Fresh off the back of the 2016 Christmas Take Me Out and just a few days after Valentines Day, Take Me Out is back on the telly for another celebrity special. The Christmas Special featured Thom Evans, Roman Kemp and Ritchie Neville, with this show featuring Arg from TOWIE, DJ Melvin Odoom and Olympic medallist Nile Wilson. Paddy will be joined once again be the flirty thirty, with girls from the past shows. I’m looking forward to see who’s making a return.
Set a reminder that Take Me Out is on this Sunday 19th February at 7PM, rather than the usual Saturday night.
I have so many Newcastle bar reviews, I thought it was about time I finally wrote my review of Livello. It’s now been in the town for a number of years, and is located on the way down to the quayside in Newcastle.
It’s a one which a lot of people talk about, both from Newcastle and far and wide, and is part of the same culture as the bars on The Diamond Strip, although not actually on Collingwood Street.
A fragrance which I have had for a couple of years is Dior Homme Intense. It was released back in 2007, and I’ve had it in my collection for around 5 years.
As the name suggests, it’s a masculine style of scent, and I think it’s quite a nice, underrated one for men. It’s an EDP, Eau De Parfum, so has a higher concentration of scent than your usual EDT would have.
First off let’s talk about the bottle. It’s a real clean and simple bottle, which keeps the style to a minimum, but does feel quite elegant with the bottle being more of a cube type of shape, chunky glass, and the fragrance sitting in the middle of it.
The top is a heavy black plastic, with the atomiser also being black plastic, and has quite a wide spray, so only a few sprays are required for good coverage.
As for the smell, it’s perfect for an evening, especially in the Autumn or Winter, as it’s quite a warm manly smell.
You get a real sense of the woody nature, as you can tell from looking at the colour, however it’s not overpowering, and the vanilla calms it down, with the lavender also toning it down with some powdery tones.
It’s a good choice if you’re looking for something masculine and woody, but something which is not too musky. If this is not for you try checking out more of my aftershave reviews and see if there’s one you can find.
A scent which has been talked about a lot in 2016 is the latest from Zadig & Voltaire, called This Is Him! I had to grab a bottle to add to my collection, but what’s this one all about?
The packaging and bottle is all about monochrome, it’s black and white. From the box to the bottle, it carries the same style over, a sleek all black style with clean white text. The bottle is a translucent black colour and is an irregular cuboid shape, with a straight edge on one side and a cracked jagged edge on the other.
The atomiser spray is wide for good coverage, and the design of the bottle is finished with the top sporting the Z&V logo to the top.
What Does This Is Him! By Zadig et Voltaire Smell Like?
The scent itself is quite a dark and mysterious one. It’s fairly smoky and warm, slightly woody and inviting, definitely one for the evening. After a while you get a sense of the sweet type of notes coming through, vanilla, and pleasant.
This fragrance is best suited for the Autumn and Winter, the warm and dark notes will work well for this time for year on a night, it’s fairly seductive so would make a good scent to wear on a night out; Probably not a one for work, Uni or College.
Best season to wear – Autumn/Winter Scent type – Aromatic, Smoky, Sweet, Slightly Woody Age Recommendation – 21+ Best Worn – Evening, Casual
Top Notes – Grapefruit, Black Pepper
Middle Notes – Vanilla, Incense
Base Notes – Sandalwood
What do you think of this scent? Check out more of my fragrance tips over on the directory.
I have never been the biggest fan of jewellery on guys, and I’ve never really owned very much in terms of jewellery either. I did used to wear a gold chain back in the day, but that was always hidden away underneath clothing, and I’ve never been a fan of rings or earrings either. However something which I have been interested in getting for a long time is a cuff, which I think look quite stylish, but only the right one.
I think men get a pretty raw deal in the jewellery department; Maybe that’s because most guys are like me and don’t really buy or want to own jewellery, so not much is made or sold. Then when you find some, it’s all really horrible. It’s patterns of this and that, things like tribal patterns, links, ugly rope, beads…Nothing really classic, classy, simple and elegant. What I wanted was a plain and simple cuff; A cuff, bracelet or bangle actually, but after thinking about it, I opted for a cuff, I think they’re more fashionable and generally stylish for men. It was actually really difficult to find one, I narrowed it down to three different brands, two made from steel, and one of silver.
