Trumper's shaving triumphs

OK, I've been shaving again and I've been testing a number of creams and colognes from Geo. F. Trumper. They're not the cheapest but the company produces some of the most pleasant shaving preparations I've used - more on those in a minute.

The wet shave
I used to get quite frustrated by the sheer amount of men's publications advising us on how to shave. We know, I'd say, we mastered that when we were 13. But then I look around and notice how many blokes still have some sort of shaving rash. And it's not necessary. Here are a few guidelines...

• Blade: The blade with which you shave must, repeat must, be clean. This is very difficult once you've used a modern 'cartridge' head with about 53 razors and a bit of rubber to lubricate it more than once, which is why I switched to a double-edged safety razor a couple of years ago. If you do the same, change the blade every five shaves or so. My Dad used to tell me that a new razor will always cut you; it won't, the old off-sharp ones are the ones that will catch on the skin.
• Heat: Water should be hot and if you can (a flannel will do it) the face should be warmed before shaving, to soften the hair.
• Shaving cream: Your preference rules, but remember soapy stuff will dry up on the skin and may well lead the razor to catch a bit. If you use a cheap preparation, don't lather the whole face at once as it'll dry up.
• Shaving: Shave in the direction the hair is growing to avoid razor burn. If you have time, shave twice gently, each time to reduce the hair growth rather than machete the lot at once.
• Rinse: Get all of the soap or cream off - you don't want to be stuck with a spot-making residue.
• Cologne: On the upper chest or back of the neck by all means - but not straight onto the face after shaving, you've just been dragging a naked razor across it so it'll go red.

That should get you over a number of difficulties.

Preparations and products
My favourite barber The Valet has one fault and that is that they don't stock Trumper's, fast becoming my favourite shave company (with a respectful nod to the Bluebeards and looking forward to the Valet's own range which it will be releasing sometime next year).

Shaving cream is important. It has to feel pleasant, stay moist and not dry up and smell OK. I've been using the Trumper's almond cream (pictured) a lot recently and it fulfils all the criteria; the chances are that when I've finished my current pot I'll replace it with the coconut version I was using before as the almond smell is a bit sweet for me (NB: this is because it smells of almonds, and to be fair there's a clue in the name). The Eucris version is also nice to use with a refreshing sniff of eucalyptus in the morning, and the extract of limes is also a good wake-up concoction; both smell quite distinctive, though, and may clash with your choice of cologne.

There's no obligation to stick with the same company's scents of course. Trumper's goes for the traditional and classic rather than the modern scent and some I find too dated or overpowering; the violet cologne seemed very feminine to me, reminded me of a music teacher from primary school - I have no idea whether she shaved with Trumper's stuff or not, but she was about 100 and smelled terribly of violets. Another scent, Curzon, I found to be different in smell but similarly oversweet and elderly.

Spanish Leather, on the other hand, has become a firm favourite. It doesn't smell as manufactured and artificial as so many  of the major perfume houses' modern offerings (you know how you can get something that smells not so much of a single scent but 'smells of Armani' or 'smells of Hugo Boss'? You don't get that with Trumper). Masculine, classic, a bit refined and different from most of what you find on the High Street. Extract of Limes I liked very much as well, particularly  when used with the matching shave cream - lime and a bit of spice in there, and it lasted most of the day.

These are quite strong and should be used sparingly - a few drops will do you. And they do last - unlike some colognes  I could mention, you'd better decide you like the smell of this stuff because if you put it on at 7am you'll still know it's there at 6. 

Seacret skin care

One of the things about being a male lifestyle blogger is that you get sent quite a lot of skin care products and a load of men end up wondering why you're bothering. Growing up as I did in the 1970s when using deodorant was a bit girly you can start to see why the idea of skin care ranges seem a bit odd to the male of the species - we're used to looking and feeling a bit rough.

This view always surprises me a bit, though. By all means we're used to it but we're also used to dragging naked razors over our skin on a daily basis. So I'm quite pleased with two of the products I've been sent; Seacret after-shave balm is soothing and odour-free and yes I think I look a bit less spotty for using it. ProActiv Solutions' day treatment has a similar effect; Seacret seems to work better on my skin and you can make what you want of that.

