The Grooming Guy becomes Poised.co.uk’s Online Grooming Editor

Over the next few months I will be writing a second blog for Poised.co.uk, a new online store dedicated to providing premium grooming, fitness and wellbeing supplies for men.

I will be offering tips and advice on what products can help you to look your best, protect you from the harsh weather, kick the signs of tiredness, beat the effects of ageing, defeat the hangovers and stay looking young.

You can read my first post here http://www.poised.co.uk/blog/news/our-new-grooming-guy/

The Grooming Guy’s Christmas gift guide #1

Over the next couple of weeks I will adding products that are ideal gifts for blokes this Christmas.

First up – Tom Ford Extreme

It might not be cheap, a 50ml bottle will set you back £80, but personally I think it is well worth the investment.

It has a powerful, long-lasting scent, which is guaranteed to get you noticed. The mix of Sandalwood, Black Truffle, Italian Fig, Plum and Parma Violet will ignite the nostrils and senses of any woman. It also contains Vanilla which gives it a note of sweetness.

This is the type of scent you throw on and instantly want to go out and cause trouble.

Greed is good…..

With the release of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Gordon Gekko is back on the scene.  The Grooming Guy takes a look at his grooming routine.

Remember…“lunch is for wimps”.

SHAVE

The Gekko probably uses a cut throat razor with a splash of lime juice for lubrication. The Grooming Guy recommends using a double-edge safety razor – check out this handmade razor from The Art of Shaving ($65) http://www.theartofshaving.com

You’ll also need a badger brush ($55 from The Art of Shaving) and a good shaving cream like Truefitt & Hill http://www.truefittandhill.com

FRAGRANCE

If you ask Gordon what fragrance he wears he would probably look you straight in the eye and tell you, “that sweet scent you’re smelling, is the smell of success”. The Grooming Guy recommends capturing the 80s with Antaeus by Chanel (1981), Versace l’Homme by Versace (1984), Trussardi Uomo by Turssardi (1983) and Portos by Aramis (1985).

HAIR

As much as braces were a key component of 80s power dressing, so was an unflappable hair do. Check out Lost Stock & Barrel’s The Daddy Classic Wax (£7.20) http://www.groomingmen.com

SKIN

Mr. Gekko probably uses sandpaper or a cheese grater to exfoliate with and he more than likely moisturises with a mix of Caviar and Dodo juice. The Grooming Guy recommends Jack Black Face Buff Energising Scrub (£16.50) www.getjackblack.com and Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Energizing Moisturiser (£30.50) http://www.kiehls.co.uk to keep your skin looking sharp.

Time to musk up

The male fragrance market is crowded by, quite frankly, unoriginal rubbish. But have no fear, The Grooming Guy has found four great masculine fragrances:

White woody oriental – Bulgari Man eau de toilette £56 for 100ml by Bulgari

BEST NEWCOMER: Woody  pepper – Bang eau de toilette £49 for 100ml by Marc Jacobs

BLOW THE BUDGET: Oriental woody pepper – Oud Wood eau de parfum £115 for 50ml by Tom Ford

EDITOR’S PICK: Woody amber – Hermes Terre D’Hermes parfum £70 for 75ml by Hermes

Oi……mate, you stink!

According to a recent survey commissioned by Right Guard Xtreme, the majority of Britain’s male working population are willing to tell their colleagues that they smell, with 4% saying that they are happy to do it by text.

Right Guard’s ‘Stinky Colleague’ survey was carried out nationally with over 1,000 men taking part. Blokes in Southampton were the most forward, where 74% of the men surveyed said that they would confront their colleagues. The most sympathetic city was Birmingham with only 41% of the men willing to tell their colleagues, followed by Glasgow with 47%.

Of those who felt that they have a bit of an odour issue, over a quarter admitted to spraying themselves regularly throughout the day, while 14% said that they would go to the bathroom to dry themselves off at work. And nearly three quarters of guys believe that body odour is the number one turn off for women.

Right Guard have teamed up with sports scientist and celebrity trainer Professor Greg Whyte (the guy who trained Eddie Izzard for his marathons) to produce a video with tips on how to stay smelling fresh – check it out.

Bang your friends….on Facebook

Marc Jacobs has taken Facebook ‘poking’ to a new level – as well as wink, like and poke, you can now Bang your friends on Facebook.

The PR and advertising bods have come up with a clever Facebook game in honor of the new Marc Jacobs fragrance for men, ‘Bang’.

Called ‘Bang, Your’re It’ the game lets you ‘Bang’ your friends’ profile pictures by giving your face the same impacted, crumpled look as the Bang fragrance bottle. The more profiles you ‘Bang’, the more points you get – bonus points for getting banged by people from other countries, and for getting banged after midnight. One special bang player will be chosen each day to win a prize, including the fragrance, Marc Jacobs clothing, and even a trip to NYC to attend the MJ runway show.

And who better than to star in the billboard adds than Marc himself. However, to warn you, he is naked, lying on tin foil with a giant bottle of Bang between his legs.

Marc says the name sprung to him while he was in the gym because it’s so masculine. The silver-toned bottle shape is meant to look as if it’s crumpled – like it had taken a bullet to its center, according to Jacobs

For the scent itself – I’m eagerly waiting to get my hands on some – but for now, Marc defines it as spicy, with top notes of black, pink and white peppercorns, a heart of primal masculine woods and a drydown of hypnotic elemi resinoid, aromatic benzoin, vetiver, white moss and patchouli. The Grooming Guy will give you the real review once it drops through the letterbox!

The fragrance will appear exclusively in Bloomingdale’s and in Marc Jacobs’ official shops in July and will be available worldwide from September 2010.

Check out http://marcjacobsbang.com/</a

A dirty alternative for your musk cabinet

Paco Rabanne has undoubtedly spent most of its advertising and PR budget on its latest fragrance – One Million. This means you might have missed out on hearing about Black XS – Paco Rabanne’s dirty little secret.

I had a bottle of this stuff sent through to me and it is now a solid part of my musk selection. It’s a sweet and woody fragrance, which holds well to the skin. Meaning you don’t have to bathe in the stuff to make the scent last. The jet black bottle feels and looks sexy – and the tattoo like encrusted rose shouts bite me.

All in all, it’s a good fragrance to have your in armoury – a little dirty alternative to your Hugo’s, Armani’s and Calvin’s.

The product: Paco Rabanne – Black XS

When to wear it: on friday night just before you hit the tiles

Where to buy it: online or all good high street outlets