With a heatwave seemingly always on the horizon and summer holidays looming, caring for your skin when the temperature rises is of upmost importance. From keeping it hydrated to protecting from sun damage - both the biggest risk factor in premature ageing, and most importantly, skin cancer – giving some TLC to your face is paramount.

The sun can play havoc with your skin, so following a consistent routine is worth prioritising to keep it clean, hydrated and protected. And whilst it doesn’t need to be complicated, there are certain steps you should follow to ensure skin remains burn-free, smooth and nourished.

Below, our grooming writer Suzanne Baum speaks to a leading skincare expert about how best to protect your skin and has you covered with her guide to the best products to wear in the sun.

Every men’s skincare routine should consist of three simple steps: cleanse, moisturise and protect the skin. And during the summer months, when the heat can cause everything from inflammation and dehydration to sunburn and peeling of the skin, caring for your face has never been more important.

Below, renowned skin and laser expert Debbie Thomas, founder of the London-based D.Thomas Clinic and the skincare brand Cellis breaks down the process.

“It’s really important to cleanse the skin in the morning as this helps remove overnight sweat and oil, and again, in the evening, to rid of any dirt or impurities that have settled on the face during the day.

“Adding some hydration to the skin is important and this is when moisturiser comes into play. It replaces lost hydration which can happen in hot weather and soothes dryness or that tight feeling skin can get. It also provides antioxidant support that protects the skin barrier without feeling heavy.

“Finally, protect the skin with a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher every single day (don't forget to reapply if you are outside).”

If you are normally a quick water and soap fan, these three steps may sound more time-consuming to follow but trust me when I say the routine is super quick and your skin will thank you for it!

As well as the above, if you have extra time or want to treat specific skin issues such as heavy eyes, annoying stubble or a sore scalp, there are plenty of other additional products you can use to help enhance summer skin. Serums and balms to nourish the face and exfoliators to rub away dead skin can be added into your routine too.

Below, our guide to the best products to help keep men’s skin protected from the sun

P20 Sensitive Face SPF50

A sun cream designed for sensitive skin, so if you have stubble rash or are prone to breakouts, this is ideal as it contains Vitamin C and E that provide antioxidant properties that calm the area down. Bonus points for being factor SPF 50!

Weleda Men's 2 in 1 Face Wash

This gel cleanser is better than a foaming one as it is gentler on the skin barrier, which can become more inflamed during hot weather.

It really goes to work in removing any dirt or grime that has built up over the day on the face and leaves skin soft and smooth, thanks to ingredients including liquorice root and willow bark extracts. The addition of toning witch hazel water helps add hydration to any dry areas of the skin.

CELLIS Everyday Cleansing Gelee

As a beauty editor who shares this cleanser with my husband, I have to include it in my product suggestions because it leaves skin with such a lovely feel. It’s a unisex product with the dermatologist-tested tick, so you know it contains no skin baddies.

It literally melts and washes away all grime, sweat, sun cream and impurities on the skin, leaving it properly cleansed and deeply hydrated.

Clinique for Men Daily Hydrating SPF 50 Moisturiser

A perfect multi-tasking product that works as a moisturiser and high protection sunscreen too. This is a very lightweight lotion which is ideal in the hot weather as it doesn’t sit heavy on the skin and blends in invisibly. Infused with the skin-loving ingredient hyaluronic acid, your face is left feeling soft as it really goes to work in adding moisture back into it.

La Roche Posay Toleriane Sensitive skin moisturiser

If skin is feeling tight from dryness or tingling from too much sun, this is like a hug to the face.

It instantly soothes the skin and, with key active ingredients such as squalane, helps to lock in moisture and nourish dry areas.

Kiehl's Facial Fuel Energizing Moisturiser

An excellent face cream specifically designed for men, this is a great one to reach for in hot weather as it has a non-oily texture so won’t make skin feel greasy if you are feeling the sweat from the sun.

It also really goes to work in hydrating and brightening the complexion, with Vitamin C and E ingredients helping to give a nice glow to lacklustre skin.

Hawaiian Tropic Hydrating Protection Scalp & Hairline Mist SPF 30

This mist is such a clever product to have on hand as the scalp and hairline can often get burnt as it is one area many of us overlook.

An invisible spray (note it does have a tiny tropical scent to it), it is perfect for those days when you don’t wear a sunhat or are driving with the roof top down! It also helps boost hair care thanks to its addition of Vitamin E that helps keep the scalp conditioned and healthy.

helloSKIN Charcoal Hydrogel Eye Masks

For a pick-me-up and something super refreshing for the skin when it is hot outside, these eye masks are a treat.

The ultimate long-haul saviour, if eyes are puffy from jetlag or little sleep, they are super cooling on the face and work by depuffing the sensitive thinner skin area that surrounds the eyes.

RITUALS Homme After Shave Soothing Balm

The sun can make shaving your skin sore, so a good aftershave soothing balm will help calm it down.

As well as smelling amazing (think a fresh, woody scent), it has skin-loving ingredients that pack a punch, including Vitamin E and shea butter that hydrate, soothe and support the skin barrier.

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The actor George Hamilton lived large. A paid-up member of the Hollywood school of high glamour, he had the Rolls-Royces, the Beverly Hills mansion and the debonair wardrobe. And yet he became best known for his permanent tan — so much so that the cartoonist Garry Trudeau concocted the ‘George Hamilton Pro-Am Celebrity Cocoa Butter Open’. Hamilton even launched a chain of tanning salons.

But then this was when a deep sun-tan spoke of success. It was a visual short-hand for expensive vacations in sunny climes, for rude health and, in a way, for money itself. Yet this favour towards what is, in effect, skin damage was, in the 1960s and 70s, still a relatively new idea. As late as the 1920s tans were considered decidedly unwelcome by the well-to-do, since having one suggested one worked outside. Pale skin — protected with hats, parasols and staying inside — suggested leisure.

Arguably we’re now more than ever back in the bronze age. There are now almost 5,000 tanning salons in the UK (most of them seemingly in Blackpool, according to a 2024 study) with some 10% of the population regulars. The winter top-up/year-round glow has become a grooming standard. According to Dr. Fabiola Creed, health historian at the University of Glasgow and author of The Rise and Fall of the Sunbed in Britain, we’re seeing perfect storm of persuasive forces.

“There’s the beautifying of dark skin in culture now, because it’s slimming, because it gives better muscle definition,” she explains.

“We see tans in popular culture, in pornography, in its close association with heath and fitness. And while everyone knows the connection between tanning [under the sun or UV light] and skin cancer there’s an element of denial. It doesn’t help that the tanning industry still pushes the supposed positive health effects of tanning. I still hear people even claim that tanning creates a barrier that protects you from skin cancer”.

From sallow to suntanned

In a neat flip-side to today’s self-tanning products, for centuries people forced to face the sun’s rays took some drastic steps to whiten their skin.

Blanc de Ceruse did the job. It was also lead-based, so you likely died as pale as you lived. It was only quacks, out for a fast buck, who at the turn of the 20th century started touting the very opposite: John Harvey Kellogg, of Cornflakes fame, argued, without evidence, that sunlight was therapeutic.

In a way he was right. In 1928 the Nobel prize for chemistry went to Adolf Windaus for his work on vitamin D — essential for healthy bones because it allows the body to absorb calcium from our diet. It was soon widely understood that the best way to get this vitamin is through sunlight exposure. Indeed, we get most of our body’s annual requirement between late spring and early autumn. In other words, you really do need to get outside when the weather is nice. And so the temptation may be to top up artificially when it isn’t as bright out.

Ultraviolet dangers

It was one Auguste Rollier, a Swiss physician, who built solaria in which people could maximise their exposure, a spin-off of the use of medical UV lamps in the 1890s to treat conditions like rickets. As Creed stresses, ever since then it’s proven impossible to separate the positive medical uses of UV and the not-so-positive commercial ones. To put it bluntly, the tanning bed industry deliberately obfuscates — governments are constantly catching up to crack down on the latest usually effective but harmful method of darkening our skin, from nasal sprays to melanoma injections. She reckons we’re even on the path to the development of cosmetic surgery/pharmaceutical interventions to give those who want it a permanent darkening of their skin.

But you can get vitamin D from oily fish, meat, eggs and some dairy products, too. And even if you get yours from summer sunlight alone, you only need to expose your hands, forearms or lower legs to soak up all you need.

Rather, the tan became an early example of an aspect of the body’s presentation coming to attain the desirability and show-offiness of, say, a hard-to-get accessory, much as perfect white teeth or a six pack later did. Coco Chanel, after a spell in the Med over 1923, is reputed to have first made the tan fashionable. “I can’t see that changing back to pale either, at least not over the next few decades,” reckons Creed.

Within a decade, exotic travel and sun lamps were giving movie stars the likes of Cary Grant or Errol Flynn a decided glow, if not the full satsuma. Peaky was more for seven stone weaklings. The tan, in contrast — strong contrast — was macho.

A tan came to be seen as “exotic and so more attractive,” as Creed notes.

“I went to the beach and, although I was a gangly guy, all of a sudden girls started to hit on me and after that I thought it must have been the tan,” as Hamilton himself noted.

Every class under the sun

There’s also a social code to tanning. There’s no getting around it but, as Creed points out, tanning, and attitudes to tanning, are class-oriented. Middle-class people will claim their tan is down to having gone abroad, when actually they’re embarrassed to say they’ve gone to a salon. Certainly the use of fake tan, she argues, is explicitly working class: that’s the Love Island/Towie Effect.

But they’re onto something. Fashion, after all, can’t change the facts: ultraviolet radiation is carcinogenic. There are no safe levels of UV tanning. And tanning beds, according to various studies, not only age their users’ skin even faster than exposure to sunlight, but, depending on age in particular, also make for between a 29 and 75 percent increase in the likelihood that they will get one or other type of skin cancer. The fake tan — however excessively or messily applied, however unconvincing — is, at least, the safe tan. Self-tan products are, in fact, the fastest growing area in cosmetics, according to one study.

“It’s hard to escape the idea that a tan gives you what is perceived as being a ‘healthy look’ and that’s likely why we’re seeing a boom in self tanning products,” argues Steven O’Neill, founder of The Grooming Clinic.

“And so much has changed to improve them over recent years. There are none of those strange, biscuity smells and — with everything from products that allow a tan to be buildable drop by drop, to glow pads — they’re much easier to use without ending up orange”.

And O’Neill acts on that finding: he even uses fake tanning products over the summer. Why? Precisely because even then he still wants to avoid the sun.

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It always felt inevitable that Dyson would move from making some of the best hair styling tools on the planet into actual haircare. The Chitosan range, which landed in 2024, was a solid first step, proving the brand could translate its engineering know-how into formulations.

Then came the Omega Nourishing range, bringing things closer to home by incorporating sunflower oil from Dyson Farms in Lincolnshire.

Now we have Dyson Amino, a leave-in scalp bubble treatment designed to support a healthy scalp for stronger-looking hair. The formula combines Dyson farm-grown barley with 11 amino acids and skincare-grade ingredients, and promises to balance moisture and oils with claims of up to a 65% boost in scalp hydration and a 62% reduction in excess oil. It’s clearly designed to think about the scalp first, rather than just the hair, which is a slightly different approach to other leave-in sprays or serums that can feel heavy or greasy if you’re not careful.

The standout feature seems to be the bubble-to-serum texture. According to Dyson, the bubbles transform into a light serum as you work them in, making it easier to cover the entire scalp evenly without leaving residue or weighing hair down. You can use it on wet or dry hair, and it comes with a fresh, earthy scent that is designed to make the whole routine feel a little more luxurious.

While we haven’t actually tried it yet, everything about Dyson Amino makes it feel like the most universally wearable Dyson haircare product so far. There’s no obvious risk of greasiness or overloading your hair, and the focus on the scalp rather than just strands hints at longer-term benefits that could really make a difference.

For a brand known for clever engineering and fuss-free performance, it’s intriguing to see those principles applied to haircare in such a thoughtful way.

If Dyson Amino lives up to the hype, it could well be the scalp-first treatment the brand has been missing. It is lightweight, versatile, and designed for anyone who wants healthier hair without second-guessing how it will behave. For fans of the Dyson approach to beauty tech, it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

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With the festive spirit dropping as fast as the needles from my withering Christmas tree, I wasn’t sure what would banish my January blues as this year started — but ‘radical botany’ wasn’t on my bingo card. A treatment with a difference, a visit to The Treehouse by Wildsmith for a luxurious facial ought to be offered on prescription.

Tucked away high above the hustle and bustle of Soho on the fourth floor of London’s iconic Liberty store, The Treehouse by Wildsmith is a sanctuary for those seeking a unique blend of nature-inspired immersion and scientifically backed skincare. Following a successful residency at the London shopping institution, Wildsmith’s treatment space brings a little bit of the English countryside to the edge of Carnaby Street.

Serene skincare

The Treehouse is designed as a tribute to the skincare brand’s namesake, the 19th-century "Radical Botanist" William Walker Wildsmith, whose curiosity in nature inspired the brand’s formation. First offering treatments at ol' Triple W’s Heckfield Estate, Wildsmith has turned its long-standing Liberty concession stand into a permanent mini spa spot.

In a move straight out of the Narnia trick book, the journey begins with a step through a hidden wooden door on the Liberty shop floor, where you’re then treated to an ever-changing projection of Wildsmith’s celebrated arboretum at the Heckfield Estate in Hampshire. Seasonally updated and accompanied by a natural soundscape also recorded on the estate, the tranquil sounds of bird song and rustling leaves leave you feeling a million miles away from the red buses and rickshaws of nearby Regent’s Street. Laying down to ease into the treatment, you’d be forgiven for drifting off — I very much nearly did.

Signature Treatments and "Radical Botany"

The treatment menu is built on the philosophy of "Radical Botany," which blends plant power with cutting-edge clinical innovation. Every treatment is meticulously crafted to harmonise with the body’s natural circadian rhythm, ensuring the right ingredients are delivered to the right area at the right time.

There are two treatments available:

• Wildsmith Radical Botany Facial (30 or 60 minutes): Inspired by a formula clinically proven to increase skin moisture levels by 194% after 24 hours, this facial includes guided breathwork, myofascial release, and a bespoke selection of skincare. The extended 60-minute version adds craniosacral holds (read: a mini-massage for your head and upper spine) to further dissipate tension. A 60-minute session was what I was booked in for.
• Wildsmith Rebalancing Massage (60 minutes): This therapeutic massage uses essential oil blends aligned to specific times of day to support circadian rhythms. It utilises slow, relaxing techniques to improve circulation.

One of the most compelling reasons to book is that the full booking fee is redeemable against Wildsmith purchases made on the day of the treatment. And it’s well worth taking full advantage of — dozens of different lotions and potions were used on my face, feet and hands during the treatment, leaving my winter-beaten skin looking thoroughly refreshed. The Wildsmith treatment passed the ultimate post-facial test — meeting pals unaware of the day I’d had a few hours after leaving Liberty, they all said I was looking great!

I’ve now come away with two every-day additions to my skincare routine: the Wildsmith Hydrating Light Cream and the Radiance Light Serum.

For those shy about getting the right products for their skin, the redeemable value of the treatment is excellent — your therapist will talk you through what was used during your facial, and hand-pick the best lotions for your skin at no additional cost, available from the in-store range. You’ll come away looking — and feeling — like a million bucks, and have all you’ll need to keep your skin glowing long after the treatment ends.

Looking to visit? You can book appointments online at wildsmithskin.com. Prices range from £70 (30 mins) or £140 (60 mins) for the Radical Botany Facial, while it’s £140 for the 60 minute Rebalancing Massage.

During this cold snap, the weather can play havoc with your skin, causing everything from chapped lips to dryness on the face. To help you have a glowing complexion and keep skin feeling hydrated and smooth, we’ve got you covered with our guide to some of the best products to use, aesthetic treatments to consider and advice from the experts on how to follow the perfect grooming routine.

With recent UK temperatures dropping well below zero and more wintry conditions on the way, it is no surprise that our skin is significantly impacted by the cold. Whilst skin is skin, the difference for men is that yours is about 25 per cent thicker on the face than women’s, tends to be oilier because you naturally produce more sebum (skin oil) due to higher testosterone levels, and there's the added stress on the skin from shaving that can cause ingrown hairs. It’s no wonder that damage to the skin barrier can cause havoc for men.

Why winter hits men’s skin harder

So what to do about it? We go skin deep with numerous experts, including Dr. Vishnu Nathan from the London Aesthetic Taktouk Clinic, to help you know how to face off any unwanted skin problems.

"The combination of a razor blade and freezing wind is a recipe for barrier destruction,” explained Dr Nathan.

“Shaving exfoliates the skin, removing the top protective layer, so in the winter, my advice is that men must replace alcohol-based aftershaves (which sting and dry) with barrier-repairing balms containing Ceramides or Niacinamide (ingredients that help strengthen the skin barrier) to reduce inflammation immediately."

He also advises using a broad-spectrum SPF 30, adding: “It is a non-negotiable as even on a grey and windy day, UVA rays (ageing rays) penetrate clouds and glass.”

Shaving, moisturising and the winter grooming basics

With the grooming market saturated with products, it can often feel overwhelming, so it’s nice to know that good old Vaseline can help when it comes to keeping your skin hydrated.

“Regular moisturiser isn't enough during these colder months,” explained skincare specialist Simon Driscoll, founder of natural skincare brand uxbskincare.com.

“Apply dots of Vaseline around the eyes and forehead to lock in that moisture, and when it comes to shaving, make sure you have a pre-shave soak. In colder weather, your skin will be more dehydrated, and hairs may be more prominent, so soak your face with warm water before shaving to prevent nicks and razor burn.”

Whilst it may be obvious, he encourages men to ensure they wash their faces every night.

“It probably won't feel dirty in these colder months, but tiny particles of pollution will be sitting on that skin, releasing free radicals and damaging it.”

Cleansing, hydration and circulation

One thing not to miss out in your skincare routine is cleansing, an essential step that washes away impurities without stripping the skin of its natural moisture. Men can cleanse after they have washed their skin or just stick to cleansing if short on time.

According to a dermatologist and founder of Dr. Derme Skin Clinic, Dr Thuva Amuthan, cold, dry air strips the skin of moisture and weakens its barrier, so men often experience dryness, irritation, redness and cracking during winter months.

“The simplest way to protect skin is to boost hydration and barrier support: use a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser, followed by a rich moisturiser containing ceramides or hyaluronic acid twice daily.”

When it comes to shaving, she adds, “Doing it in cold weather can increase irritation, so a cream or gel with added emollients helps reduce razor burn. Avoid hot showers, which further dry the skin — lukewarm is kinder. Drinking plenty of water and maintaining good sleep also supports skin health from within.”

Massaging the face can also help men suffering from sore skin, a process encouraged by celebrity facialist Ada Ooi.