I got a Thomas Sabo Sterling Silver cuff and then decided it wasn’t for me. I was incredibly underwhelmed when it came, I know it’s supposed to be just a simple cuff and that’s exactly what it was, but it was £125 and just did not seem worth the money. Then there’s the fact I really think I will lose it which doesn’t fill me with confidence of spending too much money either. It was also too small for me, I did not like the fit, so decided for all these reasons I was better off sending it back.
I ended up having another look around, and eventually found something which I like, and here it is. Just a plain and simple cuff, however this one is made of brass and was far cheaper, in fact only £10!. I really like this, and to be honest, in terms of looks, there’s no difference, obviously the biggest difference is the material; Sterling Silver vs brass. The fit is better, it’s on the larger size, and I should try to resize it for a better fit so it’s more difficult to fall off.
If you are looking to get yourself a cuff or bangle and you’re like me and have not tried one, I would advise going and seeing them in person if you can, and trying one on, or you may be having to send it back or not liking it first time round.
What do you think of the cuff for guys? Let me know 🙂
Actually, I have had it for a couple of weeks and have been playing around with it; It’s the Canon 80D!
I bought my first and only DSLR back in 2012 and it was the Canon 600D. It’s been a good camera to me, and I’ve taken it so many places and made some great memories with it. I decided that I’d upgrade to something a little better, and after waiting for a long time, after lots of reading and making up my mind, I went for a Canon 80D.
Coat – ASOS | Jeans – Armani Black | Cashmere Black Knit | Kurt Geiger Brogues | Barbour Scarf
You should know about one of the biggest trends of the Winter if you’ve been reading my blog, it is of course the Camel Overcoat Trend, and I decided it’s one which I cannot let pass by, so I got myself a coat!
It’s actually a long story, I had my eye on a Jaeger coat for a while, it was finally in the sale just before Christmas, I ordered it and was excited for it to come…Then on the delivery day Jaeger decided to email me and let me know that actually they had no stock and could not deliver it. I was disappointed, and then it got worse; They mysteriously go the jacket back in stock in my size, however it was now at full price! Hmmm…
Anyway my search went on, and although these camel overcoats look quite similar, there are a few small differences in them, and as you’ll know it’s all in the details. First of all I wanted a placket which had the buttons on show, the Jaeger one actually had a hidden placket but I was going to go ahead with that one as it was good in other ways. Secondly I wanted it to be camel colour (obviously!) and also have pockets which were vertical and not slanted; I prefer these on trousers too so that nothing falls out. I wanted a bit of a lapel collar, and a chest pocket would be great too. I wanted mostly wool composition, which usually signifies better quality, single breasted and a vented back. I finally found one which I loved at ASOS, and so I got it!
I think the fit is good which is always important, and it’s definitely something which I’ll be wearing throughout the Winter as a Winter coat when I need a more smart option as opposed to my Canada Goose.
I styled the coat with an all black outfit which included a black cashmere knit and black Armani jeans, along with a pair of brown Kurt Geiger brogues and my scarf is Made In Scotland from Barbour.
When I was in Iceland I only actually had 1 vodka, it was pretty expensive, especially when you’re mixing it with Redbull, it’s expensive here in Newcastle in bars, so you can imagine the prices in Reykjavik. I’ve seen it in the shops for a long time, and always not bothered getting it, but as it was Christmas I decided that I’d go ahead and get a bottle.
It’s not the cheapest vodka, with the bigger, more well known brands like Smirnoff and Absolut much more affordable, but I do like vodkas and have owned so many over the years, from Beluga to F:Fashion Vodka, Roberto Cavalli, Danzka, Wyborowa Exquisite and the others. In the vodka price range it sits around the premium price level, similar to Grey Goose, Ciroc and Belvedere, and cost me around £26.
They say it’s a small batch vodka hand crafted in Iceland, made from Arctic spring water with lava rock filtration. Iceland certainly has the natural resources available like no other, so how does it translate into a vodka?
