FENDRIHAN the blog

Golden Head Colorado Collection: Rocky Mountain Majesty Meets European Design

March 27th, 2012 § 0

The breathtaking majesty of the Colorado Rockies

Luminous colors: glowing bronze, richly wine-hued purples deepening into softly silky sable and obsidian. The stunning natural palette of the Colorado Rockies inspires a rugged yet elegant collection of fine leather accessories for discerning men everywhere from Golden Head, German leather-crafting artists and experts. Distinctively grained and precisely designed, the Colorado Collection creates a connection between the untamed beauty of the wide open spaces and precipitous heights of the Rockies and the luscious and lithesome leathers of Golden Head.

Offered in a warm, burnished bronze tobacco, a delicious, decadent Bordeaux, and a ravishing, resplendent raven, the Colorado Collection leathers are easy on the eye and soft and responsive in the hand. Only selected hides from the uniquely textured neck and shoulders of Italian cows are fashioned into these premium accessories, every piece permitting the leather to tell the story of the noble creature that gave its all for such a splendid treasure.

Respectful of the source and the tradition and artistry of the crafters of the leather, the wide array of options from the Colorado Collection combines great aesthetics with perfect practicality. Each wallet, billfold or money clip performs its function precisely and thoroughly, assisting the man of today with cash and credit management sensibly and sensuously. Organizational tools such as key and business card holders and opulently outfitted personal-care sets are available in the same gorgeous leathers and colors, indispensable accessory coordination for the man who demands and deserves the best.

Golden Head Colorado Billfold Leather Wallet with Coin Purse in Tobacco

The leather expertise of Golden Head dates from its inception in 1979, yet also reaches back much further to encompass centuries of German leather-crafting. Tanning of the carefully sourced hides is a special, vegetable-based process, completed by hand with unsurpassed skill and hard-earned expertise. Every quality accessory is made of hand-dyed leather, with fifty individual pieces of premium leather joined together through fifty individual steps, completed only by those who truly love working with this most ancient of materials. When a fine leather accessory from Golden Head becomes a man’s companion, a bond that can bridge decades is begun, and the man and the leather gracefully grow better together.

No more appropriate commitment can be made for or by the man of distinction than a fine leather accessory from Golden Head. The Colorado Collection reaches across hemispheres to infuse cultured and refined Old-World tradition with the ambiance of the bold and majestic New-World wilderness. Strike out on your own journey to the rarified air of Colorado by Golden Head, holding appreciatively in your hand the finest small leathers the world has to offer.

Taylor of Old Bond Street: luxury, quality, and understated class

March 22nd, 2012 § 1

Since 1854, Taylor of Old Bond Street have ensured the gentlemen of London — wherever they may travel — look their elegant and well-groomed best. Bond Street has been at the heart of classic, timeless elegance since the late 17th century, and Taylor of Old Bond Street offer especially high quality, natural personal grooming products. Located in a part of London that has been classically fashionable for over 150 years, where the streets are elegant and the gentlemen’s clubs numerous, the brand is synonymous with luxury, quality, and understated class, and popular throughout the world.

Whether customers are looking for shaving brushes and accessories, razors, mirrors, combs and hair brushes, or talcs, soaps, oils, aftershaves and colognes, Taylor of Old Bond Street has a product to suit.

Shaving brushes from Taylor of Old Bond Street come in a range of sizes, from 8cm to 13cm, with a choice of different shaped handles and in options including travel versions. A little secret? Their shaving brushes are manufactured by Vulfix. So pick up a Vulfix 374, 375 or 376 model and enjoy the same remarkable quality for less.

For aftercare, Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving cream comes in a fabulous range of fragrances, including sandalwood, almond, lavender, rose, lemon and lime and avocado. More classic scents are available in Shaving Shop, Mr Taylor, Eton College and the St James Collection. The Sensitive Skin variety includes soothing aloe vera, and the Jermyn Street Collection is paraben-free and allergen-free. Natural, quality ingredients are used, and the packaging is distinguished and simply elegant yet distinctive.