“In traditional Chinese medicine, when we are cold, our Qi (energy) and blood stagnate, leading to a dull, greyish complexion — common in men during winter. To fix this, you need to stimulate circulation physically. Don't just rely on cream; massage the face or use a cryo-tool to wake up the blood vessels."

She also suggests using a serum-moisturiser hybrid that creates a ‘seal’ against the wind without feeling heavy.

Hair, neck and the often-forgotten areas

As well as the face, men’s hair can be affected by cold weather. “During cold snaps, barriers on skin and the surrounding areas, including the scalp and along the hairline, can become compromised,” explained Aneta Mortlock, founder of Megi Wellness.

Another area easily overlooked is the neck. A top tip from beauty expert Annabelle Taurua, who works at wellness platform Fresha, is to keep an eye on your scarf.

“Scarves are a great way to keep warm in winter, but if you’re noticing breakouts along your neck or jawline, your scarf might be the culprit. Wash it as often as your clothes and opt for breathable fabrics like cotton.”

Lips, finishing touches and the winter checklist

And finally, when it comes to lips, it’s common for them to become dry and cracked.

“During colder weather, we are more prone to dry or painful lips because the skin on the lips is particularly thin,” explained David Connor, founder of Kanzen Skincare.

So to summarise, if you want a no-fuss skincare routine checklist, Debbie Thomas, skin and laser expert and founder of The D.Thomas London clinic, has it spot on:

• Gentle cleansing gel (no tight feeling after)
• Lightweight moisturiser with ceramides, fatty acids and glycerin/squalane
• SPF daily (UVA still ages skin in winter)
• Salicylic acid a few nights a week for breakouts or ingrown hairs
• Post-shave: skip alcohol-heavy aftershaves and use a soothing barrier moisturiser

Face facts: the best aesthetic treatments for men

Thermage FLX

“Men definitely want to look tweaked instead of tucked,” explained plastic surgeon, Dr Angelica Kavouni, who works at the London aesthetics clinic.

“Radiofrequency skin tightening treatments like Thermage FLX are incredibly effective. Using radiofrequency, the newest Thermage FLX generation heats the skin and boosts collagen and elasticity levels to smooth, lift and tighten skin on the upper and lower eyelids, and is the go-to treatment for those wanting to tighten the skin around the eyes. It's perfect for men who want an incredibly natural result.

“It’s designed to address age-related skin issues, particularly those that are primarily caused by sun and wind damage, such as crepiness, loose skin and texture changes. There’s no downtime, and results continue for up to a year.”

Profhilo

According to Dr Vishnu Nathan from the Taktouk Clinic, he likes to refer to this treatment as “the lazy man’s fix.

“This is perfect for men who hate applying creams. It’s essentially injectable hyaluronic acid. It doesn’t freeze the face or add volume (no 'puffy' look); it simply hydrates the skin from the inside out, preventing that cracked, wintery-skin look."

CACI’s Gentleman’s Facial

This non-surgical, non-invasive treatment delivers great results. Using a combination of advanced CACI technologies, this facial treatment is designed to specifically address male skincare concerns. It works by deep cleansing and skin exfoliation techniques that help tackle razor bumps and ingrown hairs, whilst working to tighten and redefine the jawline, and uses LED Light Therapy to help hydrate, calm and smooth skin. Results are seen immediately after one treatment.

Top buys: our guide to some uplifting products to help soothe skin and keep it protected from the cold.

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No-one wants to smell like a brewery, but a bakery? Maybe.

Lidl has a unveiled its latest novelty product, a flashy bottle of perfume modelled in look and scent after the not-so-humble croissant.

It’s a stunt release extraordinaire. “Hot croissant, meet Haute Couture,” Lidl wrote while introducing this bizarre product to the world in an Instagram post that already has more than 10,000 comments.

And, yes, while it looks like some sort of AI generated bit of marketing nonsense, this thing is apparently real.

“This is 100% real! This was filmed in London on a set, and the teasers & launch asset were created by a 3D rendering artist :) So rest assured, this is insane but not AI,” the Lidl account replied to someone accusing the supermarket of filling the Internet with yet more AI gruel.

Ready for the bad news? Despite having been filmed in London, this whole croissant perfume launch is actually from the US arm of Lidl.

And you won’t be able to just buy the perfume from the (in)famous middle aisle of Lidl either. It’s being given away as part of a social media competition, and only those in the US are eligible. Drat.

100 bottles of the perfume are up for grabs, though, so if you happen to be stateside, give it a look.

To enter you need top reply to Lidlus’s Instagram post and tag a friend. And you can get an extra entry by sharing the post to your Instagram story, with a tag. That’s right, this is a shameless ploy to enlarge Lidl’s social media presence and we’ve bought straight into it.

There is currently zero sign of Lidl UK following suit. But you can pick up an actual croissant at your local store for 59p.

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Here’s a theory, proposed by someone called Charles Darwin. He reckoned that the pursuit of hairlessness - all that shaving and plucking that we do - was one way in which we humans were trying to distance ourselves from our evolutionary ancestors, the apes.

It’s certainly a feeling that runs deep. A survey back in 2017 found that over half of men felt embarrassed by their hairiness, with a third saying they never went swimming as a result, and a fifth, sadly, that it had a negative impact on their sex life. Were the same survey to be taken today - in the era of social media and 'spornification' - no doubt those figures would be much higher.

Spornification? That’s the word coined to describe the intersection of sport and pornography and its impact on male body image. That’s not just about the desirable ‘cut’ musculature but - from Pornhub to Ronaldo - how those bodies are invariably hairless, head and face excluded.

Splitting hairs over masculinity

Indeed, compare Connery’s Bond with Craig’s and it’s a further sign of how the male body has become increasingly denuded over the last half century. In fact, a large-scale Mintel survey - and the only one of its kind so far - recently revealed that 46% of men remove at least some hair from their bodies below the neck. And the younger you are, the more likely this behaviour seems normal: 57% of under-24s remove some of their body hair with 42% removing their underarm hair.

Of course, to women this rash-inducing procedure is old news. They have long faced the social stigma of hairiness, with a multi-billion dollar industry normalising hair removal from every nook and cranny. When, 110 years ago, Gillette advertised its Milady Decollete, the first safety razor for women, it spoke of body hair - until then the norm for most women, on legs and armpits - as “objectionable” and “unsightly”. Men have pretty much been programmed to think this way too: a 2021 Brandeis University research paper found that 95.2% of male subjects rated a photo of a woman without body hair as “significantly more attractive” than same one with some body hair.

So maybe men feeling compelled to reach for the Veet is a levelling of the playing field.

Feeling smoothy

Certainly men too are being sold on the same pitch: that hair is unhygienic. News just in: it isn’t. It’s there for reasons - protection, efficient perspiration, temperature regulation, the pheromone dispersal that in part makes you attractive to a mate - that biology has selected for over a few hundred thousand years.

According to Paul Tran, founder of Manscaped - one of the brands to first jump on this trend - the sense of feeling clean after trimming back your body hair - or even risking the blade on the parts where the sun don’t shine - is the same as that felt after getting a fresh haircut.

“My hypothesis is that men have always paid some attention to their body hair but have been too shy to talk about it. But that now there’s more tolerance of the idea of grooming beyond the face,” he argues. “And I think there’s always a chance that this kind of male body hair grooming becomes obligatory for men.”

He may well be right. History would tell us to expect as much: within 50 years of the launch of the Milady Decollete, 98% of American women shaved their legs. Indeed, his and other young men’s body hair removal brands - the likes of Nad’s, for example, Baldape Parlour, Barebuts or Bakblade - are banking on it. There have been trends for the hairless male before too, albeit a long time ago: 1,960 years ago, to be precise. Back then the Roman philosopher Seneca complained of the generation gap in attitudes: on the one hand older men wouldn’t shave their armpits, he tut-tutted, and on the other the younger men were taking things to extreme and shaving their legs.

Just imagine: “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridias, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my balls waxed, in this life or the next,” being Russell Crowe’s killer Gladiator lines. Not quite as rousing.

We might think we have come a long way since then, that we can choose how to wear the hair on our bodies as we do on our heads. As even Baldape Parlour’s founder Ben Rivers concedes, a tidy, hair-free body might suggest some kind of organised life, but a lot of this hair removal is “performative rather than strictly necessary. The psychology behind it all is complex.”

And he isn't wrong, much of the psychology was yet under-researched and often contradictory. Take, for example, studies that (predictably) show that the vast majority of men now say that body hair on women makes them look more “masculine”. Or the fact that different body hair in different places provokes a different, inconsistent reaction: chest, ok, back, not ok. In the same way that women's hairlessness raises questions around the dodginess of trying to look more like a pre-pubescent girl (and men preferring that look), does women liking hairless men, as the social critic Camille Paglia asked, raise the question of whether what they really want is more “a malleable boy”.

Maybe it’s also a reflection of the oft-discussed identity crisis that modern men, especially younger ones, are said to face: no longer necessarily the breadwinner but still judged by old standards of status, encouraged to play down the supposed ‘toxicity’ of inherently male and socially essential traits, and so on. But certainly the new hairlessness points to new ideals of masculinity, as least in the way men look. These days Burt Reynolds - that 1970s archetype of manliness in all its furry glory - would be entirely at a loss.

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Manual razors are a bit like bank accounts — your Dad sets you up with one, and then you basically just stick with it for life, whether it’s ‘the best a man can get’ or not.

So it takes something special to make you reconsider the blades taking care of that 5 o’clock shadow each day, once you’ve been in the game for a few years. But the Harry’s Plus Razor manages just that. Delivering a close shave at an everyday price point, it’s ready to stake its claim on your bathroom counter.

Here’s five reasons your chin n’ cheeks will love the Harry’s Plus razor:

1. Pivoting precision

It’s all in the pivot. The biggest difference between a Harry’s Plus and the brand's other razor heads it offers is the way the cartridge is able to glide over the angles and contours of your face.

That’s thanks to Harry’s new ‘Advanced Pivoting System’, letting you move quickly over stubborn stubble areas without nicks as you twist and turn the blades across your skin. The cartridge can feel a bit wobbly in the heavyweight metal grip, but that’s intentional, allowing all the movement needed to glide across those awkward parts of your face.

2. A super-close shave

As it’s moving over your face, it’s getting really close to the roots of your stubble, too. Harry’s has five separate blades squeezed into a compact head for its new ‘Progressive Blade Architecture’, each positioned and angled to get closer to the follicle as each passes the hair.

It’s a longer and thinner cartridge than it is tall. With little pressure, you’re able to get baby-smooth results with the first pass, and a second upward glide for any stragglers. A precision blade sits on the top rear too, letting you tidy up lines for ‘taches and sideburns.

3. Careful with your skin

With little need to return to patchy passes, the Harry’s Plus razor is very kind to your skin. The positioning of each blade helps to reduce irritation, and a conditioning, lubricating strip infused with aloe keeps the surface of your skin protected and prepared for those second upward sweeps.

Though I rarely get razor rash anyway, I saw no sign of it when using the Harry’s Plus, which is a good sign for those with particularly sensitive skin.

4. A non-slip grip

The Harry’s Razor Plus handle is sturdy, weighty, and well-balanced. Metal elements have a matte finish, and the reserved colouring of the rubber grip on the shaft means it won’t clash with your sleek bathroom decor.

Replacing cartridges is simple thanks to a push-to-release button near the top, while the finger rest is positioned well to keep you from losing grip. If you want to go all-in, there’s a metal stand you can buy that matches the shaft, too — it’s a tenner.

5. Affordable and widely available

It’s all well and good getting a new blade handle, but if you can’t actually find replacement cartridges — or afford them — you’re going to bounce back to your go-to set out of convenience if nothing else.

Thankfully, the Harry’s Plus is both widely available and affordable enough to make it easy to stay well stocked in cartridges. All good supermarkets and pharmacies stock Harry’s, and an entry shave set (which includes the blade handle, three cartridges, shaving foam and a blade protector) costs just £19. Packs of four replacement blades will set you back just £11 too — a few quid cheaper than a four-pack of Gillette Fusion 5 ProGlides.

They trim for a good, lengthy lifetime too — Harry’s estimates you’ll get 21 shaves per cartridge before needing a replacement.

Final verdict

The Harry’s Razor Plus proves you don’t have to break the bank to shake up your shaving routine for the better. With a smooth, close shave and a pivoting system that lets you get full coverage without bleeding out, it’s a premium-feeling razor at a value-oriented price point. Definitely worth a try, even if you’re set in your manual-shaving ways.

• The best men's fragrances and aftershaves

Keeping on top of what’s on trend in the world of grooming can be exhausting. By the time you’ve seen the resurgence of the goatee on TikTok thanks to the current wave of ‘90s nostalgia, it can look like you’re jumping on the bandwagon. “Oh yeah, name 5 Steven Seagal movies?” strangers on the street will ask.

(Don’t worry — goatees aren’t really back in).

That’s an extreme, but you get the picture: the earlier you get in on a hair or beard trend, the more likely you are to be lauded by your peers as a trend setter rather than follower. That’s why we’ve tapped up the experts at one of London’s most respected barbershops, Ruffians, so they can give us the lowdown on the biggest looks that will take the summer by storm.

What are the standout men’s hairstyles for summer 2025?

Jake Murphy, Ruffians Store Manager, Covent Garden: “With the burgeoning summer, many are considering the big chop. Dreams of grown out hair and flowing locks are being abandoned in favour of ease: short crops, tight tapers and fades are coming in droves for those where the heat is too hot to handle. Shorter layers are also helping keep things cooler.”

How to get the look:

Ask your barber for a skin fade or taper on the back and sides with a cropped top. If you’re going shorter all over, bring reference photos. Think Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders meets modern sharpness. Want to keep a bit of flair? Ask for choppy, textured layers through the top. For DIY trims, invest in a decent set of clippers with multiple guards and use the “start longer, go shorter” rule.”

Mullets seem to be sticking around. How do you make one look modern, not ironic?

JM: “An updated look I like is the ‘business-casual’ mullet, or the ‘mullét’. With a taper ranging from a tight scissor cut, or a softer fade, and leaving just enough length around the nape to garner a double take, or to make finance bosses cock an eyebrow, these cheeky sods rock this look with a secret they can’t help but share — ‘Yes. I do have a mullet.’"

How to get the look:

Ask for a soft taper or fade around the sides with length left through the back (nothing too exaggerated). The trick is in subtlety. Think Post Malone if he lived in a Forest Gate taproom. Style it with a matte clay for texture and blow-dry for shape. At home, keep the back trimmed with scissors (put the clippers down) every few weeks, and avoid letting the sides grow out too wide.

What are the most requested low-maintenance cuts that still look sharp?

JM: “A buzz cut or crop cut to the head shape is the ultimate in low-maintenance and looks divine on the right client. When done correctly, there’s a lot more to it than ‘short’ as it can be the difference between ‘Hello I’m eight years old’ and ‘Hello, I’m here about that modelling job.’”

How to get the look:

Ask for a short crop tailored to your head shape or a clean buzz with slight tapering around the ears and neckline. DIY? Use clippers with a consistent guard, and get a handheld mirror for neckline maintenance. A touch of SPF on your scalp makes a big difference if you’ve gone really short.

Any classic cuts making a comeback?

JM: “The shorter, more neutral textured cuts are having a resurgence. The early 2000s ‘messy on top and short on the sides’, but with a modern spin. Sideburns can also help elongate certain styles to compliment and subdue the wider head.”

How to get the look:

Ask for a messy, mid-length cut with a soft taper or undercut. Something that gives movement on top but is easy to style. You’ll want a lightweight matte paste and a quick tousle through damp hair. Blow-drying helps with volume if you’ve got flat hair. And yes, ask for sideburns, tapered or natural depending on your face shape. Barber boss man will be able to advise.

What’s the beard equivalent of a good summer cut—light, stylish, but not scruffy?

JM: “A nice tight beard, tapered at the cheeks and the neck, keeps jaws defined and chins strengthened despite the heat. Leaving just enough length in the moustache is the difference between stylised stubble and a short beard.”

How to get the look:

Ask your barber to fade or taper the beard around the cheeks and neckline for a sculpted look. Keep the moustache a touch longer for contrast, just slightly touching the top lip. At home, invest in a quality trimmer with length settings and a beard comb. Define edges weekly, and use a beard oil to soften and add scent.

Is Tom Selleck still a facial hair muse? What does that translate to in 2025?

JM: “I think Tom Selleck still stands the test of time! His floral shirted visage still appears before me as inspiration and aspiration. Until the next king is crowned, long live!”

How to get the look:

Ask for a fuller moustache with minimal cheek growth and a subtle fade around the sides of the stache to keep it clean. If pairing with a mullet, balance the retro-ness of it by keeping the rest of the beard tightly trimmed or totally clean-shaven. DIY? Let the moustache grow for 3–4 weeks untouched, then use small scissors to trim just above the lip line. Apply beard balm to give it direction.

Which beard shapes or styles are guys asking for now?

JM: “The usual jaw defining and cheekbone exemplifying styles are still king, though the lined up neck and cheeks on the shorter beard are giving way to faded neck and cheeks with a ‘soft’ line that lasts longer. Much akin to the faded nape near erasing the squared neckline, it endures better and the compliments received are greater.”

How to get the look:

Ask for faded lines on the neck and cheeks, rather than sharp outlines. This gives a softer, natural look. At home, use a trimmer with a fade setting (or no guard and a gentle hand) to blend the edges. Keep trimming every 5–7 days to maintain the fade, and use a lightweight beard conditioner for a barely styled finish.

What’s one mistake guys make with their hair in summer—and how can they fix it?

JM: “Using too much of the wrong product will lead to all kinds of irritation and smells. Blow drying and using a lighter product are often all that is needed, especially when compounded with ample texture. Keep an eye out for ‘petroleum’ and ‘oil-based’ when buying products, these generally are the signs of a heavier product. Unless you need your hair to defy gravity, opt for a water-based product.”

How to get the look:

Steer clear of the above ingredients. Blow dry instead of overloading with product—just a minute of heat can give shape without weight. At home, invest in a good hair dryer (e.g. Shark or Dyson) and wide-tooth comb.

• 5 watches perfect for summer, no matter your budget — from £100 to £3000+

Calling grooming enthusiasts and those who want to avoid looking like a startled yeti: BaByliss’ new razor could be a game changer. This July, it's rolling out the freshly trimmed bathroom mat for the latest member of its Super-X family: the Super-X Metal Series X-Blade.

We’ve not had a chance to sculpt our faces with this blade yet, but if BaByliss is to be believed, this isn’t just any shaver, putting the rest of your dull blades to shame as they look on admirably from your bathroom cabinet. Hopefully, it's the difference between sharp lines and a patchy, tissue-fueled mess of regret.

