Whether you’re getting ready for work or winding down before bed, any time you spend solo in the bathroom is a chance to relax, expand your mind and work on becoming the best version of yourself. Start and end your day right by checking out our monthly recommendations for bettering your bathroom experience below...
The soundtrack: Jazzed
When it comes to bathroom music streaming, Spotify is all well and good for Top 40, but it often woefully under serves other genres. That’s where Jazzed.com comes in. As you might guess from the name, this streaming platform (set up by the former CEO of Jazz FM) specializes in jazz, pulling together curated playlists that help you explore the genre from all angles. From cool new names on the London scene to old masters and remixed classics, you can get a taste of the service with a free membership which includes access to 10 ever-changing ‘starter’ playlists - then move onto the next level with Jazz+, which allows you to stream over 50 playlists with no ads for £5.99 a month. Smooth. Download the ‘Jazzed’ IOS app or visit jazzed.com
The product: Peppermint Gel Face Mask by The Other Saint
It’s that time of year where you start noticing your alarm is now waking you up when it’s still dark out. If you’re finding it that bit tougher to get your day started, try applying our Cooling Gel Face Mask while you’re brushing your teeth in the morning. Packed with pineapple and green tea extracts (known for their antioxidant properties), as well as hibiscus (which helps to break down dead skin) and Mango (a natural exfoliator) to brighten up your skin, it’s also infused with a zingy, cooling peppermint extract that’ll help invigorate you first thing.
The podcast: “Football Cliches” by The Athletic
While there are plenty of podcasts that cover breaking football news, Football Cliches explores the beautiful game through the language it uses - and especially the sort of phrases, jargon and maxims that have become commonplace at press conferences and after-match interviews. Produced by the journalist behind sports bible The Athletic (originally American, but has just launched a superb British off-shoot poaching some of the most talented sports writers from across the country), this podcast takes a deep dive into how football culture has come to be through the stereotypes we have about the game today. The heated debate about “soccer” versus “football” between American and British journos is a particular eye-opener (“ear-opener”?).
The tech: Braun Series 7 70-N7200cc Wet & Dry Shaver
If you haven’t been playing around with your facial hair over the past few months, why the hell not? With more of us working from home than ever before (and a camera-off function on Zoom), there’s no reason not to try out that Selleck-level moustache because if you don’t love it, well… who’s gonna know? And, in our opinion, there’s no better tool for the job right now than the Braun Series 7 Wet & Dry Shaver, which not only has a 360 degree flex head that adapts to the contours of your face but also sensors that adjust to your beard density, giving you a superbly comfortable shave, as well as attachments for precision trimming and stubble management. If this has got you itching for an upgrade, good news: there are some seriously impressive offers out there for this piece of kit at the moment. Regularly priced at £329.98, UK Amazon is currently selling this system for £164.99 - which is a deal so good, you can bet it won’t be around for long. amazon.co.uk
The book: Trivial Pursuits by Raven Smith
Raven Smith has been penning properly laugh-out-loud, spit-your-coffee-across-the-room stuff for a whole host of magazines for some years now - and, earlier this year, he worked the same magic with his first book. Trivial Pursuits (now a Sunday Times best-seller) is packed with chapter-after-chapter of his brilliant, hilarious observations which take a look at modern life through irreverent shades, tinted with selfies, social media and plenty of thoughts on what it means to be a man circa now. £10.99, available at amazon.co.uk
The kit: Marks & Spencer mule slippers
Well, we’ve definitely tipped over into the months where it feels distinctly cold underfoot first thing in the morning - and if you don’t want to slip ‘n’ slide over wood floors and tiles, a pair of slippers is the only way to go. This season, M&S has put some serious legwork into developing a series of slippers that look almost too good to be confined to the indoors - especially these sleek, shearling-lined mules. Your grandpa’s slippers, these are not.
£19.50, marksandspencer.com
The essential: Oud Wood candle by Tom Ford
I once had a friend that said this candle “smelled like sex”. They weren’t wrong. £66, mrporter.com
