MANSNAPS.COM

Earlier in the year I mentioned that Mansnaps was growing and evolving and finally I can share some of what's happening with you!

Next month, April 27th to be exact, Mansnaps is relaunching at our new home Mansnaps.com. The new website is going to be huge leap forward for Mansnaps and is hopefully going to be more user friendly for our growing audience.

With this in mind, I am looking for contributing writers to join the team to cover fashion, grooming and street style posts on a adhoc/regular basis. So if you'd like to join the next phase of Mansnaps journey, please contact me at Mansnaps@live.co.uk.

To keep up to date with all the latest news over the next few weeks, follow us on Facebook by clicking HERE!

Draper's Grooming

By Adam Bennett

I loved Stephen’s Don Draper piece so much that I wanted to back it up with a grooming feature. The classic 50’s/60’s styling isn’t going anywhere and when it comes to grooming, the lines between beard or no beard are merging! On one hand we HAVE beards – a massive trend as we saw in all their frozen glory at Westwood’s menswear show in Milan and on the other, we have the clean shaven, square jawed looks at Salvatore Ferragamo (or both at Oliver Spencer’s show!)

You can put your own twist on the facial hair trend (just steer clear of the thin tram lined beards) but it’s imperative you get the hair right for fear of looking like Joey Essex! Not that I have anything against him, I just think that informed choices of hair fashion as opposed to, clone like following of perceived “cool-factor” will help you massively.

The GOOD

The BAD

Classic men’s hairdressing is what’s required! No fading or clippered barbering is going to give you the classic Draper look. Make sure your hairdresser keeps it square up top instead of rounded, you don’t want to look like a microphone when it grows out. Keeping it square is also a good way to keep that jaw line looking more emphasised. You may need a few shape-ups allowing the top to grow before you achieve the full on Draper effect! Probably best to try and find a hairdressers as opposed to a barbers for this one although in the 50’s these gents would have gone to a barbers more modern barbering seems to have moved on from these more classic looks. Then again, I’m not a barber so feel free to correct me if you think I’m wrong! There are also mixed opinions when it comes to whether this look suits guys with thinning hair, allow your stylist to make this choice. I always judge it on a case-by-case basis but most of the time keeping the hair that bit shorter around the sides can give the appearance of slightly more on top but be careful when styling. You don’t want a comb over (perhaps adapting the style more and keeping it flatter on the top would help stop giving it that appearance!)

You may need to blow dry your hair at the beginning stage but if it’s long enough it should just take some gel and a comb. A good quality gel like Bumble & Bumble (www.uk.spacenk.com) or James Forwards, The Gatsby (www.maisondanu.co.uk) should be used as to avoid the sticky crunch of the early backstreet boys.

1. Shampoo and condition your hair.
2. Towel dry your hair to get rid of most of the water
3. Whack a 50p piece amount of gel in your hair and comb it through away from the front hairline and you’re done.

**If you want a less product – heavy look then follow steps 1-3 and then blow dry the gel into the hair and use a small amount shaping paste or finishing cream over the top to shape it – I use Bumble & Bumble Brilliantinen(www.uk.spacenk.com)

FRAGRANCE - HIGH ST VS HIGH END

By Adam Bennett

So a few of you got in touch and asked that we have a look into fragrance! Funny this, because on a recent somewhat alcohol fuelled trip to Selfridges, Matt and I had a conversation about just this thing - What do people look for in a fragrance – how long it lasts? How much it costs? The name on the bottle? Should you just stick to men’s or is it OK to try out women’s? (one drink too many)

I came to the conclusion that it’s completely personal – Matt wasn’t so sure. He set me a task to wear three different fragrances and see what went down over a month - a commercial brand, a women’s fragrance and a well- known luxury brand. All of them had to be under £100.00. I have a range of fragrances that spans across all of the aforementioned points so I’m just going to lay out my opinions – we’d love to hear yours too!

The high street one was instantly recognised by my colleagues – as soon as they knew what it was they said they didn’t like it – although before they knew what it was they didn’t express that opinion! Many of my client’s complemented it and I kept smelling it on myself throughout the day – it was a little overpowering but I actually adjusted to it and the image it created in my head was definitely one of a more, “athletic” me! It’s described as, “classic & rugged” by it’s maker – I thought that was me, maybe not!!

The women’s fragrance is something I’ve experimented with before – I loved it when Jean Paul Gaultier released Gaultier2 – the magnetic unisex fragrance that was exactly the same containing some masculine notes but was at the same time incredibly floral. I like to think of myself as confident enough to pull this off and when I told someone from the holding company about my love of this fragrance she was so impressed she sent me a bottle for Christmas! I had a few compliments on it – but not as many people mentioned it as I thought might. I still love it!

