Section
Grooming
King C. Gillette's safety razor with disposable blades went on sale in the early 1900s and changed how men shaved. Johann Maria Farina founded his house in Cologne in 1709, and 4711 still sells a citrus cologne named after a house number. The history matters here, but so does the routine. There are guides to the safety razor and the straight razor, to beard care and pomade, to sunscreen and the short skincare routine most men can actually keep. Fragrance gets more room than anywhere else on the site, from Le Labo, founded in New York in 2006, to the case for owning a handful of scents instead of one. Aesop, which Dennis Paphitis started in Melbourne in 1987, gets its own story. Product claims are held to what the ingredients and the research support, and anything that only sounds good in an ad gets cut.
Stories
Grooming4 min read
Retinol for Men, Minus the Peeling Face
The vitamin A ingredient dermatologists rate so highly has a reputation for flaking skin. Most of that comes down to starting too fast.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
Aesop and the Cult of the Brown Bottle
A hairdresser in Armadale mixed essential oils into hair color in 1987. The shops that followed never looked the same twice.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming5 min read
The Safety Razor and a Modern Guide to Wet Shaving
King Gillette's 1904 patent sold 51 razors in its first year. Now the double-edge is back, and shaving with one well takes a lighter hand.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming5 min read
How to Ask for a Haircut and Actually Get It
Taper or fade, a two or a four, blocked or rounded. Learn the vocabulary and the cut in the mirror finally matches the one in your head.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
Sunscreen for Men, Decoded Down to the Fine Print
SPF numbers, water resistance and the shot glass rule. The least glamorous product in your bag is the one doing the most work.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
Le Labo and the Business of Slow Perfume
Two French perfume insiders opened a lab on Elizabeth Street in 2006. Then a candle turned into the most recognizable smell in Manhattan.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming5 min read
Why the Barber Pole Is Striped Red and White
Long before barbers sold fades, they opened veins. The spinning pole outside the shop is the last piece of evidence.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
Eau de Cologne: The 300-Year-Old Scent That Started It All
How an Italian perfumer in a German river city bottled an Italian spring morning, and why a rival named after a house number still sells it.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
How to Build a Fragrance Wardrobe That Actually Works
Forget the signature scent. Five bottles with clear jobs will do more for you than one bottle doing everything badly.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
The Beard Care Guide for Men Who Mean It
A good beard is mostly a skin project. Wash it, feed it, shape it, and stop blaming the itch on bad genetics.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
Men's Skincare Basics, Minus the Ten-Step Nonsense
Cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen and a sharper razor. The routine dermatologists actually recommend fits on one small shelf.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Grooming4 min read
Grease, Shine and the Long Life of Pomade
From a Chicago barbershop in 1925 to a Rotterdam tin named after lard, the story of the product that built the pompadour.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
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