It’s no secret male grooming is experiencing exponential growth. Just look in your own bathroom cabinet for proof that skincare has become staple, haircare is happening and fragrance isn’t just fashionable – it’s fundamental. Men are reaching for grooming products more and more to make themselves look – and feel – better. And for our money, Kiehl’s is one of the most reliable brands your skin can turn to.
Here at FashionBeans, Kiehl’s formulas consistently rank highly in our group tests and its Ultra Light Daily UV Defense took home a gong at our Grooming Awards. It has also featured in the roundups of the best anti-ageing and dark circle eye creams for its Eye Fuel and Age Defender Eye Repair respectively, plus best moisturiser for its Facial Fuel SPF product.
Why do we like this unisex brand? Because Kiehl’s has been doing its thing for over 160 years and few can claim a richer tradition in skincare. Our editors rate it not just because it’s an innovator in sustainability and science, but because its products actually do what they claim to.
With a cult New York fanbase, and an ever-growing presence in British bathroom cabinets, Kiehl’s is one of the few houses that offers rich returns, essentially pioneering the well-groomed guy in all of us.
Heritage Skincare Products For Every Type Of Guy
The Style Guy
So your hair is slicked, your beard is sculpted and you smell like a renaissance prince? Or maybe you are more of a Beckham type, rocking a 5 o’clock shadow that is more considered than coincidental. However, even with the basics down, there still might be some groom for improvement. We got you, handsome.
To up your game, you need to graduate beyond a bog standard moisturiser. Start with Kiehl’s Age Defender Power Serum, a lightweight yet powerful treatment that provides a first line of defence against ageing. To disguise candle burning nights, add in the multi-action Eye Repair cream, which uses rye seed extract to act like sleep in a tub.
Then, once prepped and primed, add the finishing touches. Some Texturising Clay will help give volume to your hair, while the naturally-derived Nourishing Beard Grooming Oil helps slough away dreaded ‘beardruff’, giving you a soft, soothed and sculpted beard.
The Gym Regular
If you consider CrossFit more of a culture than a class, take SoulCycle sessions like they are skittles or simply run for fun, you might be the gym bunny that could benefit from a specific grooming guide.
Kiehl’s isn’t short of products formulated for the fitness fanatic, just take the brand’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, which creates a glove-like barrier that protects against calluses. Once you’ve fed the gains, hit the showers. Begin with the Ultimate Man Body Scrub Soap to shed any sweat and reset your scent (needed after a workout, despite what you may think). Having just sent your oil production into overdrive, follow up with The Energising Face Scrub, designed to sooth inflammation and slough away dead surface cells.
Your gains should tell people where you’ve been, not how you smell, so don’t forget to fight the funk with the Body Fuel Antiperspirant and Deodorant too. Work your body hard, then give it a little love.
The Grooming Novice
Do you shy away from the skincare aisle or think body wash is just for women? Note: it isn’t. Maybe the lotions and potions you see on your mate’s vanity table are a bit daunting so you give the whole idea up? Don’t worry, no need to dive into a 10-step Korean-inspired routine. A simple four-step start will do the trick.
First rule, wash your face. Always. Pollution is at an all-time high, hard water is beyond dehydrating and let’s not even preach the perils of a modern diet. What it all means is that you need a cleanser that works overtime on environmental stress, like Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash.
In fact, newbie, throw the whole Facial Fuel range in your basket. The vitamin-enriched Energising Moisturiser re-awakens dull skin, Eye Fuel helps hide late nights from the boss and the Facial Fuel lip balm adds moisturiser while staying matte. It’s that easy. Who knows? You might even incorporate a serum one day and make us proud.
The Frequent Flyer
If your Star Alliance card has more wear than your best pair of boots and Google Translate is the most used app on your phone, chances are you are always on the move. The thinking traveller, you pack for utility rather than indulgence, so when it comes to toiletries it needs to be a tight, travel-friendly edit.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Kiehl’s has a shopping list of small-sized staples that will take up no room at all in your case. The Ultra Facial collection, one of the brand’s best-selling selects, is the ticket here. The Ultra Facial Cleanser (75ml) and Ultra Facial Cream (50ml) are the heroes here, not least because the latter was adventure tested by American climber Jimmy Chin and is perfect for preventing skin from drying out on long flights.
Throw in the Cactus Flower Mist (60ml) – a refreshing spray that perks up any complexion on-the-go – and Daily UV Defense Aqua Gel with SPF 50 (75ml) for when you land, and you’ve got a travel foursome any pilot would envy.
The Daily Shaver
Shaving is an art, one that requires precision, practice and the right products to nail. Think polish, lather, shave and nourish as a general guide for baby-faced brilliance.
First up, polish. Buff away built-up skin and loosen hair follicles with a decent exfoliator, one strong enough to the job but soft enough to stave off irritation. The Energizing Scrub is ideal. Follow with a lightweight shaving cream like Ultimate Brushless Shave Cream Blue, a soothing blend of Aloe Vera that helps the razor glide across.
Nourishment comes in the form of the Post Shave Repair Gel, where ingredients like Squalane will refortify the epidermal barrier and calm any residual redness. It’s shaving made simple.
The Selfish Shopper
This is 2019, mate, time to take self care seriously. Even if it is the season of giving, you can still stock up your own bathroom cabinet.
Frightened of the pharmacy or loathe the lines in-store? Not to worry. Combine classics like the Facial Fuel Energising Face Wash and Facial Fuel Moisturiser with an essential Grooming Solutions Bar Soap and an indulgent Ultimate Strength Hand Salve in your online basket, and you’ve got a power-packed set that’s good to go.
If you want to really treat yourself, then splurge on Kiehl’s efficacious botanical oil line, Midnight Recovery. The luxury cleanser, eye treatment and concentrate bolster your skin’s overnight repair processes to take back the years and revive the most tired of faces.
Shop Kiehls.co.uk for the full range of amazing skincare. (UK delivery is always free)
Ryan Jamison