Morning Rituals That Improve Appearance: FOR MEN

10. QUALITY COLOGNE. Switching up your usual cologne every once in a while is a commendable experiment, but there's something to be said for having a signature too. After all, wearing the same fragrance on a regular basis means the women in your life will come to associate this scent with you. To smell amazing all day long, layer your scents by matching your deodorant, your cologne and even your soap if possible.

(my personal favorites: Tom Ford collection. Available at Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus. The most difficult scent to find in this collections is Tuscan Leather - my favorite!. Runs about $400.00 Also, for a little less expense, but great scent - exclusive to Neiman Marcus: Giorgio Armani Prive Oud Royal, runs $300.00)

9. DRINK COFFEE! Powerful antioxidants. Black coffee and green or black tea are packed with antioxidants that will keep you looking young. Research also suggests that imbibing these liquids regularly in moderate quantities may lower your risk of dementia later on as well as various forms of cancer. Plus, a cup of joe gives you that much-loved get-up-and-go jolt we all need in the morning, particularly when combined with an early workout.

(another personal favorite in this department: Pure Green Coffee Oil, from Sri Lanka - 100% Organic - SPA Quality. After shaving, rub this oil on your skin. It improves elasticity and reduces wrinkles)

8. HIGH QUALITY FACIAL CLEANSER. For immediately brighter skin, massage your face with a high-quality facial cleanser while you're in the shower. Look for one that contains an exfoliant or a 2% salicylic acid solution, as either will help to get gunk out of your pores, resulting in clearer skin within a month. To reduce the appearance of splotchy skin and instantly look more awake, wash your face using cold water.

(My husband's personal favorite: H2O Oasis Men energizing facial scrub. It scrubs all of dead skin cells off each morning and makes his face smooth as a baby's bottom!)

7. EAT HOME MADE. Making your own lunch takes only minutes and will save you a shocking number of excess calories and unnecessary sodium that come with eating processed food or dining out every day. For men crunched for time, simply swapping in a bagged lunch twice a week can make a difference in their appearance in terms of shedding a few pounds, reducing bloating and keeping cholesterol and blood pressure in check.

(Personal testimony about added waist weight from my husband: Get your testosterone levels checked! Men's testosterone declines in middle age and continues to drop. It's testosterone that gets rid of those love-handles in a hurry!! -- also adds muscle growth when lifting! my husband is 77 years old and works out with me daily!)

6. EXERCISE. It may be an oldie, but it's a goodie: Adding 100 push-ups to the end of your cardio training in the morning will give you solid abs and strong biceps that women go wild for. What's more, waking up your core muscles this way will improve your posture for the remainder of the day -- you'll appear taller and more confident.

(Personal experience: Personal Trainer recommends doing 3 sets of Planks twice a day! Nothing will keep your core strength in tact better than Planks)

5. CLOSE SHAVE. By and large, women prefer a freshly shaved face, so be sure to allot time in your routine for this essential grooming task. Even if you don't need to shave every day, leave yourself 5 minutes every morning to do a quick one-over on your mug and assess your hair growth situation. By adopting this habit, you'll never have the experience of going through half your day before realizing you missed three rather conspicuous spots the last time you shaved. The same logic applies when it comes to tweezing nose and ear hair or a unibrow.

(Personal favorite: My husband goes to a brow salon just to have his eyebrows shaped and tweezed every 2 weeks. He's vigilant about nose and ear hair too... ever since he heard a top model on TV talk about how disgusting nasal and ear hair is. I recommend purchasing a really powerful magnifying mirror and a Professional pair of tweezers, and you're in business)

4. EYE CREAM. The thing we all look at daily is each other's eyes. Eye contact is so important in any relationship. It's easy to overlook your eyes, but it's one of the first places you'll see signs of aging, starting with fine lines. Dabbing on eye cream in the morning will soothe and moisturize the delicate, dry skin in this area and will minimize the appearance of wrinkles. A product that contains retinol (vitamin A) will confer long-term advantages as well as slow down the appearance of future lines.

(Personal favorite: My husband and I both use a prescription retinol cream at night, and in the morning a good eye gel that has hyarulonic acid. It's not really an "acid" it plumps the cells with hyaruolonic which is what we lose as we age that causes creasing).

3. BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH THE BEST! Although there might be a debate on whether it’s better to brush your teeth before or after breakfast, the one thing everyone can agree on is that brushing in the morning is crucial for both your oral health and a better looking smile. From the #1 power toothbrush brand recommended by dental professionals comes the new Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum. It removes up to 7x more plaque between teeth than a manual toothbrush and delivers up to 3x more brush strokes for a superior clean*.

(Personal favorite: Yup.. this is the one we have. Love it! We also got our teeth whitened. Now we use a whitening gel as necessary. But get this from your dentist. Have the custom trays made so you can touch up the coffee stains any time you like.)

2. EAT BREAKFAST. Think of your body as a machine: It needs fuel to run efficiently, and some types of fuel are better than others. Fire up your engine by beginning your day with a breakfast that will keep your energy revved up for hours. The best power breakfast is a combination of lean protein and slow-burn carbs, so try things like steel-cut oats with fruit and yogurt or an omelet with vegetables. If you're in a rush, blend up fruit with milk or juice, and add a scoop of protein powder for an on-the-go smoothie.

(Personal favorite: We generally will make a warm pot of fat free milk blended with a quality Protein Powder, then we put it into our frother and pour into our coffee. It gives us that added boost of balanced essential aminos before we head to the gym).

1. GOOD WORKOUT. Nothing - Nothing - Nothing can replace the benefits of a good hard workout! Lifting weights increases endorphins and cardio increases brain neural growth - plus, you have to strain muscles to keep Human Growth Hormone released in the body and THIS is the fountain of youth! Squeezing in a sweat session in the morning will improve both your body and your mind -- now and in the future. In addition to exercise building a fitter, hotter body, the endorphin rush it results in will put you in a cheery mood for hours, and your skin will become clearer over time. You'll also deal better with stresses that arise over the course of the day. Although you'll notice benefits from any type of morning physical activity, favor cardio workouts, because you'll burn more fat in the a.m., and save weight training for later in the day.

BONUS. Morning prayer and Meditation. This is essential for anything else to fall into place!

(Personal favorite: Daily reading of the Word of God and from The Great Courses: Practicing Mindfulness)

BE WEALTHY --- BE FIT -- BE HEALTHY -- BE SPIRITUAL!

I would have to wait until RV. Most of us could never afford the teeth whiting or the very expensive cologne. We just pray to pay bills and eat. Thanks

What, if I may ask, do you do with the other 30 minutes of your day?
Me,

What is source for rituals for us gals?? THANKS..

My husband already bushes his teeth, eats at home, washes his face, walks the dog, and drinks coffee so I guess he is already doing most of these things and we didn't have to pay for the expensive trainers, facial scrub, and the like.
So I guess we can give the 400 dollars to the mission when our blessing comes in so that other men can at least get a shower and something to eat.