British GQ has been helping its readers look and feel their best since its launch in 1989. In the three-plus decades since our fashion cupboard has seen enough coats to survive a nuclear winter, we’ve inhaled a menagerie of men’s fragrances and have gazed upon some simply glorious watches from the show floors of Geneva, Dubai and beyond. All of which goes to say that we know what we’re talking about when it comes to GQ Recommends. Still, it’s one thing to declare our expertise and another thing entirely to spell out why you can trust our coverage, which spans from essential SPF moisturisers to decadent Egyptian cotton bed sheets.
That’s why our team of in-house writers and pool of freelancers work hard to bring you the best kit for your wardrobe, bathroom cabinet and beyond. They’re the folks who’ll try, test and ultimately review the products that are worthy of GQ’s seal of approval. So how do they do it and why should you trust them? We thought you’d never ask. Here’s everything you need to know about how British GQ tests products.
Meet the team
Rob Leedham is British GQ’s Senior Commerce Editor for Europe, which means he's our lead for product recommendations across the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. Whether you're in need of a new face wash or exercise bike, he's edited the commerce team's expert picks and likely chimed in with a few words of his own. These days that tends to be when his beard trimmer has finally left this mortal coil, he’s run out of exfoliator or our watch guides need ritzing up with the latest models.
When he’s not knee-deep in denim jackets and gift guides, Rob writes and commissions GQ’s tech and gaming coverage. Sometimes, he's also being dragged into his colleagues’ IT woes. He especially loves it when that happens.
Before joining GQ Rob was the editor of Stuff and the deputy editor for technology and cars at Which?. He was one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for 2019 and has written for the Sunday Times, Wired, Condé Nast Traveller, What Hi-Fi? and NME among others. Given a spare moment, Rob is probably watching Southampton FC concede a late equaliser and questioning the life choices that brought him to that moment.
You can email Rob at robert.leedham@condenast.co.uk or find him on LinkedIn. He did an Instagram once, but hasn’t bothered since.
Owen Gough is the only writer in the team with a beard, which inevitably crowns him the king of grooming content for British GQ. It’s a well-earned title: he’s been writing about the men’s grooming world and the latest tech trends for almost a decade, covering everything from skin-revitalising moisturisers and jawline-defining beard trimmers to the latest Apple iPhone launches. As a Senior Commerce Writer, he’s clued into any online shopping event you’d care to mention, with a canny eye to cut through the noise to find the best offers and deals so you don’t have to.
Before advising British GQ’s readers on the proper care and maintenance of facial fuzz, Owen cut his teeth writing for Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Digital Spy, Esquire and Good Housekeeping, guiding readers on what the best coffee machines are for aspiring baristas or how to find the ultimate record player that will do your vinyl collection justice. Before that, Owen learned his trade in the world of cryptocurrencies, reporting on the staggering boom and bust of Bitcoin, Etherium et al.
Outside of work hours, Owen finds comfort in blasting noobs on competitive FPS games or slipping on a pair of boxing gloves at the gym. If there’s a spare moment at the weekend, he enjoys trying to keep up with his whippet Pippa, or focusing his creative might on penning his first fiction novel.
If your grooming routine could do with a bit of attention, you can get in touch with Owen at owen.gough@condenast.co.uk, or find him on X (the artist formerly known as) where he’s revelling in Arsenal’s second stab at “The Glory Days”. And if you simply must see how cute Pippa the whippet is, you can also catch him on Instagram.
Heidi Quill is obsessed with clothes. It is often said that if you ask for outfit advice three times into a mirror, she will appear. As a Senior Commerce Writer and section head for fashion, Heidi can be found complimenting the shoes of strangers, enthusing about a recent charity shop find, talking about her cat, and overseeing the output of style content on British GQ’s shopping pages.
Having worked in fashion ever since leaving school, Heidi’s career began in 2018 when she started freelancing in product writing, before a two-and-a-half-year stretch at luxury fashion giant, Farfetch. Joining British GQ in 2021 at the age of 21, Heidi might primarily look after clothing content, but she also enjoys trend reporting and interviewing the odd celebrity for Recommends’ ongoing ‘At Home With’ series.
Out of hours, you can find Heidi lusting over vintage gemstone rings, writing tongue-in-cheek poetry, styling the odd Instagram celebrity, or lost in the latest TikTok trend as a true Gen Z. Find her on Instagram and Twitter at @heidiquill, or email her at heidi.quill@condenast.co.uk.
Jessie Atkinson is the guardian of the gift guides at British GQ, overseer of the Recommends’ grooming and fitness content, and enthusiastic chime-inner on the department’s style recommendations. A Senior Commerce Writer, she can most often be found enthusing about face serums, gym trainers, knitwear, or the new lingerie brand that your girlfriend probably wants you to buy her something from.
