constituents of the upstairs linen closet
Happy solstice, chickens! It's not exactly what I'd call wintry here, but I have high hopes for a cold Christmasy weekend at the ranch. I hope all of your winters are lovely and happy and snuggly!
(non sequiter: I always forget that some people are actually from Dallas and therefore do not, necessarily, hate Dallas. Weird.)
So to copycat lapses and La-cspan, and probably others, I decided to do a year end beauty product champion round up thingamabob. But then I realized, I don't actually use that many groundbreaking items, really just drugstore stuff, so a beauty product round up might not be that long and exciting. So I've expanded it:
Best of 07: A multitextual list of champions
Facewash: Aveeno Active Naturals Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
Gentle, but still scrubby. Non-perfumey. Good for skin of all types.
Moisturizer: Aveeno Active Naturals Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer
I bought this and the facewash for more or less the same reason: I wanted to upgrade from "teen acne!" products like Clean & Clear to something more adult, I guess. I was seduced by the soy content. It smells nice and is super moisturizing.
Body Wash: Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Radiant Exfoliating Body Wash
Look, I know I'm getting predictable, but when you like the products, why not use the whole line? I have skin prone to ookiness on the backs of my upper arms, my chest, my back, etc, so I use a scrubby wash pretty much every time I shower, and also use a brush for exfoliation. I feel like this wash does a good job getting clean, without being too rough or overdrying. Also, very lightly scented, smells like "clean" and "soy-based," not like any particular flower or event. Phew.
Sunscreen: Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock Lotion, SPF 30, FACE
This is the product that really started my love affair with Aveeno. My face has always been sensitive to sunscreen--practically every type ever makes it sting. This stuff does not! It smells nice and light, as does their other sunscreens of varying SPFs, which is perfect for living in Texas in the summer and wanting skin protection but not wanting to go to work or class smelling like a cabana boy. I put this stuff on every day under my makeup and on my neck and shoulders when I'm out in the sun. My skin is very fair and sensitive and loves to get red, so this was a spectacular find.
Face mask: Boots Organics Conditioning Clay Mask
I don't know what burdock is, but it really does pull all the goop up out of my pores.
Face powder: Neutrogena Mineral Sheers
I've been through several different powders this year, trying to find the one I really liked. I did like the Almay mineral based compact a lot, but the powder broke in my bag after like three weeks, which broke my heart. This will not break in your bag, because it's LOOSE. And you can CARRY IT AROUND WITH YOU! Two of my best girlfriends separately turned me on to this. You take the lid off, slide the plastic brush guard down, and shake it to get powder into the brush. Brush the powder onto your face, slide the guard back up, put the lid on, and throw it back into your purse! Amazing! Also, mineral-based! Super clean and awesome. Good work, Neutrogena.
Cosmetic bag must-have: Band-Aid Blister Blocker Stick
I got this on a whim and oh man, awesome buy. It's like stick deodorant in format, you just twist it up and rub it on the place on your foot where your shoe is going to be rubbing, and--no shit--no blisters! Thank you, Jesus and Science.
Ingrown hair and itch preventer: Hovan's Gold Medi Cream
After your delicate areas have been shaved or waxed, put a little of this on after every shower for a couple of weeks. Will greatly help (does anything ever truly eliminate?) with the itchy bump problem, and if you're not an obsessive freak like me, probably takes care of the ingrowns too. Don't be shocked by the price; a little goes a long way, and the tubs last a long time.
Mint shampoo: Organix Teatree Mint Shampoo
I'd been looking for a long time for some shampoo that smelled truly minty, like, peppermint oil minty, not Andes mint. Lo! It smells super minty and made my hair literally squeaky clean. I think it's not for everyday, all-the-time use (I'll stick to my Aussie Moist for that), but it's great for a once or twice a week zap of minty excitement for your scalp.
All-purpose utility bag: The North Face Sepal Bag
This bag is great in lots of different ways, but immediately became worth every penny when I trudged across campus in a downpour and, when I got back to my car, everything inside was completely dry. "Ballistic pockets" excellent for: car keys, tampons.