It’s a really nice premium vodka, smooth and goes down well. It is very clean and crisp, which is something you’d expect when you talk about Iceland and their water. You can tell the difference from this premium vodka to a cheaper alternative, and know where the extra money goes. Where cheap vodka is sharp and uncomfortable to drink, Reyka is strong without being overbearing and easy to drink.
If you are looking for a premium vodka and want to try something a little different to the more commercialised options, I can recommend Rekya vodka.
One of the most acclaimed fragrances of 2016 is the first to be reviewed on Michael 84 in 2017. For Christmas I got the latest scent from the house of Burberry, simply called MR. Burberry, and it’s a good one.
Let’s start as always with the bottle, and it’s a plain and simple rectangular shaped bottle, made with clear glass, a plastic top and with the added touch of decoration in the way of a fabric fashioned bow. There’s the branding to the front of the bottle, the logo which consists of the wording in both a script and plain style.
The smell is a very pleasant one, and one which I like. I think it’s more of a fresh and citrus type of scent, with the grapefruit really coming through. It does have woody accords, however they’re not overpowering and it’s not musky, nor it is necessarily an evening-only dark fragrance.
This makes it quite an all round scent, something which can be worn during the day as well as a night, in both formal and casual settings. It’s subtle and soft, and definitely not sharp however I’d still say this is a masculine fragrance, a modern one rather than the old school musky type.
I don’t recall having a scent like this one, I don’t really think it smells like anything else, which is a good quality to have. It does not blow me away like my loved scents, however it’s a really nice and attractive inoffensive smell.
Best Season To Wear – All Rounder
Scent Type – Fresh, Citrus, Woody
Age Recommendation – 18+
Best Worn – Evening, Day, Casual, Formal
Top Notes – Grapefruit, Tarragon, Cardamom
Middle Notes – Birch leaf, Nutmeg, Cedarwood
Base Notes – Sandalwood, Vetiver, Guaiac wood
Let me know what you think of MR Burberry! If it’s not for you have a browse through the other men’s aftershave reviews and find another fragrance.
For so long now I have needed to buy a new duvet for my bed, and I wanted to buy a good one. For the past year or two I have talked myself out of getting a new one, my (now old) feather and down duvet was still pretty OK, but had lost it’s “fluffiness” and was quite flat. I had to decide not only which duvet I wanted to get, but also what tog rating I wanted. The TOG rating is pretty simple to understand, the bigger the number the more warm it’s supposed to be; So 4.5 for the summer, and 13+ for the Winter. The fill is also important, there’s natural fill like feathers and down, and synthetic too.
I wanted to get a natural filling one again, so that took one of the options out of the equation. But then it goes further; There’s different qualities of natural fillings too. These are such things like standard goose feather & down, Hungarian, Canadian, Siberian…All different qualities and all at different price points of course. Since this is somewhat of an investment (I don’t buy quits everyday!), I decided to go for something a bit expensive, and got myself a Hungarian Goose Down Duvet.
I could not remember what the tog rating was on my original duvet, I think 13.5, and I was torn between a 10.5 and 13.5 version, than I found a 4.5+9 tog duvet, which is actually two duvets you can clip together to make one. The good points is that it is supposed to keep you warm in the Winter, then in the summer you can put the heavier one away and use the lighter one; It’s like 3 in 1! But you do pay more money for this pleasure, this cost £190 which is pretty expensive, a similar standard goose feather & down only costs £68 for the same 4.5+9 tog set.
I have to say though…This duvet is so warm! It’s been really cold in the past couple of nights, and it’s kept me really toasty. It’s pretty lightweight, but the quality of the fill means it keeps you warm while being light.
The two quilts are easy to put together, and are fixed using 12 clips. Once the duvet is in a cover, it does not move around at all, which is something I was worried would happen.
Overall I am happy with this, and look forward to the hot summer and using the thinner one when we get our amazing hot Summer of course 😉
The two duvets clip together at the corners and all around the edges of the duvet like this.
Welcome to Michael 84 – A men’s fashion blog and lifestyle guide from the UK. You’ll find the best in fashion, style, male grooming, fragrances, travel, tech and modern living.
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