It's been a good few months since we last did one of our
Manper Sessions (a male pampering session), so as you can imagine the chaps at
The Test Pit are in dire need of a once-over. Fortunately those unruly beards
and hectic hairstyles will soon be tamed thanks to a few new products we were
sent. Let's reach for the shaving foam...
No male gadget fan worth his salt doesn't need a
feature-packed electric shaver, and this one is perfect. We've tested a few of
the new shavers from Braun over the past few months, and this tidy little
package weighs in at the cheapest. That isn't to say that Braun have scrimped
on the quality though, as we were mightily impressed with it.
The Cruzer 5 Clean Shave is cordless, rechargeable, features
a pop-out trimmer, as well as wobbly heads to bend to the contours of your
manly, gorgeous face. Safe to be taken into the shower, the Braun Cruzer 5
Clean Shave has a SensoFoil covering over the blades, meaning you get an
incredibly close shave, even on beards that have grown for a few days. It was
comfortable to use and we didn't experience any of the nippy bites you tend to
get with lower-end shavers. All-in-all a very good electric shaver.
Around £60
Visit www.braun.com/uk
Gillette Proglide
with Flexball Technology
This razor certainly does not have the catchiest of names
(Gillette completely ignored our suggestion to name it the 'Face Ball') but in use,
no razor we've ever tested has delivered a closer shave. The latest in
Gillette's line of wet shave razors, the Proglide features an innovative ball
joint, working a bit like a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
This means that the five-bladed razor head can pivot back
and forth AND side to side, resulting in a cleaner shave with fewer strokes.
The handle is a pretty familar Gillette design, being easy to grip and chunky
enough to get a proper hold of. The head, however, felt like nothing we've ever
used, and the added flexibility - thanks to that ball joint - meant we could
shave much faster, trusting in the flex to give when going over tricky areas
like the chin and under the nose. Altogether an awesome wet shaving experience.
Available from 17th February, £12 (£15 powered version).
Visit www.gillette.com/en
Fish Men's Hair
Products
Starting life in a two-person hair salon in Soho in the
1980s, Fish is now a world-wide brand. We were sent a small selection of some
of their men's hair products to slap onto our barnets and tame the unruly mess
of hair that comes from working from home and only ever venturing out of the
house to collect a missed parcel from the neighbours who must all assume we're
unemployed drug addicts. Anyway...
The range included FishFingers Moulding Wax, which was great
for those of us with shorter hair that needed a bit of definition and shape.
Thankfully the wax didn't leave us feeling like we'd had our hands on actual
fish fingers, as it was smooth and smelled pretty good.
Next up was the StoneFish Styling Clay. This is better for
longer hair and for those who need a bit of shape and the semblance of style,
but who really don't want to look as if they give a shit. It's a bit like
secret hair product for those too cool to care.
And finally, along with the bundle was the FishPaste Hair
Putty. This gooey solution can add tonnes of volume to even the floppiest of
mops, and we found that no matter how many times you ran your fingers through
your hair (or fingers that were not your own) it still kept a matte smooth
hold.
£1.99-£3.99