by tyler steele

Okay, so I feel a little like a 50s housewife when I do this, but every time I make a trip to the market I pick up a box of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda. It really is the wunder product, great for everything from deodorizing the litter box to cleaning appliances to using as an exfoliant. In a pinch, you can even use it to brush your teeth. It tastes gross, but thirty seconds of that is much preferred to a day of yuck mouth – or dealing the ramifications of plaque.

And, if you’re going green or looking to avoid synthetic dyes and colorants, you can’t get more natural thank baking soda.

On the Face – Exfoliant

Mix a teaspoon amount into your cleanser for a power cleanse. You can also mix into a paste with water and work into skin in circular motions (after cleansing). Guys, this is a great gentle exfoliant to use before shaving, since it helps clean away oil (sebum) and dead skin, which can trap hairs to skin, causing an uneven shave and even lead to ingrown hairs and shaving nicks.

For Hair and Scalp – Shampoo Alternative

I have a problem scalp. Almost every product irritates my scalp – which is weird because my facial skin is not sensitive. It’s also a drag because I love me some hair care products! I learned this beauty trick from a grand dame beauty school teacher. When irritation flares up, or when my locks need a good, thorough cleansing, I work a paste of baking soda and water into my hair and then add in some apple cidar vinegar. You can use white vinegar too but I think the apple smells better.

What hapens next is a little like an elementary chemistry project – the combination of the two produces a volcano-like eruption of bubbles, which help cleanse and sooth the scalp. You can also power boost your regular shampoo by mixing in some baking soda.

I usually just keep a bottle of the vinegar in the shower, but you can also put some in a squeezy salad dressing bottle.

In the Bath – Soak

Add at least 1/2 cup into running bath water. Mix in a few drops of your favorite essential oil and you’ve got an aromatherapeutic muscle relaxing soak. My favorites are Lavender and Tea Tree. Lavender is soothing to skin and the senses. Tea Tree is more invigorating, and has natural anti-septic properties. You can find these at most health food stores, including chains like Whole Foods In fact, Tea Tree is good to have around because you can use it on the scalp (mixed into Olive oil or Jojoba oil) and breakouts to inhibit bacteria.My favorite is from Florame, who also make some great organic skin care products.

If it is during a drier climate, like now, add in some glycerin (you can usually find this in drugstores), which will help moisturize skin.

Pet Grooming

I shake baking soda liberally into the litter liners before adding in clay litter (I think the clumping kind is bad for cats) or the pine litter. It helps absorb odors, especially urine.

The fine people at Bliss sent me some products to consider for my Instinct Magazine IMAGE grooming column. While I’m very excited to try them, my pet, Miss Pussy, has already taken quite a liking to them.

If she ever moves off her newfound throne, allowing me access to try them out, I’ll let you know how I like them.

Part Two

In this economy we all want to shine at work – but not because our face is a greasy mess.

I’m a fan of blotting paper. I have some friends that swear by the high end ones by Shiseido, and others that will only use shreds from toilet seat covers. I wouldn’t recommend either. While I’m a fan of many high end products from brands like Shiseido, you don’t need to spend your hard earned money on blots. At the same time, bathrooms are full of germs, and considering that toilet seat covers are kept less than two feet from toilets – where fecal micro particles and other bacteria can easily reach them – I would never use those on my face either. And before your mind can say “but I get one from the back, not the one in the front!” let me tell you – GERMS travel. You shouldn’t be putting ANYTHING from a public bathroom on your face.

My favorite blots are the ones featuring a Geisha lady on the front, found in low-rent beauty supplies, which are abundant here in Southern California. These usually have a translucent powder, so the papers not only remove oil immediately, but the powder absorbs oil throughout the day so skin remains matte longer.

Understandably, a lot of people—guys especially—will not want anything with powder near their face. There are quite a few inexpensive powder and fragrance free options. My favorite is the blotting sheets by E.L.F. because not only are they free of artificial fragrance, dyes, talc, etc., but they’re also dirt-cheap: $1 for a pack of 50. The downside is they’re easiest to buy online, so unless you’re buying a bunch it is just easier and cheaper to buy the Clean and Clear brand sheets (also fragrance/dye/powder free) at your local drugstore. So at these prices kids, stop using toilet seat covers on your face. They belong on your ass.

The other thing I recommend to fellow greasers is Peter Thomas Roth Max Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel for the t-zone area, especially the nose, and also the scalp for guys with shaved heads. This is where you spending money on a high-end brand makes sense because this is one of the better mattiffying products I have tried. The product is almost entirely silicones. They smooth out skin, absorb oil throughout the day. At $35, it is pricey, but lasts a long time. My big complaint with this product is the packaging makes it a little hard to get the entire product out when it’s almost used up. When the product seems empty, take off the bottle cap and use a clean q-tip to get at the rest of the product.

For the ladies with oily skin, this product also makes an excellent primer.