Taylor of Old Bond Street tooth brush, hair & body shampoo, and shaving stick

Taylor of Old Bond Street products aren’t just about shaving. There is also a great choice of deodorant sticks, roll-on deodorants, sprays, talcum powders, and hand and bath soaps. Solid soaps are produced using traditional triple-milled methods, and, like the handwashes, are both cleansing and moisturizing.

To help keep hair and scalp healthy and attractive, try a Taylor of Old Bond Street shampoo or hair tonic. Fragrances include rosemary, chamomile, herbal, and lavender brilliantine. Options include shampoo and conditioner to thicken and moisturize, or for dry hair, hair gel and styling cream.

There are also excellent, high-quality accessories to help get your personal grooming routine off to the very best start. Whether it’s a compact travel mirror, fine-teeth or coarse-teeth combs, or oval military style brushes in ebony, pear wood or beech, Taylor of Old Bond Street can offer products that are as decorative as they are practical.

For more info visit Taylor of Old Bond Street’s Official Site.

Heinrich L. Thäter: Silver-Tip Brushes Take the Gold

March 15th, 2012 § 0

Although in a state of continual metamorphosis when it comes to their logos, the German company Heinrich L. Thäter never alters its key attribute: the exquisite quality of their products. Encompassing the slogan ”Times and Tastes May Change, Yet Quality Always Endures,’’ the ultimate shaving-brush crafter Heinrich L. Thäter has put Nürnberg at the center of the wet-shaving map.

Cherishing the family tradition of “Nothing But The Finest,” the artisans at Heinrich L. Thäter maintain the highest standards by using premium materials and proven methods to produce the best shaving brushes possible. In the hands of these masters, the essential wet-shaving tool is transformed into a rare gem: flexible, beautiful and extremely effective.

Since 1913, Heinrich L. Thäter has offered shaving tools that are a step above exceptional. Pride in both appearance and performance is obvious in every facet of the execution of the company’s brushes. Small, but handsome, the Thäter pieces range from the 92 mm to 124 mm in overall height. Perfection arrives when 14,000 strands of the most expensive grade of badger hair are carefully shaped by hand.

The soft silver-tips are glorious, and the overstuffed knots well-support these remarkable bristles, providing a most satisfactory feel when lathering. Like a minimalist work of art, the carefully polished handle catches the eye and enhances the impeccable design of the German masterpieces.

These silver-tip badger brushes are known to be denser, softer and more flexible, with better water-retention qualities, than any using boar or horse hair. The decision to use only the most superior grade of rare, natural badger hair is the key to the Thäter quality. Their highly skilled experts shape each brush to ensure a phenomenal flow-through; this fanatical attention to detail explains why a Thäter brush is a synonym for the best quality shaving brush available.

No matter what your aesthetic preference may be, Thäter offers the discerning customer not only a long-lasting and amazingly well-made brush, but also a variety of stunning and alluring handles fashioned of rare and beautiful materials such as ebony and faux tortoise, including clear or two-tone options. The logo chosen for you will no doubt delight and will definitely surprise. Thäter changes this aspect frequently, all the more to your pleasure in such a unique decoration.

What will never vary, however, is the steadfast Heinrich L. Thäter devotion to enduring quality. An instant heirloom, in careful hands, your Thäter brush will see you through decades of extraordinary grooming. Cultivate well your relationship with this marvel. You will be richly rewarded.

Alt Innsbruck: Fresh from the Austrian Alps

March 12th, 2012 § 0

Conceived and nurtured in the heart of the Tirol, the refined products of Alt Innsbruck are as fresh and pure as the surrounding snow-capped Alps. Alt Innsbruck’s intoxicatingly aromatic fragrance is full with Virginia tobacco, rich and nostalgic and reminiscent of a deep breath of an antique humidor brimming with the finest hand-wrapped cigars. A crisp, yet harmonious, note of icy menthol cools and refreshes, balancing the aroma perfectly.

Available in Pre- and After Shaving Emulsions, Colognes and Aftershaves, this irresistibly manly scent was formulated carefully in the late 1940s and early 1950s by a master Austrian druggist, Franz Gatterer. Herr Gatterer created a rare classic, a bracing measure of cooling menthol followed by the light but authoritative ambiance of the tobacco and its flower. Its two-note fragrance is clear yet complex, lingering yet never cloying.