Seacret also sent me some shampoo (which works well enough, pictured) ands mineral-rich peeling gel (it says here) to get rid of dead skin buildup on your face, which would also give you a shaving rash. It's a brand I'll be watching with interest - women still tend to be more interested in this stuff than men, which is odd as they tend not to shave their faces.

If you do have difficulty with your skin after shaving here are some basic tips:

1. Face should be clean - this doesn't mean a quick rinse, it means a wash, preferably with a non-soap cleanser as soap can gunge up your pores. A scrub with bits in (or 'scruffing lotion' or whatever your supplier calls it) once a week will get some extra gunge out.

2. Hair should be softened - water is very good at this, I find a dab of shaving oil or my favourite Proraso shaving preparation helps too - this isn't obligatory.

3. Decent shaving cream - ask a good barber. I use Coates and sometimes The Bluebeards. Apply with a brush as this will raise your facial hair and make it more accessible to the razor.

4. Decent razor with a sharp blade, washed frequently. OK, I'm fussy so I've gone for the Merkur Futur which isn't going to be to everyone's taste let alone budget (although replacement blades cost pennies so over a couple of years you do save money). Very gently, aim to reduce rather than eradicate hair - then repeat from step 3. Change the blade frequently.

5. Rinse excess soap off in cold water, this closes the pores up

6. Moisturiser or after shave balm like the Seacret stuff above or the many other products I've reviewed here from time to time. This helps your skin recover from the razor being dragged across it.

7. Scent if you like but top of the neck/chest (unless it's very sunny, you can burn yourself) and maybe back of the neck. So many people put a scent on newly-shaved skin, it stings like hell and they wonder why they go red afterwards. Your face needs about five hours to recover completely before you start splashing smellies onto it.

The eyes have it

As regular readers will know, I'm not averse to a bit of moisturiser here and there. In fact when you reach your mid-forties, a good routine in which you wash your face properly with a soap-free cleanser before shaving (soap can in fact clog the pores) then moisturise afterwards makes a definite difference.

I've been less impressed by eye creams. Not that I don't think they do much, I'm sure they do - I just haven't seen the necessity. So when SkinMedica sent me a sample of its Biometa Eye Repair product I was a little cautious.

First we'll get the rant out of the way - could we all stop calling this stuff "repair"? The fact that I'm no longer 21 years old doesn't mean I'm damaged. As Dame Joan Bakewell said in an article recently, looks don't "fade" as you age, they change. A bit of relief from a bit of increased dryness would be good of course, and restoration of a little suppleness in the skin is always welcome, but please don't tell me it's a repair - there's no actual damage. End of rant.

So, the cream comes in a nicely designed, expensive looking box and tub. It's aiming to look good in your bathroom and for an eyewatering (no pun intended) £89 a pop it had better. The cream itself goes on pleasantly enough and works, like most of them, by plumping up your skin a bit so the wrinkles are a bit less noticeable. It's unisex but I'd be surprised if they didn't get a whole bucket more female sales than male.

The manufacturer says the cream improves and restores elasticity in the skin, boosts the skin's regenerative qualities, boosts natural collagen production, moisturises and attacks the pigments that make you look like a panda. OK, the last bit is my phrasing. I'm no scientist and would recommend you do your own research before accepting any specific claims about what a product like this does and how. It certainly helped a bit with moisturising the area under my eyes.

My wife has also been using it and finds it's pretty good. She pays particular attention to her eyelids and I never have, so perhaps it's no great surprise that I haven't seen a huge difference - she'd be happy to buy it again and tells me the price is about average for this sort of item. It does reduce dark circles under the eyes if you have them. Mine are certainly there, I'm approaching my late forties for goodness' sake - but not badly so, which is why I'm not in much of a position to say just how well it copes with that. I'd welcome comments.

So if you're into your eye creams this should certainly be on your list of ones to try. If you're not, and if my experience is anything to go by, then this isn't going to convert you.

Christmas gifts 5: Shaving and shoe care

There's little relation between shaving and shoe care, except that they both fall loosely within "personal care" when it comes to grown-up gifts. So I've been looking at the BlueBeards' Revenge pre-shave oil a bit, and it certainly adds to the smoothness of the shave.