Peter Thomas Roth
Max Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel
$35.00 / 1 oz

This is part one of a multi-part post

As a product junkie, I run in circles with a lot of other product junkies. Like any niche group, they wax poetic about the latest and greatest new “undiscovered” brand, and trash the establishment. Sometimes I agree with them. But I’ll tell you one thing about the establishment—you can count on them.

Take, for example, Lab Series. Launched back in the 80s by parent company Estee Lauder, the brand is found on every specialty retailer men’s counter (Macy’s, Dillards, etc.). Sure, new and exciting companies come along with fabulous new products that I fall in love with…and then go out of business shortly thereafter, or discontinue the item because they can’t support the minimum buys on components, bulk, etc. (the sum of parts to put the product together-most companies in every industry use sub-vendors for various parts).

Don’t get me wrong –I love trying the new stuff. I can’t help myself, in fact! But for my persistently oily facial skin I need to know I can wake in the morning and count on an old friend to keep me matte throughout the day. Plus, with 20 years in the game and the resources of Estee Lauder, they know a thing or two about making products that work.

I like a few of the Oil Control products from this line because, like most guys, my skin is thicker and oilier than women’s. My favorite from the line for my acne prone, oily skin is:

Lab Series Oil Control Daily Hydrator

Oil free, fragrance free, allergy tested, shine-controlling hydration – what’s not to love? And it’s one of the more affordable and easiest to find prestige brands in the market.

Consistency is light and absorbs nicely into skin without leaving any tacky after-feel. Skin is left hydrated while excess oil and shine are minimized.

The formulation includes a blend of natural moisturizing factors such as Wheat Germ Extract, an Oligopeptide, a pH adjuster, and Silicones. Together, these ingredients optimize skin’s natural barrier function, leave skin smooth, and help reduce pore size appearance.

There’s also Green Tea, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, Peppermint, which is anti-microbial (great for treating and preventing acne). It also has Hyaluronic Acid, one of my favorites (see my previous post “Acid Trip”).

The marketing claims state that this also helps prevent clogged pores. I don’t see anything like Salicylic Acid in the ingredient list that would support this, however when I use this product my skin definitely looks and feels fresh and remains blemish free.

Lab Series Oil Control Hydrator
$27.00 / 1.7 oz

“Mmm…you smell good!” The best colognes and fragrances for men

As a product junkie, I have over 60 fragrances, colognes and perfumes—and yes, perfumes are unisex. A perfume actually contains the most amounts of aromatic oils, followed by eau de toilette and last by cologne. Since dolls are more willing than guys to shell out dough for the good stuff, perfume has taken on a connotation as being a product only for the fairer sex.

I have some favorites in my armory, and I have some that guarantee me a compliment: a deep-drawn breath, the long exhale, and the purring, softly spoken “mmmm….you smell good…” Good enough to…well, you get the idea.

Here are three that would guarantee me a roll in the hay, or at least the digits, to the other sex, assuming of course I played that way!

The smell draws them in, and when they learn this fragrance is from the House of Dior they’re sold. In a year where 401k and stock rates have plummeted, this will be the best $72 investment you’ve made this year.

Top notes are lavender, neroli, sage, cardamom, bergamot and mandarin orange. The strongest middle note is Iris, while base notes are cacao, amber and vanilla, leather, patchouli and vetiver.

Think of this one as Absinthe for the Olfactory senses.

Dior Homme
$72.00 / 3.4 oz
Neiman Marcus

Jo Malone is well known among discerning women. Owning this scent will show you’re in tune with your sensitive side, and able to get in touch with women (literally).

Malone makes a variety of Unisex scents but this one is the sexiest and most intoxicating. This is the one they smell and if they’re not single, want to know what it is so they can buy it for their boyfriend.

Top notes are raspberry, pomegranate, plum, rhuburb and watermelon. The middle notes deliver the pretty poison: lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, rose, pink pepper, clove, olibanum, opoponax and guaiac wood. The base notes are virginia cedar, patchouli, musk and amber.

For my personal scent-sation, I like to mash this one up by adding a spray of Colors by Benetton. The citrus top notes, held steady by the earthy base notes add a heady complexity to the Pomegranate Noir that she (or he) can’t resist.

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir
$55 / 1 oz
Nordstrom

Colors by Benetton

$10 / 3.3 oz
ScentedMonkey.com

of course, these are just my faves – feel free to comment on some of your own!

I’ve tried most teeth whiteners on the market and my two favorite at-home whiteners are Crest Whitestrips Advanced (results in three days) and GoSmile. The Crest Whitestrips are harder to use (I’ve not tried the new ones, which are designed to wrap around teeth) but are overall more effective at brightening teeth quicker. The downside is they can slide off your teeth, and can cause some tooth sensitivity/pains (at least they did on me).

