By Jonathan Howcroft
Man was born to love
Though often he has sought
Like Icarus, to fly too high
And far too lonely than he ought
To kiss the sun of east and west
And hold the world at his behest
To hold the terrible power
To whom only gods are blessed
But me, I am just a man
(Faith No More, 1995)
Being a man isn’t as easy as it used to be. Masculinity is now disputed territory with metrosexuality in ascendance, fiercely resisted by the recalcitrant ocker bloke. As aplha male Tony Soprano lamented, what has happened to the Gary Cooper’s – the strong silent types? The truth is they’re probably plucking their eyebrows and waxing their underarm hair in preparation for the Brownlow Medal/Allan Border Medal/Woop Woop 5th Grade one-eyed shit-kicker of the year Medal beauty pageant.
Male grooming is a serious sport and choosing the appropriate equipment can be a challenge for even the most sexually confident Australian male. Is it wrong to spend hundreds of dollars on moisturising crème? Would you tell your mates your haircut cost more than their car? Would you admit the face pack in your bathroom cabinet was yours and not the lost property of a previous conquest? The opposite of course can be equally as unproductive. A wash-bag full of supermarket-brand bargains is unlikely to result in more than halitosis, the pox and a lifetime watching The Footy Show in a Big W dressing gown.
Fortunately, help may be closer than you think. Beauty Mate is a new Australian-owned cosmetics company aimed squarely at men who care about their appearance, but not enough to spend more than their wives or girlfriends on the products they need. Beauty Mate also has the kind of touches that make it stand out amongst the camouflage of competition. Firstly, Beauty Mate is Australian-owned and sources all ingredients from Australian manufacturers. Secondly, Beauty Mate donates proceeds raised from its hair care range to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. Thirdly, Beauty Mate offers a money-back guarantee to any unsatisfied customers.
The product range is as you would imagine. For the hair there is shampoo, conditioner, form and shape sculpting gels. For the face, a wash, shave gel and moisturiser. The packaging is reassuringly straightforward and proudly asserts that Beauty Mate has chosen not to include some of the harmful chemicals and harsh detergents such as SLES (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate) and SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) in their products, using natural plant derived foaming agents instead.
As for performance, these products pass the look test and the smell test – especially the invigorating minty face wash. My personal preference for a moisturiser is for something with a higher gunk content (Nivea Crème for example, as I have cherubic skin) and the hair form product probably benefits more textured follicles than my frustratingly limp locks.
Would I buy Beauty Mate products? Yes. Would I recommend you buy them also? Yes. If you care only about price, stay with your Black & Gold’s. If you care so much you buy your cosmetics mail-order from Paris, probably not. If, like most blokes walking the tightrope of modern masculinity, you want consistent results from an Australian-owned company that supports Prostate Cancer Research without polluting the environment – I can see no reason why you would need anything else.
To find out more about Beauty Mate or order products online visit the Beauty Mate website.
