Lasoo is rejoicing all that is MAN-ly during the annual Lasoo festivus-  ’Celebration of MAN’.

Automotive gear, BBQs,  Sports gear , Electronics and lots of other MAN-nificent products on Lasoo are being put in the lime light and have been given their time to SHINE!

From the 22nd of August to the 2nd of October we will be inviting YOU to celebrate with us by commenting on a product in the weekly secret category and telling us “Why a MAN would like it?”

Congratulations to S.Outten 6110 WA who has won $1,000 in our 1st prize for Celebration of MAN!

Sam commented on the Pioneer MP3/CD Tuner - “My hubby would love this for his car because he has an old bunky & it might man up the car a bit!”

Don’t forget to tell you family and friends about Lasoo and our ‘CELEBRATION of MAN’ competition as there is still $5,000 to be WON!

There are a myriad of gift ideas on Lasoo for any MAN in your life including your DAD !

With Father’s Day coming up THIS Sunday we hope you have an amazing day spoiling one of the most important men in your life. And to all the Lasoo Dads out there: “It’s YOUR time to CELEBRATE!”.

If you don’t want the expense of always eating out, you learn to cook! If you don’t want to spend $ on a handyman, then owning a set of DIY home and garden tools is the way to go!

1. Pressure Washer Most have pressure 15x greater than your garden hose, so they make cleaning the car, paths, bikes, garden furniture, decking very easy. They also save vast amounts of water compared to using a hose for the same job. Electric or petrol-powered.  Karcher 1740PSI Pressure Washer $279.00 Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

2. Hedge Trimmer  Look for minimum noise and vibration, maximum power! Good balance in the hand is important - and so is safety, so check how fast the blade stops after you release the handle. Double-edge blades cut in either direction, and make sure it will trim the branches in your the garden. Some cheapies struggle over 1cm. Petrol-powered are the most powerful, cutting 2cm branches with ease. Electric trimmers are cheaper. Flymo Contour 500W Trimmer $79.00.  Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

3. Leaf Blower Love them or hate them, people still use them! Go for the least noisy that vacuums and blows, and switches easily.Fast airspeed  gets through the job quickly and reduces noise time. For wet times when blowing leaves is difficult, check the suction rate for vacuuming is good. Worx 2500W 3-In-1 Variable Speed Blower Vac $129.99. Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

4. Lawn Mower Rather than the push-mowers of old, you have to hang on to today’s mowers which are self-propelled, with wheel axles connected to the drive belt. They need more maintenance than a push mower. Choose a mulching and bagging model.  Victa Mulch & Catch Lawnkeeper $449.00. Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

5. Table Saw  Great for cutting plywood and decking.  Basically, there are 4 types - portable benchtop, contractor saw, cabinet saw or a hybrid which has features of a contractor and cabinet saw. Majority have a saw size of 25cm.  Xceed 254mm Table Saw $279.00. Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

6. Cordless Drill With rechargeable battery pack, they have less power than their corded counterpart. However they’re really popular with no need for an extension cord, unplugging/plugging in as you work, with cord in the way. Buy a model with maximum power - you can drill holes faster, screw through thicker timber. Panasonic 14.4V Drill Driver $449.00. Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

Find more Father’s Day Power Tools.

2011 is a bumper year for new male fragrances. Here’s 10 of the top most interesting man-scents that are releasing now.

1. Jean Paul Gaultier’s Kokorico (left) ’Decidely masculine’  describes this JPG man-scent made of fig leaves, raw cacao beans and wood. An amazing bottle, too. Find more men’s jewellery, watches and men’s fashion on Lasoo.

2. David Beckham Homme You’ve seen the ad - amazing-body DB dives into bottle. Fragrance is citrus, ginger, Szechuan pepper, cashmere woods, leather, rosemary, mahogany wood, patchouli oil and musk.

3. Bang Bang by Marc Jacobs Amazing name! 2010 Marc Jacobs made US Time 100 Most Influential People list - 2011 is Bang Bang, his fragrance of lemon, sandalwood and cashmere woods notes.  Find more men’s jewellery, watches and men’s fashion on Lasoo.

4. Dolce & Gabbana Le Fou  Named amazingly after The Fool card (in Tarot deck), an oriental fougère perfume with bergamot, juniper berry and gingerbread.

