ULTIMATE SKINCARE for MEN

Guys, we know you like to look after yourself as much as the women and quite rightly so. In the not so distant past, men were men and had to suffer from dry rough skin. The more daring would secretly pinch some of their wife’s/girlfriend’s creams from the bathroom cabinet.

Now we are wiser and know men can be still men with good smooth skin. There are several cosmetics out there with a fully comprehensive men’s range and no one bats an eye at your purchases.

So now we want to let you into a little secret and tell you about how you can keep your skin looking good.- It’s the unisex Ultimate Skincare, a luxurious skin product with a difference and has been launched at House of Fraser.

And now for the technical part:

Ultimate Skincare was developed by BAD (British Association of Dermatologists) for everyone to use.
As their name suggests BAD do have a wicked sense of humour (but it is for your own good) and what appears to be a pot of the latest breakthrough skin cream on the outside, actually doesn’t contain cream. It contains something better than cream and something that will last you a lifetime – guidance on how to check your skin for changes and so help protect yourself against skin cancer.
Also included inside the pot is a mirror to help you on your way and details of the bespoke website (www.ultimateskincare.org) that hosts all the information people need to learn what to look for.

Surprisingly skin cancer is the no 1 cancer in the UK – maybe it’s because we don’t get enough sunshine, we tend to go mad when it’s out. (Noel Coward said it all in his song “Mad dogs and Englishmen “go out in the midday sun.) And one Briton dies from the disease every four hours!
Luckily, most skin cancers can be stopped if detected early and the best way to protect yourself is to check your skin regularly. And this is where Ultimate Skincare comes in as a recent survey found that half of Britons could not recognise the signs of possible skin cancer and a quarter have never checked their skin.

Well checking for early signs is as simple as ABC (make that ABCDE). Regularly check all of your skin for changes to any moles, or new areas of pigmentation by following these ABCDE rules:
Asymmetry - the two halves of the area may differ in shape.
Border - the edges of the area may be irregular or blurred, and sometimes show notches.
Colour - this may be uneven. Different shades of black, brown and pink may be seen.
Diameter - most melanomas are at least 6mm across. Report any change in size or shape to your doctor.
Expert - if in doubt, check it out. If your GP is concerned about your skin, make sure you see a consultant dermatologist - an expert in diagnosing skin cancer. Your GP can refer you via the NHS.

Now you know the secret and how simple the process of keeping your skin looking good is, add it to your own daily beauty regime and don’t keep it a secret, pass it on.

THE VINTAGE WATCH COMPANY for vintage Rolex

The Vintage Watch Company in London’s Burlington Arcade is unique. Established in 1995, they specialise in bringing back vintage Rolex wristwatches to their original condition.

The latest addition is the elite sports watches- Vintage Rolex Sports.

GMT Master- designed in the 1950’s and accepted by Pan Am for their pilots, this features a 24hr marking in two colours, blue for night and red for day.

Oyster Submariner – developed for scuba divers this has a water tight oyster case to a depth of 200 meters. Most recognised as the original watch of James Bond.

The Explorer- created in 1953 for the first Everest expedition, this is characterised by a 3, 6, 9 dial and Mercedes hands.

But be warned these also look good on women so keep them with you at all times or you may find they have been “borrowed” permanently.

See more styles on www.vintagewatchcompany.com

Kirk Originals Eyewear - New Generation Jack Kirk Design

If you’re looking for quirky and stylish eyewear to set you apart from the crowd then Kirk Originals at 6 Conduit Street, W1S 1XE, 020 7499 0060, is the place to go. All frames are handmade and handpainted in France and designed by Jason and Karen Kirk who have fun creating the retro geek look with a twist.

One of their collections is called Kirk Heroes with each design named after a character hero created by Kirks.

To make this collection stand out and be unique from any other eyewear (as heroes should be) the frames are painted in contrasting asymmetrical colours with glitter on some.

Is it a bird ? Is it a plane??? No it’s the “New Generation Heroes”. Out this year we find 8 new heroes and this time with super powers (albeit silly ones) The style – A heavier look with black frames but still the asymmetrical design – this time coloured textured stripes in orange, turquoise, red or silver.

And if you want to find out about each hero log on to face book as they all have their own account, so you can befriend and follow them.

Let's take Jack Kirk - his superpower is “Time Travel” and favourite flavour is vanilla – he’ll be a hit with the ladies don't you think? You can’t beat a date time travelling and eating vanilla ice cream.

Jack’s story: Quintessentially British, Jack Kirk was blessed with an extremely stiff upper lip which served him well in times of adversity but did pose certain drinking problems. No coincidence then that Jack was instrumental in the invention of the soup patch.

So make that a date time travelling, lots of soup and vanilla ice cream – guys take note

If you’d like to follow Jack Kirk and give him more ideas on soup flavours the link is: http://www.facebook.com/search/?flt=1&q=jack+kirk&o=2048&s=10#!/profile.php?id=100000156851140&v=wall&ref=search

Kirk Originals Flagship store: 6 Conduit Street, W1S 1XE, 020 7499 0060,
Website: www.kirkoriginals.com

Men's socks autumn/winter 2010 trend

For autumn/winter 2010, the trend for men's socks is to go bright.

