Product recommendation
Thu, Jun. 17th, 2010 12:40![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jarissaToday's topic is probably best labeled "beauty care", I guess: Not really dinner table conversation, but no terms unusable in the presence of preadolescents.
I'm a healthy, typical American mix of several ethnic subgroups: in my case, that'd be Irish, Italian, and German. In the genetic lotto, I inherited pale skin that freckled in my youth, but doesn't tan easily; large pores, which turn attempted use of makeup into a logistical nightmare; and very thick, dark hair that starts well below the surface of semitranslucent upper skin.
In other words, the hair on my head is only now starting to thin down to "average" at quite a bit more than thirty-five years of age; it's long enough that I have accidentally sat on it before, and as a teen/college kid I could get the Tina Turner Effect simply by brushing my mostly-dry hair over my head until all the knots were completely out, and then standing upright and throwing the hair (using both hands!) upward out of my face. No hairspray or hair goop needed.
The hair on my legs, however....
Shaving my legs has long been a frustrating, fruitless pursuit. I had the equivalent of a five o'clock shadow no matter how carefully I'd labored, no matter which razor I used or what shaving cream, no matter how long I spent at work, because the segment of hair under my skin was dark enough, and the skin itself pale enough despite its density, to show up even when it was too far under the skin for a razor to reach. An acquaintance in high school suggested that I try waxing my legs, but what kind of fashionista gives herself second-degree burns in order to rip out some of the offending hair in each session, guaranteeing both that ingrown hairs will result AND that some of the hair will simply break off instead of being pulled completely out?
It wasn't worth the pain, as far as I was concerned. I spent what time in the sun I could during the summer, trying to bleach those roots and get some sort of color in my legs; I wore a lot of pants, or fought with opaque tights, starting about a week after the end of summer. To this day, I can't bring myself to wear shorts.
Once I was doing my own shopping, I even tried Bikini Bare, but it was useless against that strong Italian keratin. At the time, no competitors were available on the local shelves, so I gave depilatories up as a failed experiment.
In the past decade or so, however, I've been trying various depilatory creams as they appeared on the market. Sure, most of them still smelled like boiled cow's urine (the main functional ingredient, at least early on). Veet got a high percentage of it, but I still had to shave the next day; Nair was still the stinkier equivalent of regular shaving cream, managing to make the hair brittle and coarse but not get it actually gone. Carefree (the sanitary napkin brand) came out briefly with a depilatory that was fantastic: for the first time since sixth grade, my legs were truly hairless, and it lasted almost three days. I guess I was the only customer that adored it, though, because within a couple of months it had vanished off every shelf again.
So I've been using Veet in thick layers, for the maximum recommended time, and still having to shave the missed spots. The process takes a hefty chunk of time out of the day, causing me to schedule it around dog care and social life and the need to use some hot water to run dishes and laundry each day; I tend to shave late at night, after the guys have gone to sleep, or on a stormy Thursday, or Fridays when I've got nearly all the week's prepwork done and we're expecting company that night.
That may be a thing of the past! Veet has come out with a very slightly varied setup, shown here: I hope it sticks, because HOLY COW it got ALMOST EVERYTHING on the first try! (And I'd put off shaving for a few weeks!) It's still boiled cow urine, don't get me wrong, but the smell is only "annoying" instead of "dear Smurf, it burns the cilia all the way down my throat"; it works fast enough that when I was done applying to the second leg, and took a swig of Coke, and then tested a small area of the first leg, it was ready to come off; and, in fact, I had to sit for a minute and wait between rinsing the first leg and going to work on the second. I spend more time than that on the shampoo-and-conditioner routine!
Even before moisturizing all my limbs, my hands smelled like soap instead of chemicals, and I've had no irritation or water retention. I know this isn't a universal solution -- it isn't even an ideal solution for myself -- but for people who've been dissatisfied with prior trials, I'd definitely recommend giving "the Veet with the large bottom, with mention on the label of a sponge you can't see" a try.
Now if only we could convince Target's Buyer that fat ladies also have a need for businesswear slacks, versus the current and past several years' repeated options of "crop pants" (Uhm, pants designed for beach/boatwear are NOT officewear!) and "sweatpants or jeans" (We don't just lounge around the house or the gym, we have to make the money to afford said house and gym!), I'd be doing remarkably well. I haven't been shaped right for anything at Avenue and similar plus-centric clothing stores around here.