The luxury fragrance definitely got the most wear. The smell lasted all day (working from 12pm until 9pm that’s some going) and well into the evening. It wasn’t too overpowering though which is quite a good and rare balance to get.

SO in ascending order here are the fragrances …

3. Estee Lauder Sensuous – not too upset really, I love the fragrance but maybe I should give it to a girlfriend !

2. Abercrombie & Fitch – Fierce. I like it. Kind of. I don’t care what anyone else says – kind of. sure telling people what it is will give the wrong image – a bit too teen!!

3. Tom Ford, Grey Vetiver. 50ml 55.00. I’m in love with Tom Ford. There. I said it – actually it’s no secret amongst my friends! Amazing fragrance, perfect for this time of year – crisp, cool and fresh. When looking at higher-end frangrances I tend to er towards the obvious – Terre D’hermes has long been a favourite, Miller Harris Terre de Bois is another – both masculine, woody fragrances but Grey Vetiver is in a league of it’s own – it fits me perfectly – I love Creed, Byredo and Miller Harris but they’re all SO expensive !! This is definitely worth the money, I didn’t use as much of this as I did the Abercrombie so in the long run I think it’s a clever investment.

Someone once told me that a gentleman only wears two fragrances. So far, Grey Vetiver will be one of them. I’ve spied some of the Tom Ford Private Blends – my favourite being Tobacco Vanille but at £180 for 100ml it’s definitely going to have to be something I save up for !!!

You can follow Adam on Twitter @benedict_adam.

GROOMING - WINTER SKIN CARE

Mansnaps is extremely excited to introduce you to our new grooming editor Adam Bennett!

Adam has been working in the Beauty Industry for over 6 years - he knows who's who and what's what having amassed a wealth of connections within all imaginable fields of beauty and grooming. Having worked "on the inside" in Selfridges Beauty Hall, Adam has a knowledge of product like no other man I've met! A hairstylist who has worked on the X Factor and on campaigns for Calvin Klein and GQ, he is my go-to guy for any questions I may have where male grooming is concerned. He is often called upon by beauty writers for his input into trends and can be found working in London's fashionable west end and on the discerning clients of London's Highgate and Muswell Hill.

You can follow Adam on twitter @benedict_adam and check out his first feature for Mansnaps below...

As a hairdresser I seem to get asked about everything! I’ve had questions about how to propose, the best places to eat or party, trends, fashion, fragrance, politics – you get the idea. One I always get asked around now is about skin care. I myself have to really put effort into any kind of grooming regime – I struggle to get my haircut every 4 weeks and I’m in and out of 3 salons a week! When it comes to looking after my skin it’s the same story – I can barely get myself together to apply one cream to my face let alone super serums, eye creams AND a moisturiser (if you guys have found a good way to juggle then please let me know!)

When it comes to winter, the dryer air causes natural oils to evaporate (from hair, nails, skin) - it’s that feeling you get when you walk head first into a strong, cold wind and you feel like you had a face lift! When it gets more severe your skin can crack and become extremely painful. Perspiration helps to regulate oil production in the skin – we tend to be less active in the winter and therefore sweat less. I’ve rounded up a few tips to keep your skin looking healthy this winter.

1. Keep drinking water – moisturise from the inside out – sufficient water consumption regulates circulation.
2. Cover up when you’re outside – gloves, scarf, hat. I don’t think this needs explaining !
3. Moisturise ! Grab a moisturiser that’s easy to use, non greasy and keep it in your bag/at your desk – if you can, try to apply it more than once a day to keep your skin looking good – it may be an idea to use a cleansing wipe first so you’re not moisturising on top of dirt – or in my case on top of hair products! After a couple of months of talking to my clients about what, when/which how I think I finally nailed a routine!


I am in love with Korres cleansing wipes – I keep a pack at home and in my kit bag for when I’m out working!

I then follow this with Biotherm Homme Aqua Power D-Sensitive. It rocks. Literally. Its free of parabens, alcohol and fragrance. It doesn’t make the skin look oily or give me that dodgy feeling around my eyes.

Another favourite amongst my clients whose name kept popping up was Khiel’s Facial Fuel – there’s one with SPF 15 which is important in winter as well as summer. Khiel’s also do a no-shine SPF lip balm which is great – my lips get really dried out in Winter so I just keep it in my pocket !