Grooming Falsely

There ’s something not quite right about a cheap suit. At first glance, it looks almost as good as its more expensive cousin. But give it an hour or two and the differences become uncomfortably obvious. It feels too tight in some spots. too baggy in others. The back of the jacket becomes rumpled and, as the temperature rises, you ’re all sweaty while those around you keep their cool.

Like cheap suits, cheap skincare products are a false economy. They look similar, often boasting some of the same ingredients, but, like a suit ’s wool content, the difference is in the quantity and the quality. Tony Sosnick, creator of Anthony Logistics for Men, uses shaving cream as an example. He says mass-produced shave foams are literally filled with air, whereas his Shave Cream ($32) is all thick, dense cream, filled with vitamins, eucalyptus oil and aloe vera. It may cost more but it offers a closer, more nourishing shave.

Dermatologist Dr Dennis Gross, creator of MD Skincare, agrees. "There are certain groups of ingredients that you should look for. Premium products contain better-quality versions and more of the best ingredients." Ingredients like anti-oxidants and collagen boosters that will make a real ditference if formulated intelligently. "If we know 10 ingredients that can help treat lines," says Gross. "I want all 10 in one bottle." Matthew Maim, co-creator of Maim + Goetz, says it also comes down to how those ingredients are used. He points to "CLEANSING AND PURIFYING THE SKIN IS CRITICAL IN REMOVING DIRT AND SEBUM." BOY ’S OWN We ’re all human, but men and women have different skincare needs, so opt for a product created specifically for male skin Lab Series ’ Matt Ten says, "Men ’s skin is 20 to 30 per cent thicker than women ’s, as men have more collagen and elastin. As a result, men ’s skin ages differently, and at a different rate, to women s Men ’s skin produces more oil due to an increase in sebaceous glands and hair follicles Because of increased sebum production, oil can block pores, causing them to enlarge and stretch, and oxidized sebum has proven to damage skin in a variety of ways." Dr Gross agrees, adding, "Although men naturally have more collagen than women, the wrinkles men get appear more pronounced than women ’s" the much-maligned sodium laureth sulphatE as an example. "This foaming agent often receives a bad rap because, in a mass product. it is over-used to create a greater or more immediate sense of clean," he says "But used at lower levels and strategically as part of a formula, a thorough cleanse can be achieved without drying or irritation. ’ For instance, MaIm + Goetz Grapefruit Faci Cleanser ($54) combines the ingredient with plant-based protein amino acids.

Because makers of premium skincare products invest in cutting-edge research, they are usually first with skincare innovations. "Sometimes it ’s an ingredient discovery, such as a new repair molecule, a transport system or understanding the longevity gene." says Matt Ten, vice president of corporate product development for men-only brand Lab Series. "At other times it can be a new breakthrough or a new way of creating a solution to a problem to yield faster, easier results." While they focus on what ’s inside the bottle, prestige product makers are unashamedly proud of the outside too.

No cheap and nasty packaging here. Just ask Rob Calcraft the man behind the elegantly designed Ren skincare range if presentation is important: "Increasingly the look of a product is a lifestyle choice too, looking good in the modern Volatapped bathroom, next to the plunge pool and Egyptian cotton towels, and it might even impress the modern lady-about-town.

Modern man workshop

Watsons, a name synonymous with health, beauty and personal care, kicked off its very first Watsons Modern Man Workshop on March 15 at the Sepang International Karting Circuit.
The one-day event was aimed at inspiring 50 males between the ages of 20 and 30 with a workshop that touched on a wide range of topics such as health, personal grooming, facial and hair care. Image Power director Dolly Kee spoke on personal grooming and fashion sense.

According to Jessica Ng, director of marketing and development, Watsons Malaysia, "this workshop is useful for men of this age group. This particular group of men are at the right age to either join the workforce or at the beginning of their career.

"As such, talks on power dressing, creating the right image, hygiene and health are essential to build confidence and enhance the wellbeing of the participants".

In addition to providing interactive and entertaining talks on personal grooming and health, the modern male workshop also provided an avenue for these young men to enjoy an adrenaline high.

They also tested their racing skills in a go-kart race for a chance to win up to RM2,500 per team. Each team consisted of five participants.

In the end, the winning team comprised You Hong Leong, Lee Fook Lim, Foo Sze Keat, Yap Kim Chor and Mahesh Khanna.

Ng said they had received encouraging response from their customers but only 30 participants were shortlisted for the event.

Watsons had also invited 10 lucky Autocar Asean readers and 10 members of the media for the workshop as well as compete in the race.

In addition to cash prizes worth RM4,500, Watsons also gave participants goodie bags worth RM50 each and products on personal grooming during the workshop participation.

The participants were treated to free flow of food and beverages throughout the fun, interactive, entertaining and educational event.

As the official media for the event, the Autocar Asean provided free copies of the latest magazine for all participants. The main sponsors for the event were Gatsby, Horleys, Loreal and Nivea.

http://www.thesundaily.com/index.cfm

Don't let yourself go or you may bemistaken for your dad

I SPENT the last week in such a sorry state.

It was horrifying because I lost all will to groom. Everywhere I went, I had to apologise for my lack of hair product.

I looked and felt like hell.

It seemed that all I could do was muster enough strength to shower, shampoo and wash my face.
Even brushing my teeth felt like a mammoth task.

Squirting cologne took determination too.

My friends think I'm a drama queen (although I was looking more and more like a serf) but, be kind, even fabulous takes the occasional holiday.

The slide started the week before and I was determined to put down my final pack of candy and do something about it because I refuse to give in.

I am now at the stage in my life when a few shots of Botox is no longer for vanity but for courtesy's sake.

And at this point, you've got to make an effort.

So I started looking around at products to beautify myself.

Confidence

Some men think they are exempt from beautification but really, no one is because it does wonders for your self confidence.
Click to see larger image

I once chatted with two men who were of the same age. But looking at them, they might as well have been father and son.

And true to conventional thinking, the younger looking guy was confident and had a swagger, while the friend looked and acted like the lowly sidekick.

It seems to be an automatic response.

When you feel you look good, things will happen for you.

Don't be so vain that you'll force your spouse out of her sink-top space. And if it takes more than 20 minutes to complete your regime, you have crossed the line from being aware to being obsessed.

Still, if you're curious about new discoveries, you'll spend a pleasant afternoon trying out new products and learning how to use them.

It will be perplexing for first-timers but it will be worth it.

And when you feel as good as you look, everything should fall in place, fingers crossed.
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DON'T BE SCARED TO USE THESE, GUYS

1. The Vichy Homme Purifying Cleansing Gel is one of my favourite new discoveries. This soap-free non-drying cleanser ($19 now, usually $21.90) has Vichy's signature thermal spa water, which is of volcanic origin and rich in rare minerals. The range has been tested on Asian male skin and has been found suitable even for sensitive skin. I like it too because it smells great. The skincare range is affordable because all items in the range are under $40.

2. If your skin is dull because of stress, try L'Oreal's Hydra Energetic Turbo Booster ($27.90).

It has Vitamin C, pro-Phosphore (which stimulates the production and storage of 'energy fuel' for the skin) and peppermint leaf extract, which helps to reinforce your skin's natural resistance to stress.

3. Later this month, Clinique will launch a new whitening range called Derma White, with five new products. There is one that men might want to use. Although the term 'whitening' might scare you off, these lighten dark spots due sun damage. So if you've been doing sports without sunscreen, you might want to think about this.
Click to see larger image

The Derma White Brightening Moisture Mask ($79) is easy to use: Apply thrice a week for 10 minutes, then rinse your face.

4. The Good Skin Labs range of products is fast becoming my go-to brand for affordable skincare.

It is also the brand that introduced the Tri-Aktiline eye product, which is helpful in reducing lines around the eyes,

The latest product is Smooth-365 serum ($82) is an anti-aging treatment that provides almost instant improvements to the skin.

5. Never underestimate the appeal of nice feet.
Click to see larger image

Discoloured toe nails are a real turnoff, and with Singapore being such a slipper nation, maintaining your toes should be a priority.

Scholl's Discoloured Toenail Treatment ($15.50) combines remedial toenail healthcare and it'll pretty up your toe nails.It reduces yellowing and discolouration, but does not treat fungal nail infections (which is something your doctor should look at anyway).

6. Come on guys, admit it - you worry about that spotty nose too.

The Men's Biore Black Pore Pack ($4.95) removes blackheads, and we know how a noseful of blackheads can ruin your day.

It also contains oil-absorbing powder to help control sebum and the menthol provides a cooling sensation. And, really, the black is pretty cool too.

By Yeoh Wee Teck
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg

Real Men Exfoliate

Michael Slater's skincare regimen goes way beyond shaving his facial fuzz.

The 50-year-old retired police officer uses only soap-free cleanser and alcohol-free toner, he slathers on moisturizer with sun block, and he dabs on eye cream to keep his skin looking youthful.

In the evening, he performs a similar routine, replacing the moisturizer with a night repair cream for wrinkles. He exfoliates every week and gets monthly facials.

"If you look good, you feel good," says Slater, a Palma Ceia resident who uses a men's line from Derma Swiss. "Taking care of your skin is another way of taking care of yourself, like going to the gym. My mother and my sisters always told me, 'Take care of your skin, your hair and your nails.' It's become a way of life."

Slater, who works out regularly and shuns red meat, says it's not uncommon for friends, men and women, to ask him what products he uses to keep his skin looking so good.

"A lot of men are intimidated by beauty products because they don't know what to look for. No woman wants to be with a guy that looks like Shrek. I want to look good for my wife. She appreciates it. I think they call it 'metrosexual.' But I don't like sticking labels on myself. I just want to look the best I can."

