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mitchell: David Mitchell’s SoapBox: Male Grooming

May 14 2009 | WilHarris
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In this week’s episode, David looks at the curious world of men’s grooming.

Almost every mainstream product on the market promises to turn blokes into macho love machines.

And what’s not to like about that? Well, we’ll leave it to Master Mitchell to explain.

As ever, do make sure you subscribe to the show. You can download the show from iTunes for free and then watch it on your phone, your laptop or even your telly if you’ve got one of those clever contraption thingys.

previous: David Mitchell’s SoapBox: Compliments
next: David Mitchell’s SoapBox: Man Flu

comments

Dawn Parker
May 14th, 2009 - 3:39pm

Very funny!! i hope sofas will be like that in the future, I must admit you have me wondering now what you use and smell like? i can only imagine (but i bet you it is as gorgeous as you look) xxxx

Jim
May 14th, 2009 - 3:41pm

Q. Why do women wear make-up and perfume?

A. Because they’re ugly and they smell.

Old joke, but this reminded me of it!

I prefer to wear unscented antiperspirant, but its really hard to come by. Wherever I find it, I buy in bulk, so I don’t have to reek of the awful other scents.

Andrew
May 14th, 2009 - 5:03pm

That’s very funny indeed. Bravo.

convex_concave
May 14th, 2009 - 5:05pm

I absolutely howled with laughter at this, definately my favourite so far, well done!!

Angel Mercury
May 14th, 2009 - 6:13pm

Haha, quite funny. I’d buy a sofa from you any day!

I’ve never been a fan of perfumes or colognes. Most scents are chemically smelling and over powering. A good mild deodorant or soap smell that blends with a person’s natural pheromones (And I mean when they wash regularly, not when they’re just trying to cover their bad hygiene habits up, bleh!) is amazing though. Mmm ^.~

Angela
May 14th, 2009 - 9:52pm

Oh my goodness… “snuglydom”… that is now my new favourite word!!!

(It beat out Snollygoster, which is also superfantabulous!)

I had always assumed male grooming was simply an attempt to be clean. Shampoo, soap, the basics. Not overly scented products, just funtional ones. Shaving, and aftershave/cologne, were the most frills you fellas got. Clearly the world has changed.

My worry is someday very soon I’ll be in a packed lift, and notice that a fellow passenger has been overly generous when applying their parfume that day.

A male passenger.

Hope the folks at Bulldog have a good sense of humor! :)

Jakob Thyness
May 15th, 2009 - 1:14pm

Excellent, as always. But it does beg the question - why shouldn’t men smell a bit more girly? Is girly bad in some way? Or are we afraid to lose our male animal magnetism (if indeed we have any) if we don’t stink to high heaven?

Most guys I know, myself included, could do with a bit more grooming. Since our survival no longer depends on hunting wild beasts, surely we don’t need to smell like them any more? Considering we no longer cover ourselves in animal skins, is there really a need to have ersatz hair sprouting from ears and nostrils?

Vanity, which David did mention briefly, is a far more interesting subject, and I’d love to hear him talk about that some time. But as for grooming - we men have probably taken the caveman thing as far as it can reasonably go. Might be time to try something different.

Levi McGlinchey
May 15th, 2009 - 6:09pm

Fingers crossed we’ll become so girly we’ll just fancy ourselves, and having to compliment someone will be history…

Enoch
May 15th, 2009 - 8:52pm

Pity you’re defending clichés by attacking (failed) attempts at using other chlichés. So, even if it is funny: not your best show - but it seems to have gotten the female fans all… whuzzy ;)

LilJerseyDevil
May 16th, 2009 - 5:35am

Heh, heh.

“I wanna bite the hand that feeds me. I wanna bite that hand so badly….” Radio, Radio-Elvis Costello

All this spraying and squirting is very animalistic. Maybe that ‘Bullet” stuff will be used by smaller men when they get cornered by a big bully. One quick spray and run away! Guys can also use it to mark territory. Classier than urinating everywhere.

I’m sure you smell just dandy. Well, you wash everyday in in a lovely avocado tub, right?;)

idjit90
May 17th, 2009 - 3:30am

Tsk, tsk, men’s grooming nowadays… I’ve unsuccessfully been trying to convince my younger brother that it is just *wrong* for a man to have more grooming products than his sister.

On the other hand, I prefer men with girly-smooth faces. Less like kissing sandpaper.

Jane
May 17th, 2009 - 1:15pm

An interesting take on a fairly old-hat subject but not one of the funniest. Not a patch on the ‘passionate’ one I’m afraid! Look forward to a return to form next week though.

Cordelia
May 18th, 2009 - 3:50pm

Another great episode, My Brother uses all those products (even Bulldog I think) and he always gets the girls… men who don’t smell nice are now considered lazy.. the products are out there so no excuses!

Magnulus
May 20th, 2009 - 8:18am

I have to say, I was actually laughing like a right tit during this. Possibly because my face is naturally girly (not that it’s genetically SUPPOSED TO BE!) and I actually bought and use Bulldog, even thanks to them sponsoring your podcast! ^_^

I’m using the moisturiser (My skin gets very sensitive when I’ve used my WS Girling Rod) and it does actually SMELL manly! It smells of the outdoors and of tree bark! I imagine it’s kind of like what Ian McKellen would smell like.

idjit90
May 22nd, 2009 - 2:45am

I think I would like David’s bathroom very much: uncluttered by girling products. :-)

After watching this a couple more times, I’m beginning to wish it was Scratch-n-Sniff. I never wondered before what David and his minimal personal hygiene would smell like. I wonder now… .

Kate
May 26th, 2009 - 3:47am

Ah, how I wish we were back in the days of powdered wigs, lead-based face whitener, and beauty marks placed strategically to cover pox scars and syphilitic sores. Now _that’s_ what I call male grooming.

LynLizzy
June 12th, 2009 - 1:53pm

Now this is what I call male grooming…….

http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/results2.html

Everyone is a little too limp wristed and smoothed skinned these days, there is not enough facial hair in the world I say. :0)

Lucy
August 26th, 2009 - 3:08am

that was sooo funny amd true :-) xx

Francis
February 17th, 2010 - 7:55pm

He said ‘for free’. Poor show from the self-proclaimed grammar nazi.

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