Falke have designed multi coloured wide striped socks in pinks, greens, oranges and purples.
But don’t worry guys, for office attire these stripes also come in light greys and blues.

Burlington have stuck to their classic diamond pattern but have added bright blues and oranges.

Under a sombre suit, a flash of colour will be your little secret.

FatFace autumn/winter 2010 collection

FatFace's AW10 is titled “The Long Way Home” and had two inspirations:

1. A fusion of city and escapism: Here it is all about shedding the 9 to 5 skin.
There is a mix of sport with rugby style long sleeved tops, check shirts ranging from the trendy large buffalo to the tiny gingham check, and quilted gilets.

2. A montage of stylised eccentricity, mix and match of patterns with a hippy spirit.
Here we see worn out vintage look denim jackets, rugged chunky knitwear and t-shirts sporting the Fat Face heritage logo

Main colour palette is red, blues and greys.

This season Fat Face has concentrated on the little details such as leather buttons on their knitwear and feather down in their padded gilets. Because it's the little touches that matter.

Written by www.frumpytofunky.com

John Varvatos autumn/winter 2010 collection

For his AW10 collection, designer John Varvatos was thinking of the man who lives fast, travels intensively and wants to look smart but never uptight. The feel was urban with romance underneath still burning bright.

Main colours : slate grey, concrete grey, pearl grey, wine red, purple and steel blue.
Fabrics : washed and soft in cashmere, velvet and moleskin
Knitwear : from chunky and thick to gauzy and thin and include long cardigan jackets, crewnecks, vests and fingerless gloves.
Leathers : worn in and beaten up suede trenches, lambskin blousons and shearling jackets.

Loving the moleskin dinner jacket with satin lapels and a zip edged fabric rose, matched with a longer length zipped waistcoat with unfinished hem.

Hudson- men's footwear

Hudson, a London based company, has been creating men’s footwear for 20 years. And to celebrate their 20th anniversary, they have designed a birthday shoe called the “Bowman”. The birthday shoe is available in black or tan leather as well as green, navy, grey and tan suede- all with two toned leather laces giving an edgy look. The shoe is of Californian construction and the heel formed by tongue and groove slots. The leather sole is stamped with the actual anniversary date 10/10/1990 along with their signature bird. This shoe epitomises Hudson’s philosophy of quality, form and great design.

Also in their main line brand designs is the “Pauli” – their first shoe to have a microlite sole.

In 2004 H by Hudson was launched as the errant younger brother to the main line brand – leading the way in footwear trends and offering affordable innovative footwear whilst staying true to its roots of high quality.
Their Autumn/Winter 2010/11 collection is titled “Into the Wild” and was mainly inspired by Christopher McCandless, a young American who adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and in 1990 hiked into the Alaskan wilderness to live a period of solitude.
The designs are eclectic ranging from the moccasin to the pointed evening shoe therefore appealing to every taste. There are the London East End brogues, high top moccasins, the hybrid moccasin/deck shoe and the working boots. The classic lace up brogues has been updated with their washed look around the toes. This has been achieved by rubbing the leather with alcohol resulting in a cloudy effect. (And we thought alcohol only affected vision). Hudson have pioneered this alcohol wash and so setting a trend. Other footwear has literally been thrown in to the washing machine to create an all over washed look. Don’t try this at home though and especially not with the whites.
Stockists include Office; Urban Outfitters, Selfridges, Mywardrobe.com, ASOS and small independent boutiques.

Again to celebrate their 20th anniversary, Liberty’s will start stocking at the end of June a number of styles from the mainline collection including the “birthday “shoe.

Mihrara Yasuhiro autumn/winter 2010 collection

Titled BE ATtitude, the inspiration for the Autumn/Winter 2010 menswear collection came from the 1950’s Beatnik generation (get it BE ATnik??). Mihrara Yasuhiro took the super cool laid back Beatnik iconic styles and symbols and re-created them through sharp precise tailoring, textures and fabrics.

Jacquard woven photographic prints (using a technique developed by Mihara himself) were fantastic to see: showing a creased virtual denim short coat on top of the actual coats; and patched jeans which were actually made of wool but you would swear were denim.

Suits were patched up or the colour unevenly faded creating a well worn look.
Patterns used included narrow vertical stripes, broad horizontal stripes, bold checks and tapestry prints- sometimes all worn together.
Layer on layer mixed waistcoats, long shirts, jumpers, chunky knitted cardigans and jackets

Badges and pins on jacket lapels were created from the interior of typewriters by long term collaborator Husam el Odeh. These embellishments make reference to Alan Ginsberg’s (a leading figure of the Beat generations) obsessive relationship with typewriters and the iconic Beatnik novel “The Naked Lunch”.

Happily this collection managed to look "hip" without the stereotype black turtleneck sweaters and berets which represented the uniform of the beatnik era.