Men no longer have to secretly dip into a girlfriend or wife's wrinkle cream, thanks to an expanding beauty market aimed specifically at guys.

Mintel Beauty Innovation, a leading market research company, tracked more than 500 new men's personal care products in the United States last year, a substantial increase from the 375 launched in 2007. Men's personal grooming sales surged from $15 billion in 2005 to more than $17 billion in 2008, with skincare leading the pack.

Mintel's research also showed that 85 percent of men mostly use grooming products designed specifically for them, while 7 percent use unisex products.

Marketers of men's products say there has been a shift in cultural attitudes that makes it more acceptable for men to primp and preen and still feel plenty macho.

"Men's grooming is getting a higher profile," says Patricia Finn, director of marketing and product development for the Jack Black line of men's products. "It's become a lot more visible. Men feel it's not only OK to take care of their skin and look good; they feel they have to do it so they can look better down the line."

With its masculine product names and handsome blue and black packaging, Jack Black's products are simple to use and designed to appeal to the male consumer ( www.getjackblack.com).

"We were among the first companies to specifically target men," Finn adds. "Now we're seeing a new competitor every day."

In the past few years, upscale, guy-specific lines like Jack Black, Anthony Logistics and Zihr have grown in popularity. And brands known to cater predominately to women such as Avon, Lancome, Nivea, and Ole Henriksen have launched lines devoted entirely to men. Even rapper 50 Cent is introducing a men's skincare line.

"Men are out of the closet when it comes to grooming products," says Ole Henriksen, who founded his namesake retail skincare line in 1999.

When Henriksen opened his Face/Body Spa in Los Angeles, most of his clients begged for secrecy.

Taking care of your skin was associated with being feminine or girly," says Henriksen, whose clients include David Bowie, Prince and Hugh Jackman. "That attitude has completely changed. Today a man will walk into a store and ask for a face scrub or mask as easily as he would a shaving cream."

Last year, Henriksen introduced his men's line and put it in a kit aptly called "Men's Kit." It features a cleanser, hair wash, facial moisturizer and scrub ($70, www.olehenriksen.com) and is quickly becoming a best-seller.

"You want your skin in the healthiest condition possible," Henriksen says. "And everyone wants smooth, supple, clear skin - even men."

Men have specific skincare needs. They have to deal with razor burn and ingrown hairs from shaving. Their skin also tends to be oilier than a woman's.

But even if there are special products and tools just for them, convincing guys to use them takes a little strategy. Packaging, for instance, must take the male mind into account, says Valee Gallant, communications manager for ACE for men, a company that began selling men's grooming implements last year.

ACE took popular grooming tools - tweezers, clippers and brushes - and made them larger, added grips and made them more masculine ( www.aceformen.com).

"Men don't want to go to the pink aisle to get tweezers and clippers that are made for women," Gallant says. "They want products that look masculine. They don't want to feel too metrosexual; it's become a bad word. They just want to feel like men."

Scott Braun agrees with that assessment.

The 45-year-old graphic designer's regimen includes products from Aveda Men and a line called aMENity. He also uses pure aloe vera on his face from a plant he grows at home.

"It's foolish for a man not to take care of his skin," says the Ybor City resident. "Your face is the first thing people see. You want to project a nice appearance."

Reporter Cloe Cabrera can be reached at (813) 259-7656 or ccabrera@tampatrib.com. a shift in cultural attitudes that makes it more acceptable for men to primp and preen and still feel plenty macho

http://www.tbo.com/

Burberry & GQ: The Beat Party

Burberry co-hosted an event with GQ(US) to celebrate the recent launch of the Burberry The Beat for Men fragrance at rock music venue The Viper Room in Los Angeles.

Over 150 guests attended the event including Liv Tyler, May Anderson, Ali Larter, Ian Somerhalder and Rufus Sewell all of whom wore Burberry as well as Mischa Barton, Nico Stai, Devon Gummersal, Marley Shelton, Britney Gastano, Luke Grimes, Annabelle Wallis, Alex Kaluzhsly and Tyrese Gibson.

The evening included a special live performance by indie rock band Cold War Kids, who also wore Burberry.

Burberry recently re-opened its Beverly Hills store with a new store concept designed and developed by Burberry Creative Director Christopher Bailey in October 2008.

The 7,379 square foot store is located at 9560 Wilshire Boulevard features ready-to-wear for men and women from the Burberry Prorsum and Burberry London collections as well as a full assortment of accessories.

Burberry The Beat for Men continues in the footsteps of its predecessor, the women’s version. The aim is to launch a fresher, younger, more innovative version of Burberry fragrances.

Christopher Bailey had a very clear idea of what he wanted, and so perfumists Olivier Polge and Domitille Bertier listened to current Brit pop icons like Kasabian, Fratellis and Razorlight, to infuse the perfume with a contemporary Brit essence.

The ad campaign is full of references to the 60s, emphasising British heritage and how the 60s Brit scene marked a whole generation.

For Bailey, it was important that the ads showed real people doing real things, to reflect the fragrance’s attitude – stylish yet real people.

The scent has striking hints of fresh wood with bourbon vetiver, violet and black pepper. Finally, it has a citrus touch, to give the fragrance a youthful feel.

http://www.viewonfashion.com/index.php

FA unveils `FA Men Xtreme`

FA Men Xtreme will compete against leading men’s deodorant players such as Axe, Set Wet and Park Avenue targeting the young men of today.

Henkel India Limited has entered the male deodorant segment with the launch of FA Men Xtreme deos. As the name suggests, Fa Men Xtreme comes in 3 extremely powerful fragrances – Speedster, Energy Zone and Cool Wave. The superior international formulation in them contains a unique “X-protect” formula which gives a stronger fragrance and thereby doubles the freshness.

Launched in March pan India, FA Men Xtreme will compete against leading men’s deodorant players such as Axe, Set Wet and Park Avenue targeting the young men of today. A lot of research has gone into the development of the new range, including the challenge of delivering a powerful, long-lasting fragrant experience that is safe on skin. Fa Men Xtreme is priced at an MRP of Rs 140.

FA is today one of the largest deodorant brands in India and has been rated as the no. 1 female deodorant in the top metros. Available in over 130 countries worldwide, FA offers a diverse range of deodorants catering to a variety of moods and tones. All FA deodorants come with the promise of 24 hour long-lasting protection and are skin-friendly.

http://www.indiainfoline.com/

Japan’s men wake up to Axe

A suggestive campaign in Japan for men’s deodorant brand Axe tested the expression ‘sex sells’ to the max with its Wake Up Call service.

A website invited people to register for a free wake up call on their mobile phone every morning.

Anyone taking part had to visit the microsite and register for the service by entering their mobile phone number, before receiving a verification code and then calling a set number to confirm the registration.

As the user makes the call, in front of their computer screen, a video plays of a woman answering the call and speaking in synch with the pre-recorded message the user hears, implying the woman is really on the other end of the phone and so enhancing the personal element of the service. When the wake-up call is made, the girl making the call will seductively remind the user to remember to use Axe that morning.

With a range of models clad in skin-tight pink uniforms the flirtatious content had a n obvious appeal to the brand’s target audience.

Unilever discovered that up to 70% of Japanese men aged 15-24 use their phone as an alarm clock so the application was perfect for its target audience.

The more a person used the service, the friendlier the woman from Axe became, adding an extra incentive to remain committed to the promotion.

http://www.cmdglobal.com/

Pure Black - new men's fragrance from Mandarina Duck

Mandarina Duck have launched a new fragrance for men: Pure Black. The fragrance was created by Firmenich perfumer, Nathalie Lorson, and is the second masculine fragrance from the company.

Mandarina Duck Pure Black contains notes of Indian pepper, bergamot, tangerine, tonka beans, tobacco, Tahitian Tiare flower, orange flower, Mysore sandalwood, green cedar and Madagascar vanilla.

The fragrance was launched in Spain last month, and will roll out to the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and Asian markets during the first quarter of 2009.

Mandarina Duck Pure Black will be available as Eau de Toilette 50ml and 100ml, Aftershave Balm, Deodorant Spray and Shower Gel.

http://www.basenotes.net/

Star Trek Cologne?

Star Trek Inspired Colognes Coming Soon To A Galaxy Near You!

Wondering what to wear to the Star Trek premiere this summer? Have you picked your favourite federation formals but lack that perfect scent? Well Trekkies don't fret - collectibles company Genki Wear may have what your after as they announce the launch of three Star Trek fragrances.

The company has confirmed the three fragances (named Tiberius, Red Shirt and Ponn Farr) based around concepts from the original Star Trek series. Tiberius, which has top notes of citron zest and black pepper, is inspired by the middle name of Captain James T. Kirk. Makers Genki Wear said of the fragrance: "Tiberius Cologne for men is difficult to define and impossible to refuse.

Also for men is Red Shirt, which boasts top notes of green mandarin and bergamot and is inspired by the short-lived cannon fodder on away missions. The final fragance, Ponn Farr, is made for women and named after the 7-year Vulcan mating ritual.

http://www.movies.ie/default.aspx

Why should men have all the fun?

You can catch her at a plastic table in Singh Hotel
, a rustic dhaba by the highway, waiting for an ice-cold beer and her friends. She should, by right, frequent a place more appropriate to her gender, say, a frilly Cafe Coffee Day in the city, but the guys in Singh Hotel make a pleasant fuss around her and her bike. And the beats of Punjabi folk do wonders for the tough day that she left behind.