Drawing on his considerable expertise in dermatology, the clever druggist also assured his formula contained only natural and safe ingredients guaranteeing smooth, healthy skin and an elegant look. Preparing the skin with the burst of menthol eliminates the burn of a close shave, replacing any irritation with the cooling of a crystalline mountain spring. Let the Pre-Shaving Emulsion invigorate and relax with its bewitching aroma, giving it a moment to work its enchantment before your shave begins. Comfort and long-lasting fragrance is the purview of Alt Innsbruck After-Shave emulsion, soothing, gentling and smoothing the skin for an enduring manly finish.

Add a last spritz of this magic potion with the quaint yet so-effective atomizer, and savor even the most mundane everyday activities with your heart and mind in a high-mountain meadow. Treat yourself, and that someone special, to a naturally superior skin care experience, with an unexpected scent that assuages a yearning you did not recognize as your own until Alt Innsbruck provided its satisfaction. European elegance that travels well, Alt Innsbruck is appreciated by men of distinction everywhere — and by those who love them.

Head to the Highlands: Castle Forbes

March 8th, 2012 § 0

Crisp, fresh and exhilarating, Castle Forbes premium products for men lead you deep into the Scottish Highlands to discover inspiration for your unique grooming needs. Crafted on the grounds of the Castle Forbes estate, Jinny Forbes and her husband, Malcolm, Master of Forbes, share a life-long love of their wild and fiercely beautiful natural surroundings and ancient Highland traditions through their quality line of men’s skin care and shaving products. Six centuries of Clan Forbes nobility have graced the Castle Forbes estate, the ambiance of which is now yours to enjoy.

Only the purest essential oils of herbs, exotic woods and citrus are used within the former dairy on the venerable Aberdeenshire estate to create the natural, manly scents and richly soothing shaving and skin-care products available from Castle Forbes. Complex, yet clean, earthy, yet subtle, the brilliant integration of both delicate and robust ingredients is the essence of the Castle Forbes men’s care line, formulated in the world’s smallest and most exclusive perfumery. Highland magic is conjured here: innovative and exciting, but never brazen or overpowering, Castle Forbes offers the man of distinction a remarkable and masculine selection of scented products from which to choose his own signature.

Castle Forbes, an estate-based crafter of superlative grooming products for men.

Few can claim the experience of Scottish nobility during their daily skin-care routine, but you will be joining the finest of Highland aristocracy as you luxuriate in our exclusive Castle Forbes offerings. Blended with attention to the soothing, healing and rejuvenating properties of the essential oils employed, the creations of Jinny Forbes also administer the proven benefits of aromatherapy. The shaving creams and after shave balms we have sourced will not only give you a supremely comfortable wet shave, but will also calm and order your consciousness.

Step back a century or six and immerse yourself in the untamed Scottish Highlands without leaving the luxury of your own bathroom. Elegantly encased in the traditional Forbes Clan tartan, each Castle Forbes product proudly carries the Forbes’ family crest and the motto “Grace me Guide.” A reminder, indeed, of gracious resolve from a maker of truly noble products.

Experience the traditions of Castle Forbes shaving products and men’s fragrances at Fendrihan.

Original Castle Forbes image © Copyright Gilbert Scott and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Badger Brush Basics: When You Need a Deeper Clean

March 5th, 2012 § 0

Life is full of vagaries. The quality of light at the villa in Tuscany was ethereal, but the water was mineral-filled. The cleaning staff at the hotel on your last business trip thoughtfully repacked your dopp kit for you, but before your shaving brush was dry. The endless winter is over, but a recent humid spell is making the entire bathroom a bit damp — and a little “fragrant.” The long-awaited wedding of your closest friend is tomorrow, but your favorite shaving soap is hundreds of miles away, necessitating an emergency run to the drugstore for an inferior replacement.
Time, accidents and choices can wear on the badger shaving brush you long coveted and now treasure. Although a closely-followed daily cleaning routine usually can keep your brush in fine lathering fettle, water hardness, humidity, improper storage and certain shaving products can cause brush failure. Stiffened or crooked hair or a growing soap-scum ring are signs you may need to deep clean your brush. And, the unmentionable, but quite possible, mildew or begins of mold on the handle or base of the hairs — not on the brush you use on your face! Take a deep breath, never fear, as you probably have exactly the ingredients for a rejuvenating shaving brush spa treatment in your kitchen, laundry and bathroom.

