Five of the Best: Face washes

Even though your teenage days of acne are behind you (we hope), your face still needs more than just soap and water. Unsightly blemishes and uneven skin certainly aren't going to get you anywhere in any social circle, so start with your face's basic necessity for cleanliness and use any five of these cleansers to ensure your skin gets the polishing it needs and deserves for all you put in through.

Remember, the bases for any well-kept face is a clean start, whether you shaving, grooming a beard or just finishing a workout at the gym.

-- SETH PLATTNER 

Previously > Lip Balms > Winter Fragrances

Five of the Best: Lip Balms

Oh the woes of winter: less sunshine, biting cold -- and dry cracked lips. During the chillier months the weather is unforgiving on your skin, especially with those more delicate epithelial areas like your lips.

Thus, they need to be well protected at all times. Out.com's got your labium covered with five of the best lip balms that will make sure your lips are nourished and supple. Valentine's Day is right around the corner and who's going to want to kiss you with skin flaking off your face?

-- SETH PLATTNER

Previously > Winter Fragrances > Shampoo 

Quickies: 50 Cent to launch men's cosmetics, Clay Aiken on ANTM and more

Photo: Getty Images

50 Cent is releasing a male cosmetics line. It will include moisturizers and supplements, which supposedly make the line more butch. We understand. Gunshot residue can be terrible for your face.   [Yahoo]  

Clay Aiken will judge an episode of America's Next Top Model. When he came out, he came out with a bang, didn't he? [Jezebel] 

Remember the I DIE and BANANAS t-shirts from Christopher Sauve we were all DYING to have? Well, it turns out we aren't getting them. Rachel Zoe's lawyer has issues a cease-and-desist on Sauve saying the phrases are trademarked. BANANAS!! [The Cut] 

Who's really not going to make it through the recession? Celebrity fashion lines. A silver lining at last! [AdAge]

Botox is on sale, boys! Get excited! But don't show it! Because you can't! [WSJ]

-- SETH PLATTNER

Five of the Best: Razors

A few weeks back we gave you Out.com's picks for best shaving creams and foams, so, naturally, you need the instrument with which to utilize said creams and foams. Thus, this week Out.com is happy to bring you five of the best razors that will work with those facial emulsions to turn you from bear to, well, a hairless bear! Or just keep you looking like the smooth twink that you are. Whatever your shaving needs, now you have the tools on either end to maintain your various manes wherever they may sprout.

-- SETH PLATTNER

Previously > Scrubs > Champagne

Five of the Best: Shaving Creams & Foams

Last week Out brought you the top five moisturizers, all of them perfect for keeping your skin well-hydrated after a good shave. But, first you've gotta get said good shave. And, let's face it, shaving is no fun. Crucial to avoiding getting (razor) burned is the appropriate shave cream/gel -- one that prevents friction and also properly nourishes your skin.

Out's top five selections are perfect starters to a healthfully groomed face. And, as we believe in the importance of manscaping here on Stylelist, we also endorse these creams and gels for other bodily grooming needs, because, boys, razor bumps are always unsightly.

Previously > Five of the Best: Moisturizers > The New Gillette full body grooming products

Five of the Best: Moisturizers

Who doesn't love a good, concise, digestible list? We know we do! Thus, Out.com introduces its new weekly series "Five of the Best" that features -- you guessed it! -- five of our favorite style/fashion/grooming products in a given category.

First up, the Out editors bring you five of the best moisturizers on the market to not only keep your face flake-free, but also looking healthier and younger. And in these harsh winter months, we can certainly use all the help we can get.

Stay tuned to Out.com and Stylelist each week for a new list of the best of bunch.

-- SETH PLATTNER

Stylelist giveaway! The new Gillette full body grooming products

Photo courtesy of Porter Novelli

Gillette has been at the grooming game for over 100 years. Meaning what? They know men. While their products have been largely limited to shaving, in the last year Gillette has started to focus their attention on a new body care line that promises a head to toe polish.

We recently got to try out a few of the goods at the Gillette G-Lounge -- notice the relaxing shave pictured -- and, even though we can be a little snobbish when it comes to grooming products, Gillette's offerings are decidedly top shelf and definitely up to our queer quality standards.