Comfy pants: REI "Cabin Fever" fleece pants
I have never before been a person who comes home and puts on different pants, if you know what I mean. You are not going to catch me outside of the house wearing a stupid Juicy velour outfit that even my husband knows is from five years ago. In my house, we call sweats "sweat dogs" and deride people wearing them in public. Is it that hard to put on a pair of jeans? I managed to!
These pants changed things. Don't get me wrong, I would not wear these pants out of the house unless I were in labor or something equally severe, but when it's cold and you wore a skirt all day or you're tired of "trousers" and you just want to curl up on the couch? OH MAN. These pants are amazing. They also have a pocket on the inside in the front, so if you were to walk the dog or go running in the cold (acceptable exceptions to the outside-the-house policy, along with yoga in the winter), you'd have a place to stick your housekey besides your bra.
Movie: Broken English
I can't say enough about how much I have loved this movie this year. Parker Posey usually makes movies that I like in theory, but rarely actually see, though I love love love her. But this movie, you guys. This is the year in which I finally got some medication I've needed for a long time and watching her go through similar emotions onscreen, I finally got to watch a movie and be all, "Parker Posey understands me!!!!" Big hearts for this one.
Epic reading experience: Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle
Another one that kinds of goes in the "can't say enough" category. Do you like history? Witticisms? Science? 18th century European politics? Love stories? Actually, that's false advertising--I didn't know I liked any of those things except love stories and maybe witticisms, and history in a general sense, before I started reading these, but oh man. These books and their companion Cryptonomicon have kind of ruined me for books forever. The Baroque Cycle is about: economics, politics, and society in 19th century Europe; pirates; Isaac Newton, Gottfried Leibniz and the feud over who invented the calculus; alchemy; a man so polite he cut off his own hand; cryptography. And like a billion other things. They're not for everyone, but they're spectacular.
Music:
ha ha ha ha are you joking? No way could I narrow that shit down.
IN CONCLUSION: I AM A CONSUMER, BUT I LIKE IT.
(non sequiter: I always forget that some people are actually from Dallas and therefore do not, necessarily, hate Dallas. Weird.)
So to copycat lapses and La-cspan, and probably others, I decided to do a year end beauty product champion round up thingamabob. But then I realized, I don't actually use that many groundbreaking items, really just drugstore stuff, so a beauty product round up might not be that long and exciting. So I've expanded it:
Best of 07: A multitextual list of champions
Facewash: Aveeno Active Naturals Skin Brightening Daily Scrub
Gentle, but still scrubby. Non-perfumey. Good for skin of all types.
Moisturizer: Aveeno Active Naturals Clear Complexion Daily Moisturizer
I bought this and the facewash for more or less the same reason: I wanted to upgrade from "teen acne!" products like Clean & Clear to something more adult, I guess. I was seduced by the soy content. It smells nice and is super moisturizing.
Body Wash: Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Radiant Exfoliating Body Wash
Look, I know I'm getting predictable, but when you like the products, why not use the whole line? I have skin prone to ookiness on the backs of my upper arms, my chest, my back, etc, so I use a scrubby wash pretty much every time I shower, and also use a brush for exfoliation. I feel like this wash does a good job getting clean, without being too rough or overdrying. Also, very lightly scented, smells like "clean" and "soy-based," not like any particular flower or event. Phew.
Sunscreen: Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock Lotion, SPF 30, FACE
This is the product that really started my love affair with Aveeno. My face has always been sensitive to sunscreen--practically every type ever makes it sting. This stuff does not! It smells nice and light, as does their other sunscreens of varying SPFs, which is perfect for living in Texas in the summer and wanting skin protection but not wanting to go to work or class smelling like a cabana boy. I put this stuff on every day under my makeup and on my neck and shoulders when I'm out in the sun. My skin is very fair and sensitive and loves to get red, so this was a spectacular find.