A music editor before life at Condé Nast, Jessie still writes about culture — sometimes speaking with bands for NME and other times drawing out shoppable moments from films and TV series here at GQ. As Gigwise’s former Editor-in-Chief, she launched the music brand's print iteration and has interviewed such stars and bands as Joan Jett, Debbie Harry and the Pixies.
Out of hours, Jessie has a voracious appetite for films and the gym, plays guitar and participates in Japanese jiu-jitsu. She also does even more writing when not at her desk: she’s written two novel manuscripts and is in the process of penning her first film screenplay. Find her on Instagram and TikTok at @jessieatkinsonxo, or email her at jessie.atkinson@condenast.co.uk.
British GQ’s mattress queen, Daphne Bugler is in charge of all of GQ’s sleep content, with a special love for mattresses, as can be attested to by all of the writers who sleep soundly thanks to her recommendations. As Senior Commerce Writer, she also runs all of our interiors and furniture guides, whether that’s finding the pillows that won’t hurt your neck or the sofas that actually look good in your living room. Daphne also runs GQ’s ‘At Home With’ series, getting the inside scoop on what everyone’s favourite actors, musicians and athletes have going on in their homes.
At British GQ since 2019, Daphne started as Social Media Assistant, running the Facebook and Twitter accounts and being behind the scenes at some of GQ’s biggest annual events. While she still keeps a close eye on what’s trending, she moved across to the Commerce team during the pandemic in 2020. Before this, she worked for BBC Radio 2, studied a Masters in Journalism at City, University of London and previously wrote for publications including The Times and The Financial Times.
When she’s not deep in the world of mattresses, Daphne tends to spend her free time taking on a new challenge, whether that’s training for the 2024 London Marathon or attempting to cycle 100 miles in a day. You can find her on Instagram @daphnebugler, or email her at daphne.bugler@condenast.co.uk.
Josephine Binta Judd is GQ’s Commerce Picture Editor looking after the visuals across GQ Recommends. Josephine joined GQ in 2020 after working at British Vogue as a Junior Picture Assistant. She first joined Condé Nast six years ago on a graduate internship producing video franchises for the international Vogue titles. As well as designing and picture editing for commerce, Josephine is also a contributor for the website, focusing mainly on Recommends' Travel section.
When Josephine is not off jet-setting, she is busy campaigning for marginalised communities as part of PPA’s Next Gen Board and as a co-chair of Condé Nast's Disability ERG. Josephine has penned art pieces and talent interviews for British GQ’s print edition and has bylines in six different international Vogue titles. Josephine is a graduate and scholarship recipient from Condé Nast College. You can email her at josephine_judd@gq.com.
Lela London is a seasoned writer and editor with over a decade of experience, carving her niche in food, drink, culture, and commerce. As a contributing editor at GQ, she spends most of her time tweaking the team's already brilliant words into the work you end up reading.
Beyond her editorial duties, Lela fills most of her free time with more work (unhinged, we know). Her love of engaging storytelling, people and sharp humour led her to a second career as a screenwriter, earning multiple awards for film and TV projects. As such, you'll often find her boring everyone to death with soliloquies on the life lessons learned via The West Wing and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Before joining GQ, Lela's career spanned many years writing chef and celebrity profiles for Forbes, creating sex-positive documentaries for VICE, curating The Telegraph's Game of Thrones content strategy, and more. You can reach out to Lela at lela.london@condenast.co.uk or find her at @lelalondon across social. She's bad at posting (but alright at doom-scrolling).
Esat Dedezade is a freelance writer and the proud owner of the most misspelt name in all of journalism. He writes articles, features and reviews primarily covering tech and lifestyle, with some startup and business features sprinkled in for good measure. Before going freelance, Esat was editor of Microsoft News Centre Europe and deputy features editor at Stuff. He has written for GQ, Wired, Metro, TechRadar, Trusted Reviews, Decrypt, Maddyness and beyond.
When he's not staring at a blank Word doc, Esat is likely to be found discovering obscure subreddits, taking random minimalist shots of buildings and trying to understand why his cat sprints up and down the entire length of his flat at 1am. He can be found on both Instagram and Twitter.
