The 80 blade shave

I’m off to the UK launch of Gillette’s Fusion ProGlide razor tonight, which I’m excited about, as these events usually entail a lot of free drinks.

The ProGlide was launched in the US last year (February 2010) and inevitably it was going to reach our shores at some point. I haven’t tried it yet – but I have heard good things. It features re-engineered, finer blades, a unique Microcomb to guide hairs towards the blade, a larger Lubrastrip, improved precision trimmer and a streamlined ‘Snowplow’ Comfort Guard to help maintain optimum contact with the skin. Take a look at the picture.

However it now seems that the ProGlide might be scrapped all together after I received information today that Gillette was launching an 80 blade razor. Now my first thought was, yeah, I can see that. The next step after five blades has to be 80 – let’s see Wilkinson Sword and King of Shaves beat that! And then of course you realise it’s a marketing spoof, which I am quite sad about. Just picture yourself shaving with 80 blades! Magnificent – although you might need some industrial sized toilet roll to patch up any cuts.

Check out the spoof viral of the Gillette MagmaCore Extreme:

Got to Facebook.com/GilletteUK to check out the Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor.

Hitting 2011 with style and fashion

Happy New Year to all you Grooming Guy readers!

After the Christmas break we are back and ready to expand into the new year by offering more than just product reviews and advice. Stay tuned for our new fashion and style channels!

So, a brand new year equals a brand new hair cut. Check out the fresh trim below.

To get this style use TIGI B For Men Matte Separation Workable Wax  (also known as Bed Head) – £9.95 for 75g. Perfect for getting maximum hold with a natural finish. Very pliable which makes styling easy.

Fuel for the face

Every day your skin goes 12 rounds with Rocky and takes a battering. Protect and rescue it with these three great products, road tested by The Grooming Guy:

Lab Series – Power Wash

This stuff cuts through dirt and grime with ease. It’s ideal for normal or oily skin types and is great for unblocking pores and reducing redness.

It comes in a foaming gel with enzymes that remove excess oil and the build up of grease and filth from pollution. It is also a nice product for prepping your beard before you shave. Use day and night.

£19.00 for 250ml http://www.mankind.co.uk

Bulldog – Original Moisturiser

Keeping your skin hydrated is vital – drink lots of water and use a good moisturiser.

Bulldog’s daily moisturiser will keep your skin fresh and smooth. It’s also free of chemical nasties like parabens, sodium laureth sulfate and synthetic fragrances. Bulldog prides itself on naturally and ethically sourced products.

Also comes in two variants – one for sensitive skin and one with anti ageing properties.

£5.99 for 100ml http://www.boots.com

Dr. Lewinns – MEN Day Moisturiser SPF 15 50m

As well as keeping your skin hydrated you need to protect it against harmful UV rays and other free radicals.

Dr. LeWinn’s Men Day Moisturiser SPF 15 is a non greasy day moisturiser which protects against the harsh environment.

Apparently it uses the natural Oceanic Repair System (ORS), based on natural Brown and Red Algae Extracts, known for their soothing properties to help repair and calm the skin.

£30.00 for 50ml http://www.poised.co.uk

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/

Grooming big shot: Will King, Founder and CEO of King of Shaves

Fresh from signing a distribution deal with US grooming giant Remington, to launch his brand in America, The Grooming Guy caught up with the King of Shaves himself, Mr. Will King.

King of Shaves will launch a new system razor, co-branded with Remington, in the US next spring, while Remington’s parent company Spectrum, which supplies retailers across the US, will distribute King of Shaves branded men’s grooming products.

And he has a smile on his face. Mr King believes the expansion will grow the company’s revenues to £100m by 2013, representing around 5% of the US market.

The Grooming Guy spoke to him about breaking into the US, the future of the shaving market, his plans for 2011, and his favourite grooming products:

TGG: You have just signed a groundbreaking deal with Remington – why did you choose to partner with a competitor rather than go it alone?

WK: The US has been a graveyard for British brands in the past, so it was clear we needed a large American partner to even begin speaking to the big retailers like Walmart and Target. Spectrum has more than £1bn of sales going into Walmart alone. It’s vital that you take a lead from people who understand the market. I am confident we can deliver our King of Shaves wet shave expertise alongside the Remington position in electrical men’s grooming.

TGG: You have just taken on investment from Japanese firm Kai Industries, how will this help you to move forward in 2011?

WK: The investment will help to drive our global manufacturing, tooling and production capacity to help us serve the US market. Kai helped us to develop the Azor and bring a wealth of expertise in developing high-tech products.

TGG: What’s next in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

WK: If I told you, I would have to kill you. But I can tell you that with 2011 around the corner we’ll have a new Azor with the X Factor! Watch this space.

TGG: Your a bit of a social media mogul – a prolific blogger and tweeter – how important is this for communicating the KoS brand?

WK: I think it’s huge. It allows us to reach a global audience for free, while our competitors spend millions on traditional marketing. I am able to give KoS a personality, which the public can connect with, and it allows me to directly communicate with customers.

TGG: Can you tell us about the new KoS iPhone App?

