UPPER LIP SERVICE:

No matter how suave a man may look with a mustache, all it takes is a sip of beer or cappuccino to efface the effect. Foam, froth and drips have perennially plagued upper-lip pelts, no matter how well groomed. What’s a man to do but repeatedly blot with a napkin or — feh — swipe with the back of his hand? Well, he might consider using some protection -- say, the new Whisker Dam, invented by two brothers after a mustache-growing competition. After discovering that beer mugs with incorporated mustache guards were de rigueur in facial-hair-favoring days of yore, the brothers devised a more portable and versatile alternative. They fashioned a curved strip of copper with flexible double tabs on each end that could bend to fit differentsized rims, while leaving sufficient sipping space between the barrier and the brim. They branded their baby with embossed lettering and a weathered patina. A transparent non-toxic coating shields mouth from metal taste. The Whisker Dam comes in an old-timey-looking little box; for an extra fiver you get a leather pouch to house your dam off duty. A Whisker Dam Gift Set adds — what the heck — a branded cork coaster. Imagine the impression you will make on hosts and bartenders near and far; if nothing else, the Whisker Dam should be an instant icebreaker wherever you wield it.