It boasts a 0.2mm precision steel blade, which is small and should enable greater accuracy than other razors found at the shop. It also features a 50° angle flexi-fit head, which should lead to "the most comfortable shaving and trimming experience yet – even on the most sensitive skin types." So, if you're prone to post-shave redness and the odd sore breakout, the X-Blade might be precisely what your underchin needs. Chances are, this will not only make your skin cry a sigh of relief but make your significant other react the same, too.

Accompanying this potential staple of modern grooming are a "multitude of easy-to-fit cutting guides." This means you have "total control of your look." Whether you're aiming for a close shave that could bounce a laser beam, a perfectly shaped beard that inspires awe, or simply maintaining that "just-came-from-the-barber" short beard look, the X-Blade hopes to elevate the grooming experience.

The X-Blade sports a "sleek minimalist design" that’s not only comfortable to hold but also acts as the "perfect portable partner for on-the-go grooming." So, whether you’re touching up your look in the car before a big date or discreetly tackling unruly hair on a work trip, this little gadget has got your back.

Powering this follicle-fighting machine is a lithium-ion battery, delivering up to 45 minutes of cordless wet and dry shaving. When it does run out of juice – which will probably happen just as you’re perfecting that tricky spot under your nose – it recharges via a magnetic dock connected by a USB cable.

So, get ready to say goodbye to nicks, irritation, and the general existential dread that often accompanies the art of grooming. The BaByliss Super-X Metal Series X-Blade is arriving in July for £80, which feels a lot, but if it delivers on the above promise, it might just be what your face has been yearning for.

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Lotions, potions, treatments and procedures — we’ll try anything to stop the forward march of time as it walks its aging lines across our faces. What was once the reserve of elegantly-aging Hollywood women has trickled down to the average bloke too, with male grooming and skincare as ritualised for the modern man as checking the footie scores is.

It can be a pricey pursuit, and a time consuming one too. But what if there was a gadget that’d take care of much of the work for you?

Enter the Shark CryoGlow. It may look like Doctor Doom’s date-night mask, but it’s actually an LED light therapy device. Using blue and red LED + infra-red lights on its inside, it works to repair blemishes, bring down puffy eyes, and help reduce the signs of ageing such as fine lines.

We admittedly went in a bit skeptical — it definitely looks space age, but can light waves really do anything to cover up the fine creases on our battle-worn mugs? We’re happy to say that, actually, yeah it can. We’ve been using the Shark CryoGlow daily for a couple of months now, and to our untrained eye at least, Shark’s 8-week use claims of firmer, smoother, more radiant skin seem to hold weight.

Available now for £299.99, and suitable for all skin types, here’s everything you need to know about the CryoGlow, and 5 reasons you might want to add it to your daily skincare routine.

How it works

The inside of the Shark CryGlow is lined with 480 high-power LED lights, each using different wavelengths to promote positive reactions in your skin quality. It’s been developed alongside top dermatologists, and is FDA approved — the US’s medical device overseer.

Blue light at 415 nanometres (nm) is used to combat the bacteria that helps acne thrive on the skin’s surface, while red light (630nm) helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles at a surface level. Finally, deep infrared (830nm) stimulates collagen production, which helps to plump up the tissue around lines and wrinkles, making them appear less pronounced too.

These are then used in combination across three different treatments: ‘Better Ageing’ targets lines and wrinkles for 6 minutes, ‘Blemish Repair’ tackles textured and uneven skin for (8 mins), while a short 4 minute ‘Skin Sustain’ cycle is designed to maintain your results after two months using the other two settings.

A fourth treatment, ‘Under Eye Revive’ then uses cooling pads built into the mask to soothe and de-puff under your eyes, and can run for 5, 10 or 15 minutes.

Here’s the key takeaways from our time with the device.

1. Friendly and accessible

Charging over USB-C and coming with a storage bag, the CryoGlow is nicely presented, and not as intimidating as some similar face masks can feel.

It’s very easy to use in fact — adjustable straps make the otherwise-chunky mask rest comfortably on your face, evenly distributing weight and letting the mask’s LEDs get great coverage over your skin. And the remote, with its dial and procedure-tweaking settings screen, is very accessible and simple, and shouldn’t be too hard to get to grips with for even the gadget-averse.

We were also surprised by how quiet it is in operation — there’s a slight hum when it’s on, but the CryoGlow keeps things quiet enough to watch TV while wearing it without any real disturbance.

2. Under Eye Revive works like magic

Of the four treatments, Under Eye Revive was our favourite — not just because its de-puffing chill offered immediate results, but also because it felt soothing and relaxing to use. We’d use it before starting our day to remove that overnight heaviness, and really saw the difference — even with puffiness brought on by hayfever symptoms.

With three adjustable chill settings, the chill pads optionally clip on to the inside of the mask, so can be removed if you want the other treatments to target that under-eye area. It’s a great alternative to creams and chilled rollers which require a bit more effort to apply and use. Just don't be concerned if the small internal fans stay on for a short while once the routine is finished — that's just the mask keeping its own components cool.

3. Better Ageing and Blemish Repair routines showed real results

The Better Ageing and Blemish Repair routines will seem the most contentious for most users eyeing up the Shark CryoGlow — we’d forgive you for raising an eyebrow to its claims. But in our experience, they did visibly work, helping to tone down the crow’s feet a lifetime of laughing and squinting at monitors has left us with. It’s not a miracle cure — they’re still there. But we’re happy to say they’re definitely less pronounced on a resting face.

You do get a real glow to your complexion, too. I went on two out-of-town trips in a week, and couldn’t use the CryoGlow during that period. When the mask was out of reach, after a few days my skin definitely looked duller.

4. Routine tracking is useful

The controller handset’s screen has a handy routine tracking feature called ‘Your Progress’. It keeps a count of how often you’ve been using the mask — not quite Strava for your face, but an at-a-glance look at what routines you’ve been using the most. It’ll also highlight the last routine you’ve used — a great shortcut for jumping quickly to the treatment you use the most. As the community of users grows around the CryoGlow, we can imagine this being a great way of sharing results and progress, and comparing which routines and settings have the best effect on different skin types.

5. Conveniently long-lasting battery

It takes 3 hours to fully charge the Shark CryoGlow, meaning it’ll be ready to go when you’re back from work if it runs out overnight. That’s unlikely to be a problem though as, even when using the chill mode at its highest setting, we managed to get around a week of use out of the mask before needing to charge it. A battery indicator on the handset is clear and accurate too, giving you a good heads up as to when you’re going to have to reach for that charger. Being battery powered has another obvious advantage too — you’re not tied to a wall socket, meaning you can get your routine done while wandering around doing over jobs around the house.

Shark CryoGlow: Final verdict

The Shark CryoGlow could well become a game-changer for your skincare routine. Though its initial £300 outlay might seem steep, it’s got the potential to reduce the number of other facial treatments and lotions you’ll use in your skin care regime. For context, a colleague was recommended 10-12 blue light therapy treatments at a dermatology clinic, at a cost of about £45 per 30 minute session. As a rough guide price to similar professional treatments then, the CryoGlow will pay for itself in short order — especially if it’s shared with another family member.

With an easy-to-use design, its LED treatments delivered real, visible results, while the cooling function was relaxing even without considering how useful its de-puffing functions were. While it can’t completely turn back the clock, we were surprised by just how well the Shark CryoGlow treated our skin — and we’d pay any price for that confidence boost.

• The best men's fragrances and aftershaves

With the beauty industry continuing to be heavily female dominated when it comes to the creams and lotions we apply to our faces, it’s no surprise that more and more men are owning up to using their girlfriends’ or wives’ products.

Whilst the male grooming market has evolved hugely, there are still some deep-rooted stereotypes that stop some men from fully embracing a skincare and beauty routine. The good news is that by sharing their girlfriends and wives products, men can indulge in a bit of self-care, whilst also saving on time, money and shopping stress — not to mention head-scratching research.

Although women and men’s skin is different — primarily in that the latter is thicker and contains more collagen, giving it a tighter appearance — both suffer from many of the same skin concerns. We may have been trained to think (through marketing such as pink packaging and floral designs) that our needs differ but both men and women contend with dry, oily and acne-prone skin.

So there’s nothing to stop you from raiding your partner’s bathroom cabinet! The only word of warning we would give is to try and steer clear of products that are overloaded with fragrance if you are someone who shaves, as these could irritate the skin.

Below, our guide to the top skincare, make-up and beauty products that are worth pinching off the women in your life.

Oh, and one more word of warning — it’s probably best to give your better half a heads-up before you raid their bathroom cabinet!

1. REN Everhydrate Marine Moisture-Replenish Cream

This is a perfect moisturiser for guys who suffer from dry skin as it floods the face with hydration, thanks to an algae-activated complex of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Algae is a popular skincare ingredient that helps to reduce wrinkling and skin thinning so this is packed with anti-ageing benefits too. It leaves your face feeling instantly soothed so if you have stubble rash, or suffer from flaky patches on the face or your skin feels tight, this is a life saver.

• £35.00 / Buy it here

2. STYLPRO 2-in-1 Light Up Sonic Dermaplane

Sonic dermaplaning is a beauty tool you can use at home to exfoliate the skin and remove unwanted facial hair. This product (that has a built in LED light for precision) features a device with vibrating blades that work gently on the skin, enabling you to scrape away dead cells, and other impurities from the surface of the skin. Dermaplaning may be popular with women but men can benefit from it too. As well as helping to exfoliate the skin and unwanted hairs, it can also be used to tame unruly brows. A perfect beauty tool to use in between shaving to ensure skin is as soft as possible.

• £34.99 / Buy it here

3. TIRTIR Mask Fit Red Cushion Foundation

Long gone are the days when foundation was worn just by women and whilst this Korean brand product may look super feminine, it works just as well on men’s skin, as it does on ladies’. With a cushion pad, it is easy to apply if you want to cover up skin imperfections or dark eye bags, and if you are a guy with oily skin, it can help matte things out. It’s also easy to blend so if you don’t want full coverage, you can dab it on to the skin lightly for a barely-there look. What’s more, it is sweat proof so if you are working out at the gym, the good news is it does not run. The only problem you may have is that it comes in 40 shades, so think twice if your complexion is not similar to that of your partner’s.

• £25 / Buy it here

4. DROWSY Beauty Sleep Body Cream

The brand infamous for its silk eye masks has a fabulous magnesium-infused body care range that is definitely worth pinching from your partner’s bathroom cabinet, if they happen to have it. Not only does it smell divine due its blend of six sleep-enhancing oils, but it makes your skin feel super smooth, removing any dry patches on the body. The magnesium in the body cream is great for a post gym workout if your muscles feel achy and if you are a guy that suffers from back acne the cream helps control oil and soothe breakouts.

• £45 / Buy it here

5. SBTRCT Clarifying facial exfoliator

Exfoliating can be a particularly beneficial skincare step for men to take as it works by unclogging pores and clearing oils away from hair follicles. If you shave and suffer with ingrown hairs, this product is definitely worth nabbing off your partner if she has it. With ingredients including white willow bark — a natural and gentler alternative to salicylic acid — and upcycled rice powder to gently lift away dead skin cells and impurities, this exfoliator expertly decongests pores leaving skin feeling soft, smooth and nourished.

• £24 / Buy it here

6. Sana Jardin Air of Aquarius Eau de Parfum

It may be aimed at the female market with its feminine shaped bottle and fruity scent but this fragrance smells as good on men as it does women. At the heart of Air of Aquarius lies the essence of uplifting lemon that you can smell as soon as it hits the skin, and it lasts all day. Although it is enriched with rosemary and lavender — two notes common in feminine, sweet perfumes — it gives off a wonderful aroma that men can certainly benefit from thanks to a cool and spicy scent once it settles on to the skin.

• £86.25 / Buy it here

7. Neutrogena Retinol Boost Serum

Often an overlooked step in many men's skincare routines, face serums are definitely worth using as they help to achieve clearer, healthier and more youthful-looking skin. Don’t be put off by retinol as it is a popular topical anti-ageing ingredient that goes to work in treating everything from acne to smoothing out wrinkles. Also, if you have dry or tight skin, the Hyaluronic Acid in this serum really hydrates the face and you will notice your skin is a lot smoother after use.

• £24.49 / Buy it here

8. NIANCE SWITZERLAND Eye Care SHINE

Both women and men suffer from delicate skin around the eye area and this light formula is a superhero in combating puffiness and signs of tiredness while restoring lost moisture and ironing out wrinkles. Your other half may have invested a lot in this cream so use it sparingly, as only a tiny amount is required. If you are sleep deprived or have dark circles under the eyes, you’ll notice this not only perks skin up but also makes the area look brighter. Plus it is fragrance free and hypoallergenic so if you have sensitive skin this works like a dream.

• £295 / Buy it here

9. FAB SKINCARE LED Light Mask

There are numerous LED masks out there and they work as effectively on men as they do women. If you have any skin concerns, or just need a pick-me-up, this one is amazing. It offers red, blue and yellow lights for multiple benefits, including reducing inflammation and excessive oil, something a lot of men suffer with. The mask also works a treat in fighting and preventing acne breakouts. The only problem you may find is that you should wear this mask for up to 20 minutes at a time, so your partner may clock you’ve nicked it from her!

• £395 / Buy it here

10. Dermatology M Nourishing Hand & Foot Cream

Women may generally reach for a hand cream more than men but this one is for you if you suffer from dry or sore areas on the skin. It has a unique blend of Chinese herbs that instantly soothe the skin, whilst removing any dry patches you have on your hands or feet. Although the fragrance does smell quite sweet due to the extracts of blueberries, sugarcane, oranges, lemons and sugar maple ingredients, it is not an overly feminine smell. The addition of organic shea & cocoa butters are ideal for soothing dry skin while also supporting skin barrier strength and function. A good product to reach for post-gym!

• £42 / Buy it here

Main Image Credit: Roberto Peri / Getty Images

You may know Nanoleaf for its funky smart light panels, but it has just reached way out of its comfort zone with a light therapy face mask.

Nanoleaf showed off this new skincare gadget at CES 2025.

A first glance at the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask transported us right back to watching Pedro Almodóvar's creepy 2011 classic The Skin I Live In. But that just shows what derma philistines we are, as this kind of face mask design is actually pretty common.

The inside of the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask is dotted with LEDs that fire coloured light into your skin.

Can RGB LEDs, not all that dissimilar to the ones in a gaming PC's fan array, really treat fine lines and acne? We’ll let the clinical studies decide that one, but this is at least a recognised practice.

“LED Light Therapy utilises different wavelengths of light to trigger the skin's natural healing processes, targeting a wide range of skin concerns—such as fine lines, acne, uneven skin tone, and more— for results that you can both see and feel,” says Nanoleaf’s blurb on the mask.

It includes seven treatment modes, which appears to boil down to the internal LEDs shining light in different colours: red, blue, white, purple, yellow, cyan, and green.

Your average session of light therapy at a clinic will generally just use red and blue light alone for a couple of separate jobs.

As London clinic Dr L’Art points out, you might use red light for a bit of anti-ageing. “Red light stimulates collagen production, reducing fine lines and promoting youthful radiance,” it says.

Or blue light to take on acne. “This wavelength targets acne-causing bacteria, P. acnes, reducing its presence and promoting clearer skin.”

An LED light session at De L’Art costs £85, for a 45-minute treatment. And the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask? It’s set to cost $149.99, with a $135 early bird deal currently on. Not bad.

For UK buyers, the mask is simply listed as “coming soon.”

While the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask may use less powerful LEDs than you’d get at a clinic, this mask is also a whole lot cheaper than the rival CurrentBody Series 2, at £399.

That mask has 236 LEDs to the Nanoleaf’s 108-odd (yes, we counted) but it’s surely the intensity of output that matters here, not the number of tiny torches you use.

We’re catching a whiff of “we have all this LED experience, so why the hell not” from the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask. But given the cost relative to the other options out there, it doesn’t sound like the worst way to get some self care in.

Wondering how it works? A cable hangs down from the mask, connecting to a little control module that also houses the Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask's battery. That's a smart move, as it will help lower the weight of the mask itself.

• The best men's anti-ageing cream for younger-looking skin

A good aftershave can turn heads, boost confidence and evoke memories. Make sense of the scents with our guide to the top 20 on the market.

In a very saturated industry, finding the right aftershave can be a minefield. The market is so overflowing with them right now that buying a fragrance can prove quite a daunting task. From fruity smells to woody ones, old classics to new brands, there are so many to choose from. And, having moved past the days when fragrances were exclusively gendered, you now have the addition – since Calvin Klein’s CK One was released in 1994 – of unisex products that have taken the industry by storm. So there is even more variety out there, complicating your choices.

As well as ultimately making you smell nice, a good aftershave can do wonders for your confidence. It can lift your mood, turn heads, and put a spring in your step. It can also take you down nostalgia lane; a familiar scent, such as vanilla or cinnamon, for example – two common fragrance notes found in aftershaves – can evoke past emotions as smell and memory are closely linked.

One of the most important things to look for when choosing an aftershave is its longevity, in terms of how long the scent stays on the skin for. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on one that you need to reapply regularly, but that said, if you are willing to spritz throughout the day, a cheaper one may suffice.

Below we feature some all-time favourites, as well as a few new fragrances that smell divine. And if you want to understand how the layers of perfume combine to give them their scent, scroll down to the bottom of this shortlist for a quick explainer.

The best men's fragrances and aftershaves

Understanding fragrances

Before you delve into the best fragrances for men, it might be worth looking at what makes a fragrance smell a particular way. Understanding this will make the shopping process a lot more straightforward since you’ll begin to learn what types of fragrances you prefer and why.

The most important thing to know is that perfumes, colognes, aftershave, etc are generally composed of three layers of notes: top notes, heart notes, and base notes.

Top notes are the initial, fleeting scents you perceive when you first apply a fragrance. Fresh and light, these are meant to grab your attention but don't last long. Common top notes include citrus, herbal and light floral scents.

Heart (or “middle”) notes emerge as the top notes evaporate. They form the core of the fragrance and last longer. They’re often floral, fruity or spicy to add depth and complexity.

Last up are base notes - the foundation of the scent. They appear as the heart notes fade, providing a lasting scent. They’re commonly woody, musky and sweet.

By understanding these layers, you can choose a scent that matches your style and personality.

However, when testing out a fragrance, it's essential to let it settle on your skin for a while before purchasing, as the full bouquet of notes reveals itself over time.

• Harry’s Plus Razor review: One month with our new favourite manual shave

Skin nicks, burns, cuts, acne, bumps and redness: shaving the face can be quite a hairy experience for men. The right wet razor will stop shaving causing havoc on your skin.

Wet shaving is traditionally any form that involves water (or shaving foam/gel) applied directly to the face. This involves a manual razor.