It's raining yet again, so I ought to be taking my steampunk outfit from storage and examining it for mending; Extraordinary Contraptions are coming into town next month, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again.
I'm a healthy, typical American mix of several ethnic subgroups: in my case, that'd be Irish, Italian, and German. In the genetic lotto, I inherited pale skin that freckled in my youth, but doesn't tan easily; large pores, which turn attempted use of makeup into a logistical nightmare; and very thick, dark hair that starts well below the surface of semitranslucent upper skin.
In other words, the hair on my head is only now starting to thin down to "average" at quite a bit more than thirty-five years of age; it's long enough that I have accidentally sat on it before, and as a teen/college kid I could get the Tina Turner Effect simply by brushing my mostly-dry hair over my head until all the knots were completely out, and then standing upright and throwing the hair (using both hands!) upward out of my face. No hairspray or hair goop needed.
The hair on my legs, however....
Shaving my legs has long been a frustrating, fruitless pursuit. I had the equivalent of a five o'clock shadow no matter how carefully I'd labored, no matter which razor I used or what shaving cream, no matter how long I spent at work, because the segment of hair under my skin was dark enough, and the skin itself pale enough despite its density, to show up even when it was too far under the skin for a razor to reach. An acquaintance in high school suggested that I try waxing my legs, but what kind of fashionista gives herself second-degree burns in order to rip out some of the offending hair in each session, guaranteeing both that ingrown hairs will result AND that some of the hair will simply break off instead of being pulled completely out?
It wasn't worth the pain, as far as I was concerned. I spent what time in the sun I could during the summer, trying to bleach those roots and get some sort of color in my legs; I wore a lot of pants, or fought with opaque tights, starting about a week after the end of summer. To this day, I can't bring myself to wear shorts.
Once I was doing my own shopping, I even tried Bikini Bare, but it was useless against that strong Italian keratin. At the time, no competitors were available on the local shelves, so I gave depilatories up as a failed experiment.
In the past decade or so, however, I've been trying various depilatory creams as they appeared on the market. Sure, most of them still smelled like boiled cow's urine (the main functional ingredient, at least early on). Veet got a high percentage of it, but I still had to shave the next day; Nair was still the stinkier equivalent of regular shaving cream, managing to make the hair brittle and coarse but not get it actually gone. Carefree (the sanitary napkin brand) came out briefly with a depilatory that was fantastic: for the first time since sixth grade, my legs were truly hairless, and it lasted almost three days. I guess I was the only customer that adored it, though, because within a couple of months it had vanished off every shelf again.
So I've been using Veet in thick layers, for the maximum recommended time, and still having to shave the missed spots. The process takes a hefty chunk of time out of the day, causing me to schedule it around dog care and social life and the need to use some hot water to run dishes and laundry each day; I tend to shave late at night, after the guys have gone to sleep, or on a stormy Thursday, or Fridays when I've got nearly all the week's prepwork done and we're expecting company that night.
That may be a thing of the past! Veet has come out with a very slightly varied setup, shown here: I hope it sticks, because HOLY COW it got ALMOST EVERYTHING on the first try! (And I'd put off shaving for a few weeks!) It's still boiled cow urine, don't get me wrong, but the smell is only "annoying" instead of "dear Smurf, it burns the cilia all the way down my throat"; it works fast enough that when I was done applying to the second leg, and took a swig of Coke, and then tested a small area of the first leg, it was ready to come off; and, in fact, I had to sit for a minute and wait between rinsing the first leg and going to work on the second. I spend more time than that on the shampoo-and-conditioner routine!
Even before moisturizing all my limbs, my hands smelled like soap instead of chemicals, and I've had no irritation or water retention. I know this isn't a universal solution -- it isn't even an ideal solution for myself -- but for people who've been dissatisfied with prior trials, I'd definitely recommend giving "the Veet with the large bottom, with mention on the label of a sponge you can't see" a try.
Now if only we could convince Target's Buyer that fat ladies also have a need for businesswear slacks, versus the current and past several years' repeated options of "crop pants" (Uhm, pants designed for beach/boatwear are NOT officewear!) and "sweatpants or jeans" (We don't just lounge around the house or the gym, we have to make the money to afford said house and gym!), I'd be doing remarkably well. I haven't been shaped right for anything at Avenue and similar plus-centric clothing stores around here.
