A scene from “Mansome,” a new movie from Morgan Spurlock that looks at male grooming habits. Photo courtesy of Warrior Poets.

The documentary moviemaker who took on McDonald’s in “Super Size Me” is exploring male grooming habits in “Mansome,” a new flick that’s being billed as “an expose of comic proportions.”

Oscar and Emmy Award-nominated director/producer Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary film takes a look at men’s identity through the exploration of male grooming habits. “Mansome” made its world premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in April and will open in limited release in several major cities nationwide including New York and Los Angeles.

The movie is described as “a witty, provocative and highly-entertaining glimpse into what it means to be a man in a world where the definition of masculinity has become as diverse as a hipster’s facial hair in Williamsburg,” according to those involved in the movie and its distribution.

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•Keeping on the topic of men, AOL and BermanBraun have launched Mandatory.com, an online destination for men, which marks AOL’s entry into the male consumer lifestyle space. The site is sponsored by P&G powerhouse grooming brand Gillette. According to AOL, Mandatory will distill the best of everything of interest to men into four categories—Play, Know, Women and Awesome.

“Gillette is honored and excited to be a part of this amazing new destination,” said Damon Jones, the external relations director, global grooming and shave care at Procter & Gamble. “Mandatory touches on a lot of passion points for our consumers and this will be a perfect destination for them to keep up with the latest in men’s interests including trends on grooming and styling.”

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•Unilever’s virtual Dove Hair Spa—where online players upgraded their bathrooms and interacted with the spa and Dove hair care products via a special Care & Repair with Dove Hair Therapy shower feature—drew many users, according to Electronic Arts (EA), its partner in the program.

“What a great kickoff to a year-long, multi-brand relationship between Unilever and EA,” said Dave Madden, senior vice president of Global Media Solutions at EA. “In just a two week period, over one million The Sims Social players redeemed the Dove Hair Spa virtual items in their games. It’s a powerful combination of the right game, the right audience and the right gaming platform showing the success that real-world brands can have reaching highly-engaged players.”

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•Skin care brand Philosophy, founded by Cristina Carlino, is marking its 16th anniversary. Carlino, who previously developed Biomedic, a medical skin care company, built Philosophy into an award-winning company with loyal fans who loved the products as much as their often quirky and clever names like Hope in a Jar and Miracle Worker.

In 2010, when Coty Inc. acquired Philosophy from The Carlyle Group, a sale price was not disclosed, but Carlyle was said to be seeking $1 billion for the company, which was expected to have sales of more than $200 million that year.

For Coty, Philosophy would help to further diversify and expand its prestige division, and expand Philosophy on a global level, affording them the opportunity to expand across Asia into countries such as Korea, China and Japan. Domestically, the brand continues to grow its retail relationships. It is currently available at Sephora, QVC, Ulta, Nordstrom, Macy’s and Lord & Taylor, as well as the brand’s ecommerce site: philosophy.com.

To celebrate its birthday, Philosophy created a limited-edition shower gel called it’s philosophy’s sweet 16, which is scented with cinnamon buns, a perennial customer favorite and one of the company’s best-selling shower gel scents.

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•OPI has rolled out its latest formula of manicure/pedicure scrub, mask and massage treatments in chamomile mint. The products are infused with chamomile to sooth and de-stress naturally, vitamins that help heal and protect, and refreshing mint, which invigorates in addition to a honey-sweet aroma, said the nail lacquer company.

“I adore this flavor; the scent is both delicious and calming,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI executive VP and artistic director. “Hand and foot treatments with this flavor are perfect for pampering and de-stressing—turning a routine trip to the salon into a soothing spa experience.”

Manicure/Pedicure by OPI in Chamomile Mint is available this month 2012 at professional salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta.

More info: www.opi.com

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Janie Bryant knows clothes and she’s created a book with Downy Wrinkle Releaser.

•Janie Bryant, the costume designer on AMC’s “Mad Men,” unveiled “The Fabric Care Guide: Tips and Advice on Caring for Your Clothes” in conjunction with Downy Wrinkle Releaser. The 14-page booklet, complete with sketches by Bryant, provides fabric care tips for a variety of fabrics including acetate, acrylic, cotton, nylon and wool, and features fabric swatches to help readers identify the different types of fabrics.

