March Grooming Guide :: Spring Banging Your Face

One morning in Harlem, Mr. Langston Hughes, Harlem Renaissance poet, stuck his head out the window and said, "spring kissed me bang in the face."

After three months of hats, scarves, and gloves, you know the feeling. Throw open the windows, cleanse the fetid air - and take a look in the mirror. It's time to let go of that winter pallor and get a grip on spring.

Clean the closets - and then scrub your face, and your body, with some of our current favorite products.

It's that time of year when the birds start singing and the boys are back in circulation.

It's time for you to put on your pretty face and get yourself some spring kissing. Or to paraphrase Mr. Hughes, "Bang your kissing face into spring."

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Jurlique: Purely Age-Defying Facial Serum

Have you ever wandered through a garden in spring - say, the Central Park Conservatory, for example - and felt the life force of every plant emanating all around you? Everything so new and fragrant and fresh - and you want to scoop it all up in your hands and rub it all over your tired, old winter face.

If you ever find yourself in Jurlique's Day Spa on Madison Avenue in New York, you'll encounter a similar feeling (that blissful smell of organic aromatics) - and as soon as your pump two little squirts of Jurlique's Purely Age-Defying Facial Serum into your hand and press it gently (notice the operative verb here: press, not rub), you might feel as if you're applying the essence of flora life into your pores.

Ever since 1985, Jurlique founders, Dr. Jurgen Klein and his wife, have farmed a small corner of south Australia, cultivating more than 35 herbs and flowers for their all natural skincare line. The 153-acre Jurlique farm uses no pesticides or herbicides in order to maintain a completely biodynamic organic business.

Lightweight and yet extremely concentrated, Jurlique's Purely Age-Defying Facial Serum is one of the most efficacious emulsions made of natural actives. Rich with organic black elder and licorice, this serum helps fade skin discoloration, while beech tree buds, hibiscus, and yeast work to fortify the skin against fine lines and wrinkles. Here's the truth: you can actually feel the life force entering your pores - and during the time it's taken to write this, we've pulled out the hand mirror five times, merely to gaze at our face. Cue the violins: we've got a new love affair going on here.

PRICE: $75.00 / 30 ml (1.0 fl. oz.)
LINK: Jurlique: Purely Age-Defying Facial Serum

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Blissoma: Intense Hydration Tonique

If you're like us, almost the first thing you do in the morning is wash away the night from your face - and on some mornings, after using a nice cleanser, your face feels so clean, you can't help but smile in the mirror. (Of course, then there are those other mornings, when you feel like reaching for a paper bag - but we're not talking about those mornings...)

It's always nice to discover something new - especially when that something makes you feel good. Founded in 2005, Blissoma is sold at Whole Foods and Abe's and Amazon, but we only recently encountered this fresh and natural line of products. "Natural, natural, natural" is Blissoma's mantra and the company uses only natural essential oils and a majority of certified organic ingredients. In short, Blissoma's products are designed to enhance total well-being for conscious consumers.

Blissoma's Intense Hydration Tonique is loaded with anti-inflammatory and soothing herbs that calm and hydrate your skin. Spray this cucumber-based cooling tonic directly onto your face before applying any moisturizer - and honestly, on some mornings, that's enough to send you beaming into your work day. Everything on your face suddenly feels alive and ready to embrace the world. Use it also for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, when your energy is flagging; it's like lowering your face into a punch bowl of aromatic herbs and flowers - and what's not to love about that?

Irie Star, the company behind Blissoma, is a conjunction of words meaning "positivity and unity" - and that's exactly how you feel after a spritz of Blissoma Intense Hydration Tonique.

PRICE: $18.99 / 4 fl. oz.
LINK: Blissoma: Intense Hydration Tonique

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La Roche-Posay: Lipikar Lait

What's nicer than a hot shower on a cold morning? Well, a few things, of course - but still a hot shower ranks up there. The only thing is, the hotter the water, the more your skin dries out. And when coupled with steam heat and blustery winds and winter's frigidity, your skin runs the risk of looking like real alligator. Not pretty. Alligator doesn't get you strokes in bed.

La Roche-Posay produces an emollient called Lipikar Lait, which roughly translates to Body Milk - and it's as delicious as it sounds. Very lightly fragranced, almost like dewy grass, La Roche-Posay Lipikar Lait is creamy without feeling greasy. Loaded with lipids (hence the product name) to enhance your skin's elasticity, Lipikar Lait also contains ten percent shea butter for suppleness, as well as glycerin for lubrication.

Best of all, Lipikar Lait contains La Roche-Posay's signature thermal spring water. In the small French village, the rain water is filtered through ancient chalky rocks that are rich in selenium reserves. Selenium? One of the skin's essential defense mechanisms against free radicals.

Like a thirsty kid downing a glass of milk, Lipikar Lait quickly soaks into your skin - and almost immediately, your skin feels like it's on a tropical vacation. So when your skin looks as dehydrated as that orchid you got for Valentine's, quench the thirst with La Roche-Posay Lipikar Lait. Got Body Milk? Check.

PRICE: $22.50 / 200 ml (6.76 fl. oz.)
LINK: La Roche-Posay: Lipikar Lait

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Nu Skin: ageLOC™ Gentle Cleanse and Tone

You know how there's that spot on your cat or your dog where the hair is so soft, you can hardly believe it - right behind the ear or under the chin? You want to keep touching it.

There's something of that feeling when you apply Nu Skin's ageLOC� Gentle Cleanse and Tone to your face in the morning. It's so soft - and gentle. The cleanser foams in your hand and then you're rubbing this lightly-fragranced toner over your face - and your eyes widen because it feels almost like you're rubbing that soft spot on your cat or dog. Can your skin really be that soft?

This dual-action product mildly cleanses your skin with gentle ingredients that work to maintain your skin's natural pH, while also toning your skin with an infusion of anti-aging ageLOC�, which also increases hydration.

The result? Skin so soft you want to pet it all morning.

PRICE: $53.00 / 60 ml (2 fl. oz.)
LINK: Nu Skin: ageLOC� Gentle Cleanse and Tone

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Every Man Jack: Face Wash | Signature Mint

Some mornings you don't want fancy; you want a simple cup of Joe - and something clean to wash your face. That's where Every Man Jack comes in. This affordable line of grooming products from San Francisco is no-frills and no-nonsense - not unlike that guy you brought home from Folsom Street Fair.

Every Man Jack was founded in 2006 on the principle that every man has the right to...good product. Their Signature Mint Face Wash is a gentle, chamomile-infused wash that goes on light, using glycerin to hydrate your skin and coconut-derived surfactants to cleanse deeply. Formulated for all skin types, and particularly for sensitive skin, Every Man Face Wash is great as a pre-shave to help reduce razor irritation.

Plain and simple, a cup of Joe and Every Man Jack every morning makes Jack and Joe a happy couple.

PRICE: $6.00 / 5 fl oz (150 mL)
LINK: Every Man Jack: Face Wash | Signature Mint

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