Sure, but don't forget to come back for him

Ikea Australia has introduced what is basically a daycare for grown men to one of their stores. Manland is how the patronizing container meant to hold bored husbands is called.

Women can drop their boyfriends there and let them enjoy sports on TV, video games, pinball or Foosball; they'll even get a free hot dog for their compliance. The girls are then free to roam the store and shop to their heart's content. But only for half an hour; they are actually given a buzzer to remind them to pick up their guys after 30 minutes.

The video spot on Australian TV is so condescending, and they actually found a whole bunch of guys who went happily along with it.

I say, if you don't want to be in Ikea, simply don't go. I really hope this is a spoof.

For a non-patronizing store for men, visit the Fendrihan Shaving Shop

Do we look worse than what we think?

I was just reading this news release about Van Heusen's new campaign, their Institute of Style, geared to challenge men to share their transformation from "Schlub to Swagger".

What caught my eye were these numbers:

A nationwide survey commissioned by Van Heusen and GQ supported the need and desire for style help. While 85% of the men surveyed think they have style, they also recognize that they could benefit from a style upgrade and help selecting clothes that are up to date and in fashion. Conversely, the women surveyed believe that the majority of American men need a style upgrade and that they don't have a sense of style. Baggy pants and shirts were the two biggest style mistakes that men make, according to women, suggesting that men could use the most help selecting clothes that fit nicely. 

So most of us think we have style, but the women don't agree. That's preoccupying for me, as experience has taught me that she's always right!

For stylish grooming gifts for men visit Fendrihan.

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Jack Daniel's Whiskey is turning 160 and to celebrate it they've produced 200 of these smart-looking bottles.

Via Lovely Package.

Alf is cutting again!

Keep Aaron Cutting - Back in Business from BBH Barn on Vimeo.

Amidst the preoccupying news stemming from the UK riots earlier this month, it's uplifting to hear stories of successful community involvement.

In the case of Alf Biber, the ravages caused by his immediate community were repaired by a larger pool of strangers brought together over the net to get his destroyed barber shop up and running again.

The veteran barber is welcoming his clients into his shop once more, as he's done for the past 41 years. He is back in business just as his craft experiences a British renaissance: barber shops' popularity has risen all across the spectrum, from the simplest to the fanciest, as men of all ages take refuge in tradition in the face of economic uncertainty.

Find barber shop products at Fendrihan.com

The Portland Whisky and Tobacco Shave

A good single malt and a cigar are natural companions. Add friends and good talk and you've got perfection.

The folks at Portland General Store have figured out that the relaxing qualities of these ritualistic manly scents will work great in wet-shaving soaps, creams and aftershaves. They complete the package by using vintage-looking, apothecary-inspired labels and glass bottles.

Their story started when they "happened upon some vintage soap and perfume recipe books and a collection of antique, Czechoslovakian pharmacy bottles". Their grooming line sounds intriguing enough, with natural, organic ingredients and traditional production methods.

Via The Aspiring Gentleman

If you like manly scents, such as tobacco, try Alt-Innsbruck aftershaves.

Listerine, still a cure-all?

This mental_floss article remembers six products that were shamelessly misrepresented.

Topping the list is no other than Listerine. The pioneering mouth wash brand has been ordered to spend $10 in corrective advertising over the years to account for false claims including "declaring itself a cure-all for common cold ailments like sore throats and coughs, a dandruff preventative, an anti-shave tonic, and a safe way to protect yourself from cuts, bruises, wounds, and stings".

Listerine, why so greedy? You're still a great mouth wash!

For some real anti-shave tonics and effective post-shave concoctions visit the Fendrihan Shaving Shop.

Shaving for the first time in 41 years!

Rod King's eight-inch-long beard didn't prevent his employer, a company with a clean-shaven policy, from hiring him ten years ago. It was only recently, after fearing he'd lose his job that he finally decided to shave it off, for the first time in 41 years!

His wife and daughters had never even seen his face before, and thought he looked horrible without his beard. My opinion is that now that he is clean shaven he just needs to get a proper haircut.

At 59 years old, Mr. King is in the market for a razor, and maybe searching the net or asking friends for tips about shaving. He admits "I don't even know how to shave - I'll probably cut my throat!"

Find the story here.

The Saphire-Blade $100k Razor from Outer Space

The Zafirro Iridium Cartridge Razor

The folks at Zafirro have been hard at work reinventing the cartridge safety razor with the best of our technology and materials harvested from meteorites. Now they want to see their efforts rewarded by selling their admittedly-cool creations at $100,000 each. For a limited run of 99, that would raise them close to $10 million.

I couldn't say I'm not intrigued. How much does $100k really improve your shave? But I guess if you have to ask, this is not really the razor for you.

Put your beard to hibernate

Some of us shave. And some others wax, pluck, use creams or epilators, or pay for costly laser hair removal.