And if you missed her at Singh Dhaba, try Maldives. A growing passion for fun among women seems to be hanging out together on holidays, and the more exotic the better. Age is not a bar for sure, neither is the group size, whether it is just four close friends catching up in on a Maldives resort such as, W (US$ 650 a night), pampering themselves silly at the exotic spa, or a grand school reunion of 25, women are determined to have their quotient of fun in the sun with only their girlfriends for company.

“We have been seeing a 25-30% growth over last year in this segment as the trend catches on. Customisation is critical as the experiential part of the holiday is paramount to women, indulgence is also the key, which may range from shopping to spa focused breaks from as short a trip as three days to a week while the most popular destinations are Singapore, Mauritius, Maldives, Switzerland and lately also Italy,” said Haresh Koyande, Business Head, Kuoni Holidays India.

Since the travel major only works on five star properties, the average spend per lady works out to a lakh a day, the Ferragamo shoes apart! The trigger for the breaks? — none, except to be together and focus on having fun! The average age says Koyande for their groups ranges from 30-45.

You can also catch her at a Mont Blanc store in the Capital, trying out men’s colognes. After all, they last longer and the fragrance is strong. And according to her, she doesn’t put it on for the men. Says 1993’s Miss Perfect 10 and today’s entrepreneur Mehar Bhasin: “Brands such as, Chanel, Estee Lauder and Betsey Johnson used to be favourites of women but now more women are trying out men’s fragrances. As for the men, they can just keep guessing.”

You can also catch her polishing the chrome on her car’s hood every morning. A scratch on the paint succeeds where a separation fails. Tearjerkers are not her cups of coffee, she says, especially when it comes to men. For the poised 50-plus Anna Bredmeyer, Miss India 1976, turned supermodel, (one look at her and not a trace of the age shows), cars send her blood rushing.

It’s her life; her passion, and Sundays means opening the bonnet of her Swift for a thorough clean up act! As Bredmeyer says, she hates seeing layers of dust anywhere, not even on her engine block. Of the many perks her various jobs have given her, this yet to turn silver but definitely a swinger is the many visits to the Mercedes factory in Switzerland.

“I have driven all classes of the Mercs but the best are the sports models, it is mind-blowing like none else. Guess it is my favourite car perhaps because it was the first car my Dad showed me and was his prized possession way back in 1961,” says Bredmeyer as she takes a sip of her favourite poison, the German white wine, Liebfraumilch (means mother’s milk).

Today’s woman also shops for Jimmy Choo and Armani, though she emphasises on a pair that has been made in Spain or Brazil. “The reason is that most luxury brands nowadays sell shoes that are made in China. The ones manufactured in places like Brazil and Spain tend to last longer.”

And then if live music is what sends your adrenalin shooting, Blue Frog is the place to catch her, young old, silver gold...and it is one place says Simran Mulchandani, one of the four partners of the place where women outside a five star are comfortable hanging out alone at a bar.

In fact the ratio of men to women is equal, he adds. It has also become a hot favourite venue among women to host parties, so single or in groups, its music increasingly attracts the women’s heels towards it, while the younger ones choose to go and party at Hard Rock Cafe down the road.

In fact, Blue Frog has also got more than a few women on their music label as well such as, Monica Dogra of Shaa’ir + Func, Merlyn D’Souza, singer and song writer Aurora Jane (rock) from Australia....So, it isn’t a rumour anymore. Women are not giving up the chase, as long as rocking the world is concerned.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Get a haircut, and get a real style

Arabbi, a Buddhist monk and a Rastafarian walk into a bar. What's the first thing the women inside notice?

Each dude's hair.

Sorry for the lacking punchline, but the sad state of men's hairstyles today is no laughing matter (except the so-bad-it's-good mullet).

Axe, a company focused on men's grooming products, recently surveyed 2,000 American women on men's hair care. About three-quarters of the women said hair is one of the first things they notice about a guy. Almost half felt guy's hairstyles all look the same, and that guys their age need help styling their hair. Worse, 62 per cent said they are not likely to take a guy with bad hair home at the end of the night. Yet only 29 per cent of guys in the same survey considered their hair to be an important factor in attracting women.

Now, I don't want to overstate the importance of this disconnect, but suffice to say the global recession should immediately take a back seat to this crisis. Until that happens, though, a guy who puts a bit of effort into his hair can take advantage of the monotonous world of men's mops. It's never been easier to grab the ladies' attention. And your boss's: well-tended locks are an obvious sign that you take care of yourself.

Hold up, I know what you're thinking: every time I step out of the box with my hairstyle, I end up looking goofy. But there are ways to get and keep a style that fits your type of hair, says Toronto-based image consultant Shannon Stewart, who has styled Bono, Billy Talent and Sting. Read on for tips from Stewart and Annette Burwash, owner of Getaway Spa For Men in Bridgeland, on how to get a good haircut and properly style your hair.

Great Hair Starts With A Great Haircut

It can be tough to find a good hairstylist, especially if you're not willing to spend what you would on Calgary Flames tickets. But shell out as much as you can afford for a good cut.

"A really good haircut will make styling your hair much easier," Stewart says.

Keep your hair short if you have thinning hair with a receding hairline. The longer hair grows, the thinner it looks. And if you're bald or almost there, forget the comb-over. Keep the sides and back trim, or even shaved, like Michael Jordan.

Men with thick and coarse hair usually look better and have an easier time styling a shorter cut. Personalize short hair by making it messy or spiky, or coiffing it in the direction you like. But it's easiest to keep most of it facing the way it tends to grow.

Get your hair cut every three weeks to keep it trimmed and easy to style. Even if you want to grow it out, keep your haircuts regular so your locks don't get mussy.

Which Hair Products To Buy And How To Apply Them

Before you style your 'do, clean it with a pH-balanced shampoo and conditioner. An acidic shampoo dries out your scalp, causing flakes and an itchy head.

If you have really fine, straight hair, wash it most days. If you have thick hair and don't use much product, Stewart recommends skipping a day or two between washings to let your natural oils come back.

Don't be lazy in your search and resort to using your partner's fruity conditioner. A guy's scalp is usually oilier and sweatier than a woman's, and women aren't turned on by a guy who smells like lilacs.

There's a whole whack of new men's hair products out there, with strange names like pomade, mess constructor, and "Funkifier" gel -- so let's demystify the hair-care aisle. The bad hair products start with gel. There's a reason they call it a gelmet. And since gel is mostly water, when it dries you're left with a crusty residue. Likewise, avoid hairspray, because it tends to dry out your scalp.

Stewart recommends using a quality hair wax, pomade, putty or cream. Burwash disagrees, saying only waxes and creams are good choices for your hair, because the other products are too greasy. Waxes and creams are easy on your hair and scalp. They don't get flaky or clump hair like gel or hairspray. Both give you a wet look. Wax is the hardest product, but keeps your hair pliable so you can re-style for drinks after work. Cream is much softer, but doesn't have as much hold. Beeswax in the ingredients is the sign of a good wax, Burwash says.

Pomade gives a bit of sheen for a more polished, preppy look at the office, while putty offers good hold and provides a matte look. A good paste gives that just-out-of-bed look, Stewart says, which is hit-or-miss in my experience.

The thinner and finer your hair, the less hold your product needs. When applying it, remember: pinches, not handfuls. And relax. Excessive primping is not required. If you're styling your hair right, a few minutes should be enough to wow the women.

tedwards@theherald.canwest.com

Men find glasses a glamorous accessory

Men are finally seeing what women have known for several years.

Fashionable eyewear can be quite eye-catching.

Check out Kanye West’s recent fashion statement — large, black frames with a unique, Afro-mullet hairstyle. Simon Baker of 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada sported a Ray-Ban Wayfarer style at the Grammys, as did Mickey Rourke at the Academy Awards. And rap mogul Jay-Z has been spotted in bold black, nerdy-looking plastic frames.

As famous men take the red carpet and attend star-studded events, they are accessorizing their wardrobes with fashionable eyewear for both indoors and out in the sun. Classic, vintage eyewear from aviator styles to geek-inspired frames, such as those of Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, is huge this spring, says Kristie Weiss, spokesperson for the Vision Council, a nonprofit trade organization.

“It’s a more secure fashion statement with minimal risks. You can buy the styles now and still wear them in another 20 years,” she said.

Female celebrities have been wearing large, round Jackie O.-inspired sunglasses for the past several years. L’Amy Company, which produced the original Jackie O. frame by designer Nina Ricci, is planning to relaunch that design and will use an iconic photograph of Onassis in its advertising.

At Smith Opticians in Houston, owner Philip Brown says “retro” eyewear often refers to a frame size as large from top to bottom as it is wide. He says the thick, plastic frames are a defining look and, for many of his customers, are a welcome change from modern, rectangular prescription frames. (Remember Sarah Palin’s rimless rectangular Kawasaki frame?)

“I guess when something has been in style for so long, it becomes boring; and something that’s been out of style long enough, it eventually comes back,” said Brown, who specializes in inexpensive vintage frames.

His customers have been requesting Wayfarer styles in clear plastic as well as in red, and also asking for the ’ 70s-style, graduated tint that’s darker at the top of the lens. He says combination frames made of metal and plastic, such as those worn by Malcolm X or actor Kevin Costner in the movie JFK, are also popular. Brown’s frames are $90-$150.

Tina Afra-Ozcelik, owner of the Eye Gallery of Houston, says eyewear designers have rejuvenated older styles with modern colors. For example l.a. Eyeworks’ “fiction” collection, at $330 each for both men and women, mixes vivid colors such as hunter green with clear crystal and dark blue with sky blue.