Of course it doesn't do it by itself. Cleanse the skin first, scruff it once a week or so (that's bloke for "exfoliate"), apply small amount of oil to help blade glide. Spread over skin, apply foam - preferably a decent shaving preparation that comes in a tub and has more natural ingredients than chemicals in case of allergies. Use a double headed safety razor rather than something that proudly claims it's about to drag about five naked blades over your skin (are you nuts???), be careful of the angle and apply next to no pressure, aim to reduce rather than eliminate hair, shave. Lather again, shave, rinse in cold water to close pores back up. Dry, mousturise and don't put any scent onto the skin that's still going to be a bit raw - back of the neck and top of the chest will make you smell just as good and you won't get shaving rash.

Bluebeards is a good brand and so is Coates for the soap; these are really good stocking fillers for men who like a good shave. My scent of choice for the moment is Jo Malone Lime, Basil and Mandarin but beware, it's not cheap - if I hadn't been travelling and able to buy duty free I'd have been shelling out £70 a bottle. Unusually I'd say this one's probably worth it.

Also on the "YOU PAID WHAT?" scale is the Black Crocodile shoe kit from Charles Burnand. A spokeswoman swears it looks amazing when you get up close to it - it would need to at over £90. Much as I'd love something as swish as this if any rich benefactors are watching, I suspect the similar offering from Charles Tyrwhitt that's a third of the price would do an equally good job. No, I'm sure the crocodile skin isn't present and correct in the cheaper version and yes, the brush is almost certainly lower grade. But I'll bet it cleans your shoes just as well.

Oh, and don't forget the competition - details here, nominate your all-time worst Christmas tune and be in with a chance of a prize worth over ten quid. Literally.

Shower gels for blokes

Shower gels are an odd breed. Some smell very strong, others smell of very little - and they all seem more or less to do the job. I've been lucky enough to be sent some samples. I've tried the lot and can assure you I'm very clean.

Pick of the bunch according to my tastes has to be Anthony for Men's hair and body gel. It's just as well I liked this one because the PRs had a bottle I can only assume was intended for a health club or something - they come in massive quantities if you'd care to pay that much. I found the blue chamomile blend soothing and refreshing at the same time, with a pleasant scent which didn't linger.

Trevor Sorbie's Mg offering is similar; does the job, sweet-ish clinical smell that doesn't hang around and then you're off. It isn't aimed at hair as well otherwise it might have been first choice for an idle tight-fisted fool like me (no doubt there'll be a dermatologist along shortly to explain that hair and skin are very different and should under no circumstances use the same cleaner - no matter, the Anthony suits me very nicely.

Another couple I've looked at are from Manatomicals. These aren't quite to my tastes and I think the manufacturer would be pleased to hear it. One's called "Young free and tingle" hair and body wash - I'm 46, married and a tingle makes me worried my circulation's on the blink. It does have a hell of a zingy, minty scent and certainly woke me up; regular readers will know that I'm fond of a dab of cologne so anything that's going to overpower that is probably not for me. But it's pleasant to use, as is the same company's other offering, called "Are you looking to get picked up?"

See the above personal details - 46, married - if I got caught with something with a name like that in my bathroom cabinet I'd probably be on some sort of register within minutes, or at least be considered some sort of weirdo. It has a more subtle blend of mint than the other one and if not for the name I'd be rather fond of it.

But then the fact that something's not aimed at me shouldn't be held against it.

New range of body products from Organic Blue

Men tend not to buy a lot of body products as such. Most of us understand the value of soap and deodorants and that's a step up from our predecessors who were in their forties in 1971.

Things have changed and I've been sent a couple of samples from a range by Organic Blue. I didn't think it was promising; people who've had a look at the aftershaves I normally cover in here will be aware that I have a bit of a taste for the "ouch that costs a lot" school of products. This £7.99 (price on Amazon) body lotion is one of the costliest items in the range. I also tried the shower gel.

The gel, which washes hair and body alike, is pleasant enough. There's a citrussy lemongrass scent which is refreshing first thing in the morning and like all shower gels it got me clean.

I'm not usually a body lotion person but I dutifully put some on. Again the same rush of lemongrass, but the revelation was later in the day. After putting this on my feet some of my dry skin started to clear up (sorry for the mental image, you will read middle aged blokes' style blogs). This was with only one application. I've used it a few times since and without boring or repulsing you with details I'm more comfortable moving about in the heat, when I didn't think I was suffering particularly before.