By comparison, GoSmile is super easy to use, but the results take longer to achieve. Instead of applying a film to your teeth, you crack the little vial like a glow stick, and can then apply to your chompers. It’s great for spot-treating specific teeth. Where it really shines is for those—like me—with braces. GoSmile is so easy to use around my braces to keep the visible parts of my teeth bright and fresh looking.

Of course, after my braces are removed (HOPEFULLY SOON!!!) I’ll need to get professional whitening done. Otherwise, my teeth will look like walls that have suddenly had a painting removed that’s been hanging for twenty years.

I’ve had Zoom before and the results were great, however the experience wasn’t tons of fun. The dentist sticks this giant plastic clamp in your mouth to keep it spread open. I imagine the horror I felt of being in that position must be what it feels like the first time a girl goes to the gynecologist! But as we know, pain is beauty…

Are your feet frightening to the eye? Do you have calluses as thick and yellow as Frito chips? I think I can help you. After taking Accutane in the 90s, my body became devoid of oil from my legs down. My tradeoff for a clear complexion was that I now have the dry, cracked heels of a sixty-year old woman in dire need of multiple pedicures.

Desperate to put my best feet forward, I tried a few different files and the Ped Egg, none of which delivered the result I was looking for. At a tradeshow, I picked up a Diamancel diamond tip file. If a diamond could cut glass I figured it could cut through these hooves!

As soon as I got home I went at my heels like George Washington at his first cherry tree. Within minutes the floor beneath my foot looked like a snowdrift, full of dead skin cells. Instead of grossing me out, this actually encouraged me and I kept filing away until my heels looked normal again. It’s best to follow this sandblasting with something highly occlusive, like Vaseline. This locks in skin’s natural moisture and helps prevent the drying and hardening that lead to the unsightly cracks.

Diamancel makes a number of files, but I like the one intended for calluses, as it’s the strongest. You can get it on Amazon

With shipping, it’s about $40. This file’s super durable construction should last you a lifetime. Just don’t try to bake it into a cake.

Grooming extends beyond your personal care into your home and car. It grosses me out when I want into anyone’s home, including my own, and it smells like dirty, shoes, cooked food—or the ultimate worst—like cat shit. We call our cat “the Mad Bomber” because after he drops a vicious deuce, he flies out of his box, voice warbling a banshee war cry. Right after running the “kitty wrong” out to the garbage can, I immediately grab my Sage smudge bundle and burn it. It naturally neutralizes all kinds of tough odors, including cooked beef and fish, garbage, and cat poo (the worst of the bunch!)

You can pick up Sage bundles at places like natural food stores, beach shops that sell incense, and new age stores. A Google search will turn up lots of online shops too.

Happy burning!

you know how they say opposites attract? Well, my eyebrows are on the thinner side**, and my better half’s eyebrow is, well, the lack of there being two is somewhat self-explanatory.

He test drove Parissa Tea Tree Wax Strips with phenomenal success, giving them “a four out of five!” They look like giant Biore Pore Strips and work in a similar fashion. You rub the strip on the hairy area, hold the skin taught, and then give it a good rip. It’s not as thorough as professional wax, but it’s pretty damn good for a home kit. Certainly good enough to conquer the unibrow!

These also worked well on a few stray hairs on the upper arm and chest. I wouldn’t recommend these for the short and curlies—those really need hard wax—and the steady and fast hand of a professional. When it comes to waxing, hesitation is your worst enemy!

**I’m trying Latisse on my brows – I’ll let you know how it grows!

Most people have at least one area of their face that can have a little dehydration (not to be confused with dry skin – you can be oily and dehydrated). Whenever I am giving a professional skin treatment one of the ingredients I like to incorporate in my professional treatments is Hyaluronic Acid, which I lovingly refer to as the “ant of skincare.” If you’ve ever seen an ant at a picnic you know they can haul off a piece of food several times their size.

Well, Hyaluronic Acid has similar strength – it can hold up to a thousand times its weight in water – keeping your skin tissues hydrated and healthy. And you can find it as a single ingredient or mixed into products in various forms, e.g. oil-free serum or cream. Best of all – its great for both dry and oily skin, as it helps prevent skin from over-producing sebum (oil). Hyaluronic Acid, also known as Hyaluronan, naturally occurs in our bodies but the form found in skincare is usually synthesized.

I personally prefer and recommend it in a gel or serum base. The smaller molecule size allows it to penetrate deeper, giving the lower layers of the epidermis a nice tall drink of water. You then layer your moisturizer over it to lock moisture in.

Hyaluronic Acid can be a pricy product to buy, but a little goes a long way. Some of my favorites are:

• Philosophy When Hope Is Not Enough Replenishing Hyaluronic Acid/Peptide Capsules (60 capsules / $50)
• Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster (1 oz / $54)
• Peter Thomas Roth VIZ-1000™ 75% Hyaluronic Acid Complex (1 oz / $65).