Tuesday, November 07, 2006

State of the Products

Fellow citizens: As we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy hovers on the brink of recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers. Yet the products have never been better. (Applause.)

For me: Creme de la Mer moisturizing cream, because there is no other. You only use a tiny bit at a time, so two ounces can last for close to a year. Cetaphil facial cleanser. Kiehl's avocado eye cream. There's no better make-up than Bare Escentuals. Go right to Sephora and get the starter kit in your skin tone. Really. You can thank me later. Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey, CO Bigelow rose salve, Palmer's cocoa butter stick, Aquaphor for whatever ails your epidermis. NARS hydrating body serum, Bath & Body Works Grin and Bare It, and Nivea smooth sensation. I also really like the La Mer body lotion, but it's absurdly expensive and I only have it because it was a gift. Also, carry a tiny Purell with lotion in your bag and you won't remember how you ever lived without it (no, really, it's good stuff, and not as rubbing alcoholy as straight Purell).

For my bathroom: Kerastase nutritive and L'oreal vive pro shampoo and conditioner, Fresh soda shampoo and pomegranate conditioner. I alternate which ones I use and avoid my hairdresser's voice mail death threats that it's been MONTHS and she can only imagine how long and full of split ends my hair must be now. (True story. She's a family friend.) Origins' Never a Dull Moment and Bath & Body Works I'm in the Mood for Scrub. Skintimate with baby oil, the Venus. Philosophy senorita margarita hot salt scrub and their cinnamon buns 3-in-1. Johnson's softwash and a rubber ducky.

For your bathroom: Guests in my home can rock it out in a bathroom stocked with either L'Occitane or Bliss minis. I like to switch it up because I live on the edge. The shower/tub has Nexxus Therappe shampoo and conditioner, Biotherm Aquathermale body wash, Philosophy Falling in Love bubble bath, and Dove exfoliating body wash. No bars of soap; sorry boys, can't do it. You also get your own ducky. Oh, and there's a bottle of Bath & Body Works aromatherapy sleep lotion on the guest room bedside table. (While organizing the haunted house at my Halloween party last month, I mistook it for a beer in the dark and almost asked Steve to throw it out, until Kate caught my near-tragic mistake.)

For Maliavale: The thing about perfume is that I sort of love it and sort of don't. If I really like a scent, I usually prefer its accompanying lotion, since walking past too many ladies who overspray has scared me out of ever inadvertently becoming one of them. Plus, I very rarely find a scent that I really like, since I think a lot of perfumes smell the same, sort of like eau de trying a tiny bit too hard. Having now talked this to death, I like (and own) Chanel No. 5, Burberry Brit, and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely.

And finally, for the record: This was the year that I tried ProActiv. I don't have acne (thank God, since I'm all growed up) but I figured if it could make all those stars look so glowy, I could get on board with that. Yeah, don't do it. I loved it for about a week (and gleefully announced "I'm using ProActiv!" to people who would inevitably shake their heads in response), and then one morning I woke up looking like a burn victim. Bottom line: Jessica Simpson LIES.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Applause! I shall bookmark this, ah, speech for future use. Tell me, madam, are you into perfume? Because some of us could use help in that department.

Anonymous said...

Can a guy join the fun? I take massive heat from the boys every time they step in my product-laden bathroom... what's their problem?

-R- said...

I seriously may try out the Bare Escentuals stuff. But I am scared to try something new because I am lame.

Stefanie said...

Posts like this sort of make my head spin. So many choices... so many recommendations... I'm overwhelmed (but fascinated).

Anonymous said...

I found this post very helpful.

lizgwiz said...

I've been intrigued by Bare Escentuals, but wanted an endorsement from someone who wasn't being paid to give it. Which I guess I now have!

Killer said...

I thought I was being all metrosexual because I was using Head and Shoulders and some fancy Old Spice body wash, instead of just a bar of Lava soap.

ReasonswhyIdumpedyou@gmail.com said...

Sky fist for Sephora!

Anonymous said...

Its just stuff.

MiMaw said...

Will you come stock my bathroom? Rubber ducky and all?

Unknown said...

What you have for products I have for perfumes. I own almost forty.

Red said...

Maliavale, I added a perfume section just for you... and also, let's face it, I take product-blogging requests really well.

Keith, tell the boys that they could probably stand a little exfoliation. Granted, this will only make them laugh harder.

-R- & Liz, DO IT! BE is awesome, reasonably priced and impossible to mess up.

Stefanie, those are really my blogging goals: to overwhelm and fascinate.

Darren, mock all you want, love, but I know for a fact that you've got Kiehl's avocado eye cream in your bathroom. (Um, perhaps I should clarify that I know this because of Heather's bathroom post, not because I've broken in.)

Killer, that's cool. Baby steps. Liz will get you something pretty while she's at Sephora.

Kate, right on!

Anonymous, it is, indeed, just stuff. Stuff rules!

Mimaw, SURE! Will Nick help me? And Jaek mock me?

LC, do you like the Prada? I like the bottle but haven't tried the perfume...

Anonymous said...

ProActiv sucks! I'm with you...my skin improved for a week, and then it just got worse than it was before.

don't call me MA'AM said...

I LOVEEEEE Bare Escentuals!! I've used it now for a couple of years, and I'm never ever ever switching back to anything else. Plus, my husband even noticed something was different and better... now THAT's saying something.

Same here for ProActiv. Tried it. Didn't really have an acne problem, but wanted to shrink the pores and go for the all-over glow... I glowed all right... BRIGHT RED. Never ever again!