Afra-Ozcelik says men are also opting for classic round frames, such as those by Ralph Lauren’s purple label at $295-$500.

Even frames with wider, more detailed temples continue to be a popular fashion statement, but she says the frames can be distracting at first.

“They definitely aren’t as wide as they have been in the past few years, but they do take time to get used to,” she said.

“As long as you turn your head appropriately, you shouldn’t have much problem.”

LensCrafters calls the men’s look a “power fashion” statement, says Lisa Gear, the company’s director of optical-frame sourcing.

“It’s a strong look but with a lot of variations from geek chic to aviator cool, ” Gear said. “Women decided years ago that eyewear is a fashion accessory, and men are late coming to the trend. They are finally seeing frames as more than just necessity.”

The eyewear retail chain has seen a resurgence in requests for tortoise shell and black plastic frames and offers options in the $100-$150 price range.

And like Houston eyewear boutiques, LensCrafters has customers clamoring for retro designer styles.

“Eyewear is a less expensive fashion statement,” Gear said. Even if you can’t afford a Chanel outfit, she added, “you can get Chanel eyeglasses affordably.”

joy.sewing@chron.com

How to avoid a bad haircut

Call it the nohawk.

On the same day that Jarome Iginla was getting the frohawk (think: love child of an afro and a Mohawk), a haircut that would instantly become popular with teammates and rabid fans of the Calgary Flames, I was getting an army-style brush cut. Against my will.

Blame it on my poor communication skills vis a vis hairstyling.

I'd walked in off the street, sat in a chair and a barber who'd cut my hair a month ago asked: "What do you want?"

I figured he'd remember or somehow intuit the style and length I wanted.

"A haircut," I replied.

"No. 2 or 3?" he barked.

Now, if I was smart, I would have admitted I didn't quite know the difference between the two. But after a brief pause (during which I tried to look like I was carefully weighing my options), I firmly came back with a decision based purely on a guess: "Two."

Out came clippers. And off went my hair, just like those old images of barbers buzz-cutting new army boot-camp recruits.

Freshly shorn sheep is not the look I was after.

At that precise moment I decided I needed to learn how to explain what I want from a haircut.

Unfortunately, inquiries of male friends and family only taught me that they too rely on luck and an intuitive hairstylist or barber. Most guys' haircut vocabulary seems to be limited to pointing and the words "short" or "long."

This is why most of us keep the same style and stylist for years. Only a drastic change, such as moving to another city or joining a punk band, will force us to seek out a new barber. (I switched only after my stylist upped his prices twice, changed his location and started explaining how he's related to Jesus.)

Looking for a new hair guy (or gal) can be like a quest for the Holy Grail as you go through a series of setbacks relying on faith that your search will -- eventually -- bring about a glorious end to your bad hair days.

There must be a better way, I thought. Men should not have to deal with Peewee Herman hair on first dates and job interviews.

So I went to the experts -- hairstylists and women -- for tips on how to minimize your chances of getting a bad 'do. Here are their best ideas:

- Take a photo with you to show how your hair looked right after a haircut you liked, or bring a magazine photo of a celebrity or model whose hairstyle you want to mimic.

- Emphasize that you "just want a little trim," if you don't want much cut off.

- If you're new to a hairstylist or want less cut than usual, ask them if they can start by trimming it longer than they expect you want and then go down incrementally from there. Give a bigger tip if he or she honours your request.

- When a barber or hairstylist asks if you want a "No. 2 or 3?," they're talking about what length of clipper guard you want. This guard determines how far away from your head the clipper's electric trimmer will cut your hair.

Clipper guards are numbered one to four: No. 1 is stubble-short, No. 2 is 1/4-inch, No. 3 is 3/8-inch and No. 4 is 1/2-inch. If you hadn't figured it out yet, talk in inches when describing how long you want your hair.

- Our final tip comes from Lubna Faizuddin, a hairstylist from MVP Hair Salon for Men who recommends finding out the name of the haircut you want. Here are some of the most popular cuts for men:

- Businessman: Long and combed to one side on top, with no clippers used and the sides and back scissored down to one or two inches;

- Caesar: Clippers on sides and back, but longer on top.

- Military box: A No. 1 clipper guard on the sides and back, with the top cut short but square.

- Skater: Really long and shaggy all around.

- Mullet: Short on top, long in the back. Made popular by hockey players and rednecks, this is the much-mocked "business in the front, party in the back" cut.

"Guys ask for these all the time, but no one ever calls it by name, Faizuddin says. "They say 'Just leave it a little longer in the back.' "

The mullet is still popular in Calgary?

That's a bit of comfort for a man with a nohawk.

Trent Edwards is a features writer for the Real Life section. he welcomes your feedback and story ideas at tedwards@theherald.canwest.com

Getting to the roots of black hairstyles

Barber Markius Freeman, 30, has been growing his dreads for 4 years and he's not about to cut them.

"Cutting them would be like cutting yourself short," he said. "It would be like a sacrifice. It would have to be very, very, important to me, like a job."

While Freeman of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has kept the same style for years, Tartra Plummer, of Lauderhill, Fla., changes her hairstyle every two weeks. The 30-year-old cashier emerged from the salon recently sporting ridges done with a hot iron, a creation by her stylist, Tracey Irvin.

Both are examples of the power of hair in the black community, where styles are a complex and constantly evolving reflection of cultural and political values -- and fashion.

Black Americans spent $3.9 billion in 2007 on hair care products and services, according to Ken Smikle, president of Target Market News, a Chicago-based black consumer tracking firm.

No other community debates the quality and texture of hair, and goes as far as designating hair as "good" because it's straight, and "bad" when it's kinky, coarse and nappy.

Regina Kimball, a Los Angeles filmmaker, has documented the politics of black hair from its ancient African roots to today's hip-hop designs in her film "My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through My Hair-itage."

The 78-minute film uses black hair to explore cultural, societal, and political issues in the black community over time. The film reveals the significance and pride of African hairstyles, such as cornrows and braiding.

These days, stylists say anything goes with black hairstyles for men and women. Natural hairstyles, dreadlocks, Afros, permed styles, bobs, weaves, extensions, even mullets, fades and Mohawks.

Kevin Donjoie wears what he calls "a 'fro Mohawk," inspired by Mr. T.

"You've got to be a little different to pull it off," said Denjoie, 31, of Ft. Lauderdale. "There's a very wide range of hairstyles now. Afros, dreads, brush cuts, designs -- and the girls have plenty of styles. Too many of them I can't name."

Theresa Lewis, a hairdresser in West Palm Beach, Fla., said the most popular styles these days are ones that are easy to maintain: nice short cuts or natural hairstyles or braids and weaves that are not time-consuming to care for.

Christy Lubin, a graduate student at Nova Southeastern University, prefers a "wash and wear" natural style. Her hair is puffy and she's received some criticism from other students, who have told her she has bad hair. "No perm," she says. "This is my true beauty."

Lewis has been doing the hair of Anna Rosier, a speech language pathologist from Boynton Beach, Fla., for more than 20 years.

"When you find a hairdresser you trust, you stick with her," Rosier said.

Last week, Lewis gave Rosier a short cut that wrapped her face, with loose curls hanging down her neck. It's a professional look that fits her life, Rosier said.

Yolle-Guida Dervil wears her hair in natural short box-cut braids. She is what many call tender-headed, and used to cry in pain when her mother combed her hair.

Frustrated, her mother got her a perm. Her father was furious. Now, a decade later, he disapproves of his daughter's braids.

"My dad has a problem with natural hair," Dervil said. "He considers it unprofessional."

But she likes her hair natural. "I'm either confident or brave," she said. "I've found comfort in it."

http://www.freep.com/

Beard boom: More men sporting facial hair

WALNUT CREEK California,USA. - It’s not the honey-flecked brown hair or hoop earrings that define Sam Larson’s look. It’s the 3-inch beard. Larson, of Alameda, Calif., has been sporting it for a decade. He’s worn it long and full. He’s trimmed it when it’s gotten scraggly. In fact, Larson doesn’t give it much thought. He comes from a long line of beard bearers. All the Larson men back in Colorado wear them.

“I just like it,” said the 28-year-old, chatting at Tip Top Bike Shop in Oakland, Calif., where he works and where it seems beards are as common an accessory as bike packs. “It keeps me warm.”

Beards could be the biggest trend in facial hair since the ‘90s grunge goatee. In the past, beards reflected a mood or made a statement. That’s still happening. But more and more men are sporting them just for style’s sake.

Peek into the pubs on San Pablo Boulevard in Berkeley, Calif. Take a look at the hipsters in Oakland’s Temescal district. They’re moving past sexy stubble and into some serious hair territory.

So are the men of the red carpet. At last month’s Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, it was hard to spot a clean-shaven face. Sting, actors Jeremy Piven and Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”), and directors Sam Mendes and Ron Howard were among the many celebs sporting beards. It’s the next expression in the evolution of male facial hair, says Allan Peterkin, a pogonologist, or beard scholar, and author of “One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair” (Arsenal Pulp, 2002).

“If you look at the 20th century, every decade has a little bit of fur,” Peterkin said. In the 1950s, it was the pointy, beatnik goatee. In the 1960s, hippies grew out their hair — and their beards. The 1970s was a time of swinger mustaches, and in the 1980s, men wore designer stubble. The goatee of the 1990s had staying power, Peterkin says, and unleashed a whole expression of partial beards and facial hair combinations.

“The full beard is the next progression,” he said. “It’s about playful rebellion and being a free man. It’s about saying, ‘I’m not a corporate slave.”‘ On a purely superficial level, it is also one of the few ways a man can change up his look.