At one end of the hair removal continuum are treatments that are easily performed, reasonably priced and painless, but that take care of the problem for a short time, such as shaving. Then we have a succession of options that involve more care and patience, pain endurance and substantial investment. And for all that's worth, it hasn't been quite proven that any of them, including the latest laser technology, are 100% permanent.

So we are still very much in search of that silver bullet. Something effective, easy to use, that can be done at home in the blink of an eye, and with no pain. The makers of this product claim they've done it. Adonia is a gel that promises all that, suggesting that even men will be able to shave just once every three weeks by using their product.

The product's organic formula is said to put hair follicles into hibernation, thus slowing hair growth by 70%.

Sounds very promising, but only time will tell if it is as effective or natural and safe as advertised.

Shaving and Hair Reducing products at the Fendrihan shaving Shop

Pacific Shaving snaps back at Budweiser

I'm all for conserving water. If there is a way of getting any of my daily routines done with less of it, I'll consider it and make a god habit out of it.

But what is the best way to reduce your water usage? According to Budweiser, stop shaving.

The king of beers is asking us to stop shaving until June 5 to save water. To this, Pacific Shaving Company says: why not drink a couple fewer beers a week instead?

For a company that uses a lot of water to produce a product that is non-essential for most women and men under 18 years of age, what Budweiser is asking of their customers is somewhat extreme (hypocritical?) and also random. And Pacific is right, they could as well ask them to drink less beer (but they won't).

I know that for us wet-shaving aficionados the thought of doing away with shaving altogether can be preposterous at best; reason enough to dismiss Budweiser's plea. But Pacific Shaving is not just protecting their way of life. As an environmentally responsible enterprise, they have found ways to take something we do every day and take a conscientious look at it to make it better.

I am sure that each and every one of us has the potential to make the right choices. But this is a journey that has to start with some sincere questioning, and then we have to follow through. Not shaving for a few days, and then going back to business as usual, doesn't involve a real commitment and might give you the idea you are making a change when you're not.

Pacific Shaving, I'm with you. We don't need more extremism in this world, especially not the corporate-gimmick kind. If we can make improvements in every area of our life, one step at a time, we are going in the right direction.

Some bargains in the unassuming world of luxury goods

Bespoke Louis Vuitton Humidor Trunk, Clive Christian No.1 for Men perfume spray, Dockers K-1 Limited Edition Khakis

The reasons why people dish out inordinate amounts of money on luxury goods is anybody's guess. In my case, I purchase them hoping for two specific outcomes:

• A product of very high quality
• The luxury item, very often something that can't be bought outside Japan or the old-continent, will reflect some of its uniqueness and mystic distinction on its modest and humble owner

The second outcome never seems to come to fruition (putting lipstick on a pig is the expression that somehow comes to mind) and the first one is very much hit and miss (with my luck, mostly miss).

However, in the case of the following luxury goods the happy and thoughtful owners must certainly have some other reasons in mind since I can think of none that will move a sane person to spend:

1. $68,000 on a cigar humidor
2. $185 on a pair of Dockers
3. $850 on a bottle of perfume

It is possible that I'm missing something else, and this is the result of the minds of brilliant professionals working in the marketing departments of the purveyors of these exquisite goods.

I want to extend my thanks to my very good friend M.S. who spent some of his office time wisely and researched these products.

The Modern Apothecary

(MALIN+GOETZ) is a family-owned and operated apothecary that designs their products with sensitive skin in mind. Their line launched March 2004 in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, a collection of natural-based treatments, produced with gentle technologies.

The line is comprehensive, with products to care for the entire body. Check out the apothecary section and their perfumery. Even though I'm not a candle-type of guy, their aroma combinations caught my eye; tobacco, cannabis, dark rum, mojito. If I bought them for my office, I'd have some explaining to do!

Via Think Silly.

Farrah for a Perfect Shave

Farrah Fawcett and Joe Namath Noxzema Ad @ Yahoo! Video

Farrah Fawcett has been making the news as her iconic red bathing suit became part of the Smithsonian's collection. Yes, the bathing suit that made poster-history, selling millions of copies, making it the best-selling poster of all time.

To remember Farrah in all her greatness, here's her video for Noxzema shaving cream. Talk about talent! She can make that lousy injector give the perfect shave.

Does kyoku have it all?

kyoku for men is a complete grooming line developed by skin care and beauty whiz Asim Akhtar, based on his findings at the "village of long life", the town of Yuzuri Hara in Japan.

The brand's history is intriguing enough, with Akhtar embarking on a quest to find the purest, most natural solutions to our common skin issues, stumbling upon his holy grail in a small Japanese village, developing a range of products distilled from the essence of ancient philosophies and testing them on himself with amazing results.

The stuff legends are made of, or pure marketing genius? Hard to tell... the exotic ingredient lists, Japanese-inspired packaging, stark web site and amazing photography have me in a daze.