But for the purpose of this round-up we’re also going to include a handful of water resistant electric shavers you can use in the shower. It may not be classic wet shaving, but we’d bet it’s the kind at least some of you are after.

Our guide to the 10 best shaving kits for men includes both manual razors and electric ones to help you decide what suits you best. Razors have come a long way over the years, with many of the familiar and not so well-known brands offering products designed to completely revolutionise your shaving experience.

To help you decide which is best for you, we’ve cut to the chase with our guide below to the best razors on the market - all at different price points to suit every budget.

10 Best wet shavers for men

Wrinkles are inevitable, whether we like it or not. Until a miracle cure for ageing has been concocted, all we can do is try to slow down signs of ageing with numerous lotions and potions - and, boy, do we have some good 'uns in our best men's anti-ageing cream guide.

The majority of anti-ageing skincare is marketed towards women, but a growing number of men are also becoming increasingly concerned about maintaining a youthful appearance.

In fact, a recent study by Nivea says almost two-thirds of men (65%) would do more to slow down the signs of ageing if they were given the option to go back in time. The research also revealed over half (59%) want to learn how to build a personal skincare routine.

To help with just that, we’ve tried and tested the best anti-ageing creams, serums and moisturisers for men, including those for use in the day and at night - all at different price points to suit different budgets.

Still, that doesn’t mean this article is only a resource for the male population. In fact, most of the products on this list are unisex and can be beneficial to anyone. After all, skin doesn’t have a gender.

Best men's anti-ageing cream

• These are the best men's fragrances and aftershaves

Beards are brilliant. Beards are also hard work. One minute you’re channelling rugged competence, the next you’re dealing with itchiness, wiry ends and a face that feels like it’s been lightly sandpapered. Enter beard oil: the unsung hero of facial hair, and the difference between “intentional” and “I’ve just given up”.

A good beard oil does a lot of heavy lifting. It softens coarse hair, hydrates the skin underneath (where most beard problems actually start), and gives everything a bit of shape and sheen without tipping into greasy territory. Done right, it makes your beard easier to manage, better to touch and, crucially, more pleasant to live with, both for you and anyone who comes within kissing distance.

The only problem? There are loads of them. Boutique blends, budget buys, fancy glass bottles promising oud, sandalwood or something that sounds like it was foraged during a full moon. Some are genuinely excellent. Others smell nice for about five minutes and then leave you feeling like you’ve rubbed cooking oil into your face.

So we’ve rounded up the best beard oils worth your time, the ones that actually do what they promise, whether you’re sporting light stubble, a full winter beard or something gloriously overgrown in between. Consider this your shortcut to a better beard, with less faff and no guesswork. Trial and error will play a part here, though; every beard is different, but one of the products below will certainly help you.

Best beard oils to tame your facial hair

• The best men’s fragrance: Tom Ford, Hugo Boss, Versace and more

Hair loss is something nearly all men will have to deal with at some point in their lives. How traumatic it can be and the effect it can have on your day-to-day life is often underestimated - which makes finding the best hair growth product for men really important.

According to the most recent report by the The Harley Street Hair Clinic, almost a quarter (24%) of Brits are less likely to date a guy with noticeable hair loss. It’s hardly surprising, then, that hair loss treatments are more popular than ever, with many of those suffering from hair loss doing whatever it takes to hold on to their beloved locks.

We've not tried this option for ourselves yet, so haven't added it to the list. It's also worth mentioning this is only available on prescription, so you'll have to have a consultation online via Hims and it's a step not to be taken lightly given this is a strong medication. But, if you've exhausted other options it's definitely worth checking out.

There are several causes for hair loss in men. While a lot of it is to do with genetics, other reasons can include hormonal changes, medications, excessive hair styling or even just stress. The most common, though, is a hereditary condition called male-pattern baldness which, unfortunately, has no cure. However, there are still things you can to help put prevent a receding hairline, or at least delay the inevitable.

From thickening and caffeine shampoos to regrowth vitamins, here are some of the best hair growth products currently on the market. If you've had some success with one, give it an upvote.

• Up your grooming game with one of the best beard trimmers

Best hair growth products for men

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.

We know why you are looking for the best hair mask. Between colouring your hair for too long, blasting it with too much heat, keeping it up in a ponytail all the time, not getting it cut enough or just exposing it to the elements a little bit too much, it’s upsettingly easy to damage your hair.

And as anyone with hair damage will know, this can make your tresses look far from their best. Hair can dry out, leaving you with little to no shine, and you might even get a few split ends, making your hair look scruffy and messy no matter how much you try to style it.

But never fear – making sure you look after your hair is as easy as regular application of a hair mask. Available across the board – from cheap and cheerful to high-end luxury – you can treat your hair no matter the budget.

So for stronger, shinier hair, read on – here’s all you need to know about the best hair masks on the market right now.

• The best hair straighteners: best flat irons for all types of hair

Best hair masks

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.

We’ve all spent so long waxing, shaving and epilating our body hair, it’s hard to remember there are other options – some of which have significant advantages when it comes to pain, ease of use and long lasting results, as these best IPL machines prove.

Laser hair removal uses pulses of light to damage hair follicles and prevent regrowth, leading to longer lasting smoothness. You will have to redo some areas, but it will still last considerably longer than waxing, shaving or other forms of hair removal.

You will need to read product advice before you buy, however. While this is generally good practice for any big purchase, it’s particularly important with laser hair removal products, as some don’t work on all skin types or hair colours, and those with darker skin or lighter hair may find machines less efficient.

Here’s our pick of the best. Upvote the laser hair remover you'd choose.

Why not take a look at the best hair straighteners, as tested by our expert. And if IPL isn't your thing, then try out the best epilators for hair removal.

Best IPL machines

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.

Hair removal - it's one of life's more annoying commitments. Time consuming, expensive and nearly always painful, it could rank as one of the more tedious beauty rituals we like (or don't like) to perform. But do you choose the best epilator on the market, a razor, wax strips, or hair removal cream?

We all have our favourites – and they all come with pros and cons. Hair removal cream makes your legs super smooth, but also sometimes smells pretty pungent. Shaving is quick and pain-free, but often leads to rashes or cuts. Waxing is great for long lasting smoothness but is, unfortunately, somewhat painful.

But what of the humble epilator?

If we’re completely honest, you’re unlikely to have a completely pain free epilating experience. But there are other things that make up for it. Epilating works a bit like waxing, pulling your hair from the root – which also explains why it lasts much longer than shaving.

It even works on hairs as small as 0.5mm, meaning the tiniest hairs will be removed. And you can even do it from the comfort of your own home. Bliss.

Not sure where to start? Here’s our guide to the best epilators out there.

• Best mascara, tested first-hand. And if you'd rather go down the laser hair removal route, then the best IPL machines are for you.

Best epilators

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

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Perfume gives us a sense of normality – those recognisable scents that make us feel more like…well, us! So, in the face of 2020, where our normal daily excursions have fallen to the lounge-wear, Zoom call wayside, The Perfume Shop has teamed up with Mark Wright to provide a platform for customers to express their true personality and individuality.

So, whether your gifting recipient is usually the life and soul of the party, or the quiet creative-type, we’ve hand-picked some of the best fragrances that’ll truly help them express who they are on the inside.

If you want to share your transformations, then head to your social channel of choice and use the hashtag #BringOutThePerfume to be in with the chance to win perfume prizes.

Do you work in the NHS, Emergency Services, Social Care and Armed Forces across the UK? The Perfume Shop is now offering 15% Off to Blue Light Card Members. Find out more: www.theperfumeshop.com/blue-light.

Your handbag essential might always be lipstick but as far as secret make-up weapons go, having the best eyeliner in there wins hands down. Not only is it the perfect way to add structure to your look in an instant, the latest formulas glide on effortlessly, so you can create flicks, dramatic cat-eye shapes and Bardot-style wings with ease.

UPDATE: There's Glossier-related news on the horizon! Yes, the brand adored by millennials everywhere has launched its first liquid eyeliner entitled Pro Tip. It's a bold offering from the US cosmetics giant and is pretty much the sister product to Brow Flick - a fan favourite liquid brow liner. It's highly pigmented and offers a sharp old flick - making it a great addition to any make-up fans cosmetics collection. The liner will form part of the Brow Trio set and promise of 12-hour wear. We'll take 10 please.

The format you choose will be down to the eyeliner look you wear the most. Pencils or crayons, for example, are best for adding emphasis to a smoky eye or your waterline, while felt tip pen-style nibs will create sharp lines and swoops easily, even when you’re in a rush.

You’ll need a steadier hand for most brush and pot eyeliners but with practice, you can add barely-there strokes close to your lash-line for a polished yet natural effect. Ready to embrace intense definition? Eyes down, look in…

Upvote your eyeliner of choice.

• This is the best mascara to add length, curl and volume to your lashes

Best eyeliner

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.

With more and more people turning to veganism as a means of reducing their carbon footprint or simply as part of a healthy diet, many beauty brands are getting in on the action.

With an increasing number jumping aboard the vegan train by creating specially formulated beauty products, the time has come to round-up what we reckon are the best vegan beauty products around.

And when we say beauty, what we really mean is a variety of products - from serums to bronzers - that form an essential part of your daily skincare routine.

When it comes to variety, the beauty market has never been richer. With primers, oils and face scrubs competing against concealers and blushers to vye for your attention, where do we begin?

This run-down has been tried and tested by the ShortList team, featuring some well known brand names, alongside smaller, emerging brands that have some effective products.

We’ve stuck to one stand-out product per brand - despite there being multiple other great products available - and have tried to select products that work well on all skin tones.

These are the vegan beauty products worth investing in:

Best vegan beauty products

Whether you're washing your hands a lot, which we are all doing right now, you work with your hands or you just live somewhere cold, it's very easy for your skin to get dry, chapped and sore.

But luckily, there's an easy solution: finding the best hand cream for you and slathering it on.

Out for a luxury hand cream? Want something more intensive for super-dry skin? Or do you just want something cheap and cheerful to keep in your bag or on your desk at work? There's a hand cream out there for you. We cover the lot below.

And don't forget you can always vote for your favourite – so let us know what you think.

• Best lip balms: chapped, dry lips begone!

Best hand creams

So you want to grow a beard. Good idea. Get it right, with the best beard trimmer, and you’ll look great, keep your chin warm and save a whole load of time and cash.

Get it wrong and you’ll have that ten-blade razor back in your hand before you can say, “Did you know the only member of ZZ Top without facial hair is called Frank Beard?” To avoid that fate you need to invest in the best beard trimmer your budget will allow.

• Speaking of notable facial hair, these are the best beard oils to make your beard a thing of envy.

UPDATE: On the subject of recommendatins, if you're on the hunt for a beard trimmer but are unsure of the offers available out there, it's worth checking out the Panasonic ES-LV97 Wet & Dry 5-Blade offering. We know, we know, it's a bit of a mouthful, but when you see what this trimmer can do, you'll more than forgive them. This shaver comes complete with a cleaning and charging stand and adjusts power to match the demands of your beard. Panasonic claim the ultra-fast motor provides 70,000 cross cutting action per minute, while the contour-following head ensures an even and accurate trimming experience.

That’s because growing and maintaining a beard isn’t just a case of giving up shaving. You need to cultivate it, and that’s where a good beard trimmer comes in. We spent a few weeks with the leading models to see which ones offer the best performance.

Below you can read what we liked and disliked with all the beard trimmers we tested but, for clarity, the best beard trimmers for value we tested were the BaByliss 7897U Super. The best trimmers overall were the Panasonic ER-GB96.

Best beard trimmers: overall and best value

It might lack some of the bells and whistles of other, more expensive trimmers, and the upkeep is a little more hassle than just rinsing it under the tap, but considering how little you can buy it for online the BaByliss Super Beard offers the best trim at the most agreeable price.

The RRP of Panasonic’s ER-GB96 is a whopping £120, a price tag it can’t possibly justify. But when you can find it online for around half that, this high-quality, versatile and well-built trimmer is hard to beat. Whatever look you’re after, it has you covered.

Have a look at the 10 that made it into our test shortlist.

• This is best hair straightener in the world right now

• best buys
• test selection
• the shortlist
• The review
• our expert
• test selection
• How we tested

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The Shortlist: Best beard trimmers in order

Overall the Panasonic ER-GB96stood out, but in terms of value for money the BaByliss Super Beard is hard to argue with for most beard growers.

Want to dig deeper? Read on to find out how we tested, and exactly what each of these beard trimmers offers.

Author Bio

Tom Wiggins

Tom Wiggins is a freelance technology journalist who has been growing a beard for nearly ten years now, although he still hasn’t finished it. He’s been writing about and reviewing gadgets for even longer than that, previously as deputy editor of Stuff magazine. His favourite beard belongs to Andrea Pirlo.

The expert's view

3

Weeks spent testing

13

Products considered

2

Best buys

1

Experts considered

Best beard trimmers: how we selected

Firstly, let’s get one thing straight – there’s a big difference between a beard trimmer and an electric shaver. They’re easy to tell apart. The latter has a foil you press right up against your skin to cut the hair as close to the root as possible, but if you want to maintain anything more than a 7 o’clock shadow you need something with proper blades and an adjustable guard.

The guard allows you to not only choose how long you grow your beard out, but trims different parts to different lengths, which usually offers a more natural look. Anyone who thinks cultivating a beard is just a case of leaving it to grow is very much mistaken.

So how did we pick our ten trimmers on test here? For starters we ignored any model that couldn’t cut to more than 5mm, ideally looking for something that coped with at least 10mm.

Beards come in all shapes and sizes, and while anything longer than that probably requires regular visits to a professional to keep in check, having something at home to look after its basic upkeep saves a lot of hassle.

There are a whole range of mains-powered clippers that, while designed predominantly for giving haircuts, could also do a job on your face, but in the interests of convenience we’ve stuck to battery-powered trimmers. Some will still work while plugged into the mains, so you won’t have to dash out of the door with a half-trimmed beard when the juice runs out. Our assumption is that you don’t have a standard plug socket in your bathroom. Electricity and water don’t mix, remember?

There were, of course, other trimmers that didn’t make our final shortlist. We tried models from Wahl and BaByliss but ruled them out because they were just too basic.

Of the two on the market with built-in vacuums we preferred the cut offered by the Philips BT7202 to Remington’s MB6850, while others just didn’t make the list simply because they weren’t available to test. For example, Amazon has a whole range of trimmers listed by brands such as Hatteker and Solimpia which sound completely made up, and considering they don’t even have official websites we wouldn’t recommend buying them in case anything goes wrong.

Instead, we stuck to a range of tried and tested brands. Some specialise in grooming products, such as Remington and BaByliss, and others make a wider range of consumer tech, like Philips and Panasonic. A number of them have various models available at different prices, with almost all of them available for less than the advertised RRP, so there’s something here for all budgets.

We also tried any with fancy features to find out whether they’re more than just gimmicks. Surely you don’t need a laser to ensure the furry edges of your face are straight?

Best beard trimmers: how we tested

The best way to prevent your beard getting out of hand is to give it a quick going over every morning. We used a different trimmer every few days over the course of three weeks, judging each one based on how evenly, efficiently and effectively it cut.

We chose a medium-length setting of 7mm but would always take into account just how versatile each device was, with extra marks for anything that could go over 10mm. Whereas some offer adjustments in half-millimetre increments, others are much less precise in their measurements – which is fine if one of the options happens to be the one you’re after, but isn’t that great if you have a particular length in mind it doesn’t cater for.

While you’re unlikely to spend much time switching between length settings, it’s still important to take into account how easy that is to do. Some models come with one attachment that caters for all available settings, while others have different ones that need to be switched in and out to achieve certain lengths. You’ll want a trimmer that’s easily adjustable, but not something liable to slip and change setting if your push a bit too hard while you trim.

Most trimmers use one of two mechanisms, either a sliding system or a wheel that allows you to adjust the distance between the blades at the end of the attachment. The former can be slightly tricky if the slider is too stiff or overly loose, so the wheel is often preferable for peace of mind, although this is largely a personal preference.

Of course, there’s more to take into account during the grooming process than just what length the trimmer is set to. You tend to get two types of attachment with beard trimmers: comb-shaped ones and more box-shaped guards. Both have teeth to stop the blades getting too close to your face, giving you a shorter cut than you had in mind, but not all attachments are created equal.

We were looking for teeth that would lift the hair up for cutting but wouldn’t flex too much in use and put your nice even look under threat. While overall face maintenance was our primary concern we also took into account what secondary attachments or features each trimmer had. Could they cater for top lips and finer details, for example?

Bear in mind the trimmer’s job doesn’t end when you’ve finished cutting. All that hair has to go somewhere – what doesn’t fall into the sink and surrounding area gets collected in the attachments and around the cutting teeth of the trimmer, which means you need to clean them regularly. The easiest way to do this is to wash them under the tap, but not all models are completely waterproof, which mean they require a little more maintenance to keep in top condition.

Best beard trimmer reviews: The test results

The good news is that none of the trimmers tested here will leave you looking like you’ve stuck your face in a bowl of glue and kissed the floor of a barber shop, but there are a few that definitely stand out.

While the higher price point means it won’t be for everyone, the performance and versatility offered by Panasonic’s ER-GB96 really set it apart. The four attachments provided are sturdy, and its powerful motor makes light work of even fairly dense thickets of facial hair.

The range of attachments mean it’s suited to taking care of virtually any type of beard you could possible want to grow, plus the build quality feels like a step up from most of the others on test. Add to that the fact that it’s totally waterproof and, as long as you can get it for significantly less than the £120 RRP, the ER-GB96 is our top choice.

Of the more wallet-friendly trimmers we tried, theBaByliss 7897U Super Beard offers the best bang for your buck. While the single attachment it comes with feels a bit on the flimsy side, it cuts consistently and efficiently. With a maximum length of 15mm it’s not for those looking to grow something extravagant, but for the vast majority of people that should be plenty long enough.

If you have a longer beard and are looking for a suitable trimmer at a reasonable price you’ll want either the Remington MB4045 orPanasonic’s ER-GB80. The former feels a bit plasticky but trims well and comes with three attachments that have everything from 1mm to 35mm covered, although the teeth on them are quite flexible.

If 20mm is long enough, the ER-GB80 is quite similar to the more pricey GB96, although its wider cutting head means you can’t be quite as precise when trimming. On the whole it gives an impressive all-over cut, plus it comes with a smaller, much narrower set of pop-up blades for neat edges.

The ER-GB80 is one of the two trimmers we tested that is designed to be used on the top of your head as well as the bottom of your face. The other is Wahl’s SPL 4-in-1 Multigroomer, which isn’t quite as bathroom-friendly as the rest. Changing the cutting length requires swapping out the attachment, which also means you sometimes need to change the cutting head. That doesn’t take long but it’s less convenient than just twisting a dial or adjusting a slider. Plus they don’t all fit as snugly as you’d want when performing irreversible facial topiary.

