Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Robert Downy, Jr.


The Robert Downy, Jr. is a more modern take on the balbo beard, a fusion of soul patch, mustache, and beard. My version is more reflective of the late 90's RDJ where he was too busy with heroin to properly groom his beard to the clean angular perfection shown in this headshot. The similarities of this beard to the goatee showed the masses that he was back as a serious actor, but the unique spin it takes on more orthodox facial hair propelled him to the forefront of pop culture and took the attention away from less detailed beards such as the measly Johnny Depp whiskers. It's no surprise that his beard singlehandedly made him number 5 in "People's Sexiest Man Alive 2009" and crowned him "Sexiest Man in the World" in Hungarian magazine Periodika.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Joseph Stalin

The Joseph Stalin is one of the most recognizable mustaches that instantly demands fear and respect. When Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, Stalin entered the Russian political scene to not only purge Russia of the Communist party, but to also replace the image of Lenin's outdated Balbo beard with a new and carefully groomed mustache. My Joseph Stalin is a little more rounded to be less intimidating, and is accented by a hat reminiscent of current Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 

Franz Josef

The Franz Josef was named after the Austrian king in the late 1800s. It's a more angular version of the A La Souvarov beard that goes down closer to the chin instead of curving up to form the mustache higher up on the cheek. Was popular during the Civil War era when it was arguably worn best by General Ambrose Burnside. I gave the beard about two weeks to grow out enough to shape everything out but wish I gave it a little more time to get the fluffiness that makes the Franz Josef so enviable.