For me, an evening routine assumes two forms - something before heading out for the evening, and something right before bed. On occasion, both take place! I relish quiet nights after busy days, but I also appreciate that fun tends to happen in the dark. Indeed, I enjoy the opportunity to dress up for dinner: nothing pairs better with a gin martini than lacquered hair.
An evening routine is an opportunity for me to really emphasise restoration and repair - opting for products that deeply clean and are lavish in ingredients. I also think the formal register of going out allows for some decadence - especially reflected in my choice of scent.
Shear Revival Younger Days Gel Pomade
Some Younger Days Pomade in my thick black hair and it becomes a mirror-like varnish, which is exactly my idea of a formal hairdo. Its blend of waxes, oils, and butters helps create a glossy look with a medium hold to keep every strand set in place without forming a hard helmet of hair. With a workable yet firm texture, after warming a small dab of the product in the hands, I work this into lightly towel-dried hair (or with the help of a spray bottle) as the residual water helps with the shine, combed into a sharp side part.
I'm also partial to using Shear Revival's Progress All Purpose Oil as a pre-styler, massaged into damp hair and scalp. This makes my stubborn hair much more manageable, and allows great styling potential and definition.
Tauer Incense Rose
Not exactly a fragrance to wear to bed (but don’t put it past me), but definitely something for an evening out. Incense Rose is unfailing, and has remained my top pick since the beginning. It has a supremely classic structure, top-down in nature with fresh spices and orange citrus fruits, a rose heart flushed with incense, and an animalic-chypre base - it is given all at once and in individual parts, and I love every moment. There’s no doubting its initial burst, with cooling cardamom riding along sunny clementine, which lasts forever as it conjoins with the many notes underneath it. It tingles and it soars, like fireworks in a black sky, and I’ve yet to encounter a perfume as gregarious as this.
Morris Motley Anti-Dandruff Conditioning Shampoo
I’m one for showering in the evening, and I’ve made this shampoo part of my nightly regimen. My scalp often cries out for TLC, especially in the winter months, and this shampoo from Morris Motley balances its conditioning function with an anti-dandruff one. It’s above all else gentle, carefully formulated to be appropriate for frequent use without the expense of its efficacy. Piroctone olamine is the latest generation of anti-dandruff ingredients, and gets to work in a really fascinating way. Opposed to degreasing the hair, this ingredient relies on an antioxidant action which disrupts the cell membrane of the dandruff-causing yeast itself. Joining up with hydrating fats and oils, my hair is treated, hydrated, and softened all at once.
FZOTIC Bar Soaps
It’s no secret how much I enjoy bar soaps, and whilst I am on the record for eulogising Santa Maria Novella soaps - especially their Patchouli - FZOTIC soaps are a new favourite, and are Castille soaps, which means they are majorly formulated with olive oil. The blocks are generous and long-lasting, its lather is highly nourishing and softening, and the scent is gloriously potent. They’re all great, and they’re all interesting - I think Opopponax is a favourite, but I’m likely to change my mind here. I gleefully repeat myself: a soap like this brings hedonism to an all-too necessary ritual. Showers should be decadent moments.
DOVO Solingen Beard & Moustache Scissors
I take the time to give my beard a trim (almost) every evening, keeping it defined and well-kept. I am always amazed how a trim brings proportion back to my face. I enjoy using these fine scissors from Dovo Solingen - you buy it once, look after it, and have it forever. The edge of one blade is micro-corrugated with very fine serrations etched into the blade edge to help hold the hair in position, enabling clean and precise cuts. The other blade is honed to razor sharpness to accomplish very precise and accurate cutting. The best product of its kind: it reaffirms its value with every use.
Jaxon Lane Relax and Repair Moisturiser
After a deep cleanse with Jaxon Lane’s Powder Cleanser, I reward my skin with their Relax and Repair Moisturiser - which is loaded with centella, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, amongst many other potent ingredients … it’s a powerhouse. Non-greasy and lightweight, it’s appropriate for day and night use, and absorbs quickly into the skin without a tacky residue and softens the tautness I tend to feel after an intensive clean. A thirst-quencher, it hydrates plentifully and ensures the skin’s very best appearance. For me, what’s essential in a moisturiser is its softening ability - texture is my highest priority. This product both feels good and does good.
Jaxon Lane Bro Mask
A decadence of its own sort, this hydrogel sheet mask is an immediate improvement from the papery stuff you find at the chemist. Made with bearded folk in mind, this 2-piece product ensures no waste, and I can use the bottom half on my neck. I quite like its cool gel texture - which feels like it’s properly being absorbed by my skin. A potent dose of hydration, this is an occasional mask that I use in preparation for big days ahead, making it look its glowy, refined, and plumped best. Full of niacinamide, collagen, and anti-inflammatories, once I’ve applied it to my face, I switch on some tunes and lay back for 20 minutes. Having to do so little for so much is something I can get onboard with.