TresSugar

BellaSugar's Gift Guide: The Smooth Operator

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0800

We all know guys like this. He's the one who's perfectly shaven, has flawless, perhaps even tanned skin, and is typically dressed to impress unless he's rocking gym gear. These men (aka metrosexual types) are fabulously fun to shop for because they live to indulge in grooming goodies as much as you love your beauty products.

Below are a slew of gift selections to choose from, however, if you're in the position to splurge, might I suggest my new addiction, The Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System (£172 - £147). After hearing rave reviews time after time, I've finally scored one and it's amazing how much smoother and clearer my skin has become in just a month.

Have fun shopping for your super suave member of the opposite sex!

COMME DES GARÇONS - 2 Man Eau de Toilette 50ml - £60.00	Elemis Smooth Result Shave Oil 35ml - £19.00
Self Tan Bronzing Spray 200ml - £20.00	Bullocks Shaving Cream 100ml, Cowshed - £15.00
Mens BRIGHTENER 35ml, ESPA - £32.00	Fleur Du Male Eau De Toilette - £28.00
Molton Brown Smoothing Lila Leaf Hair Gloss, 50ml - £16.00	Decléor 50ml skin energiser face cream - £34.73
Michael Kors For Men eau de toilette - £35.23	Yves Saint Laurent for Men Touche Eclat - £23.00
125ml Shiseido men cleansing foam - £18.50	Liz Earle Sensitive Shave Cream + Hot Cloth Kit - £11.00
Clear ghd New IV Mini Styler - £110.00	Monsieur Self Tanning Gel, 50ml - £18.00
Philips Arcitec Shaver RQ1095 - £244.69	Kiehl's Facial Fuel Energizing Scrub For Men, 100ml - £15.66
Korres Grooming Absinthe Shave Cream 150ml - £16.25	Nickel 125ml smooth operator shaving gel - £10.00
Bentley Handmade Brown Leather Washbag/Toiletry Case - £413.22	HeadBlade Travel Slick Shave Cream 59ml - £3.00

10 Products That Make Men the New Women

TresSugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Karl Lagerfeld made a prediction years ago that men would be the new women. What he meant by that, in part, is that they, too, will be as worried as women about their looks. Metrosexuality is mainstream now, what with men manscaping, flat ironing, and guy-lining their way into the looks-obsessed world we women have inhabited forever. Here are products that make The Kaiser's prediction even more uncanny.

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Turn On or Turn Off? Metrosexual Men

DearSugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:00:00 -0800

As I’m sure you all know, metrosexual is the term used to describe a heterosexual male who has great taste in both lifestyle and attire and gives his appearance more attention than the average guy. I’ll admit it: It freaks me out if a guy is more concerned with his looks than I am with mine. I know it’s old-fashioned and a big double standard, but I really like low-maintenance men - clean and put together, but low maintenance! So what do you think? Are metrosexual men a turn on or a turn off?

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Fab Gift Guide: Metro Man

FabSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:00:22 -0800

Fess up: You have at least one Metro Man in your life. You know, the one that wears striped button down shirts like it's his religion, bulky rings on his thumb 'cause it's cool, and has cleaner cuticles than you. This not-so-macho man loves all things slick and trendy so why not satisfy his metrosexual desires this year? The next time someone compliments him on his pristine nails and stylish cuff links, he'll have you to thank!

Be sure to peruse all of our Gift Guides and download our Fab Gift Guide worksheet to help keep you organized!

The Metrosexual Guide to Style: A Handbook for the Modern Man ($5-$11)	DIESEL Silver Ring ($75)
Y-3 Logo Messenger Bag ($210)	Gucci Money Clip ($155)
English Laundry Stripe Shirt with Back Embroidery ($89)	Brooks Brothers Men Grooming Small Manicure Set ($128)	Kenneth Cole Reaction Cufflinks ($40)

Oh Man: In Japan, 'Pretty' Guys Are in Style

BellaSugar — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:57:02 -0700

In Japan, the most popular grooming brand for young men is Gatsby. This name always makes me giggle, because, well, things didn't work out so well for the literary Gatsby. From my American viewpoint, the number of Gatsby products is astounding-more than a dozen colors of hair dye, styling putty, six varieties of deodorant, on and on and on. Men have as many beauty products as women do!

