The Natural Man's Grooming Guide II

Bearded Men Paintings by Danny Keith.

About a year ago I posted the first Natural Man's Grooming Guide. Here's another. Below are four products that I love; high quality, chemical-free goods: 

Beekman 1802 Tub of Butter: Just a small dab of Beekman 1802 Tub of Butter is all one needs to hydrated dry & damaged skin. Made with shea butter, goat's milk, and a assortment of natural oils this cream brings cracked hands and heels back to smooth and soothed condition in a matter of only a few applications. Available in 4 seasonal scents: Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer. 
0.75 ounce tub for $10.00 available at Beekman1802.com.

Portland General Store Whiskey Old-Fashioned Wet Shave Soap: Made with healing bentonite clay and other soothing oils and butters, PGS's Whiskey Old-Fashion Wet Shave Soap is anything but old. Shaving soap is a great modern way for a man to shave without the harmful chemicals of foaming shaving creams. Use with a shaving brush to get the follicles ready for a trimming and be left with the sophisticated scent of cedar wood. 
240 ml jar for $18.00 available at PortlandGeneralStore.com.

Alder New York Natural Beeswax Pomade: I hate petroleum based pomades that look and feel like a tub of Vaseline. ANY's Natural Beeswax Pomade is a smooth firm pomade great for keeping your hair in place and giving it a sublet sheen without being sticky and gooey. Made from beeswax and other natural oils this pomade has a lovely subtle honey scent.
1.5 ounce jar for $20.00 available at Aldernewyork.com.

Col. Ichabod Conk Pure Badger Travel Brush: I received this brush as a holiday gift and I'm already loving it! Handmade from badger hair in England, this quality brush is perfectly paired with your favorite shaving soap. The best part about this quality brush is that it comes with a screw top container for making traveling a breeze!
brush with screw cap container for $50.00 available at Colconkproducts.com.

Alder New York Holiday Sale

Today's the last day to get 20% off Apothecary and Gifts at Aldernewyork.com. This includes the very popular Alder Natural Hair Powder and the exclusive collection of Robin Mollicone X Alder New York accessories. You would be smart to take advantage of this sale before time is up! Use code, HOLIDAYS at check out. And shipping is free in the US and Canada!

Time to Grow

From left to right: Ilias Petrakis, Philippe Malouin, Ricki Hall, Tarek Halaby, Fabian Schweizer, and Christopher Camplin

Men, it's that time of year again. That time when men set down their razors and shaving cream to let things go wild. November has been claimed as No-Shave-November or Movember a month dedicated to men's health awareness. Clean shaved gentlemen stop shaving, growing out moustaches and beards in support of the cause. However, true men of style, like myself, already don a full beard, because we know that a face with a beard is at the height of fashion. Take it from these dozen handsome bearded models, facial hair isn't just for November.

From left to Right: Tom Bull, Benjamin Dukhan, Dimitris Alexandrou, Jose Satorre, Sasha Marini, and Henrik Fallenius

Lady Hair

Look at these handsome gentlemen with some full bodied locks. Photographer Asaf Einy shot these hunky models for the second issue of F.O.D., the Tel Aviv "man loving magazine".  The fabulous bouffants were styled by Sagi Dahary. Watch the behind the scenes video after the jump. 

Reel Sexy

"A cinematic experience starring iconic supermodel Kristen McMenamy with a cast of limited edition Dynamic Duo Eye Shadows, Nail Lacquers, Cremesheen Glass and Mineralize Skinfinish" -MAC

The Natural Man's Grooming Guide

Bearded men illustrations by artist Danny Keith

Men have many grooming needs and there are so many products out there to aid them in taming their hair and skin. It's important to be aware of the ingredients used in these cosmetic and beauty products. There's little to no regulation of these types of products. Many include chemicals known to grow tumors in lab rats, dry and irritate skin and hair, cause neurological and reproductive problem, and contaminate the environment. So I've compiled some of my favorite 100% natural grooming products that won't kill you or your environment. All of these products are made in small batches to insure quality and are created by small American business. So you can look good, smell good, and support your local economy all at the same time!

Beekman 1802 Goat Milk Soap: These 100% chemical free bars of soap have the highest percent of goats milk possible. Crafted in Sharon Springs NY from locally grass feed goats milk. These soaps are great for regular hand washing or for scrubbing down ones whole body. Available in 12 seasonal scents or unscented.
Two 3.25 ounce bars for $12.50 or Six for $34.00 available at Beekman1802.com.

