There a strong chance that over the holiday season you picked up a few ‘men’s essentials’. Deodorant, gym socks, plain white tees, shaving foam, shower gel…the list goes on. But while these products make up a list of things you use to get by, what about the items that actually serve a specific purpose, or enchanted a job that already seems tiresome at best?
Beardbrand Bold Fortune Utility Oil
[PARTNER] Beardbrands’s Utility Oil is a versatile rejuvenating oil for beard, hair, face, and skin. Made with natural abyssinian, jojoba, castor, and babassu oils, it offers lightweight, non-greasy hydration. Use it as beard oil by applying to beard and skin, pre-shave to soften hair, post-shave to reduce irritation, as a skin moisturizer, and as hair oil to hydrate ends and prevent breakage. Link
Nose Hair Trimmer
Maybe the Daddy of all grooming accessories, the nose hair trimmer couldn’t be more important. You can get away with unruly beard, 12-month unwashed denim, weathered boots or laughter lines of your forehead, but as soon as someone sees the dreaded dangler protruding from your nose it’s game over. They either won’t stop looking at it, or be wondering whether to pull it to let the butler in. Link
Exfoliating Face Wash
This stuff will not only feel good on your face, but should save you money on moisturizer in the long run. An exfoliator simply gets rid of any dead, damaged or unwanted dry skin, acting as a mild abrasive to any part of your body. Choose a brand which uses natural and environmentally friendly ingredients, and avoid anything with “micro-beads.” Your face will thank you later. Link
Lip Balm
If you’re in the habit of getting dry lips, then other than a healthy and varied diet which includes drinking lots of water, and eating plenty of fruit, we’d recommend carrying some form of lip balm around. So as a little space-saving tricky we’d recommend a moisturizer that doubles up, and works perfectly, as a lip balm. Plus you won’t need to apply it like it’s a lip stick. If it’s good enough for the Japanese mountain climbers… Link
Under Eye Cream
Maybe one of the more under utilized items which can be found in our wash bag, the under eye cream is probably quite new to a lot of us—but the benefits are hard to ignore. Usually consisting of uplifting ingredients—avocado, cucumber, and other stuff packed with vitamins—the ability of these products to take you from a tiered-eyed boxing class reject, to a fresh faced blue-chipper is pretty remarkable. Link
Army Knife
The ultimate gadget. They’ll get you out of some sticky situation, but also file your finger nails down, or cut your hair. It’s really a win/win, and we always keep a mini pair close by. The scissors can be especially handy on your travels; just think of all the little lose threads that poke out of your suit jacket, stones stuck in the tread of your shoes, or all the canned goods you can open. Link
Pocket combo
As they say, the classics never go out of style, and it’s hard to imagine the humble comb becoming a thing of the past. Granted, if a trend for shaven heads hits big time in 2016 we’d see a decline, but then again, what about all those beards? The pocket comb is a handy little gadget—it can neaten your hair up and unknot your facial hair, but also doubles up as a wall texture, or DIY kazoo. Link
Shaving brush and bowl
There’s something very pleasing about using the traditional method of lathering up a badger hair shaving brush, in a proper bowl that’s been designed for that specific use. We’re not sure we’d go so far as to use a cut-throat razor, rather we’d leave that bit for the more experienced, but to use good quality, well designed equipment just makes good sense. Link
Wash bag / Dopp Kit
Probably the most useful piece of kit out of this list, your Wash Bag / Dopp Kit should be as considered as the rest of your items. Depending on your travel habits, and personal preference, we’d recommend choosing something durable, lightweight and constructed from a material with water-resistant qualities. Avoiding an accident is high on your list, especially as it’s likely to take a hammering in your suitcase. Link
Fragrance
One which can divide opinion, but a fragrance is a quick way of enhancing a little something about your appearance, without actually changing the way you look. It suggests that you got up that morning, took your time, and made a reasoned decision to make an effort for the day ahead. That being said, if you choose a cheap, potent cologne then you’re on a sinking ship. Try to choose something subtle, neutral, classic and to fit the season. Link
Electric Toothbrush
Ever since we converted to using an Electric Toothbrush over a traditional one it’s been very hard to revert back. Powered up, it takes almost all of the effort out of something that is surely one of the most important aspects of our daily hygiene routine. They come with bluetooth connectivity (to an app which records your brushing technique), and countless attachments, but over all of that you need a reliable, high performing model. Link
