Better Man in brief …
Shave during or after a shower because the hot water opens your pores.
Contrary to popular belief, do not shave against the grain.
Must-have tool in your shaving kit? The badger brush.
About The Art Of Shaving
What was the inspiration for The Art of Shaving?
I had sensitive skin. That inspired my wife to help me avoid razor burn by creating the preshave oil in our kitchen in Chelsea.

Is there really an art to it?
No. Art elevates the act into something special. That’s what we’re really trying to say. We’ve turned it into a science where you’re able to get the perfect shave every day at home without compromising comfort or closeness.

Which camp can we count you in — manual or electric?
Manual.

Do you recommend that for everyone?
Yes, unless you have some specific beliefs.

But you sell electric products in your store.
Those can be used wet, though. I don’t believe you should be using an electric shaver in your car or while eating cereal because you don’t have time. You’ve got to reevaluate the whole package at that point. We are not here to dictate. We are here to recommend, help and guide. I’ve tested electric many times, and it doesn’t give you the close shave that you want. But, if you don’t want a close shave, it could be an option.

Get The Perfect Shave
Take us through your skincare routine.
I like to use our face wash, and a couple of times a week I’ll use a scrub. I am also a big fan of our hydrating toner. It’s a nonalcoholic, 100 percent-pure rose-water toner that’s really refreshing. I usually use it after a shower (whether or not I’ve shaved) and might do a little moisturizing afterward. I don’t have very dry skin, so the toner is a really good routine for me.

Whether your bathroom is elegant or over the top, the Séura Hydra waterproof TV can be styled to suit the surroundings. Séura offers the 19-inch TV in any color you like: The TV’s finish can be matched to Pantone colors, so it can duplicate the hues of your tiles, bathtub, or even towels. The rugged waterproof TV can safely be used in the bathroom, the kitchen, or poolside. Unlike any other TV we know of in this size range, the Hydra has an RS-232 port that allows it to be controlled by home-automation systems such as AMX, Control4, and Crestron, and a waterproof remote control is included. Séura says the Hydra’s mount completely conceals all connections and cables. The TV lists for $2,999 in black onyx or white pearl finish and $3,599 in custom finishes.

New fragrances are always worth sniffing out, but it’s also a good idea to have a few vintage bottles on hand. Each cologne on this list evokes a particular decade and is worth hunting down to add to your rotation. The scents may remind you of your dad’s nubuck wing tips, but they work just as well with a shrunken suit.

Old Spice
Somewhere along the way it became the butt of jokes, but Old Spice—the gentle blend of vanilla, orange, and musk that your grandfather slapped on after his morning shave—is, in fact, a fragrance every man should stock in his bathroom.

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Style Rule #9
Patterned socks should be worn with a solid color suit

Style Rule #11
Wear either suspenders or a belt, never both

Style Rule #29
Style cannot be bought

The Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, which opened in CityCenter in December, is a serene sanctuary located in the center of the bustling Las Vegas strip. From the moment you enter the non-gaming hotel’s 23rd-floor lobby with soaring views of the city, it is clear the hotel has a different point of view. It has an expansive two-level, 27,000-square-foot spa that specializes in holistic treatments that combine Eastern tradition and modern techniques, and it is home to the already-famous chef Pierre Gagnaire’s three-Michelin-star restaurant, Twist.

Interior designer Adam D. Tihany and architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates are responsible for the elegant design. The hotel has earned a LEED Gold certification because of its energy-efficient features—including heat-deflecting, light-colored rooftops, which substantially reduce the amount of artificial lighting by providing an abundance of natural light. Each room comes equipped with an automated control panel that allows guests to personalize their environment by adjusting room temperature, lighting, and entertainment systems with one central control. The 47-story, 392-room hotel has suites ranging in price from $575 to $15,000.

1. Most people, most of the time, judge you by what you’re wearing, and if you care what people think, you should care about what you wear. Life doesn’t get much simpler than that.