A downloadable version of the book is available online at www.downywrinklereleaser.com/janiebryant.

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•Four of Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase anti-aging treatments have earned the Good Housekeeping Seal: Perfecting Skin Tone Serum XK, Wrinkle Repair Daily Lotion SPF 30, Lift & Resculpt Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream and Under Eye Recovery.

The scientists and experts at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute found that the products deliver on all claims appearing in their advertising, packaging and other informational materials. Only products that pass the strict evaluation can earn the Seal.

“The testing is so stringent and select products earn the Seal annually, so we are extremely proud to have been accepted by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute,” said Jill Wittenberg, marketing manager at Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase. “It’s such a great honor to be included in such a regarded group of high caliber products.”

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• DermStore.com is going bricks ‘n mortar. The online retailer has opened its flagship store in Hermosa Beach, CA. The store is billed as more than an average beauty supply store, it will offer an “expansive retail selection of quality products synonymous with DermStore.com, a luxurious hair salon and a spa featuring treatments from brands such as Decleor, Eminence, Phytomer, YonKa, Dermalogica, Guinot and Thibiant,” according to the company.

DermStore launched in 1999 with the vision of fulfilling the unmet need for a reputable dermatologist-backed online store, carrying only the finest cosmetic dermatology products. It now has more than 620 brands and 23,000-plus products.

“I’m thrilled about the opening of the new DermStore retail store in LA,” said Dan Obegi, DermStore’s CEO. “It gives us another opportunity to serve our clientele and gives us a space where we can meet our customers face to face every day. We’ll use the DermStore retail store to test products before they hit the market, as a location for our photo and video shoots, and as another avenue for our customers to get the best products and the best service.”

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•Lily.B Skincare has signed Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat as its official spokesperson. Caillat has entered into a multi-year agreement with the firm to promote its line of skin care products via a campaign that includes print, online, in-store and social media and a series of appearances.

“We are thrilled to have Colbie on the Lily.B team,” said Lily.B founder Liz Bishop. “Her amazing talent, energy, and lifestyle make her the perfect partner as we continue to grow the Lily.B brand.”

Caillat will co-headline a 50-city summer concert tour with Gavin DeGraw. It starts May 25.

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• Tom’s of Maine is awarding $20,000 to five non-profit clinics to provide dental care in areas with the highest percentage of their population living under the poverty level, including Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico and Washington, DC.

The Tom’s of Maine Dental Health for All Program aims to create greater access to oral care. As part of a steadfast commitment to health, Tom’s of Maine has supported Dental Health for All for more than a decade. To date, Dental Health for All has helped make 200,000 additional patient visits possible with $1 million in funding to more than 30 school and community-based dental clinics.

This year, the following non-profit organizations will each receive $20,000 to help increase access to oral care for people who otherwise will go without: Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center, Clarksdale, MS; Ben Archer Health Center, Hatch, NM; Christ Health Center, Birmingham, AL; HealthPoint Family Care, Covington, KY; Kids Smiles, Inc., Washington, DC.

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•With more homeowners and professional housecleaners trading their so-called “traditional” cleaning products in for more environmentally friendly and all-natural cleaners, service review website Angie’s List reports an increase in both consumers seeking eco-friendly cleaning companies and in professional cleaning companies that offer “green” options.

Angie’s List collects consumer reviews on local contractors and doctors in more than 550 service categories. It currently has more than one million subscribers in the US.

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•The Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures oral health education program held a special event at the Fienberg Fisher School in Miami Beach to dedicate one of its mobile dental vans to provide free dental screenings, oral health education and treatment referrals to children in need throughout Florida.
Against a backdrop of music and costumed characters, more than 400 elementary school students joined former Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor to celebrate the unveiling of the mobile dental vans. As part of the festivities, students on-site received free dental screenings aboard the van and participated in a mass “brush-a-thon” led by Taylor.

