There are some things that inspire me to look out for my skin, and take care of it, and trying to invest more time, on it. We all know that college can be very overburdening, or even if you’re working, sometimes you just don’t have the spirit or the time to just go and take some time in the bathroom, going through all those steps. So, to help you with that, I’ll try to inspire you, and suggest some tips on how to make you look good for the holiday season. Every man wants to look good in the pictures… 

So when I think of skin care I immediately think of that glowing skin… yes, we men should have a glowing skin, meaning that, if you have dry skin, oily or combination, you should balance it so we all can meet in between, with a healthy look.

A guy who I think appears always with healthy skin, especially on “Nurse Jackie”, is Peter Facinelli. He must keep his skin very moisturized, and take care of it, because of the demanding roll he has on the vampire movies, Twilight, that I believe, may require him to keep his complexion spotless and even looking, even without all the make-up to turn them pale white.

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So Trying to achieve that goal, and the look, of other celebrities that always sport perfect skin, I’ll go by steps, to create a solid skin care routine. I may also say that I’ll aproach combination, and oily skin types, that are the major concern of skin, in men. So the major topics for perfect glowing skin are:

• Cleanse
• Exfoliation
• Tonic
• Moisturize
• Protect
• Intensive at home treatments
• Life style

The combination of all these topics, will lead you easily to perfect healthy skin. For the beginner trying to find basic information, at first it may sound complicated, but once you turn it into a personal routine, and personalize your own skin care habits, It will be much easier.

In the next few days I'll discuss the topics one by one, so, keep visiting

Schwarzkopf Gliss Asia Straight Serum

Well, being always in search for something that may tame frizzy hair, without making it look oily or stiff, awhile ago, I found this product, that is not new in the market, I'm sure some of you have tried it already. Being Schwarzkopf a professional brand, with a big reputation among professional hairdressers, I thought I would take it to consideration, so I bought it and tried it.

I did used serums already, claiming that they worked on frizzy hair and split ends (which I don’t have, my hair is too short to get split), and I t was a cheap one, and by the end of the day, my hair would collect grease around the full coat of silicone that the serum left on my hair, so I didn't really loved it. Only when, after washing my hair every single day, it felt a little dry, I would put some of it, but only a little amount, very very little.

After this experience I was expecting this new serum to do the same. And I was wrong! This serum has a runny texture, with a bit of a berry smell, which is not very manly, but it fades right away (which can be a down side), and after applying it to towel dried hair, and then blowdry it, will leave your hair feeling very smooth, and natural looking.

This serum hasn’t really made the frizz walk away totally, but it certainly made the hair much easier to manage. Definitely a staple!

Dove Visible Effects body lotion

Well, over with the summer, and beginning with the winter, it's still important to keep your skin moisturized. Now that the moist level in the air is lower, the dry and cold wind on your skin, can be quite drying and damaging, therefore the importance of hydrating your skin, even though it's covered by the winter layers of clothes. This moisturizer, I've bought, a few moths ago, will help you do that.

The Dove Visible Effects body lotion, it's a moisturizer that claims to help moisturize the deep layers of your skin, where the beauty of skin begins. It has a multi-layer complex, that at first analysis, can be perceived as a heavy moisturizer on your skin, that will leave you with a greasy feeling, but it's quite the opposite. The texture of this lotion is a bit thick, but it's well absorbed into skin, and fast, leaving you with a soft feel , and with what it seems to be a barrier, maybe caused by the dimethicone. The smell is the part I don't really appreciate, because at first it smells good, like every dove lotion use to, by after a few applications it starts to be a bit overpowering, because I prefer a more fresh scent. But overall the lotion it's quite good, specially when you need that little boost of moisture.

Brad Goreski Grooming secrets

Well, as you may have seen, one person that inspires me in the look department, is Brad Goreski. For those of you that don’t know who he is, I’ll make a little presentation.