Shampoo and Conditioner
Badger hair brushes are made from… wait for it… hair! Hair that is quite similar to human hair, making a badger shaving brush cleansing more familiar than one might expect. When your beloved brush is looking worn and pitiful, do what you might for your own tangled mane after you’ve neglected or abused it — a nice quality shampoo followed by a nourishing conditioning.
Avoid, as always, extremely hot temperatures as you saturate your brush with warm water. Then create some shampoo lather with a dab of shampoo and more warm water in your hands. Gently work this later into the brush, down to the handle and out to the tips. Then rinse, rinse, rinse with more warm, clear water. Squeeze gently to remove the excess moisture, and massage another dab, this time of conditioner, into the brush. Let the conditioner work for a bit, and then rinse, rinse, rinse… rinse.
A final gentle shake and squeeze followed by a fluff with the palm of your hand, and then hang your brush to dry. Once dry, comb it carefully to straighten any recalcitrant hairs, and promise not to let matters get quite so out of hand next time.

Badger hair shaving brushes are made from hair that is quite similar to human hair. Photo by Marco Arment.

Vinegar or Borax
If pitiful is not a strong enough description, you may want to call in the pH police — an acid or a base — to help strip away the substances that may be ruining your badger brush’s performance. A shaving brush cleaning with either vinegar or borax works in similar ways. A diluted solution of vinegar or borax is mixed in a non-reactive cup or glass, and the just-shampooed brush is dipped in the solution. After a brief soak, the solution is thoroughly rinsed out and the brush is dried following the usual steps.
The vinegar to water ratio should be about 20% vinegar to 80% water. If borax is used, try a tablespoon in a cup of water. Drop the brush in the vinegar or borax solution for a few minutes, agitating the brush by swirling several times. A brush can also be treated with a paste of borax and water, worked in well and allowed to set for about an hour, before that thorough, thorough rinse.

A Second Honeymoon
Once you have chosen your route back to badger brush bliss, vow to be as proactive as possible in the future by caring for, especially rinsing and drying, your brush after each use. Plan a more intensive shaving brush cleaning every three to six months, or after a shaving product mishap. Following these tips will keep your badger beauty at the ready for your shaving pleasure. Learn to love again.

Further reading: Daily shaving brush care, How to choose your first shaving brush, Finding shaving brush care information on the web.
Browse the Shaving Brush selection at Fendrihan.

Badger Brush Basics: Protect With Proper Care

March 3rd, 2012 § 0

You carefully considered and researched your investment in a high-quality badger shaving brush. Lathering techniques are well on their way to being mastered; you have cast not one look back to the hissing of the abandoned aerosol can. Although the wet-shaving course you’ve so eagerly begun is becoming routine, your daily pleasure in the procedure grows as quickly as your new-found competence. That badger brush is your partner in this new adventure, caring for your skin in a way you’ve never before experienced. It is past time to learn how to keep your partner up to the challenge of smoothing your way through your daily grooming.

Badger brush care is not particularly difficult nor is it tedious, but its relative ease does not mean you should take the brush for granted. Incorporating proper shaving brush care into your daily wet-shaving routine is a matter of an appropriate lather-producing tactic followed by faithfully followed brush cleaning and maintenance practices. When proper brush care is followed after each use, your beloved brush can partner with you for more than a decade. Without such care, you may be retiring your grooming companion long before the relationship needed to be over.

First, look to your lathering. Even the best brushes will not survive aggressive lathering practices. Prolonged circular motion on the surface of the shaving soap combined with brutish pressure on the brush will damage the hairs of your badger brush. You want the hairs of the brush to catch and hold the lather so you can float it across your face, not become so saturated with water and soap that the brush is limp and unable to spread a rich coating.