Thomas Barrie was a staff writer on British GQ from January 2019 to 2022, covering culture, sport, food, drink and technology in print and online. Before that, he worked for Vanity Fair and, briefly, Tatler. He left to join the digital team at House & Garden, where he spent a year writing about art, design, architecture and interiors, before returning to GQ freelance at the end of 2023 to write a combination of commercial and editorial pieces. With a particular interest in film, television, books and the visual arts, Tom has interviewed Tracey Emin, Mick Jagger, Gordon Ramsay and Michael Owen for GQ among many others, and his longer written features include an in-depth profile of the Swedish interior designer Martin Brudnizki as well as deep dives into Cameo.com, The Sopranos and the Netflix series 3 Body Problem.
Britta O'Boyle has been a journalist for over 14 years, covering everything from kitchens and bathrooms to smart home and beauty tech – and a lot in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and was deputy editor for technology site Pocket-lint for the majority of her career. Prior to that, she started her journalism career in the interiors world, writing everything there was to know about all manner of design trends and homeware across every room imaginable.
As a freelance journalist, she writes for a number of different publications from the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Stuff to T3, TechRadar and iMore. In her spare time, you'll most likely find her planning which room in her home she is going to redecorate next (again) to stop her getting bored and keep up with the latest interiors trends. She loves painting and finds it therapeutic so the rooms in her home change more than some people change their bed sheets.
Why You Should Trust Us
If British GQ is known for anything, apart from thirst trap cover shoots with Jeremy Allen White and Andrew Garfield, we’d like to think it’s our impeccable taste. That’s why it’s so important for us to provide you with independent and honest reviews. Your trust in our judgement is something we’ve worked hard to earn over the past three decades, so all of our guides are centred around unbiased and accurate information to help you make the best purchasing decision possible. When we love a product, we’ll say so. And when we don’t? We’ll call out its shortcomings or will decline to feature it entirely, no matter the brand behind it.
Like any modern media entity, British GQ makes money from a mix of magazine sales, events, affiliate partnerships and advertising via a lot of great brands. Regardless, we do not let commercial values affect our editorial judgement and always maintain editorial integrity. Product selections for GQ Recommends guides are based solely on a mix of rigorous testing and research, and we’ll often look for outside help when discerning what makes the cut or not. Whether that’s asking a five-star barman for their bourbon of choice or consulting with a dermatologist as to the latest skincare ingredients to pay attention to. Our shopping content is held to the same, high standards as the rest of GQ’s journalism.
When GQ’s commerce writers and our team of specialist freelance journalists test a product, we’ll do so in a real-life setting rather than a lab or studio. We always aim to live with a product both at home and as part of our everyday lives to see how it actually holds up on a day-to-day basis. We think this means you end up with a realistic and honest assessment of what it’s actually like to use something we love. Since our testing process varies depending on whether we’re talking about a ski jacket, LED face mask or smartphone, you can find a bit more about how it works below.
As per the affiliate disclosure featured at the top of all British GQ buying guides, we are open about the fact that – in some cases – we will earn a commission from the products purchased through our links to our favourite brand’s websites. That said, all products are independently selected by editors, and we never allow the chance to earn money to influence our product selection (which is a result of thorough testing and research, as outlined below).
Diversity and inclusivity are big topics to grapple with when you write a lot about menswear and grooming products, let alone gifting, fitness and the rest. For British GQ, the starting point is a team that’s composed from a range of backgrounds, ethnicities and genders, so that a range of perspectives play into our eventual verdict. On a separate (but still important note), we also look to cater to different body sizes, hair types and the like in our coverage, so all readers can come away from a guide with something that suits them. Where possible, we also do our best to shout out independent businesses and smaller brands alongside the global big hitters you may already be familiar with.
How we test and choose products
We think GQ’s endorsement counts for quite a bit, and that means taking a serious approach to how we recommend products. Since we try to be straightforward about these things, here’s how the system works: where you’d expect us to have tested a product we do. And when you wouldn’t? We account for other factors in our rankings. Case in point, our best beard trimmer, and best mattress guides are full of products we’ve used ourselves for a good while.
Since it’s neither possible (nor sensible) to test every entry in some guides, we’ll rely on our decades worth of combined experience attending press days, staying tuned to the latest trends and discovering the brands we really trust – as well as customer reviews and expert advice – to make that call. For example, we’re confident that our round-up of the best linen shirts is as good as it gets. Due to fast-moving stock, the non-technical nature of the garment and sheer taste, those inclusions are made without any testing involved. For more information on how we test and choose for individual categories, take a look at our working practices below.
When we really like a product that we’ve tested it’ll be decorated with our “GQ Recommends” badge. That’s our way of saying it’s one of British GQ’s top three products in its category.
British GQ has lived and breathed menswear ever since its inception in 1989 – that’s almost four decades of knowledge-building right there. And whilst we can’t try out every single item that we recommend to you, you ought to know that each GQ Recommends fashion writer attends seasonal runway shows, collection previews and shops more than is particularly healthy for their bank accounts — all so they can bring you the best recommendations possible.