5. 4711 Nouveau Cologne  Geared to the young, designed to relax! Notes of evodia fruit, litchi, black currant, yuzu essential oil, geranium, heliotrope, peony, sandalwood, tonka bean and white musk. Memories of amazing, original 4711 Eau de Cologne!  Find more men’s jewellery, watches and men’s fashion on Lasoo.

6. Decibel by Azzaro With dB symbol (decibel), perfume is fronted by US band The Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas. Amazingly, he’s written a new song for dB.  Notes of aldehydes, green mandarin, licorice, violet, incense, vetiver, tonka bean and vanilla.

7. Calvin Klein One Shock Want to give each other an amazing shock? One Shock white for women, Once Shot black is an oriental scent with mandarin, cucumber, red bull accord, pepper, cardamom, tobacco, ambrene, musk and patchouli oil.

8. Ferragamo Attimo Pour Homme Masculine counterpart to 2010′s Attimo, fronted by amazing actor Alessandro Gassman. Includes marjoram, cardamom, mandarin, saffron, pimento, patchouli, vetiver, labdanum oil and white musk. Find more men’s jewellery, watches and men’s fashion on Lasoo.

9. YSL L’Homme Libre Fronted by amazing ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied (choreographed Black Swan with Natalie Portman). Spicy woods fragrance with bergamot, pink pepper and patchouli.

10. Davidoff Champion Energy By amazing perfumer Aurélien Guichard from Grasse. His grandparents produced roses and jasmine for the perfume trade. Notes include grapefruit, bergamot, galbanum, fresh spices, cedar and oak moss.

Find more men’s fragrances on Lasoo.

Find more men’s jewellery, watches and men’s fashion on Lasoo.

Soccer-mad dads, gaming dads, tweeting dads, dads who mind the kids or even shop online. Here’s 10 best new apps that’ll make any dad happy on Father’s Day.

1. Kid Genius: 13 in 1  (Apple Store) Because dad should be looking after the kids more, he’ll need Kid Genius. Instead of games with no educational value, this is a get-smart app! ABC, Flash Math, Sight Words, Food, Music, The Beach, The House and more. Free.

2. run Football Manager (Android Market) Dad manages his own soccer team, players, kit and income as he builds supporters and gets his football team to win the league. Read real football news, too.

3. Bridge Basher (Apple Store) Guys love to build/demolish! Destroy your bridge, using built-in physics engine. See how it withstands different forces, even share your building prowess with global Bashers. Free.

4. Raging Thunder 2 (Android Market) All dads love racing, and if he likes 3D accelerometer games - this is the best! Graphics are console-like so it downloads 20MB to your SD card the first time for playability. AI drivers are amazing to play against, multiplayer racing online makes this app a blast. $4.00 full version.

5. High Calibre Hunting  (Apple Store) Huntin’, shootin’ fishing’… without killing any real ones! Big game trophy animals, brand name firearms, dawn ’til dusk hunting fox and rabbit, bear and boor, in Canada to Iowa! 99 cents.

6. Hootsuite (Android Market) Does dad tweet? Tweet on the go and manage multiple twitter accounts, upload photos, view click stats. Lite is free, Pro is $2.99.

7. Mortal Kombat 3  (Apple Store) Most dads have played Mortal Kombat once in their lives - and loved it! MK3 app has all original characters… like Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Sonya Blade. 99 cents.

8. Toss It (Android Market) Think of  TV show The Office! Dad screws up paper and tosses it into his virtual bin - great time waster away from looking at the screen all day. Lite is free, full version $1.99.

9. Ping Pong  (Apple Store) Dad keeps ball in the air for as many bounces as possible, 100 nets him Ping Pong champion award; 200 bounces without dropping it, he’ll be Ping Pong master. Free.

10. Google Mobile  (Apple Store) King of search engines is making it easy for iPhoners. They can have all the benefits of  search via the Android platform. New voice search means you can talk to your phone, Google does the rest. Free.

Find smartphones on Lasoo.

It’s HIS time to shine on Lasoo! We’re giving away $6,000 Lasoo Gift cards to celebrate our men!

Yes, it’s that time of the year again - Father’s Day is Sunday September 4th, but here at Lasoo, we think that all our men deserve recognition for more than just one day…

So, our Celebration of Man competition starts Monday 22nd August and ends Sunday October 2nd - that’s 6 weeks to share in $6,000 of Lasoo Gift cards.

