Valentine's Day: Get Your Act Together

Well, the day that some celebrate and others hate is almost upon us. (Don't worry. This post isn't about the dread that is VD!) With less than two days to go, you've either thought about your present and know what to get, or you'll go with the old stand-by and get flowers. I'm sure flowers are fine for some people, but to me they just scream "I waited until the last minute but had to get you something, so here!" Put more thought into it. You're more likely to be rewarded.

As I mentioned in a previous post, gift buying is only half the battle. You also have to make yourself presentable for the day. Whether going out to dinner or cooking dinner together at home (which I highly recommend), you'll probably get at least a kiss that night. Make sure your partner appreciates the place(s) upon which they will place their lips. In addition to shaving your face, here are some other tips for you:

1. Use an alcohol-free toner. Toners hydrate the skin but also remove excess oils from your pores. If your night goes as planned, keep the bottle handy so you don't slid off the sheets.
2. Depending on what you and your partner get into (or you can convince them to try after receiving your overly-thoughtful gift), you should also consider Sphincterine Asstringent -- an all-natural, um, personal freshener which will give both of you a minty-fresh feeling all day (or night). You'll especially want to keep this handy if you have Indian or Thai food for Valentine's Day. Just sayin'.
3. I'm not a big fan of shaving body hair, but as a general rule, keep that stuff in check. It's a lot easier to entice someone to visit below your waist when they won't feel like they've been scrubbing their face with steel wool. My advice is to trim, not shave. You want to make it inviting; don't end up looking like you're 32 going on 9. It'll also make your Johnson appear larger.
4. For those single people who'll be out wreaking havoc on all the couples, you're sure to drink too much on Valentine's Day. You won't have an excuse for looking hungover the next morning. Here's a little trick I've learned. Eye cream reduces puffiness and dark circles. While you should use an eye cream on a regular basis (even before the fine lines start to show), I add an extra layer when I've been out a bit too late the night before. (Sometimes it's hard to make my 9:00 bed time, especially when I visit fine establishments that serve Jagermeister as the house wine.)
5. Men have different skin types than women. We need to use products developed specifically for us. Don't think you can get away with using your the products in your wife's/mom's/sister's/gf's drawer. Stop being a cheap ass and get your own!

You can find products for all our recommendations at Manifold, located at 2850 N. Clark St in Chicago.