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

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

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

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

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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Soap & Glory Face Soap and Clarity

My daily cleansing routine has expanded in recent years. Over the last twelve months in particular since starting to write this blog and discovering a whole host of new lotions and potions to smear on my face in the hope of reversing years of abuse. Today I commit my thoughts on Soap & Glory Face Soap and Clarity, a three in one daily detox vitamin C facial wash.

While looking to write this post up I looked to see how much this costs as it was one of those products that just appeared in the bathroom. I couldn’t find it on sale anywhere, but there is a Face Soap and Clarity by Soap & Glory available here for £8 for 150ml. 

I have been using the Superfruit Plum face soap and to be honest it’s probably one of the most disappointing products I’ve tried in a long time. The packaging is far too busy with too much information being thrown out. It took me a while to find out what ‘flavour’ the face soap was and to a bloke with some colour blindness it helps to have dark writing on a light background. I had to squint, tilt my head to the side and wait for the wind to blow in the right direction to read some of the useless blurb on the tube.

This may possibly be the shortest post I ever write as I’m struggling to come up with redeeming features of this product. For me, it is overly feminine (to be fair it is probably aimed at women), doesn’t lather up that brilliantly and has a drying effect on my skin after using, so much so that I have to double the amount that I moisturise.

The fragrance considering that it is suppose to be ‘Superfruit Plum’ comes across as far too synthetic and I had to sniff away at my hand when writing this for a good ten minutes to detect any hints of plum. It’s bland, and unlike other Soap & Glory products is not distinctive in the slightest. I believe this is the face soap where I may have taken my life into my own hands and made this comment to the missus when she used this "you smell of old damp dog, what have you washed your face with?" - yes, I can be a real charmer.

Yes it washes off the grime but I don’t like the fragrance and I find that the micro-beads used to exfoliate the face are few and far between and feel more like grit than a gentle way of removing grime, impurities and dead skin (eurgh). 

After using my skin didn’t have any noticeable ‘glow’ and while my face did feel smooth this could be more down to the fact that I had to moisturise so much I think my face lost the ability to absorb any more! 

It’s a shame that this isn’t up to much, after all I had high hopes for the face soap after trying Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub (so lovely and sweet that you want to eat it!). It appears that this may have been limited edition and for me it can stay that way. It costs a reasonable amount but for me the results were poor.

Ladies and gents, steer well clear.

NOT RECOMMENDED  

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Flintoff By Jacamo Double Breasted Coat

“Jacamo, don’t they sell clothes for fat people?”. That's the response I’ve had from every person when I’ve pointed out that Jacamo had kindly asked me if I would like to pick, receive and review a coat from their website. 

I took them up on the offer, and today you lucky campers you get not only my thoughts on the coat I chose, but you also get to see the arty outside photographs of me trying not to look stupid styling it.

Back in October I wrote about my winter coat wish list, on which there was a lovely blue buckle neck donkey jacket from John Lewis - I loved it, but didn’t fancy shelling out £140 when I already had a very nice long cashmere trench coat. 

Looking around the website when trying to choose a coat was a nightmare for me, there were so many things that I wanted from the coats section. The Bear Grylls Polar Jacket stood out as did lots of t-shirts and jeans. I chose the Flintoff by Jacamo Double Breasted Coat, currently available for £80 here. 

So what did I get from Jacamo? Well, the coat arrived sharpish and was well packaged. I couldn’t wait to try it on as it was blowing a gale outside and I wanted to see if when just wearing a t-shirt and the coat would keep me warm. The coat feels quite thin and is light but it stops wind dead and I didn’t feel the chill factor at all. For me that is a massive result for a coat.

Made from a 50/50 blend of wool and polyester the coat is really well made, looks stylish and more importantly, keeps you warm. 

This is the perfect coat for the man who craves something that will look good when worn with a suit or effortlessly casual in jeans and jumper. The dark Navy colour is spot on and as it is just a touch longer than a lounge suit jacket you won't look like your mum has dressed you with your suit jacket poking out of the bottom of the coat. I shudder when I see grown men dressed like this on London Underground!

Since the age of eighteen I have worn long cashmere trench coats. Fact! In the intervening eighteen years I have been nervous about making the leap to a new style and anyone who knows me will be aware that I tend to stick to clothes I like rather than trying new things. I wouldn't say I was being brave, but to someone who obsesses over whether I look a tool in new types of clothes it was a big thing.

The coat has received compliments from those who originally questioned whether Jacamo catered for me (I’m no shrinking violet, but I’m also not a 5XL).