Brad Goreski is a stylist, former-assistant of stylist Rachel Zoe, that was born in Ontario, Canada. He then moved to LA to study History at the University of Southern California, and while doing so, he had the opportunity to intern for Vogue and W magazine in New York, following up, after he graduated, to be Vogue West Coast assistant. After that, and with some admiration of the Star Stylist Rachel Zoe, he managed to get a spot as an assistant, achieving this way, an amazing resume, that a few would desire. To add to that, he has become quite popular in the media for his incredible personal style, being a breath of fresh air into the male fashion world. The eyewear and the bow-ties are a staple!

But what does he do to maintain a good skin and nice appearance. Well, there are a few things that he shared, and that you could use.

Natura Bisse: NB Ceutical Intensive Tolerance Booster: Well this serum that he loves, he say’s helps reduce the redness on skin. And that is what the product is for, and to solve some other skin problems, like, skin sagginess, anti-wrinkle, anti-oxidant and is skin soothing. This product has some key ingredients on it to achieve those effects, has Fermentus Glaciarum extract (anti-wrinkler), Pikea Robusta (anti-inflammatory), Amaranthus Causatus Seed extract (source of anti-oxidant) and Vitamin F (Omega 3 and 6).

The price is around 197€

L'Oréal Elnett Satin Hairspray: A very famous hairspray, well loved by the stars, that will hold your hair and taking care of it at the same time. Brad uses this product to stle his hair as higher as possible. “The higher the hair, the closer to GOD... Isn't that what they say?”

Price 6€

Bliss Steep Clean Mattifying Toner Pads: He uses this to deep clean his pores before he cleanses his skin. This are mattifying pads that help you achieve an oil-free and shine-free look, and preventing blemishes.

Price, 47€

Byron B Putty: He uses this product to give his hair texture, from the line of hair care of his own hairdresser Byron Williams.

Clairisonic brush: Well, I’ve never tried this one, but I’ve heard great reviews about this. It gives you a great exfoliation, helping you remove any dead cells and dirt out of your skin. “It actually makes you feel like you’ve had a facial”.

Crème de la Mer: Well this product needs no introduction, as it is super famous for its properties of soothing the skin, and actually healing. This crème is used by a lot of celebrities, including Brad. “I'm a huge Crème de la Mer person”

Neutrogena dry body oil: It’s a light body oil, that claims to quickly absorb into skin and locking the moisture, leaving your skin soft.

Other than this, on the show, Brad Goreski mentions, that he does some treatments with Lactic acid and Glycolic acid too, which are chemical peeling agents that help to renew your skin, making it look more even.

To keep his body in shape, Mr. Goreski likes to go to the gym early I the morning before work, and in the afternoon, he goes to Pilates. It’s a routine that seems to work…

I just would like to say, that this are product that I didn’t tried myself, so this is not a review, I just wrote what they claim to do, and why Brad Goreski chose them. Except for the peeling agents, that I did tried myself, and maybe later I’ll do a review on it.

Garnier Essentials Tonique

Well, this is not an essential item in your skin care routine, because it doesn't add much as a skin care product, it only makes you feel fresh, smells good, and may have some active ingredients that might work, but not make a huge difference. If you have a sensible skin type you don't want to build up much to your face.

So I wanted to try this product as it says it has pro-vitamin B5, which is panthenol that in contact with the skin and absorbed, transforms in pantothenic acid. This component helps lock in the moisture in the skin, retaining water, resulting in a much softer and elastic skin. So no harm in that, only making your skin look good and healthy, I would say.

After I applied the product to my face, having an oily skin type, I actually noticed that the smell was quite refreshing, and not overpowering, very pleasant, and the effect on the skin, was actually a bit moisturizing. Not very much so, because it will not do as much as a lotion, but enough. It also helps remove the dirt out of your pores, which is something good, after a day in the city.

The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that, this actually leaves my skin oily quicker, but not that much, so I started to apply it only at night. So I would say this is a product more suitable for dry to normal skin, and a good one. Not excellent, but good.

Garnier Ambre Solaire Natural Bronzer

After I tried the Garnier Body Summer lotion, I guessed that this one might be good too, and quicker. I don’t really have the patience to apply a gradual self-tanner until it reaches a nice dark color, at least a noticeable one. By summer I want a tan, more than a “glow”, as people call it, so I bought this one, for something like 10€, I’m not sure.

