A man walks into a bar....

Human Nature, by default, drives us all to make a first impression about people, regardless of whether we intend to do it and regardless as to whether it is fair reflection of the person involved. Let's face it, how many of our close encounters are really of the third kind, or if we're honest, how many are very much of the carefully selected and deselected first kind? That ‘walk in the bar’ moment. The first handshake of a job interview moment. The clothes, hair, smile and scent moment. All or any of the superficial decision moments that categorise the X-factor from the definitely Not U-factor.

In a world that is increasingly overloaded with consumerism are we increasingly more conditioned to buy brand and to love the label more than the contents? First impressions count – our merchandising and promotion is vital if don’t want to reach our sell-by date.

Economists and socialists are calling it Erotic Capital – investing in our appearance as a success factor for success itself. Women have been doing it for years. A Saturday night out starts from Saturday morning between salons and shops, cultivating the perfect specimen venus-fly-trap. The importance of appearance in the workplace determines professionalism and drive - effort in self reflects effort in the job. But there is no denying that if we feel good about ourselves our confidence, and often our ability, improves as a direct result.

By comparison, the stereo-typical Triple-S male routine is no longer enough (the fact is, it wasn’t really ever enough…). We expect our boys to do more than a quick Febreze shower. Grooming is not a chink in the male ego-armour, it is a medal of honour. The scent of a man can decide whether or not we wish to invest in his erotic capital at all.

It is a known fact that good lenses can be irreversibly damaged by bad frames - the truth is we judge, and we are judged. What’s inside may count, but it only really counts if you can be bothered to take off the wrapper...  

So, as we join the battle of the super-brands, is it our packaging that determines the length of our shelf life, or whether we will be simply left on the shelf?

‘Til next time, Pandora