CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
The extraordinary mens blog for the modern man
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Improve your personal App-itude – Clinique for Men’s Skin Care Diagnostic tool by Amanda Lewis

imageAs part of the new Clinique for Men skincare range where they strive to increasingly make it easy for men to find the right products for their grooming needs with the Men’s Skin Care Diagnostic tool exclusive to  Clinique on the i-Pad.

Hey we love an app, here at Clothes Make the Man ! It works by assisting in identifying your skin type and suggests the best product combinations to for your skin care needs. At the end of the intuitive analysis print your product recommendations or receive an email.

We like the keep it simple approach to skin care – cleanse, exfoliate, moisturise to achieve and maintain healthy, great skin. Seems eeaassyy.

Start by CLEANSING (washing your face!) with the Face Wash or Face Soap – to remove all traces of pore-clogging dirt and debris as well as prep the skin for shaving.

EXFOLIATE with Exfoliating Tonic to remove any dry skin, control excess oil, reduces the likelihood of ingrown hairs to leave skin smoother and less prone to blemishes.

MOISTURISE with the NEW Anti-Age Moisturizer a multi-purpose hydrator that combats lines, wrinkles and dullness and contains antioxidants to help protect against future damage with skin strengthening and firming ingredients.  .

The skin around the eyes is just as sensitive for men as it is for women. Anti-Fatigue Eye Gel is a roller-ball that deposits a liquid gel-serum to instantly cool and refresh puffy eyes on contact, reducing the appearance of dark circles and brightening the overall area.

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Manmade to Perfection – Manmade by Sarah Gilfillan

imageMy clients often ask me for recommendations for their haircuts and grooming to complete their look once they’ve been on a Personal Shopping trip with me. So when Dan Gregory contacted me telling me about his new male grooming salon and aesthetics clinic – Manmade – I was interested to hear more, so I popped in to meet him for a chat.

Centrally located in Marylebone and newly opened, the salon is sleek and sophisticated……small enough to feel friendly but big enough to feel spacious. Dan was welcoming and down to earth and clearly passionate about the new business he’s set up with his other family members- Peter Gregory who’s the Clinical director and Sarah Gregory who’s the Commercial director.

Dan is at the forefront of the brand and having built up an impressive list of celebrity clientele through his work as a freelance, session stylist, he now wants to be able to offer traditional barbering services including haircuts, cut throat shaves & colouring to the discerning non-celebrity gentleman too.

Taking the grooming aspect one step further, is Dr Peter Gregory – head of the “Aesthetic Clinic”. Offering a discreet selection of anti-wrinkle injections, skin rejuvenation & perspiration reduction treatments, he’s dedicated to providing an ethical high quality service where the client feels truly valued and respected.

You can really see that these guys aim to go one step beyond, and even a haircut and finish has all the bells and whistles with a neck shave and a hot towel infused with essential oils included. It’s these little touches that make the point of difference to a salon and as Dan said “Men’s grooming really has evolved”. I couldn’t agree more and I can’t wait to introduce my clients to a little part of that evolution, that is Manmade.

Sarah Gilfillan is founder of Sartoria Lab Personal Styling and Shopping Consultancy for Men.

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Nickel & Dimes – Nickel Spa by Sarah Gilfillan

imageA friend of a friend was singing and dancing the praises of Nickel Spa so much one day, that I decided I’d better pop in and check it out. Situated in the heart of Covent Garden and created by a man for men only, it’s a spa & skin care range exclusively designed for men’s skin & bodies.

When I arrived to have a look around their six treatment rooms, I found the staff to be friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The concept is based around creating a venue for men to feel comfortable in and treat themselves to massages andtreatments. There’s an extensive “menu” of professional grooming treatments to choose from such as a “REN – The Quickie facial”, a “Love Handles Wrap massage,” “overground” or “underground” waxing, to name just a few. Male and female therapists are on hand so you can request who you’d prefer to do your treatment.

The website echoes the friendly feel of the spa and has a reassuringly humorous do’s & don’ts section if you haven’t been to a spa before & feel unsure about the etiquette.