The best beard trimmer reviewed

Panasonic ER-GB96 review, £120


Picking the most expensive option isn’t always a surefire way of bagging the best buy but that’s exactly what you get with Panasonic ER-GB96. More importantly, it’s easy to find for around half the £120 RRP.

Its four attachments and half-millimetre adjustments mean it’s hugely versatile, offering a whopping 58 different cutting lengths in total. Admittedly, the very longest one is only of use to people with real rugs - it maxes out at 30mm - but if you can’t find the right length from that lot there’s no helping you.

Still, whatever length you’re after this offers a consistent cut with no tugging and little cause to go over the same spots again and again. No trimmer will catch everything first time but the GB96 does a better job than most.

That’s all thanks to a solid set of teeth on each attachment, plus a powerful motor that makes short work of longer patches and offers about 50 minutes of use between charges. Considering you’re only likely to be using it for a few minutes each day it’ll go for ages without needing to be plugged in. Charging only takes an hour, which is handy because the design of the charger means it will annoyingly block any socket to the right of it.

This is solidly built and the sturdy barrel-style adjustment makes it easy to click through the length settings, plus it’s totally waterproof so you can rinse the whole thing under the tap to stop it accumulating hairs. The attachment does get fairly clogged up during use but that’s by no means unique to this trimmer. A gentle bash and you’re ready to go again.

The one thing we would point out is that there’s an almost identical version available for around £10 less called the ER-GB86, the only real difference being that it doesn’t come with the 5mm detail attachment. We hardly used that one anyway, so it could be worth saving yourself a few quid and picking up the cheaper model.

The best beard trimmer for value reviewed:

BaByliss 7897U Super Beard review, £60

Cheaper trimmers often feel inconsistent, inefficient or just plain ineffective, but the BaByliss Super Beard is none of those things. In fact, it pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin – and with online prices closer to £30 than the £60 RRP it’s unbeatable value.

It only comes with one attachment but it adjusts in 1mm increments to a maximum length of 15mm, and the lockable adjustment wheel means you can be sure it won’t accidentally change length mid-trim. A small LED display shows what length it’s set to.

The thin plastic teeth on it aren’t always the most comfortable to run over your skin, and it can be a bit fiddly to put on and take off when you want to use the bare blades for shaping your hairline, but it cuts consistently without fuss. The guard attachment is also very boxy and square, so it’s not great at squeezing in under your nose to take care of your top lip, but there are trimmers out there that cost double and do an inferior job, so it’s a compromise worth making.

The Super Beard’s plastic build doesn’t look as premium as Panasonic’s two options or the Philips Series 5000, but it feels solid enough, plus it comes with a stand for charging that keeps things neat and tidy at home but isn’t the most practical solution for travel.

After an initial three-hour charge it takes about 90 minutes to fully recharge the battery from flat, but there’s a five-minute quick option that’ll give you just enough juice to finish off your trim if it conks out mid shave.

The Super Beard isn’t 100 per cent waterproof but you can remove the blades to rinse them under the tap, so it requires a touch more maintenance than some other models. BaByliss also recommends that you oil the blades occasionally. That’s certainly not unique to this trimmer but is worth bearing in mind.

Comparing the rest on test

While the Panasonic ER-GB96 and BaByliss Super Beard are our top two choices, almost all of the rest still have things to offer, even if none of them are quite the complete package.

While we can’t recommend the laser-toting Philips Series 9000 at all, the vacuum-packing Series 7000 is more successful. It still doesn’t offer the most effective trim but if you’re keeping things short it does a fairly decent job of sucking up hairy shrapnel, although it’ll never collect 100 per cent of what you shear off, so the benefit is slightly questionable. The chamber the detritus falls into isn’t removable either, so you’ll never get it totally spotless without some very intricate cleaning. Not a total success, then, but not a complete failure either.

The Philips Series 5000 is a perfectly serviceable trimmer but doesn’t stand out compared to the Panasonic ER-GB96 or BaByliss Super Beard, and its maximum cutting length of 10mm also rules it out if you’re looking to cultivate something particularly rugged. It feels fairly solid and well built, but the smooth plastic chassis doesn’t offer the most reassuring grip.

The Remington MB4045 is also perfectly adequate without excelling in any areas. Its buttons feel a bit cheap, it takes ages to charge and it doesn’t offer the cleanest cut but you can’t fault the whole package for versatility. It comes with three attachments that can cope with anything from 1.5mm all the way up to 35mm – the longest of the whole lot. There’s even a brush and a pair of scissors in the box for grooming and trimming your ’tache or taking care of any stragglers that get left behind.

Probably more impressive is Remington’s tiny MB4200 Endurance Groomer. Measuring about half the size of most other trimmers on our shortlist it offers a surprisingly thorough trim for something so small, and while the attachment is a bit on the fiddly side, being able to charge it using a USB port is very handy for frequent flyers.

If you’re after something to save you trips to the barber as well as keep your facial hair in check, we’d probably pick Panasonic’s ER-GB80 over the Wahl SPL 4-in-1 Multigroomer. While neither were tested for how well they cut head hair, the Panasonic’s ease of use and impressive cutting performance make it the better everyday choice for your face.

The Wahl is also by far the loudest of any trimmers we tested, which might seem like a minor issue to you, but ask the rest of the household what they think when you fire it up at 6:30am. It does come with an attachment for trimming your nostrils and inside your ears, though, which might seem laughable now, but just you wait…

Braun’s MGK3020also comes with bits to do your hairy head holes but as a general beard trimmer it’s just a bit too limited, especially when you consider the BaByliss Super Beard does such a good job and will only set you back a tenner more.

Any beard trimmers to avoid?

While it might have the most high-tech appearance of all the trimmers in the test, and its built-in laser guidance system is undoubtedly unique, the Philips Series 9000 just doesn’t do enough to justify its price tag and for that reason we can’t recommend it.

Let’s start with that laser attachment, which is surely the reason for the Series 9000’s relatively high price. While it sounds like a neat idea in theory, in practice it’s badly implemented to the point of being almost useless. If you’re not careful it reflects off the head of the trimmer and actually makes it more difficult to see what you’re doing.

Then there’s the fundamental flaw in the idea itself. The laser will only ever be as straight as you hold it, and since you have to move the trimmer as you cut there’s no guarantee that this will offer a straighter trim than just going by sight alone.

This wouldn’t be a huge deal if it offered a better overall cut than everything else on the list but the results are pretty underwhelming. While it adjusts in 0.2mm increments at the shorter end of the scale it maxes out at 7mm, so is of limited use to those aiming for a bushier beard. The attachments don’t seem to do a particularly good job of lifting the hairs for cuttin, either, which means you end up going over and over the same areas.

On the plus side it feels sturdy and well built, it’s 100 per cent waterproof and the double-sided cutting head means you just have to stop and flip it round to do details or deal with more fiddly areas, but that’s not a lot of use if it can’t get the basics right.

What did we miss?

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The winter months can be pretty tough on the lips, the part of the face which is often forgotten about when it comes to moisturising - well, until they’re already chapped and you start looking for the best lip balms to remedy this.

This happens because there are no oil glands within the lips, explains Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor and founder of the Esho Clinic.

“Lips lose both heat and moisture easily, which can leave them susceptible to becoming dry and cracked if we don’t take care of them”, he says. “This is exacerbated by the harsh weather where extremes of temperature and winter winds strip the surface of moisture.”

Esho adds that balms can help protect against this in two ways, first by providing a protective coating to the surface of the lips to help prevent the loss of moisture and secondly to help encourage healing and repair of chapped lips.

Here are the some of the best lip balms - tried and tested - to keep your mouth well moisturised before spring arrives.

Best lip balms for dry lips

Whether you're a personal grooming maven or someone who owns nothing more than a bar of soap and a toothbrush, you could benefit from the best toiletry bag.

If you have lots of products, it's obvious why you'd want something stylish to keep all of your bits and bobs in: tweezers, scissors, skincare, make-up, flannels...

But even if you favour a simple approach to personal care, you'll still need something for when you go on holiday – and why not make your bathroom look a little bit nicer while you do it?

From the cheap and cheerful to more expensive investments, we've gathered some of the best toiletry bags you can buy now. And don't forget to vote for your favourites.

• Get fully tooled-up for your next holiday with one of the best travel suitcases

Best toiletry bags 2020

SOMETHING MISSING FROM OUR SHORTLIST?

Tell us about it, and if enough people agree we'll add it in.

New year, new me - you've probably heard that at least a hundred times by now. Most of the accompanying advice is probably about healthy eating and going to the gym before signing yourself up for a marathon but you will want to check out our best beauty deals and spoil yourself a little.

That's because you should also think about looking after what's on the outside as well as the inside. After all, your skin and hair need some TLC, too.

Whether you're hunting for a new pair of straighteners or a fragrance for yourself or your other half, there's something to please even the fussiest beauty fan.

• Get informed with our mega test of the best hair straighteners

Ahhh, Christmas time. So many presents, so little time. Fret not, for Shortlist are here with a gifting list that might just solve your seasonal shopping woes.

Yes, we've compiled a Christmas shopping list that should cover the whole family - including the uncle who gets a little tipsy and nods off in the corner come 5pm.

From the cousin who's glued to his PS4 95% of the time and only comes to family occasions because it's threatened with confiscation to the green fingered granddad who spends weekends down at the allotment, this list really does cover the spectrum.

If you're in the market for Christmas gifts this Cyber Monday, it also might be worth taking a peak at our best Black Friday deals page which is rammed with the best offers the internet has to offer, including all the Cyber Monday sales you need to know about.

So, if you're tight on time and in need gift suggestions suitable for the whole family, look no further than this list of ten items that could sort the whole family's presents in ten minutes flat.

• Looking for the strangest offers around? Discover our pick of the weirdest Black Friday deals.

For the person who is always rushing after you

For the green fingered friend

For the wannabe beauty blogger

For The Foodie

For the whisky lover

For the football fan

For the gym bunny

For the unexpected Guest

For the teenage cousin Who's forced to show up Once A Year

You feel that? That’s the chilly onset of cold weather being a right old pain for your skin. Be kind to your face by making sure you’re never out of decent grooming gear — these affordable and genuinely fantastic subscription services will do the trick.

• Check out our best meal delivery service boxes, too, for some food-related subscriptions

Get more great Style + Grooming content and sign up for Mr Hyde’s weekly email

Slick Scandi Shaves

Order now

Grüum (from £3)

Years from now, GCSE history students shall learn, in great detail, of the Great Scandification Outbreak and how it claimed the dress-sense, interior design nous, telly-binge habits, and now the actual faces of millions of British middle classers. Truly, an unrelenting force. Inside these monthly boxes you’ll find sexily designed razors and natural shaving lubricants, as well as an array of unisex skincare solutions. All of which will look right at home meticulously placed at 90-degrees to your IKEA toothbrush holder and “minimalistic” (streaked with crusted green slime) Colgate.

Sweet Sweet Smells

Order now

Scentaddict (from £12)

Who are we to suggest that feigning illness to rub your neck against the cologne samples inside the magazines of your doctor’s waiting room is “immoral behaviour”. But this is a better way of opening up your spectrum of scents. Armani, Tom Ford, Gucci and Hugo Boss are just a few of the major-league names that Scentaddict wanna fire into your post box every month, in 8ml atomiser form. What we can – and will! – suggest is whacking a few of these in your office drawers ready to covertly mask your accidental mid-week sesh on the Fourpures from Carol in HR.

God-League Gums

Order now

Brushbox (from £3.50)

Look at that. Three-fifty. Three-and-a-half coconuts. That’s how far you are away from getting everything you need, exactly when you need it, to stop your teeth turning to mud – a colourful toothbrush and award-winning paste, every two months. What’s more, a couple of extra pence gets you a very woke upgrade to a bamboo-instead-of-plastic brush, and you can also add in a tongue cleaner and floss. Until the day halitosis inexplicably becomes “so hot rn”, you can consider our bank deets well and truly flung Brushbox’s way.

Travel-Sized Bangers

Order now

Toppbox (£19)

With the UK’s international relations currently swirling down the pan, there’s a strong possibility that you, making another scene over the size of your deodorant at the Gatwick security lane, could be the catalyst that pushes us all into World War: The Final Showdown. For the sake of humanity, c’mon mate, let’s get you jet-set. Conflict dampener Toppbox promises “a premium assortment of four-to-five top-shelf grooming and skincare products” a month, meaning you’ll be well stocked up on carry-on-ready scrubs, washes, foams and more that won’t plunge us into an eternal nuclear winter.

Superior Skincare

Order now

Bulldog (from £7.35)

Bulldog has earned its rightful place as boss boy of the big-shop toiletries aisle thanks to its affordable, no-messin’ male skincare. But unlike that stadium-filling indie band you’ve definitely never mentioned seeing down the Pig And Puddle way back in ‘03 (“Look, I’m not saying they owe it all to me, but…”) this homegrown hero hasn’t let its size go to its immaculately preened head – it still keeps things real, by offering a bunch of monthly bundles from the site with up to a whacking 30% chopped off the total price when you sign up.

This content was first published in Mr Hyde’s free weekly Style + Grooming newsletter. Sign up now for more.

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Jim Carrey went on Real Time with Bill Maher last Friday, and he went and said some things again, mainly:

“We have to say yes to socialism — to the word and everything.

“We have to stop apologizing.”

The comedian, whose new dark-comedy series Kidding is currently airing in the US, has a history of saying things that could be perceived as controversial or somewhat outlandish. Earlier this year, he urged his social media followers to boycott Facebook because of Russian election-meddling and recently told shocked interviewers that he never existed.

It came to very public head during a bizarre interview he gave at the Venice film festival back in 2017, where he was quoted as saying “I don’t believe in icons. I don’t believe in personalities. I believe that peace lies beyond personality, beyond invention and disguise. I believe we’re a field of energy dancing for itself. And I don’t care.” 

He is also widely vocal about what he perceives as “dubious” vaccine practices in the US:

Do Carrey’s increasingly frequent, unpredictable outbursts suggest that perhaps it’s time to stop analysing everything he does in the real world, and simply take his work on its own merits, separating Carrey the outspoken campaigner from the comedy funny-man?

But then again, have you seen this jacket and fade that he’s got?

You should get a jacket like that, and also the way that his hair starts thicker at the top, but then gradually gets shorter as it moves down his head, that’s sick. Jim Carrey looked like a hermit last year, but now he’s got a cool new yellow jacket, and - no jokes - you should get one, too. Maybe a leather one might be taking it a bit far for most people, but just look at these little numbers:

Yellow shower resistant coach jacket by J by JASPER CONRAN (£19.50)

Quilted jacket with high neck by RESERVED (£39.99)

Yellow coat by LEVI’S® MADE & CRAFTED X POGGY SACK (£312.90)

JAY Leather jacket by TIGER OF SWEDEN JEANS (£599.99)

Core yellow jacket by WEEKDAY (£55)

Jacket by RAINS (£75)

Get a yellow jacket, basically. Ignore Carrey’s comments about socialism, and just get a sick new yellow jacket and then if you want, a fade, too. Simply walk into any hairdressers and shout “Gimme dat Carrey fade, baby” and then refrain - if you can manage it - from harping on about how great you think socialism is for the duration of the cut. And make sure you hang up your banging yellow jacket on the rack because otherwise you’ll get hair all over the collar.

Anyway, enjoy. You look great. Both you, reading this, once you’ve bought a yellow jacket, and also you, Jim Carrey.

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(Images: Getty)

Sunshine can hit our our bodies hard. Mr Hyde roped in the expertise of Mark Smith, a.k.a. The Spa Man (which yes, does make him sound like a grooming superhero, thanks for asking) for his top tips on how to protect your bod when the sun blares.

Best for all-round skin replenishment

Buy now

What’s happened here, then? The sun was novel at first, so you sought it out. But then it was inescapable, then it was chasing you down the street and NO MISTER SUN, NO, I HAVE A FAMILY, PLEASE. (Everyone’s skin has had too much sun, basically.)

Mark says: “Use Murad’s serum (£70) under your daily moisturiser and you will definitely see the results. It’s clinically proven to reduce the appearance of dark spots, age spots and hyperpigmentation in seven days. There are some high-tech ingredients to even out your skin tone too.”

Get more great Style & Grooming content by signing up for Mr Hyde’s weekly email

Best for getting rid of crow’s feet

Buy now

What’s happened here, then? Your heart-melting half-smile, compared to Clooney and Gosling in such respected forums as your own mind, now reveals tentacle-length grooves around the eyes whenever deployed.

Mark says: “The hydrogel patches in Barber Pro’s masks (£4.95) are rich in activated charcoal, volcanic ash and marine-based collagen. These work to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles, and also reduce puffiness and bags.”

Best for cracked heels and soles

What’s happened here, then? You’ve abused the freedom to wear flip-flops for a purpose other than a morning trot to the shop to buy full-fat milk (“it’s all they had”) and a 26-pack of fig rolls (“it’s all they had”).

Mark says: “Too much time in flip-flops will guarantee your heels look a mess after the hot weather. Smother your soles in this Elemis cream (£22) every evening before bed. It will soothe and repair them overnight thanks to shea butter and jojoba oil which melt into the skin to smooth and moisturise rough dry areas.”

Best For Dry Skin On The Body

Buy now

What’s happened here, then? Before this summer, the last time you bared your body in public was when “pulling a Ravanelli” to celebrate your “20-yard 5-a-side howitzer” (a misplaced pass that trickled in off the sidewall). The other team had already restarted, scoring instantly to restore a 15-goal cushion.

Mark says: “Cooling, refreshing and suitable for all skin types, Jack Black’s body lotion (£21.95) ticks all the boxes. It’s lightweight, rapidly absorbed and combats dry and rough patches without any stickiness or greasiness. Soy protein nourishes, macadamia nut oil helps maintain skin’s water-barrier function to slow moisture loss, and Vitamin E helps protect cells from radical damage.”

Best for breakouts on the face

Buy now

What’s happened here, then? The dream team of sunscreen and miscellaneous dirt have conspired to return your complexion to its “love chips, hate daylight” war zone from when you were 16. Thanks, pals!

Mark says: “If your skin is oily and prone to breakouts then you need to get your hands on Lab Series’ clay cleanser and mask (£23). It’s a dual-action product that works as a daily cleanser to purify skin, eliminating oil and dirt. For more serious oil control action, use it as a face mask. Amazonian white clay deep cleans and detoxifies skin, absorbing excess oil. A salicylic/lactic acid blend removes dead skin cells leaving it fresh.”

This content was first published in Mr Hyde’s free weekly Style & Grooming newsletter. Sign up now for more excellence.

Families up and down the country are struggling to make ends meet, and any way they can alleviate that is hugely appreciated.