It is a face and body lotion, and has a nice smell, kind of like the gradual tanner from Garnier. It’s a sweet smell, but not so overpowering, and covers up the smell of DHA (the self-tanning agent). On the bottle you can read that this product will give you a nice, natural looking tan, and that it has a guide color to help you see where you’ve applied. Well, when I read that I didn’t knew how was I suppose to feel, because a guide color maybe welcome sometimes, but I wasn’t expecting it form that product. But turns out that the so claimed guide color, was a slight shade of orange/brownish, very pale that you couldn’t even see on your skin. Guide color can sometimes ruin your clothes, but be very useful, to avoid the streak look, but in this case, I don’t even know why they even bring up that subject.

So I apply the lotion at night, because I don’t like the smell of this lotions, and I hope to wake up a shade darker, and I did. The color is very natural, kind of a brown, but with a warm hue, If you push it, you can get a bit orange, but nothing very serious, only after 3 or 4 coats. I don’t usually go beyond the second coat in 4 or 5 days, so it turns out nice.

As it is a lotion, it leaves your skin very moisturized and soft, and helping your tan, to last for like 5 days. On your face is also very good, not causing pimples and developing a nice color too. On this body part, though, the tan lasts less time, because I exfoliate quite often, and the face creams with chemical peeling agents also shortens your face tan, so I apply the Garnier Natural Bronzer, to my face at day time, mixed with my daily moisturizer and apply it.

Overall is a good product for men, because it will give you a natural color, and leaves your skin very smooth. As for the body hair part, I don’t find no problem at all, you just need to spread it well with your finger, and don’t forget to exfoliate those areas, because they can build up after some applications.

Garnier BodySummer Lotion

Although the summer has already arrived, and you can tan your skin more easily and naturally, it is always possible to achieve a darker tan helping to enhance the one you got on the beach. For those, like me, who have a lighter skin tone, a help achieving a healthier skin tone, is always welcome.

A few years ago I found this gradual self-tanning lotion that turned out to be my second experience with self-tanners (the first was with Nivea for Men Summer Look), and therefore my lotion of choice for this purpose. Like many products from Garnier, this is of excellent quality and is inexpensive, costing about 4 €.

Starting with the package, it has a color that at first may scare you because it has an orange hue, which goes against the prejudice that exists about the self-tanning, that turns the skin orange. As for the smell, the packaging states that the aroma is a light apricot scent, which there's nothing soft about it, being quite overpowering. The smell is a bit sweet, which does not necessarily mean that it is bad, just not suitable to apply by day time and leave the house, because turns out to be a little strong. Furthermore, there goes the usual smell of DHA, which together with the sweet smell of the lotion, leaves a scent of cookies, that turns out not to be totally disgusting, because you will get used to it, but for those who know the smell, can detect miles away we are using self-tanner.

As for color, it is a gradual self-tanning, so the color takes a few days to be able to see. For me, the version that I used was the dark skin tones, and it takes about three days to get some shade, which is visible after one week, but not very dramatic. Only a winter glow, to remove the gray tone of the skin. If you do not exfoliate your skin and keep applying it, the tone starts getting more yellowish, and I only recommend to apply until it reaches a certain shade of tan. Less is more, and in this case, a light color, turns out to be natural and warms the skin tone.

The lotion is rich in vitamin E, and with no doubt leaves the skin very soft and is a great addition to the product. For men with body hair, this lotion is quickly absorbed, and you need only to wait for a few minutes (4 or 5 min) for the lotion to dry, and does not accumulate in the hair, avoiding the stains. However, I noticed that the hair may darken slightly after repeated uses, because, as the skin peels, the hair will remain for a little more time.

Personally I apply at night, waking up each day with a slightly more tanned look, and removing the smell of self-tanner in the shower. It is undoubtedly a great solution for the winter, but for summer months it gets boring, because the results are not as dramatic as you wish, and I end up not having the patience to wait for the results. Finally, it is necessary to warn all that is necessary all the usual care that you have with self-tanners, although some of them, with less concerning.