Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Shameless unpaid endorsements

I still like that tea tree oil Blemish Touch Stick I bought six months ago, and Mr. Tangerine swears by it, too. Time to head to Trader Joe's to buy another!

Another "natural"-type product I'm grooving on these days is Ecos lavender laundry detergent. It makes me so happy to pull wet laundry out of the machine gently perfumed with lavender. And this stuff is economical! The big jug holds 128 ounces, a gallon, and it's concentrated so you need just a half of a small capful to wash one load. The 128-ounce jug will yield 64 loads, whereas a standard 150-ounce jug of nonconcentrated laundry detergent gets just 32 loads. (I hear Tide is venturing into concentrated formulas now, which is grand because who wants to carry a jug that's twice as heavy as it needs to be? And that heavy jug with too much water mixed in has to be trucked across the country in a model of inefficiency.) Ecos laundry detergent also has a dye- and scent-free version, and something lemongrassy, and something with magnolia, I think.

We're partway through our first roll of Charmin Mega-Roll toilet paper. The roll is giant! And the paper is soft! But not too soft, because a lot of paper is compacted tightly in one fat roll. ("Soft and sturdy," says Mr. Tangerine.) It's rather like buying the quantity of sheets you get with Scott, but with a cushier paper.

Have you recently started using a product and wondered how you made it so long without this marvel? Feel free to share your tawdry commercialistic recommendations in the comments.

16 comments:

Klynn said...

Just got back from a week at Wa1t D!sney W0rld, and I have to say that Coppertone continuous spray oil free spf 50, is the best sunscreen *ever*.

http://www.coppertone.com/detail_of_50quickcover.aspx

We put the stuff on in the morning, spent long days in the parks, and never re-applied the stuff, and not one of us (pasty white indoorsy people) got burned at all. And once you put it on, it disappears, and you don't feel greasy at all. Good stuff.

Anonymous said...

Hey Orange: Although I can't get the same tea tree oil stick you have (damn I miss Trader Joe's!), since your original post on the subject I have been using tea tree oil products as well, with great success.

I'm using The Body Shop's line of products (tea tree oil face wash, clay mask, and moisture gel), which are great. But the real miracle cure for me has been straight-up pure tea tree oil. I use The Body Shop stuff every day, and then whenever I start to feel a pimple coming on, I slather some pure essential tea tree oil on the area. 90% of the time the pimple fails to materialize. Awesome.

For the 10% of the time that the pimple perseveres, I've found a concealer stick that contains 2% salicylic acid (Maybelline Pure Concealer), and a pressed powder from Almay that has 0.6% salicylic acid. This combination of products has been better at controlling my acne even than topical antibiotics. But it's the pure tea tree oil that is the real miracle worker.

Thanks for the sunscreen tip, Klynn. I'm always on the lookout for a better sunscreen. What does it smell like? That's a key feature for me. Our current sunscreen has a vaguely citrus-y smell that makes me nauseous.

My tip for a new product I can't live without - Glad Press 'n' Seal Wrap kicks the ass of plastic wrap. It actually forms a real honest-to-God seal on things. I use it in the kitchen all the time, but I also use it to wrap up leak-prone bottles when I'm traveling, and I have a roll of it in my lab too to seal culture plates and other experimental stuff! I can't recommend it highly enough.

Klynn said...

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention that. This stuff smells like...nothing. It has hardly any smell at all. When I first bought it, I sprayed some on my arm, then went in the other room and told my husband to smell my arm, and his response was "what? I don't smell anything". Then I asked him to feel my arm, and once again, he didn't notice anything at all. No greasy feel, no strong smell. You can see why I love the stuff...

Klynn said...

Oh, and one more thing about that sunscreen...(sorry I'm hogging the comments, Orange). I even put it on my 3 year old's face. I sprayed it on my fingers, then carefully rubbed it onto his face. Little Mr. sensitive skin had absolutely no problem with it whatsoever. Bob and I used it on our faces, too. We both ended up developing a couple of minor pimples after a week of use, but I do that when I put any kind of product on my face.

E. said...

I'm always up for a new sunscreen recommendation. I hate the stuff, but must use a ton of it b/c I'm the pasty whitest white person I know.