You’ll likely notice that most of our fashion guides have been furnished with the words, thoughts and feelings of Heidi Quill, our lead style writer for GQ Recommends. Having worked in luxury fashion for six years, Heidi has a wealth of experience and knowledge specifically based in mens styling and fashion. Simply put, she knows what she’s doing… and she thinks you probably need a pair of wider cut jeans. Just saying.
Like our overdrafts, our freelancers are deeply entrenched in the world of fashion. Adam Cheung is our resident streetwear expert and sneakerhead with more knowledge on the subject than (dare we say it) sneaker aficionado Ben Affleck himself. Faye Fearon is so au fait with the world of clothes that she now lives in Paris: her expertise comes from a combination of years writing for British Vogue, Dazed, tailors Drake’s and Husbands, and for a period as British GQ’s Junior Digital Editor. Harvey James has been contributing his recommendations to the section since 2018, and has also written for Highsnobiety, VICE and Wired.
You’ll also find style tips from in-house writer Jessie Atkinson, who has surrounded herself with clothes and fashion magazines since Sixth Form, previously penned words for luxury flash sales site BrandAlley and has taken particular interest in menswear in film and TV since Christopher Eccleston put on a leather jacket for Doctor Who.
Grooming is one of the central tenets of British GQ and has been since the beginning. As such, we take a comprehensive — and sometimes scientific — approach to finding the brands and products worth your money. In most of our pieces recommending products such as moisturisers, toners and other such tinctures, lotions and potions, you’ll find the words and opinions of freelancer Adrian Clark. A grooming writer and editor with 25 years of experience in the industry, he has edited the grooming pages at ShortList and written about men’s beauty for The Telegraph, The Face and The Guardian. Almost everything you see recommended on these pages has been on Adrian’s own face or hair, tested over a period of seven to ten days. With decades of experience trialling products, he’s more than well-placed to understand the difference between a cream that really works — and one that doesn’t.
- When it comes to skin and haircare, Adrian personally tests as many products as he is physically able. He tends to use products that need continued use to show results — such as anti-ageing creams or retinols — for up to ten days before making a final judgement on it. For tinctures targeted at specific complaints (such as acne or dark spots), he asks for the assessment of a trusted friend who has that particular issue.
- In the period in which he tests a new product, Adrian first and foremost considers how well a product performs: he’s looking for noticeable differences to the appearance and/or texture of the skin or hair. He also prioritises the way a product feels, its scent, and if it is organic, vegan or sustainable.
- Grooming products that give immediate results, such as fragrances and body lotions, can be assessed by Adrian from the first try: he’s sampled enough of both over the past quarter-century to see and feel if something is worth your money almost right away.
- When neither Adrian, a trusted friend, nor a member of the team has directly tried a product we feature in our guides, Adrian has carefully made selections based only on brands that he has come to trust over his time in the industry. He also pays attention to the ingredients used in new releases, and tries to spotlight innovations within the market.
British GQ’s grooming pedigree is well documented, having covered men’s style and guiding readers to look and feel their best for decades. As such, we’ve always taken our recommendations seriously when it comes to beard-grooming tools.
Of course, when it comes to beard trimmers and maintaining facial hair, you want to be advised by someone in the middle of a love/hate relationship with keeping their own beard in top-tier condition. British GQ’s Senior Commerce Writer Owen Gough has been covering men’s grooming tools for seven years, testing every brand on the market to assess the value and quality of the trim on offer.
- When testing grooming electrical devices – like beard trimmers, body hair trimmers, electric shavers or hair clippers – we use every product and review it in detail for at least two weeks to ensure we put every aspect of its grooming pedigree through its paces. We take into account its value for money and the additional extras and attachments it offers, as well as the quality of the trim or shave against coarse or thinner hair. We see how easy they are to use on a range of hair types and weigh up the overall design to see how ergonomic, waterproof or versatile they are for travel.
- Away from facial fuzz and body hair, we also assess dental care products like electric toothbrushes and water flossers, again for a minimum of two weeks. During this time, we test out any smart features available from the most advanced options, like syncing to smartphones, 3D AI mapping and the option to automatically subscribe to replacement brush head packages. As for performance, we take care to measure the quality of the cleaning and how easy each tool is to use across the various brushing modes. To top it off, we assess the quality of additional versatility, including if they include a travel case, how easy they are to recharge, and its battery length.
