When I married my husband, I should have added to our vows that he has to test manly grooming products for me. Unfortunately I forgot to do this, and his feedback is less than satisfactory.
No, scrap that. It’s rubbish. He uses everything, because I find the empties in the bin. But when I ask him what he thinks of products, I get monosyllabic replies. If I’m really lucky I’ll get an expanded review: “Yep that’s a good one. You can get me that again.”
Most Irish men will pick up their skincare, shaving and hair products in the supermarket or chemist.
According to L'Oréal, Hydra Energetic Moisturiser and Pure Power Matte Scrub are its Irish best- sellers.
I love the advertising for the Tom Ford men's range. The message is simple: "Be yourself at your most handsome." I wish women's brands would advertise like this instead of pretending their products will produce all sorts of unrealistic effects. In Ireland the best-sellers in the Tom Ford range are the Conditioning Beard Oils and the Anti-Fatigue Eye Treatment. It's a relief to see the popularity of beard oils, as before now the moisturising many beards received was accidental; it usually arrived in the form of gravy or mayonnaise.
Kiehl's Irish men's best-sellers come from the Facial Fuel range, particularly the moisturiser with SPF15, Energising Face Scrub and All In One Shave Cream.
Most popular in the Clarins men's range are the Revitalising Face Gel and and the Revitalising Eye serum.
What about the men in the know: male fashion bloggers and make-up artists? Make-up artist Lawrence Keating is a fount of knowledge about what works. He doesn't care if skincare is targeted at men or women, and neither should you: use what suits you skin. This means that he uses skincare such as Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and Sisley Black Rose Mask.
Fergus McCarthy swears by Kiehl's Midnight Recovery and The Body Shop Vitamin C Booster.
Most of the the time the only difference between men’s and women’s skincare lies in the scent and packaging. So put down the bar of Imperial Leather and the Lynx Africa and step into the light.
- amcdermott@irishtimes.com
- Twitter@aismcdermott
