When I’m cleaning my face, I want a system. I don’t want to approach the situation haphazardly, like the parents on MTV’s hit TV show “Teen Mom.”

Let’s be frank — and yes, you “can still be Garth.” Your face skin is essentially your billboard to the world. And what does this billboard promote? The business of You, Incorporated.

If your face looks blotchy, dry, flaky, weird, or any other adjective that would describe a rabid Russian dog, scrounging the public subway system for scraps, you probably don’t want to look like that. You probably don’t want to look like Gorbachev, either.

You, Incorporated is coming off of another great fiscal quarter, but how do you maintain the momentum and feed all the families who depend on your face? By trusting a known commodity when it comes to building the brand of You. If you’re breathing, you’re branding, and if you’re washing your face and the rest of your body, you better be using the new cleansing system that is the 2013 Dove Men + Care line.

In a word, the Dove Men + Care line is stout. Dove has really covered all aspects, from shaving, to cleansing, and everything in between. Check out the list of products I received:

 - Cool Silver Deodorant

- Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

- Aqua Impact Body + Face Bar

- Aqua Impact Body And Face Wash

- Hydrate + Post Shave Balm

- Hydrate + Face Wash

- Sensitive + Shave Gel

- Sensitive + Post Shave Balm

- Sensitive + Face Lotion

My inclination when I started writing this review was to mention my favorite product, and then spend equal time on the one I liked the least. But honestly, I liked them all. Plus, it’s impossible to single them out, because they are all pieces of the same entity.

Sure, you could use the Hydrate + Face Wash on its own and love it, but after you’ve ripped open your face skin, the Sensitive + Face Lotion compliments the wash so well, it would just be a shame to not use both. Sure, the Miami Heat would be a great team with just LeBron James, but when you add Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it makes a great situation fantastic.

Same thing with the Sensitive + Shave Gel. I put it on my skin, and when I shaved, it didn’t feel like a gel, but more like a cream. When I was done, I added the Sensitive + Post Shave Balm. Not only did my skin feel renewed, invigorated and refreshed, but it just looked cool. I felt good and knew I looked good, which is great, because You, Incorporated is always on the lookout for potential investors. Like NBA stud Dwyane Wade:

None of the products made my skin feel or look greasy feel dry or scratchy. Along those same lines, there wasn’t an overuse of perfume or overpowering scent, either. It was complete refreshment, delivered in a simple, straightforward way.

Come to think of it, the entire Dove Men + Care line of products felt exactly how the design of the bottles looked: crisp, clean and smooth. Which is exactly how the business of You, Incorporated should run. If your business needs a little kick in the pants, try the new line of products from Dove Men + Care by following this link.

With each shave, each day, you get an opportunity for reinvention. Looking to rock that soul patch? You have the transformative power and the decision at your fingertips to make it happen. Want to rock that chinstrap beard that was so prevalent in the last decade? Well, do it dude.

What makes this transformation possible to undertake? The will, vision, guts and tools to initiate the new path, the new direction.

Speaking of tools, the new Edge Ultimate 6-in-1 Shave Gel can aid your transformation. Think of it as your Sherpa on a journey to a new you.

How we look determines a lot of the experiences we undertake, and in large part, the level of success we enjoy. Whether you know it or not, Edge is the world’s first ever shave gel and was created around the axiom, “We know guys want to look their best and take care of their skin without spending extra time in front of the mirror.”

So what are the six benefits combined to form this unique shave gel that forms like Voltron when it’s time to get busy? It smooths, protects, moisturizes, cleanses, softens and then leaves the skin smelling great.

Six things at once, which is what the average man is doing at once anyway in his personal life. Edge takes care of the six most important components for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. Edge has got your back so you can reach the Edge of Greatness. Once you’re on the precipice, the outcome is solely up to you and your application of will.

The first thing I noticed (and liked) when I sprayed the gel in my hand was that it didn’t foam up to a ridiculous level, but did somewhat while maintaining its function as a gel simultaneously.

When I applied it to my face, it was entirely soothing and smooth. It didn’t glop on but covered the surface of my face easily. Having the gel on my skin felt good; it made my skin come to life with a feeling similar to an exfoliating agent. So, I let the gel sit on my face for a moment and just relaxed.

The more I worked the gel into my skin, the more it came to a lather. So if you want a very lathery shave, you have that option. Or you can just apply it in its natural form and proceed to shave that way.

