Haute and the City

Like I mentioned earlier this week, I am participating in a blog-love event hosted by Stylish Kids in Riot called I Heart Blogs!

Well, I wanted to introduce you readers to 10 blogs in my Google Reader that you may not have heard of (but totally should have):

• The Luxury Industry and Social Media – Co-authored my two of my favorite Tweeps, Josephine Lipp and Alexandre Corda, this blog is heaven for industry nerds like me.
• Cubicle Chic – Working in corporate America (especially in NYC) can be a dry affair, especially when it comes to the closet. I LOVE that Linsday and Meredith don’t let dress codes get them down and take beautiful pictures all over NY. They even have a regular contributor (“The Gentleman”) for guys, who is great.
• Adentro Style – This blog is written by my now real-life buddy Alejandro, who is a NYC-based stylist with many impressive campaigns in his portfolio. I love seeing all of the work he’s done and reading his thoughts on fashion!
• Vogue Gone Rogue – I don’t have enough words to say how much I love Kristy’s blog. Vogue Gone Rogue is full of gorgeous original fashion photography, style and extremely thoughtful and interesting content.
• ACCIDENTAL Chic – Tiffani is another NYC blogger who I’ve been reading and working with since the fall. I love how her blog perfectly captures the essence of the NYC resident – where fashion is paramount!
• GlamMAN – Ok, this is obviously not a fashion blog, but shhhhh. Jim is THE go-to for men’s beauty and grooming.
• FabFashionisto – Ray’s blog is a new one to me, but I already really like it! Ray’s got an eye for style, trends and design that you don’t see in many blogs.
• NYC Island Gal – This blog is written by a soon-to-be-NY resident that follows her journey of getting ready to move to the big city. She’s going to fit in great here – her thoughts on fashion and lifestyle are that of a true New Yorker!
• The Dandy Project – Ok, so usually, I’m not interested in blogs that mainly show off the blogger’s outfits – but for some reason The Dandy Project has me hooked! I’m always excited to see what the next outfit will be.
• Academichic – This blogger is written by three PhD students, which is evident right off the bat. I love this blog because it inspires me to ask more questions and learn more before I write a post!
• Made to Measure – Ok, so I’m not gonna lie, my formalwear knowledge is far more limited than it should be, which is why I love Dennis’s blog! It’s like inspiration to be a gentleman!

Check out these blogs whenever you get a second! You won’t be sorry!

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

A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future. – Coco Chanel

(…goes for men, too!)

More and more, I am finding lots of interesting opportunities to expand Haute and the City. As it turns out, it’s pretty fashionable to keep up in the beauty, grooming and lifestyle departments.

In response to these opportunities, I’m starting some new columns for your reading pleasure: Men’s Beauty & Men’s Grooming. However, I’m not going to be turning this blog into a huge men’s grooming guide, as there are already a ton of great resources out there such as Fragrant Moments, GlamMAN, etc. But as long as we’re keeping up appearances, we should be well-maintained and smell good, right?

To get started, I wanted to share something I learned about how perfume works this weekend during my trip to MiN New York (exciting post on my visit to MiN to follow – stay tuned!). You might already know all about perfume, but I thought this was neat and wanted to share!

[Note: for the sake of clarity, I will be referring to all bottled fragrances as "perfume." "But WHY, Tyler," you ask? "I am a BOY and I wear COLOGNE." News flash: cologne is perfume with a different name to make men feel manlier about their efforts to smell good. It's called marketing.]

The overall scent of a perfume is the result of three main components called notes. Just as three tonal notes create the chords in we hear music, the three notes of a fragrance create what we smell in perfume. Interesting: notes can be derived from all sorts of things, ranging from grass to bourbon.

The anatomy of a fragrance:

• Top notes: These scents, also called head notes or notes de tete, are the perfume’s first impression (what you smell as soon as it’s sprayed). Despite being the first smell perceived, it tends to only last about 15 minutes after application.
• Middle notes: After the top notes trickle away, the notes also known as the heart notes, central notes or notes de Coeur starts to emerge. Middle notes in some perfumes can take more than an hour to develop, but usually start to emanate in just a few minutes. Most middle notes last an hour or longer.
• Base notes: The scents of the base notes that linger for hours are also known as the notes de fond. Middle notes and base notes comprise the ‘essence’ or theme of the perfume. Base notes are typically rich and last for hours.

Isn’t that neat? Perfumers have to study for years to learn how to the notes work with each other and how to properly develop perfumes. Then they frequently spend years developing just one perfume.

I have a ton of favorite colognes (too many to list). Do you have a favorite fragrance?