World Beard and Moustache Championships?

Even so, full beards aren’t socially acceptable yet, at least according to Jack Passion, a Walnut Creek, Calif., musician and beard champion who heads to Alaska in May to defend his title at the World Beard and Moustache Championships. Passion attributes the growth in beards to an overall increased consciousness.

“Everything we’ve seen on television for the past 50 years told us we had to shave, and if we didn’t, it was dirty,” said Passion, who has a fan club of 1,500 Passionistas. “But now, there’s a focus on sustainable practices. People are starting to say there are better ways to live. Men just want to see who they are and experiment with new looks.”

And those looks can have layered meanings. Growing a beard can stand for affiliation, especially in sports. In some religions, it is a sign of mourning. Beards can also demonstrate support for a cause. Recall when David Letterman grew a beard last year to show support for the writers’ strike.

Beards are also a quick and easy way to change an image.

“When Al Gore lost the election and was becoming an academic at Columbia University, he grew a beard,” Peterkin said. The on-again, off-again beards of Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling are important accessories for actors who want to prove they’re more than a pretty face, Peterkin says. Beards are quite favorable for men who are balding, he adds. Others might grow one to cover a double chin or make their faces appear bigger or more masculine.

Bonus for the ladies?

Another beard bonus: Some women have a thing for them. “I’ve been into beards for five years,” said Jennifer Matamoros, 32, of Oakland. “I think they’re extremely sexy. It’s that whole lumberjack thing.”

Haseeb Wahedy of Vallejo, Calif., admits his short, kempt beard is popular with the ladies. He’s been wearing it on and off for about two years, depending on his mood. “It’s trendy. It’s appealing. And I don’t like to shave,” Wahedy said.

Marty Parker of Denise’s Barber Salon gets a bearded customer every now and then in his Oakland barber shop. Most men interviewed for this story groom their own, however. Parker, 63, wore a beard for 30 years but finally shaved it off in 2000 when it started turning gray. “I wanted to clean up my act a little bit too,” Parker said.

But he wore it long and full throughout the 1970s in and around Berkeley — “Meant you didn’t sell out,” he said — until potential employers told him to trim it. When asked why he kept a beard for so long, he is blunt. “For one thing, it didn’t hurt me with getting any young girls,” he said.

But a beard backlash does exist. While you’ll find beards in the halls of hospitals and dot-coms, they can be the kiss of death in politics and finance, Peterkin says. “William Howard Taft was the last president to sport facial hair, and that was just a mustache,” he said.

When it comes to history, the beard’s place varies. During Victorian times, a beard was a sign of great means. However, the more common images associated with the Great Depression are of bearded men standing in line at soup kitchens. And post-World War II, the assumption was that a guy with a beard had something to hide, Peterkin says.

Yet the postmodern beard is more elusive. It changes meaning. For some, it’s Santa Claus. For others, Osama bin Laden. “It’s all about your own experience,” Peterkin said, adding that the full beard could also be an “answering back” to the metrosexual label. “The beard is macho,” Peterkin said. “And it’s something women can’t do.”

Lisa Sciacca isn’t wild about her husband’s full beard. “He doesn’t keep up the loose, scraggly hairs,” said Sciacca, who lives in Pacifica and preferred when Pete wore a goatee. “There are no straight lines, so it’s just here and there and everywhere.”

But she understands why it appeals to her husband, who works the graveyard shift at a San Francisco hotel.

“It’s just easy,” she said. “We always joke about women who spend an hour in the bathroom in the morning. Men can spend a long time in there, too.”


Five grooming tips

Not sure why your scruff is rough? Heed these grooming tips courtesy of Jack Passion, a Walnut Creek world beard champion and author of the forthcoming e-book, “Jack Passion’s Facial Hair Handbook.”

• A beard is a barometer of a man’s health. So eat right, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep. It will show in your beard. Also, beard care is skin care. So don’t forget to nurture the skin underneath.

• To control the itching while growing a beard, brush regularly with a light bristle brush to promote circulation and flow of oxygen. Take a flaxseed oil supplement to soothe the skin.

• When shaping your beard, use a clean razor and never shave with a dull blade. Use shaving gel rather than cream so you can see through it and avoid mistakes.

• Cleanup around the beard depends on how fast your hair grows and how you want the beard to look. To clean up your lines, soak a rag in hot water and apply to face for 20 seconds. Remove and apply a shaving oil to the face. Then, apply gel. Shave without applying pressure. Soak rag in cold water and apply it to face. Finish with astringent.

• Want to change the length of your beard? Invest in a trimmer or small clipper. They range from $20-$100 and make all the difference. Then, be patient. Remember: “You can’t make a harvest until the crop is fully grown,” Passion said.

http://www.pantagraph.com/
By Jessica Yadegaran
Contra Costa Times

Is my man gay?

Being involved with a man living on the down low must be a woman's greatest fear; or certainly something she wouldn't believe could happen.

Unfortunately in Barbados, as elsewhere, it is not uncommon for men who are in a public relationship with a woman to be having discreet sexual relations with other men.

Although there is a growing tolerance for homosexuality, it is still not widely socially acceptable in Barbados. So, many men and women hide their sexual preference to maintain the status quo. Having a girlfriend is one way a gay man may try to keep a "straight image".

Sadly, this can have dire consequences if he fulfils his gay desires outside the relationship; for instance, his female partner may be unknowingly exposed to sexually transmitted diseases if her cheating boyfriend doesn't use adequate protection.

So, how can you tell if your man's gay?

According to a young homosexual interviewed by the SATURDAY SUN, there are quite a few tell-tale signs, including those that would be considered clichés. These are:

* He cries at movies.

* He glances at men when they pass, especially the attractive ones.

* He has no qualms expressing, or even gushing, about how attractive another man is.

* He prefers anal over vaginal sex with you.

* He has an intense interest in fashion and dresses very fashionably; is well groomed and is a little too knowledgeable about different brand names.

* He consistently compliments women about their clothes, hair and shoes, as opposed to their face and body.

* He makes a lot of flamboyant gestures with his hands when he talks.

* He brags about how many gays think he is attractive.

* He likes to watch or is turned on by gay porn.

* He has a lot of homosexual friends.

* When you ask him if he's gay, he responds evasively as opposed to denying it.

These guidelines probably do apply to many men on the down low – especially the last three – but clinical psychologist Dr Marcus Lashley was quick to shoot down all of them.

"There is no absolute way to determine someone's sexuality," he said in a telephone interview.

He insisted there was no set criteria or prototype for the gay man and one could only judge on an individual basis.

According to Lashley, a man might display these traits because of his upbringing and cultural background, but not because of his sexuality.

For instance, the well-groomed, fashionable man might be "metrosexual" – American slang referring to a heterosexual who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance.

Even the man who goes on about how sexy another man is may be expressing what he subconsciously wants for himself; in other words, he's probably wishing he had six-pack abs like his object of admiration.

Seeing that there may be no real criteria that applies to all men on the down-low, your instincts may be your best "gaydar".

So what do you do if you think your man is gay?

Make sure you're listening to your intuition and not your paranoid fears. You need to ask yourself if you really think he's gay or if you are subconsciously sabotaging your relationship.

Take a moment to meditate on this before you make any drastic decisions.

by GINA AIMEY-MOSS
ginaaimeymoss@nationnews.com
http://www.cwc2007publications.com/

Keeping clean, tidy with manscaping: No more furry beast

Everyone jokes about it. Merely mention it and people will giggle. But "manscaping," a term used to define the grooming of male body hair, is a reality.

For those who missed the metrosexual wave, guys have caught on to taking care of themselves by having their nails manicured, eyebrows waxed, relaxing facials and even body hair removal.

Movies like "American Wedding" even bring the idea to the big screen when Jason Biggs' character trims himself for his bride-to-be. With Web sites like manscaping-101.com, dedicated to helping guys stay in top condition, the art of "manscaping" has become a household term that's ever more present in today's society.

"I am a very well-kept person," junior Tommy Dennis said. "I believe there is such a thing as having too much [body hair] and if you do it right, there is such a thing as having enough."

Dennis said he comes from a family of hairy men and that, as a teenager, he tried to let his body hair grow. But, it got out of control, becoming a nuisance. Now, Dennis said he shaves his chest and trims his underarm hair to keep things in order.

"In my early teenage years before I started trimming and manscaping; I went to the bathroom and my zipper kind of caught some of the hair," he said. "And it wasn't a very pleasant feeling. It hurt like hell."

"As a personal preference I do trim my private areas. I feel a lot cleaner doing it," Dennis said.

Senior Max Henscheid said he trims his torso hair because it can get grizzly at times.

"I feel that you should trim it much as if it were the hair on your head," Henscheid said.

While some men choose to tidy up their body hair for themselves, others do it to become more attractive to the opposite sex.

Freshman Desarae Valdez said she appreciates well-groomed men and encourages the practice.

"I've come to the conclusion that all men have ass hair," Valdez said. "There's really no getting around that. When I see certain men with excessive amounts of body hair, it makes me believe in the theory of evolution."

Even though she accepted the inevitability of male body hair, she prefers a guy who keeps himself trimmed. Although Valdez claims to have friends who like chest hair on men, she is not one of them.

Valdez also said since women spend time shaving their legs, underarms and other regions, guys should put a little effort into maintaining their body hair, as well.

"I think it should be trimmed at the least," she said. "If there's a lot of hair down there I feel like it's dirty. It would be a huge turnoff if they never trimmed it. If I really liked the guy, I would probably just point it out like a joke and tell him I'll help him shave it or wax it for you, or [tell him] we can go get a wax together."

