rogues+brogues : 2016

, by Ian Megrath

Winter Skincare | Remington Recharge Brush

If beauty is only skin deep. then what is your excuse in not looking after your skin?

While some may go to the gym & watch what they eat, others might spend hours on their hair and drop a fortune on clothes, what make men so reticent to care for their biggest organ (get your mind out of the gutter); their skin?

Winter plays havoc with our skin. Cold air outside, hot dry air inside combine to cause no end of problems for your skin. Coming into the festive season, our diet can also change for the worse, with alcohol liberally applied throughout the month. Dehydration doesn't just cause your skin to become dry, it can also make it greasy as your body tries to lock in moisture.

Dry, dead skin, built up with layers of grease sounds more like some revolting lasagne than your complexion.

My skin has a constant battle between greasy and dry, and this season, it is only exacerbated. So I have been trying to up my skincare game with more focus on my face and have recently invested and experimented with a few new tools and products.

I've been using the Remington Recharge Facial Cleansing Brush for around a month now. I regularly use scrubs and exfoliators on my face but as good as they are, sometimes you just need a bit more power!
The brush is a motorised exfoliator and comes with 3 separate heads; normal, skin & stubble and pre-shave. (As I still have my beard, I've not had call to use the pre-shave which is a textured rubber head designed to lift dead skin and soften stubble prior to your shave)
As I said, I've been using it for around a month, bringing it into my grooming routine around 3 times a week. The great thing about the brush is that it is showerproof and ours stays in the shower all the time.

I've been experimenting with different products in conjunction with the brush; all of which have all their own merits I've found are improved with the aid of the vibrating and rotating brush.

Lush Coalface Soap

I've used Coalface previously on its own. It does a really good job of absorbing oil and tightening up skin. Combine it with a good moisturiser afterwards to stop your skin drying out.

Biore Baking Soda Pore Cleanser & Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser
Bought on a whim when they were on a 3 for 2 offer, the baking soda gently exfoliates your skin and the charcoal absorbs grease.

ClarinsMen Exfoliating Cleanser

Truthfully, I've been using little sample sizes I was kindly given at a Boots event earlier in the year and it has been encouraging me to purchase a real bottle in the future.

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If you are going to get serious about your skin (and as none of us are getting any younger, we should take it seriously),you should consider investing in a gadget that makes it easier and quicker to clean your skin. Not only for the ease of use, but also for the more thorough deep clean it can provide.

At £79.99, the Remington Recharge brush is an investment piece but now is the perfect time to drop some subtle hints to a kind-hearted soul and you might just find one of these bad boys in your Christmas stocking!

Are you a grooming gadget kind of guy? Any recommendations on other tools?

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, by Ian Megrath

christmas

Festive Fashions | White Stuff

I've been scouring the streets lately trying to find the better half the perfect Christmas present. So far, I have not struck gold. but there have been several stand outs on the high street; perfect for this season.

For your Christmas party, visiting friends, strolling the Christmas markets or just smartening up for Christmas dinner, there is a wealth of stylish pieces around right now.
(Pyjamas are allowed until around lunch time on Christmas day, then you have to make some sort of an effort)

First stop was White Stuff. I'll admit, I'm not a frequent shopper here but I always admire their imaginative window displays and their take on vintage, folksy preppy dressing.

Simply put, you can't go wrong with a navy blazer. It will work with pretty much anything in your wardrobe. The Ship Stern blazer is in a herringbone tweed making a nice contrast to a sharp shirt and dark denim.

Paisley shirts can verge on James May/Alfie Moon territory, but if you take them for the retro things they are and play on that with a luxurious waiscoat, their kitschness works!

This mustard sweater caught my eye and loved the inscription on the hanger.

The appropriate attire for eating Quality Street for breakfast come Christmas morning...

The holy trinity of navy

I've always had a soft spot for a sweater vest, combine it with a Fairisle pattern and a cardigan front and I'm smitten.

Super snuggly, super long, super stylish. Banish those rubbish shorty scarves that barely wrap you up and ask for one of these scarves in your stocking.

For something other than jeans, these plum coloured herringbone trousers are the right mix of comfy and smart.

White Stuff have nailed the smart casual look this season with a rich palette of colours and textures. It makes you wish for cold evenings, just so you can layer up contrasting retro patterns and colours.

BTW, did you know the White Stuff store in Belfast has it's own cinema?! Every day this month, they are showing a different Christmas movie.

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, by Ian Megrath

health

the wood for the trees

This is a difficult post for me to write. However I feel it is important and both cathartic for me and may be of help to some reader out there who might be feeling the same.

The saying can't see the wood for the trees means that you are oblivious to what is directly in front of you, concentrating on the small details, lost in a situation looking for something that is already there.

