So, thoughts on beards:
It might not be for you. It's genetics, really. Your beard may be patchy, or pubicy (gross), or maybe you just don't have the face for it. Or hey, maybe you just don't like beards.
But if you're going to have a beard, here's my advice:
Experiment. It grows quickly (for most people), so fool around until you find something. Whether it's long, medium long, medium short, short, or stubble. Also experiment with where you're growing it. I'm not a fan of goatee's, but maybe you can pull it off. Find something that works for you.
Keep it clean. Shave the neck. Or at least keep it clean, or slightly trimmed if you're going for a more rugged look. It doesn't matter what beard length you're going for, neckbeards just look horrible, especially when they're long. Aside from that, in my opinion, longer beard lengths are fine with sudden cut offs, but shorter beards look better with the fading out that I mentioned in my first post. A short beard with a sudden stop just looks kind of unclean to me, so I taper mine down when I wear my beard short (which isn't all the time).
Take what you will from that.
edit: Also, (I think) Axe/Tag body spray is gross. Just wear cologne like a real man, and normal deodorant. The Axe hair stuff is alright, though, I use it sometimes.