Freshman Toni Monette said body hair on a man is attractive, but looks are only a small part of what attracts her.

"I would probably still date him, though." Monette said. "And tolerate it if all of the other areas were good. If he shaved all of his hair off, it would be kind of strange."

For those who do "manscape," Dennis feels that only a certain amount of time should be spent on keeping things trimmed.

"There are too many things to worry about rather than 'did I shave properly today?'" Dennis said. "Women like a little ruggedness, and a girl doesn't want to feel like she was touching a baby."

Others feel that not enough time is devoted to "manscaping" for most men.

Valdez said she was at a party when a guy decided to moon the camera as a picture was being taken.

"Everyone was just so mortified by the amount of butt hair that he had that no girl would talk to him for the rest of the night," Valdez said. "It was really unattractive. He was a pretty attractive guy, too."

Whether lots of hair is your thing or a modest trim suits you better, the idea of "manscaping" is a debate for both sexes to compromise on. One thing is for sure: it will be a topic of discussion for years to come.

Jared Spence
http://www.unogateway.com/

Bangalore’s one-stop halt to dress up stylish men

Today, dressing up and looking good is no longer a female domain; the urban male too knows how to get the killer look. After all, men have become more style savvy. The Collective, located on Vittal Mallya Road in Bangalore is a place for you .

A ONE-STOP shopping destination for the urban Indian man, The Collective, located on Vittal Mallya Road in Bangalore is a place that will elevate your soul and rejuvenate your mind. It has everything that modern man needs. This all-men’s luxury lifestyle store by Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail Company (MGLRC), an arm of the Aditya Birla Group is a fashion temple for all-male brand bhakts.

Starting from the basics ie underwear, shirt and trousers, socks and shoes; you can also select accessories like tie, cufflinks, watch, wallet, belt and sun glasses to adorn yourself. Want more; pick perfumes, leather goods, electronics and gadgets. The store has best brands for whatever you choose and there are options galore. It has a good collection for all occasions, be it formal, casual or special day like wedding. To name few, you have products from Armani Collezioni, Versace Collection, True Religion, Hugo Boss, Fred Perry, Lanvan, Nooka and etc.

The fashionable store even includes a Paris based unisex salon Jean Claude Biguine, on the first floor, which offers one of the most luxurious experiences. So all you beautiful ladies coming to shop for men, this is the place you too can try out, some of the best hairstylists and beauticians work here. Guys don’t forget to step into the grooming section, it comprises of all grooming goods for the metro-sexual men.
The salon offers a special service ‘Grooming the Groom’ and if the groom goes trousseau shopping in The Collective, the service is absolutely free.

Shopping for your big day, the store has in-house fashion stylist and wedding planner at your service. The wedding section displays designs of leading Indian designers: Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, JJ Valaya and Rajesh Pratap Singh. If your wardrobe needs a washing and cleaning, the dry cleaning services are accessible on the ground floor. Once you are done with your shopping, don’t forget to check out The Collective Café, it is worth a try. So folks, if all this doesn’t sound attractive to drive you to the store, here is something one can’t miss: For a limited period customers can treat themselves to a special sale up to 50 per cent. Hurry, before it’s late but mind you be loaded.

http://www.merinews.com/index.jsp

Tried & Tested: Timeless, rugged allure

With its distinctive, subtle scent, Tommy Hilfiger’s Eau De Toilette is one that will surely appeal to all men.

COOL, composed and confident. A man who knows what he wants in life. One with the courage to create new paths to reach his goal. His physique reflects an exciting life. James Bond? Close. Think Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, two icons who inspire the new Hilfiger fragrance collection.

Tommy Hilfiger is a premium lifestyle brand and one of the largest designer apparel brands globally. It markets a broad array of related products including accessories, fragrance and home furnishing.

The new fragrance collection comprises the Eau de Toilette, After Shave Pour, deodorant spray and body wash. The bottle that is the Eau De Toilette in my hand is both modern and vintage in feel, with strong simple lines. The name Hilfiger is boldly engraved on a metal plaque with riveted corners. Cool!

More importantly, it’s easy to like the scent. It’s subtle, always a vital factor in my book. Think first impressions, whether on a date, at an interview or elsewhere.
An accompanying press release says it has a “captivating allure of rugged sensuality”.

I take a few whiffs of its scent and nod in agreement. Hmmm... this I like.

A quick online check reveals that it has “intense notes of suede, sandalwood and citrus infused with papaya, tonka and cashmere wood”, all adding up to a “warm, sexy sensuality”.

So macho and charmingly understated. It should appeal to young men and the young-at-heart. I’m thinking James Dean right now but this seems too retro.

Unsurprisingly, the image long associated with the Hilfiger man is that of classic American style. I almost would want to nostalgically call him the Marlboro Man, but there’s my aversion to cigarettes.

The right focus — and to stay relevant — should of course be on contemporary big-screen action heroes. No matter. It just goes to show that the cool ruggedness of the Hilfiger image is timeless and works, no matter what generation or which era.

The scent is definitely clean, distinctive and masculine. But be forewarned that this is one instance where too much of a good thing will not work.

I find that four squirts may not seem like much initially but the scent turns out to be quite overpowering when I get into the car. I can just imagine what my fellow passengers would think (or are subjected to)!

But the true Hilfiger lover will not mind or worry too much. After all, this is one fragrance that is created for the man who is confident, successful and completely comfortable in his own skin. Think inner strength. I can relate to that!

Meanwhile, my two able lieutenants (my teenage children, no less) have only complimentary adjectives when I subjected them to it. If you know how discerning children are, then you know it has its attractions.

Garbos in, bankers out

Bankers and travel workers worried about job security may consider rubbish collecting or selling skin care products to men as gloom descends on the employment front.

Other potential losers as job cuts mount include tyre manufacturers, boat builders and - to the dismay of few - real estate agents.

New job openings are likely to become harder to find as the economy teeters on the brink of a recession and employers place new hirings on ice or cull staff numbers.

Glimmers of jobs growth, though, are appearing, according to IBISWorld, a research firm. These include the market for consumer goods touting a ''feel good'' factor for buyers, especially for men in need of a bit of a spruce up (perhaps before that next job interview.)

''The 'manscaping' trend is...growing; with men becoming increasing aware of skin care regimes and products specifically marketed to men will deliver a boost to companies producing male-oriented grooming products,'' IBISWorld said.

''The result will be openings for more cosmetic and toiletry salespeople, as well as laboratory technicians and those involved in the manufacturing side of the business.''

Job losses ahead

Tips on job-hunting are likely to be in demand, as the economy stalls, sending jobless numbers skyward.

On Thursday, labour figures out for December are likely to show a fall of 20,000 jobs, economists predict, nudging the jobless rate up to 4.5%, from 4.4% in November. Most analysts predict that rate to rise to 6% or higher in 2009.

As in many countries, the financial sector has been among the hardest hit by the economic crisis, with ANZ Bank and GE Money among those announcing big staff cuts, with more to come.

''(C)ommercial banks will be forced to cut jobs, with many of the losses to come from middle management as operators attempt to rationalise their hierarchies,'' said IBIS World general manager Robert Bryant in a statement. A number of foreign banks will also exit the market, ''resulting in major job cuts,'' he said.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/

Of men and moob jobs

There was the gym and the diet. Now there's waxing, the mirdle and the £800 million British men spent on grooming last year ... Welcome to the brave new world of male beauty, says Howard Jacobson

To any straight man born before about 1970 the idea of male beauty - of men being thought beautiful or going out of their way to make themselves beautiful - was, and in part remains, embarrassing. As one of those men - the straight and born before 1970, I mean, not the beautiful - I acknowledge that this embarrassment is foolish. The Greeks and Romans had no difficulty with the concept of male beauty; neither, in Shakespeare's day, did the English. At school we could never understand that earring Shakespeare is pictured wearing in the only half-reliable portrait of him there is. Weren't earrings for pansies? But of course that was just the 19th and 20th centuries speaking. Victorian puritanism reserved male beauty for paintings of Christ, and the twentieth century saw too much war and destruction to be able to dwell on the loveliness of the male physique. If men were beautiful, they were beautiful in death. So what we are seeing now - the pampering and exfoliating, the waxing and moisturising, the unabashed vanity and flouncing - is more a reversal than an innovation. After a 200-year sleep, men are back as beauties in their own right.

We were, of course, always vain, though we no more called it vanity than we called it beautifying ourselves. Handsome would have been the word we used - men were handsome or interestingly attractive, not beautiful. And even to be ugly had its own cachet, as ugliness was thought to go with brains and a greater attention to foreplay. 'Fascinatingly ugly' was a phrase I remember women bandying about in the Sixties. I'm not saying we aspired to it, but if that was the best that was on offer, we took it.

We would have hesitated before calling vanity by its real name as well. Aftershave surely wasn't vanity. Deodorant surely wasn't vanity.

Smelling nice was just the least we could do: a matter of self-esteem, good manners and, yes, becoming more sexually persuasive. We attended to our hair, minutely conscious - to within a quarter of an inch - of the latest fashion, though I would never have spent as a boy a quarter of what I spend at the hairdresser's now. This, I admit, is partly the pride of a man who has more hair left than most of his contemporaries, but it also marks a relaxation of the old rigid gender demarcations. I have my hair done at a women's hairdresser now. I am particular about the conditioner that's used on me. 'Body Full,' I say, not ashamed to know. Forty years ago my barber would whisper a bewildering inventory of illicit pleasures into my ear - transistor radios, washing machines, Jaguar XKs, loose women. Now I discuss the state of my roots with my hairdresser, nutritional additives for my scalp, and the 'product' I should be using. When I come out of the hairdresser I look at myself in the windows of every shop I pass. But then I always did that.