Colgate’s fleet of mobile dental vans visits more than 1,000 towns each year in the US reaching more than 10 million children with oral health education and dental screenings. Colgate’s new efforts in Florida are supported by Broward County Public Schools; Community Health of South Florida, Inc.; the Continental Societies, Inc.; Hispanic Dental Association; Miami Dade College’s School of Allied Health Technologies; Miami Dade County Public Schools; National Dental Association; Nova Southeastern University’s College of Dental Medicine and the University of Florida College of Dentistry.

To date, Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures has reached 650 million children and their families across 80 countries.

More info: www.ColgateBSBF.com

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Amy Smart and Carter Oosterhouse for Schick.

•Schick, which makes disposable razors, has come up with a method to “shave” down landfills. Schick Xtreme3 has teamed up with Make magazine to launch Project ReMAKE, an online contest that asked the public to share their most creative ways to reuse everyday objects and materials during Earth Month. The contest, which was open to submission through May 14, was designed to support the new Schick Xtreme3 Eco razor, which has a handle made of 100% recycled plastic and a package made of recycled paper.

To help launch the contest, Schick enlisted actress Amy Smart and HGTV’s Carter Oosterhouse, who created a series of how-to videos on Facebook that guide people through sample projects they can easily make at home. One grand prize winner, chosen by popular vote, will win a trip to the Maker Faire in New York City, and a sweepstakes winner will receive a Nissan Leaf.

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•The Febreze franchise is cooling off consumers as well as helping them live in a better smelling environment. The new Honeywell with Febreze Freshness Cool & Refresh Fan provides effective cooling and quiet operation and uses the P&G brand’s Set&Refresh scent cartridges for whole room freshening. The fan offers scent control with variable settings that allow consumers to adjust scent level to their odor elimination and freshening needs. It comes with an Advanced Odor Eliminator scent cartridge that offers two times the odor eliminating ingredients compared to the base formula used in other Febreze Set&Refresh scents.A single scent cartridge can last up to 30 days depending on fan speed.The fan can also be used with anyof the Febreze Set&Refresh scent cartridges available in the scent aisle.

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•Comedian Jason Jones is the face of the new “Edge Men” campaign for Edge shaving foam.The program will introduce an inspiring group of everyman heroes who will give men the tools they need to get their edge in life, spearheaded by Jones as Edge Fund Manager. In partnership with the brand, Jones will dole out Edge Endowments via social media to arm men with whatever they need to achieve success.

“The Edge Men program furthers our commitment to give men the edge they need to always be ready for success,” said Jeffrey C. Wolf, senior brand manager for Edge shave gel.

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•To leverage the launch of its SilkTouch technology, Downy invited consumers to celebrate softness by dancing through Downy events and the contest “Baila Súbele al Suave.” The events, which were open and free to the public, were held in Los Angeles on April 20 and Miami on April 28.

For those unable to attend, Downy held a Facebook contest in which participants could upload their video dancing to the rhythm of “Súbele al Suave.” The top 10 winners will get a one-year supply of Downy with SilkTouch. A public vote will select the top winner, who will be awarded a washer and dryer and $1,000.

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• Mandom Corp. has kicked off a new campaign, entitled GXYB, targeting worldwide consumers on its Gatsby English-language global website. In the new campaign, the Japanese brand collaborates with the Yasutoko Brothers (Eito and Takeshi), who are half-pipe inline skating world champions.
The campaign features video footage of the duo performing half-pipeinline skating moves and the Yasutoko Brothers will also be on Twitter for the brand.

In addition, GXYB goods will be given as gifts—such as the same inline skates that the Yasutoko Brothers wearand T-shirts made in collaboration with Gatsby and shown on the video.

More info: http://gatsbyglobal.com/gxyb

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•Sure there’s Tebow mania among New York Jets fans, but Degree Men is banking on the NFL team’s starting quarterback—Mark Sanchez—to lure consumers. The AP/deo brand is teaming up one again with Sanchez in the Degree Men Offseason Adventure Series.

Fans visited www.DegreeMen.com to vote on four different adrenaline-fueled adventures for Sanchez to tackle this offseason. The QB will then complete the top two vote-getting adventures, with all the action captured and shared through an exclusive online video series.

“Degree Men is all about protecting guys during life’s everyday movements while also keeping them cool during the adrenaline-fueled moments along the way,” said Aaron Callaway, senior brand building manager, Unilever. “Mark Sanchez plays the toughest position for one of football’s highest-profile teams and we’re proud to work with him again on the Offseason Adventure program.”

