The 2026 Men’s Health Grooming Awards
TRY AS WE MIGHT, it’s impossible to reverse ageing. And that’s despite all our best efforts. Regular exercise, a balanced diet and the occasional cosmetic sorcery can only go so far. What we can do is future-proof ourselves. That’s why men are spending more money investing in products that will preserve our faces and bodies for the long run.
Men, now more than ever, care about how they look – and it’s not just a matter of looking good for your age. A generation ago, a man might’ve been ridiculed for having a grooming cabinet filled with anything more than a disposable razor and a 3-in-1 body wash, shampoo and conditioner. Now, the toughest, most masculine guy you know probably owns a luxury electric shaver, an expensive beard oil, or even an LED face mask.
We’re here for it – but we want to make sure you’re finding the stuff that actually works. That’s why our team of grooming editors have spent months testing gels, creams, oils, shavers, masks, scents and soaps that don’t over-promise and actually deliver on helping you look and feel great.
After months of testing hundreds of products, these are the ones that impressed us the most.
BY CAYLE REID
There’s no such thing as a bad shave when the market’s this stacked. Gone are the days when shaving meant a $2 disposable and whatever foam was closest to the sink. Now it’s flexing heads, AI-adjusted pressure sensors and safety razors that look like they belong in a Bond film.
Which raises the question: does your face actually need any of this? Short answer: no. Long answer: once you’ve felt the difference a proper pre-shave oil or a $999 electric shaver makes, there’s no going back. Here are the products that earned a permanent spot in our cabinet.
Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra
If you’re not sold on going electric, listen to these tech specs and don't look back: a 360-degree flexing head, 8 million cutting motions a minute, a -0.08mm shave and an AI system that reads your pressure and technique to adjust power in real time. The Philips i9000 Prestige Ultra is comfortable, fast, easy to use and the best electric shaver we've ever tested.
Aesop Shine Hair & Beard Oil
Many beard oils leave your facial hair, well, oily. It may be in the name, but we want our beards feeling hydrated, not oily. This one from Aesop achieves that by using a silicone-free formula that nourishes and softens hair with essential fatty acids, imparting smoothness without build-up or oily residue.
Gillette Fusion 5 Manual Men's Razor
Don't disregard the humble disposable razor. It's a staple in every man's grooming cabinet, but reaching for the cheapest one on the supermarket shelf is a mistake. The Gillette Fusion5 men's razor features 5 antifriction blades for a close and long lasting shave, with a precision trimmer on the back for hard-to-reach places.
L'Occitane Cade Shaving Cream
Enriched with cade wood essential oil and shea butter, this light mousse shaving cream is great for sensitive skin but appeals to everyone. It transforms into a rich, creamy foam once applied to provide that much needed lubrication and cushioning for a close, smooth shave.
Manscaped The Plow 2.0
Manscaped has the design of this safety razor down pat, with the brass and zinc alloy handle and head giving it a clean, modern look. It uses a double-edged single blade that sits on an angle to optimise the shave and reduce the risk of ingrown hairs.
Murdock Barbers of London Daily Shave Gel
Murdock’s Daily Shave Gel is formulated for easy glide and a clean shave – and it's an intriguing translucent blue colour. Created by barbers, the gel boasts a fresh texture with energising copper, decongesting salicylic acid and the relaxing scent of patchouli and cedarwood.
American Crew Ultra Gliding Shave Oil
Formulated with a unique blend of botanical ingredients and essential oils, this shaving oil from American Crew does what you want it to: prepares your skin for shaving without leaving oily residue.
Philips Body Groomer 7000 Series
The unique dual head system on this body groomer from Philips allows you to effortlessly switch between shaving and trimming, without compromising on skin comfort. With 2D flexing head technology, the shaver adapts to your body's curves for comprehensive reach and coverage.
Manscaped Weed Whacker 3.0 Pro
Waterproof and rechargeable (via USB-C) with up to 60 minutes of battery life, this nose, ear, and eyebrow trimmer uses SkinSafe blades designed to help reduce nicks and irritation while cleaning up unwanted stray hairs.
Proraso Bristle Hair Chrome Shaving Brush
A natural boar bristle brush with a chrome-plated handle – need we say more? Italian-made, it's suitable for oils, creams and gels and builds a thick, pliable lather while providing a massaging sensation.