We were acutely self-conscious about our appearance, that's what I'm saying. It mattered to us how we looked, not only to girls but to one another, because what we saw in one another was how we looked to girls. I kept my collar bones in their own packets, so important to me was it to have the right ones for the right shirts. Shirt collars that turned up at the edges made a fool of a man, in my view. You could not be witty in any company if your collars did not lie flat, nor could you be attractive to a woman. I was similarly fastidious about the length of the ties I wore, the colour of my socks, the amount of cuff I showed. No woman would have spent more time in front of the mirror than I spent checking that my nostrils were clear or that there was nothing left of lunch showing between my teeth.

But we were still a long way from the unguents and the jewellery that modern men take for granted. Yes, we would have found most of it effeminate. And when the jewellery started to appear I, for one, did not know where to look. I still don't, to be honest. Most men look fools in earrings and all men look fools in necklaces. That's not my age speaking, it's fact. An elegantly attenuated boy can get away with it, but a pearl stud in a podgy ear or a gold chain round the red neck of a Chelsea supporter are and always will be the height of fatuity. Nevertheless, much has become acceptable that we would have shied from like wild ponies in the past. We got away with scent by calling it aftershave. I had stopped shaving by the age of 17 but I never went out without sploshing aftershave on my face and down the inside of my shirt. In other places, too, which it were better I don't divulge. What I splosh on myself now - Givenchy, by preference - no longer disguises itself as aftershave. It is fragrance or cologne. And 'fragrance' you can dab anywhere without apology. So why beat about the bush? I am a man who wears perfume.

I am also a man who goes to the gym, which is a mystery considering how much I loathed the gym when I was at school. A fair amount of what I didn't like then I still don't. Getting hot, getting sweaty, getting tired, doing anything that might end in my being upside down. I am a strictly vertical, right-way-up person, my visits to the gym sedate occasions on which I read the morning papers, sip water set at an ambient temperature out of a paper cup, stroll a half a mile or so on the treadmill - the speed moderate, the incline slight - and then lie for 40 minutes on the mat, looking up at the ceiling, thinking my thoughts, and from time to time bringing my knees as close to my chest as I can get them, which isn't close at all by the standards of the gym I go to. Occasionally I mess about with weights. The fantasy that I might develop a triangular torso that is the envy of other men and causes women to gasp when I pass them on the street has never left me. We all had Charles Atlas chest expanders as schoolboys. We all worked out on hand grips underneath our desks. But it wasn't beauty we aspired to, it was bulk. We wanted to know we could punch our way out of sticky situations. We wanted to be feared and admired for our strength, not the exquisiteness of our contours.

So this, too, has changed, because it is the beauty of the built body I now covet. The most unexpected men - bankers, insurance agents, filing clerks - today have muscles we did not know existed in the Sixties, long upper arms that appear to have double the number of biceps we had - biceps major and biceps minor - and shoulders it would once have taken a lifetime of coal-heaving to acquire. I would like to look like that myself, I don't mind admitting, and sometimes press heavier weights than I should in the hope that it is not too late - a hope that invariably ends up with me stiff-necked like Quasimodo at the chiropractor, being told that it is unwise, after a certain age, to exceed one's limit. So what is one's limit? A pound of butter pressed from a sitting-comfortably position?

You can take a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. Not with other horses, if he doesn't want to, anyway. The communal showering at the gym is the hardest part for me. I never did like that as a boy, but no one liked it then. We were ashamed of our nakedness and embarrassed by the nakedness of others. Other men, I mean. Girls were different but we weren't offered the option of showering with girls. Judging from the way men cavort in the shower rooms in my West-End gym, no such shame any longer exists. Where we used to shower in corners, sliding ourselves surreptitiously in and out of our towels, they strut their backsides and their genitals like pole dancers. Their backsides are more shocking than their genitals. How it has happened I cannot explain, but naked and from behind men are hemispherically fuller and plummier than they used to be. Perhaps it's exercise, perhaps it's diet, or maybe it's one of those Darwinian changes that can be explained only by a shift in sexual expectation - men quite simply needing to be more voluptuous because women expect it. That's what it looks like, anyway - a beauty parade.

Another thought occurs to me as I turn my back to the shower cubicles, adjust my towel, and pull my clothes on underneath it, item by item, from my locker - and that is that this beauty contest is not simply for women (there are no women here, after all), and not simply for men who like to look at men either, but is an expression of jungle competitiveness, a need to be confident in your fitness and your beauty and your youth - for beauty in our society is a token of the bloom of youth - in order to succeed professionally. Are men finally discovering for themselves what women have known forever: that there is no crueller taskmaster, in work as in love, than appearance?

You would think that those of us who are past having anything to prove would be immune from this blackmail, but we are not. Indeed there is defiance in our assertion of our right to go on being as beautiful as we choose. 'You're worth it,' Pierce Brosnan says in a new ad for L'Oréal for men. Not the usual L'Oréal 'Because you're worth it', which implies that the woman is having second thoughts, wondering what right she has to throw money at her appearance. We men are not apologising or explaining. We're worth it, full stop. All of us.

A tattoo around my midriff remains out of the question, as do ear studs, bracelets, and a scrotum wax, but the collar bones and shirt cuffs matter more than ever, and so does weight. A nutritionist and dietician has me on wholemeal bread - which I find disgusting - and no carbs in the evening - which I find heartbreaking. My wine is down to 15 units a week, though we argue as to what constitutes a unit. She says a small glass, I say a magnum. We compromise at a litre bottle. And when I order a cappuccino I must stipulate skimmed milk. There is a phrase for it. A skinny cappuccino. Rather than say, 'A skinny cappuccino, please,' I would have my navel pierced. But I would not rather put on weight. It is unbecoming in a man who is too old to press anything other than a pound of butter (all right, low-fat margarine) to carry a swelling Falstaffian gut before him. Unhealthy but also, yes, unbeautiful.

I do not yet have to dye my hair. Not only is it still plentiful, it is still golden. But my beard is whitening by the day and though I have so far resisted darkening it, I don't know if I will forever. I thought I would be happy to look like Hemingway at the last, as I thought I would be happy to look like Falstaff. Life forces, both of them. But the lineaments of laughter and experience are no longer valued. It doesn't matter how old he is, some last lingering remnant of the loveliness of youth is now required of a man as it has always been required of a woman. Serve us right. We have demanded this of our spouses and mistresses and now they demand it of us.

Do not go gently into that good night - go as the young go: heroic in your hunger, flat-stomached, plucked and painted, smelling like the Beckhams' bathroom cabinet, so many Cupids and Apollos with Senior Railcards in their Armani wallets.

Howard jacobson
The Observer

ck one Launches a New Worldwide Advertising Campaign

NEW YORK -- Calvin Klein, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation announced today that Calvin Klein Fragrances, a unit of Coty Prestige, will launch a new worldwide advertising campaign for ck one, giving voice to the optimistic spirit of a new ck one generation.

Fifteen years after the fragrance debuted -- as the world's original shared fragrance and most successful launch to date -- the ck one "we are one" campaign offers an uplifting message of unity. The television spot features a large cast of men and women of diverse ages and ethnicities singing an original song about the power of people coming together as one. The campaign continues the legacy of ck one's iconic black and white imagery and of-the-moment casting and injects the brand with a positive point of view and compelling campaign front man in musician Jamie Burke.

"The ck one "we are one" campaign is inspired by a social movement of people coming together in the spirit of unity, connecting a diverse range of ages, races, genders, and cultures," says Catherine Walsh, Senior Vice President of American Fragrances, Coty Prestige. "The heart of the campaign is a powerful original song, which reminds us of the common language of music."

"Having maintained its status as an iconic global brand, ck one is as relevant today as it was when it first launched in 1994," says Malcolm Carfrae, EVP, Global Communications, Calvin Klein, Inc. "Since then, ck one advertising campaigns have become famous for their creative direction as well as for the talent featured. At the forefront of this most recent introduction is musician Jamie Burke, who has also appeared in two recent Calvin Klein Jeans campaigns. The latest ck one campaign strikes a chord by reflecting a spirit of unity through music and the current zeitgeist of social change and optimism."

The campaign was directed by Trey Laird of Laird + Partners in conjunction with Calvin Klein, Inc.'s in-house creative studio, CRK Advertising. The print campaign is a virtual portrait gallery of striking and uplifting black and white images of a celebratory group of beautifully unique men, women, and children on a mountaintop, shot by photographer Steven Meisel.

"What's incredible about Calvin Klein is that it always manages to reflect what's going on in the world, sometimes even before it happens," says Trey Laird the campaign's consulting creative director. "I think with the original ck one launch over a decade ago there was a little bit of angst, a little bit of independence and rebelliousness that was reflected in the people in those ads. It was very right for the time and really struck a chord. Today people are more about getting involved, being part of a solution, and coming together with hope for the future. It's not just about you; it's really about what you can do in your part of the world."

The ads were shot on location at the Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California and feature a cast of 27 men, women, and children from all over the world. Ranging in age from three to 40+, the group includes a pair of sisters, and a mother and son -- all led by musician Jamie Burke. Burke's striking looks and natural rock star persona led to him being cast in the Spring and Fall 2007 Calvin Klein Jeans campaigns. He emerged as the front man of the ck one "we are one" campaign, performing and producing the campaign's original song. ck one campaigns have always presented intriguing casting; the original campaign featured Kate Moss and a group of "Gen X" hipsters including Donovan Leitch, Stella Tennant, Jenny Shimizu, and Kirsten Owen, who also appears in the current campaign.