Lather with care, then rinse and dry properly to prolong your brush's life. (Image by Luca Boldrini)

Badger hair absorbs water in much the same way as human hair does, so less is more when it comes to water and soap. Use a gentle flicking motion to whip the later with the tips of the badger hairs. Back and forth, with an occasional turn of the handle to invite a different section of the brush to the party, gently urge the badger hairs to generate a light and creamy wonder in the bowl. This smooth, yet assertive, lather will lubricate your face and beard so that the hair is at attention, awaiting the razor, not soggy and sadly clinging to your skin. Your brush will survive this method with little damage to the tips or twisting of the hair-shaft in the handle.

Once the lather has billowed and been eased onto your waiting face, the razor ballet begins. A bit of additional lather here and there may be necessary to complete your shave, but once your face is soft and cleanly shaven, do not forsake your faithful brush. After each wet-shave your brush needs just as much attention as your razor for the two tools to provide a quality shave the next time it is needed.

Run some comfortably warm water through your brush, rinsing it clean of the lather. The need to thoroughly remove the lather is another reason not to overdo the soap and water while creating the lather: easy does it for easy cleaning. Avoid excessively hot water at all times on your badger brush, as you do not want to stress the natural hair or cause the tips to dislodge from the brush.

Once clean of lather, gently squeeze any excess water from the brush with your fingers. Use a gentle patting motion of your palm on the tips of the brush to fluff the tips, and then hang the brush to dry, upside down on a brush stand or holder. Later, when the brush is completely dry, ease a clean comb through the ends of the hairs to complete the return of the tips to an even shape. Treat your brush as you would any other quality, natural product and it will treat your skin well.

Further reading: How to choose your first shaving brush, Finding shaving brush care information on the web.
Browse the Shaving Brush selection at Fendrihan.

Serious Skincare Simplified: Nickel For Men

March 1st, 2012 § 0

In 1996, Philippe Dumont launched Nickel Spa For Men in Paris, seeking to fulfill a simple vision: provide a high quality, supportive environment where men can find their inner and outer beauty. Over a decade later, Nickel Spa for Men has three international locations in Paris, London and New York devoted to guiding men on their quest for beauty. Straightforward spa services and fantastic skin care products are the backbone of the Nickel Spas For Men. An easy-to-navigate website brings cutting edge skin care products to men who value well-crafted skin products and are unafraid to use them.

For a Man, By a Man
Nickel for Men features its own signature line of extremely effective and innovative products for no-nonsense skin care for men. Crisp scents and sturdy packaging help define what Nickel offers its male customers: generously sized products that encourage total immersion in the benefits of the formulations. Developed with a man’s skin in mind, Nickel’s products help manage the challenges of male skin, from its relative thickness to the daily trials shaving, sports and working present. Individuals using Nickel’s products can relax, assured that all necessary steps have been taken to tailor the skin care regimen to real men like them.

Streamlined Routine
Nickel For Men products feature a wide array of options, catering to the specific needs a man’s skin may have at any given time. Not fussy but targeted, Nickel’s skin care products skip over the jargon to the results, which are immediate and remarkable. Nickel’s most skilled technicians are the male customers themselves, who have no problem identifying what they want, and demanding they get it right away. No outlandish claims, just good, solid results are what Nickel For Men’s skin care system promises and delivers.

Real Time Testing
Three full-service spas give Nickel Spa For Men the unique opportunity to see what works for its valuable customers, and also what products need further development before joining the skin care team. Nickel and its loyal customers benefit greatly from this approach, and men who are considering moving up to Nickel For Men skin care products do so confident in the knowledge that all have earned their place in a well designed and received system.

Shop the Nickel range of grooming products for men here.
Find Nickel Spa For Men locations: Paris, London, New York.

Less Is More. Trust Us.