• These are the best hair straighteners to style your hair just the way you like it

The use of foodbanks has risen substantially in the last 12 months, with figures from the Trussell Trust revealing Scotland and North-West England are the areas to receive the highest number of emergency food supplies in the 12 months to March 2018.

When families are forced to rely on foodbanks, they’re likely to have to make cutbacks in other areas – perhaps they’ll have friends or family members cut the kids’ hair, for example, just to save a bit of cash.

One Scottish hairdresser is well aware of this, and has stepped in to make a difference.

Related

How, in just five months, British politics has turned itself completely upside down

Why Big Neville Southall and his Twitter account are an example to us all

Craig Boyd, who runs a hair salon in Leven, Scotland, has promised free haircuts to children whose families need to use local foodbanks.

Vouchers will be handed out at foodbanks and clothing banks in the area with the Courier reporting that local businesses the Red Petal Company and McCallum’s Barbers have also pledged to help schoolkids show up to school with full pencil cases on their first day back.

“Every child should feel good going to school, but unfortunately we live in a time where everyone is judged,” Boyd said.

“We aren’t doing this to get credit, we are doing this so every child can go to their first day at school and feel special.”

Boyd’s actions come after similar measures elsewhere in the country, with Brixton foodbank in London handing out free haircuts for Valentine’s Day this year.

He will be giving out the free haircuts on 13 August, from 11am-3pm, and there has already rightly been plenty of praise for his actions.

Those keen to offer donations to help the cause, or to offer up their time, have been encouraged to do so.

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(Images: Pixabay)

‘Glow.’ That’s how Young Chidzy, a 26-year-old DJ and entertainer from Manchester, captioned his Twitter pic. His eyebrows freshly done and wearing a dash of make-up - possibly he's read our best mascara guide - he thought he looked good, he felt good and he wanted to flaunt it.

“One of my friends is a make-up artist and I always like the way she does her eyebrows. So I asked her if she wanted to do mine for her YouTube channel, she agreed and we did it about a month ago,” he tells me.

Instead, the image sparked a mini-Twitter storm that gives a handy little insight into modern masculinity and why men still struggle to be open about taking care of themselves.

“I have always had my eyebrows shaped and sometimes tinted but I really did not expect the amount of negativity that came through because of this pic,” he says.

“I got the usual homophobic comments people always get, being called ‘gay’ and ‘fruity.’ But the most annoying one was people commenting using the word ‘Sis.’ I’m a guy so I really didn’t get where the ‘Sis’ comments were coming from.”

He got heaps of negative comments such as “Ffs Delete this! Is nasty” to a gif of a group guys throwing backs their heads in mocking laughter.

And for all of society’s talk about men showing sensitivity and taking care of themselves, Chidzy’s disappointed by the backlash, including from women.

“I was really surprised by the way some girls reacted. These are girls who can’t even tell their friend that she’s wearing the wrong shade of make-up, but they felt the need to attack me.”

This point wasn’t lost on other commenters, as well.

“Hmm. Funny us ladies chat about toxic masculinity and how terrible it is but twitter is showing us the same ladies laughing at and liking tweets mocking this person minding their own business here… interesting,” said one commenter @Yxmikxni with several others echoing the sentiment:

Chidzy was particularly upset that even though he’s not gay, it gave him a window into the sort of harassment LGBTQ people get all the time.

“I support the LGBTQ community and as a heterosexual person, it actually hurt me more knowing how LGBTQ people get treated out there for being who they are. I was doing this just for banter and I got this abuse. Now imagine what abuse someone who actually does this everyday gets?”

RELATED: Why do so many men secretly hate their bodies and what does it all mean?

And as hard as it can be for any man to open up about taking care of their appearance, Chidzy reckons it’s an even harder situation for men of colour.

“It’s pretty obvious why people were so triggered. It’s the homophobic mentality that’s in most black people and because I’m a black man. If I were a white man who’d done this, people would have just scrolled past.

“As a man of colour, the moment you even put on a face mask you’re automatically labelled as a fruity guy.”

But the reaction wasn’t all negative; he also got a load of comments from admiring fans praising him and giving him a few helpful pointers.

Ifka Nolasha commented: “He is so put together. Skin clear and shining like no one’s business! Eye brows on point! Beard nice and trimmed and lined up! What kinda sorcery?!”

And Tsaone said: “Slay those eyebrows young king.”

“The positive comments made me happy,” Chidzy says. “Some of the advice people gave me was so sweet. I even had some girls direct messaging me saying that I shouldn’t listen to the negative comments.”

We salute you, Chidzy. Men taking care of themselves is a simple thing but, as this little controversy proves, it can still be really, really powerful.

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(Images: Young Chidzy)

From the first moment of Queer Eye’s zeitgeist-capturing, catchphrase-minting reboot, it was obvious who the fan favourite was going to be.

• Give your look an extra oomph with our pick of the best hair straighteners

Grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness burst onto the scene with his larger-than-life personality and relentless optimism as the show’s glass-half-full centrepiece. His advocacy for ‘moments’ (having a pedicure? Spa moment! Growing your beard? ZZ Top moment!) is especially priceless.

But that personality wasn’t so readily received at school where, as an openly gay kid, he was bullied mercilessly.

More fool them. The humour and gregariousness he developed as a defence led him to a starring role on the most effervescent show on Netflix – and into the hearts of the world.

Yas, kween! ShortList caught up with Jonathan for his thoughts on friendship, resilience and acceptance…

One of the most striking things about Queer Eye is the representation of queer friendship. That’s a beautiful thing that we haven’t really seen before.

“When I first started doing Queer Eye, I didn’t know that I would be blessed with four lifelong friends who would change my life so much.

Bobby, Karamo, Tan and Antoni are my brothers now. It’s such an uplifting experience to go through this with people who have such a dear place in my heart.”

Your undimmable life light is great as an adult, but must have been difficult growing up. What did that teach you about resilience?

“Growing up with this extremely feminine personality, in a very classically conservative area, taught me that everything is impermanent.

So, one day I might not be feeling real cute, but it goes away quickly.”

How does it feel to be celebrated for that now?

“To finally be celebrated for something that I was rejected for a large part of my life?

It’s like the last scene in Kill Bill when Uma Thurman is on that bathroom floor laugh-crying because she just can’t believe that she made it.

That’s pretty much me, all the time.”

What’s the proudest moment you’ve had since the show aired?

“Every time someone hits me up on Instagram that is like, ‘I see myself in you, and you gave me permission to feel more comfortable about who I am.’

I could never work again and it would be fine, for all of those messages.”

You also host your own podcast, which covers all kinds of topics that people might not associate you with. What made you start that?

“I am curious about anything and everything.

I grew up in a broadcast family, so I grew up running around the newsroom of a newspaper and in a TV station.

Reading the news and being curious is in my blood.

But I can’t really stay on one topic for too long, so I host a podcast called Getting Curious that suffers from attention deficit disorder.

I would have an astrophysicist explain to me what gravitational waves are, or I might have an evolutionary biologist in to tell me all about the mass extinctions and why we should be seriously scared.

If another one of those comes, hold onto your pants, honey, because I don’t even know.”

Being queer can mean you have a lot of labels applied to you by other people. But how would you define yourself?

“I’m a hair-flipping, free-spirited queen, honey. And she’s proud.

And you know why? Because I flip my hair a lot and I derive so much strength from the wind in my hair.

I always have. I will change the tyre on a car, but then I will also give you the most beautiful updo and we are going to feel so cute together.

You know what I mean? Why can’t we just be both?”

Keep exploring stories of identity in its truest, liveliest and most joyful form by visiting Harrys.com/pride.

As a brand that embraces openness, inclusivity and acceptance, award-winning grooming brand Harry’s have released 3,000 limited edition, one-of-a-kind Shave With Pride sets featuring a unique ‘rainbow’ Winston razor handle. Each set is £24 and 100% of profits go to LGBTQ+ causes. Buy yours now.

Harry’s is an official sponsor of Pride in London 2018.

Does your grooming regimen need a slight shake-up? Or would you say it required a complee overhaul? Either way, we’re here to help.

• Need some new grooming gadgets? These are the best hair straighteners around right now

Our 10th annual Men’s Grooming Awards have been finalised and right here we’re announcing the winners. With the help of an expert panel of judges, we put the latest creams, gels and technology through their paces. and now the judges, the ShortList style team and thousands of readers have voted for the products and services that blew their mind.

Without further ado, here are the beard, shaving and aftershave champions for 2018.

SHORTLIST READERS’ CHOICE AWARD

Yves Saint Laurent Y Eau de Toilette (pictured above, 1)

£53 for 60ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “A modern classic. Easy scent that is timeless and won’t go out of fashion.” – Roger Frampton

HOUSE OF FRASER’S EVERY MAN SHOULD HAVE ONE AWARD

Prada L’Homme Prada Intense (above, 2)

£56.60 for 50ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: ‘Prada L’Homme Intense is a firm favourite at House of Fraser, with a long-lasting woody scent, it’s the perfect evening fragrance for any man and the ladies love it too.’ - Ruth Newman

BEST EVERYDAY FRAGRANCE

Acqua di Parma Colonia Pura Eau de Cologne (pictured above, 1)

£69.50 or 50ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID:“With the warmer climate on the horizon, this is a true winner. So fresh.” – Anthony Mayes

BEST NEW MEN’S FRAGRANCE

Narciso Rodriguez for him Bleu Noir (above, 2)

£62 for 100ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID:“A beautiful subtle fragrance. Very elegant and masculine with the woody notes!” – Anthony Mayes

BEST NICHE FRAGRANCE

Ex Nihilo French Affair (above, 3)

£160 for 50ml, ex-nihilo-paris.com

THE JUDGES SAID:“I love this fragrance, it’s really complex with lots of depth and character but still light enough for everyday and summertime wear. Being a unisex fragrance, it’s perfect balance of woody and floral scents that makes it perfect for daily wear. It’s very sophisticated.”- Ruth Newman

BEST EVENING FRAGRANCE

Valentino Uomo Noir Absolu (above, 4)

£89 for 100ml, valentino.com

THE JUDGES SAID:“With basenotes of sweet black pepper and cinnamon and sandalwood to add balance, this fragrance was a lovely surprise. It has a deep and rich scent that began strong but soon warmed on the skin and lasted long.” – Dr. Tijion Esho

BEST RAZOR OR SHAVER

Gillette Mach3 Start (pictured above, 1)

£5.50, gillette.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID:“By far still the best shave! Slides easily around jawline without grazing or cutting the skin. Really like the new handle too.” – Roger Frampton

BEST POST-SHAVE PRODUCT

Perricone MD CBx for Men Soothing Post-Shave Treatment (above, 2)

£39 for 59ml, perriconemd.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “My neck is so easily irritate when shaving but this product cooled and soothed the area so much there was no sign of irritation at all.” – Tom Chapman

BEST SHAVING PREPARATION PRODUCT

Harry’s Shave Gel (above, 3)

£3.50 for 114ml, harrys.com

THE JUDGES SAID: “I love everything Harry’s are doing right now. Great concept, great product.” – Anthony Mayes

BEST MOISTURISER

Clinique for Men Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate (pictured above, 1)

£36 for 100ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “This product has a light, non-sticky texture and absorbs very quickly, my skin felt very soft afterwards.” – Ruth Newman

BEST FACIAL CLEANSER OR EXFOLIATOR

Stoer Skincare for Men Foaming Face Wash (above, 2)

£24 for 150ml, stoerskincare.com

THE JUDGES SAID: “For a soap and sulphate=free cleanserm the coaming cleanse you get from this gel is especially impressive. Gentle yet effective, it’s perfect for every day.” Adrian Clark

BEST EYE-CARE PRODUCT

Chanel Blue Eye Serum Revitalising Concentrate (above, 3)

£57 for 15ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “Life-changing. Brought my eyes to life. My face looks brighter and less tired - everyone notices and commented on the results.” - Anthony Mayes

BEST ANTI-AGEING PRODUCT

La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 (above, 4)

£37 for 30ml, laroche-posay.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “Looks like someone was busy in science class. Great product and brand.” - Adrien Sauvage

BEST TREATMENT PRODUCT

Lab Series Skincare for Men Solid Water Essence (pictured above, 1)

£39 for 150ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “It’s very hydrating and brightened my skin first thing in the morning.” - Ruth Newman

BEST GROOMING GADGET

Remington Flex 360 (above, 2)

£59.99, argos.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “Comfortable to use and the deep cleansing brush and the exfoliator means you have everything you could want in one grooming gadget.” – Tom Chapman

SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION

Bulldog Skincare for Men Sugarcane Tube Packaging (above, 3)

Bulldog Skincare for Men from £3, bulldogskincare.com

THE JUDGES SAID: ““Bulldog’s revolutionary replacement of its plastic tubes with responsibly-grown sugarcane-derived plastic has set a precedent for the rest of the industry. The fact that the new packaging actually absorbs CO2 is incredible and absolutely represents the innovation that the beauty and cosmetic industry have a responsibility to strive for.” – Adrian Clark

BEST HAIR STYLING PRODUCT

Label.m Fashion Edition Wax Spray (pictured above, 1)

£14.50 for 100ml, labelm.com

THE JUDGES SAID: “Amazing product to add texture and real rock’n’roll style. Excellent for the upcoming longer-hair trends.” - Top Chapman

BEST FACIAL HAIRCARE

L’Oreal Paris Men Expert Long Beard & Skin Oil (above, 2)

£12 for 30ml, tesco.com

THE JUDGES SAID: “This multitasking conditioner means beards will never be coarse again.” - Adrian Clark

BEST HAIRCARE

Hair Rituel by Sisley Restructuring Conditioner with Cotton Proteins (above, 3)

£49.50 for 200ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “Leaves hair feeling smooth and shiny.” Ruth Newman”

BEST BODY MAINTENANCE PRODUCT

Molton Brown Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel Deodorant (pictured above, 1)

£20 for 150ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “The best smelling deodorant I’ve ever used!” - Anthony Mayes

“Very refreshing, with a lovely floral.woody scent. It dries down nicesly not too wet or sticky.” - Ruth Newman

BEST SUN CARE PRODUCT

Dead Sea Spa Magik Sunsafe Clear Spray SSPF50 (above, 2)

£15.95 for 150ml, hollandandbarrett.com

THE JUDGES SAID: “The spray bottle makes this stand out. I like the fact it’s water-resistant and transparent.” - Roger Frampton

BEST BODY ENHANCING PRODUCT

James Read For Men Hydra Tan Mist (above, 3)

£20 for 100ml, jamesreadtan.com

THE JUDGES SAID: Easy-to-use with almost instant results. Should be a part of every man’s routine.” - Top Chapman

BEST BODY WASH OR SCRUB

Jo Malone London Lime Basil & Mandarin Exfoliating Shower Gel (above, 4)

£30 for 200ml, houseoffraser.co.uk

THE JUDGES SAID: “This invigorating, fresh gel left my skin feeling smooth and hydrated and the bathroom smelling like a summer’s day.” Dr. Esho

BEST GROOMING DESTINATION

YourSmileDirect

Clear Invisible Braces, £41 per month, yoursmiledirect.com

A pioneer in orhtondontic treatment, YourSmileDirect offer a solution to crooked and misaligned teeth through their at-home aligners programme. Designed to minimise time-demands traditional treatment presents, patients can take their own teeth impressions at home or visit a clinic for a digital scan and then their treatment plans are delivered directly to them to self-implement at home at a cost of approximately 70% less than typical orthodontic treatment.

BEST GROOMING EXPERIENCE

Indulgent Hammam at The Ned

£220 for 90minutes, thened.com

“In a time where wellbeing and self-care is ever more crucial, this 90 minute package offered within The Ned’s expansive urban spa offers full body detoxing and rejuvenation through steam, natural cleansing and scrub treatments and massage. Expect clear skin, renewed feet, unparalleled relaxation and the best sleep of your life.” – Adrian Clark

It’s happened before and we haven’t enjoyed it. Not one bit.

Famous tache-laded faces that have built their legend on having some prominent top lip fur who then, for whatever reason, decide to take shave it off.

Graham Gooch, Mark Lawrenson, David Seaman purely in the sporting arena. It was a shock when all of them lost their magnificent moustaches; at least Merv Hughes has still got his, or we really would be into the last days of Rome.

But nothing prepared us for this. Arguably one of the most iconic tache-wearers in history.

Step forward Mario ‘Mario’ Mario (yes, his first name and surname are both Mario, look it up).

This, of course, is what the famous plumber looks like:

But Twitter user @november17, for reasons known only to themselves, decided to image a tacheless Mario.

This, dear friends, is the horrifying result of this needless barber/barbarism.

Read more: 30 things you didn’t know about Mario

It’s just so very, very wrong isn’t it?

And we weren’t the only ones to think that.

Really @november17, you should have thought longer before unleashing this on the world; after all, Nintendo fans are still getting over this cataclysmic shock to the system:

The only appropriate course of action is that suggested by Shea Serrano.

See you on the streets people, this madness must end.

(Images: Nintendo)

It’s not just me who loves a good squeeze on those seemingly eternal nose blackheads - come on, we all do it - except it turns out we definitely shouldn’t, because they probably aren’t blackheads at all.

While that those tiny spurts of yellowy substance are great for satisfying our idle brains as we stare into the mirror every morning, what you’re squeezing out probably isn’t pus - they are probably sebaceous filaments, and they’re very important for our skin.

Lots of us have what we think are blackheads on their nose, but more often than not, they’re probably just much more visible pores.

As Michelle Cashen at Privet Body in Notting Hill told Metro: “[I see] clients coming in for a facial and proclaiming ‘I have so many blackheads on my nose’.

“I turn on my magi lamp and perform a consultation, peel at their skin and low and behold – they do not have blackheads; they have pore or sebaceous filaments.”

So what are sebaceous filaments, and why is it bad to squeeze them? 

Well, pores are the tiny openings on your skin through which important oils are released to hydrate it, and this is done via sebaceous filaments, which are very tiny hairs. They taken the oil from inside your nose to the surface of the skin.

When they get filled up with too much dirt and pollution from the air they can become blocked, and turn into blackheads, but regular washing can prevent this.

A blackhead will appear much darker than a regular pore, and you should definitely avoid squeezing the ones you don’t think are actual blackheads. As Cashen explains:

“If a tan/creamy substance is excreted when a pore is squeezed, it is not a blackhead; it is, in fact, a sebaceous filament.

“For the reasons outlined above, these hydration-helpers should be left alone to perform their function.

“Chronic squeezing of pores can result in slackened elasticity which can make the pore appear more prominent.”

So by squeezing, you’re actually making these pseudo-blackheads look worse, not better.

Where on earth are we going to find our fun now?