Maybe all body lotions do this for you, although I did try one once before from the considerably-costlier Molton Brown and it didn't suit me quite as well nor smell as refreshing. You get quite a big bottle for your money; I shall certainly be replacing it when it eventually runs out.

I was so taken with it that I asked the PR whether there was a matching cologne. Apparently she's been urging them to do something like that for ages and I can't say I blame her. Until they do, the (pricey) Hermes Orange Vert is a reasonable match.

Armani Code: Theming your scents for Father's Day

Regular readers will be aware I'm very fond of Armani Code eau de toilette for men (below, linking to my Amazon store).




Also known as Black Code and still listed as such in some websites, it suits me because I like the citrus, bergamot and the underpinnings of warmth - there's a bit of leather and tobacco in there too. There are clearly people who hate scents and I do share a certain bewilderment when people turn up whiffing of the stuff for a business meeting (if I do so for a meeting with you, you can assume I'm testing it for this blog).

Recently Armani has issued a couple of new versions of Code for men. The first is Armani Code Summer.




Season-specific scents are commonplace in the female market. The male of the species is catching up - or the marketing departments are doing so, anyway. Armani Code Summer is a lighter version of theoriginal. The heavier undertones are gone and there's more citrus - overall a more floral feel. It's very refreshing as it goes on - does the job nicely and there's enough of the original left so it's still familiar if that's your regular eau de toilette. My thanks to Debenhams' Beauty Club for arranging the sample. The bottle matches the original - as indeed does the other new one, out next month, Armani Sport (so new it's not yet on the Amazon site).

This one, again designed so the packaging matches the others, has a mint zing as you put it on which gives way to a more gingery version of the other two. There's a lot of citrus in this too, probably more orangey than lemon/limey compared to the others. It's certainly another excellent offering in the range.

My only query is whether anyone's actually going to buy all three - or whether this is just clever marketing; there are a lot of blokes like me who get a bit obsessive, we collect box sets of DVDs rather than individual titles, we like to drive the same brand of car for years on end - and now we have themed scents. No-one should take this as a criticism - L'Oreal, which owns the brand, is in business to be in business and if they can persuade me to buy three bottles of cologne instead of one they're probably doing a good job for their shareholders.

Luckily for the buyer, the scents themselves are pretty good. Oh, and if my daughter's reading, bearing in mind Father's Day is now only weeks away, I like Armani Diamonds too but haven't got any (you see what I mean about brands? Hadn't even occurred to me it was another Armani before I typed that last bit).

During this coming week I'll be looking at something different in terms of scent - a bloke who makes his own.

Debenhams and online beauties

Retail store Debenhams has extended its offerings online with the Beauty Club iPhone app. I'm telling you this because it's great for blokes too - shaving stuff is available, skin care and the like, aftershaves, everything you'd get in that line in the store itself.

Just go to the iTunes store (you'll be familiar with this if you're an iPhone user), download and start using it. It's miles easier if you already have an online account or existing loyalty card; although you can (and I did) register straight from the phone app, if you have any difficulties then the website rather than the phone app is your best place for help.

So why bother? Two words: free delivery. Yes, you can find just about everything on the app on Amazon too - I was checking for the new Armani Code Summer edition eau de toilette for men, which I'm eager to try, and it was the same price but minus a fiver delivery makes a difference.

If I had two wish list items for the app then the first would be that it could stand by itself a little more rather than be quite so tied into the website. For a first "draft" of the app this is pretty good, though. The second is that there could be a less obviously feminine interface available as an option. I had to check with the public relations person (who was highly responsive, 10/10 for her efforts) whether there was actually anything in this for the LifeOver35 audience.

Arguably there needs to be a whole new vocabulary here. Not only is there stuff for blokes behind this feminine facade but it's all classified, in the shops as well as online, as "beauty products". Very few blokes are going to wander into those areas for items for themselves.

And on the strength of this, once we've got past that there's money to be saved.

Baldness and ageing: stop trying to cure us

I've been approached by a PR whose client offers cures for baldness. And I keep seeing adverts for anti-ageing creams and preparations, for men as well as women - it's no longer a single sex thing. So I thought I'd explain why you're not going to see reviews or write-ups about them on this blog.

