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Selecting The Right Travel Grooming Kit (And What To Add)
Packing for my trip to Las Vegas this summer I wanted to select a grooming kit that would answer most of my skin care needs. A kit should always at least have a shaving cream and after shave set, moisturizer, and a face wash. Read the rest of this entry
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Grooming Essentials For A Long Trip
When packing for a long trip that will last six days or more, it’s important to bring along grooming products that would be most essential to save on luggage space. While you can of course buy anything else you’d need during your travels, the following should be enough for most essential (and basics) needs while leaving you ready for each day: Read the rest of this entry
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5 Grooming Essentials For A Last Minute Trip
Never know what to pack when you have a last minute trip? Well while getting ready to go down to Florida for a quick weekend at the swanky, luxurious W Fort Lauderdale (travel tip: you have to check out its Living Room and eat brunch at STEAK 954 for the homemade pop tarts), I had the very same dilemma. After thinking about it and looking through my grooming drawer (ok drawers), I decided the following five types of products are musts for any last minute getaway or business trip:
- Daily Face Moisturizing Cream – You should have a moisturizing cream you use each day, and travel should no be excuse to slack. Make sure to have travel size of your favorite. My personal pick is Aesop’s Mandarin Facial Hydrating Cream. It smells like citrus and lemon cream heaven, and it’s great to live-in up normal or combination skin. ($49)
- A Good Deodorant – This should be a given of course, but doesn’t hurt to remind. For a classy deodorant, and if you ever get a chance to pick one up in London’s Covent Garden, Penhaligon’s Sartorial Deodorant just sounds better than your drug store pickup. It smells like a dapper lad would, and offers traditional notes of oakmoss, tonka bean and lavender mixed with woods, leather, violet leaf, honey and spices. ($30)
- Your Favorite Pomade – Always keep your hair in check and test out different stylers to find your favorite. I’m currently obsessed with Hanz De Fuko’s Modify Pomade, which helps you do exactly that, modify your hair as needed after you apply to your wet or dry hair. Gives medium hold with a slight shine, and I came across it through Birchbox Man. ($18)
- An All Occasion Scent – There are number of scents to pick from, one of your go-tos should be a scent that can work for any occasion. Hugo Boss just released its new Boss Bottled Unlimited fragrance, which features vibrant green notes of violet leaves, pineapple, sandalwood and musk. ($75)
- Lip Care – Chapped and dry lips aren’t cute, so always have a lip balm handy. Another Birchbox discovery, dr. dewy Lip Cure is a lip serum with organic makeup of indgredints like shea butter and coconut oil to keep the lips hydarted, and tamnui oil and vitamin E to heal and protect. ($30)
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Grooming Essentials For Summer (And To Be Pride Ready)
Recently down in Curacao for South Caribbean Pride, it felt like no better time for a grooming essentials post on what you’ll need to be ready for summer, and also for what to bring if you’re planning a trip around any pride events or day/pool parties:
- Trim – Have a travel friendly trimmer with you for any rogue hairs. The Micro Touch Max Personal Hair Trimmer is an inexpensive trimmer that can take care of any unwanted facial, eyebrow, body or nose hairs, and has a built in light if needed. ($15)
- Be Fresh – ManCave Natural Grooming’s Deodorant is an eco-friendly, aluminum-free liquid deodorant that is easily applied and controlled by an on/off switch and will keep you fresh for a full day. ($13)
- Treat Yo Self – Feel good and get some lovely skin to turn heads with GlamGlow’s ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment. Use overnight or just 20 minutes during the day, the hydration mask mositurizes and replenishes your skin, and leaves you with a silky, reenergized feeling. ($69)
- To Keep The Hair In Check – Star Wax Premium Pomade in Clay uses a blend of jojoba, borage, primrose and Dead Sea mud for a strong hold with a matte finish that is easy to rinse off when your day/night is done. ($40)
- For The Sun – Epicuren’s Zinc Oxide Perfecting Sunscreen helps fight off sunburn and sun poisoning with it is SPF 27 level and zinc oxide property. It’s also fragrance free, leaving you to add a nice scent. ($50)
- A Sexy Scent – Top it all off with a scent others will love. Giorgio Armani’s Armani Code brought me complements from all over with its combo of bergamot and lemon with hints of orange tree blossom, warmed wood and tonka bean. ($65)
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Travel Grooming Essentials For A Clean, Fresh Face
Changing up my travel grooming essential series a little, I’ve put together a set of men’s grooming products to have a nice clean face while in transit and during your trip, and paired it with an all purpose ready scent. Whether you’re in the U.S. Virgin Islands like I was or elsewhere, you’ll be fresh and ready to go about your day. All are also under 3.4 ounces:
- Fresh Shave – The eShave Travel Shaving Kit includes a pre shave oil, shaving cream, after shave cream and a badger hair shaving brush to use if you want to make your hotel’s bathroom like home, but you also just use your hands instead. Offered in four scents, I enjoyed the sweet lime scent of the Verbena Lime. ($45)
- Worry Free Face – Lab Series Pro LS All-In-One Face Treatment offers four skincase benefits in a travel friendly bottle. It soothes razor burns, moisturized the face, can minizmie lines and wrinkles over time and helps control shine, so pretty much takes care of your entire face for you after you shave. ($29)