All you have to do to enter our Lasoo Celebration of  Man competition, is to select a product from the weekly Secret Category, and tell us in 25 words or less (under your chosen product on the Lasoo website in Leave a Comment box) why a man would love the product you’ve chosen.

Each week, the best answer will win a $1,000 Lasoo Gift card.

Terms and Conditions.

Picky partner, home-loving husband, bored brother, sporty dad? Whichever guy you’re buying for this Father’s Day, we know men can be notoriously difficult to shop for. So here’s our 7 best-kept secrets to celebrate your man with the perfect pressie.

1. Shop for his favourite food A home-cooked meal, how mum cooked when he was a kid …. a favourite dish, but this time cooked by you, brings those memories back. Cook his favourite food (with his favourite drink, of course) - the best present of all. Shop for his favourite drinks on Lasoo.

2. Shop for the outdoors Not all guys are sporty - but … they all harbour dreams of heroic wins on the football field, or wherever. If his life isn’t just the HD TV/remote, then sporting gifts are always much appreciated. If his glory days are long gone, then buy a pressie to enjoy the outdoors more, like a portable barbecue. Shop for sports and outdoor pressies on Lasoo.

3. Shop for the kid inside Yes, the kids get the gaming toys at Christmas and birthdays, but don’t forget he is still a kid at heart, too. All guys love gadgets to play with - so think of grown-up tech toys like a tough mobile for a tradie hubby, tablet computer for a techhead mate. Shop for gaming gear on Lasoo.

4. Shop the shoes for him Many guys feel clueless about shoes - yet they make such a dress statement about a guy. Buy a pair of best brogues to polish, a pair of RM boots to get that country feeling… even new trainers will go down well. Find more men’s fashion on Lasoo.

5. Shop for his jocks Men have been wearing underwear since 13thC, and some guys look like they’re still wearing the same pair! Shop for his inner wear - boxers usually go down well, even a men’s bikini will be a winner if his trousers are skinny. And if you want to shop for his celebrity within (see No 6), then buy one of the many celeb/designer pairs. Find more men’s fashion on Lasoo.

6. Shop for his celebrity within Who are his heroes? The celeb (or movie) he admires, TV stars he watches, sporting icons etc, all can guide you heaps in your pressie-buying spree. Find his celeb’s fragrance, his sporting hero’s biography, even a Nespresso if he likes George Clooney - or maybe that’s one better left for the girls! Find more men’s fashion on Lasoo.

7. Shop for his mind He’ll always thank you for valuing his mind …buy a book by his favourite author, a book on his favourite hobby, the book his favourite movie is based on … show him that you know, and appreciate, his masculine mind. And if he’s really not into books, then perhaps a camera for his creative mind. Find digital cameras on Lasoo.

And don’t forget to enter our Celebration of  Man competition!  $6,000 of prizes to be won, starting 22nd August, ends 30th September 2011.

All you have to do to enter our Lasoo Celebration of  Man competition, is to select a product from the weekly Secret Category, and tell us in 25 words or less (under your chosen product on the Lasoo website in Leave a Comment box) why a man would love the product you’ve chosen.

Each week, the best answer will win a $1,000 Lasoo Gift card.

Terms and Conditions.

You might be tempted to invest in more expensive, organic or natural hair dyes. But are they worth double the money you pay for a supermarket brand?

The answer, according to Choice Magazine - is no.  Choice says: “There are still plenty of chemicals, including potential allergens, in “natural” or “organic” sounding hair dyes. The addition of certified organic ingredients and other plant extracts doesn’t mean it’s any better for your health. The only possible benefit is for agricultural producers, who get a premium for their organic products. If you don’t suffer sensitivities to the ingredients, and are mainly interested in colouring your hair (without all the bells and whistles of plant extracts), save your money and buy a supermarket brand”. 

So, save your money, here’s a great supermarket hair dye buy! L’Oreal Excell10 for only $7.00 from Deals Direct.

Yes, we know it’s true - women do much more housework than the guys. If you can get away with it, give dad a hi-tech housework tool to celebrate his annual day!

1. De’Longhi Panini Oven (pictured, RRP $279) Turn dad into a good looking Italian! He’ll love cooking pizza and panini for the family on Friday nights - and when he’s got the hang of this, he can move onto using this 5-function convection oven for baking, griddling and toasting.

