THE MINI-FACIAL: HOW IT'S DONE

Facials aren't just for women or sissies. Facials are an easy way give your skin a health glow, because they utilize two important skincare steps: exfoliation and moisturizing. Resolve skin problems and brighten skin with three easy steps incorporated into your grooming routine.

Outlier's Minimalist Backpack

Camping this Autumn? Outlier is now entering the bag market with its minimalist backpack. The pack, sporting a white color, features a new kind of fabric that is lightweight, completely waterproof, and stronger than steel. Outlier's website says it's technically called nonwoven Dyneema. Take it hiking or chuck your stuff in it for weekend excursions.  The bag features a roll top closure, tape seams and packs down to fit in a jacket pocket. The bag has been so popular, the first production run has sold out. Outlier is currently pre-ordering the back for Spring 2012 delivery.

And yes, since the Outlier Minimalist Backpack is 20 times stronger than steel, you can carry a bag of bricks (see image).

Gentleman A of The Traveling Gentleman

Photos courtesy of Outlier. 

Urban Sanctuary & The St Bernard Project

EVOLUTIONMAN had the distinct pleasure of taking part in Urban Sanctuary’s Jetsetter Lounge in Beverly Hills. Celebrities, such as Ryan Cabrera, Kathy Hilton, Niecy Nash, and Grant Show, roamed the aisles of this pop-up store that featured luxury brands like EVOLUTIONMAN. Jet Blue sponsored the event, allowing access for to the newest brands that have raised the bar on fashion, technology, leisure, and lifestyle products for the trendy traveler. Participants included The Naked Grape, Kid Dangerous, Vitaforce, ThinkThin, Closets for Causes, and many more.

Several celebrities in attendance met with Marco Berardini and Valerie Patton of EVOLUTIONMAN, including Grant Show, Ryan Cabrera, Estella Warren, Kahu Kahuanui, Garrett Backstrom, Barbara Alyn Woods, Reef Karim, Vincent DePaul, Nester Serrano, Erig La Salle, and Tim Daly. Cedric Martinez was spotted leaving Urban Sanctuary with a bag of EVMAN goodies in tow.

Proceeds from sales benefited the St. Bernard Project, a non-profit organization whose mission is to remove physical, mental, and emotional barriers for people struggling to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. 

With Urban Sanctuary alone, EVOLUTIONMAN was able to raise enough funds to provide a bathtub for a new home that houses a family still displaced by Hurricane Katrina. To learn how you can help rebuild the homes and lives of families in the New Orleans area, please visit www.thestbernardproject.org today.

SHOULD YOU WEAR EYE CREAM?

The eye area can be one of the first parts of the face to show aging. The skin here is the thinnest on the face, and squinting and sun exposure cause premature wrinkling over time. Needless to say, the use of daily SPF and an eye moisturizer is important. The type of moisturizer you use is your preference, but there are a few things to consider.

Start by selecting a lightweight eye moisturizer, like an eye gel. A heavy, rich moisturizer can contain oils to make up for the lack of oil glands around the eye. The heaviness of the oils weighs down your thin eye tissue, weakening the cellular fibers that keeps the area firm and elastic. Additionally, these heavy creams contain mineral oil or petroleum-based products as their main moisturizing ingredient. Mineral oil not only can run into the eyes, causing irritation and puffiness, but it coats your skin like clingy plastic wrap, inhibiting its ability to breathe. Try to seek moisturizers that provide anti-aging benefits, such as those infused with antioxidants and plant extracts. 

Revitalize Eye Gel is the best choice. It's a lightweight eye gel that leaves skin supple while taking care of the three major under eye issues: dark circles, puffiness, and aging. 

Licorice root extract, and linoleic acid diminish puffiness and dark circles, while glycolic acid and salicylic acid gently exfoliate skin to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Sodium hyaluronate, seaweed, and algae extracts balance the skin's moisture content, leaving it supple. Traditional antioxidants like vitamins C and E rejuvenate the skin. 

For a full list of beneficial ingredients and their function, click on the "key ingredients" tab on the Revitalize Eye Gel product page.