I have been struggling with depression for a few years now. It was something that was always squatting at the back of my mind, that little voice questioning every thing I did, reminding me of my failures and my shortcomings.

Depression is a horribly selfish condition; it literally is all about you.

I hoped that bottling it up and putting on a smile would be the cure. I have always used humour, both wit and self deprecation, as a defence mechanism; there is no harsher critic of myself than myself.
But in truth, this is an exhausting and fruitless effort. By internalising my feelings, it only concentrated them, allowing them to build into something more destructive.

Around a year ago, I sought help from my doctor. This took some persuasion from my better half, I didn't feel like I had a problem but if it was clear to him, why was it not clear to me? I didn't feel the doctor's recommendations were for me so took my usual course of action and buried my head in the sand and tried to forget it all again.
You know the saying a problem shared is a problem halved? Well, a problem ignored is a problem doubled.

I returned to my GP earlier this year and sought further help. My depression was manifesting physically. I was comfort eating; putting on almost 2 stone in the past year. I even developed alopecia during the summer. I was becoming withdrawn and maudlin, I had given up. This was putting a lot of unfair stress and strain on my relationship as I was allowing myself to wallow, losing sight of what was good around me. I was prescribed Citalopram, to help with feelings of anxiety and depression. I have never been in poor health, never broken a bone, never been hospitalised outside of eye operations as a child. Being put on a recurring prescription was alien to me.

I thought taking tablets would be the end of it. It was a chemical imbalance, this would sort it; level me out. And it did level me out but to the point of plateau. I was numbed, I didn't feel as low, but I didn't feel happy. It affected me in other ways too; my concentration and memory (which was pretty poor before) was awful, I had no motivation to do anything. Even my blog held no appeal to me; I was forcing myself to sit down and write. I lost sight of the reason I started my blog and feel I turned it into a press release forum.
I looked at my blog as fraudulent and fake. When I spoke of it lately, I have likened it to a photo with a filter on it; an altered and unreal reflection of my life.

I hid in a digital world, one that was not real, one I could change to my needs and make it look how I wanted. But at the end of the day, I all the perceived value I have in my digital self pales in comparison to the real things I have offline. I am proud of my blog, but I let it, and other social media channels, dictate my life and I allowed myself to make decisions which were wrong and hurtful. Decisions that had ramifications in the real world but to me, were not real as it was all online.

My mood and feelings led me to do things I am hugely ashamed of and regretful for. Things which could have destroyed EVERYTHING I cherish. Things that seemed so out of character but seemed to come so easily. This is the wood I could not see, I lost sight of what was around me, looking for something that I already had.

I hit the lowest I have ever felt around the end of September. I had hurt my family and the person I care about most in the world. I questioned my worth and my reason for even existing. The hurt I had caused, the guilt and shame I was feeling; all by my own hand was overwhelming. I have nobody to blame but myself for what I did.

I needed help. My better half had no reason to help me but he did and I am eternally grateful that he did.
I am a very stubborn man who doesn't like to admit he is wrong or to ask for help. I don't like emotions, I avoid them where I can.
I remember when the better half and I started dating and he forced me to watch The Notebook. I don't like schmaltzy, weepy movies and this seemed like a prime example. He countered that crying was healthy and released pent up emotions; I replied it just released moisture from your face, you get the same result from spitting. This flippancy and sarcasm is my usual response to any emotional engagement.
I will admit, I have cried more in the past 8 weeks than I think I have since I was a baby.

Around a month ago, I started counselling. While this is not a fun experience; it is a necessary tool. I don't want to confront feelings, thoughts and emotions I've spent the best part of 30 years bottling up and burying.

I want to get better, if that's the right word. I want to be a better person, a better partner, a better friend.

I also returned to my GP who has changed my medication to Fluoxetine (commonly known as Prozac) and so far, my levels of concentration have been improved.

However, I am not cured, my feelings have not just disappeared. My anxiety levels are high, I could easily stay at home and hide away. I have cancelled several engagements and opportunities which could have been fun or beneficial to my blog but I couldn't face them. I am thankful for the opportunities that have been offered to me and hope to be able to repay the generosity in the future.

This is not a woe-is-me post, I'm not looking pity. However, what I am hoping is that by sharing this, other men reading this who in a similar situation, can man-up and ask for help.

It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Getting help is a fundamental part of learning. Did you learn to walk without help? Tie your shoes? Learn to spell? Men are supposedly interested in knowing how things work and fixing things, why can this not also include your mental and emotional well being? Why is a health regime limited to diet and exercise?

What I am taking from my experience (I won't use past tense as it is ongoing, this is not a 24hr bug) is the need for communication. This is an odd concept to me, despite having a blog and living much of my life through social media. I cannot communicate on a personal level. I was not honest or open. I lied and hid the truth. I was selfish and obtuse and stubborn. I am still selfish, obtuse and stubborn but I am determined to work on this.

