Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and the search for the perfect gift is looming over everyone’s head like a thundercloud. Should one take the safe but mundane route of treating the significant other to a candlelit dinner or wow them with an exorbitantly priced material gift? They say the festival was created as a marketing ploy, designed to bump sales. Conspiracy theory aside, if one really wants to break the mould, he can put his money on the naturally aphrodisiac nature of a well-groomed lover to tip the balance in his favour.
For starters, one can return to primordial roots and get the relationship into the swing of things by relying on the sense of smell. Bottled within certain fragrances are scents that can heighten one’s libido, turning them into vials of hot, passionate love to be used at one’s discretion. Although typically unethical, feel free to rely on chemical warfare by tapping into olfactory notes that arouse and tantalise, which include (but are not limited to) lavender, vanilla, sandalwood, citrus, and unsurprisingly, musk.
Other than smelling good, fronting a clean and clear face speaks on many different levels as well. Externally, it ensures that one feels confident in his own blemish-expunged skin. Looking past shallow face value, one’s thorough grooming habits are a testament to his attention to detail and sense of responsibility – tell-tale traits of a man who is also more than capable of providing comfort and care for his significant other. As such, the mantra of the daily three-step skincare routine of cleanse, tone and moisturise is not to be taken lightly.
While some men are blessed with naturally good skin, others need to put in a little more work. Face masks applied weekly can target hard-to-reach areas through specific nourishing properties and nip skin problems in the bud. Being the final frontier of skincare endeavours, the hypodermis is the innermost layer of the skin and is often associated with oiliness and dismal skin. This is where face masks come in, keeping oil levels in check and tightening pores to promote growth of immaculate skin that emanates a glowing sheen.
More than just being skin deep, applying a face mask can also be a great bonding activity. Men can apply a mask that they nicked from the dresser of his pleasantly surprised partner and seize this opportune moment to take a 20-minute refuge, together. In fact, why stop there? Make it a point to coast through entire grooming routines in beloved company every week and witness the humdrum of grooming fade away to become a therapeutic couple time to look forward to.
In a cliché twist of events, all signs that point to the ideal Valentine’s Day gift seem to converge on the gifter himself. However, Men’s Folio is not giving men the green light to ditch all romantic gestures and turning up empty-handed with only a hastily groomed face served on a silver platter. It is a mere suggestion to relook at gifts; instead of splurging on exorbitant one-off presents as a result of trigger-happy shopping, put in the effort to present oneself for the long run. The man will thank himself in time to come because it will show his discipline and self-regard that no amount of reckless spending can illustrate.
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