2. iRobot Roomba vacuum  One less chore to do and dad will love playing with it! This robot cleaner does the job instead, silently and slowly sweeping from rugs to carpet, timber floors to tiles. Find more Father’s Day Electronics.

3. Philips GC2860  (RRP $65) The answer to his ironing. SteamGlide ceramic coating makes ironing shirts really easy… for him. Many layers of ceramic coating make it virtually indestructible; 2100 watts provide 32g/min steam boost.

4. Dyson Digital Slim (RRP $469) Dad can hold it in one hand (just 2Kg), while the Digital Motor spins at 88,000 RPM, sucking up everything in its wake. Great fun! Dual power mode, battery that charges 3x faster, and tools like a carbon fiber brush for car and floor cleaning. 

Guys can be tough on their gadgets - mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, camcorders … they all take a pounding. So invest in a super-macho pressie for Father’s Day. Here’s our pick of the 10 best tech toughies.

1. Sonim XP3 Quest Pro phone  pictured left (around $450) The`extreme’ XP3 can be dunked in a metre of water for 30 mins, hit a concrete floor from 2 metres, still chats in -20C up to +55 C for 18 hours of talk time. Gorilla Glass display, 2mp camera with LED flash, Bluetooth.

2. Kodak PlaySport ZX5 pocket camcorder ($249 RRP) It’s the Terminator of pocket cams, resistant to rain, snow, sand and dirt. It’s OK in the filming stakes too, capturing video at 1080p HD, with on-board editing, 2″ screen, instant Share button and 32GB storage via SDHC card. Find more sports and outdoor gear for dads on Lasoo.

3. Samsung B2700 phone (around$150) Shock-proof case protects from water, dirt, dust and even being run over by a car. Torch, compass, pedometer/altimeter are great for sporty guys - clumsy ones love the unbreakability plus 3G, 2mp camera, FM radio, media player and RSS. Find more sports and outdoor gear for dads on Lasoo.

4. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 camera ($549 RRP) Tough and clever, the DMC-FT3, with its 12mp, 4.6x optical zoom, HD video shooting and 3D mode, can be taken up to 12m down into the drink, dropped in the sand and survive a fall of 2m. Find more sports and outdoor gear for dads on Lasoo.

5. Dell Latitude E6420 laptop (around $1,500) This amoured laptop will take any rough treatment - even the airport scanner. On the hardware front, there’s a quad Core  processor, 4GB DDR SDRAM and shock-mounted 80GB drive. Find more electronics gear for dads on Lasoo.

6. Olympus Tough Quiksilver waterproof camera ($449 RRP) From the barrel of a big wave to a mountain top, all thrills are captured with`limited edition’ Quiksilver. Waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, dustproof, this 14mp, 5x optical zoom camera captures high-quality photos and HD movies. Find more sports and outdoor gear for dads on Lasoo.

7. Lenovo ThinkPad T Series laptop (from $1,899 RRP) Baked, battered, blistered by the elements, the T Series meets military specs and is built for any rugged computing. ThinkPad tablets are launching soon. Find more electronics gear for dads on Lasoo.

8. Pentax Optio WS80 waterproof camera (around $100) Jump into 1.5m of seawater with this 10mp, 5x optical zoom camera - the 2.7″ LCD screen and HD video make great underwater movies. Find more sports and outdoor gear for dads on Lasoo.

9. LaCie Rugged Triple USB (from $179 RRP) Super-safe storage in a scratch-resist case, anti-shock absorbers mean you can drop from 2m, plus a rubber bumper protects your files. Find more electronics gear for dads on Lasoo.

10.Panasonic Toughbook CF-H1F tablet PC Slate tablet PC made for the harshest conditions. Weighing in at just 1.5 kg, the CF-H1F is light enough to take anywhere and even the most intense environments are no match for this durable Toughbook. But it’s very expensive! Find more electronics gear for dads on Lasoo.

Find more electronics gear for dads on Lasoo.

Congratulations! We’re pleased to announce the winner of our recent Slim Secrets $550 Prize Pack:

T Rainsford, SA 5153, who wrote:

Sat inside increasing my winter spread,

Time to excercise as sunshine’s ahead,

Slim Secrets will ensure I eat well,

To help break this fattening spell!