How to look better than ever next year.

Ah, the modern curse of fragile masculinity. While women are bestowed the word “beauty” to describe the rituals that go on between them and their bathroom cabinets, us gents are stuck with “grooming”, a term also used to describe haircuts for dogs. Such a trivial disparity is unlikely to change anytime soon, but what we can revamp is our outlook – what perfect time to make some cosmetic-related resolutions than the New Year? From embracing products to banish our eye bags to sticking to the stuff we know, here are MR PORTER’s grooming resolutions to keep us face and body beautiful in 2019.

If the past few years have felt like a non-stop university-style cram session on news, panic, updates and confusion (accompanied by the occasional compensatory bender), we may perhaps be forgiven for feeling a bit frazzled. But I’m growing a bit tired of looking... well, tired (to the point that my girlfriend’s mother, upon greeting me will regularly comment on my level of seeming fatigue). And I find that my stress and lack of sleep tends to gather beneath my eyes, so it is there I will start to battle back (not with sleep, surely, or hydration, or some such, but... with acid!). I discovered these 111skin eye masks on a recent trip to Las Vegas for the opening of the NoMad hotel there – when they were sorely needed, and very helpful indeed. I’m hoping the addition of this anti-ageing serum to my regular routine, too, will battle back a bit of the creeping under eye gloom.

In grooming, as in health, the best measures are pre-emptive. Blindingly obvious as it may sound, there’s no need to reverse something that never happened in the first place. To that end, my grooming resolutions for 2019 are as follows. One: drink more water. Two: drink less alcohol. Three: wear sunscreen more often. And by more often, I mean every day. As a child, I used to think my mother was mad, slathering herself in SPF50 in the depths of the winter. She is mad, as it turns out, but not in her attitude towards skincare, which is the epitome of good sense. At 60-something, her complexion is the envy of women 20 years younger. A hard act to follow, but I can only try, and the first step is to track down a good daily SPF moisturiser. What constitutes good? It should be light, for the sake of your pores; it shouldn’t smell like the beach, especially during winter; and unless you’re fabulously rich – which, sadly, I am not – it should be relatively affordable if you’re going to use it every day. This one, from Malin + Goetz, ticks all of those boxes. As an added measure I’m throwing in this lip balm from Le Labo, a handy product to have regardless of whether or not the sun’s shining.

At the time of writing I am surrounded by an apothecary of fragrances, a wrinkle-fighting LED robot mask, and a number of butt-clenchingly expensive serums. If someone in the office is on their way out and wants to douse themselves in something that smells good, it’s my desk they come to (both Trudon’s Bruma and Le Labo’s The Noir proved incredibly popular with both men and women). This is all fine, and while I enjoy being the resident grooming guinea pig, it might be time to dial things back a notch (or at the very least find some more drawers).

So, instead of trying out as many new products as possible, next year I’ll be (mostly) sticking to the ones I know are fantastic. Two things I’ll definitely be taking into 2019? Dr. Dennis Gross’s Ultra Gentle Daily Peel, which makes for instantly dewy, smooth skin (as the name suggests it can be used daily, but I like to eke them out for special occasions), and then Oribe’s Signature Dry Texturizing Hairspray, a cult product which, after trying this year, I do not want to live without.

Among the many new horrors of modern technology is the way in which one's phone frequently sends photos or “memories” from exactly one year previous. I think it’s supposed to be heart-warming and nostalgic, but the actual effect of this is to make me look at more recent photographs and think, “wow, looks like he’s had a rough year”. In January, then, all I want to do is turn back the clock and pretend that the last 12 months never happened to my face – here’s hoping that Dr. Dennis Gross’s Ferulic + Retinol Wrinkle Recovery Peel will do the trick. I’m also a bit tired of fumbling around with all my (increasingly necessary) lotions and potions when I travel, so would very much like this Porter-Yoshida & Co pouch kit. Presumably, they’ll be useful soon for my dentures/spare pacemaker, etc.

I plan to start January off by trying to rid myself of all the excess and indulgence that comes with the festive period (or at least trying to hide the signs of it). Sisley - Paris’ SisleYouth Anti-Ageing Treatment will certainly help – it’s formulated with ingredients specifically targeted to combat the effects of stress and fatigue. The second way I hope to rid myself of any excess is by adding some supplements to my daily routine. Bodyism’s MultiOptimum Formula boosts the immune system and claims to reduce fatigue while promoting healthy skin and hair.

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