Flickr: Joelk75

Let me preface this by saying I don't link the pressure young women come under to conform to a particular body shape, usually an unhealthily thin one, to the commercial pressure on middle-aged blokes. We have a walk in the park compared to the harmful stresses some sections of the media put on younger members of the opposite sex.

But there are pressures nonetheless, and I'm going to state my view: ageing and baldness are not illnesses. There is therefore no cure which is either feasible or desirable.

I should qualify that a bit. There are illnesses which can lead to baldness, there are conditions whose cure causes hair loss and of course premature ageing is something which can have medical roots. All of these are grounds for treatment and medical investigation.

But the ordinary ageing process, the reason my hair is changing colour and my skin tone and texture doesn't have the same structure it did 20 years ago, is a perfectly natural thing. It happens to everyone and I refuse to attempt any "cures".

Yes you can take this to extremes. I shave, I get my hair cut and use a bit of hair clay in it, I put clothes on, I have central heating and live with a roof over my head. None of these things are natural, I understand that. But attempting to hold back the changes that come with time is to me a denial of who I am.

And anyway, men trying to reverse the ageing process end up looking stupid. A bit of moisturiser can actually make skin more comfortable and protect it from the sun, but skin tones change with time - the colour fades a bit, like it or not. This is where hair dyes don't help; try to preserve your original colour (no, not your "natural" colour, my natural colour at the moment is dark flecked with grey, I don't have to dye it to get to that) and it no longer matches the rest of you. The colour rarely works, too; check Sir Paul McCartney's barnet. I bow to no-one in my admiration of the ex-Beatle but if he can't look convincing with the money he has at his disposal I suspect it can't be done (a hairdresser once confirmed this to me - to get an even colour they have to strip out any remaining darkness then re-colour the lot, and after a few washes it starts to go orange).

A short while ago I was reading an article by Dame Joan Bakewell in which she said looks don't fade as you get older, they just change. I couldn't agree more. Granted, ageing kills you in the end but it's honestly not a clinical malaise and neither are the alterations it brings.

So you won't be reading about baldness cures on this blog. I'm all for curing illnesses, but I have several bald friends and they're perfectly well, thanks.

Valentine's 7: Skin and hair products

So we're blokes, and on average that means we're not going to do a lot in terms of skincare and hair care. I've already quoted research on how many of us nick our partner's toiletries in the "Men are Useless" entry a couple of weeks back so you know my views on that.

There's a good argument, though, for partners using gift-giving times for something a bit personal, very much like a skin care range or some such thing. I've been trialling the Osmium For Men range and it does what it says on the tube - fine to use, the look of the skin improves and it doesn't shine on you.

Where I have a difficulty is in the "meeting of science and natural products" bit. I'm no scientist as anyone who's ever asked me any scientific questions will attest. However I do wonder about all this obsession with "natural" - when did skin moisturising become a natural thing to do? It's completely artificial. Ingredients in the range include orange, wheat protein, ginger, turmeric - OK, these are natural but I wouldn't want to vouch for whether they're good for skin.

I'm also going to try a range based on Spanish figs. I'll update you when I can; meanwhile I'll be more interested in whether it makes me look any better rather than whether someone thinks it's "natural" to splurge some goo from a tube and spread it on my face.

Brylcreem standard paste

An old brand making its pitch to a younger audience is having none of this "natural" stuff in its marketing. Brylcreem is no longer just the oily "seen the latest edition of Mad Men?" gunk it was - there's paste gunk (which I'm using at the moment and which has happily taken the place of something costing four times as much) for light spiking and shaping, strong gel for hold, wet gel for (duh) a wet look and clay for people wanting a really solid hold.

These are all reasonably priced, starting from under a tenner and they do the job. There's a cricket ball packaging of the standard paste available (pictured) if your loved one wants an idea for a budget Valentine's gift and it's honestly pretty good stuff and has held my hair in place nicely. The only downside I can see, and this really is a matter of personal preference, is the scent. Brylcreem has always had a very distinctive aroma; it's clean and slighly soapy and when the various males of the species started using it in the 1920s (before we'd adopted deodorant as a mainstream occupation, and for all I know soap as well) this would have been a blessed relief. We're now into the era of numerous niffs being available to us in the form of multiple colognes and eaux de toilette; I'd rather have something odourless on my hair to avoid clashing.