Set on a mountain top, the television campaign, directed by Francis Lawrence (I am Legend, Constantine), is a free-spirited display of togetherness amongst the t-shirts and jeans clad cast. Television commercials begin airing globally later this month in :60, :45, :30, :20, :15, and :10 spots. The print campaign will premiere in February 2009 magazines around the world.

A limited edition ck one collector's bottle with "we are one" handwritten in various languages and packaged with an mp3 speaker, will launch the campaign. The collector's edition will be available at fine department and specialty stores globally, also beginning this month.

Calvin Klein, Inc. is one of the leading fashion design and marketing studios in the world. It designs and markets women's and men's designer collection apparel and a range of other products that are manufactured and marketed through an extensive network of licensing agreements and other arrangements worldwide. Brands/lifestyles include Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, and Calvin Klein Underwear. Product lines under the various Calvin Klein brands include apparel, accessories, shoes, sleepwear, hosiery, socks, swimwear, belts, eyewear, watches, jewelry, coats, suits, fragrances, and cosmetics, as well as products for the home.

Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation is one of the world's largest apparel companies. It owns and markets the Calvin Klein brand worldwide. It is the world's largest shirt and neckwear company and markets a variety of goods under its own brands, Van Heusen, Calvin Klein, IZOD, ARROW, Bass and G.H. Bass & Co., and its licensed brands, including Geoffrey Beene, Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, unlisted, A Kenneth Cole Production, BCBG Max Azria, BCBG Attitude, MICHAEL Michael Kors, Sean John, Chaps, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, JOE Joseph Abboud, Tommy Hilfiger, Perry Ellis Portfolio, DKNY, and Timberland.

Coty Inc. is the largest fragrance company in the world and one of the leaders in global beauty with net sales of approximately USD $4 billion. Coty Inc. operates in over 25 countries and sells its products in both broad and select distribution channels in over 80 markets spanning the Americas, Europe and Asia. Coty Inc. has an impressive portfolio of over 30 well recognized celebrity, designer and lifestyle brands. Top sellers include Calvin Klein, adidas, Rimmel, Davidoff, Lancaster, Jennifer Lopez, Jil Sander, Joop! and Kenneth Cole. Additional distinctive brands include Aspen, Astor, Baby Phat, Celine Dion, Cerruti, Chopard, Chupa Chups, David & Victoria Beckham, Esprit, Exclamation, Isabella Rossellini, Jette Joop, Jovan, Marc Jacobs, Miss Sixty, Miss Sporty, Nautica, Nikos, Pierre Cardin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Shania Twain, Stetson, Vanilla Fields, Vera Wang and Vivienne Westwood. For further information on Coty Inc. and its products, please visit www.coty.com.

For more information on ck one, go to www.ckone.com.

The Latest Metrosexual Men's Fashion - Tights

They dominated the trendy male"s wardrobe for years, and now, after more than 500 years of falling out of favour, tights are back in vogue.

UK stockists have claimed that the garment is selling out faster than they can re-supply.

In fact, some of the world's biggest lingerie manufacturers have also started making them.

Macho culture is being replaced with a metrosexual trend, driving a market for men's grooming products.

Recently, two men-only cosmetics were launched, an eyeliner called "guy-liner" and a mascara dubbed "manscara".

French lingerie company Gerbe sells 11 different designs of men's hosiery, including an ultra sheer and matte finish pair of tights that has a front opening for the male anatomy.

There is also a thicker black pair of tights, for a more Robin Hood-type look.

Kieran Hughes of stockist Precious Collections claimed to have sold 1000 pairs of tights in the past two months, up from 300 pairs.

"German men have been wearing them for years. More than 50 per cent of German men wear tights including famous German football players. I can't imagine many footballers doing that here," News.com.au quoted him, as saying.

Men liked not only the look of the tights but also the insulation and perceived health benefits, such as improving blood circulation to the legs.

http://www.oneindia.in/

New mens spring collection launched

Topman, the U.K's leading men's clothing retailer has announced the arrival of their latest spring collection, featuring new ranges of classic 'must have' sunglasses and jeans and the latest in fashion design.

Fashion conscience men across the country searching for the latest look this spring will be able to find a huge range of mens clothing online in the new collection from Topman, including cardigans and Y-neck tops, as well as accessories such as attention grabbing belts, retro bags and a selection of brightly coloured T-shirts and vests, in a variety of individual styles and patterns.

Adding to the exciting cutting edge designs in this season's collection Topman has launched the "The Classic Sunglasses" project in conjunction with Linda Farrow. Following on from last season's White Shirt Project, this will be the second in a series of designer collaborations with Topman.

This particular project sees Linda Farrow adding a contemporary touch to already classic styles of sunglasses including the perennially popular Aviator and Wayfarer styles of eyewear. This season will see designers such as Bernhard Willheim, Kim Jones, Oliver Spencer and 0044 all producing brand new and innovative looks in conjunction with Topman.

The latest mens fashion trends from Topman takes inspiration from the Interwar Oxbridge days. In a time which heralded the growth of film and fashion photography, the prosperous youths became more fashion conscious with the exposure to Hollywood glamour. Look out for wider length trousers, draw string waists, longer cardigans, linen shirts and a range of patterns and designs for a looser yet smarter, more relaxed silhouette for the spring season.

Jeans have been a staple of mens fashion for quite some time and they remain in vogue this spring, with Topman featuring a full range of styles online. Bootcut and worker jeans can offer a comfortable and laid back look to any outfit while a pair of twister or skinny mens jeans add a contemporary and sleek feel and, when topped off with one of Topman's fitted skinny T-shirts, anyone can have an instant fashionable spring outfit.

http://www.oneindia.in/

Retail therapy for men

Clare Richardson brings us the men's hotlist for spring 2009.

TREND: COBALT BLUE

Swap last season’s conservative navy for the extraordinary intensity of cobalt blue, as seen on the s/s 09 catwalks of Gucci, Lanvin and Adam Kimmel. Sure to prompt an abundance of admirers, this striking hue works well worn as a statement. The less daring can use it as an accent in the form of a T-shirt or tie.

STRIPES

Forget bog-standard Breton-striped T-shirts, this season it is all about working a head-to-toe look. Bottega Veneta, Dolce & Gabbana and Paul Smith all sent models down the catwalk in pale-blue, vertical-striped suits, starting a pyjama party.

BROWNS SHOE STORE

Starting life as a small boutique in South Molton Street in 1970, Browns quickly became one of London’s most exciting fashion spots. It has expanded through five connecting townhouses to become the emporium it is today, stocking a mix of established and emerging designers for men and women. Shoes have been in store for two years, but this spring its first stand-alone shoe shop will open on Brook Street, W1. Expect an array of exclusive items from the likes of Lanvin, Raf Simons and Bottega Veneta (pictured above, £445 a pair) on the dedicated men’s floor, as well as bespoke shoes and a repair service (brownsfashion.com).

UNIQLO

The Japanese high street label is launching a tailored menswear collection for spring. Featuring slim jackets with matching waistcoats and suit trousers, it is sure to be a success as it follows the Uniqlo design mantra: quality and good finish, all at affordable prices (020-8247 9200).

JAMES LONG FOR TOPMAN

The hottest accessories available at Topman this season will be those of the London designer James Long. After two successful collections for Man, shown during London Fashion Week, Long has turned to designing bags and joins the Topman Lens boutique brigade, selling his heavy- duty manbags in the area assigned for up-and-coming menswear talent. Available at Topman Oxford Circus and online at topman.com. £150 (08451-214519).

CHAUNCEY

This covetable new menswear label is the idea of Belgian Nathalie Bouhana and her photographer partner David Sdika. Bouhana, having previously designed knitwear for Hermès and Salvatore Ferragamo, has an eye for luxury knits. After huge success selling hand-knitted mittens and jumpers from its website last season, the label is steaming ahead with a full collection for spring (020-7251 9003; chauncey.be).

PHILLIP LIM 3.1 FOR MEN

In less than three years, the American designer Phillip Lim has become one of the most sizzling names in fashion. His laid-back, youthful s/s 09 men’s collection is a clever mix of pastels and brights. Matches’ boutiques will stock the line for the second time, and it is sure to fly off the rails (matchesfashion.com).

BEAT

Burberry has finally launched the male version of its Beat for Women perfume. A fresh, woody fragrance mixing leatherwood with vetiver bourbon, cedrat, black pepper and violet leaves, it is heralded with a stellar ad campaign shot by David Sims. According to Christopher Bailey, the house’s creative director, 'the scent captures all the characteristics of the Beat man’ – who judging by the ads is akin to the up-and-coming British actor Alex Pettyfer and the on/off boyfriend of Daisy Lowe, Will Cameron. Eau de toilette 50ml, £36 (0845-769 7072).

FRANZ FERDINAND

Franz Ferdinand are back in the public eye after time out writing their third album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, which is set for release later this month. What’s more, the Glaswegian quartet’s slimline look, complete with skinny ties, helped them secure a deal to front John Varvatos’s s/s 09 ad campaign (above), the latest in a series shot by the celebrated music photographer Danny Clinch (johnvarvatos.com).

OMAR KASHOURA

This former design assistant at Preen is now wooing the fashion pack with his first menswear collection. The line is made up of what Kashoura describes as 'classic pieces with a romantic twist’. Look out for the structured tailoring and intricate details in a palette of dusty pink, lime green and gunmetal grey (020-7531 6155).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/