In 2011, Degree Men partnered with Sanchez to launch the first Offseason Adventure program to keep his adrenaline pumping during the pro football lockout.

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• Redken 5th Avenue NYC has re-launched its Style Station mobile phone application. The app, which initially launched in January 2011 at the Redken Symposium, already has more than 20,000 downloads.

This strategic upgrade has been timed for the launch of Chromatics, Redken’s new Prismatic Permanent Color line, according to the brand. With Style Station 2.0, stylists can access thousands of hair color formulas featuring new Chromatics Prismatic Permanent Color and they will also be able to create lookbooks and consult with clients using Redken’s Art of Consultation toolkit.

In tandem with the launch of mobile app, Redken re-launched its consumer mobile website (m.redken.com) and launched a professional mobile website (m.redkensalon.com). The consumer website features a geo-based salon finder.

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•Rockin’ Green was named best laundry detergent in the fifth annual About.com 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards.

“This is an incredible honor for Rockin’ Green to be named the best laundry detergent, and a sign that people really do care about washing their family’s clothes and linens in a quality detergent that rinses clean and is chemical-free,” said Kimberly Webb, CEO/founder of Rockin’ Green.

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•SC Johnson Canada received Walmart Canada’s second-annual Vendor Sustainability Award. The honor from the world’s largest retailer recognizes overall sustainability progress and effort in helping Walmart sell products that sustain people and the environment.

“SC Johnson’s efforts in the product area nudged them over the top,” said Andrew Telfer, manager, sustainability, Walmart Canada.

Earth Day Rewind • Earth Day (and Earth Month) celebrations loom large in the personal care industry as brands highlight their green practices, packaging and products. Here’s a quick rundown of just a few of the marketing events tied into last month’s eco-centered day, which was April 22. Origins partnered with Gavin DeGraw and Vanessa Carlton for the third annual Origins Rocks Earth Month, a free concert held in New York City on April 18. The Estée Lauder brand also produced concerts in Taipei on April 13 with co-headliners A-Lin and Alan Kao and in Berlin on April 12 with headliner Johannes Strate.The concert series furthers Origins’ Global Plant-A-Tree Program, as the brand will plant a tree on behalf of each concert attendee through American Forests’ Global ReLeaf. In addition, on April 22, customers were able to “trade in” any one of their existing skin care products, regardless of brand, for an Origins high-performance moisturizer for free. With Phyto, consumers could help restore the endangered Atlantic Forest in Brazil by purchasing a limited edition Phytopolleine, the brand’s 100% essential oil scalp treatment that was launched to support The Nature Conservancy’s “Plant a Billion Trees” campaign. The limited edition scalp elixir, which retails for $32, is being be sold in a reusable and recyclable pouch at more than 750 salons throughout the US. For each unit sold, Phyto will contribute to The Nature Conservancy. Additionally, Phyto’s professional salon network will offer special in-salon treatment days to boost fundraising efforts throughout the remainder of 2012. Each treatment day will consist of complimentary hair and scalp analysis and hair and scalp treatments given by top Phyto experts and stylists. Touted via an email blast to subscribers, Juice Beauty pulled together four of its USDA-certified organic products, which are normally sold for $105, into one bundle for just $75, and offered free shipping. But beauty brands aren’t the only ones to get active for Earth Day celebrations. P&G, for example, held its “Take a Load Off” campaign, which encouraged US consumers to switch to cold water laundry washing to help save energy and cut down on household utility costs. The Take a Load Off campaign was designed to motivate consumers to switch to cold water washing by showcasing the environmental benefits, promoting Tide laundry detergents specially formulated to provide a deep clean in cold temperatures and incentivizing the public to participate. P&G also brought its cold water washing message to life through pop-up laundry lounges in Los Angeles on April 10 and New York City on April 18, which were hosted by actress and expectant mother Vanessa Lachey. In addition, it hosted a Facebook sweepstakes asking the public to wash in cold water for the chance to win prizes from P&G each week, including high-efficiency washer and dryer sets and Tide Coldwater detergent.