(Images: iStock)

It’s a painful part of being a modern man: not being able to grow a lovely, thick beard. Many men struggle to produce respectable facial hair (myself included) and it’s frustrating knowing that however long you let it grow, it’s still embarrassingly patchy - not even the best beard trimmer in the world can make it work.

Well now scientists have started to shed some light on this all-important problem.

According to experts at Beard Profile, it all comes down to something called dihydrotestosterone. Dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, is a hormone derived from testosterone that is responsible for developing secondary sex characteristics like facial hair and the male reproductive system.

• Speaking of notable facial hair, these are the best beard oils to make your beard a thing of envy.

Joshua Zeichner, a director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology, explained to Men’s Health: “DHT is a modified, more active form of testosterone. In your body, testosterone is transformed into DHT, which exerts stronger effects than testosterone itself.”

Essentially it’s all down to how your body reacts to testosterone. If your body is more sensitive to it then you’ll grow a thicker beard but if your body’s not as sensitive, you won’t. Genetics also play a big role here; if your dad can grow a thick beard, chances are you’ll be able to as well.

“Capacity to grow a beard has nothing to do with manliness, virility or testosterone levels, it is a matter of genetics,” Dr Thomy Kouremada-Zioga, a hair loss specialist and transplant surgeon, told Lad Bible.

So now we know the science behind it, what can you do about it?

Experts suggest there’s a few things you can do to restore hormone balance and grow a thicker beard:

• Get more exercise
• Try to lose some weight
• Reduce or cut out alcohol
• Eat more healthy fats like nuts, seeds and olive oil

And now we know how to improve our facial hair, we thought it would be good to provide some beard-spiration to help you along.

Here’s some of the best and bushiest beards that we look up to:

1. 1.Mr T

1. 2.Hagrid

1. 3.Yosemite Sam

1. 4.Nick Offerman

1. 5.Karl Marx

(Images: iStock / Rex)

Honestly, when I went to see The Mask I thought to myself: “It is impossible for make-up to ever get any better than this. Jim Carrey has an entirely green face and is unspeakably hilarious to boot. How can the craft ever elevate itself above this?”

Well, it turns out that the art of make-up has – somehow – moved on from that summer afternoon in the cinema and now they can do some truly crazy things, including massively freaking out people who suffer from trypophobia – a fear of clusters of bumps or holes.

The incredible pictures below are the work of 24-year-old Texan Bridgette Trevino. Incredibly, she is a self-taught amateur, but after her post was shared more than 60,000 times on Facebook, we reckon she might start getting some job offers in; and possibly, despite her warnings, some medical bills from people who’ve had a heart attack after seeing them.

Prepare yourselves...

Oh, and there’s a video too (scroll to 0:31 for the juicy bit).

Despite some complaints by people who’ve unexpectedly seen a bloody hand filled with holes pop up on their timeline she said:

"I've had a lot of reactions, some good and some bad. People have gone as far as reporting my work and have sent me messages of concern to check I hadn't seriously hurt myself. I've even had threats to try to make me take down the video and pictures. I understand that trypophobia is a real thing, although only a small population actually has this. A lot of people have claimed to have had panic attacks because of my work. I sympathise but it also only encourages me more. If it's not scary or doesn't get that response I'm not doing my job properly."

Trypophobia isn't actually recognised by the American Psychiatric Association, but it is believed to affect around 20% of the population, causing sufferers to experience panic attacks and nausea. Even if you’re too busy vomiting to say it though, you have to admit that’s some pretty amazing makeup skill on display.

You can head to Bridgette’s Facebook page to check out even more frighteningly realistic work.

(Images: Bridgette Trevino)

That’s right, it’s that celebratory time of year again. For our ninth annual Men’s Grooming Awards, we recruited an expert panel of judges to put the newest formulas, sprays and gadgets through their paces. Over the past year, they, alongside the ShortList grooming team and you – yes you – our hallowed readers, have whittled down thousands of products, services and destinations to a select few. Here’s our definitive guide to the grooming kit you need in 2017.

THE JUDGING PANEL

Adrian Clark, Style Director, ShortList

Charlie Casely-Hayford, designer, Casely-Hayford

Dr. Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor, ESHO Clinic

Gordon Richardson, Creative Director, Topman

Ruth Newman, Director of Beauty, House of Fraser

Joe Mills, hairstylist, founder of Joe & Co.

Pietro Boselli, model & fitness expert

Paul Sculfor, model and television personality

Lyn Harris, perfumer, founder of Miller Harris & Perfumer H

Michael Douglas, hairstylist & brand consultant

THE WINNERS

Best Facial Cleanser or Exfoliator

Exfoliating Energy Scrub

£36 for 100ml by TOM FORD;

houseoffraser.co.uk

“Using this scrub for the first time was a bit of a revelation. After a few weeks of use my skin started to develop a glow I only really see over the summer.” – Charlie Casely-Hayford

Best Moisturiser

Hydro Master Gel

£30 for 75ml by SHISEIDO MEN;

houseoffraser.co.uk

“I’m on board with any product that is able to adapt to a man’s skin at any given period. After all, who wants an armoury of moisturisers, when one multipurpose will combat all?” – Adrian Clark

Best Eye Care Product

Instant Brightening Beauty

Shot Eye Lift £30 for 15ml by REN SKINCARE;

renskincare.com

“Its effects are dramatic and almost instant. It definitely helped with my dark circles, so I can get through the day pretending I’ve had enough sleep.” – Charlie Casely-Hayford

Best Anti-Ageing Product

Line Interception Power Duo

£244 for 50ml by LA PRAIRIE;

laprairie.co.uk

“It made the most difference to my skin and garnered compliments from friends.” – Charlie Casely-Hayford

Best Razor or Shaver

Series 9 9290cc

£329.99 by BRAUN;

amazon.co.uk

“A good alternative when on the go. I loved that I could shave in seconds with no water without irritating the skin.” – Pietro Boselli

Best Post-Shave Product

Sauvage After-Shave Balm

£39.50 for 100ml by DIOR;

dior.com

“Doesn’t sting. Feels great; a lovely product and nice packaging.” – Michael Douglas

Best Shaving Preparation Product

Close-Shavers Squadron Smooth Glider Precision Shave Lotion

£15 for 150ml by KIEHL’S SINCE 1851;

kiehls.co.uk

“Feels great on the skin and stubble, and lets the razor glide easily.” – Paul Sculfor

Best Body Maintenance Product

Antibacterial Odour Protection

£2.65 for 150ml by SURE MEN;

suredeodorant.co.uk

“This left no white residue and there was no breakthrough sweating.” – Dr Esho

Best Body Maintenance Gadget

Blaze Smart Fitness Watch

£159.99 by Fitbit;

houseoffraser.co.uk

“Keeps you moving all day, as well as having good battery life.” – Paul Sculfor

Best Sun Care Product

Winter Protection 2-in-1 SPF30

£12.50 for 20ml by RITUALS;

amazon.co.uk

“This is extremely good and compact. Has cream and a lip balm stick, no smell.” – Michael Douglas

Best Body Wash/Scrub

Elements Minerals + Sage Body And Face Wash

£3 for 400ml by DOVE MEN+CARE;

tesco.com

“Has a fragrance that doesn’t stray into the generic ‘man scent’ territory. Doesn’t leave your skin feeling dried out.” – Adrian Clark

Best Haircare

Purifying Shampoo

£28 for 250ml by CHRISTOPHE ROBIN;

christophe-robin.com

“Great results after one use: hair felt hydrated, clean and gave excellent shine. It also had a good scent with zero signs of dandruff.” – Dr Esho

Best Hair Styling Product

Baume Bois de Rose

£36.95 for 50ml by LEONOR GREYL;

fruugo.co.uk

“Gives good manipulation, but still leaves hair free to move and residue isn’t heavy. Smells good and I can run my fingers through my hair easily.” – Paul Sculfor

Best Facial Haircare

Mr Burberry Beard Oil

£38 for 30ml by BURBERRY;

burberry.com

“Beard oils are an unstoppable revolution in the grooming sector. One of those products that raises the question: How did we ever survive without them? This one ticks all the boxes with a non-greasy, silky texture and a strong, masculine aroma." – Adrian Clark

Best Treatment Product

Urban Blue Detox Clay Mask

£26 for 100ml by LAB SERIES SKINCARE FOR MEN;

labseries.co.uk

“Feels great on the skin and I like the blue colour. Skin feels clean, smooth and matte without becoming dry.” – Paul Sculfor

Best Grooming Gadget

Sonicare DiamondClean Deep Clean Black

£299 by PHILIPS;

shop.philips.co.uk

“This electronic toothbrush comes with a USB port for charging. I love the fact it has five different settings from gum care to whitening. It’s stylish and covers all your cleaning needs.” – Gordon Richardson

Best New Men’s Fragrance

Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Homme

£54 for 50ml by GUCCI;

gucci.com

“I like the Gucci Guilty scent because it’s not a quintessentially male fragrance. The notes are floral based but not in an overpowering way. It removed itself from the sharper tones of men’s fragrance and is a much lighter and more refreshing alternative.” – Charlie Casely-Hayford

Best Evening Fragrance

Uomo Intense

£56 for 50ml by VALENTINO;

houseoffraser.com

“A surprising mix of black leather, iris, vanilla and Tonka beans.” – Lyn Harris

“Boom. Valentino Rocks” – Joe Mills

“I like the Valentino scent because it is to strong and long lasting but also has some delicacy that comes through in the initial hit or iris and vanilla. The combination definitely gives it an allure and sophistication.” – Charlie Casely-Hayford

Best Niche Fragrance

Note di Colonia 

£280 for 150ml by ACQUA DI PARMA;

uk.acquadiparma.com

“This is wonderful scent that bears very little to the classic original. It strides out on its own with a distinctive citrus-y smell. It’s very sophisticated.” – Gordon Richardson

“Looks great, really love the packaging as a fragrance it gets better and better with time, smells great when you first use and then as your skin warms so does it. A real classic.” – Joe Mills

“Best for me was Acqua di Parma. Amazing Packaging, I loved the smell: subtle, uncommon, and zesty!” – Michael Douglas

Best Everyday Fragrance

Loewe 001 Man

£65 for 50ml by LOEWE;

loewe.com

“J.W. Anderson is doing an amazing job making Loewe one of the coolest fashion brands around. His first fragrance is no exception. 001 Man is a soft scent that is unobtrusive yet distinctive and great for everyday.” – Gordon Richardson

“The combination of citrus and sandalwood, with a hint of musk, make this a great everyday fragrance, versatile without feeling too urban. It has a natural aroma, but without being bland. The Loewe makes everyday special, ideal for travel too.” – Pietro Boselli

Best Grooming Destination

Beast

19 Earlham St, London WC2

shop-beast.com

Having launched in November 2016 in London’s Seven Dials, Beast immediately set itself apart from other boutique beauty retailers by putting a traditionally online format into a physical space. Rather than arranging the store by brand range, products are instead merchandised under tabs and sub-tabs for different grooming categories, solutions and concerns.

“When I first visited the Beast store in Covent Garden to check out its brave concept of retailing ‘men-only’ grooming products from a bricks-and-mortar site, I knew that it was on to a winner. Not only did it feel like the timing was on point, but also the passion of the team and the homework that they’ve put into sourcing unique brands and researching how contemporary men shop is inspiring.” – Adrian Clark

House Of Fraser’s ‘Every Man Should Have One’ Award

Charcoal Konjac Sponge

£10 by ERBORIAN;

houseoffraser.co.uk

“Containing bamboo charcoal, the Konjac sponge gives a deep cleanse and exfoliation – leaving the skin feeling purified. A definite must-have for every man.” – Ruth Newman

WHO ARE THE JUDGES?

Adrian Clark, Style Director, ShortList

Charising our judging panel, Clark is an award-winning grooming and fashion journalist.

Charlie Casely-Hayford, designer, Casely-Hayford

Co-founder and designer at menswear brand Casely-Hayford, Charlie is the quintessential modern gent.

Dr. Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor, ESHO Clinic

Multi-award winning, Harley Street Dr. Esho is Channel 4’s resident cosmetic doctor.

Gordon Richardson, Creative Director, Topman

Fashion veteran Gordon is an authority on impeccable design and product and knows exactly what men want and need.

Ruth Newman, Director of Beauty, House of Fraser

Responsible for curating the men’s brand across every House of Fraser store and platform, Ruth is at the forefront of British grooming retail.

Joe Mills, hairstylist, founder of Joe & Co.

Mills’ celebrity clients include Martin Freeman, Lewis Hamilton and Ben Affleck.

Pietro Boselli, model & fitness expert

Model and fitness expert Pietro’s Mechanical Engineering PhD affords him a keen eye for superior design.

Paul Sculfor, model and television personality

One of the class of ‘original supermodels’, Paul’s skin and hair has seen it all.

Lyn Harris, perfumer, founder of Miller Harris & Perfumer H

The only classically trained female nose in the UK, Lyn created some of the most iconic British fragrances.

Michael Douglas, hairstylist & brand consultant

BBC’s The One Show’s stylist has helped shape some of the biggest haircare businesses on the market.

In this day and age, thankfully, there’s no need to struggle through the tough-skin times that previous generations may have faced. We’ve got important things like economic crises and wide-scale political upheaval to contend with; the last thing we need is an unsupple T-zone. 

Here are our picks for the best moisturisers around, no matter what your skin type, including the winner of this year’s Readers’ Choice Award from the 2017 ShortList Grooming Awards.

FOR OILY SKIN

Anti Shine Moisturiser by Recipe For Men

For those on the oily side, try this energising gel with a matte finish (thanks to its ultra-fine powderiness), which helps cut down on skin shininess, meaning you can now go out in sunlight without being a reflective danger to oncoming traffic.

£30 for 75ml; mankind.co.uk

Oil Eliminator 24 Hour by Kiehl’s

Oil-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, and in lovely green, green grass packaging, the Oil Eliminator is ultra-light and absorbs sweat and surface oil as it hydrates your face.

£32 for 75ml; kiehls.co.uk

All Purpose Facial Moisturiser by Anthony

Jam packed with vitamins (with your buddies A, C, and E all present) and wheat protein for smoothing, Anthony (named after founder Anthony Sosnick, real-estate developer-turned-skincare-and-grooming honcho) have found a winning formula for nourishing skin with oily boys in mind.

£18 for 80ml; mrmclaren.com

FOR DRY SKIN

Hydra Beauty Micro Creme by Chanel

Oh, look! It’s for women… and yet we are telling men to use it. Who the hell would’ve thought us such rebels? Turns out both men and women have skin and being hamstrung by gendered cream is just cutting off your un-moisturised nose to spite your flaky face. This creme leaves your skin intensely hydrated and replenished, and also stronger and healthier, thanks to a shit load of smart antioxidant stuff going on.

£66 for 50ml; houseoffraser.co.uk

Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture by Murad

Rich, hydrating, nourished, refreshed - all words that give our dry skin a little excitement at the prospect of it being less prone to dustiness. This one’s the most hydrating Murad have ever produced but is non-greasy, with a formula that contains avocado, sunflower, olive fruit and a lil’ bit of collagen support complex (no idea) to help plump dehydrated skin. But not in a TOWIE way. Just in a “Ooh, you’ve been sleeping well, haven’t you?” way.

£55 for 50ml; murad.co.uk

Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate by Clinique For Men

You know it’s a men’s moisturiser because they make it sound like it’s only used by astronauts. Refreshingly free of the kind of skin-irritants that can often be pumped into male-focused products, this fresh, fragrance-free gel has a great blend of hydration and skin-replenishment, plus it looks really nice. A bit like something from Men In Black.

£34 for 48ml; clinique.co.uk

FOR COMBINATION SKIN

Effaclar K by La Roche Posay

Hypoallergenic, this slimline offering from La Roche-Posay (they're French, so you know they're good) is perfect for unclogging pores and reducing shine while also leaving you fresh and hydrated in the especially Sahara-y bits.

£14.90 for 30ml; laroche-posay.co.uk

Skin Repair Moisturiser (Normal/Combination) by Liz Earle

See? It’s normal to have combination skin. Totally annoying, but still normal. Skin Repair is designed to return your skin to a lovely balance: softening; smoothing; intensely hydrating you without the oiliness that can often come with it. Plus it's got hops in it, so – if your masculinity is especially fragile that day – you can just pretend you're rubbing your face with beer.

£19.50 for 50ml; uk.lizearle.com

Hydra-Matte Lotion by Clarins

Admittedly more of a lotion than a moisturiser, if we're being picky, but if you've got combo skin you can't afford to split hairs: this one has “green algae, ginseng, linden, horse chestnut, white dead nettle and vitamin B6” – all of which are good for you, I guess. As you might guess from the name, this one leaves your skin Hydra (hydrated) and Matte (uh… matte).

£27 for 50ml; houseoffraser.co.uk

BONUS: THE ONE WITH AN ESPECIALLY NICE LOOKING BOTTLE

MAX LS Power V Lifting Lotion by Lab Series Skincare for Men

Catchy name! A chrome body! A serum that boosts moisture levels in your skin and increases natural firmness and elasticity because none of us are getting any younger, are we, just look at you, in that silver, reflective bottle, with your lines, lines from the knowledge that death comes for us all and that nobody, nobody, is exempt but you might as well just enjoy what little time you have left with really, really nice-looking skin!

£56 for 50ml; labseries.co.uk

THE READERS’ CHOICE AWARD

Hydra Power Refreshing Moisturiser by L’Oreal Paris Men Expert

For this one – the winner of this year’s Grooming Awards – we pass you to Adrian:

“The quick absorption, refreshing texture and instantly gratifying results, which separate this gel formula from your standard moisturiser, secured its win as the favourite ‘must-own’ across all grooming categories by a landslide with our readers.” - Adrian Clark, ShortList Style Director

Thanks, Adrian.

 £9.99 for 50ml; loreal-paris.co.uk

THE SHORTLIST GROOMING AWARDS WINNER: BEST MOISTURISER

Hydro Master Gel

£30 for 75ml by SHISEIDO MEN;

houseoffraser.co.uk

The big one. 

Over to you, Adrian: 

“I’m on board with any product that is able to adapt to a man’s skin at any given period. After all, who wants an armory of moisturisers, when one multipurpose will combat all?” – Adrian Clark

There is only one place that grooming products want to live: House of Fraser. The very best aftershaves, shampoos, moisturisers, cleansers and gadgets are all present and correct, clamouring for space on the shelves, battling for your attention.

House of Fraser is the proud sponsor of ShortList’s Men’s Grooming Awards for good reason. Try Clinique’s fine-line-blasting wonder moisturiser Maximum Hydrator or Kiehl’s legendary Facial Fuel to re-awaken and uplift city-fatigued skin. You can also discover Korean brand, Erborian, to detox, boost and refine your face, before stocking up on all your Aveda essentials.

Celebrate the success of this year’s ShortList Grooming Awards by sprucing yourself up this summer at House of Fraser.

