Friday, July 31, 2015

The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

Being a big fan of The Bluebeards Revenge range of products the opportunity to get my hands on three of their new hairstyling products was not one I could turn down, especially when challenged to come up with three styles using:

The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Paste
The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Clay
The Bluebeards Revenge Pomade


The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

At £9.99 each for 100ml tubs of these beauties they are affordable, but the proof in pudding firmly comes down to the tasting, well, not the tasting, but you known what I mean - do these babies make styling easy, have acceptable levels of hold and finally, once dried is there fear of flakes? On with the show….

The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Paste


The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

I call this hairstyle ‘The Porcupine’ as once my hair grows long it’s either huge vertical spikes or styling them into more of a diagonal direction which reminds me of the prickly creature. An absolute breeze to style with the Matt Paste.



I find that waiting until my hair has nearly dried naturally before taking the paste and rubbing it between my palms. After running through my hair it is as easy as running the left palm over the top from back to front. Simple! 

As the hair is drying the paste seems to be absorbed really quickly which removes the need for any additional heat to dry - it becomes almost instantly sticky and the style holds, and holds and holds. The image below is the final style taken on my way home from work some ten hours after first styling.



The paste smells great, has excellent hold and even when wearing dark clothing I haven’t managed to detect a hint of those dreaded white flakes that come from some lower end hair styling products. 

The Bluebeards Revenge Matt Clay


The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

I had managed to successfully avoid using clay for years until I was converted towards the end of 2014. Since then I have found that it is brilliant for shorter styles but given my laziness on my week off work I haven’t actually managed to drag my carcass down the road to my hairdresser. 

With this in mind, I have used the clay to create ‘The Serious’, it’s actually a homage to Yahoo Serious (if you haven’t seen the film Young Einstein, where have you been?). This is Yahoo....



This is me....




Again, applying to slightly damp hair I use the clay on my fingertips to rub it in from root to tip. Once this is done a combination of palm and brush is used to create a wild style with the hair shooting off at any old angle. Some would say this is a scruffy look - I laugh in their faces, this is the best I can do with hair this thick and long.

The hold is great. It isn’t absorbed into the hair as such, but it does coat the strand and makes it brilliant if later in the day or night you want to alter the style. The clay leaves the hair pliable and completely residue free. Awesome.

The Bluebeards Revenge Pomade


The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

The Bluebeards Revenge - Clay, Paste & Pomade

I call this hairstyle ‘The Seabreeze’, not because it’s some kind of cocktail inspired hairstyle but because I styled it when stood in a force six gale on the coat in Suffolk earlier in the week. 

The pomade looks black in the tub but actually when you remove it (and it is really pliable) it seems like a tar/brown colour.

Having just showered and with a lack of hairdryer I applied this to my damp hair and simply brushed it back into the style I wanted. Add a lovely North Sea breeze and it dried quickly and set solidly. It really takes very little to style for hours of hold and while on drying my hair does feel a touch crispy, running your fingers through over and over again won’t leave your hands full of residue or sticky. This I like a lot. 



As the image and smile below shows - a) I had a cocktail in hand and b) my hair was set for the night.

All three of these products have excellent and long lasting hold, they are affordable and a little really goes far meaning that these tubs will last me for an absolute age (even more so when I finally get around to having my hair lopped off)

Next to no residue, no white flakes and easy to style you can do a lot worse (and I have in the past). With this in mind I can wholeheartedly recommend these. Check them out.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

What do you think to my three creations?

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Sunday, July 26, 2015

Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

Wow, it seems so long since I really got into the swing of blogging again, and it seems an age since my birthday in June, which is where amongst a raft of other amazing gifts I received the Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag. You can expect more reviews as I also got my hands on a bottle of Creed (drools)…..


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

As June was a month that was written off in terms of blogging, for the people at Freeman (if you still read and haven‘t fallen out with me), I promise I will commit my thoughts about your charcoal face mask to the blog very shortly. 

So, back to the actual thing I should be talking about! It actually came in a swanky and rather swish Selfridges&Co box, so more of a box than bag, but I’m splitting hairs. I know it’s rude to look up the price of gifts, but in order to really evaluate it I needed to know how much the goodies inside had cost, and how much (if any) of a bargain had been procured by my better half BeautyqueenUK.

