Are you man enough for a Man-icure?
Over the last few years, we’ve seen the growth of the metrosexual male, with an abundance of new products on the market to tickle their fancy. Back in the ‘90s, the thought of make-up just for men would have been ludicrous, but since the likes of Russell Brand, we’ve since seen the birth of guyliner, manscara and even concealers designed especially for men. It is now just as important for men to be well groomed as it is for women and this includes having a “Man-icure”!
Now, for those of you slightly more macho men out there who want to take care of your nails, without having to hit the nail salon, there is an ingenious new product on the market that gives you some much needed TLC for your working hands; Nails For Males. No one need ever know you are wearing it, as it’s a secret strengthener with a natural low-shine finish. The subtle matte finish polish has a silica shield coating that not only helps strengthen nails, but also protects them from everyday wear and tear.
Orly Nails For Males 18ml is available from Cupid & Grace for just £8.75. If, like us, you’re not quite ready to embrace your metro side by painting your nails, why not check out the other men’s shaving, hair styling, face and body ranges they have to offer. We couldn’t resist the Woody’s Meat & Potatoes Hair & Body Shampoo Bar (£5.99) it made us feel like real men!
So Fresh, So Clean Vol. 4: The Essential Skincare Routine
In recent years, the borders of metrosexuality have be pushed thanks to: the emergence of “guy liner”, the growing acceptance of frying your skin cells till they beg for mercy at the sun bed and many others. Although these measures maybe a bridge too far, it still remains essential to keep your skin clean and healthy everyday to avoid looking like Mick “The Leather Face” Jagger when you’re 25.
I have listed 5 steps to a perfect skincare routine below and even though it may seem labourious at first, once you “nail” the routine you should be sorted in just over 5 minutes.
Step 1: Exfoliating
Exfoliating will get rid of all the dead skin cells & impurities that can build up around the nose and other areas on the face. It can also help in the removal of balckheads and also prevent them from reappearing. However, it is really important that you buy a daily scrub as some scrubs on the market can be too course. If you do continually use a scrub which is not suitable for daily use, you will end up taking off the top level of healthy skin and leaving your face susceptible to infection, break outs and a tad red.
Stylenerds Recommends:
DHC AP Scrub for Men: $
Shiseido Men’s Deep Cleansing Scrub: $$
Menscience Microfine face scrub: $$$
Stylenerds Uses:
Clinique Skin Supplies for Men Face Scrub: $$
Step 2: Cleansing
This is a very important as a cleanser will go where no facial scrub has ever been before. To start, I would splash some cold water several times on your face to stimulate blood flow followed by the application of the cleanser. Make sure that the cleanser has been massaged in to all areas of the face properly so that the cleanser does all the work for you! Once that is done, you should rinse your face again and dry off for the next step…
Stylenerds recommends:
Nivea for Men Q10 revitalising face wash: $
Lab Series for Men Multi Action Face wash: $$
Aesop: Parsley Seed Facial Cleaning Oil: $$$
Stylenerds Uses:
Kiehls Facial Fuel Energising Wash: $$
Step 3: Eye Cream
Eye cream is particularly important to my routine due to constant lack of sleep. The skin under your eye in the thinnest part of skin on your whole entire body so it important to pay it some extra care and attention. When applying the eye cream do not rub it in like a moisturiser! Instead, you should gently pat it on the area around your eyes until it has been absorbed. When that has been done, gently massage the area around your eyes to get your blood pumping.
Stylenerds Recommends:
L’Oreal Hydra Energetic Eye Roll On $
Kiehl’s Eye Alert: $$
Aesop Parsley Seed Anti Oxidant Eye Serum: $$$
Stylenerds Uses:
Dr G. Vital Energising Eye Gel: $$
Perricone MD: High Potency Eye Lift: $$$
Step 4: Moisturising
Choosing the most suitable moisturiser is the final piece of the puzzle to a skincare masterpiece. Most moisturisers out there are great to use on almost any skin type but the factor I find most challenging is the climate in which you are in. Thicker and slightly heavier moisturisers are great for the colder and dryer climates to ensure moisture is locked and and your skin is feeling smooth. These moisturisers just won’t work as well in the warmer and more humid climates. They will start to clog up your pores which will give your sweat glands the green light and before you know it, moisturiser is all gone because you’ve been sweating like (insert joke here)! Ultimately, it’s all down to trial and error and seeing how your skin reacts.
Stylenerds Recommends
DHC Virgin Olive Oil: $
L’Oreal Men Expert Turbo Booster Moisturiser : $
Kiehls Facial Fuel Energising Moisturiser : $$
Kyoku Facial Moisturiser: $$$
Stylenerds Uses
Dr. G Man Care Oil Control Moisturising Gel: $$$/$$
Clinique Skin Supplies for Men M Lotion: $$
So thats how to keep your face fresh and clean! All the products mentioned are available from either Mankind, Boots or Sasa. Watch out for up coming reviews on some of the products mentioned
Gatsby Moving Rubber – Now In The UK
We posted back in 2008 about this hair product line, that comes all the way from Japan. Since then, UK buyers have only been able to buy the product from various sellers based in Asia from eBay – with no UK distribution whatsoever! Very strange indeed.
Having decided that enough was enough with waiting up to 4 weeks for the product to arrive via second-class snail mail from Korea or Hong Kong, The Stylenerds have brought the product into the UK and is ready to buy today.
Retailing at £9.99 including first class postage, it isn’t too much more than the eBay’rs are selling for.
The Stylenerds fully back Gatsby Moving Rubber, as it is definitely up there with the very best hair products we have ever used – and the range, coupled with the clever styling chart, really help gear it towards men who have no idea what product they need, with the seemingly endless number of choices available in salons and the supermarkets.
