With the onslaught of new personal care options aimed at guys, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Which is why we at Robb Report have spent the last year and change testing, smelling, using, and luxuriating in the best men’s grooming products of 2024. What we turned up won’t quite replace your entire regimen, but it will offer an exciting new option for a signature scent, an innovative way to promote hair growth, and one of the most effective under-eye creams we’ve ever used. Those products, and more, below.
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Fragrance: Brunello Cucinelli Pour Homme
Image Credit: Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli Is it any wonder Brunello Cucinelli’s debut men’s fragrance, unveiled last September, already has so many fans? The scent, inspired by the Umbrian countryside, was conceived with master perfumer Olivier Cresp. It centers on Italy’s beloved Calabrian bergamot, cypress, juniper berries, and clary sage, combining them with other notes that result in a citrusy, herbaceous olfactory experience. Over the course of the day, these elements yield to a masculine blend of wood and amber that feels grounded and relaxed.
But it doesn’t just smell good. The 150 ml size is compatible with a refilling system. And all containers are made of glass and aluminum, meaning you can recycle them when you’re done.
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Serum: Exponent Brightening Boost
Image Credit: Courtesy of Exponent Beauty Vitamin-C serum inspires a lot of debate. Its titular ingredient is clinically proven to reduce wrinkles, brighten dark spots, and even enhance the protecting effects of SPF. But it’s also highly unstable when exposed to light, air, and water, the chief component of most serums.
Exponent preserves the potency of its vitamin C by keeping it in a dry, powdered form. To apply it, you put one pump’s worth of the stuff into your palm, then mix in another pump of the hyaluronic-acid serum it comes with. The result is a gentle yet powerful product that delivers results. Our use produced noticeably reduced acne scarring—and we started getting compliments around the two-week mark.
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Hair Care: Plated Hair Serum
Image Credit: Courtesy of Plated Skin Science What happens when cardiologists start making skin-care products? Plated, a line of exosome-rich serums for the face, was founded in 2022 by two doctors researching regenerative medicine. When they found that ingredients derived from human blood platelets can influence aging cells to behave more like young ones, they used them to develop a trio of impressive formulas.
That technology is now available for your scalp. Plated’s Hair Serum, which debuted in January, was designed to not only reduce breaking and shedding but to also increase the appearance of density. While the jury is still out on whether it can replace tried-and-true medications, we’ve observed thicker hair and faster growth in our own use.
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Eye Cream: La Prairie Skin Caviar Eye Lift
Image Credit: Courtesy of La Prairie Eye creams are infamous for overpromising and under-delivering. But La Prairie’s update to its cult favorite Skin Caviar Eye Lift took one that produces observable results and improved it. The product already had a potent blend of antioxidants. The Swiss company added a double dose of caviar-derived nutrients, plus its patented and trademarked Exclusive Cellular Complex. (The formula is so closely guarded that two labs produce its components and a third combines them. Only HQ knows what’s in its final makeup.)
Whatever’s in it works. Our personal use produced the most noticeable results of any undereye product we’ve tried in the past year, including smoother, plumper skin and diminished lines.
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Moisturizer: Protocol Water Lock
Image Credit: Courtesy of Protocol Skincare There’s not a single moisturizer that actually adds hydration. In reality, these tools work to combat transepidermal water loss, or TEWL—that is, water that escapes from your skin. For a long time, highly occlusive ingredients had been regarded as the best moisture protectors—think petroleum jelly or lanolin. The trade-off is that they could feel greasy and even clog pores.
Protocol’s Water Lock isn’t like that. Its gel formula is a mix of semi-occlusive molecules that link up to stop TEWL while still allowing for airflow. Translation: glowing skin without zits. It’s light enough for the summer, but it really shines in fall and winter, when cold, dry air can cause flaky skin and irritation. For us, Water Lock stopped both—and that’s the mark of a winner in our book.
