It’s time to announce the winner of our Audacious and magnificent beard competition. Choosing the winner was no easy task with every entry being a fine example of Bearded Audacity but after much deliberation the winner of an Audacious Beard oils and balm gift set is Brendan King:

‘The beard in my life is audacious for many reasons. It affords me a certain gravitas, like all if life’s great thinkers: Darwin, Freud, Lincoln, Gandalf and Pai Mei. It affords me a stroking device for mid-conversation so it appears I am being attentive and contemplative, when in fact I am just staring off into the distance. It gives me son somewhere to hide his Lego, as well of something to stroke absentmindedly whilst he is falling asleep. It allows small woodland creatures shelter from the rain. It protects my chin from the elements. It catches the sun and dances like fire. It is not so much a part of me as the sum of my parts. I am my beard. My beard is me.’ (Brendan King)