How to apply eye gel may be obvious, but following a few tips will help achieve the best results. 

• Always apply eye gel with your ring finger; it's the weakest because it shares a muscle with both the middle finger and pinky, and won't apply too much pressure or tug at the delicate skin. 
• Apply a small portion to your ring finger and, from the outside going in, pat the gel in a dabbing motion around the eye bone (the top part of your cheek bone around the eye). Never rub.
• Avoid putting the eye gel too close to the lash line, or on your upper lid. The lashes pick up tiny amounts of product and it eventually gets into the eyes, causing irritation and puffiness.

EVOLUTIONMAN's Revitalize Eye Gel retails online in the US and Canada at a suggested retail price of $24 for .5oz.

EVOLUTIONMAN HAS YOU COVERED FOR BACK TO SCHOOL

Nobody's perfect, everyone knows that - yet imperfections remain a huge source of embarrassment, even for the manliest man. EVOLUTIONMAN'S Conceal and Conceal & Treat take the shame out of the game with discreetly packaged products. 

Formulated for peak performance, Conceal is a user-friendly tinted cream that blends seamlessly - whether the goal is to erase signs of sun damage, dark circles, blemishes or redness. Simply squeeze a tiny amount on the back of your hand then use your finger tip to dot Conceal on the imperfection. If you want more coverage, you should tap the product on desired area, whereas rubbing will blend a little bit more and give you lighter coverage. If you feel like you've applied too much, don't worry - the super smooth formula will blend away with rubbing.

Similar in function, Conceal & Treat has the added benefit of salicylic acid to treat blemishes and razor burn. This cover-up stick is not the usual suspect, but instead packs a punch - diminishing the appearance of imperfections, while attacking the source of the problem. Directly apply a thin layer to imperfections, then use your finger to either tap or rub for desired effect and coverage.

UP NEXT FOR EVMAN? SEE WHAT DEBUTED AT ELEMENTS SHOWCASE.

EVOLUTIONMAN has once again flexed its product development muscles with the introduction of their revolutionary nail care line for men at Elements Showcase in New York. Elements focuses on exceptional skincare, fragrance, and home ambiance for both emerging and established designers, allowing beauty enthusiasts, buyers, and press to engage in dialogue with the designers themselves. EVMAN unveiled the complete collection at this two-day long show August 15th and 16th.

On the roster? Three bold shades to bring out your inner-rockstar and two protective top coats to round out the line. Whether you're scratching Pavement, a light grey lacquer with a gloss finish, looking to Stand Out with a matte metallic slate, or finding your Alter Ego in matte metallic purple, EVMAN has you covered. If you prefer to be in the nude, EVMAN has developed two protective top coats to suite your needs - Pure Bling for the gent who loves to flash a buff nail, or Pure Matte for the guy seeking protection without the shine.

Also, the nail lacquers don't just look cool, they're made to be cool. All five shades are vegan and cruelty-free - never tested on animals - and formulated without the Big 3: toluene, dibutylphalate (DBP), and formaldehyde. EVOLUTIONMAN's nail collection will be available online and at retailers nationwide in November.

C. CHAUCHAT & THE BLIND BARBER NECKTIE

The New York based based shop, “Blind Barber” in conjunction with men’s accessory brand “C. Chauchat” linked up to create a limited edition necktie for the gentlemen of this generation. The collaboration features a necktie in a gray colorway with a slight hit of texture and color. A perfect accessory for this season, pick yours up at Blind Barber or select stockists.

Soothe The Burn

Summertime means sunshine, vacations, care-free weekends, spending time outdoors with friends - and it means sunburn. People sunburn from either not wearing sunscreen, not applying enough sunscreen, or not reapplying sunscreen on a regular basis. While there's no quick-fix to treating your burn, there are ways to cool the skin and ease the inflammation and discomfort associated with looking like a lobster. 

The obvious? Stay out of the sun and drinks lots of water. Burned skin cannot repair itself if it's still being damaged.
 

