London Fashion Week Men’s AW18 has been one of the highlights of the past 6 months for me. Unfortunately, I always leave applying for my press pass for the 11^th hour and get stressed on the first day trying to get it printed. But apart from the press pass debacle, I am very pleased with how AW18 turned out. As a stylist and influencer, it was a pleasure to see the likes of Vogue, Esquire, GQ and many more featuring me as one of the best-dressed men of the season. However, the one thing that made all the effort of getting up on a Saturday and Sunday morning to head out in the cold was the chance to hang out and catch up with fellow bloggers. Some of these bloggers live outside London and so the only opportunity to see them is during London Fashion Week Men’s. Between catching up with old friends and making new ones, LFWM is the perfect place and time to spot trends or even be part of trendsetting where street style is concerned.

The main trend I noticed this season is based on grooming. Specifically, hair and facial grooming. As someone who’s personal signature look is around my hairstyle and facial hair, any shift of trend is significant. Even though I do not get influenced by trends, it’s good to know what’s trending.

A big shift that was noticeable this season compared to previous seasons is the heavy beard look. To be honest, the big beard has been in decline for a number of seasons now but the lack of it is very noticeable this season.

The trend every man (who cares about grooming) should be going for is the ‘freshening up look’. The days of the long ‘goatie’ and puffed up sideburns are a thing of the past. No wonder subscription for razor has gone up in the past year or so.

The good news is that men with patchy facial hair but keen to grow a beard to keep up with the trend can relax now. Honestly, there is nothing worse than seeing someone with an uneven beard trying to grow it out. Even hard-core fans of the prominent sideburns like myself are giving this sleek look a go.

As it happens, Cuts for Him has teamed up with Gillette for this transition. I am chuffed to bits about this new look. To get the new look, I used three items which included a Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler, a Fusion ProShield Chill Razor, and a can of Fusion ProGlide Shave Gel.

Below are the steps for creating the look:

• With the No2 comb attached to the styler, I gently combe over my jaw with downward strokes for a closed and even trim. The downward motion is important to go with the grain.
• After doing both sides of my cheeks and jaws, I replaced the No2 with a No3 comb to gently trim my chin hair. I wanted my chin hair to be longer than the stubs on my jaws.
• After leveling my side stubs and chin hair to the perfect height, it’s now time to shape the edges.
• With the use of only the style, I gently follow an imaginary line from my ear region down towards my chin. This has to be a perfect and gentle curve to accentuate my jawline. First at the top, and then at the bottom.
• I then repeated this on the other side of my face making sure the curves are balanced and complement each other.
• I gently apply the shave gel on my cheeks, mustache, and neck areas. This is to prevent any irritation and scratching of the skin surface as the blade glides over it.
• With the use of the ProShield Chill razor, I carefully went over my mustache, and then my cheeks making sure I do not go near the edges I already put in for my sideburns.
• My neck area was much easier to shave as all I had to do was follow the grain.
• I then applied a hot towel on my face, cheeks, and neck areas to open up the pores.
• With a large enough afro comb, I painfully combed out my locks
• Last but not the least, I carefully parted my hair to the left of my head to give it a clean and straight line with the use of the styler

Let me know your thoughts this look in the comment section below.

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This post was sponsored by Gillette

The Gillette ProGlide Styler is available from Amazon and leading retailers nationwide. RRP £20. Get yours here.

 The Gillette Fusion ProShield Chill is available from Boots and leading retailers nationwide. RRP £12. Get yours here