THE JOURNAL

We appreciate that the prospect of “upgrading your grooming routine” may well fill you with abject horror. The world is complicated enough without having to worry if you are using the right serum mist, or if you should be dusting yourself with an anti-shine powder before or after your SPF moisturiser (it’s after, FYI). Still, we could all do with a refresh from time to time, and we have a few new brands on our shelves that we believe you should know about.
Indeed, our grooming range at MR PORTER is an ever-expanding apothecary of wonder and opportunity, filled from floor to ceiling with products that promise everything from covering up blemishes to restoring that youthful glow you thought you’d lost to the early 2000s. Whatever’s ailing you, at least in the skincare department, there’s something here that’ll help. Are you taking notes?
01. Seed to Skin

The best way to explain Seed to Skin is that everything feels like it belongs in the bathroom of an incredibly expensive hotel. A range of luxurious skincare and bathing products contained in glass and metal containers that are reassuringly heavy, the brand is known for its nutrient-rich and sustainable ingredients, many of which come from the brand’s farm in Tuscany in the bucolic hamlet of Borgo Santo Pietro. The skincare is all about cell-regeneration – see The Radiance, a cream that incorporates microdermabrasion technology to both smooth and moisturise skin – but it’s also well worth looking at their bath and body range. Any man who says he doesn’t enjoy bathing with a product called The Bath Nectar – 1000 Tuscan Flowers is simply lying to you.
02. Saunders & Long

Saunders & Long has only been around for a year, but you wouldn’t know it. The London-based brand was founded by Messrs Nick Saunders and Jonny Long, who have imbued their small selection of products with a sophistication that seems more fitting of a brand that’s been around for decades. Their offering of skincare and hair products is swish (and smells great) yet keeps things simple. Of particular note is a rather revolutionary product called The Long Weekender, which is brilliant for travelling as it works as a shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, shaving cream and hair balm. Which, frankly, is genius in a bottle.
03. War Paint for Men

Makeup for men! If you’re not using it, our question for you is: why not? Mr Daniel Gray, the founder of War Paint for Men, was inspired to create the brand during his battle with body dysmorphia, and has done an incredible job in creating a range that opens the world of makeup up to men in a way that makes it accessible. The products are all simple and light with a natural finish, and are incredibly easy to apply – just wet the brand’s application sponge, apply some foundation or tinted moisturiser and dab it onto your skin. “Makeup is not complicated,” says Mr Gray, who is keen to emphasise that his products aren’t just for younger men. “It also doesn’t matter how old you get as a guy, confidence is still incredibly important. Blemishes, acne scarring, uneven skin tone can all be improved with makeup.” So, our question stands: why not?
04. Triumph & Disaster

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those impostors just the same… you’ll be a Man, my son!” wrote Mr Rudyard Kipling in his 1895 poem “If”. So inspired by the couplet was former cricketer Mr Dion Nash, that he named a grooming brand after it. Featuring a range of haircare and skincare that are packed full of cultural references (The Coltrane Clay hair product is inspired by Jazz musician Mr John Coltrane, while the Fibre Royale is a nod to the famous “royale with cheese” conversation between Messrs John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction). The striking designs mean this stuff will look the business in any man’s bathroom. The fancy packaging isn’t just posturing, either; these are effective products, and will beat your grooming routine into shape faster than you can say “Big Kahuna Burger”. Pay particular attention to the Dichotomy Eye Serum and the Logic Toner – both rather niche products you might not have considered using before, but that you’ll be very glad you did.
05. Susanne Kaufmann

Susanne Kaufmann’s large range of products covers everything from essential bath oils to foot cream to deodorants to eye gels, to a rather groundbreaking obsidian face roller that this writer can’t seem to stop mentioning whenever the brand comes up. Made from forest ingredients found in Ms Kaufmann’s native Austria, these are elevated, minimal products that are good for adding some relaxation to your routine. Everything smells like a utopian mountain glade and will have you looking and feeling as though you’d just returned from a trip to Ms Kaufmann’s own spa hotel in Bezau.