Thatisbeyond…Stockholm’s male grooming regime.
Whilst staggering around the various islands of Stockholm, post marathon, I stumbled across a shopping centre called ‘Nacka Forum’ and inside were several stores that stocked a wide variety of recognisable brands in male grooming!
Score!
And so I felt the need to really have a look at the offers and brands that Swedish folk are keeping themselves well-groomed with!
Firstly, there were a lot of recognisable brands familiar from the high street, L’oreal men expert, Jack Black & Bull Dog were all prominently placed in many stores throughout Stockholm. (L’oreal men expert were also one of the sponsors for Stockholm Marathon, and I was lucky enough to pick up one of their excellent face washes from the expo event before the marathon).
One shop, that was a little pricier than others, had a great male grooming section and really knowledgable staff members (who were multi-lingual) who were more than happy to assist, was Sephora. As far as i am aware, we don’t have a Sephora in the Uk. But ultimately this is a one stop shop for make up, skincare, grooming and fragrance (for him and her). Most impressive of the offerings was actually Sephora’s own line, which catered for the metro male very well, with an extensive and varied collection of shaving and skincare. Their badger hair shaving brush was a snip at around £8.50, and I particularly liked a moisturiser with a subtle tanning tint, made specifically for men. Their own range was competitively priced and covered a lot of ground, but other brands were a little more expensive than other stores in close proximity!
In terms of other prominent brands, biotherm Homme were another one that I saw plenty of on my trip. From the few products that I tested, I was quite impressed with their range that fall into their 3 step grooming regime.
1 Clean and Comfort
2 Shave and Protect
3 Smooth and Fortify
Their more expensive moisturisers oozed quality, and their is a sense that this brand really understand what us gentleman are looking for from our products. It is also a very comprehensive range that seems to cater to many skin types (which is something often missed by male skincare brands.)
Male grooming is obviously big in Sweden as there were several clothing stores who also stocked a small selection of grooming products. H&M were stocking Nivea for men and also some haircare. What I think was missing was a Swedish brand, I guess I was hoping to find a magic serum or something, that Swedish men swear by, and that was unfortunately missing from this trip, maybe I was looking in the wrong places? Either way for a nation where both sexes are so attractive, there has to be a secret that I am missing!
Let’s talk about the beards and moustaches… They were great! Even quite young people were sporting some kind of facial landscaping, and it seems that there is a real pride in the care of ones facial hair. I saw beard oils on sale and coffee shop conversations where the men were oiling their beards! Mostly I would say that the landscaping was a lot neater than I generally see in London, although just as impressive. The beards were less scraggly, and more cared for, moustaches with clean and clear edges and less hair hanging over the top lip. All in all a sleeker more professional look (I guess) I have to say also that there were some really excellent bright blind beards too, some unlike any I have seen before!
With regards to beard upkeep,the it brand was Tweezerman. They were an obviously recognisable brand to myself and I saw a fair amount of their stands in Stockholm. I also saw some great wooden beard combs in use throughout my time there which made me wish that my beard was developed enough to use one!
All in all an impressive showing in terms of grooming and I thoroughly enjoyed chatting about recommendations with some of the sales assistants!
TIB
ThatIsBeyond 