One of the great joys of facial hair is observing snow sticking to it, thus proving the beard’s insulating powers. Best of all is when giant carbuncles of ice form, as on Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the British globetrotter thought by many to be the world’s greatest living explorer. Whether or not that is hyperbole, he certainly competes with Ewan Mcgregor for world’s greatest hair, adventurer category. (While there appears to have been some photoshoppery involved in the bookcover photo (his jacket appears to have been taken from the photo on the left), Izzy includes it since it show Fiennes’ weather-beaten mane at its most spectacular.)
Even when relaxing in the comfort of his home study, as seen below, the adventurer maintains his devil-may-care approach, with ancient (torn?) desert boots and khakis with frayed hems. Alas, his plentiful testosterone has exposed his scalp to the elements.
In the interview accompanying the photo, Fiennes explains:
Everything in my wardrobe is old. I haven’t bought a suit in 10 years, that’s for sure. My dinner jacket must be at least 20 years old. My shoes, which I had in the Army, must be over 30 years old. I don’t like buying clothing.
Asked about his grooming routine, he continues:
For 25 years I have worn Clarins day and night creams. When I was in Antarctica I got seborrhoeic dermatitis, which affected the areas between my eyebrows and next to my nose. I ran out of cortisone cream and discovered that Clarins day and night creams for women do the same job without the side-effects. I’ve continued to use them ever since.
When a man has circumnavigated the earth from pole to pole via land, he may casually admit to wearing women’s cosmetics.
Perhaps Fiennes should have started moisturizing at a younger age. He was once considered to play the part of James Bond in the movies (Roger Moore was selected instead), but the producer rejected him for having “hands too big and a face like a farmer.” This, presumably, was before Fiennes cut off the tips of his frostbitten fingers with a Black & Decker power tool.