To be blunt, it costs £35 and you can buy yourself one here if you so wish to do so. I’m not going to bore you will marketing waffle and I can’t speak for most of the products in the box so I’m giving my opinion on whether £35 is worth parting with for the range of goodies inside…..If you missed it, I actually tried a male beauty box from Selfridges&Co last year for £25 and while it contained lots of good stuff I would honestly say about 50% of it was dross. 

With my experience of the last box in mind, I delved in to take a peek. As I say above, I haven’t tried some of this yet, but where I have I’ll give a recommendation. 

So, for £35, you get nine products and a lovely canvas bag. And here they all are:

120ml AB Crew Nitro Conditioner

Nitro conditioner, sounds exciting doesn’t it and with a name straight out of a Vin Diesel movie it's a little cracker.


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

An identical tube will set you back £17, and I have to say without giving too much away (that would make my full review a bit, well, crap…) that it is actually worth every penny. I would baulk at paying this much for a conditioner normally but it does leave hair silky smooth but by far the best feature (particularly in the recent heatwave) is that as it soaks into the scalp your head feels icy cold. It has an amazing cooling effect on the head. Amazing stuff and when you consider that it accounts for nearly half of the price of the bag then things are looking good on the old recommendation front.

Don’t hesitate to give this a try for yourself. 

100ml Recipe for Men Ultra Sensitive Shaving Foam

I haven’t tried this, in fact, I’d never heard of the brand until I opened the box like a kid at Christmas. It costs a bomb though, and an identical can will set you back a massive £18. Shop around, you can get this cheaper, much cheaper from where I sourced this marketing blurb, Fortnum & Mason. 


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

‘Enjoy a quick morning shave without the razor burn with this pleasingly sensitive shaving foam from Scandinavian specialists Recipe for Men. 

The mild formulation includes enriching extracts of cinnamon and burnet plus anti-inflammatory wild juniper berries to soothe redness. This richly lathering shaving foam provides a close, smooth and moisturising shave. 

Fragrance-free.’

118ml (seems a weird amount) Hanz de Fuko Gel Triq Extreme Hold Gel

Another product I have neither heard of let alone used. A bit of digging around and holy sweet Jesus - £14 for a tube of hair gel. OK, I’m tight but by the time I had gotten this far into the research for this post I knew I had a massive haul of high end products to test out.


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

I haven’t gotten around to trying this yet, I think I’ll wait until I have my hair shorter (look, I’m even reading instructions now!) as it’s designed for short ‘dramatic’ (with my hair, more like traumatic) styles.

This is what they say about it over at the Selfridges&Co website here.

‘Hanz de Fuko's Gel Triq extreme hold gel is perfect for short dramatic styles or for total control over longer hair for the entire day. It dries quickly, won't flake and leaves hair with a high-shine finish. A little goes a long way.’

200ml Scaramouche & Fandango ‘Sh’ Shampoo

Now this I have tried and I loved it - it cleans out product, leaves hair soft and does the business on the fragrance front. At between £7-10 for a 200ml bottle this should be a staple on every shower shelf. 


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

88ml Billy Jealousy Beard Control 

Ouch, this costs $20 for 88ml. Now I have tried beard balm in the past, and I’m trying one at the moment, so can’t wait to see if this manages to hydrate and soften my whiskers in the summer heat. 


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

This is what they say about it over at the Billy Jealousy website here.

‘We all need a little control right? Beard Control delivers a deliciously light hold while giving you the best of both worlds: a natural look with just a smidgen of definition. Conditions and protects without weighing hair down. Softens naughty curls, leaving your beard looking like you were cut from royalty.’ 

177ml Dermalogica Soothing Shave Cream

Despite being a pretty famous brand I’m yet to try anything from Dermalogica. I can be quite picky when it comes to shaving products so looking forward to trying this after reading the marketing blurb.


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

‘This ultra-lubricating cream delivers a super-close shave that won't leave skin sore. Soothing formula with Aloe Vera, Allantoin and Comfrey Extract helps drier, more sensitive skin conditions recover from damage while easing aggravation brought on by shaving. Skin-smoothing antioxidants defend against skin-aging free radicals. Works best when used over Pre-Shave Guard. Formulated without artificial fragrances and colors.’

This tube costs in excess of £20 so again, in the high end range I would say, so I’m expecting good things….

15ml Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Energising Moisture Treatment for Men

I hadn’t heard of Kiehl’s until I received the Selfridges&Co beauty box back in 2014 and was really impressed the Face Fuel, so much so I reviewed it here.

This has a lovely fragrance and I have been using this after shaving to close up pores and provide additional hydration for my face as I find my new exfoliator dries my skin slightly. 