- All Occasion Fragrance – Gucci Guilty fragrance features a moderate yet manly floral scent to spray on once you’ve cleaned up your face and are ready to head out. Notes include lavender, orange flower and cedarwood. ($88)
- Keep Fresh While On The Go – Niche For Men are male face and body deodorizing packaged wipes that fold to a hand towel (9″ x 11″) to help you fight sweat and any unpleasing smells from it, while cleansing and moisturizing the skin. More about them here. (Starts at $3 for 2)
- To Store It All – The Coach Crosby Leather Travel Kit is a spacious Italian leather dopp kit that has inside open pockets and enough space to also store any small electronics or cords. ($168)
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In The Bag: Sport Travel Gear For The Caribbean
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Travel Grooming Essentials For Cancún, Mexico
After picking out a travel ensemble for Cancún and your travel bag and other accessories, grooming selections are next. Opt for products that’ll leave you fresh and ready with light scents for your days and nights out. They are also under 3.4 ounces:
- Fresh Shave – The Art of Shaving offers a full shave kit with a pre-shave oil, shaving cream and after-shave balm that is able to give you the same experience as at home with its travel-sized Pure Badger Brush. Leaves you with a nice close shave for your day at the beach or night out on Cancún’s bustling Hotel Zonera, and the unscented option is always a good choice to not interfere with the scent from your fragrance and other grooming products. ($175)
- Clean Face – Ursa Major‘s face wash will give your face a good cleaning and leave bright and clearer skin as it removes oil and grime, dissolves dead surface skin cells and clears blocked pores. Scent features cedar, spearmint and lime. ($10)
- A Light Fragrance – Lacoste Eau De Lacoste L.12.12 Green features a classic, clean and cool fruit-woodland scent with notes of grapefruit, thyme, fig and sandalwood and fig. ($32)
- To Keep Hair In Check – Billy Jealousy has introduced a new styling mud that works with wet or dry hair, leaves a strong hold with a light shine finish, and has an herbal scent ($16).
- Lip Care – TURO Skin‘s protective lip balm goes further than your usual drugstore chapstick and has the added benefits anti-aging and antioxidant properties. Also is SPF 15 with a peppermint scent. ($10)
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John Varvatos’ Detailed & Versatile Artisan Acqua Fragrance
The third fragrance from John Varvatos’ Artisan collection, the Artisan Acqua is one you’ll want in your collection for more than the Mediterranean-inspired light, but versatile scent of citrus blended with spices and herbs. Visually appealing and making summer that more desirable, the packaging is a clear flask-like bottle that has a beautiful hand-woven rattan cover over it with an antique cooper cap and tag—showing the same detailing Varvatos gives his clothing.
Citruses in the scent include tangelo, mandarin and paradisamide (a fruit note of guava and passion fruit with a little bit of grapefruit, rhubarb and cassis), and greens take over with the heart notes of clary sage, lavender, coriander, toscanol and others. The scent is fresh and light, allowing you to use it during the day or for a night out, and would pair well with either the casual look of jeans and a tee or with a crisp dress shirt, tie and trousers. 4.2 oz, $84, John Varvatos
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Men’s Travel Grooming Essentials: Ursa Major Face Tonic & Face Balm
Hailing from Vermont, Ursa Major is a nautral skin care brand for men that uses natural ingredients to create gluten-free, vegan, non animal tested products that are designed to gives us healthier skin. Among their products offered include the 4-in-1 Essential Face Tonic and the Fortifying Face Balm, which work well together.
The 4-in-1 Essential Face Tonic (8 oz) has four uses as a cleanser, an exfoliator, a post-shave healer and a toner. Thinking of it from a traveler’s perspective, a cleanser and post-shave balm are always needed for even a weekend trip to clean and freshen your face on the go (instantly) and to fight off razor burn or ingrown hairs. With the UM face tonic, you get the extra benefit of not having to pack several different skin products. $24, UrsaMajorMen.com
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Men’s Travel Grooming Essential: eShave Hair Styler
Maintaining your mane while traveling can be a hassle, especially if your current choice of hair cream, gel or wax isn’t small enough to bring onboard your flight.
Providing shaving products and tools for almost 20 years, eShave has dabbled more in the men’s hair care market and released a new hair styling cream in the spring that smells fantastic—well only if you don’t hate citrus scents—and does its job right.
In a travel-friendly dispenser (at 1.7 oz), the Hair Styler has the scent of orange and mint, and has a light body made with a naturally-derived sugar-based emulsifier to enhance the hair’s moisture, plus beeswax to soften and add volume. You get a little shine, but it’s not obnoxious as others that give guys that Jersey Shore glow.
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London Street Style: The Casual Passerby With Perfect Messy Hair
In this street style find for Out magazine, I stopped by the treasure trove of Camden Town, home to several alternative and fast-fashion shops, international dines, and an urban labyrinth of open-air markets. I spotted a local photographer named David who caught my eye with his perfect “messy hair” look, and a nicely fitted leather jacket.
See the full look on Out.com, and check out more street style on Vee Travels.
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