Face mask: Boots Organics Conditioning Clay Mask
I don't know what burdock is, but it really does pull all the goop up out of my pores.
Face powder: Neutrogena Mineral Sheers
I've been through several different powders this year, trying to find the one I really liked. I did like the Almay mineral based compact a lot, but the powder broke in my bag after like three weeks, which broke my heart. This will not break in your bag, because it's LOOSE. And you can CARRY IT AROUND WITH YOU! Two of my best girlfriends separately turned me on to this. You take the lid off, slide the plastic brush guard down, and shake it to get powder into the brush. Brush the powder onto your face, slide the guard back up, put the lid on, and throw it back into your purse! Amazing! Also, mineral-based! Super clean and awesome. Good work, Neutrogena.
Cosmetic bag must-have: Band-Aid Blister Blocker Stick
I got this on a whim and oh man, awesome buy. It's like stick deodorant in format, you just twist it up and rub it on the place on your foot where your shoe is going to be rubbing, and--no shit--no blisters! Thank you, Jesus and Science.
Ingrown hair and itch preventer: Hovan's Gold Medi Cream
After your delicate areas have been shaved or waxed, put a little of this on after every shower for a couple of weeks. Will greatly help (does anything ever truly eliminate?) with the itchy bump problem, and if you're not an obsessive freak like me, probably takes care of the ingrowns too. Don't be shocked by the price; a little goes a long way, and the tubs last a long time.
Mint shampoo: Organix Teatree Mint Shampoo
I'd been looking for a long time for some shampoo that smelled truly minty, like, peppermint oil minty, not Andes mint. Lo! It smells super minty and made my hair literally squeaky clean. I think it's not for everyday, all-the-time use (I'll stick to my Aussie Moist for that), but it's great for a once or twice a week zap of minty excitement for your scalp.
All-purpose utility bag: The North Face Sepal Bag
This bag is great in lots of different ways, but immediately became worth every penny when I trudged across campus in a downpour and, when I got back to my car, everything inside was completely dry. "Ballistic pockets" excellent for: car keys, tampons.
Comfy pants: REI "Cabin Fever" fleece pants
I have never before been a person who comes home and puts on different pants, if you know what I mean. You are not going to catch me outside of the house wearing a stupid Juicy velour outfit that even my husband knows is from five years ago. In my house, we call sweats "sweat dogs" and deride people wearing them in public. Is it that hard to put on a pair of jeans? I managed to!
These pants changed things. Don't get me wrong, I would not wear these pants out of the house unless I were in labor or something equally severe, but when it's cold and you wore a skirt all day or you're tired of "trousers" and you just want to curl up on the couch? OH MAN. These pants are amazing. They also have a pocket on the inside in the front, so if you were to walk the dog or go running in the cold (acceptable exceptions to the outside-the-house policy, along with yoga in the winter), you'd have a place to stick your housekey besides your bra.
Movie: Broken English
I can't say enough about how much I have loved this movie this year. Parker Posey usually makes movies that I like in theory, but rarely actually see, though I love love love her. But this movie, you guys. This is the year in which I finally got some medication I've needed for a long time and watching her go through similar emotions onscreen, I finally got to watch a movie and be all, "Parker Posey understands me!!!!" Big hearts for this one.
Epic reading experience: Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle
Another one that kinds of goes in the "can't say enough" category. Do you like history? Witticisms? Science? 18th century European politics? Love stories? Actually, that's false advertising--I didn't know I liked any of those things except love stories and maybe witticisms, and history in a general sense, before I started reading these, but oh man. These books and their companion Cryptonomicon have kind of ruined me for books forever. The Baroque Cycle is about: economics, politics, and society in 19th century Europe; pirates; Isaac Newton, Gottfried Leibniz and the feud over who invented the calculus; alchemy; a man so polite he cut off his own hand; cryptography. And like a billion other things. They're not for everyone, but they're spectacular.
Music:
ha ha ha ha are you joking? No way could I narrow that shit down.
IN CONCLUSION: I AM A CONSUMER, BUT I LIKE IT.