When it was time to shave, the gel stayed moist and came off with ease.

The new Edge Ultimate 6-in-1 Shave Gel is as versatile, flexible and well-rounded as you and your ever-changing journey of self-presentation. And at just $2.99 a can, the value far exceeds the retail cost.

So, what new direction will you choose to head today?

For more information, click here.

Dr. Allan Peterkin is a physician, author and professor. He has published 14 books, most recently The Bearded Gentlemen: A Style Guide To Shaving Face, and is currently working with Dove and their new Men+Care Face Range, a full line to help dudes care for their faces.

Recently, I sat very close to Dr. Peterkin as we stroked our beards in a sexually suggestive manner in unison, and asked him the following questions.

BE: “Beardsmith” that you are, what’s the best way to kiss my old lady with passion, yet not drag my stubble or goatee across her skin, to the point where she says it feels “exfoliated” after we’re done?

DR. PETERKIN: Some call that a “snog burn,” snog being the English word for kiss. The best advice I can give you is work on your angle and your approach, and moisturize your face often to keep it as soft as possible!

Your book is called The Bearded Gentleman: A Style Guide to Shaving Face and One Thousand Beards. What is the number one mistake most aspiring “beardsmen” make?

DR. PETERKIN: The number one mistake men make is that they think their grooming work is finished once they’ve grown a beard. Facial hair requires a lot of maintenance; men have to make a commitment to their beards! They need to be trimmed properly and their margins kept clean. Washing and moisturizing also helps to keep the facial hair clean, and to condition it, which is crucial. I like the new Dove Men+Care Face Range, which provides products specifically designed for men and offers a three step solution: cleanse shave, and finish. You can use the Dove Men+Care Face Wash to clean your beard and the Face Lotion to condition or soften it.

BE: What is the professional opinion regarding the soul patch? I’ve been known to sport one, a blonde one. Should blonde dudes just not wear facial hair? Why do blonde mustaches look so weird, a la Larry Bird in the ’80s?

DR. PETERKIN: I often think of the term “flavor saver” in relation to the soul patch. I think the soul patch is a fun form of expression, probably most appropriate for younger guys. Facial hair has become more mainstream and acceptable, but I’m not so sure we’re there yet with the soul patch.

An issue some guys have with their blonde hair is that it doesn’t tend to grow in fully. Blonde facial hair can have uneven or patchy growth. Being a blonde myself, I suggest choosing a style after seeing what grows in most, and where, but don’t be too concerned about the color of your hair. Just play to your strengths!

BE: How can I pick up chicks using just my “beardsmanship”?

DR. PETERKIN: That is a tough one and it’s a matter of taste. Women seem to be split – some really like facial hair, others do not like it at all. Toss a coin, and if you’re going to have facial hair, wear it proudly.

BE: What is your stance on guys who have so much chest hair that it naturally flows into the beard area? Should there be a distinct line of demarcation?

DR. PETERKIN: I think it would look better to have a distinct line of demarcation, somewhere between the chin and the Adam’s apple. Men should shave the neck and lower edge of the beard, and leave their chest natural.

BE: In your opinion, either living or dead, who had the most badass facial hair in history?

DR. PETERKIN: I think I would have to say either Santa or Satan. Kidding. By category, I’d choose Salvador Dali’s mustache and Elvis’ sideburns. My favorite religious beard is Moses. I’d say one of my all-time favorites is romantic Composer Giuseppi Verdi’s beard.

For more information on the new Dove Men+Care Face Range, click here. For more information on Dr. Peterkin’s book, click here.

Imagine how hard it would be to shave with one eye.

I had never thought of this before, until I was at the grocery store this weekend, trying to procure some Spaghetti Os in the pasta aisle.

So there I was, weighing the pros and cons of the Mini Ravioli versus the standard, old school Spaghetti Os. Caloric intake was a dead heat, as was cost.

Then, out of nowhere, I heard a gruff voice say, “Get the ravioli, trust me.” I turned around to see where the voice had come from, and before me stood a short, scruffy old man wearing an eyepatch. It sort of caught me off guard, his voice more than the eyepatch, and all I could think to say was, “Why?”

“Because, spaghetti is really hard to maintain enough to eat when you only have one eye.”

“But I have two eyes, does that really apply?”

“Nobody likes a braggart, son.”

