Saturday, April 22, 2006

Domesticity for the Men: Or, The Case for the Shared Bathroom

Sorry, folks: What started out as a week-long blogging project has been, sadly, cut short by a number of things - namely an unexpected family crisis and a research paper on which I've been procrastinating like crazy. This also means that there are a few entries that have been banked until further notice, so until I get around to posting them, I'll go ahead with this list-type thing to tide us over.

Beauty Products In My Closet that I Will Be More Than Willing To Share With Another Guy (besides the lip balm and the exfoliating scrub)

- Anything with verbena in it, because it's so fresh and herbal and won't put anyone to sleep. The men in my family seem to share my affinity for L'Occitane Verbena Body Milk and anything from Bath & Body Works' Coconut Lime Verbena line (although my Dad will be perplexed to hear that they've gotten rid of the creamy hand sanitizer), which I do not mind at all. And if you want the best of both worlds, check out Le Couvent des Minimes Verbena & Lemon Hand Lotion.

- A light moisturizer without any bells or whistles. And by this I mean Prescriptives' All You Need+ Moisturizer. If you're going to cockroach one product from my closet, this will be one that I will be willing to share. The SPF 15 version isn't too bad, either.

- Cuticle cream. If your man has a thing against nail salons (and that means you, Dad) hand him a tin of Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme and tell him to rub it in after cutting his nails. Result: softer fingers and less snaggly toes.

- Also good for those work-beaten hands: hand cream. Our friends in the medical field would like you to know that Gloves in a Bottle is fantastic for those days when that puny bottle of lotion isn't enough. For those of you who blanch at the thought of pulling out a girly-looking tube at your cubicle, there's C. O Bigelow.

- Pomade. Your grandpa will say that our hairdressers stole the idea for us, but you can't argue with the fact that no other hairstyling product has evolved so much since getting co-opted. I, for one, will be way too happy to share my Garnier Fructis Surf Hair Texturizing Paste with just about anyone, because it's such an effortless product to use - just a dime-sized dab of product raked through the coif goes a long way, no blow-drying required - and the "matte" finish does give you the day-at-the-beach effect.

- Tea tree oil. One drop on a Q-tip takes care of zits, insect bites, and other sources of inflammation. Not bad for just $6 at most health-food stores.

- Biore Blemish Fighting Cleansing Cloths. For those moments when you haven't taken care of your skin like you should. Salicylic acid is practically a cure-all in this case: Use the soft side on your T-zone to tame pimples, and use the scrubbier side for those ingrown beard hairs. Follow with a moisturizer on the dry areas, and you're done.

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