So, with extra silky lining, deep pockets on either side and three internal pockets with enough depth to store two phones, a wallet and an ipod with room to spare this is the bees knees. I even like the epaulettes (I love that word - I'm strange I know) on the shoulders. 

With sizes from medium to 5XL Jacamo seems to have been unfairly pigeon-holed due to the brand ambassadors they used years ago (something is niggling in my head that Johnny Vegas fronted up an ad campaign - I am not calling Andrew Flintoff a bloater) as being only for those on the larger side. This couldn‘t be further from the truth. 

As you can see from my pictures I‘m not Johnny Vegas sized, in fact I‘m going to just come out and say it - Jacamo is not just for larger folk, it’s a site and store that has a range of stylish and trendy clothes at reasonable prices and in sizes to fit normal people! 

I will be shopping at Jacamo again and will do so with a smile on my face. Thank you for the coat, and thank you for opening my eyes to a new place to pick up brands like French Connection, Mish Mash, Firetrap and Peter Werth at incredibly reasonable prices.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Rather randomly, Dude, my eldest cat decided he wanted to be in the pictures today and showed of his climbing skills to photobomb me.

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Acqua Di Parma Eau De Cologne

Another trip to Manchester, another funeral but it wasn't all doom and gloom, a lovely evening out with my Aunt really put me in the Italian mood (Puccini's in Swinton opposite the Town Hall is amazing). A brief shopping trip on the Sunday meant shopping in Harvey Nicols and in turn, me making a beeline for the aftershave section.

Acqua Di Parma was an aftershave I had wanted to try since February of last year after someone on Reddit mentioned in passing that it was their favourite and gave me a run down on the notes.

Fast forward ten months and as soon as I saw a bottle I knew I had to give it a whirl. The fact that I spent ten minutes talking notes with the gentleman with the tester says a lot about my obsession with all things fragrant. Needless to say, one whiff and I was hooked. £53 was parted with for a 50ml bottle.

Marketed as a timeless, refined Eau De Cologne, which is still created in the same traditional method and with the same original composition since it's creation in 1916. The smooth notes of Silician citrus reveal a rich heart of blooming rose and refreshing lavender, the precious woods offer warm base notes to this harmony of more than ten natural ingredients.

A delicate, fresh and elegant Eau de Cologne that embodies the Acqua De Parma brand.

Now my personal favourites in the cologne and aftershave stakes tend to err on the citrus side, with a few exceptions where they have rich and light top notes that dry down to a warm and earthy aroma. Given the patter coming from the salesman I thought to myself that this would be a perfect fit for me and my skin type.

First impressions in Harvey Nicols were that this baby comprised simply all of the citrus zest top notes on earth and they were very strong, really strong, yes it may initially come across as it leaves the bottle that you have just paid £53 for a bottle of orange rinds blended with lemon zest but almost instantaneously it hits the heart notes and within minutes the entire blend has dried down

As it dries down for around thirty minutes you can pull out incredibly subtle hints of the citrus and lavender and it does get a little warmer on the nose as the dry down woody notes come through, but then nothing, nothing I tells ya.

An old favourite of Cary Grant and Ava Gardner (the salesman had every fact in his arsenal) this is indeed a timeless classic with a wonderful fragrance. Yes, I’m in love with the actual fragrance but this is wear it all goes a little bit pear shaped - the staying power. It has none to be blunt and that is a massive disappointment. Within thirty minutes of applying I asked for a second opinion while out and about to be greeted with “are you wearing any aftershave?”. Not good, not good at all.

Still the same some 98 years on the mantra 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' really doesn’t work here. It needs tweaking so that it simply lasts longer on the skin and is more noticeable ten minutes after applying it. At £53 for a 50ml bottle I expect it to still be wafting around hours after application.

Putting all of my cards on the table I love the fragrance for the first half an hour but then boom, a reapplication is needed and taking the price into comparison this just doesn’t represent good value for money. Six to seven sprays and still no signs of the cologne after an hour. This is not good.

If you can afford to work through a bottle quickly then you probably won’t mind this but for me I expect some form of quality to go with the amazing fragrance and this is sadly lacking and therefore it is the first aftershave where I love the smell but can’t in all honesty recommend it. 

NOT RECOMMENDED

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Christmas Gift Ideas for Him #1 - Superdry Varsity Track T-Shirt

I own a few Superdry T-Shirts but was pleased to be offered one from the new Superdry Varsity Track range to try out for myself, and to attempt to style for an autumn look. Usually I find Superdry T-Shirts to be quite tight fitting no matter what size I buy which made me a bit self conscious, but the Varsity Track range seems to be a deviation from the norm.