BY BENJAMEN JUDD
It can be intimidating to be confronted with a wall of products all promising to fix your skin, undo sun damage, and reverse a decade of neglect in one tube. Some of it works, yes. But a smaller amount of it is worth the price tag.
So that you don’t need to know the difference between niacinamide and salicylic acid, we’ve done the boring part for you. We’ve spent months testing cleansers, serums, moisturisers and eye creams so you don’t have to guess which expensive bottle is more than just a nice label. These are the products that impressed us the most.
Ultraceuticals Ultra Balancing Gel cleanser
Australian brand UltraCeuticals packs one of the best skincare lineups available. Their cleanser has a satisfying light foam to easily clean without stripping your skin of the oils it needs to stay and look healthy. Key ingredients like oat kernel extracts, cucumber and aloe vera also soothe the skin. Perfect for post workouts, too.
La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo Cleanser
Less than 10 ingredients, zero fragrance – if you suffer from sensitive skin or redness, this will cleanse and help calm in one go. Even if you don’t have sensitive skin, this is one of the best face washes money can buy.
CeraVe Salicylic Acid Smoothing Cleanser
CeraVe is arguably the best bang-for-your-buck product line on the market. Their SA Smoothing cleanser uses salicylic acid to gently exfoliate excess oils from pores while ingredients like niacinamide, ceramides and hyaluronic acids hydrate and soothe. It also foams enough to use as a body wash, if you’re a fan of a two-for product.
MISTR AM_PM moisturiser
Lightweight and fragrance-free, this is a great everyday moisturiser filled with beneficial ingredients, including retinyl palmitate (antioxidants), niacinimide and squalane, which helps keep the skin’s barrier strong and healthy.
Augustinus Bader The Cream
Rarely would we say that anything over $80 is really worth it, but Augustinus Bader The Cream delivers on every promise. There’s not a single ingredient in this that isn’t beneficial to the skin, with Vitamins A, B5 and C and his patented TFC8, amino acids and synthesised molecules found in the skin.
Bioderma Sensibio Ar+ Anti-Redness Soothing Moisturiser
Anyone with redness-prone skin should have this in their bathroom cabinet. Coming in at under $30, it’s a reasonably priced aid in treating flare-ups caused by the gym, UV and heat and the side effects of eating certain foods.
The Ordinary 15% Solution
A serum is a concentrated version of a moisturiser – akin to a superset for your face. Some focus on elasticity, some anti-ageing etc. The Ordinary’s 15% Solution plays a broad game, helping all the above and smoothing out those rough patches that can come from dry skin.
Horace Gentle Face Scrub
The best way to use a scrub is: don’t do it every day. Your skin doesn’t need it. Best practice is every second or third day and focus mainly on the beard line. This gets our tick of approval because it’s full of softening ingredients to help counteract any abrasiveness.
Patrick’s ES2 Triple Technology Eye Serum
Australian brand Patrick’s nails the packaging but it gets the stuff on the inside right, too. Eye serums can be a bit of a gimmick, to be fair, but when a good one comes along it’s worth the investment. ES2 is filled with ingredients that are naturally occuring in skin, like tuarine, and anti-ageing peptides like Acetyl Hexapeptide-8.
La Roche-Posay Anti-Pigmentation Eye Cream
In lieu of decent sleep and lots of water, here’s your answer to dark circles. Silica and mica help mask dark circles while simultaneously firming the area around your eyes, ferulic acid that helps with sun damage and shea butter helps soften and moisturise.
SkinCeuticals P-TIOX Peptide Serum
Backed by science and formulated with an advanced peptide complex of hexapeptides and dipeptides, P-Tiox targets and helps prevent the appearance of key fine lines by supporting collagen and elastin production. Think of it as a workout in a bottle for your skin, boosting resilience against visible signs of ageing.
Shark CryoGlow Under-Eye Cooling + LED Face Mask
The Shark CryoGlow Face Mask offers clinically tested skin-firming and acne-reduction. It uses an infrared LED light to penetrate the dermis skin layer and stimulate collagen production. It's also the only LED mask that incorporates under-eye cooling to help tighten and refresh under-eyes.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL Anti-Shine Dry Touch Facial Sunscreen SPF50+
Anthelios XL Anti-Shine Dry Touch SPF50+ is ideal for sensitive, oily, acne-prone skin. It’s lightweight, mattifying, absorbs fast and won’t clog pores. That means you can stay protected without looking like an over-glazed donut, if that’s not your thing.