All the products they use are available to buy in the salon including their own Nickel range, or if you’re buying online you can search by concern ie: “I party hard”, “I have love handles” and it’ll bring up a range of products to choose from – neat eh?! They work on the premise that “Regular guys want efficient and no nonsense user friendly and yet serious cosmetics and treatments. Just the products, not the blurb and the nonsense around them”.

Even though the men’s grooming market has moved on in leaps and bounds since Nickel first started in 1996, there are still plenty of men who don’t feel entirely at ease with the thought of “masculine beauty”. So Nickel Spa, with it’s refreshingly down to earth treatments and products is just the sort of thing I like to hear about, and I for one, won’t hesitate to be recommending them on to my clients.

Sarah Gilfillan is founder of personal shopping and style consultancy for men –  Sartorialab.co.uk

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Far more civilised then some Rusholme Ruffians – Ruffians Grooming range

imageThe notion of there being an evident growth in the idea of the Modern Gentleman – who is at liberty to care about how he looks after himself, is certainly no big discovery. You would, literally have had to been sharing a cave with Nick Brody and Osama Bin Laden not to have noticed the re-birth and Big Bang in male grooming, particularly over the last five years. In simple terms, you no longer have to be a Geography teacher, wizard or member of ZZ Top to have a beard. I mean dear God even, Superheroes, news readers & members of the royal family are sporting extensive facial hair.

To match this masculine trend we’ve equally seen an explosion in more boutique, artisan grooming ranges for a more discerning customer. One in question is Ruffians, a brand whose first barber shop launched in Edinburgh in 2012, and it has won the Best Independent, Best Newcomer and Best Designed Salon at the British Hairdressing Business Awards. It also won Best New Salon at the prestigious Creative Head Awards. Ruffians pride themselves on their outstanding customer experience, innovative design and of course blooming decent haircut and shave, and in a move William Wallis, himself would be proud of,  is open now at 27 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, London.

On top of this Scottish invasion, the brand are passionate about their grooming range and how they are made in small batches rather than mass-produced. They are formulated by Ruffians and based on the real feedback they get through their barber shops.  Founder of Ruffians, Andrew Cannon, started with a blank piece of paper and created a range geared specifically for men’s hair and skin type. They stay clear of all the nastiness like sulphates, colourants, parabens, animal testing and have a very natural and effective range.

Key products within the range include the Rough Matt Clay, this promises to thickens, texturizes and increases fullness of hair. Natural clays kaolin and illite add fine particles that help thicken the hair appearance and prevent build-up of excess oils. The Sandalwood Shave gel which uses Positive ionic molecules bind to the negatively charged hair shaft and lift it, allowing the razor to glide right to the base of stubble, reducing hair dragging or snagging and sandalwood oil lubricates the skin and is a natural antiseptic contains healing properties.  Lastly, the signature Ruffians fragrances, in hand-crafted hip-flask bottles and luxury whisky-style cases. Firstly, RUFFIANS ONE, which is a deep, classic masculine scent, suitable for everyday wear and formal occasions And RUFFIANS TWO, is a contemporary, fresh and sporty fragrance, perfect for a signature scent and promises a distinct night-time confidence.

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A Scent of Victory -The new Tour de Ted range by Ted Baker

imageGentlemen, it’s time to step up a gear as Ted Baker launch their new Tour de Ted body Maintence kit. Pedalling a unique dash of tradition with contemporary scents technology, this timely new collection offers a (be)spoke, get it, selection of body wear fragrances which promise to keep you as fresh from the start to passing the finish line.

For the modern man about town who’s not afraid to up his game or multi-task, there is the Orange range. The fresh and invigorating top notes of eucalyptus, geranium and Patchouli will leave you totally revitalised and ready to take on the day.

But if your more of a Old School kinda fella, who prefers to never break a bead of sweat, then try the warm sensory tones of the Green range which boasts bergamot, Sandalwood, cedarwood and musk.

Each of the fragrance ranges contains a hair and body wash, deodorant antiperspirant and body spray, so whatever life throws at you, you’ll be guaranteed to both look and smell on top form.