It makes sense, though: A recent story shows that young Japanese men are grooming themselves in a way that makes your average metrosexual seem like Charles Bronson in comparison. And their female counterparts consider it sexy, as shown by the heartthrob status of actor/model Takuya Kimura, pictured here. reveals the latest trend for guys in Japan: looking pretty, not masculine. Take a look at what it involves:

"I shave the tops and bottoms of my eyebrows to make them look cleaner," said Shinya Abe, 21, a wispy third-year student at Kobe University in western Japan. Abe, who also uses a men's eyebrow kit of brow comb, brow scissors and tweezers to keep his brows in line, says many of his classmates go further, shaving off their eyebrows and pencilling in new ones. Some go to aesthetic salons, or "esute", to get facials, manicures and pedicures.

To find out more, and to see a Gatsby commercial that would not go over too well on American airwaves, read more

This level of intensive grooming is indicative of the current preference for smooth-skinned, gentle-looking men. "Right now, the emphasis is on 'pretty', and nice, delicate men are in style," said Mayu Shimokawa, chief manager of product promotions at Mandom, the corporation that produces Gatsby. "Men's tastes are changing and we are changing to keep up with their tastes."

It's always interesting to peek into beauty ideals around the world, and there's something I like about a culture that says men can be pretty (without being called "gay" in a nasty way). But I'm not sure that I want to date a guy who spends his morning pencilling in his eyebrows, either.

Let me know what you think of these Gatsby commercials, which star the aforementioned superstar Takuya Kimura. I kinda dig the look in the first one-it's pretty hip and confident. The second one, in which he suggestively sprays deodorant, is more risque-enough so that I had to move my screen away from Intern's eyes, lest he accuse me of trying to pervert his young, impressionable mind.

Source

Do Tell: What Are the Worst Male Fashion Offenses?

TresSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:28 -0800

A popular nightclub in Australia has decided to ban "metrosexuals" in an attempt to curb violence. Apparently a certain style of dress is enough to start a bar fight.

On the list of forbidden clothing items you will find low-cut v-neck t-shirts, skinny jeans, pointy white shoes, popped collars, and Ed Hardy tops. I think many of us would be happy to go to a bar with this type of restrictive dress code.

When trying out fashion trends, men can come off as trying a little too hard. The power jeans trend - the tendency to pair expensive-looking jeans with a blazer for an "I'm hip!" vibe - is another example. Which male fashion fad would you like to ban?

How Do You Feel About (Hetero) Men Grooming Their Eyebrows?

FabSugar — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:33:33 -0700

Do Men Need More Cosmetic Products?

BellaSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:00:53 -0700

The JoongAng Daily is reporting today on rapidly expanding cosmetic sales to men in South Korea, and while the Land of the Morning Calm may be seeing rising numbers of men suddenly paranoid about their grooming, it's been a substantial trend in the US for years - remember the rise of metrosexuality? The cosmetics industry's stock and trade has long been the business of making women feel like they need a constant stream of new products, but now it seems they've gotten ahold of some male mindshare as well.

It's also pretty odd that companies feel the need to "gender" their skin care, packaging stuff like anti-aging cream aimed at 50-year-olds in "male" and "female" versions (often at suspiciously different price points, too). I can't say that I'd be sad if more men started paying attention to their grooming habits, but do you think that the deluge of anti-aging and skincare products for men is really necessary?

A Mad, Mortifying Manscaping Video

BellaSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:00:24 -0700

The metrosexual trend blossomed in the early part of the decade, and though the male-grooming pendulum has swung from that highly coiffed extreme, some guys are still looking into new ways of preening. Chuck Darrow, a highly hairy reporter, decided that it was time to remove his man-fur. And so he went to a Philadelphia spa for a torso wax. He jokes waxing is more torturous than waterboarding - a tacky and inaccurate comparison, to say the least - but winds up highly pleased with the results. There's a video, of course, and I can't decide whether it's hilarious or horrifying. To check out the footage of ol' Chuck's depilatory debut, walk this way.

How Do You Handle a Hairy Situation?

BellaSugarUK — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:00:00 -0700

On your honeymoon, you realize that you've spent oodles of this time and money grooming your goods, your brows and your legs so that they are free of unwanted hairs, but you're guy is more hairy than a chimpanzee! Whilst a little bit of hair on his chest can be sexy, his back, underarms, unruly eyebrows and wild hair down there, can be unsettling. Of course there's always the exception, perhaps your guy is more metro-sexual or just likes to keep things tidy, but for most women, trying to groom your groom can be a hairy situation. How would you address this topic, and would you be direct, passive, or just turn it into a joke?

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