Then I noticed the side of his face that contained the blind eye (i.e. the “blind side” if you will) was almost completely unshaven, while the other side, the seeing eye side, was crisply maintained. Applying this logic, the situation became obvious — he couldn’t shave that side because he lacked the depth perception.

My theory was confirmed a moment later when he picked up a can of Beefaroni and held it up to the sky, attempting to read the nutritional value (isn’t that an oxymoron?) but couldn’t, because he was evidently farsighted as well, in his single, gleaming, pearl of an eye.

I tried not to stare, but the eyepatch was so badass that I couldn’t help myself. It reminded me of that “Seinfeld” episode where Kramer wore an eyepatch for purely aesthetic purposes.

“A little help here son, how many calories from fat are in this?”

“220, matey. Uh, I mean sir.”

He put the Beefaroni in his hand cart and suddenly said, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to shave with one eye?” Which was weird because we were still in the Beefaroni aisle.

“No, I don’t. I assume it would be difficult. How do you do it?”

“Slowly, to be sure,” he said. “But I also use this badass shit that you should try out. I helped you out with the Mini Ravioli, let me help you with this.”

I didn’t have anywhere to be, so I followed him to another aisle. Plus, it felt cool to be associated with a guy wearing an eyepatch in public.

We got to the aisle that contained men’s shaving products. He quickly grabbed and then proffered a tube of shaving cream towards me.

“It’s shaving cream, boy-o. When ye balls drop, you’ll need it. Ha ha ha, just kidding.”

I looked down and it was a tube of Edge Body Renew Face & Body Cream.

“It’s also non-foaming, which is important for me so I can see where I’m shaving. Wouldn’t want to nip my nose and have a prosthetic one of those as well!

“What’s so great about this particular shaving cream?” I asked.

“Well, it offers advanced skin protection and hydration for a close, comfortable shave. This non-foaming, moisture-enriched formula with antioxidants and vitamins, helps renew skin’s natural moisture and keep skin feeling smooth and comfortable long after the shave. And, it’s less than $5, which is essentially two cans of Beefaroni.”

It had never occurred to me to use Beefaroni as the new standard in currency. But once it did, I loved it.

“How many cans of Beefaroni is this worth?” I asked, as I collected a nearby can of Edge Clean & Refreshing Shave Gel.

“About three,” he said.

“How about this four-pound brisket?”

“About 11.”

“And this bottle of Canadian Club whiskey?”

“Eight, and worth every damn noodle, to be sure.”

My mind was blown. I thanked the man for his time, insight and general wherewithal, collected a tube of Edge Body Renew Face & Body Shave Cream and proceeded to check out.

As I sit here, my skin feels awesome, thanks to the clean shave and smooth moves of the Edge Body Renew Face & Body Shave Cream. I wouldn’t lie to you.

For more information, click here.

Going retro is cool and the straight razor is no different. Thanks to the most recent movie installment in the James Bond series, “Skyfall,” straight razors are popular again.

Online UK retailer The Shaving Shack saw a 123% increase in web traffic since the film was released in the UK. Traffic from Internet searches for “cut throat razor” and “straight razor” soared by a staggering 735% over the five days after the film was released.

What I really liked about this razor was the weight. Having never used a straight razor/shavette (the difference being with a shavette you can replace the blades), I had always seen them as being rather bulky and hard to control.

The other important factor was the way the weight was balanced from one end of the razor to the other. Initially, I had my reservations about the plastic handle, thinking it would affect the quality of my shave somehow, but it didn’t. The head of the blade was solid and just heavy enough to not have to apply too much pressure to my face when dragging the razor across my skin. It also wasn’t so large that it was hard to control, coming in at 24 cm fully open.

There really is no better feeling than a shave from a straight razor. When I was younger, my favorite part of getting a haircut was the straight razor across the bottom of my neck to eliminate any neck hairs, but the state where I live made them illegal due to health concerns. I would seriously sign a waiver to get that feeling after a cut these days. But what’s even better than that is buying my own and doing it myself.

That was another issue I faced: price. My assumption was that any straight razor would have to be expensive to be effective as most luxury razors retail for anything from $60 to $300. But at just $9.99, the Bluebeards Revenge Cutthroat Shavette/Straight Razor disproved my assumption. You could spend more, but why? You certainly don’t need to.

