Every Christmas day, probably since JC’s time, some sort of grooming product has found its way onto a man’s lap (along with socks – please buy us more, we always forget). It’s a good shout. After getting merry all December while switching between Baltic winds and cranked up central heating, it’s peak ‘feel like crap, look like crap’ season.
But before you buy some painfully obvious (and obviously thoughtless) body wash set you grabbed from the shelf without looking at it, we’ve trawled through all manner of men’s products, binned the rubbish and compiled a list of grooming gifts that he’ll a) love and b) be more godlike after using. Winter’s about to get a lot better looking.
Clinique Cleansing Brush
Not content with concocting all manner of potions with baffling ingredients (methoxydibenzoylmethane anyone?) men’s grooming has gone one better and rendered hands redundant – almost. Clinique’s sonic cleansing brush is like a mini pneumatic drill for your face, sending 9,000 sonic vibrations per minute through its soft bristles to dislodge muck and grime with minimal effort. Scientifically speaking, he’ll never have been so clean.
Ted Baker Scaler Leather Wash Bag
Putting your wet toothbrush inside an old sock and just hoping that your shower gel doesn’t leak all over the contents of your suitcase is far from advanced packing. Save him the hassle of a major shampoo explosion or worse with this great looking wash bag from Ted Baker.
Perfect for the jet setter in your life, it’s crafted from textured leather and finished with subtle Ted branding.
Bulldog Skincare Set
By now even the most product-shy men should know that it’s not big, clever or indeed manly to take pride in not having some form of grooming regime – it’s the fastest track to premature sandpaper skin.
Like some holy trinity of mug maintenance, Bulldog’s affordable skincare trio set contains the minimum requirements for a non-flaky face: a moisturizer, face wash and shave gel. Ergo, the perfect kit for convincing a knuckle-dragging man to give grooming a go.
Philips Series 7000 Beard & Stubble Trimmer
Facial topiary maintenance is a bit of a catch-22 situation. On the one hand, facial fuzz left completely unattended looks crap. On the other, nobody likes the grim reality of pube-like hairs decorating the sink basin.
This Philips power tool will whip chin decoration into shape with its adjustable trimming blade while a handy integrated vacuum will make sure stray hairs stay away from the porcelain. Two birds, one stone, zero stray hairs.
Lab Series Future Rescue Repair Serum
It’s far from accurate to assume that all men are soap, water, bish bash bosh in the morning: some have a grooming arsenal so well stocked it could rival Boots.
For the man who’s more grooming god than clueless noob,
Ted’s Grooming Room Experience
No matter how many hair products you throw at some men, unless they’ve got the right cut it’s a complete lost cause: a haircut for under a tenner is basically like playing Russian roulette with your barnet.
Ted’s Grooming Room offers a premium Turkish barbering service where you can treat him to a bespoke haircut, a cut-throat shave or beard design, and ear flaming (yes, really). He’ll get a hot-towel treatment and massage too, which – last time we checked – you don’t get at your local Supercuts.
Neville Badger Brush And Strip Stand
Men are spoilt when it comes to grooming tech and innovation, but for the guy who’s more traditional than techie an old-school shave still beats the sound of whirring blades.
Neville’s badger shaving brush and drip stand will allow him to lather up to his heart’s content while feeling like a don – Don Draper to be precise.
Lynx Manwasher 2-Sided Shower Tool
You never know who’s using your loofah on the sly, and because nobody needs to cross pollinate during showering, Lynx’s Manwasher 2-Sided Shower Tool is a must for those men who are light on shower accessories.
There’s a soft mesh side for day-to-day use and a tougher scrub surface which is the ideal post-sports mud dislodging aid, so there’ll be no incentive to sneakily give someone else’s sponge a go.
Byredo Suede Hand Cream
Just about no man remembers to wear gloves every day during winter, so like taxes and death, chapped hands are pretty much inevitable. Help stop dry, cracked bin lids in their tracks with Byredo’s suede hand cream, which is rich enough to keep peeling palms at bay.
Lightweight, non-greasy and just the thing to smooth away scales, this hand cream will have him religiously applying.
Harry’s Truman Shaving Set
When time is tight a run over with beard clippers in the morning is a god send, but take it from us, a proper shave is as therapeutic as it is appearance-improving.
When time is on his side, Harry’s Truman shaving set – with its grip shaving handle, luxury shaving cream and selection of blades – contains everything he needs to shave ‘n’ chill. To make it an extra special gift include a special shaving bowl for an upgraded kit.
Elemis Men Anti-Fatigue Eye Gel
If he’s prone to chronic puffy peepers, Elemis Men Anti-Fatigue Eye Gel stands to become his new best pal – particularly over the festive period.
Packed with everything he needs to unload those bags, it’s the grooming world’s answer to that first morning coffee.
Ted Baker Manikit Manicure Kit
Why let the girls have all the finger pampering fun? Save the man in your life the embarrassment of having to sit in one of those salons with floor-to-ceiling windows that look directly onto a busy high street by treating him to this handy DIY kit from Ted Baker.
The Manikit contains everything a guy needs to get his scratchers in tip top condition, including clippers, nail scissors and various other pointy instruments, all housed in a handy leather case.
River Island Beard Kit
Not content with helping men up and down the country dress better, now River Island has dived into the grooming game face-first with its moisturising beard kit. The set’s beard and face wash, soothing lip balm and conditioning beard oil will work their magic on weather-ravaged faces, leaving smooth skin and soft hair in their wake. Buy Now: £15.00
Tom Ford Intensive Purifying Mud
Tom Ford says a weekly mud clay mask is integral to his maintenance regime – and as the walking embodiment of grooming goals, it’s safe to say anything he has to say on the subject is golden.
His intensive purifying mask is ideal for pulling away a week’s build-up of oil, dirt and toxins, leaving your man feeling refreshed. Plus, if it’s good enough for Tom Ford, we’re pretty sure this gift will go down well with any man on the planet.
Braun Series 3 Shave And Style
Most men can be divided into one of two camps: he’ll either love a close shave or hate them because one glance of a beard trimmer and he looks 12 years old.
If the man you’re buying for falls into the latter camp, the Braun series 3 shave and style trimmer is ideal for maintaining his maturity-bestowing facial decoration. It boasts five combs with length options of 1-7mm, can be used with water, foam or gel and will work cordless when it’s got enough juice. We dare him to find fault.
Perricone MD Hypoallergenic Nourishing Moisturiser
Winter hates faces: fact. Between piercingly cold winds and cranked up central heating, your epidermis doesn’t stand a chance.
A bog-standard moisturizer won’t cut the mustard when temperatures drop – he’ll need to bring out the big guns to ward off grizzly winter face. Perricone MD’S nourishing moisturizer is every bit as scientific as it sounds (bursting with antioxidant Vitamin E and olive polyphenols) and its swanky packaging will look pretty fly on his bathroom shelf too.
Remington Quickcut Hair Clipper
If you’re buying for a man whose approach to grooming is strictly DIY, Remington’s QuickCut men’s hair clipper is the closest he’ll get to having a barber in the bathroom
. Able to grade, taper and trim, this small but mighty tool is a god-send for men who need a regular sharp cut but are strapped for time. A miniature hero for his head, if you will.