Whether your a baby-face type guy or you rock the full beard, we can't enforce enough the importance of being well groomed. After all, Hugh Jackman was just named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine and a large part of it was due to his perfectly manicured scruff. Hint hint.

With gift-giving season upon us, we thought it would be a great time to lavish our readers with a little something something for being so faithful. Simply tell us which celebrity you think wears his face the best -- from fully shaven to full-on ZZ Top --  and why and the first 5 readers to respond will win a gift basket filled with Gillette grooming products, including:

-- Fusion Power Phenom razor

-- Gillette Clinical Strength Ultra Comfort deodorant (trust us, it works)

-- Gillette Deep Cleaning Shampoo

-- Gillette Hydrating Conditioner

-- Gillette Dry Skin Hydrator Body Wash

All great products for your dirty little self -- or the dirty man in your life. And keep your eye out for a new line of Gillette hair products to hit stores in February, just in time for spring flings.

-- SETH PLATTNER

Quickies: Valentino skips the runway, Britney Spears on Project Runway? and more

Photo: Getty Images

Following Marni's footsteps, Valentino will forgo a Milan runway show this season. And the black cloud continues to descend upon Fashion Week. [WWD]

Rumor alert: Britney Spears (pictured) to appear on Project Runway? Heidi Klum was at B. Spears' 27th birthday, and speculation says Klum was talking shop. Please make it work! [MSNBC]

Now you can suck in your spare tire with LumberWear, basically a girdle for men. They're being marketed for men with back pain, but they are sooo obviously for those gays out there who have always wanted to try on their girl friend's Spanx. [The Cut]

We'd never expect such behavior from a gay, but dermatologists warn against washing your body with shampoo. Being that shampoos are designed for oily hair, they strips your body of essential skin oils. Pass this info along to your straight brother. [Dermatology Blog]

Open for Business: Versace in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, as part of the company's 45 million euro plan to open eleven new stores in Asia.

-- SETH PLATTNER

Quickies: Anna retireing? Madonna's LV paycheck and more

Photo: Getty Images

As her contract runs out, rumors are abound that Anna Wintour is mulling over retirement. At 59 years old and with a magazine in decline, we love you Anna, but we'll love you even more if you bow out gracefully. [NYP]

Not only is Madonna appearing in the new Louis Vuitton ad campaigns, but she's get $10 million for it. With an upcoming divorce settlement in the works, she'll need a bit of cushion. [NYP]

Christian Siriano wants to get married to his boyfriend...and be on Gossip Girl. We're all happy for your engagement, of course, but we're dying to see Christian elevator Serena and call her Hot Mess Van der Woosen. Has a nice ring to it, no? [E!]

In Paris, A giant retrospective exhibition dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent is being readied. The Foundation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent has some 5,000 couture garments plus some 15,000 accessories, sketches and assorted objects spanning Saint Laurent’s 40-year career that will be featured. Now that's a legacy. [WWD]

Men's grooming brand Baxter of California will now be sold in Urban Outfitter stores. Once hardly found outside of places like the exclusive Freemans Sporting Club, Baxter's goods will be launched at 10 Urban Outfitters locations, including stores in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto. [WWD]

-- SETH PLATTNER

Quickies: The biggest mall in the world, buying up models and more

Photo: thedubaimall.com

Dubai has opened the largest mall in the world. Inside among the designer label stores you'll also find a 10-million-liter aquarium, an amusement park and an ice skating rink. [Material Interest]

We know gays love their female models (because we want to be one), but would you ever invest in one? One company, Beauty Holding, is allowing consumers to buy a stake in a model and you'll get a share of her earnings for the next year. If we can't get a piece of Jessia Stam, we're hardly interested. [Urban Daddy]

Are high-end labels immune to the woes of the economy? It turns out they're not, and some are looking for new investors. So if you've got a few bucks left over from your Jessica Stam purchase you know where to put them. [The Cut] via [WWD]

The H&M Commes des Garcon line dropped in Tokyo and it was Japanese mayhem. H&M made a video documenting the uproar. Witness the carnage. [The Cut]

Smell this: Mark Eco is debuting fragrances for men and women, with the men's scent hitting shelves as early as next fall. [WWD]

Turns out Bergamot is a natural deodorant. So spray it on and try to avoid those unsightly pit stains. [BellaSugar]

-- SETH PLATTNER