever you think of it, it’s undisputedly iconic. I came across it as a teenager in the mid eighties. Although over a decade old by then, this big, bombastic scent – aromatic, green and smoky, with a slightly soapy edge – still chimed with the times.
Given that it launched in the 70s when men’s fragrances were all about hyper-masculinity it’s big (and I mean big) on tobacco and oakmoss but the whole thing is tempered by a delightful floral heart of lavender and geranium and there’s a hint of honey in there too which works beautifully with the smokiness of the tobacco. And whilst it might open big, the dry down is lovely.
Smelling it now I’m taken back to a different time and place – not to mention a different me. So is it worth a go? Well, personally, I think it’s a little like rediscovering vinyl after years of clean, crisp, slightly soulless CDs – if you remember it back in the day you can’t help but love it – nor resist the temptation to give it another whirl.
09 Thursday May 2013
Posted in News, Product reviews
Tags
bad breath, champagne breath, halitosis, marvis, mouthwash, niven and joshua, oral care products
I read with interest a report in the Telegraph this morning suggesting that Champagne may be able to improve memory (though presumably not if you have two bottles at once). Personally, being delicate-of-stomach, I try to avoid it – quite a challenge given that in the beauty world virtually every press launch is lubricated by the stuff.
But anyway, whilst the Telegraph article is very informative about the possible memory-boosting properties of the bubbly beverage it fails to mention the big downside – the infamous champagne breath. Standing next to someone who’s had a few glasses always reminds me of that moment in Alien where the monster first bares its silvery teeth to a terrified Ripley. Trust me, judging by Sigourney’s face that Alien mother was a big champagne drinker.
The solution (apart from chewing on cardamon pods which my dentist Uchenna Okoye always recommends) is to rinse with a mouthwash when you get back home and this one, from Marvis, is my current favourite. Free of mouth-drying alcohol and flavoured with peppermint and aromatic herbs it’s not as harsh as many cheaper mouthwashes you buy in supermarkets and tastes better too.
That’s something I’ll raise a glass to anytime, though not a glass of bubbly obviously.
03 Friday May 2013
Although I’m famously sceptical about awards I’m with actor Peter Ustinov when it comes to accepting them. “To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than is normal,” he once said. So with that in mind, I’ll simply say how nice it is to be part of the amazing team that helped Niven & Joshua win the Best Grooming Website Award at the P&G Beauty & Grooming Awards 2013 yesterday. There, acceptance speech done. And not a tear in sight. They didn’t even play the music over me.
30 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
clippers, cut hair at home, DIY grooming, DIY haircutting, grooming gadgets for men, hair clippers for men, hair cutting tips, hair styles for men, handpicked media, remington, Remington Touch Control Hairclipper, review, sponsored post, trimmer, USB charging
As someone who’s been cutting his own hair for about 15 years now (I gave up any pretence of needing a hairdresser after a friend told me “baldness is really trendy these days – just accept it”) I need no instructions about how to use a set of hairclippers. But the new Remington Touch Control Hairclipper is so easy to use that neither will you, even if you’re a newbie to home cutting.
The world’s first hair clipper for men with touch-screen technology it allows you to adjust the length of blades in at the touch of a button and by the tiniest of increments (from 0.4mm to 42mm) meaning you don’t just get a good cut you get a truly bespoke one.
Its versatility means you can buzz cut, trim, blend, taper or create the perfect cut for you. It’s perfect for people like me who simply whizz over their heads to keep their hair at a manageable length but is also great for guys with longer hair who want to maintain their style between visits to the barber or, for that matter, for ones who want to create their own unique styles.
It also features self-sharpening Titanium coated blades, USB charging and a Pro-Power Motor to speed the whole process up and can be used on wet or dry hair. And unlike some clippers, you can lock the length setting so you don’t have any cutting accidents mid trim (something I must confess I’ve been a victim of in the past).
A couple of tips to get the most out of your clipper:
1. Keep it charged (sounds obvious but helps!).
2. Dispense with the guard altogether to remove annoying neck hair and to tidy up the nape of the neck.
3. For a professional-looking blended finish begin cutting with the comb guard flat against the head, move it upwards against the grain and flick it outwards aways from the hair as you do so.
The Remington HC5950 Touch Control Titanium Hair Clipper is available from Boots with a RRP of £69.99. You can also buy it from the Remington site where you can get a third off the normal price if you enter the voucher code TCSAVE. Happy clipping!
A Remington/Grooming Guru Promotion
29 Monday Apr 2013
Tags
boutique fragrances, Burberry, cartier, Commes des Garcons, Dreckig bleiben, fragrances for men, German, givenchy, le labo, Mark Buxton, review
As a journalist and blogger I get approached all the time by people thinking I will “just love” a certain product. About 80% of the time they’re being wildly optimistic (an essential quality if you’re a PR I suspect) but very occasionally they’re spot on, as is the case with German boutique fragrance Dreckig Bleiben.