Portland General Store Tobacco Cologne: Inspired by 1920s and 30s recipes PGC Tobacco cologne is a masculine scent with top notes of bergamot, lavender, and neroli. With base notes of leather and wood this cologne leaves a light powder scent throughout the day; because what's worse than when a man walk by and you're suddenly suffocated by the scent of a potent cologne? PGS has six regular scent plus seasonal fragrances throughout the year.
15 ml bottle for $68.00 available at PortlandGeneralStore.com.

Cold Spring Apothecary Citrus Wood Wax Pomade: CSA's pomade is a soft pliable wax-based styling product scented with patchouli and bergamot. CSA produces and sources their ingredients from the Hudson Valley NY area. This product is a great local all natural product for the stylish gentleman.
4 ounce jar for $20.00 available at ColdSpringApothecary.com.

Alder Natural Hair Powder: A talc free hair powder great for those days when you don't have a moment to hop in the shower. Made from natural ingredients and available in two scent eucalyptus and bergamot. Not only will it clean up your hair in a moment but it will leave it smelling great.
4 ounce jar for $30 available at AlderBoutique.com.

Wild Rose Herbs Wild Man Beard Conditioner: A bearded gentleman, such as myself, knows that one needs to keep his beard in order by regularly trimming, shaving, and combing. But what about conditioning?  Wild Man Beard Conditioner is a leave-in conditioner that softens the hair fibers and prevents blemishes. Made with almond oil which mimics the moisture of ones skin and scented with rosemary, lavender, ceder, and lime oils. This conditioner will keep things soft without feeling greasy.
30 ml bottle $6.99 available at Etsy.com/shop/WildRoseHerbs

Portland General Store Wood Thick Hand Cream: It may be thick enough to soften tough, over-worked hands but it's also gentle enough to nourish a dry winters face. This cream works for a man's entire body. Scented with cedar, hiba wood, patchouli, vetiver, grass, and vanilla you won't be able to wait for the next time you need this moisturizer.

120 ml jar $13.95 available at PortlandGeneralStore.com.     

Rock Top Soap Shop Shavin' Soap: I've recently became a big fan of shaving soap. I used to use  shaving creams but quickly switched once I started doing my researching about what's in most of these comercial products. Once I made the switch, I thought what took me so long? RTSS's shavin' soap is made of a blend of oils and cocoa butter to moistures the skin. This soap is designed to create a thick lather perfect for shaving from head to toe, if you're into that.
One 4.5/5 ounce bar $6.00 available at Etsy.com/shop/RockyTopSoapShop

Gareth Pugh for MAC

I'm sorry my posts have been so heavy with videos lately, but I can't help it, there are just so many worth sharing! Here's the video from Show Studio for Gareth Pugh for MAC Cosmetics by Ruth Hogben. It's classic Pugh, classic Hogben, and classic entertainment.

Say Yes to Vegetables!

Recently I have been noticing more and more products that are utilizing the neglected qualities of one of natures most common nutrients, vegetables!

 My  favorite company to do so is hair and skin care producers, Yes To. Yes To creates a variety of products using organic vegetables and dead sea minerals. My favorite product of their extensive offerings is the Truly Terrific Body Butter made from tomatos, watermelon and Rooibos. I don't know how my skin has been able to survive New York winters before finding this!

It does not stop with skin care products, designer Jonathan Adler offers the scent of vegetables like tomatos and watercress in the form of a candle and french parfume company Honore des Pres has a carrots scented fragrance and collaborative organic T-shirts designed by the twentyten featuring different carrot motifs. Vegetables are a new trend that I'm glad to have taken a bite of.

Did You Say Carrots?

Honore des Pres

Honore des Pres has created three organic parfumes I Love Les Carottes, Vamp a NY, and Love CoCo. The fragrances are packaged in a coffee cup, holder and paper bag. The concept of the packaging is to be reminiscent of something very New York which is contrasted by the very french fragrance. The most original fragrance of the three is I Love Les Carottes, which actually smells like Carrots. the twentyten has teamed up with Honore des Pres to celebrate the root vegetable scent by creating a series of organic tops that will be available this Spring.