While your mattress and sleep set-up are about being comfortable, we recognise that your sleep is also crucial to your wellbeing and general health. With this in mind, we take great care in testing any sleep products as rigorously as possible. We have a team of editors, testers and writers who have all been working in the sleep world for a combined period of decades, all of whom regularly speak to qualified experts, using their knowledge to inform and guide our recommendations. We also work closely with many of the major sleep brands on the market to test and get a better understanding of their products and who they should be recommended to.
All of our guides are then edited by Daphne Bugler, our resident sleep-obsessed Senior Commerce Writer who’s single-handedly transformed the bedrooms of most of the GQ team. Having written about sleep, mattresses and interiors for the past few years, give her a little bit of a backstory to your sleeping habits and she can find you the right mattress in a matter of minutes, and she never misses (just ask everyone at GQ who currently sleeps soundly night after night thanks to her.
While you could say they literally sleep on the job, our freelance team of Interiors writers know their pocket springs from their memory foams better than anyone. Tom Barrie started at GQ way back in 2019 and has since added to his culture-writing game by spending some time working with House & Garden before returning to GQ to feed us all of their knowledge about Interiors trends. He’s joined by Britta O’Boyle, who’s 14 years of experience in journalism and obsession with redecorating her own home make her the perfect person to help you navigate your next home upgrade.
Here’s how we test each category in further detail…
- When writing about mattresses, we aim to review and sleep on as many that we write about as possible. In our guide to the best mattresses, one of us has slept on every single one for at least 30 days (and in many cases we’ve slept on them for more than a year), meaning we have a deep understanding of how they work. We look at the design, comfort and support you’ll get from each mattress and consider how this holds up against the claims of the brands they come from. We also look at how innovative the designs are, how sustainable the production process is, and what kind of sleepers these would suit. Every recommendation in this guide comes personally from a member of the team. In our supplementary mattress guides, when we haven’t managed to test a mattress specifically, we have spoken to experts and listened to their recommendations and only included brands that we’ve tested other products from before and that we trust.
- When writing about duvets, pillows, bedding and weighted blankets, we also aim to trial as many products as possible for at least 30 days. In most cases, we’ve only included the items that we’ve loved enough to keep on our beds long after this period. We also consider how they might help you sleep and who they would be best for, as well as including products that suit a range of budgets.
A big part of choosing furniture is about aesthetics and style, but we also want to make sure that we’re recommending good quality products that will stand the test of time. Of course, this varies based on budget, but we’re also considering durability, materials and the sustainability of the production process alongside style and trend-led criteria when making furniture and homeware recommendations. We’ve gone into more detail below about the process of how we test.
- When writing about furniture and homeware, it isn’t always possible to test every single item due to space constraints, sustainability and logistics. With this in mind, to make sure we give out only the best recommendations, we always include products from brands we know and trust and work to get a good understanding of the new collections each year by visiting showrooms. We’re confident we only recommend brands that put quality first, but we also keenly consider design and aesthetics here while making sure we choose pieces that will be both long-lasting and durable. For items like sofas and sofa beds, we know comfort is an important consideration so we place a higher emphasis on testing as many of these as possible, and are more cautious with which brands we recommend.
- In a similar fashion, it isn’t possible to test every single home accessory or soft furnishing that we write about, but we look to view as many items as possible before including, whether that be the latest dinnerware or a new collection of rugs.
Our gift guides are overseen by in-house gifting expert Jessie Atkinson, who has been immersed in the world of all the many things you can buy as presents since 2022. Each of our 25 guides are compiled and edited by Jessie, who corresponds with brands big and small in order to keep abreast of new launches and assess which things your friends and family might want to receive from you come their birthday. Owing to the size of our gift guides, it isn’t always possible to test every single item we include, but as a team we do collectively own and love a majority of them. Whether it’s a Kiehl’s moisturiser we’ve been using for weeks or a cinema subscription we have ourselves been gifted, that goes for most things we feature, though where it’s not possible to directly road test our suggestions, we select from brands we’ve worked with and loved before, pay attention to customer reviews and see or use products at brand events.
We only have so many legs and feet: even the whole British GQ team put together would be hard-pressed to test out every single pair of shorts and trainers that come out every week — plus it would require us to be perpetually in the gym. Despite that, we have collectively tried a hell of a lot of gear, from Lululemon’s trainers to Adidas’ base layers to Satisfy’s ergonomic running shorts. All of the brands in our gym clothes, gym bags and gym equipment guides have been tested by a member of the team and are prized for their consistency in quality. Where we haven’t tested something specifically — a dumbbell or treadmill for example — we work to understand the benefits of the products we suggest, working with brand publicists, customer reviews and freelancers in order to be certain that you’re being recommended the absolute best.