Lucas Papaw Ointment
The iconic red tube, need we say more? Lucas' has been a staple multi-use balm for literal centuries and it remains perfect for chapped lips.
COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch
These overnight pimple patches are a game-changer for stubborn breakouts. Made from hydrocolloid, a type of wound dressing, they work by drawing out excess fluid, oil and impurities from pimples overnight, helping reduce their size while you sleep.
BY CAYLE REID
Hair is one of the first things people notice but one of the last things many guys think about. We spend more time picking a shirt than we do picking a shampoo, and that’s a shame.
The good news is that sorting your hair out isn’t complicated. A decent shampoo and conditioner that suit your hair type, a styling product that doesn’t require too much effort, and maybe a treatment if you’re thinning or your scalp needs some love. That’s it.
Our team has tested everything from budget supermarket staples to salon-grade formulas to find the ones actually worth your money. These are the products that made the cut.
Kérastase Genesis Homme Thickening Shampoo for Men
As we age, our hair sheds quicker than we grow new strands. It's yet another one of father time's cruel jokes. But you don't have to take it lying down. Genesis Homme Bain De Masse Espaississant is a thickening shampoo designed to help cleanse the scalp and remove excess impurities, dirt and oil while instantly providing a thicker look, so you can make the most of the hair you've still got.
Philips Hairclipper series 9000
The Philips Hair Clipper 9000 ensures a perfect haircut personalised to you. With a whopping 60 length settings and titanium blades, you get ultimate precision and power. The PowerAdapt sensor automatically adjusts the motor to match your unique hair density, while the self-sharpening steel blades are designed to cut with the same accuracy after five years as they did on day one.
Patrick's CD1 Stimulating & Thickening Conditioner
Fortified with thickening proteins to instantly swell the hair shaft and white mint to gently stimulate the scalp, Patrick's CD1 conditioner is luxury-level nourishment for your hair. It was tested by Hearst Institute on 700 men over three months and ultimately awarded first place for thickening.
Uppercut Deluxe Pomade
A water-based pomade with a light coconut fragrance, the Deluxe Pomade from Uppercut works well in thin, thick curly or straight hair types. It’s perfect for controlling unruly or stubborn hair and boasts a strong but pliable hold for a variety of styles.
Hinu Hair Growth Oil
Before you book that trip to Türkiye, consider trying Hinu's Hair Growth Oil. This potent botanical blend is made plant-based ingredients like Bhringraj leaf extract, green tea extract and peppermint oil to stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss by improving circulation to the scalp.
Dyson Supersonic Nural Intelligent Hair Dryer
If taming your mane takes too much time in the morning, you're using the wrong tools. With fast, powerful drying and intelligent heat control that helps prevent heat damage, the Dyson Supersonic protects hair health while cutting down your styling time.
Briogeo Scalp Revival Dandruff Relief Shampoo
Salicylic acid is one of the best ingredients to calm inflammation, but it often dries scalps. This formula mitigates that risk with charcoal and soothing add-ons, like bisabolol and colloidal oatmeal, to clear flakes and reduce redness without irritation
Triumph & Disaster Karekare Sea Salt Spray
This sea salt spray is not only a winner because it adds texture, volume and can give you that messy post-beach look, but because it's also genuinely good for your hair. It uses epsom salts and willow herb to balance out your oil levels and regulate oil production, while also treating your scalp as an anti-dandruff, anti-irritant tonic. Last but not least, green tea and sea beet combine to protect your hair from oxidative stress caused by the elements – so if you really have just gone for a swim, your hair will be protected.
Jack The Barber Fibre Men's Hair Styler
Jack The Barber's styling fibre provides a strong hold that lasts throughout the day to ensure your style stays intact. The natural matte finish adds a touch of sophistication without the glossy shine. With a paraben-free formula, you can rest assured knowing you've got high quality stuff in your hair.
