Page Report #7

Sometimes it’s better to just get the thing I'll actually use and move on.

I’ve been working on something about my deep love for drugstore products and it’s made me consider which premium products I actually like. I’ve seen too much and am fussy, known for such long ago phrases as “There are only a few products that I’m very loyal to—for the rest, it’s just a Darwinian survival of the fittest.” So here are a few products that continue to hold a place in my life years later. Things I’ve actually repurchased after trying to replace them with lesser counterparts, spending even more money in the process. Sometimes it’s better to just get the thing I’ll actually use and move on.

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My hair is neither special nor unique but I tend to spend money on it because I’ve yet to find the secrets elsewhere. Starting with Ashley Javier on cut and color, which does 75% of the heavy lifting. I’m never not searching for the ability to have ease with hair. A friend told me she religiously uses hair masks, a product I spend approximately zero time using/researching/thinking about. Which brought me to Filament TS.02/Tt : Tensile Strength Hair Treatment Mask. A healer. For styling, I’m the only person on Planet Earth who doesn’t care if the Oribe Dry Texture Spray lives or dies. My preference is Sam McKnight Cool Girl Hair. It’s not as powdery, it’s easier to work with and the fragrance is much lighter. Most days I do nothing with my hair; I wash and let it air dry with Leonor Greyl Serum de Soie Sublimateur, which is the very first product I bought when I went to France for the very first time. The smell is so soothing to me and it’s lightweight creamy, which I need for my fine hair. It’s definitely not enough moisture or shine if you have thick or curly hair, in which case I’d go with Roz Evergreen Style Cream. A thicker and waxier cream that I love, but personally have to use very sparingly.

I’m a lifelong Dr. Bronners Almond head but there really is no greater luxury than the texture of Necessaire The Body Wash. It’s just different - feeling it, using it, smelling it. As previously mentioned, I remain loyal to their deodorant too because it’s not possible to find a drugstore deodorant that doesn’t have a horrible fragrance. $24 once in awhile to be done with ever thinking about this again is a small price to pay. The Sex Gel is water based and tends to make a great gift.

I hate to break it to you but there is no 1:1 equivalent for Biologique Recherche Masque Vivant. There just isn’t and believe me I’ve tried. I’ve attempted to reverse engineer this thing six ways to Sunday and it’s just in a category of it’s own. Same goes for P50. It’s painfully old news and no one is more annoyed by this truth than me. The rule here is you either like it or you don’t, and there are plenty of people who don’t. But if you’ve ever felt like it’s worked for you, then all the other acid toners they tell you are “just like P50” are not. They won’t come close and you’ll go crawling back. Biologique creams and serums are hit or miss for me and I dip in and out of using them, but I’ve returned to these two over and over since 2012.

I tell everyone that all sheet masks are the same because I believe they truly are. Except when it comes to 111SKIN Y Theorem Bio Cellulose Facial Mask. This is like wedding day mask. This is not Tuesday afternoon mask. It makes skin temporarily flawless? I’m not yet sold on 111SKIN’s other products, but I did go into a (straight) man’s bathroom once and he only used 111SKIN…what does he know that I don’t?