The T-Shirt can be bought direct from Superdry for £24.99 here:

This is what Superdry say about the range:

‘Superdry men's Varsity Track t-shirt. Inspired by classic college sports design, this crew neck t-shirt features a rubberised chest print and is finished with a three-colour Superdry logo tab on the sleeve.’

I opted for Denver Blue Grit in colour and was a little taken aback when the parcel arrived. It came in a lovely, large Superdry box (which would make it easy to wrap) which made it look and feel just that little bit special (maybe I’m easily impressed).

First of all, it feels much softer than normal Superdry T-Shirts, it has an almost soft wool feel from the 50/50 Cotton/Polyester mix of the fabric making this not only a joy to wear in the comfort stakes but it also quite thick and warming. 

Everything is well stitched as you would expect and this is currently one of my favourites. I’ve taken a few pictures of yours truly attempting to style the T-Shirt. 

Personally, at the moment I’m struggling to find T-Shirts that I like for under £50, so to find something so comfortable for half the price means that I am happy. 

Perfect as a gift any at any time of the year, but that man in your life would be very happy if they unwrapped one of the lovely Superdry boxes this Christmas. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Woodhouse Clothing - Denim Guide

Style isn’t really my thing, I stick to solid colours and tend to wear jeans and a tee shirt if I’m going out or lounging around. If you asked me to tell you the difference between a type or style of jeans or denim I would look at you blankly so when asked if I would take a look at the Woodhouse Clothing new Denim Guide I was intrigued.

My denim/jean history reads like a sad poetic tale, in my youth (oh the 1980s…..) it had to be baggy jeans (preferably without the Bros transfers - remember those?!), in my teens it was boot fit to go with my goth/dark Terminator boots and moody grin and then in my 20s into loose fit as it started to all become about comfort. Now in my *cough* mid 30s I’ve been converted into regular fit jeans.

Back in the day jeans came in waist size 30, 32 or 34 and I always had a waist in between. Using a belt was useless as I looked like a sack of potatoes that had been tied by the village idiot. Hence I would style based on the fact that loose fitting jeans allowed me to hide the fact that they were either cutting me in half or in danger of hitting the deck.

Before I talk more about my conversion, here is a little bit about the clothing gods over at Woodhouse Clothing:

Established in 1975, Woodhouse Clothing is a British retailer with a physical base in Notting Hill and their online store. They stock a variety of menswear, accessories and grooming brands including Scotch & Soda, Barbour and Stone Island.

Jeans are a big part of their brand and they have put together a Denim Guide, an inside-out guide to, you guessed it, denim and how to care for it. 

I read the denim guide, it is truly awesome with a history of denim, how it is made, how to care for your favourite pair along with other useful hints and tips. They also link off to brand profiles and allow you to browse their amazing online store. 

Opting for a pair of charcoal Armani jeans I sat back and waited for them to arrive - and they did, swiftly and with a courier who knocked and waited for me to get to the door. The jeans came neatly wrapped and with a cool car air freshener.

I was asked if as part of this post I would style the jeans - I warn you, I have no style, but here is what I put them with……(no make-up was used in this photographs……and you can tell)….

Armani Jeans - Woodhouse Clothing - £100
Ripstop Tee - £25
New Rock Boots - £110 - Camden Town

The jeans I have to say are well worth the price, the have sizes that fit, I got a 33 inch waist and 34 inch leg and they fit a dream. They are by far the most comfortable pair of jeans I have ever owned and I would feel at ease in these paired off with a shirt in a social setting say a meal with the boss. 

Feel free to take the proverbial out of the photographs in the comments section - maybe I should improve my Photoshop skills!! 

Ending on a serious note, I could lose at least £10,000 on the Woodhouse Clothing site (if I had it), all of their clothes look good, even on me (I think) and I am by far my worse critic.  

Go and take a look at their site and read the Denim Guide, you will be amazed and converted.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

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Mont Blanc Legend Intense

I've always loved Mont Blanc pens and cherish the one I own. It was a few years ago that I tried their Presence for Men and I actually rated it for a while but its draw wore off and I went back to firm favourites.

A 50ml bottle of Mont Blanc Legend Intense fell into my possession thanks to Beautyqueenuk when she returned from France - she dodged the cigarettes I asked for and brought me aftershave, the one thing I don't think I've ever needed. OK, rant over, I feel much better now.

