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.

Blue Velvet

H&M's new commercial with songstress Lana Del Rey singing Bobby Vinton's Blue Velvet. The video features a bearded model, military men, Lana look-a-likes, and a midget!

The Gap & GQ

GQ and the Gap have paired up for a collaboration that I would have never expected. I've never expected much from the Gap after all, I grew up wearing Gap clothes, they were simple, basic, and, well, bland. GQ's 6 best new menswear designers have created capsule collections for the American brand. Of the six I'm most looking forward to Mark Mcnairy's collection. [On a slightly unrelated note, I gave (initially unbeknownst to me) Mark Mcnairy the worst stink face after his adorable son nearly ran me off the sidewalk last week with his scooter.] Anyway, I'm not letting my hopes get too high. After all it's for the Gap!

Free Shipping on I am David J Art Prints

Right now until September 16th when you order any David j art prints via Society6, get free worldwide shipping!

KENZO X NEW ERA

Love the new Kenzo x New Era Caps! I think I need to get one. Available at Opening Ceremony as well as Kenzo.com.

H&M x Margiela

More news on the fashion collaboration front: H&M has teamed up with Maison Martin Margiela for a special collection to hit H&M stores November 15th. Check out the teaser videos just released this past Monday.
 

AO x OC

Here's a few of the 90, soon to be available, styles from the Adidas Original x Opening Ceremony Capsule collection. I want all of the above and I sure I'll want so much more once they hit stores. See a few more pieces for the guys at HyperBeast.

Adidas Originals X Opening Ceremony

I'm so excited for the Adidas Originals X Opening Ceremony collaboration which will hit stores next month. Filled with bandana prints, neoprene jackets, micro florals, and 90s inspiration this OC collab is sure to have many fans. Here are a few of the first shots of the capsule collection by photographer Josh Olins. See them all at the Opening Ceremony Blog.

Down Sizing

I'm moving to a lovely brownstone on the boarder of Crown Heights and Bed Stuy. The apartment building is beautiful. It's filled with original moldings from 1905 when the structure was first erected. However, the building is much smaller than the current 25 foot wide full floor apartment I'm currently in. (By the way, if you are looking for a massive four bedroom, one and a half bath apartment on the boarder of Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy my current place is still available.)

So, I'm down sizing. Which means I'm getting rid of a whole boat load of stuff! I've gone through seven years of I-Ds, Paper, and Surface magazines ripping out inspirational images and tossing the bulk. I've trashed so many strange things I've been holding on to for way to long. I've also posted a small collection of beautiful art books, text books, and coffee table book to Amazon. You can buy my books for nearly nothing here but you can also pick them up if you live in the area.  I'm also getting rid of some furniture including the wood table above ($100), this chair ($30) and the blue sculpture below ($10). Please contact me if you're interested in anything!

OOAK

Shannon South has some great new clutches made of reclaimed suede in some awesome color combinations each $175. Check out all of Shannon's bags, especially her Coffee Bag Totes, at her website, ShannonSouth.com

Photographic Bottoms

In celebration of Orlebar Brown's 5th year anniversary the mens swim short company is releasing 12 pairs of digitally printed shorts featuring stunning photography from Getty Images. Each short is released a month at a time and 10% of the proceeds of each sale will go to the Blue Marine Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to perserving and protecting the oceans and their wild life. You can purchase a pair here at Orlebar Brown's Online Shop and be sure to check out the release of each new short throughout the following months.

A New Leather Look

Dargelos' new leather accented pouches and bag are must haves for the stylish city biker! Made from   a durable wax coated cotton- hemp blend and vegetable tanned leather, the Trans Porter is not only functional and attractive it is also sustainable! Check out all of Dargelos' products via the website DAR-GE-LOS.com.

Quechua

Shot form Carrie Biblo's Quechua Collection look book & Cusco Cuff

Spring at Alder was all about traditional Mexican textiles with a fun preppy twist. Which was surprisingly very simular to Brooklyn-based jewelry designer, Carrie Bilbo's, recent inspiration. Carrie's newest collection entitled, Quechua, was inspired by the native textiles found on her travels in Peru. With such similarities, Alder and Carrie decided to work together and style Alder's Spring 2012 look book with pieces from Carrie's new collection. Nina and I loved the new collection so much that we decide to sell it at Alderboutique.com too. Check out Carrie Bilbo's pervious work at her website and Esty Shop. And make sure to pay close attention to the amazing work we collaborated on for the twentyten a few seasons ago, it's pretty awesome!

Shot from Alder's Spring Summer 2012 look Book, Cusco Hoop Earrings, Detail shot from Carrie Bilbo's Quechua Collection look book, and Wayna Picchu Ring 

KENZO X VANS

Get your Kenzo X Vans today!

Bond

Check out Vince Barile and Dana Hurwitz of Bond Hardware in this shoot for Swagger. You can also check them out at Pop Souk today from 12 to 6pm at Green House. There will also be many more great vendors including Chris Habana, Tylor Boring, Pam Hogg, Oak, and Chromat.  Brought to you by Lady Fag. Check out more of the Bond Hardware editorial featuring pieces from recent Pratt grads, Meredith Lyon and Beatrice Weiland at SwaggerNewYork.com.   

Chromat Swimwear

Check out these new swimsuits  by Chromat for the woman who doesn't care about tan lines. Available at the Chromat web shop.

Paul X Johnson

I love the still, eerie, film noir feel of Paul X Johnson's illustrations. I'm particular fond of the image below, Beyond the Sea, available as a limited addition print via Johnson's website.   

SchoolHouse Electric & Supply Co.

I'm obsessed with the beautiful products created and sold by SchoolHouse Electric & Supply Co. Classically beautiful accessories for the home, made with sincerity and passion. What else can one ask for?

Club Monaco: Made in the USA

Club Monaco is the next big company jumping on the Made in the USA bandwagon. I only wish it wasn't just a collection being made here in the the good old US of A, but all production. At least it's a small step in the right direction. And in addtional Club Monaco news, customers can now shop online and get free shipping and returns for a limited time at clubmonaco.com.

Kenzo X Vans

It's no secret that I love the Spring 2012 Kenzo collection, designed under the creative direction of Carol and Humberto of Opening Ceremony And in true OC style the new creative directors have paired up with street wear classic footwear company, Vans to create a group of Kenzo X Vans shoes that I'm additionally in love with. Available in mid May the new net print sneakers will be available at OC, Colette, Harvey Nichols, Bosco Milan, Lane Crawford, and IT. I can't wait to pick up a pair!