Haute and the City

Let’s be honest, Winter in NYC can be a little bleak.

There’s the biting cold (coupled with wind strong enough to knock you over), the long work hours/never seeing daylight, the holiday shopping (usually requires a prescription of Xanax)-I could go on and on.

That means winter is the perfect time for a little pampering.

And pampering is just what I and a bunch of other guys got at Butterfly Studio last week. I had the pleasure of experiencing a special hair treatment, hot towel face wrap, hand massage and hair styling from the experts at Butterfly Studio. During this process, Butterfly Studio usually offers its male clients a beer, but since it was a special occasion, they were serving Tequila Avión cocktails instead!

[Editor's note: not mad]

I have to say, having just come from another event where I was still receiving frantic e-mails from the West Coast, this treatment was a great way to unwind! I would definitely consider including it with a haircut to help escape Winter craziness.

Despite the name “Butterfly Salon,” the Salon works very hard to cater to men by offering special services for men and exclusively offering the new Kerastase Men’s line “Kerastase Homme Capital Force.”

The Butterfly Studio is actually surprisingly open and chic (we like to make everything as close together and chic in NYC), which was perfect for the event. In fact, you can even host your own events featuring the salon’s amazing services!

So, next time you need a haircut, don’t run down to the barbershop on your lunch hour; make an appointment to enjoy yourself at Butterfly Salon. Guys deserve some R&R, too!

[149 5th Avenue, 2nd Floor]

Also, check out photos from the event on the Marin NYC Flickr page!

“Oh, my God, I love your skirt! Where did you get it? …That is the ugliest effing skirt I’ve ever seen.” – Regina George, Mean Girls

I’ve made no secret of my mad love for the hip downtown boutique, Oak. It’s like a rich hipster’s dream come true. Although I can rarely afford to shop there, I usually find approximately 1,500 things I want each time I go in or visit their website.

However.

No one is perfect.

Oak has successfully created what I consider to be the ugliest shirt ever. It is an evil Frankenstein-esque monster; half-tank, half-tee.

WTF are you supposed to do with this shirt? Where would you wear it? It’s like the worst qualities of two already terrible people became magnified in their illegitimate baby.

Listen, we ALL make mistakes.

(Especially when too much Patrón is involved, which may have been the cause of this monstrosity. I hope.)

I’ll do a nice post about Oak soon to prove my unwavering love, despite this mishap.

But for real – doesn’t this thing make you a little sick?

This past weekend, I was invited to check out MiN New York Apothecary & Atelier, a delightfully unpretentious grooming store nestled into a delightfully calm block of SoHo’s shopping district.

The words “grooming store” might strike fear into the hearts of some, especially those with overactive olfactory receptors whose idea of Hell is something akin to a Yankee Candle store. Instead of a war on your senses, however, you’ll be pleased to only smell the faint aroma of fresh coffee, one of the many beverage options that await you while you shop the store’s extremely exclusive selection.

Handmade Straight Razors by Thiers-Issard

The mixture of hardwood floors, exposed brick, various antiques, overstuffed leather couches, gentle lighting and quasi-gothic knick-knacks pays a sort of homage to the lounge in which your grandfather once smoked his pipe. Except with a sexy and modern edge, of course. (See more photos on Flickr)

Although the MiN New York SoHo store opened just six months ago, MiN has been around for 12 years selling five-minute hair color kits for men, which now a Pepper Hair Color Kit [$20]. The name “MiN New York” refers to the New York minute, to MiN’s own five-minute hair color kits and to the soothing few minutes (or hours) you’ll enjoy in the store.

Photo credit: Jason Tucker

The MiN New York mantra, set by owner Chad Murawczyk, is simple and clear: “The world doesn’t need more products, just better ones.” Thankfully, MiN lives up to Chad’s standard beautifully; this isn’t like walking through the cosmetics area of Macy’s, which is a losing battle of yelling “NO!” at blood-thirsty salespeople shooting you with run-of-the-mill fragrances, only to leave you reeking like a misguided chemist.

I fell in love with MiN New York after only a few minutes of smelling the world-class scents of LINARI (from perfumers Mark Buxton, Egon Oelkers and Maurices Roucel) and the love-inspired perfumes by Kilian (my favorite was Back to Black, which smells of tobacco and honey – which, btw, is totally how I imagine Amy Winehouse would smell if she actually smelled like something other than crack and cheap beer). There’s also Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving tools, gorgeous Merkur badger hair shaving brushes and, one of my favorites, SARPA wrinkle reducing serum by FOUND COSMETICS (active ingredient: viper venom. “Viper” as in the snake.)

One of especially interactive elements of the MiN New York store is that nearly everything decorating the store is for sale. So, if you like the furniture, decorative boxes or chicken claw letter opener enough, you can take a piece of the store home with you!

Kilian Perfumes

Visit our Flickr page for more photos of MiN New York!

If you’re into one-of-a-kind experiences, I definitely recommend visiting MiN New York:

117 Crosby Street (Btwn Prince & Houston)

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P.S. MiN New York is rolling out some exciting new services and products over the coming months, so definitely check back to see what’s going on!

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Photo credit: Jason Tucker