Dexter stands guard over my aftershave

Anyhow, a 50ml bottle of this baby will set you back around £40 for something that is marketed as: 

'Legend reflects the contemporary elegance of the Montblanc brand - both modern and timeless.

The fragrance starts with the fresh aromatic duo of Italian Bergamot and French Lavender.

The heart note is magnetic, revealing a unique woody note - White cedar.

The dry-down owes its unforgettable signature to an overdose of virile Oak moss.' 

Now that marketing blurb would suggest to me a very masculine, earthy fragrance that screams out at me usually to steer clear. In the end I looked up the full notes before trying it out.

They are:

• Head: Italian Bergamot, French Lavendar
• Heart: White cedar
• Dry down: Oak Moss

It's exactly, yes exactly as marketed. 

First impressions when taking it out of the box were 'wow', the bottle is shaped like a hip flask and looked like it had been coated in chrome. It looks uber cool and you can't help but stare at yourself in the bottle.

Two squirts from the atomiser and boom, it was a fragrance explosion - the bergamot and lavendar combine brilliantly and form a strong and floral scent that lingers for some time. The first blast remains for well over 10 minutes and is warm as it dries down to a light woody undertone.

The white cedar is subtle yet after about an hour it felt warmer again, the earthy tones and oak moss brought out a depth that was actually quite overpowering at first. I got used to it and it passed the office smell test.

I really liked this and would say its probably best for daywear, around the office or doing something manly and rugged. You will get noticed wearing this and it is so inoffensive you can do no wrong. However, it is pricey and for that I expect something extra special - well this does it. It has exceptional, nay obscene staying power like no other aftershave. 16-18 hours after applying people still notice it and compliment.

For this and the lavendar explosion I have to say its worth it - just for the cool bottle.

RECOMMENDED

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Dirty Springwash Shower Gel by Lush

In my youth I had a phrase - “Lush Sucks”, mainly because every conversation I started with a woman would always turn to their products. 

It was a lazy way to shut down that particular line of questioning so that a massively hormonal Stephen could concentrate on other things. I am of course talking about food *cough*, honest.

After overcoming the smell that turns my stomach and growing up (yes, yes, stop laughing, I’ve matured) I ventured into a shop and bought a few products. 

I’ve written before about my love for I Should Coco soap and my quest to get them to start stocking it again but using the bath bombs, the facial scrubs and gels had me converted. The stock phrase from my youth was banished.

Here and now I use Lush products off and on depending upon how I’m feeling and how much time I have on my hands. If you are dropping a couple of quid into the bath you don’t want to be draining the water in minutes, you want a long soak.

Under the microscope today as the title blatantly gives away is Dirty Springwash Shower Gel.

A 250g (yes, based on weight rather than volume) tube will set you back £8.95. Now that isn’t cheap for shower gel in my view, but the proof is in the pudding and all that….

Marketing blurb intermission:

Like a dip in a mountain spring, with spearmint & menthol to make your skin feel cool in a hot shower. Don’t be dirty - get fresh with this tingly, and extremely minty body and hair gel.

As there was a dirty great sticker over the ingredients (mine was made by Dawid like I really care) I couldn’t make out what was in it but boy do you get a huge idea from the fragrance! 

When described as extremely minty that is one hell of an understatement. As soon as the cap is off - BANG, it hits you in the nose like the fist of an angry man after taking a bottle of angry pills on Saint Angry Day.

The spearmint and menthol attack your senses like a battalion of infantry on speed - it’s a lovely smell that gets stronger as soon as it comes into contact with the hot shower water. The fragrance provides a fantastic wake up call first thing in the morning.

The shower gel lathers up really well, it isn’t rich but a small amount of the gel is needed to wash the entire frame of a six foot man - me. 

This is a man’s wash and as the lather runs over the body you can feel the menthol properties, they are right. Even in a warm shower the menthol was making me feel really cool. I can see this being a firm favourite if we have a hot summer this year.

I always feel clean after using this and the spearmint and menthol lingers on the skin - it’s very subtle and doesn’t interfere with aftershaves that are added over the top. A bonus in my book. 

You really won’t be dirty if you use Lush’s Dirty Springwash on a regular basis. It doesn’t dry out the skin and I’ve found that to the touch it is smooth and soft.

The price is a stickler for me - it does last for a long time but it is expensive in my view. I’ll buy again for the summer months but probably go back to a mainstream and cheaper brand in the interim. 

It does what it says on the bottle and you can’t say fairer than that.

RECOMMENDED

It's so good even cats love it....

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