My Top 7 Male Grooming Products

To kick start my reviews I’m going to show you a selection of products I use on a regular/ daily basis.

Firstly, a brand I really like is L’Oreal Men Expert. I use a variety of the range and I will discuss two of them now.

The Anti-perspirant not only smells great but provides the protection it says it will. There’s nothing worse than being sweaty and being aware of your own smell so it’s nice to know there’s a reliable product to put on in the morning and forget about; safe in the knowledge that it’s doing its job in the background.

I’m always sceptical about how much things like “Carbon Protect” actually means in relation to the job you are trying to achieve. I don’t know what the benefit of putting carbon under my arms is, but I like the effect. I don’t sweat, and I don’t smell. It states that it has a 4 in 1 action plan, but I don’t care much about that, in the same way that I don’t care too much about how water makes it to my tap, as long as it’s there when I turn the handle.

What’s great is they make two sizes, the larger, perfect for the home, and the smaller great for the travel bag. Though I can say I’ve never actually needed to reapply during the day once I’ve used it once, it’s nice to have a smaller version of the spray to put in a small suitcase or weekend bag.

You can find these at some low prices if you, scout around a little and strike at the right time. I picked mine up when it was on offer for £1.50.

Also, in the Men Expert range is the something I am a particular fan off.

I am unfortunately plagued by facial hair which grows in a sparse fashion on a face which does not suit the rugged look (much to my dismay), so I shave. Luckily I can get away with only having to shaving once or twice a week, but when I do I use, Anti Irritation shaving Gel. My favourite thing about this product, apart from meeting all of its self-set standards of keeping skin hydrated and un irritated by the task of running a blade as close the skin without cutting it, is the amount of time you can get out of a single can. It seems that it last forever.

  

               

As I said before, I shave once, maybe twice a week, so at two shaves a week, one can has

lasted me at least 6 months. That’s 26 weeks, and at most, 52 shaves. Even when it seemed to

be getting empty by the end of the 5^th month, I went a bought a new one in anticipation of

running out, it lasted for a further month. I had started to think I had a self-replenishing can.

After shaving, as cool and smooth as my face always feels after using the above gel, I always moisturise because I’m determined to not let the razor blade ruin me.
So I have recently started using the Men Expert Pure & Matte Moisturising Gel.
I don’t like moisturisers that leave me feeling greasy, or worse, looking greasy. Once I have washed my face, most moisturisers make me feel like I’m wearing something heavy on my face and as a guy, I’m not used to having makeup on so this is not okay.

Again, it delivers on its promise and leaves your skin feeling smooth and not as dry as it might have felt before. It not only reduces shininess on the face, but it reduces the greasy feeling that some face care products can leave behind.

There are however, two problems with this product.
First is the price, I was originally bought this as a gift, because I probably wouldn’t ordinarily spend the £7 that I know that it usually costs.

The other issue is that it runs out quickly, because it is a small bottle and doesn’t spread across the face as well as other moisturisers. But for the matte effect and pleasant smell (similar to that of the other products in the range) it averages out as an okay product that if it were half the price I would consider buying it. But maybe I’m just a cheap skate…

This brings me to my next product quite nicely.
If, like me, you want to have a moisturiser that doesn’t leave your skin looking and feeling oily or greasy but don’t want the price tag of the relatively expensive, Men Expert brand, then you can buy a surprisingly effective own brand alternative.

Asda’s Young Skin range offers a set of products that promise to look after the skin as well as your wallet. As well as various facial wash solutions (including an exfoliating one with what feels like bits of sand) the set of moisturisers offered includes a Matt Finish tube.

I love this moisturiser because like the L’Oreal’s having gel, it lasts for ever and it only costs £1! - An absolute bargain. It has very little scent to it, which is actually beneficial for something you put on your face that wasn’t necessarily designed with men in mind. Though it is not entirely scent free, it’s not an overly feminine scent (by which I mean it doesn’t smell like flowers or perfume). Surprisingly, it smells faintly of cinnamon to me, but it doesn’t linger. It’s also quite a delicate formula and won't sting the eyes if you happen have dry or particularly shiny eye lids for some reason.