Another thing worth noting is that switching the blades was a snap… literally. It was easy to open the head of the razor and insert a new one. There really is no reason to not add a straight razor to your shaving repertoire.

The Cutthroat Shavette from Bluebeards Revenge is available here and is a steal at just $9.99.

There is nothing more polarizing on earth than a Fedora hat. You could wear a sign that proclaimed your stance on the death penalty, abortion and the afterlife all at once and you still wouldn’t be judged as harshly.

For every piece of positive feedback I received, I garnered five negative comments. It reminded me of the usual treatment I receive at the hands of my fully developed, blonde soul patch that I rock unabashedly in general, but in this particular instance, concurrently with the Fedora hat — double trouble, baby.

Why does the Fedora generate such angst? Because it’s an affront to weak dudes. And weak dudes are currently perpetuating their gutless shtick at record levels, passing themselves off as “real dudes” to chicks who are desperate for the genuine article but are forced to settle for a POS facsimile; like buying movies from the bootleg DVD guy in your neighborhood rather than spending a little more time and money to purchase the real deal. Do perceived needs motivate your actions? You’re already missing the point.

But what’s cool about the Fedora from D&Y is how it makes you feel. And how you feel on the inside has a large hand in generating the situations you attract on the outside.

To game test my Fedora, I took it with me while I covered this BMX session in Orlando, Florida. If any place on earth was going to be appreciative of the Fedora, the last bastion had to be by the pool at the Universal Studios hotel in Orlando. And it was, by two smoking hot babes who happened to be lounging nearby.

Both ladies were quick to complement not only the hat, but the man wearing it. They said the hat “spoke to them,” and that any guy who had the balls to wear it, and effectively pull it off, was a guy they wanted to be around. A guy they wouldn’t regret sleeping with. In short, a fucking man.

So what if a couple farmers from Dubuque, IA didn’t think much of my Fedora; I thought their Dekalb logo-emblazoned t-shirts were as preposterous as the way they interspersed the word “ain’t” throughout their cheap, low-level casual conversation.

If you want to look like a garden variety dumbass with nothing to offer the world, particularly the fairer sex, the new line of hats from D&Y isn’t for you. But if you’re a man who looks good,\ because he takes the time to look good, cares about his appearance, and has the intellectual wit to match the exterior, a hat from D&Y is the perfect accessory for a well-maintained, coordinated wardrobe.

You may have to wade through some negativity, but it’s only because you look good and that makes weak dudes nervous. And they should be.

Check out the full line of D&Y Spring/Summer 2013 hats for men here.

If Michael Jackson were to write a song about this razor, it would be called “Bad.” If this razor were a woman, it would be Roseanne Barr. If this razor were a space shuttle, it would be the Challenger. If this razor were a car, it would be a Ford Festiva. If this razor were a Band-Aid, it would be the kind that doesn’t have enough adhesive to stick.

The Xtreme3 is loaded with three blades as the name would suggest. It’s called the Fitstyle Refresh because it has a strip below the razor with both a mysterious “pre-shave oil” and Vitamin E, meant to coat your skin as you glide along the rest of your face. Though marketed as having a “new refreshing scented handle for an invigorating shave,” I didn’t find that to be the case.

While I was shaving with it, I didn’t notice any additional scent, so I placed it directly under my nose to take a whiff and still couldn’t detect a scent other than a plastic handle. I smelled all four razors in the package and none of them smelled like anything.

According to the packaging the razor came in, the Fitstyle Refresh is the “#1 flexible blade disposable razor.” But I wouldn’t agree it all; I don’t even think it’s the #1 disposable razor in its own family, sort of like Emilio Estevez. There is no way it is better than the Schick Xtreme3 (Martin Sheen) or the Schick Hydro 5 Power Select (Charlie Sheen).

Compared to several of Schick’s other offerings, I wasn’t very impressed with the Xtreme3 Fitstyle Refresh. I found it to be incredibly stiff, like Newt Gingrich at a Wham reunion concert, because it didn’t move with the contours of my face at all. I know it’s a disposable razor, but there was no weight to it whatsoever, which I think was a problem in terms of effectiveness.

Several times during the shave, I had to re-shave an area more than once, particularly the area where my mustache would be if I could grow one. Which is pretty bad, because if you can grow a mustache, plan on shaving that area about five times. And getting way more chicks than me; congrats. Somehow, it took more skin off of my face than hair.