Only a tiny bit is needed to banish those dry patches around the hair line, chin and nose. It’s bloody good stuff and one I will be seeking out when I pay a visit to the Kiehl’s shop in King’s Cross Station.


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

130g Bar of Triumph & Disaster A + R Soap

I loved using the T & D Shearer’s Soap, it was one of those finds that brings a smile to your face. Starting with low expectations it simply blew me away, so the bar is set high for this A + R soap. 


Selfridges&Co Men’s Grooming Bag

30ml Clarins Men Active Face Wash

Expectations are low to be honest with this, mainly because of my previous experience with the Clarins Men shaving foam. It was rubbish so I don’t expect any miracles!

Alphabet Canvas Wash Bag

The canvas bag is brilliant, really well made and does hold every product - this is a perfect wash bag, it still makes me smile as it proclaims ‘This is not a make up bag’ and it has replaced the four or five I usually choose from when going away for a few days.

So there you go, a £35 beauty bag for men that actually contains some real gems. The canvas bag alone is brilliant and makes me grin (insanely) from time to time making this worth it, but when you also take into account the other products with a retail price well over £100 then you have a real bargain.

Where I have tried the product in the past or since receiving the bag they have been corkers (translation: excellent) and I am looking forward to trying out the rest. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Primal Man Shave Club

UPDATE: September 2016 - it appears that Primal Man are no longer, which is a shame as I did like their service.

Primal Man Shave Club is about getting back to quality shaving - boom, that's pretty much their ethos and this is reflected in the boxes they post to their members. A monthly kit which arrives through your letterbox featuring a range of different products from soaps, aftershaves, razor blades and so on, essentially everything you need for a wet shave and an idea to make it less of a chore and something more fun with new products to test and try out.

Having been asked to give my views on the box, I was delighted at how well packaged everything came, from the outer box where there is no disguising what it is that is inside, to the positioning and well packed items.



Primal Man Shave Club

Inside this box I have:


Primal Man Shave Club
  • The Razor - a premium Primal Man double edge razor. The razor has a specially grooved handle for maximum grip and provides a wonderfully smooth shaving experience. The Razor has been weighted to perfection and allows you to "let the razor do the work". For me this had an added nostalgia as I first used a safety razor like this to have my first ever shave some..........(gets out a calculator).......twenty five years ago........(holy Jesus I'm old)

Primal Man Shave Club

Primal Man Shave Club

  • After shave Balm - Made by Institute Karite, a brand I have never come across it is described as being a moisturising balm to relieve and soothe the burning sensations of shaving

Primal Man Shave Club

  • The Brush - Made by Kent (whom are by appointment to Her Majesty The Queen) which is great quality, great for creating lather and designed ergonomically to making using it easy

Primal Man Shave Club

  • Supermax Super Stainless Blades - Helpfully included is a pack of blades that should last you for the entire month, depending on how often you shave

Primal Man Shave Club

  • Shaving Soap - Again made by Kent, this soap is Enriched with a fine fougere fragrance with pine, clove and lavender extracts, on a base of cedardwood, nutmeg, sandalwood, vanilla and musk

Primal Man Shave Club

  • Alum Matchsticks - From The Legends of London, these alum matchsticks are great antibacterial sticks for calming razor burn, closing pores and are really soothing when used

Primal Man Shave Club

All of this costs just £24.95 per month, though a three month subscription costs £20.95 per month and so on.  A year long subscription is just £16.95 per month and like other subscription boxes it can be cancelled at any time. Free shipping to: England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They do ship internationally but then you are looking at paying £10.50 on top for shipping per box. 

Now, I have used the products in the box and they warrant individual reviews rather than me listing it all down here (so watch out for those), but even the razor was worth buying the box all on it's own. The retail value of the products far exceed what you'll pay (the razor - without any blades is about £45 to buy in the shops). 

My shaving experience was actually rather good - a little more concentration was needed as it does have the ability to slash your throat (and I did do some prep using a deep cleansing scrub after showering) but it was really close, in fact I can think of only one shave closer at that was carried out by the amazing Darius at The Legends in Holborn.

Minor irritation (more due to me applying too much pressure on the blade) did occur but the aftershave balm calmed this down brilliantly.

I never pass up the chance to have a play around with an old school shaving kit and I'm really quite teary (no really, honest) at the memories this brought back. This emotional connection combined with the excellent high quality products mean that I will happily be signing up for the Primal Man Shave Club on a longer term basis.