I've already blogged the praises of the Reach Access Flosser, but I'll say it again: this is the smoothest, most easy-to-use flossing device I've ever encountered. Lovely.

Unknown said...

Flannel sheets. Every other night through the entire winter, I got into bed and thought, "Bless whoever invented these," because they were warm and fuzzy and warm.

Also a space heater running within six inches of me, fleece by the yard (cheaper than blankets and more colors!), and pushy-clicky Sharpie markers.

Bored Housewife said...

I'm guessing cassie lives in Alaska...? :)

I will heartily second Klynn's recommendation for the sunscreen junk--truly a miracle of modern science. For my face I simply adore Neutrogena's spf 50 oil-free moisturizer--keeps me pale and doesn't cause zits!

As for my own original ideas...umm...I don't think I have any of those. Well, having a PDA phone has been pretty orgasmic, and today I added a little piece of software to it which will calculate my caloric intake/output and chart my progress. THAT kicks ass.

Also, is it July 10th yet??? :D

DoctorMama said...

OdorXIt. I just turned a friend with a bad cat on to it, and she says she feels like doing an infomercial for it.

Agent 31 said...

Shaklee, dude. Shaklee.

Orange said...

Ooh, klynn! I like the sound of that sunscreen. For anyone too lazy to copy and paste klynn's URL, you can lay eyes on the sunscreen here. "Quick Cover Lotion Spray," white bottle...must memorize for next trip to store.

dr. igloo, the Desert Essence Blemish Touch Stick is also available via Amazon, drugstore.com, GNC, and probably assorted other health-food/vitamin stores and websites. In case you're in the mood for a roll-on form of tea tree oil with witch hazel, lavender, rosemary, etc....

I bought e.'s recommended flosser. It is the most ergonomically sound flossing method ever! So easy to reach behind the back molars, even. Super-smooth, no shredding or sticking.

Cassie, I haven't taken the flannel sheets off my bed yet. I find them cozy for about eight months out of the year. Will take them off soon. Really.

Lisa, Mr. Tangerine's BlackBerry was AMAZING in England. If we wanted to know how to get somewhere, he went to Google Maps and mapped out a route. (Am so glad his company was willing to activite the international service for a couple weeks—he hardly did any work with it, but it was great to be able to access the internet from a rental car when lost in the Cheshire countryside.)

DoctorMama, I don't have cats (and never will! long story), but I'm sure other people will benefit from your recommendation. Heck, I should pass the name along to my cat-owning friends.

Maine, I looked at the Shaklee website and...I don't know, man. They look culty in an Amway kind of way. Plus they sell diet products and not just eco-friendly cleaning products. I wouldn't think you'd go for any cult that didn't involve bacon, so I'm surprised.

Anonymous said...

I highly recommend the Tide to Go Instant Stain Remover - helpful for coffee spills that occur on the way to work (made me popular at my last job for that reason).

Anonymous said...

Ah, Cheryl beat me to my recommendation. Not only useful for coffee spills, but will also generate sweetly sad gratitude from slightly demented little old ladies who are excessively worried about small spots on their shirtfronts.

Psycho Kitty said...

The Magic Eraser.
The Girl likes to write. On doors. And walls. And the tub. And the counters. And the windows.
Magic. Freakin'. Eraser.

Unknown said...

Orange - I can't find an email for you on here. Could you email me? I know you don't really know me - and this is all mysterious 'n' shit - but Screed suggested I contact you. Yeah, I'm name dropping! :)

shrinkykitten@gmail.com

Narya said...

Keens--the wide ones, not the narrow ones.
Tea tree oil does, indeed, rock, for all kinds of skin crud.
Honest Tea. I have to get the tea bags via mail order, but I like it, and I like the company.
I agree on the flannel sheets; I love 'em.
Futons. I've slept on one for so many years, I have trouble sleeping on many mattresses (which tend to be WAY too soft for me).

Lordy; if I don't sound like some hippy chick, I don't know who does.

momo said...

I am also a big fan of that Tea Tree Oil blemish stick! I wish flannel sheets didn't make me itch, but I'm one of those people who has to rip all the tags out of her clothes because they irritate me. Doctor Mama, I am going to buy some of that Xit Odor stuff. Thanks! No matter how clean I try to keep my cat's box, there is still sometimes a lingering odeur.