2. If you like something, respect it. Hang your pants. Roll your ties. Put shoe trees in your shoes. Oh, and wire hangers? The instruments of Beelzebub and, coincidentally, dry cleaners. Stick with wooden ones.

3. Pull yourself together. Always. Everywhere. Whether you’re going to the deli or on a date, every occasion has minimum standards. Try to meet them.

4. People who are slaves to matching (e.g., belts to shoes, socks to trousers) are shallow and tend to lack in the friends department. Anyone points out that something doesn’t match? Punch him. That’ll teach him.

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Technology has changed many things about the way we as men go about our lives, including how we interact with the opposite sex. The effusive novel-length love letters our male ancestors once painstakingly scrawled as signals of affection have now given way to instantly transmitted, tipsily mashed 140-character text messages. This means we have fewer words to explain ourselves with and a greater likelihood of botching up what does get sent.

Similarly, the pool of available prospects women have today is now open to any dude with an internet connection, as opposed to just the small collection of eligible bachelors putzing around Main Street. Forget about the benefits of having a former love interest quickly fading out of the picture once they stop visiting the homestead since, thanks to Facebook, women can continue to receive a stream of life updates from any ex if they don’t un-friend them.

While these examples may paint the picture of technology as the ultimate libido killer, the reality is that it can cut both ways. In fact, if you’re smart, advances in instant communication and digital information can serve as the ace up your sleeve for impressing women in ways you never could before. . To prove it, we’ve trawled through countless iPhone applications to select the top 5 that provide you with a leg up for wooing the lady (or ladies) in your life. Remember: Apple’s marketing slogan for the app store does state that “there’s an app for just about anything,” and it wasn’t lying.

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Frankly, the food truck scene could use some real excitement.

You’re thinking self-serve froyo, and maybe the occasional fleet of leggy Brazilians.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Big Swirl Truck is officially upon us… and you won’t be able to miss it.

Think of yesterday’s Korean fried chicken as this week’s entrée, and this as your dessert. When you’re in the mood for something cool and refreshing, you’ll step up to the side of the city’s first self-serve froyo truck, where dispensers await with 10 rotating flavors. It’s your chance to create a (nondairy) masterpiece for five bucks with flavors like Nutella, pistachio and blood orange. (Mmm, Nutella-pistachio-blood-orange sundae.)

But this is less a truck than a full-on mobile party. They’ve installed flashy lights and a mother of a nightclub-worthy sound system, and they’re happy to deploy a troupe of Brazilian dancers to liven things up. . (We highly encourage this option.)

So though you might see this thing on the streets now and again (pay attention to the Wells Fargo building next week), their real specialty is events. This is going to be your new way to cool down at this summer’s music festivals, farmers’ markets… and maybe your next barbecue blowout.

Trust us, the neighbors won’t mind…

Who ya got, the cat or the snake? Check out the video below…

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The first time you go, you’ll find yourself deliriously lost. The Bazaar, in the SLS Hotel, is magically absurd, a fun house of possibilities, absolutely delicious and visually decadent. You drift. You circle. You won’t know the Rojo room from the Blanco room, and you surely won’t understand the half-hidden Saam room (tasting menu, fancier service). The food, by America’s greatest Spanish chef, José Andrés, isn’t the rustic dishes he learned to make back in Catalonia. It’s Spanish food that’s lost its exotic ethnicity, become whimsical, playful, and even molecular—mad-scientist stuff. Andrés prepares dishes that are absolutely accessible to American tastes; he’s decoded our dining DNA. His traditional tapas include ibérico ham, sheep’s-milk cheese, and piquillo peppers, all Spanish staples, but no smelly, fishy stuff, which is fine with me. There’s what he calls new tapas, including a play on cheesesteak made with thin baked pita, Cheddar foam, and rare Kobe beef, a combination I never encountered in my South Philly days. There’s a slew of liquefied, bite-size doodads that taste (and sometimes look) like cherries, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and olives but are actually science fiction versions of them. Once, long ago, in a place only a few miles away, Wolfgang Puck made fancy dining informal. José Andrés has made it insanely, totally fun.

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