Valentines 3: Men Are Useless

One of the more convenient services I've come across if you're interested in grooming products at all is this new website, Menareuseless. Basically you subscribe to toiletries and get a monthly drop of stuff in a letterbox-sized box, so there's no picking up at the Post Office.

There are two levels and the box is packed with goodies like shower gel, razors, moisturiser, toothpaste, all that sort of stuff. It's a monthly drop and they choose the toiletries.

It's based on research that says 78% of blokes admit to stealing their partner's toiletries with shampoo being one of the most commonly nicked from partners. 7% of men said they'd run out of toiletries and washed using washing up liquid once.

If you're in that category this is a great service. The site needs a little updating as the £9.99 a month option seems to have vanished but £12.99 isn't exorbitant. My box included the King of Shaves balm, a King of Shaves razor, the body wash pictured in the selection above, a spare cartridge for the razor and a few other bits. It's middle market/supermarket product rather than anything too designery.

I'm not wild about King of Shaves razors, I'm a Gilette man myself and that company's new offering gave me the best home shave I've had for ages this morning. I'm a bit fussy and clearly need to go and buy my own stuff, but if you're really strapped for time and don't mind someone else choosing your brands (concierge shopping they call it; economies of scale I reckon, and no less legit for that) it's a good option. A few months' subscription to this would be welcomed on Valentine's day by many.

My first men's facial

Hmm, sorry about the lack of entries last week, I was away (note to everyone: never blog the fact that you're away). And as threatened in the blog post I actually managed before sheer lethargy took over at the excellent Budock Vean Hotel in Cornwall (who knew you got this much sun in October?) I had this facial, which I promised I'd blog about.

OK, plug first - they used many components of the grooming kit in the Amazon link above on me and yes, I'll get a kickback if you buy one through the link. No obligation and above all no promises - your skin might not react like mine.

So I'm going into this Facial thing, no idea what to expect. It's a slightly darkened room and this young woman tells me to strip to my pants. I explain that I normally keep my face above my shoulders; she agrees I can keep the trousers on if I want. Look, stop laughing at the back, what was I supposed to know about this stuff?

She puts cucumber on my eyes. I'd always assumed this was just a gag from sitcoms or whatever, but apparently not. She then starts washing my face. There's something slightly unnerving about someone else washing your face - but she uses cleanser and then a scrub, the idea being to take the dead skin away.

It was dead quiet. I could have done with a bit of music. There was some sort of whale song or whatever; I had Ian Dury and the Blockheads on my iPhone if she'd only asked.

Eventually I stop feeling self-conscious and kind of go with it. This would be about when the funny post-shave face mask goes on to really suck out some gunge - not that I don't wash! - and she starts the massage on the shoulders, the arms, the neck, the individual fingers. When I tell you that I spend most of my time hunched over a computer typing you can imagine that a lot of tension was ready to be let go.

Eventually the mask comes off, more cucumber goes on the eyes after a bit of eye cream (I'm in my mid-forties, we need this stuff) and moisturiser. She tells me I'm free to go anytime and there's a glass of water waiting for me outside.

A glance in the mirror dispelled a lot of my more cynical preconceptions. I was more relaxed than before because of the massage (daughter has since tried to duplicate this for me so the shoulder now hurts like mad) but my face looked a lot clearer, fresher and more alert.

Scientifically I have no idea how this worked. The feeling that I was spending some time on myself and being indulged completely might account for all sorts of rejuvenated feeling, but I wouldn't criticise it for that. I can quite see how something like this a day or two before a big presentation or something could give someone a boost of confidence; I'm on stage on Thursday but won't be able to fit it in, but another time I'll certainly consider it as part of the preparation.

As long as you're not someone who feels self-conscious about this sort of thing I'd heartily recommend it.

My wife says I'm having a facial

OK, so it's my wife's birthday and I've treated her to a spa thing - well, I will when she lets me pay her back for it.

So she says to me, "You're writing this men's style blog, why don't you have one?" So apparently she's booked me in on Thursday morning for something called a "facial".

I have to admit I'm a bit lost here. I use a bit of moisturiser in the hope that I'll look a bit less prematurely elderly, but actually going somewhere and letting someone else trowel it on, I'm not so sure.

I'll be sure to report back. Meanwhile any blokes who've had one and can say anything reassuring are welcome to comment...