The Best Shaving Products for Men
Reviews by Thom Watson, qualified beauty therapist, testing men’s grooming since 2011. About Thom
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Exclusive: Editions Parfums Frederic Malle Grooming Collection
I’ve been looking forward to sharing this for a month or so now and launching Thursday 1st June are two grooming additions to Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. Both in the Vetiver Extraordinaire fragrance, the new Frederic Malle grooming collection consists of the Shave Cream and After Shave Balm priced at £60 and £80 respectively. Vetiver…
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Rituals Grooming / The Art of The Samurai
I think in 5 years, this is the first time Rituals has appeared on MANFACE. A Dutch brand, inspired by Japanese rituals and skincare – it’s a bit of an odd one. Their products sit in that ‘masstige’ market alongside The Body Shop and Yves Rocher et al. They’re still not massive in the UK,…
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Johnny’s Chop Shop Barber Hair Care
I have been inundated over the last year with Barber Shop products, with every salon and barber-revival shop creating their own products – most of them are average at best. Johnny’s Chop Shop is different (and the reason I’m posting it) as the products not only speak to me (I’m never going to use a…
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Panasonic ES-LV95-S Review: The Smart Shave
I have to be honest, I had no idea Panasonic did razors until now. Or at least I did but they were just in the back corners of my mind. Despite over the years owning countless of their TV’s, music players and cameras, they’re not a company I’d ever associated as being a big player…
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TOM FORD for Men Skincare and Grooming NEW Brow Gel, Shave Oil and Exfoliator
This was a very pleasant surprise. I had the TOM FORD Men Skincare and Grooming exclusive when it first launched back in 2013. Since then there has been the addition of the Beard Oils but these are the first releases that are suitable for everyone. The new additions to the Skincare and Grooming collection are: TOM FORD for Men…
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The all NEW Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 & Hydro 5 Sensitive: 125 Years of Innovation
You know how much I love the Wilkinson Hydro series with reviews here, here, here and here. I find it really hard to wet shave as the follicles on my face and neck are the same as on my hair, like a gunniea pig’s with hairs growing in every direction. Wilkinson Sword Hydro’s continue to be…
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NEW launches from Clinique For Men with the Sonic For Men and Charcoal Face Wash
Launches from Clinique for Men come but once in a blue moon, but when they do, the men’s grooming and skin care industry scrambles into action to copy and replicate their inevitable success. Big changes are upon us It just so happens that a couple of weeks back I was talking with the British director of…
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Braun Series 9 Electric Shaver Review
When it comes to electric shaving, I’ve made no bones about the fact that in the past few months, I’ve become a Braun electric convert. I have fallen in love with foil head razors but finally here’s one that gives a close shave, not only comparable to a rotary head, but to a wet shave!…
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Murdock London: An Introduction to the Brand
I have absolutely no idea why it’s taken me this long to write about Murdock London. I’ve always just assumed they’ve been here in the mass of posts, articles and shares as a sort of a staple ‘well-duh’ sort of brand. So anyway, here they are – fine grooming, made in England for the discerning…
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Acne, spots & blemishesFace MasksGLAMGLOWMoisturisersOily SkinPhotoageing & FirmnessRazor Burn & Shave RashShavingEXCLUSIVE: GLAMGLOW THIRSTYMUD Hydrating Treatment
I’m excited to bring you another exclusive, this time in the form of the brand new hydrating, lifting, firming, brightening and restoring mask from GLAMGLOW; GLAMGLOW THIRSTYMUD Hydrating Mud Treatment, launching this May at £49.99. You can register your interst/preorder GLAMGLOW THIRSTYMUD Hydrating Treatment here which will be the first orders to be fulfilled, even before…
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Aesop Moroccan Neroli Post-Shave Lotion
I’ve accidentally been sitting on this one for a while. When MR PORTER launched their fabulous Men’s Grooming department, they sent me out a lovely box filled with all sorts of grooming goodies and for one reason or another, I forgot all about it. Before coming out to Barcelona I came across the box and…
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Lush Prince Triple Orange Blossom Shaving Cream
I’ve always been more of a shave foam man myself, but if you’re prone to skin sensitivity, dryness, irritation and ingrown hairs, a shaving cream might be much more up your street. Linseed, calming rose water; moisturising cocoa butter, almond oil and glycerin; bacteria fighting witch hazel; beeswax; Neroli oil; orange flower absolute, sweet orange…
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King of Shaves Bodystyler Total Body Grooming
I don’t know if I’m just being a little more pessimistic than usual but when I saw this and found out it was battery powered, I immediately wrote it off as a bit of old tat that couldn’t come close to to my beloved Philishave Body Groomer. Well, it isn’t and it does. With three…
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Urbane Male Shave Cream
Over the last few years there’s been a huge influx of niche, upstart, male-grooming brands with the likes of Men-Ü, E-Shave, Bluebeard’s Revenge and Hairbond to name a few. Granted these brands are hit and miss (some more miss than hit) but it’s always interesting to see what happens. Urbane Male is another one of…
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Acne, spots & blemishesDry / Dehydrated SkinMoisturisersNormal-Combination SkinOily SkinPhotoageing & FirmnessRazor Burn & Shave RashSensitive SkinSerumsShavingSpecial CareDr. Jackson’s Natural Products
I’m in love. You all know by now that I’m not Mr. Natural, but you know something, I’ve been brought around by Dr. Jackson’s Natural Products, a fabulous new range being stocked over at Mankind, launching today with an armoury of great grooming goodies, all with potent, natural formulations. There’s no nasties, plenty of ethics,…
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Ren Multi Tasking Aftershave Balm