Sticking with the moisturising theme, I move on to hand cream.
Not a lot of guys will bother with hand cream, and see dry hands as the last bastion of their masculinity, but I like to keep my hands soft and callous free. I have also worked in a job where shaking hands with practical strangers was a regular occurrence so naturally I got through a lot of hand sanitizer which has the unfortunate effect of drying the skin. So I liked to have a cream to hand … *ahem* shameless pun intended.

When it comes to moisturising, Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula is as far as I ever need to look. So when I saw that they were making a specifically made concentrated cream for Hands elbows, knees and feet (though I only use it for hands personally) I got quite excited. I’ve used many hand creams, all of which promise certain miracles and most of which smell like an old ladies talcum powder pantry (euphemism not intended).

This little beauty is a small enough bottle to stick in a toiletries bag for weekend trips or hide away in the top draw of your desk at work. It last for ages and won’t break the bank either. Plus the smell is literally DEVINE. Obviously the smell is reminiscent of chocolate but isn’t so overpowering that you feel sick after a couple of whiffs.

Another little scout around and you might find it for between £1 and £1.50.

Another Palmer’s Cocoa Butter wonder is the lip balm. This was introduced to me by Zoe Sugg, who did a little review of the wondrous stuff on her beautiful Blog. Dark Chocolate and Mint lip balm sounds like it might be something for little girls, but apart from serving a function, the balm not only smells and tastes great, it doesn't leave a shiny layer on the lips or a greasy texture around the mouth. Besides nothing can make a day can from bad to worse like cracked lips that repeatedly split. Ouch

It will even freshen your breath slightly, as mint is the dominant smell. And once again, it has been lasting me for weeks so far, and I’m a prolific lip balm abuser.

I couldn’t find a link online for the lip balm stick I have pictured above, but I’m pretty sure this is the same stuff.

Now with lips softened, you're ready to smile, but before you do you might want to brush those pearly whites first. When choosing toothpaste in the past I’ve always been nonchalant. As long as the mint in the paste didn’t strip my mouth of layers of skin, I was content. I couldn’t even tell you the name of the brand I used, but recently I decided to try something different. I’ve wanted to whiten my teeth for a while but haven’t taken the time to read any reviews of actual whiteners, so I’m not ready to fork out lots of money for bleaches and enamel strippers.
I started using Oral –B, 3D White Brilliance about a month ago and I liked it enough to buy a second tube. It only cost £2 so it wasn’t a massive decision I had to make.

I can’t rave about its whitening ability as I haven’t paid a massive amount of attention to any effects it might have had on that front. However, it does the job of freshening my breath through till lunch time (when I substitute brushing my teeth at work with a cheeky chewing gum or mint). I can also comment on the feeling of smoothness that sustains past the first and second meal of the day. It even stands the test of drinking sugary fruit juice, which in my previous experience marked the end clean feeling teeth.

I should mention that other have mentioned my teeth look whiter (despite not telling them I was using a different toothpaste, and other I know that have been using it have told me they have seen marked improvement in using this tooth paste alongside other whitening products. I will have to start looking into whitening kits and get back to you with some concrete evidence on this matter.

The final product I want to add to this first review is another matt product, this time coming from Vo5’s hair product range.

Extreme Style [mattClay] adds definition without weighing hair down and doesn’t feel like you’re applying glue to your head.

Having experimented in my teen years with various hair styling products such as Gels, Waxes, Putty’s and Mousses, I always preferred the comfortable ease of use that clay offers.
This particular brand isn’t too expensive, and does that magic trick of looking effortless and matt, provided you don’t apply too much in one go, which isn’t necessary as a little bit goes  a long way (bring the restock price down even further)

If you style your hair, and are used to a particular type of hair styling product I recommend giving this one a go at least once.

So that’s my 7 favourite products that I currently use.
I will be reviewing others in the future but would love to hear from you about what you use and what you would like to share with people.

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Check back soon because ill soon be posting.
and in case you think this is one of those things people say and never do, I wrote this on 6th April 2013, so keep you eyes peeled and if you don't want to manual check every day, stick your email in the side var and be notified when i get this thing started !