NOAH: Not so secret Men’s Biz

Posted on 10 April, 2018

Men’s grooming is slowly, but surely, making a comeback to the mainstream.

For a hot minute there, certainly while I was growing up, taking pride in one’s appearance was a one-way ticket to mockery. Thankfully, these times are passed, and a guy can get himself pampered and worry less about the flak he might cop.

NOAH has been providing Sydney and Melbourne with a little gentlemanly grooming, and now those chaps who want a little extra pampering in Canberra have a well-stocked place to go.

“We’re a retailer of over 1000 grooming products for men encompassing skin care, hair care, shaving products and fragrances,” says founder Nathan Jancauskas. “We work some of these products into our services; come for a shave or a beard trim and you’ll get to choose from a themed menu of shave creams and aftershave balms, and we finish with a matched fragrance. We’re also bringing back some great traditional barbering techniques: threading, ear flaming, head massage…”

It’s this broadening from barbershop to something more that is doing the work needed to change the stigma around men’s grooming.

“I feel like we’ve hit a tipping point and this has already changed (in Sydney and Melbourne at least – but I think it’s true of Canberra too from what I’ve seen thus far),” says Nathan. “Men these days are expected to have their grooming act together – it’s more of a stigma if you don’t.”

Again, this is where the difference between just going for a trim, and actually having an experience becomes so obvious.

“Ultimately, we aim to make those grooming tasks we all have to do a little bit more enjoyable,” explains Nathan. “As a consumer, I love exceptional experiences that raise the bar and make you go “wow”. I always aim to deliver this in my stores – I’d like people to walk away having set a new standard for them or improved their life in some small way.”

Located in Constitution Place, NOAH has also made a new range of products available to the Canberra market.

“We’ve brought a heap of great new brands with us to Canberra,” says Nathan. “The niche fragrance offerings – Nasomatto, Amouage, Orto Parisi (Penhaligon’s), Santa Maria Novella, Tauer – are initially proving popular – with women too.”

The older I get, the more interest I have in making experiences as rich as possible – and NOAH is definitely providing an enriched grooming experience.

NOAH is located at Shop 11, Constitution Place, 220 London Circuit, Canberra.

The author received their treatment free of charge