Emily's 24-Hour Product Diary: Vacation Soap & Too Much Trader Joe's
In DepthVital Stats: I am an almost-29-year-old, I have a pixie cut, and I work out (running, soccer, biking) fairly often. I work as a visual interaction designer for a software consulting company in Pittsburgh, PA. I live in the city and I absolutely love it.
I am a night shower-er so my 24 hours start in the evening. If I work out, I probably hop in the shower between 7 and 9 P.M.. If I do not work out, I may not shower and my fiance will give me eyes and ask when the last time I showered was. I am a bathe-every-other-day-when-I-don’t-work-out sort of a person, and I like it that way. It makes me feel like I can take a luxurious extra-long shower if I skip a day.
If it’s a shower-less night, I use derma e Evenly Radiant Makeup Remover and a cotton round. I can’t even with crumpled-up toilet paper or a cotton ball. I also live for Q-Tipping my ears but they have to be actual Q-Tips; not off-brand.
Things are always done in the same order in the shower. First, I take my eye makeup off with Avalon Organics Lavender Facial Cleansing Gel. I usually put some on my pinky and ring fingers and gently rub around my eyes before washing it off. Then I poke out of the shower and look in the mirror and see if I got it all. If I have raccoon eyes, I repeat.
Be forewarned — I use an embarrassing amount of Trader Joe’s beauty products. I love that place, they don’t use sulfates in their shampoo, and it costs less than five bucks. So next I shampoo with Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle, and condition with the Tea Tree conditioner. I leave the conditioner in until the end of the shower; for some reason I think it has more time to work into my hair if I leave it on for longer?
Then I wash my body with any sort of overpriced bar soap from Whole Foods or sometimes soap I’ve found on a vacation. I love buying soap when I go places; it’s not that expensive, it travels well, and I can cherish the memories of the trip every time I lather up. I am not into shower gel. I don’t like those mesh scrubbies, and I don’t like to bother with a wash cloth. Bar soap is simple and it works for me.
The following statement may be me under the spell that is The Clairsonic, but I swear it has made a huge difference in reducing the amount of blemishes I have. I use my Clairsonic Mia 1 with the delicate brush head and the lavender face wash again, and go over my face, focusing on the chin because that’s where I tend to break out the most.
If I am going to shave, which is maybe two times a week, I use a Shave Mob razor and Trader Joe’s Honey Mango Shave Cream, which is so great and so cheap. I just got the Shave Mob razor because I was sick of standing at the store debating whether or not I wanted to spend twenty dollars on razor blades (I don’t). I chose the male version of the razor because I think maybe they make them better? I don’t know — I just hate having to use pink things because I’m a girl. I like pink, but why does my razor have to be pink? I’ve had the razor for about a month, and so far I like it. I got the cheapest blades but I think next time I’ll step up and try the medium quality ones.
Post-shower I either use Deep Steep Body Lotion or coconut oil. The Deep Steep lotion in rosemary mint is tingly when you put it on, which I really like. For my face, I use Thayer’s rosewater toner followed by Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream. I used to use a drugstore face cream, but at my parent’s house over Christmas my mom had the Kiehl’s and it was so nice that I decided to splurge.
I am a Neosporin-a-holic and put it on any imperfections (cuts, scars, etc.) I want to go away. I also have extremely dry cuticles, so I use Bee Nuts! Organic Cuticle Oil from Amazon, and I usually put this on post-shower. I have a horrible relationship with deodorant. I hate it. I won’t use the aluminum ones, so I have been using La Vanilla. It does a fine job. I have tried almost every deodorant brand, even the aluminum ones back in high school, and nothing seems to work. I guess I just sweat a lot.
In the morning I get up and brush my teeth with Arm and Hammer Healthy Gums and my Oral B automatic toothbrush. I love the Arm and Hammer because it seems to be less sweet than the others. I really hate fake sugar, and some toothpastes are just too sweet.
Since I have a pixie cut, I don’t really do much with my hair. My mom and I have curly hair, and she’s really into that Ouidad brand, so she gave me some Botanical Boost Curl Spray that I use in the morning to “revive my hair.” Besides, I bike to work a lot and the helmet pretty much ruins whatever I had going on with my hair, so I just let it be wild and how it wants to be.
I only recently started getting back into makeup, so I am not too good at it yet. I wore makeup all through high school, and then took a five year break but I got back into it about six months ago. First, I put on Urban Decay Anti-Aging Eyeshadow Primer Potion — I got a sample of each of their primers with my Naked palette and this was the best one. I used to have NARS primer and it really didn’t work for me. Then I do blush with Hourglass and a Sephora contouring brush for my cheeks. On my lids I use various combos of Naked palette colors — lately its been Half-Baked with a touch of Smog — and, if I’m feeling fancy, a cat eye with Stila Stay-All-Day Waterproof Liquid Liner in black. Then it’s mascara with Great Lash from Maybelline which isn’t really my fave but hey, it’s cheap.
Throughout the day I use Burt’s Bees on my lips and L’Occtaine Shea Butter Hand Cream. My hands get so dry and the L’Occtaine works so well. Sometimes I try to wear lip color, but it’s always so shocking when I look in the mirror that I conclude I can’t pull it off, wipe it away, and go back to Burt’s.
And that’s my day! Rinse (if necessary) and repeat.
Emily is an interaction designer from Pittsburgh, PA by day, and an avid sewist and knitter by night. Find out more on her blog.