Keep skin cool with a cool to lukewarm water bath or cold compresses gently placed on the skin. For a more soothing variation, try adding a few cups of cool (not cold) milk to your compress or bath. The milk proteins create a thin film on the skin to relieve inflammation, the pain-causing component of sunburn.

Moisturize, but be careful as to not over-moisturize your skin. Moisturizers can be thick and heavy, trapping in the heat, worsening the condition. Try a light-weight gel moisturizer. Our VP swears that Korres Yoghurt Cooling Gel once saved her from a summer of pain while in Greece. It provides instant relief with moisturizers and extracts for the skin. For added relief, store this in the refrigerator for extra coolness. If you'd like to go the traditional route of using store-bought aloe, make sure that you're using purchasing pure aloe - many kinds at the store only contain a fraction of the aloe needed to provide any real relief. 

Need something a little more instantly than running to the store for a product? Use Korre's inspiration and apply cold yogurt to the affected areas. A thick, plain yogurt works best. Leave it on for fifteen to twenty minutes before gently rinsing off and reapplying. 

It's tempting to let Aunt Peggy pick at the peeling skin or to pop the blisters, but your safest bet is to be patient and let everything heal on its own. Focus on relieving the heat and redness, and the healing will come naturally. 

The best treatment yet? Prevention. 

Apply sunscreen generously and regularly. A typical adult should use one ounce, or a shot glass full, of sunscreen to protect exposed areas of the body. Adequate application before you go into the sun will give you about two hours of protection before you need to reapply - but more often if you've been swimming, sweating, or toweling off. Also, select a sunscreen that offers UVA protection in addition to UVB - look for zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, or avobenzone. EVMAN's Moisture Protect SPF 20 is a great matte-finish moisturizer that protects you from the sun without looking greasy.

SKIN TIP: WEAR SUNGLASSES TO PREVENT WRINKLES

Wearing sunglasses physically protects the eye area, thus reducing the effects of sun damage on your eyes. But how can eye damage cause wrinkles?

The sun directly damages the eyes through UV exposure. UV rays strike the eye, accelerating the rate of cataract formation and worsening macular degeneration. It's your body's natural defense mechanism to squint the eyes to reduce the impact of UV exposure. In turn, constantly squinting from bright light can cause crows feet and other wrinkling around the eye area. Over time, the lines get deeper and the amounts of fine lines and wrinkles increase. Also, squinting to better focus your eyes can increase eye wrinkles over time - be sure to get your vision checked regularly.

How do you prevent squinting? It's an uncontrollable reflex, so you should wear sunglasses with UV protection and wear a hat. Most importantly, choose lenses with UVA/UVB protection. The FDA recommends selecting sunglasses with 99-100% UVA/UVB protection - the sticker on the lens will tell you what the coverage is. You can also select larger or wrap-around-glasses for more physical protection from the sun's rays on your skin, but this won't help much with squinting your eyes. People with lighter eyes or bigger pupils are more sensitive to light and may be prone to more squinting, so choosing a polarized lens that reduces glare may be a good choice.

Don't forget to couple quality lenses with SPF and a good eye product like Revitalize Eye Gel. With proven ingredients like glycolic acid, algae extract, Antarctic seaweed extract, and Vitamin E, it leaves skin feeling rejuvenated, supple, and young.

LEGIT STREET ART ON ABBOTT KINNEY - FAILE

Photos Courtesy of Brandon Shigeta

NYC-based art duo FAILE had a killer show at Post No Bills on Abott Kinney last week. The classic cartoon style and poppy colors were ever-present in the show and we couldn’t have been happier. We can really relate to FAILE’s pieces. Some speak to our childhoods, others to the men we are today. Can’t help but think of The Gallows song “Orchestra of Wolves” at times looking at some of the exhibited works. The blocked puzzle form of FAILE, as well as the prints, were amazing.

Check out the show for yourself in Venice Beach. The pieces will be on display until July 24th, 2011.

Post No Bills is located at 1103 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice Beach, CA 90291

Gentleman A of The Traveling Gentleman