Nioxin Diaboost Advanced Hair Thickening Serum
The secret to thicker, fuller hair is Nioxin's Diaboost Hair Thickening Serum. It's proven to instantly boost hair diameter and protects hair against breakage, allowing it to grow longer with daily use. With ingredients like caffeine and niacinamide, Diaboost thickens the hair at the roots while also strengthening and nourishing it from within.
BY CAYLE REID
A good body wash, a proper moisturiser and an effective deodorant can change how you feel for the rest of the day, not just how you smell.
When it comes to products for your body, the basics matter more than the fancy stuff. Sunscreen you’ll actually use every day beats the good bottle sitting untouched in the cupboard. A moisturiser that doesn’t leave you sticky beats one that promises the world but makes you feel like you need to be hosed off.
We tested soaps, moisturisers, deodorants, sunscreens and more to find the ones worth adding to your routine.
Uni Skin Shield Body Wash
Founded by Alexandra Keating (yes, the daughter of former PM Paul Keating), Uni makes a body wash that ticks all the boxes. It uses a plant-based surfactant to cleanse skin without stripping away hydration. Together with a blend of antioxidant-rich botanicals, it creates a skin shield to protect against environmental stressors while providing lasting hydration.
Youth To The People Superfood + Niacinamide Body Cleanser
A luxurious body cleanser that's designed to make you feel good. Youth To The People's cleanser is formulated with niacinamide and sodium PCA to help keep your moisture barrier in check, plus nourishing vitamins and superfood antioxidants, but it's the fragrance that stands out. The scent was designed with neurosensorial technology to uplift and inspire with notes of fresh greens, cedarwood, and black pepper. Sounds like the perfect way to start your day.
L'Oreal Paris Men Expert Pure Carbon Shower Gel
We love a utilitarian product, and this 5-in-1 shower gel from L'Oreal is designed to simplify your routine. You can use it on your body, face, hair and beard, or to moisturise, and it will remove impurities and leave your skin feeling clean, refreshed and thoroughly hydrated.
Kosas Good Body Skin AHA + Enzyme Exfoliating Body Wash
If sweating it out at the gym has left your skin looking a little red or bumpy, this daily body wash has you covered. Powered by AHAs and enzymes to gently exfoliate, it helps smooth rough texture, unclog pores and tackle body acne, all while being gentle enough for everyday use.
Nivea SPF 50+ Sun Protect & Moisture Lock Sunscreen
Choice's 2025 sunscreen review put much of the industry on a no-go list, but Nivea's SPF 50+ sunscreen survived the onslaught. It offers broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection, plus 4 hour water resistance. It also has a moisturising formula with Panthenol and Vitamin E to help protect the skin from the drying effects of the sun.
Dove Men+ Care Advanced Antiperspirant Aerosol Clean Comfort
Of all the spray deodorants we tested, none had the staying power of Dove’s Advanced Clean Comfort. We’re talking up to three days of fighting off (well-earned) odors – not that you should be going three days without a re-spray.
Dr. Squatch Wood Barrel Bourbon Moisturising Body Lotion
This lotion from Dr. Squatch promises to "Moisturise and maintain with the manly scents of oak, bourbon, and spice." While smelling manly shouldn't really factor into your choice of lotion, moisturising ingredients like shea butter and coconut oil should. Thankfully, this lotion contains both of those and more.
Thankyou Antiperspirant Roll-On Deodorant Cypress & Cedar
This roll-on deodorant from Thankyou is made from 100% natural origin ingredients, is stain free, safe for sensitive skin AND it offers 48 hour protection. The bottle is made from glass and is recyclable – not that it matters, because it's designed to be yours forever as it's refillable. To top it all off, it also smells good – an important factor in the world of deodorants, believe it or not – with cypress and cedar notes.
Marlowe No. 102 Cedarwood + Sea Salt Body Scrub Soap Bar
We’ve long dug Marlowe’s scrub bars for their simple, effective formulas, but its new scent takes things to a whole new level. The Cedarwood + Sea Salt is a warm, woodsy fragrance with a crisp ocean-air edge. Still packed with green tea, shea butter, and olive oil, it delivers rich lather and long-lasting hydration.
Geologie Acne Control Body Wash
Tackle breakouts at the source with a potent 2% salicylic acid and 1.5% glycolic acid blend that unclogs pores, reduces excess oil, and prevents new acne from forming – without the dreaded dry-out. The eucalyptus-scented formula serves major spa vibes. It’s the practical shower upgrade you need.
