On 28 September 1901, King C. Gillette founded the American Safety Razor Company, renamed the Gillette Safety Razor Company the following July. In 1903 it sold 51 razors and 168 blades. The idea owed something to William Painter, the man who invented the crown cork, who told Gillette to invent something thrown away so the customer keeps coming back. Men have stood at the bathroom mirror with a razor ever since, and for a century the mirror was where most men's skincare stopped.

Particle is a brand built on that gap. Its founders, childhood friends Ayal Ebert and Guy Falkovitch, say they went to a pharmacy looking for something for age lines and found dozens of products for women and only a small selection of alcohol-based after-shaves for men. Ebert has said men have less patience for multiple products, and that 70% of his customers had never used a face cream before. Particle emerged from stealth in 2020, per its own press release, and Particle Face Cream is the jar the whole line orbits. The brand calls it a 6-in-1 anti-aging cream for men, covering eye bags, dark spots, wrinkles, moisture and post-shave soothing, with Dead Sea minerals in the formula.

The trick is to read the first grid as a short routine, not a shopping list. Particle Face Wash For Men goes first, then Particle Face Cream For Men, which is the hero. The Particle Anti-Gray Serum and the Particle Neck Cream For Men are the add-ons, and the neck cream is the one most men forget until a shirt collar makes the point for them.

Body Wash, Invisible Sunscreen For Men and the Face Mask fill out the line, and the Particle 43 Anti-Aging Shaving Gel takes us straight back to Gillette's mirror. If you only buy two things, make it the wash and the cream, and add the sunscreen, because the cream makes no SPF claim of its own.

Your beard line decides which moisturizer you will actually keep using. If you shave daily, you want something light that absorbs before you pick up a collar, and if you wear a beard, you want something that reaches the skin underneath without leaving the hair slick.

Clinique's For Men Anti-Aging Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid is the quiet, sensible option for a man who wants one jar that looks like it belongs next to a razor. Jack Black has two here: the Double-Duty Face Moisturizer SPF 20, which takes care of moisture and a little sun in one step, and Dry Erase Ultra-Calming Face Cream, a better pick when your face feels tight after shaving. Every Man Jack's Recovery Beard and Face Balm is the one for the bearded, since it is made for both.

Harry's Face Lotion and Duke Cannon's Ultralight Face Lotion are the easiest starting points for someone who has never done this before. Papatui's Unscented Face Moisturizer and Eye Cream Set suits anyone who is sensitive to fragrance, and Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil-Free Pore Minimizing Hydrating Refillable Gel Cream is the long name for a simple idea: a gel cream for oilier skin that still wants moisture.

A pairing I like: Jack Black's SPF 20 moisturizer by day and Dry Erase at night. One protects, one calms, and you never have to think about it.

What I would skip: a rich balm on a humid commute. Go lighter, and save the heavy stuff for winter.

Pay attention to how your face feels an hour after washing, not while you are rinsing. If it feels tight, the cleanser is too much for you, and no moisturizer will fully fix that.

Jack Black's Pure Clean Daily Facial Cleanser is the everyday one. Deep Dive Glycolic Facial Cleanser is for a few nights a week, when you want a little more exfoliation, and I would not use it on a shaving morning. All-Over Wash For Face, Hair & Body is the gym bag answer, one bottle for the whole shower, which is how many men already wash anyway.

Then the eyes, which is where Particle's own Face Cream makes some of its claims. Jack Black's Protein Booster Eye Rescue is the simple one. Kiehl's has two: the Super Multi-Corrective Anti-Aging Eye Cream with Collagen Peptide for fine lines, and a Powerful-Strength Dark Circle-Reducing Vitamin C treatment for shadows. Papatui's Niacinamide, Hyaluronic Acid and Caffeine Face Moisturizer and Harry's Brightening Eye Cream are the easy entry points for anyone trying an eye product for the first time.

The glycolic cleanser twice a week, the plain daily one the rest of the time, and an eye cream only at night keeps the morning routine short.

What I would skip: applying eye cream right up to the lash line. A small dab on the bone beneath the eye is enough.

A teaspoon is more sunscreen than you think. The American Academy of Dermatology suggests about that much for the face, broad-spectrum, water-resistant, SPF 30 or higher, reapplied about every two hours outdoors.

That is worth saying here because a moisturizer with SPF does not get you out of reapplying, and because Particle Face Cream does not list SPF at all. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizing Cream with Sunscreen SPF 30 is the one in this grid that does, and it fits the morning after shaving neatly.

The rest are aftershave balms, and they are a real category, not a leftover one. Baxter of California's After Shave Balm and Bevel's Post-Shave Balm with Tea Tree Oil are my two for razor-sensitive skin. Proraso has a Refreshing Formula balm and a Nourishing Formula lotion made for coarse beards, which is a detail I appreciate. The Art of Shaving's Sandalwood balm, Captain Fawcett's Post Shave Balm and Barberino's Soothing After-Shave Balm are for the man who likes the ritual.

What I would skip: aftershave products that sting on purpose. Skin that just met a blade does not need a lesson.

For most men, I would start with one good cream and the habit of using it. Particle Face Cream makes sense as that jar, because the whole brand was built for men who had never bought one, and because the wash, serum and neck cream are there if you ever want more.

Then add a separate sunscreen, whichever you will actually wear, and pick a balm for shaving days. That is a routine you can finish in two minutes. Gillette sold 51 razors and 168 blades in 1903, because the point was that the customer keeps coming back. A face cream works the same way. The jar is fine, and the habit is what you keep.

Particle Face Cream is the jar I started with in this edit, and this last set shows what the same routine looks like from other brands. For the cream itself, I would compare Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Anti-Aging Face and Neck Cream, Clinique Daily Calm Soothing Repair Face Cream and Barberino's Ultra Hydrating Face Cream. Kiehl's Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash and Jack Black Face Buff Energizing Scrub cover the cleansing, and the Jack Black Eye Balm is the quick one for tired mornings. For shave days, The Art of Shaving After Shave Balm comes unscented or with lavender essential oil. Pick the unscented one first, and use it right after you rinse your face.