Available via gatsbymovingrubber.com and coming soon to the Brick Lane markets in the East End of London (watch this space)…
Competition (Now closed!)- Win 1 of 10 Brylcreem Ultimate Grooming Kits
To the end the week on a high, the lovely guys at Brylcreem have decided to treat the Stylenerds readers with a little competition!
Brylcreem has been shaping the heads of the nation’s men since 1928. The whole range has just had a complete style overhaul and to celebrate we have got 10 x Brylcreem ‘Ultimate Men’s Styling Kits’ to give away, each consisting of 1x new Brylcream Cream, 1x Brylcreem Clay, 1x Strong Gel and 1x Original Red Brylcreem!
Brylcreem are currently running a competition over on their Facebook page for the chance to become one of the ‘Brylcreem boys’, with the winner being shot professionally for their website and walking away with over £1000 of stylish prizes.
They’re asking for fans to tell them where good hair has got them, and submit a photo of themselves to accompany the story – eg have they pulled a girl way out of their league, got that job they were after for ages, or something even more outlandish…
In order to win one of 10 sets of ‘The Ultimate Brylcreem Men’s Styling Kit’, simply answer the following simple question:
Cricketer Keven Pietersen is the current face of Brylcreem. Who was his most recent predecessor?
a) David Beckham
b) John Terry
c) Wayne Bridge
Submit your answers as a comment to this post below. The closing date for all entries is midnight (GMT) 22nd February 2010
Fudge Matte Hed – The Real Alternative to Gatsby Moving Rubber
So it happened, I ran out of Gatsby & Samourai! I forgot to to order my Gatsby from Ebay and my friends from Hong Kong couldn’t ship some over in time. I thought, there’s nothing round this part of the world that can come close to Grey Gatsby or Samourai and the first few products i bought proved me right.
I first bought some Tigi & Vo5, the Tigi had too much gloss, too little hold and Vo5 had the matte look but the hold was quite feeble. Another thing with the Vo5 is that the product turns into these big white chunks when I rubbed the product after styling which was a bit weird.
Just as when I was about to give up hope on all styling products this side of the world my “Knight in Shining Armour” came along! Fudge Matte Hed looks like a tube of Aquafresh but it is definitely the solution to get that matte/ natural look! First of all it has a hold factor of 9 out of 15 but that is more than enough to maintain your style throughout the day. The paste isn’t too thick so it is simple to spread the product evenly through your hair. Overall, Fudge Matte Hed does the job brilliantly but Gatsby & Samourai are still sitting pretty at the top of my list of hair styling products.
Nerd Tips
- Blow dry your hair into the style you want
- Pump out about an inch of Matte Hed onto your hand
- Rub you hands together and make sure there is an even distribution
- Lightly run your hands through your hair (do not touch your scalp but make sure you add product to the back and sides)
- Twist and pull sections of hair you wish to define and also the focal points of your haircut (You can touch you scalp now!)
- If you require more hold, lightly apply some hairspray to those trouble spots!
Fudge Matte Hed is available from here
Braun Series 3 390CC: That really was a close shave, Gromit!
At first I was quite pessimistic at using an electrical shaver as when it comes to shaving I’ve always trusted a razor, plus I’ve maintained my beard for a good 5 years now and was really reluctant to get rid of it. However the rest of the Stylenerds thought I was the correct candidate to test the new Braun Series 3 390CC, probably because I have the most facial out of the lot. So after realising that once I shave I can have a full grown beard within a week, I accepted the challenge.
Upon using it I was quite surprised at how close of a shave I had, it took every hair on my face and left it really smooth, and in no time too. Also no rashes were visible, so that’s a plus when using a new product. It flowed easily across the contours of my face and the weight and shape of the razor is actually ideal for prolonged holding, as my hands didn’t cramp up at the end of the session.
A very cool aspect of the razor is the new Clean&Renew System. Not only does it automatically clean, lubricate and charge your razor, but it does all of this while emitting a neon liquid blue glow from the base of the product. Very Cool.
It’s not as good as a wet shave from a razor, but overall I was quite impressed with the results. If you’re not that bothered with a ‘super clean shaven face’ and want something that does the job quick then the Braun Series 3 390CC should be on your Xmas list this year.
Gillette Loves The Stylenerds – The New “Fusion Power Gamer” [Update]
8 July 2009 – Update
After taking a good look at the contents of this snazzy new Mezzi briefcase, which included the new razor from the Gillette stable along with spare blades, a bottle each of Fusion HydraGel and Fusion HydraCool and a pack of Gillette disposable razors (Cool Plus 3), the mission is to pit the disposables (and high quality ones at that) against the new Gillette Fusion Power Gamer on each side of the face, for a week.
On first impression, it seems like a non-starter since even the original Mach 3 was far superior to any razor at the time – especially disposable razors. However, having used various razors including the Mach 3, the Fusion and several lines from other manufacturers including Wilkinson Sword; The Stylenerds are certainly up for the challenge.
The Gamer comes in 2 flavours – ‘Manual‘ and ‘Power‘, with ‘Power’ obviously referring to the battery powered ‘micropulses‘ that apparently reduce friction and provide a smoother shave. In addition, the Gamer now includes a microchip to help moderate these ‘micropulses’ for consistent power throughout the shave.
Read more about the razor over at the Gillette Fusion Gamer site and keep your eyes on this post for updates throughout the week.
7 July 2009
Ok, I haven’t actually been to Stylenerds HQ yet to check this parcel out, but from the pictures I have been sent initially, it would appear that Gillette have sent us some kind of Top Secret mission and require us to document whatever-it-is-they-want-us-to-do.
Anyhow, we thought it was only fair to share this with our readers, so keep an eye on this post for progress…
Gillette Briefcase
Gillette Briefcase Contents
Gillette Briefcase Contents In Detail
