The Best . . . Grooming

Scrub up and get fresh

Ana Kinsella

Daniel Gray

Sat May 18 2013 - 03:00

Best barbers
The Butcher Barber
12 Johnson's Court, Dublin 2
facebook.com/TheButcherBarber The sinisterly named Butcher Barber is, in fact, the quite dextrous Emmet Byrne, graduate of the academies of Vidal Sassoon, Knight's and Dylan Bradshaw. Anyone who's gone for a short chop and ended up with next-to-no mop, this little barbershop's philosophy to provide a salon environment for the boys has become town's top cutting shop.
Honourable mentions: Grooming Rooms, Bedford Stuy, Cut & Sew, Ali's Turkish Barbershop, The Merchant Barber DG

Best hairdressers
The Natural Cut,
33 -34 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2
thenaturalcut.ie Loyal fans of Shane Boyd are evangelical about his salon. The reason? Well, it's not exactly like any other hairdresser. More like a well-appointed living room than a glossy salon, The Natural Cut starts by cutting hair dry. Curly-haired girls are particularly devoted to this approach, and ladies' cuts with the famously-friendly hairdresser start at €45. There's even room for kids, too, with cuts for little ones charged "on behaviour" (but start at €10).
Honourable mentions: Lunatic Fringe, Kazumi, Aviary Lane, Zara Cox at Queen Beauty Emporium AK

B est blow-dry
Sitstil
17 Drury Street, Dublin 2
sitstil.com A really good blowdry? We've tried plenty but keep going back to Mark Doherty at Sitstil for his magic way with a Denman brush and the dryer on hot. See, those big round brushes that some hairdressers use just give you helmet hair – a "do" that sits there, till it collapses by the end of day two. And the little round brushes? They give you granny hair. Doherty blows the hair this way and that, back to front and from side to side in a way no other stylist we've found can do. No product necessary, no going over with tongs, and no need for hairspray. Worth the €40 and more.
Honourable mentions: House of Colour, for a midweek €15 blowdry OM

Best makeup
Ken Boylan Makeup/Play
22 Drury Street, Dublin 2
kenboylan.com You might know makeup artist Ken Boylan from TV shows like Xposé and Off The Rails , but in 2011 the celebrity favourite set up shop for the public. Ken Boylan Makeup/Play is a homegrown one-stop shop for beauty buys as well as classes, facials and treatments. Boylan's own range, Makeup/Play, is available instore too. The experience you'll get here is a world away from crowded department stores so, if you're looking for makeup for a special occasion, this is the place to go.
Honourable mentions: Brown Sugar AK