It's raining yet again, so I ought to be taking my steampunk outfit from storage and examining it for mending; Extraordinary Contraptions are coming into town next month, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again.
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no subject
Date: June 17th, 2010 18:00 (UTC)YES!!! I tend not to buy much in terms of clothes from Target because they DO NOT CARRY MY SIZE.
Wal-Mart, for as evil as they are - DO! They do carry a much larger selection of ladies' clothing than Target does. I have found several cute tops and a few pairs of pants there. (I have 1 pair of jeans right now that I love from Zaftique - more expensive, but way more comfy!)
Target: I go look for clothes to buy and end up disgusted. They simply do not have a full size ladies' wear section. So, I have given up and go to Fashion Bug who usually has a coupon or two to use.
no subject
Date: June 18th, 2010 04:12 (UTC)I tell you what, I'm doing more and more of my clothing shopping at HolyClothing.com (http://www.holyclothing.com/store/index.php) lately.
Problems:
Items must be washed with towels/sheets/old undies, and in strict color segments, as they WILL run. Items can go in the dryer, but on the Delicate cycle.
Items are made of rayon. August is pretty tough.
Light colors are translucent. Oddly, my white shirt from them isn't translucent, but I have to wear skintone-colored undershirts or patterned camisoles with the other ones, including "sage green" (that's as much a yellow as a green, really).
If you get a heavy skirt made from several alternating panels of lace, sequenced vertically, you may have a problem with some separation between the crochet layer and the more solid layer below it. (See current style Alena (http://stores.channeladvisor.com/Holyclothing/Items/h512009?&caSKU=h512009&caTitle=White%20Ivory%20Alena%20Chiffon%20Satin%20Lace%20Victorian%20Gothic%20SCA%20Goth%20Vtg%20Skirt), more specifically enlarge the middle image, for what I'm trying to describe.) I wound up just spending a few days sewing around that entire hem with carpet thread, and that seems to have taken care of it up until the guy in the truck tried to kill us.
The Shayla (http://stores.channeladvisor.com/Holyclothing/Store/Search.aspx?Page=1&Sort=2&sku=H091) pants, which are basically wraparound "very like Thai Fisherman" pants, are what I got for my beach trip and promptly christened Fail Pants. "Won't show skin!" they say; well, sure, while you're standing. Still. Indoors. Without so much as a breeze from an air conditioner. You're going to show everything up to the bottom of your undie line on your hip when you sit, though, you betcha!
Generally speaking, there are no pockets.
Virtues:
Except for the one combo that puts vast amounts of lace with vast amounts of lace and makes me look like a nylon scrubbie poof from the bathroom, all the rest of these things are very mix-and-match. I no longer have to be awake enough to think before I grab clothes and put them on.
They don't itch. Not on the tag, not on the seam, not at any of the usual trouble spots. They don't tend to abrade pre-existing sunburns, either.
In normal clothes, I wear a 16 or 18, depending on the manufacturer. So, based on that and on my measurements according to their chart, I started out figuring I was probably a 2XL, right? No! In a lot of things I'm a Large, and in some particular styles I can actually look best in a medium.
Did I mention that they're really straightforward in their exchange policy? Easy peasy!
Still leaves my pants issue utterly unsolved, though. And most of the ones I've had for years are now wearing out past the point of decency....
no subject
Date: June 18th, 2010 12:34 (UTC)Have not tried the pants from them as I was afraid that they would not be suitable.
Like I said, I found a wonderful pair of jeans from Zaftique.com. (The Sweetheart jeans w/ the cool design on the outside of the leg) I've given up on shopping on-line for pants especially from like womanwithin.com/onestopplus.com - they expect you to be short waisted & not have hips. I wear between an 18-20 on pants and with them, I end up order 22-24 JUST to get the hips to fit.
Avenue used to have these really nice black (also came in khaki and navy) side zip trousers that I can't seem to find anymore - those actually fit! I need to contact them & see if they still have 'em. I can not stand this trend to go to the dropped "natural" waist - the pants always end up really badly gapping in the rear and last thing I want to do is to show off my underwear. Sorry, that's just tacky and a whole level of trashy I won't do. :-p