With hundreds of aftershave balms out there, what is the point of reviewing another one? Ren Multi Tasking Aftershave Balm is something a little different and not your average bathroom cabinet resident. This is not an aftershave balm for those with oily or combination skin as it has a fairly rich, cream texture rather than…
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Bionova Acne Treatment + After Shaving
What if I were to tell you that Bionova Acne Treatment + After Shaving is the best at home, skincare acne treatment I’ve ever come across? Well it is, and I can assure you that my recommendation is completely unbiased. But with any wonder-product, there’s always a catch, right? Unfortunately there is a catch. It…
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Shaving with The Executive Shaving Company
Based in Glasgow, The Executive Shaving Company is one of the largest shaving and grooming suppliers in Europe, stocking thousands of brilliant quality shaving, grooming and waxing products for men. There’s something for every budget and I was excited to try a safety razor for the first time, along with a traditional shaving foam and…
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Refinery Shave Foam Gel
Shave creams, soaps that need brushes, oils etc, stick ’em up your butt, I don’t have time. On a morning, when I’m half awake, grumpy and impatient, I don’t have time to make shaving a leisurely experience, with cut-throat razors and an armoury of tools and gadgetry. For me, it needs to be quick and…
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Caswell Massey Almond Shave Essentials
Well this is something interesting. I’ve tried quite a few ‘Shave Essentials’ style kits in my time and often only ever like one product in the kit. My shave ritual, although vast, never seems to use more than one product from the same brand. The Caswell Massey Almond Shave Essentials was quite a surprise. Firstly,…
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Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Power Select
What’s your favourite razor? It may be a little premature, but this is already my grooming tool of 2013. Now I’m fairly new to the world of the battery powered, wet-shave razors, mainly because I honestly thought it was a load of all rubbish, a fad designed to sell the same old garbage to men…
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Raz*War Black Edition
A while ago, I was thrilled to try out El Ché, a 3 blade razor from RazWar, a company that has strayed away from the mass brand dominance and has created a truly excellent system of wet razors. This time though, it’s all about the Black Edition, a chunkier, 4 blade system that has provided…
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Ted Baker Grooming
I’m always dubious when fashion lines launch their own range of skincare, very dubious indeed, and hearing of the new Ted Baker – Ted’s Grooming Room line really got me polishing and sharpening my beauty knives. Well, after trying the products, my weapons are away as I have been unbelievably impressed. The products I tried…
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Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Sky Flyin’ Foaming Multi-Gel
Formulated with Vitamin E and C, caffeine, lemon and orange peel, bamboo and ginseng, the Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Sky Flyin’ Foaming Multi-Gel is really something to behold. So what does Multi-Gel mean? Well, not only is this a rich and luxurious shaving foam, it’s also a deeply cleansing facial wash. What a Multi-Gel actually does…
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Billy Jealousy Grooming
I was lucky enough to receive a collection of Billy Jealousy grooming supplies after trying out their shampoo and conditioner a couple of months back. I have to say that trying them out has been great fun. Sucker Punch Face Scrub With the scrubbing power of Tahitian volcanic black sand and crushed Walnut shell, it…
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Razwar Shaving
Me and shaving are rarely good friends, and even though over the years I’ve been taught every trick in the book, it still becomes an unpleasant experience at times. I’ve explained many times that I have the most feeble of facial hair on top of very delicate and sensitive skin, which means shaving often results…
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Philips SensoTouch 3D RQ1280/22
Philips were kind enough to send over the Philips SensoTouch 3D RQ1280/22 Razor by the Philips Outreach Team who rightly thought that I’d love to try out and review their flagship device. Because I have rather feeble facial hair, this device has been tried and tested by both myself and my step-father who has very fast…
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Bath & BodyDry / Dehydrated SkinLiz EarleMoisturisersNormal-Combination SkinOily SkinSensitive SkinShavingLiz Earle For Men Try-Me Kit Review
I probably should have done this as my first post on Liz Earle, but better late than never. I’d heard so many things about this company from friends and bloggers alike that I knew it was time to investigate. The funny thing was is that 2 years ago, I spent about 4 months working in…
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Enlarged & Blocked PoresEye CreamsFace ScrubsMoisturisersNormal-Combination SkinOily SkinRazor Burn & Shave RashSerumsShavingSpecial CareZirh Skin Care and Shaving
You may or may not have heard of Zirh before. They’re a brand that are relatively new to the scene here in the UK, but they’ve exploded with a bit of a bang and I have been informed that they’ve been around for 20 years or so in the US. I was sent the range…
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Wilkinson Sword Hydro Skincare
Now, you may or may not have read my glittering review of the Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Razor. I’d picked one up at a student fair a couple of years back and have thoroughly enjoyed it every since. I used to be a biiiig Gillette fan, swearing by the Fusion, until I got hold of…
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Anthony Logistics Pre-Shave Oil
Some of you may not have encountered shave oils before and this is because they’ve fallen out of favour due to the increased popularity of shave foam gels supposedly offering a ‘complete shave’. However much of a ‘complete shave’ your gel offers, it still can’t beat the use of a quick and easy pre-shave oil…
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Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Review: The Original
Now, despite having the facial hair of a menopausal woman, I do occasional need to shave, and having very fair and easily irritated skin, its something I find tricky. Now, this is not a new product I’ll be by any means but this has been my razor of choice for some time after picking on…