The Attempted Buy Off

About a week after I published the Tragedy Strikes at Target piece about Classic scent Old Spice body wash, a couple of funny things happened.  First, a comment was left by one “Woman who loves Old Spice,” stating how manly she thinks the smell is and how she hopes they never stop making said product.  [...]

More Than One Way to Skin That Annoying Guy Who Talks to You in the Restroom

I found myself in the office men’s room today, one urinal down from a supervisor. He started to chat me up, which was predictably awkward. It occurred to me that I’d once read a suggested remedy for just that situation: straight-razor slash to the cheek.

I reached for my boot, only to realize I didn’t have [...]

Tragedy Strikes at Target

If it’s not obvious, I’m an Old Spice man.  Original scent thankyouverymuch.  Or Classic scent, as the marketing hacks at Procter & Gamble now call it.  While I enjoy quite a few different products, OS is always a solid go-to.
Old Spice Classic scent body wash is no exception.  In fact, it has arguably the best iteration [...]

Let’s Start the Convo

This is a manly blog, as a commenter once noted. So I can only assume that its readers watch manly movies.
I’m sure you can all see where this is headed — the great Miller’s Crossing versus The Dirty Dozen shaving debate.
The Dozen got their adjective by refusing to shave or shower until they got the [...]

The Most Excel-lent Cartridge Shave

In brilliant marketing practice, Gillette sends free razors to young men turning 18 years old.  I received a Sensor, Gillette’s latest offering at the time.  Through the years and like many guys, I occasionally ‘upgraded’ my razor and/or cartridges as Gillette introduced new models.  After the Sensor came the Sensor Excel.  Then the Mach 3.  [...]

Quick Take: Barbasol Pacific Rush

Back in Craig’s installment on Barbasol Beard Buster, he wanted to try the new Pacific Rush variety.  Since it touts a “fresh, oceanside” scent and is from Barbasol, it’s gotta be great, right?
Meh.
Though possibly a nice break from the same-old for some Barbasol users, the scent is nothing special.  More comparable to your garden-variety “sport” [...]

Pat is the Resurrection

Howdy Gang -
Wow.  Remember the Dopp Kit?  Thing got off to a rip-roaring start, only to fizzle out as quickly as it fired up.  What can we say?  We’re busy dudes.  Well, mostly Craig and Pat are busy dudes.
Regardless, thanks to Pat for resurrecting this old heap with yesterday’s post.  After a very long, tough [...]

For That Squeaky-clean Feeling

I wash with whatever bar soap is on sale. I never use “product” in my hair. I don’t even own a comb. I use my fingers.
I don’t give a shit about personal grooming products. Maybe I oughta—lord knows the ladies seem to prefer a well-moisturized fella these days—but I don’t.
With one exception.
I love Dr. Bronner’s [...]

On the Margins: Personal Experience with Sideburns

I generally steer clear of people whose necks are more than 25 percent tattoo-covered, but the sidewalk outside the Safeway was narrow and we were headed right toward each other. This wiry twenty-something gentleman, whose excited smile was as yellow as his wife-beater tank top, was going to say something to me. I just knew [...]

Perhaps I Spoke Too Soon

OK. I stand by my assertion that the Jack Palance Skin Bracer commercial is the greatest of all time. Admittedly, the reasons for that are largely sentimental. But while it may be the best, THIS commercial is also totally, completely, utterly unstoppable. Trust me, you’ve never seen anything like it. Please enjoy responsibly.
[...]

BEST. COMMERCIAL. EVER.

At long last, someone has posted the greatest after shave commercial ever produced and, arguably, the best commercial of any kind ever to grace the airwaves.  Indeed, my pal Tony and I scoured the internet for YEARS looking for this.  It’s like Christmas in fucking July.  Enjoy.

—Brent

The Death of the Goatee

From mid-high school to mid-college, I wore a goatee. In the early days it was an untamed mass at the chin, a clutch of blue-black, tightly curled wires. I was proud of my goatee, proud that I could grow one and proud that I could maintain one. It wasn’t easy. Balance is the key. If [...]

Yarr! She Burns Like Hell, Matey!

Out of Dominica’s bay rum and interested in trying other brands this summer, I was pleased to find Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum at my local Walgreen’s.  Coming in at about $7 for a 12-oz. bottle, I couldn’t resist.  Though I’ve logged less than 24 hours with this after shave, I already feel compelled [...]

Notions of Masculinity in a Postmasculine Grooming Era

When my friend Craig first pointed me to this blog, a new project of his, I told him it was stupid. In fact, I believe I referred to The Dopp Kit as “like the section of Esquire I skip over every month.”
It’s not that I don’t care about my appearance. It’s just that — like [...]

The Problem with Nose Hair

Left unattended, my nose hair eventually will reach out at you from each nostril, as thick and bountiful as a late-summer corn field. This poses me all manner of problems, one being that it encourages my awful habit of proboscis exploration. There are times when I become fixated on yanking out a particularly troublesome stalk. [...]