BY BENJAMEN JUDD
A good fragrance is one that people remember after you’ve left the room. If done right, it becomes as much a part of your identity as your haircut or your personal style.
The tricky part is finding the one. Woody, citrus, spicy, fresh: there’s a scent profile for every guy and every occasion, and the right one changes depending on whether you’re heading to the office or out for the night.
We’ve worn fragrances across every price point and profile to find the ones worth wearing on repeat. Here are our favourites.
Rabanne Invictus Elixir
While Rabanne’s Invictus line needs no introduction, the latest addition has managed to make the Men’s Health team sit up and pay attention. Arguably one of the best releases of 2026, they’ve managed to create a vanilla-inspired fragrance that isn’t exactly vanilla – it’s vanilla caviar, the tiny seeds scraped from the vanilla bean pod that’s bolstered by a resinous benzoin. It’s given a complex, savoury profile courtesy of metallic notes, coconut, acidic grapefruit and salt in the opening before a perfectly balanced woody drydown.
BOSS Bottled Beyond Eau de Toilette Intense
Almost 20 years since Boss released their iconic Boss Bottled, they’ve revisited the iconic scent with Bottled Beyond EDT Intense. But rather than making something simply stronger, they’ve created a juxtaposition. The fresh notes of orange flower over the richness of leather, creating an animalic-like fragrance that still smells as fresh as a shower.
Jean-Paul Gaultier Le Male in Blue
The OG Le Male is such an icon but the latest addition to the line-up might be the brand’s best release yet. The familiar vanilla has been swapped out for anise, which has a liquorice-like aroma. It has the familiar barbershop DNA that made the original so appealing, but with an added soft, spiciness that elevates the sophistication levels.
Hermès Terre d’Hermès Intense
The Terre d’Hermès line has always been about the earth – literally, it’s the name of the fragrance. The Intense version goes into the heart of a volcano, with coffee and liquorice that bring a heated, sweetened spiciness over accords of lava and stone. One that will garner plenty of compliments and questions of “what are you wearing?”.
Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif
New Caledonian sandalwood does most of the talking in L'Exclusif, and Olivier Polge has given it space to do so. Designed with the concentration of an extrait, this is the first Bleu de Chanel built without a citrus opening, favouring a slow unfurling of cistus labdanum and woody-ambery resins. It's the most serious, most nocturnal version of Bleu yet.
Dior Sauvage Extrait
Vietnamese oud has never featured in a Sauvage fragrance until now, and Francis Kurkdjian uses it as the entire architecture of the new Extrait. Bergamot and Provence lavender still open things, holding onto some of the line's original freshness, but the leathery, animalic oud arrives quickly enough. Indonesian patchouli and Madagascan vetiver deepen the effect, marking Dior's first men's extrait de parfum.
Bvlgari Man Wood Essence Parfum
What was once Bvlgari's fresher, more urban woody scent now reads as something closer to raw timber, dense and unpolished in a way the original never attempted. Perfumer Alberto Morillas chose Sichuan pepper and coriander to open this new version of Wood Essence, moving quickly into cashmere wood and cypress before a base built from cedarwood, patchouli, vetiver and guaiac wood takes over.
Neroli Letters by Montblanc
Every man should own a great warm-weather cologne – a clean, crisp citrus that is the fragrant equivalent of a cold shower. It’s impossible to go past Neroli Letters by Montblanc, which has a cologne structure with the staying power of an EDP. It heaps on the bergamot over the softer, white floral notes of neroli aka orange flower before it eventually makes way for warm patchouli.
Decision by Amouage
Created by Quentin Bisch, Decision may put a small dent in your wallet, but the payoff is worth it. Decision blends some of Oman’s most famous ingredients – frankincense, juniper, myrrh – to create an incredibly bright and sheer incense-wood accord. Pink pepper and cardamom add some sweetness before the warmth of vanilla and patchouli show up in the drydown. A masterpiece.
Sea Salt and Bergamot by Jo Malone
While the only thing you really need to worry about wearing is deodorant, Jo Malone’s new Sea Salt and Bergamot cologne is arguably the most workout-friendly fragrance you can buy. Beach-fresh with a burst of citrus in the top. Impeccable.