I am consciously attempting to step away from living my life through my phone. It was a literal block between myself and the real world. You might have noticed my reduced presence on social media or the longer breaks between posts on my blog. I apologise to any companies who I have let down but I am not going to apologise for my feelings.

My blog will continue. I am hugely grateful to the friends, family and companies who have supported me, but I need to return it to something I am proud of, something that is a real reflection of me and my likes and my life.

If you are experiencing any of these feelings, I urge you to talk to someone. Talk to your friends, your partner, your doctor. Talk to a stranger by calling Crisis or the Samaritans. There is no judgement or weakness in seeking help.

Don't get lost in the woods.

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, by Ian Megrath

autumn

Autumn Indulgence | Molton Brown

I love autumn. I keep saying it but I don't think I can stress it enough. I love that it's cool and crisp. I love the colours and the textures. I love that it's dark early and the evening draws in around our house like a blanket.

With a more home-based social life on the horizon, thoughts turn to how to occupy myself on a night in and what better than something relaxing and indulgent. This is something not many men will admit to enjoying (and I don't often partake of this myself) but there is something about an evening bath that washes off the stress and general meh of a working day.

Molton Brown recently sent me a care package of their latest men's range with a few old favourites thrown in too.

I've been a fan and user of their Re-Charge Black Pepper range for many years and they have recently updated it with a Sport sub range. The fragrance is a little fresher than the traditional warming and heady pepper scent, just what you need after a long day. I am as far removed from a sportsman as physically possible, but I'm not going to allow this to stop my cleansing crusade!

Re-Charge Black Pepper Sport Muscle Soak and Deodorant

Drawing myself a super-hot bath (as a kid I'd call them monkey baths due to the oooh oooh noise I made as I lowered myself into the hot water) I threw a generous handful of the Muscle Soak granules under the running tap.

As soon as it hit the water, the fragrance released was amazing! A spicy, musky yet fresh and invigorating combination.

I'm a firm believer in staying in the bath until your fingers wrinkle but I always have a voice in the back of my head calling a bath dirt soup and that ultimately, you are swimming in your skin's detritus so I never have a bath without finishing with a shower. Luckily. Molton Brown provided me with 2 bottles of their excellent body washes to ensure I was squeaky clean.

Tobacco Absolute was launched earlier this year and is a light masculine scent with notes of tobacco, leather and rosewood and Bushukan is a vibrant and refreshing combination of ginger and citrus notes from the bushukan fruit (I'd not heard of it either). While I love Black Pepper and Tobacco Absolute, I was tempted to taste Bushukan is smelled so good!

I had to try both for the purposes of this post and they have now migrated to the en-suite as part of the everyday grooming routine.

I called into the Molton Brown store when I was last in Dublin and grabbed a few snaps of the collections on display.

With the festive season swiftly approaching, visit Molton Brown for all sorts of gift ideas and goodies for the man in your life.

Thank you to Molton Brown for kindly sending me the products for this post.

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, by Ian Megrath

aw16

Boohoo AW16 Press Day

When it's pitch dark outside at 7pm it can only mean one thing; autumn is here!

Autumn is, in my opinion, the best season for fashion, it's easily the most interesting and varied period for menswear. So when Boohoo, one of my favourite online fashion stores, held their AW press day recently in Dublin, I had to see what was coming (and create a mental wishlist of the must have pieces).

I featured this blush pink bomber jacket in a recent post and HAD to get it!

Having had a wonderful time at the spring summer press day earlier in the year, I was looking forward to discovering what Boohoo had in store for the savvy male shopper.

Neutrals continue to be a big story for the rest of the year. A muted palette works as both a head-to-toe look or can be paired with simple pieces you might already have.

Boohoo have already cornered the long-line look and the exaggerated lengths have been applied to bomber jackets, t-shirts and shirts.

I have a wardrobe full of coats and jackets but can always find room to squeeze another in somewhere.

The chevron textured bomber jacket would make me rethink my no black clothes rule.

Their reinvention of a fleece jacket by turning it into a modern peacoat is awesome.

These 2 tops caught my eye too. Their styling reminds me a little of Cos but without the price tag.

While it's perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, a raw-hemmed denim t-shirt is definitely a statement.

The pinstripe number is a quirky alternative to the usual shirt and blazer look.

Dare I relive my youth and embrace the 90's revival with this parachute bomber jacket?

The new season pieces will be filtering through from now until December so I'll be sure to check back regularly. I don't want to miss out on that chevron bomber!

BTW, as if it couldn't get any better, Boohoo are currently offering 40% off ALL* menswear plus £1 next day delivery with code 40MENS