(Temporarily) back to being a male guinea pig for men’s cleansers, scrubs, shaving creams, and barrage of other products at the behest of The Luxury Spot, I recently subjected my delicate visage to a cornucopia of goods promising to make me look my best.
"Thank you for the recommendation, Mr. Bateman, but I don't think I'm quite at that level yet..."
Instead of forcing you to try them all yourself, and putting you in the precarious position of having to convince any visitor of your masculinity with all the facial cleanser bottles lying around your bathroom, I’ve sorted out the ones that I will continue using; at least until I’ve scrubbed away the top layer of skin off my face.
These are also mentioned in the order I would use them, in schedule form, in my daily (errr, semi-daily) hygienic ritual. Note: The Luxury Spot does not condone, or even really want to know, the views of the author, if these were properly used, or really how hygienic he is.
Around 12pm, Wake-Up: After waking up and taking a good, hard look at myself in the mirror (questioning the meaning of life, what I’m doing with myself, etc.), I used the Urban Rituelle HIS Face Cleanser (not the most original name, but straight forward enough for me to understand what it is without putting my contacts in). This stung my face a little bit after I washed it off, and but overall felt like it had the effect of “tighten[ing]†as advertised on the bottle. I’m not sure why a 25-year-old guy needs to tighten his face, but it did feel clean after the stinging subsided, and that was good enough.
Sometime between 2pm & 9pm (really it depends on whether I plan on leaving the apartment), Shower: At some point after capping off some orange juice (i.e. breakfast) with the disgusting cigarette that marks the habit of a true addict, I take a shower. After using regular soap, I used Ole Henriksen Walnut Complexion Scrub. I liked this scrub slightly better than the Urban Rituelle HIS Face Scrub that claims to do the same thing.
crunchy, yet not edible
The Henriksen version felt a little rougher (I like the rough stuff), I imagined little pieces of walnuts in it scrubbing off the dry skin that plagues me after shaving. Even though this concoction smells good, and looks like Nutella with little pieces of walnuts in it, it is definitely not edible. The Urban Rituelle version was similar, but a bit more toned down, and felt a little greasier when I rinsed it off.
Nutella....mmmm
After showering (on days that I have to interact with non-family members that don’t know me well), Shaving: Here there was no debate, the Maximum Comfort Shave Cream, by LabSeries was a step-up from normal shaving creams and gels. A little bit on the pricey side for those used to spending 3 bucks on pharmacy brands, it only requires a thin layer of application. It left my face pretty smooth, and I would recommend it for anybody with sensitive skin. My only complaint here was that the thickness of the cream causes it to accumulate more under the razor blades, and takes a little more work than just a quick wave under the faucet in order to get rid of the sheers of hair.
Post-Shave: Not really one for aftershaves, as I mentioned, shaving leaves my skin pretty dry already; I prefer to use some sort of moisturizer. I used a thin coat of HIS Face Balm by Urban Rituelle. This moisturizer smells good, without being overly odorous or girly-smelling; it doesn’t have the musk that will leave the opposite sex considering you a bastion of raw testosterone, but at least I felt like it was still working a few hours later.
Between 10pm & 11pm, after routine is finished: once again ready to become a functioning man of leisure.
Dave, I’m glad you like the rough stuff.
Dave always likes it rough. That’s just his MO. Rough stuff and Nutella. Dave’s hardcore.