WK: It’s going to be a commercial app and will be launching very soon. It will allow the customer to delve into the the KoS brand and choose the products that are right for them.

TGG: Describe KoS in one word.

WK: KING!

TGG: What kind of technology will we be using to shave with in the year 2030?

WK: Nano technology will play a huge role. We won’t be shaving with four or five blades, but 200,000,000 self sharpening individual stubble slicers cutting away the hair follicles.

TGG: The Grooming Guy recently invented a new cocktail to encapsulate the brand (The Gsquared). What drink would best reflect the KoS brand?

WK: Ha. Erm, something smooth, easy to drink and modern. I would go with a mix of Belvedere Vodka and a Dirty Martini.

READERS’ QUESTIONS

TGG: Best shaving tip for guys?

WK: In the shower with a fog free mirror.

TGG: What three grooming products could you not live without?

WK: 1. Commes des Incense Kyoto 2.Kings Flawless Hold Hair Gel 3. Colgate toothpaste

TGG: If R&D led innovation is the key to developing shaving technology that provide consumers with closer, more comfortable shaves, how does this relate to your business strategy ‘ the Aspiration of Fair’ that will effectively move the brand towards less technologically advanced products?

WK: The Fair I’m talking about is delivering a close, comfortable and long lasting shave to a consumer, at a Fair, not artificially, monopolistically, over-inflated price. Fair is about looking at ways to make a razor cartridge last longer, deliver more value, not wear out so quickly. Take our Azor handle for example, which is made of only one part, rather than some competitor handles, which are made of 16 or more parts. We are delivering high-tech innovation, but not over-charging our customers for embracing it. Better technology shouldn’t equate to extortionate prices.

Follow Will King’s blog: http://blogs.shave.com/king/ and follow him on Twitter @KingofShaves

Is your hair feeling like the Sahara Desert?

If your hair is feeling dry and battered from the summer sun, TIGI B for Men have launched a leave-in conditioner which can put that much needed moisture back into the scalp and hair.

This is a nice product to put into damp hair before drying and then styling. It’s packed full of extracts from the rainforest and smells good too. Not an essential item for your grooming armoury, but if your hair is starting to feel like straw, then this might just rescue it.

TIGI B for Men Leave-In Conditioner £6.95

Bulldog is running with the big dogs

Great news for British male grooming brand Bulldog, which has claimed a business accolade, coming 16th in Start Ups‘ list of the UK’s 100 best start-ups.

Bulldog launched their range of natural male grooming products in Sainsbury’s in 2007, and have landed deals with Waitrose, Tesco, Superdrug and Boots. The company has also hit the global market launching in Sweden in January of this year.

Bulldog prides itself on naturally and ethically sourced products, which are free of chemicals like parabens, sodium laureth sulfate and synthetic fragrances. Earlier this year Bulldog introduced the first Fairtrade grooming range for men in the UK, including an Eco-System Shave Gel and Bulldog Eco-System Moisturiser, featuring ethically-sourced ingredients from around the world.

Bulldog has also become the  first male grooming company to be recognised and approved by the BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) under their Humane Cosmetics Standard. This is the only recognised scheme that enables consumers to identify products that have not been tested on animals.

For more info go to www.meetthebulldog.com

Radox launches new men’s range

So for the last week I have spent a lot of time in the shower trying out Radox’s new men’s range of shower gels and body scrubs. There are four, very brightly, almost nuclear glowing, products available. All of which remind me of the very successful Original Source range – favoured by lots of men.

If you’re not someone who wakes-up easily for work, or you’re trying to shake a hangover, I would recommend the Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel and Shampoo – the menthol will kick you back into shape!

Now the concept behind combing a shower gel and a shampoo is that men want a quick and efficient wash. The Radox Men’s range ticks this box. But if you really want to look after your hair, I would recommend using a more expensive seperate shampoo and conditioner.

So I would say this is one for the gym bag. Minimal fuss and out the door in minutes.

There are two shower scrubs and two shower gel and shampoos available in 250ml bottles:

• Radox Men Deep Clean Watermint and Sea Minerals
• Radox Men Deep Clean Shower Scrub Lime and Ginger
• Radox Men Invigorating Shower gel and Shamppoo Mint and Tea Tree
• Radox Men Invigorating Shower gel and Shampoo Lemon and Tea Tree

The Radox Men’s range is available to purchase nationwide in supermarkets and chemists for a recession proof £1.99 (RRP).

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

Get muddy to get clean

So yes… after 10 minutes of sitting by my computer with a face mask on I can finally give a review about Moosehead’s Moose Mud Face Mask. It’s packed with chamomile and seaweed to purify and sooth the skin.

It’s got a nice mint smell to it with a bit of a menthol kick, which certainly wakes up the skin. After leaving it to dry I start doing stupid faces in the mirror watching the mud crack on my skin, which is already feeling tighter.

Washing it off – the skin feels refreshed, smooth and pores definitely look reduced in size. Just make sure you moisturise the skin after!

Check out www.moosehead.com.au

The product: Moosehead Moose Mud Face Mask  (rrp £1.49 – a bargain, as it has a resealable cap if you don’t want to use it all in one go)