Use the House of Fraser Recognition Reward Card to collect Points on your purchases. Shop the full array of products here.

Ready. Set. Groom.

Clinique For Men Maximum Hydrator Water-Gel Concentrate, 48ml

£34

Ready. Set. Groom.

Aveda Invati Men Nourishing Exfoliating Shampoo, 250ml

£26

Ready. Set. Groom.

Azzaro Chrome Pure Eau de Toilette, 100ml

£59

Ready. Set. Groom.

Ralph Lauren Polo Extreme (exclusive to House of Fraser), 75ml

£53

Ready. Set. Groom.

ClarinsMen Line-Control Cream, 50ml

£41.50

Ready. Set. Groom.

Erborian Konjac Sponge, Green Tea

£10

Ready. Set. Groom.

Frédéric Malle Indelebile Shower Gel, 200ml

£38

Ready. Set. Groom.

Kenneth Cole Black Bold Eau de Parfum (exclusive to House of Fraser) 100ml

£55

Ready. Set. Groom.

Tangle Teezer Men’s Compact Groomer (Grey)

£13.50

Ready. Set. Groom.

Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash, 250ml

£19

Ready. Set. Groom.

Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado, 14ml

£22.50

Lads, we need to talk about what you’re doing to your skin.

For too long now, I’ve been haunted by horror stories of men using hand wash on their faces, and by the sad, singular tubs of supermarket-brand moisturiser I see languishing on the shelves of guys I meet, gathering more dust than the copy of Ulysses I once bought in an attempt to feel vaguely intellectual. Because the truth is, your face needs more than a splash of water in the mornings, and a lot of the stuff you do use is actually actively bad for you.

So, I’m at the end of my rope. I cannot stand by and watch you do it to yourselves any longer. You lot need to start taking better care of your skin, and I am here to start you on the path to righteousness.

(Note: I don’t mean that to sound sneering or snobby. Often, brands fail to effectively market skincare to men – the extent of male grooming promo is pretty much just various rugby players smouldering the shit out of a Gillette advert – so it’s understandable that some dudes feel it just isn’t for them. There’s also a pervading sense in our society that taking care of yourself is vain, or feminine, but if you’re willing to challenge those boring, outdated ideas, I’m pretty sure that you’ll find making the effort to look after your skin both massively impactful on your confidence and your 2017 glo-up. Realistically, you’ll be trapped in this skin sack for the rest of your existence, so you might as well make it look and feel its best.)

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

A major aspect of knowing your skincare shit is being aware of what to avoid – for example, some products offer quick fixes via ingredients like SD alcohol (which gives your skin an immediate matte feel) or sodium lauryl sulfate (the stuff that makes gel products foam up), but in the long run, they do more harm than good. Unfortunately, that means that loads of the most accessible skincare brands are out because they use these ingredients to keep costs down, but when you know what you don’t want, it narrows your options pretty helpfully.

IDENTIFY YOUR SKIN TYPE

There’s no catch-all solution for skin – if there was, I wouldn’t need to do this extremely pious and holy work – so you need to figure out what your skin needs, based on how it behaves. Roughly:

- If you get greasy throughout the day, your skin type is ‘oily’

- If your skin routinely feels tight or flaky, it’s ‘dry’

More than likely, you’ll have a bit of both going on (maybe some oiliness around the nose or forehead, with dryness on the cheeks), which gives you a ‘combination’ skin type. Lots of brands, like REN, list products by the skin type they’re designed for, and their Clarimatte face wash is an especially good starting point if, like most men, you’re on the combination or oilier side.

DON’T BE AFRAID OF ‘WOMEN’S BRANDS’

Just stop being a baby, OK? Skin, at the end of the day, is skin, and being a dude doesn’t mean that the only product you can ever use is something called Iron Hammer for Blokes or whatever, for Christ’s sake. Even if it’s not marketed that way, most skincare is completely unisex, and two of my favourite all-inclusive buys are The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid, a skin-balancing product so universally effective that it should be handed out in the streets (and which, at £5.90, proves that great skincare doesn’t have to be pricey), and Nip and Fab Glycolic Fix pads, which are both easy to use and give the best exfoliation around, leaving your skin feeling decongested – especially useful for city-dwellers constantly exposed to pollution.

That’s not to say that it’s a bad thing to use products that help with men’s skin concerns in particular (Guy Morgan Apothecary’s Salem Rose Cuticle Oil, for example, is also a solution for softer facial hair – who knew?), and if you’re still especially bothered about your skincare having ‘FOR MEN’ plastered across the bottles, the good people at Paula’s Choice have a great range, as well as lots of extra intel on what’ll work for your skin type. 

The rest, friends, is just trial and error: try new things, get into a decent morning and evening routine, moisturise amply. Soon enough you’ll rue the day you ever scrubbed your poor face with the dregs of the bathroom Carex.

(Main Image: Home Alone (1990) / 20th Century Fox)

Ever wanted to know how to take that winning dating profile pic? How soon you should ask a girl to Netflix and chill? How to look and smell irresistible? Or just generally how to be a bit of a better version of yourself? Great! Because we caught up with our favourite Essex-born veteran male model, ShortList Men’s Grooming Awards judge and all-round man crush Paul Sculfor to get some answers to just that.

Currently head judge with Abbey Clancy on Britain’s Next Top Model, and with a little black book that includes Lisa Snowdon, Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz it’s pretty safe to say he has a way with the ladies. Thankfully he’s shared some of that wisdom just for you. You can thank us later.

What guys should never do on a date

Don't think it's cool to be late or show off, do be a gentleman, never be rude to the waiter/waitress, do genuinely listen to your date so you can get to know who they are.

How to take a winning dating profile picture

It's all about the lighting. Relax and please don't pout!

The best 15-minute work-outs to do on the go

A good 15-minute workout that you can do in your hotel room is five minutes of Tai-Chi, then 15 reps of each – push ups, squats, lunges, tricep dips and leg raises done in two five-minute circuits. 

How to groom like a male supermodel

Men's eyebrows look better natural. Trim if needs be but don't pluck! Wash and moisturise your face everyday - splash with cold water before you moisturise. 
Hygiene is key. Keeping fresh and clean is always good so brush your teeth, shower and wash your hands.

The best aftershave for a date night

CREED Aventus – £115 for 30ml from House of Fraser.

What men should always have in their bar

Fever Tree tonic water, San Pellegrino and a good red wine for guests

What to cook for a date

Oven-baked salmon with some steamed green vegetables dressed with olive oil and shaved almonds, and delicious sautéed new potatoes. Something light and tasty, healthy and easy to make. For dessert it's always good to have dark chocolate and strawberries.

When to suggest a Netflix date

When the new series of Stranger Things is out!

His secret grooming weapon

Molton Brown black pepper bodywash is my favourite and leaves skin smelling great – £18 from House of Fraser.

What to never buy your S.O.

Spanx!

The best parks to run in in London

Greenwich Park is great because it has hills. Start at the bottom east corner and run straight up north to the other corner, which will take you up a good steep hill, steady pace through the flower garden and south through the centre of the park. In NYC it's all about Central Park in the summer and the West Side highway for spring.

Self-tanning for men

Sometimes you have to. Let a professional do it.

Where to take someone for a grownup date 

Jump in a fun car, drive to Whitstable for some oysters and a walk on the beach and some local shopping before cruising back to London.

Style trends to avoid

Over-groomed brows, super-skinny jeans on muscly legs and generally looking uncomfortable in your own clothes.

When to introduce someone to your mates

When you know that they're a good egg and that they'll have fun.

Grooming treatments that are really worth the time and money

Good facials are really worth it.

The best city break

Rome is a magical city. There are countless boutiques and luxury hotels, amazing food, weather and the coffee is second to none. It's basically an open air museum so you can stroll and enjoy every cobbled street.

The best spot for last-minute drinks

Soho House is always a good option. Little House by the fireplace or Shoreditch House's rooftop bar.

And for last-minute gifts

Selfridges has everything and is easy to get to, or Net-a-Porter as an online option. Aspinal of London is great for personalised gifts.

Being over-dressed or under-dressed

Neither. Look smart and dress for the occasion.

The best kitchen tech

A magic bullet or nutribullet - I love making smoothies.

What to do for Mother’s Day

Lunch at a traditional London restaurant like Scott's, flowers delivered to her door and her favourite fragrance as a gift.

How to be the perfect gent

Dress for yourself, take pride in all you do, and be kind. 

Britain’s Next Top Model season 11 premieres March 16 at 9pm on Lifetime

That’s right – the ShortList Grooming awards are back and, dare we say, bigger and better than ever for 2017.

This year, along with you our esteemed readers, we’ve enlisted a stand out panel of expert judges to put the year’s best new products through their paces. From celebrity hair-stylists to fragrance designers, cosmetic doctors to supermodels, we’ve got all bases covered.

Adrian Clark

Chairing the panel with more than 20 years’ experience in men’s grooming journalism is our very own multi award-winning Style Director, Adrian.

Paul Sculfor

Cited as one of the ‘original supermodels’, Paul Sculfor has worked with everyone from Armani and Paul Smith to Next, and is currently resident head judge on Britain’s Next Top Model. And as if still reigning as on of the world’s top models wasn’t enough, he also counts Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz amongst his exes, so I’d say he’s definitely the man you want to take grooming tips from.

Pietro Boselli

Our favourite, super-swole mechanical engineer PhD lecturer-turned model and all-round fitness guru. And yes – you did read that right. When Pietro’s not shooting for Armani or working with skincare heavyweights LabSeries on their meteorite infused Maxcellence range he can be found on YouTube delivering his killer work-out tutorials so you can look just as ripped as him. Check it out.

Charlie Casely-Hayford

One half of the design duo at fashion week favourite, menswear house Casely-Hayford, Charlie is without doubt one of the coolest guys on London’s style scene. Central St. Martins alum, he was styling artists like The XX before turning his hand to design and joining forces with his dad Joe to build the one of the hottest contemporary British brands around worn by everyone from Mos Def to Robert Downey Jr.. It’s safe to say style is in his DNA.

Dr. Tijion Esho

An industry leader in non-surgical facial rejuvenation, Dr. Tijion Esho is the multi-award winning cosmetic doctor currently shaking up the UK aesthetics scene. With practices in Newcastle and on London’s Harley street, and with a roster of international celebrity clients, Esho – dubbed Dr. Beautiful – is fast becoming the go-to for non-invasive procedures. Want a brow lift, sharper jaw or younger looking hands without stepping near a scalpel? He’s your man. You may also recognise him from his residencies on Channel 4’s Body Shockers and Body Fixers.

Gordon Richardson

As the man at the helm of Topman, Creative Director Gordon is at the very forefront of British style. Working with some of the best creatives and brands in the country and even hitting the catwalk himself from time to time, he knows what’s hot, what’s not, and just what it takes to hit big in the style stakes.

Joe Mills

If you don’t know Joe by name, you’ll certainly know him by his work as a leading men’s hairstylist whose work regularly graces the pages of leading magazines and major advertising campaigns – everyone from Lou Dalton to Farah. With a reputation that precedes him, demand for his superior scissor skills called for the opening of his eponymous second dedicated men’s Soho salon Joe & Co, and when he’s not there, he can be found styling the men’s catwalk shows in Milan and Paris or doing the red carpet rounds with clients Ben Affleck and Martin Freeman.

Michael Douglas

No, not that Michael Douglas. Hailing instead from our very own Lancashire, you might recognise Michael from styling sessions on BBC’s The One Show. Having worked for over a decade as a consultant for some of the biggest names in haircare – Head & Shoulders, Pantene and Wella to name a few – you can be sure he knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t.

Lyn Harris

Founder of fragrance house Miller Harris, ever-cool sneaker aficionado Lyn is the only classically trained female nose in the UK and is now hard at work in her Marylebone lab-store Perfumer H, creating bespoke fragrance commissions. She’s a master of perfume and knows exactly what women find irresistible, so I think that pretty much makes her the best person in the country to school you in scent.

Ruth Newman

Building on the expansive portfolio and success of the beauty and grooming department of House of Fraser, Ruth’s merchandising background enables consumers to access the best edit of brands and new products in the grooming market.

Realistically, you’re not going to visit the gym every day, or do that marathon you drunkenly told everyone at your New Year’s Eve party you were going to run. You wheeze going up the stairs, mate, just accept your failing body and move on.

• While you're on a grooming spree, take a peak at the best hair regrowth products for men and best hair straighteners

But what you can easily change is your hair, which is why we’ve recruited celebrity hair stylist Jamie Stevens to tell us about the biggest hair trends of 2017 and how you can get them (coincidentally, some of them can be achieved by using his products, what are the chances?), so you can jump on the styles early before anyone else does.

Curtains are making a comeback

“Curtains are back, although slightly cooler than the last time. Guys are opting to keep their longer locks but with a tapered back and sides. This still gives you versatility with your hair and allows you to leave it loose for a more textured softer finish, or you can groom the top for occasions that require a more polished look. Salt Spray is key here to allow you to leave your hair to dry naturally, and a great tip is to mix some paste with a fingernail amount of MR. Conditioner to help create shape and softness.”

What to ask for:

“This look doesn’t work on everyone, so I would definitely ask your stylist if this is for your face shape. It can be worn on longer hair better than shorter hair, anything shorter than approximately 6 inches on the top will not look cool!”

Military precision

“Military looks have been a big trend on the catwalks so this will definitely begin to show up in haircuts. Guys are going for high and tight fades and keeping some textured length on top, this means it can fit into most of the other trends, but mainly it will suit a regimented style. Another option guys have here is to take it all off with a skin faded taper and very tight texture on top.”

What to ask for:

“Basically a real classic short back and sides with a longer disconnected length on top.”

Slick tricks

“Slicked back hair continues to remain a firm favourite and is the perfect look to transition you from the office to a night on the tiles. A nice gel is a must-have to achieve a polished look that will stay put no matter what the day brings. For easy application add the gel to a comb and brush through for better distribution.”

What to ask for:

“This look is all in the styling but it does tend to look better when the hair is shorter, especially around the back and the sides. As soon as the hair hits the shoulders it would be harder to get a sharper sleeker finish. To get that slick finish its important when cutting to keep side burns and the hair line sharp and groomed.”

Ruffled locks

“Texture is this season’s biggest trend for hair. It’s simple and easy to achieve by adding some salt spray to your current hair routine. Spritz a small amount into hair, scrunch and let it dry naturally.”

What to ask for:

“This all depends on what length your hair is to what you ask for, as texture can be added to hair on shorter and longer lengths. The ultimate key to textured hair is keeping your hair layered and texturized through cutting where needed, but your stylist will be able to advise this.”

The disheveled fringe

“Fringes are a great way to make a statement and can be styled in a huge variety of ways. In 2017, we’ll be seeing disheveled as opposed to sleek bangs dominating grooming trends.”

What to ask for:

“The shorter you take a fringe the blunter it will become, so it’s best to keep it a bit longer in length. Depending on the thickness of your hair and hair type, when cutting it, your stylist may want to chop into the hair to give it a serrated edge which will make it easier to separate with product. When using product, add it to the rest of the hair and then the fringe last, so as to not overload and avoid it looking greasy.”

Image source: Rex/Getty

He f*cked the country and didn't even buy it dinner, and now the former UKIP leader is trying out a new guise in the form of a patchy moustache.

Why has he done this you ask? Maybe he's following the current facial hair trend set by male model Ricki Hall. Maybe he actually feels a bit silly about that whole NHS bus debacle and is looking for a new identity. Whatever his intentions are, he really needs to stay away from ice cream vans and playgrounds while he has that fuzzy caterpillar crawling along his top lip.

He's not the only famous face to fail at facial hair though. Here are 10 other abominations that send shiver up and down our spines:

Michael Phelps

James Franco

After filming The Interview, Kim Jong-Un must've had Franco shot with some sort of mind melting ray made from the blood of unicorns they say they have. Only explanation.

Michael Cera

Ryan Gosling

Michael Owen

Ashton Kutcher

John Travolta

Ian Beale

Jared Leto

Channing Tatum

Celebrity hairdresser and all around barnet expert Jamie Stevens gives us the low down on the top trends to look out for this year. Clippers at the ready...

• While you're on a grooming spree, take a peak at the best hair regrowth products for men.

The Mod Chop

Why: The indie trend is really coming back and this always inspires guys to go the whole way to complete the look.

What to ask for: You will need to have some length to your hair to really get this look, it's perfect for guys with longer hair who want something different. Ask for a fringe with some of the length kept toward the sideburns and a bit shorter through the back. Think Oasis and you can't go wrong.

How to style it: To style, try using someMR Salt Spray to add some light texture and grittiness before blowdrying

Mid-length messy

Why: Guys who are done with longer hair but don't want to cut it all off are going for a more mid-length finish, this is a great option as it is versatile and can look effortlessly cool. This for me will be a big one.

What to ask for: Ask your stylist to cut your hair quite square but point cut it as this will keep the texture in it and layer it enough to be able to slick it back but also go for an on trend tousled finish.‎

To style: ‎Use some MR Salt Spray and dry in all over keeping the hair moving to help give lift and shape. Then use MR Clay, focusing on teasing the roots and working out to give yourself a dishevelled textured finish. Finally, shape to desired style.

The Fringe

Why: This has been building since last season and has already seen many variations so far. It's a really cool look and I expect it to be here for some time.

What to ask for: I think this looks best when the sides are a lot shorter and there is some disconnection from the top. Have the fringe cut in above the eyebrows and disconnected from the sides for maximum effect. For a more aggressive look have it taken shorter and perfectly straight to give maximum impact, for a softer dishevelled look have the ends more choppy and more textured through the top.

To style: Finish the look with a small amount of Matrix Style Link Matte Definer to give hold to a smoother finish or texture to a messy one

Long hair

Why: Men have really adopted the longer hair look and we have seen many different adaptations over the previous year and this one is no different. Expect more textured versions and less polished finishes.

What to ask for: To go on trend, ask for your stylist to keep the length on the perimeter shape and really texturise the interior, this will allow you to wear it forward and a lot messier whilst still keeping some versatility.

To style: Try misting in some MR Salt Spray and scrunch drying to really expose the texture‎.

Groomed quiff

Why: A style staple that can be dressed up or down. This look works on so many men for work and play so always lingers around and stays in fashion.

What to ask for: This depends on what you personally want but works best when sides are shorter and length kept on to. Ask to have the sides taken to your desired length but aim to have the shape taper in at the sides and the neckline. Then have the top cut to blend in, if ease is the main goal try having a parting shaved in.

To style: Make sure you use a smoothing product to get the right finish, try using a mixture of Matrix Style Link Smooth Setterand hold boost before blowdrying to get smooth results with hold, then finish with some MR Paste‎.‎

• While you're on a grooming spree, take a peak at the best hair regrowth products for men.