I was extremely disappointed with the lack of effectiveness exhibited by the Fitstyle Refresh. Ff you want a good disposable razor from Schick, check out the Schick Xtreme3 or the Schick Hydro 5 Power Select instead.

The Super Bowl commercial blitz is officially underway with the unveiling of a 60-second online teaser video from Taco Bell, found above. This minute-long production is a preview of the company’s new Super Bowl commercial, a LIVE MÁS® brand commercial called “Viva Young,” set to debut during the third quarter of the game February 3 on CBS. The full commercial, which will show that anyone at any age can “live más,” will be set to the music of Taco Bell Feed the Beat® artist and six-time GRAMMY® Award nominee fun.’s “We Are Young,” which will be sung in Spanish.

Check out the teaser above and be sure to keep your eyes open during the third quarter of the big game next week!

As with most SLAPPA bags, you may have a hard time filling all the available space in this backpack, with pockets seemingly on top of pockets inside of just about every nook and cranny of the bag. Inside, the padded divider insert allows for storage of a full collection of lenses and bodies for any pro or amateur photographer, and you can configure that section of the bag to fit your needs. The face of the bag features a pocket designed to give you instant access to your DSLR camera body and up to a 10” lens, and other flaps on the front are perfect for memory cards, spare batteries and other supplies. To top it off, there’s a dedicated pocket in the back of the bag for your 17” laptop and all the cords and chargers you need.

The only downside with this bag is the size which, when fully loaded, makes it more of a travel bag than something you’d carry with you on-site during a shoot, and the divider section is tough to access without completely unzipping the face of the bag. We’d also like to see a locking mechanism for the zippers so you can secure your equipment, but you won’t find many camera backpacks that can match the M.A.S.K.’s versatility and sheer capacity. If you need to get all of your photography gear from Point A to Point B, this is the bag for you. Stylish and comfortable, SLAPPA delivers yet again with this roomy and reliable DSLR/laptop backpack.

Need a new way to ingest caffeine that is equal parts effective and fun to watch girls ingest? Check out the AeroShot Energy Shot.

Each AeroShot contains 100 milligrams of caffeine which is about the same amount as a large cup of coffee and has zero calories. It also contains B4 and B12. But let’s face it: Caffeine is king and is the stimulant that will get you where you want to go. 250 MG is what the FDA recommends as the most you should ingest in one day.

The AeroShot itself looks like a shotgun shell and each one comes individually wrapped in plastic and cellophane. To administer a shot of energy, you put the tip in your mouth (stop snickering), pull down on the cartridge while it’s in your mouth (grow up, dude), and inhale it like you’re clearing a “tobacco pipe,” complete with trying to not cough and waste your “hit” because it hits the back of your throat and makes you want to cough. From there, you feel the little crystals of caffeine enter your mouth complemented with a hint of flavor, depending on which flavor of AeroShot you have selected to shove into your pie-hole.

It was very reminiscent of taking a hit off of a steam roller; you inhale the hit into your lungs, then also get a bit of a head rush due to taking such a mean inhalation. But what was cool about the energy shot was that after I took a rip and started breathing again, I got another even more pleasurable head buzz. I was briefly lightheaded, but not in a dizzy disoriented way — I was much more clearheaded than I’d been in months, maybe even years; I can’t remember. If only I would’ve had this stuff years ago prior to making other important decisions, i.e. getting married at a young age.

My awareness received a quick spike within a minute at the very longest, and I felt wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. For some reason, I felt like I could breathe better as well. Based on the directions, you’re only supposed to take one AeroShot at a time and at most three in one entire day. So, since I had several packets of varying flavors and I’m drug free these days, I thought I’d take three at once, in succession.

The first flavor I tried was lime. All in all, the flavor itself was probably my least favorite and tasted like what I would assume bath salts taste like. But it worked, and that’s the point. I moved onto raspberry, which actually kind of tasted like strawberry as well; it was definitely better than lime. Green apple was my final flavor and was somewhere between lime and raspberry in terms of taste.

Each cartridge contains roughly six “puffs” of the caffeine/B12 mixture. The cartridges can be resealed again as well, so you don’t have to take down all the contents at once. You can gradually inhale them throughout the day when needed.

AeroShots definitely worked, so if you are sick of drinking coffee or five hour energy, give them a try. Each AeroShot retails for $2.99 and can be ordered here.