Down in Miami, where bright, clear days abound, it takes a special strength of the will to resist becoming an avid sun-worshipper. Brickell company founder, Josh Meyer, who grew up under the golden Miami sun, was shocked the first time his girlfriend pointed to fine wrinkles forming on his face. At the time, he was in his late twenties, and it was a strong wake-up call, realizing that he, an active young man, would have to start monitoring how much sun exposure he…
Category: Advice for Men
The Spartan Bathroom: Low-Waste Living
Purchasing a luxury grooming accessory is always a pleasant experience: the smooth feel in your hands, the striking visual design. But it’s also rewarding because you’ve just invested in a tool that’s built to last. With environmental urgencies at the fore of our collective conscience, it feels good to foster low-waste habits and to live with an eye toward sustainability. And well-manufactured grooming accessories, like double-edged safety razors and straight razors, are just the tip of the iceberg. Below, we’ve…
The Road Tripping Grooming Secrets You Need
Spring has sprung, and that means it’s prime road tripping season. There’s no better freedom than a joy ride across the countryside, with good friends, merry tunes, and maybe even your family dog. With happy company, striking scenery, and all-round good cheer, there’s not much more you can ask for. But while it’s romantic from afar, the adventure of a road trip can easily be derailed by the ever-more-fearsome odour of your companions. Is it possible to stay hygienic on…
Maintaining the Perfect Beard
It’s easy to get confused with all the different beard products you’ll find on store shelves. And, to make matters even more baffling, no one pictures the prototypical rugged, bearded man as part of a community of fops, excited to buy fancy grooming products. But, if you’re a modern man who likes to wear a beard, while still maintaining a clean and somewhat refined look, then it’s good to know the differences between these products, as they can be…
Eyebrows for Highbrows: What your Eyebrows Say About You
Eyebrows are a curious feature: often forgotten about, they’re seemingly absurd, yet their shape and style can have a great impact on one’s beauty, as well as the way one is perceived by others. Anthropologists hypothesize that the brows were evolutionarily adaptive, conferring protective benefits to the eyes: since the brow hair follicles run laterally across the facial plane, they help to re-route dirt and moisture dripping down from the forehead, carrying it away from the eyeballs, and towards the…
What’s the Difference Between Colognes, Parfums, and Eau de Toilettes?
In the world of fragrances, things can get pretty confusing with all the brand names we see while scanning store shelves: eau de parfum, eau de toilette, cologne, even eau de cologne. But are these just fancy French variations of the same thing or are they distinct products? For once and for all, we want to set the record straight, and clarify what each one of these terms means. In fact, the different names correspond to fragrance concentration levels. In each…
How Our Ancestors Did It: Shaving Through History
The dawn of shaving is shrouded in mystery: no one quite knows its exact beginning, and its cultural meaning ebbs and flows with time and location. We do know, however, that the shaving ritual is long-standing, appearing in the far reaches of human history. In prehistoric cave paintings, men are depicted with shorn facial hair, using seashells to tweeze away beards one cuticle at a time, and shearing with shark teeth or roughhewn flint knives. While it’s easy to imagine…
Are Straight Razor Shaves Legal in North America?
Many modern men have a perennial attraction to the old-fashioned barbershop experience, and one of the touchstones of barbershop quality has always been the straight razor shave. Though extravagant in today’s shaving world, it is part and parcel with the old men’s tradition, and many still go in search of it. Barbers who provide straight shaves are less commonplace today, but the tradition is still very much alive. Only licensed barbers are permitted to give customers straight shaves, and every…
Fitting a Square Soap into a Round Bowl: How to Fit Your Shaving Soap into Your Shaving Bowl
In a traditional wet shaving routine, you have a razor, a brush, a soap, and a bowl—all pretty simple. But what happens when the soap doesn’t fit the bowl? This can derail your morning shave in one of two ways: Either your soap is too big for the bowl, or your soap is too small for the bowl. Let’s go over the solution to both potential problems. In any situation, the first step is to take preventative measures: Invest in…
What A Girl Wants (In a Man): A Lady’s Perspective On Gentlemen
What are those elusive qualities that women seek in men? Listening around, you’re sure to hear opposite opinions from lady to lady. How we wish that the confusion would end there: preferred fashions go in and out of style in the blink of an eye, interests waver, and interpersonal dynamics complicate everything. Sometimes, she simply needs some good old warm-up time to come to appreciate your unique allure. But what are the timeless fundamentals that women look for in men?…
6 Steps for Business-Ready Hands
Don’t Man-Handle Your Man Hands You’re at the checkout in the grocery store, and the clerk at the cash glances down, her face suddenly in horror: she has seen your hands, and their image is burned on to her retinas. You thought no one would notice such a small detail, such an insignificant sign of your neglected hygiene. I’m afraid it’s time to re-evaluate, my friend: Small details are wherein lies the truth. Here are some steps you can take…
5 Essential Accessories for the Guy in Your MFA
He’s only two re-writes away from finishing the great American novel. You’ve probably heard of him, he’s a 20-something in Brooklyn? Wears a funny hat? He was in your MFA. And sure, he’s got a great taste in literature and has become something of a fashion icon for those of us in the hipster camp. But a lot of us are left wondering: how does he do what he does? It can’t be easy, working on his writing day-in-and-day-out. What…