Meaning “stay dirty” (a name which only makes me love it more) I got sent a sample a while back with a note from the company saying they thought I’d like it. And they were right. Created by perfumer Mark Buxton, a man who’s worked with the likes of Le Labo, Givenchy, Cartier and Burberry it’s fantastically warm, smoky, woody and earthy and you can see immediately why he also has Commes des Garcons on his CV. It’s actually very Comme in its feel (well, Comme back in the day, when they were in the zone, fragrance-wise).
It’s certainly interesting and the more I smell it, the more I think there’s something faintly industrial in amongst the natural woodiness (think an oily factory floor). Anyway, it could simply be that today’s teensy hangover is affecting my nasal receptors but if it’s intentional then it’s a juxtaposition I love.
Seemingly, the brief for the fragrance was to come up with something that rejected superficiality and Dreckig bleiben certainly has depth, while little details like the fact that the wood of the lid is made from centuries old reclaimed housing timber and the fragrance itself is limited to just 999 bottles certainly adds to the allure. A dirty pleasure? Absolutely.
The notes
Top: Calabrian bergamot, Tunisian neroli, Sicilain Mandarin, Chinese Ginger
Middle: Cistus, Gurjum Oil, elemi
Base: cedarwood, oil of guaiacum, sandalwood, vanilla.
26 Friday Apr 2013
Posted in News, Product reviews
Tags
anti-ageing products for men, Daily Microfoliant, dermalogica, fine lines, how to use a serum, multivitamin power serum, Skin Soothing Cream, total eye care, wrinkles
When I first started writing about male grooming, over 13 years ago, the discovery of dermalogica changed how I viewed skincare (it offers a truly bespoke approach to taking care of your skin) and products like their Skin Soothing Cream, Total Eye Care and Daily Microfoliant have since entered my all-time favourites list.
The latest addition to the range, a Multivitamin Power Serum, is designed to give skin the maximum chances to repair itself after environmental damage and to bolster it against the ageing process. It contains a raft of ingredients, including microencapsulated antioxidants, to repair skin damage, boost skin’s natural elasticity and, well, generally make if look and feel better. Non greasy and super-concentrated you simply apply it to a freshly cleansed face before moisturising.
If you’re a guy who’s never used a serum before, the tiniest amount is all you need (I’ve met some men who have gone through tubes that are meant to last months in a week!) and it’s worthing giving skin a double hit by applying morning and night. Super-concentrated, they’re a great way to turbo-charge your existing grooming routine and the great thing about this one is its texture: it’s super light, easily absorbed and wonderfully matt.
dermalogica’s Multivitamin Power Serum will be available from the beginning of June. For more info go to www.dermalogica.co.uk
24 Wednesday Apr 2013
Posted in Fragrance, News, Product reviews
Like Kate Bush albums and really good soufflés Tom Ford fragrances are almost always worth the wait. His latest fragrance, Sahara Noir, is absolutely no exception and I fell in love with it the moment I got a preview of it earlier today. It may have a raft of supporting notes like bitter orange, Egyptian jasmine, labdnam, beeswax, agarwood and cedar but this fragrance is all about one of my favourite ingredients – frankincense. So much so, in fact, that I should really write FRANKINCENSE when I tell you this. And add a couple of exclamations marks just to make the point. But anyway, you get the picture.
Though aimed at women (see the advertising to the right) it’s also a fragrance perfect for men who like big, ballsy statement scents with warmth, depth and tenacious longevity. Not everyone will love it – it’s not a “focus group fragrance” after all – but if you’re into luxury, opulence and, well, the rich, evocative smell of frankincense, I strongly suggest you give it a try.
Tom Ford Sahara Noir is available nationwide from May priced £100 for 50ml EDP.
23 Tuesday Apr 2013
Posted in News, Product reviews
Tags
2013, anti-aging, anti-oxidants, Asda, dry skin, dull skin, greasy skin, Groomed, Lab Series, male grooming trends, mattifier, moisturiser, molton brown, oily skin, pro LS all in one treatment, razor burn, Sportwash, Super 8 Skin Saviour Balm
Without doubt this year’s big grooming trend (apart from facial hair) is the rise of the multi-functional product. As belts tighten and spare time becomes increasingly scarce products that cover several bases are becoming increasingly popular and more relevant.
Already this year we’ve had Lab Series’ excellent PRO-LS All-In-One Face Treatment and next month sees the launch of Molton Brown’s 4-in-1 Sportwash. And here’s another worth checking out. Groomed’s Super 8 Skin Saviour Balm is a product designed to soothe razor burn, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, energise dull skin, moisturise, provide anti-oxidant protection, refine pores, combat blemishes and mattify skin.
In fairness, a couple of these features are built in to some products without them even flagging up the fact and any good moistuiser will help minimise wrinkles but it’s still a pretty good product and at £4 for 50ml, reasonably priced too. The texture’s great, it’s not overly-fragranced and its instant cooling effect also makes it a great morning-after-the-night-before refresher – something I discovered when I tried it for the first time this morning. Just a shame it can’t get rid of the hangover too…
Available from Asda.