Dexter likes the box as well......


Primal Man Shave Club

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


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Saturday, July 11, 2015

TK Maxx Haul

After my birthday dinner last month the other half and I went for a wander when I realised I had to attend BBQ of the century for a friends birthday the week after, and with nothing to wear we dashed into TK Maxx to see if they had a garish (it was an Hawaiian theme) shirt I could buy for considerably less than I was prepared to pay (hey, I’m being honest, but I’m not paying £50 for a shirt I’ll never wear again).

What’s that I hear you say?!? “tight wad”, hell yes….

So, with the intention of buying an horrific monstrosity of a shirt I ended up spending £75 and coming away with something of a haul, an entire outfit (sans pants and socks), and a pretty decent looking one if I do say so myself.

And here are the pictures, taken during a trip to feed the ducks at Groveland’s Park in Enfield. 


TK Maxx Haul

TK Maxx Haul

TK Maxx Haul

TK Maxx Haul

TK Maxx Haul

The shirt is from Guide London. I have a few shirts from these people and usually I can pay up to £70 for one. It cost £25, and I rather quite like the uniformed flower pattern. Now, not Hawaiian, but it looks as though I’ve tried and put in a modicum of effort.

The cargo shorts are by French Connection and again I have other shorts like these from FCUK and they set me back upwards of £50 a pair, so paying £20 for these made me smile.

The shoes, well they are from Diesel. I tend to avoid their stuff rather irrationally because I think all of their aftershaves smell like grandpa (about six weeks after he died). Their stuff is usually massively overpriced and of low quality but I think these little numbers may be swaying my opinion. £30, you can’t argue with that.

Really pleased with my outfit and my TK Maxx haul - I would highly recommend a rummage through their racks of clothes, there are some real bargains to be had. Oh, and no PR samples, no sponsorship, I really do love this place to find hidden gems that don’t cost the Earth.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Thursday, July 09, 2015

Rogue Lifting, Brightening Eye Serum

I may get sued to kingdom come for this post but hey, worth a punt and it made me laugh as I watched the most epic electrical storm ever (if you missed the midnight sky in Harrogate on 1 July you missed an awesome display of he powers of the gods - whoever you pray to)……so roll on the letters before action….

Today I will be talking (when not rambling) about Rogue Lifting, Brightening Eye Serum.


Rogue Lifting, Brightening Eye Serum

So, in a slight reworking of the brilliant ‘Somebody to Love’ by Queen….

Each morning I get up I die a little (when I look at the under eye bags)
Can barely stand on my feet
Take a look in the mirror and cry (at the size of the eye baggage)
Lord what you're doing to me (and my eyes)
I have spent all my years in believing you
But I just can't get no relief (from these dark rings),
Lord!
Somebody, somebody
Can anybody find me, an eye cream to love?

OK, so at £32 for a 10ml tube this immediately put me in frugal man mode. That seems expensive for not a lot of product so I had high hopes, assuming that if it costs a bomb for very little only a little would be needed and it would firm and lift the area around my eyes.  


Rogue Lifting, Brightening Eye Serum
Rogue Lifting, Brightening Eye Serum
Rogue Lifting, Brightening Eye Serum

So what do the company say about this rogue of an eye cream? Well in true and lazy fashion you can read it all here.

So, onto application – after having a bit of a boozy (read slaughtered) weekend I have to say that at the start of the week I was looking peaky, a bit fatigued around the eyes and generally like I had been dead for a good few years. I was giving Skelator (for those old enough to remember the He-Man cartoons) a good run for his money in terms of looking rough. 



A few dabs of the serum under my eyes after showering and I was ready to go - well actually I went nowhere, I loitered around the mirror for a good half an hour to see if I could tell the difference….

At first there was a tingling sensation, the colouring of the area under my eyes had lightened considerably over the space of ten minutes and then within half an hour I could feel my eyes opening wider as the skin became tighter. Nice one, nice one….

An hour after applying and my eyes looked positively radiant - the skin was so tight even the fine lines had gone (for a good 8 hours), the colour resembled ‘alive’ and the bags had reduced in size by I would say, around 80%. You really can’t argue with that.

Far from being a rogue this stuff is actually quite brilliant. Thankfully I got mine as a PR sample, I think the price would have originally put me off buying this, but, the results speak for themselves, this is a top notch eye lift serum. A little does go a very long way and it cranks up even my tired old eyes after a heavy weekend. 

Go on treat yourself or your other half.

RECOMMENDED

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