Men’s Grooming, via Mr. Katie
My husband is a generally silly man, prone to the odd verbal tangent. For example -
Me: feeling snacky and rooting around in the refrigerator
Him: “Whatcha looking for?”
Me: “Oh… nothing, I guess…”
Him: “Well, that’s the best place to look for it. I never find anything in there either.”
Since I’ve been sick all week long, and haven’t been able to smell much, I thought I’d ask him for some male grooming recommendations, thinking he’d have a lot to say on the subject. Turns out that wasn’t quite right. Here, in no particular order, are products that get Mr. Katie’s thumbs up, with corresponding and laconic reviews. Don’t let the brevity fool you: he’s super picky and acts like kind of a big baby about which products he uses.
L’Occitane Cade Face Gel: I know Katie says this smells like drunken Christmas, but explain to me how that’s a bad thing. [Ed. note: Smells like gin breath and pine trees. To me, ewww, but to him, perfect.]
Rusk Moist Shampoo: It’s really thick, and it cleans my hair.
Pendleton Whisky: Not exactly a beauty product, but used in sufficient quantity, it’ll make everyone else around you look that much better.
Tweezerman tweezers: If you have your own tweezers and use them to yank out unibrow hairs yourself, then your wife won’t come at you with her pink tweezers and strange talk of “shaping.” My eyebrows already have a shape - eyebrow shape. Just make sure you have two of them, and she’ll probably leave you alone.
L’occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream: Works good, and smells normal. [Ed. note: Normal?? Okay, so I asked him to explain, and he said, "You know, regular." Your guess? Is as good as mine.]
L’occitane Fig Shower Cream: They don’t sell this in the downtown store anymore. Assholes.
L’occitane Fig Shea Butter Soap: I can still find this in the store, and it’s almost as awesome as the shower cream. Good stuff.
Aveeno Theraputic Shave Gel: Cheap and gentle. Best stuff on the market.
Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion: No scent, and it goes into the skin right away so you won’t feel greasy. You can use it all over, head to foot. Plus, you can buy big bottles of it for cheap at Costco.
Paula’s Choice Skin Relief Treatment: This is one of my wife’s weird brands that I’ve never seen at the store, but she’s right - it works. Doesn’t sting, and ensures that you don’t get any angry red bumps after shaving. The directions say to use a cotton ball, but real men don’t have any use for cotton balls, so the best way to to just splash a little of it on your face and neck. Feels nice on windburned skin, too.
And there you have it - a few products from my husband’s regular rotation. If you want to read a really great men’s lifestyle blog, I would suggest checking out the new-ish Dethroner, which bills itself as “the perfect guide for the imperfect man.” Even I’m utterly addicted, and I’m but an imperfect woman.
LOL! Great reviews. Very laconic. I’m curious about Katie’s pink tweezers. Hee.
kuri
18 Oct 06 at 5:06 am
That was hilarious. My guess is that “normal” means “not some foofy-ass thing my wife dabs on her face that’s gonna make me smell like the sort of metrosexual that wears French cuffs and visits the Grooming Lounge downtown.”
marchlion
18 Oct 06 at 6:38 am
You and Mr. Katie have totally cracked me up. I love his reviews.
Hope you feel better soon. :-)
Laura
kyahgirl
18 Oct 06 at 8:46 am
So sorry you’re not feeling well K! Do get better soon…
Robin
18 Oct 06 at 9:32 am
Love you, Mr. K-
Take care, and heal up, Ms. K-
chayaruchama
19 Oct 06 at 5:44 am
Excellent reviews. Mr. Katie is hillarious! Hope you get better soon. I love reading your blog.
Flor
19 Oct 06 at 11:23 am
Your hubbs sounds just as great as you! And Aveeno evidently can do no wrong. I’m not sure why that is, but they are consistently wonderful.
ps. You got quoted in the Washington Post? You’re supposed to keep me abreast of things like that! Heh, congrats babe, and I’m really digging the new layout.
StickyKeys
23 Oct 06 at 11:08 pm
kuri Ah, the pink tweezers are just the color of mine, plus I like the Rubis ones better. Husband just couldn’t take my plucking out the unibrow hairs anymore, and got his own pair.
March, I think perhaps you’re right. But he was short on explanation, and seemed unwilling to budge any further than “regular.”
kyahgirlThanks L. He wanted me to state for the record that he is not a silly man. That is a blatant lie, however, and I think it’s plain to see.
Robin, thanks shug, I hope I improve sooner than later…
chayaruchama, thank you, and Mr. K says thanks, too.
Flor, Mr. K sends his regards and thanks. And thank you for the well wishes, too.
Sticky, Aveeno can do one wrong - they’ve got this one lotion with menthol in it that is supposed to be skin soothing, but menthol can be a serious skin irritant so I don’t know why they say it’s soothing. Outside of that, apparently no, they can do no wrong. Thanks, I may change the new layout again in a couple months, but for now it’ll do.
Scentzilla!
26 Oct 06 at 3:38 pm