February 28th, 2012 § 2

Double duty grooming implements and products can be just the ticket — to traveling nirvana. Even if you are a purist who would normally never consider using a shampoo that also lathers up to clean as well as the best body wash, drop your reservations (well, not your hotel reservations) and experience the wonder of the multi-tasking products we have sourced for you on our website.

Traveling today comes with a dizzying list of restrictions. Space in well-packed luggage is tight even in checked bags, and carry-ons shrink smaller and smaller. Don’t let your personal grooming comfort zone shrink as well. We would challenge you to consider our combination products as your new go-to traveling companions; doing so will save you time, space and money, not to mention stress at the boarding gate. Some of the innovations, such as our shampoo/soap bars or shaving sticks, help eliminate issues with those ticklish liquid restrictions. We are pretty certain you will not miss the inspections and interrogations with authorities as you pass through the metal detector. Move to the head of the line!

Travel-friendly grooming products from Merkur, Ogallala Bay Rum, Taylor of Old Bond Street, and Edwin Jagger

Once you leave the airport and reach your destination, our cutting-edge combination products will continue to ease the stress. After all, if you are taking a long-anticipated trip, which would you prefer: sorting through bottles every morning, or jumping clean and fresh out of the shower, ready for a new adventure? I think you know the answer to that! Take just a few minutes to peruse the mutli-talented multi-taskers on our website, and an effective yet compact dopp kit is just a few clicks away

Here’s a bonus. When you save packing space, not to mention money, you will have room in your suitcase and your budget for even more treasures. And you know how treasures go over with those waiting expectantly for your return home. It is like the vacation never ends.

We know how to make your life a little, well, let’s be honest, a lot easier. It simply is what we do. Try a selection of our traveling wonders and enjoy those most stress-free vacation or business trip ever. And open your mind to the possibilities. Easy vacation grooming choices will have you rethinking your normal routine as well. Less is more, wherever you roam. Bon voyage.

Would You Like To Swing From A Star?

February 26th, 2012 § 0

Or at least head towards the heavens on one of those big birds for a long-awaited vacation? Perhaps, instead, the vacation will need to wait until you finish that series of important business trips ensuring the success of your latest venture. One thing is certain, however, on a regular basis you leave home and the comforting grooming rituals you have developed. You value beginning your mornings rejuvenated and ending your evenings relaxed and ready for rest. But travel forces a change of venue, and threatens the routine.

No matter. We have searched the world over to provide a rich and varied product line to fill your travel shaving kit with the perfect companions for your journeys, long or short. But first you need to find the perfect kit. Every important quest begins with a first step; let us outfit you every step of the way.

We have assembled a wide array of shaving kits perfect for your needs, whether you travel light or fully equipped. Sometimes it is just easier to simplify when traveling, and if that is the case with you, invest in one of our convenient yet quality cartridge-type shaving razors. There is simply no reason to settle for drug-store disposables.We also have a variety of travel shaving kits filled with shaving prep items, ready to provide for a Fendrihan shave anywhere in the world with little muss or fuss.

Feather Straight Razor and Thiers Issard Baragnia Leather Case

If you love a straight razor shave, know there is no reason to miss a beat. We have kits that can safely transport one or up to seven straight razors with you on your travels, safely and with that certain style that is yours alone. If a double-edged safety razor is your choice, we have it covered as well. Banish thoughts of digging through the tooth paste tubes and the bottles of aspirin to find your now-dulled razor at the bottom of your bag. We would not think of leaving you and your precious grooming tools to such a fate. Why would you travel that path if there is a higher-quality alternative?

Consider also looking at the options available in our Feather Japan line when traveling. Feather’s disposable blades for a straight razor make these products a man’s dream traveling companions. Freed from the daily maintenance needs of a straight razor, no matter how satisfying that ritual may be when at home, Feather Japan offers real innovation. Take advantage of it.

If a high point in your day is creating your own perfect lather, rather than relying on something from a tube or can, traveling need not deprive you of that luxury. We have great options for travel brushes and shaving soaps that will allow you to create your magical mounds of foaming richness wherever you are.

Now that you have set the stage for a quality grooming experience on the road, stay tuned. Our search for the perfect travel bag and accessories doesn’t stop here.