Nicole and I are still on holiday in Hawaii, and even though she hasn't posted in a bit, we are still mindful of Bagful fans and regulars...so, what colour would you call this flower?
What precise lipstick shade does this remind you of?
Taken on the grounds of the Grand Hyatt on Kauai!
Hello Bagful regulars. It's me again, Scott. It's been a couple of months since my last post, and as I've been reading Nicole's articles, and we've had conversations about her addiction, it suddenly seemed like time for me to write something from my point of view. And that point of view is: What's it like to be married to a makeup junkie?
The title of this post pretty much conveys every conversation we have when Nicole comes home with new makeup things. I don't really understand what the thing is, and even if I do, I don't understand why she has so many of them. Surely one lipstick is more than enough, right? I can make a tube of Chapstick last for months, so, by my reckoning, Nicole's lipstick collection should last her, roughly, until the Sun explodes. And likely a bit longer, given that so many of them are SPF-30.
The same is true for eye liner. Or is it eye pencil? No, eye pen? Eye spy? I don't know...there are just so many things which look, and function, identically.
Perhaps this is best exemplified by a recent haul from Burberry. She obtained a lip pencil, and an eye pencil. Same box. Same thing. Different colour. But apparently one was for the eye and one was for the lip. I questioned whether or not they weren't just the same thing, so, buying a colour which could work in both locations might have been a prudent procurement.
There was scoffing at that suggestion.
Of course, I followed up with another question of my wife: So, what did that cost, a dollar?
I knew it cost many, many times more than that, and that is largely due to the rather revolting Australia Tax which retailers employ here -- things that Nicole would buy anywhere else in the world, or online, cost about 50 to 70% less than in Australia, for no good reason. I can tell that whatever my makeup-addicted wife has obtained is at the higher end of pricey when she doesn't admit right away as to the cost. Mind you, a few months ago, Nicole did have an "oh my" moment with her makeup spending...she started putting the receipt values into a spreadsheet and performed a sum() calculation on the data. I think her exact words were: I may have a problem.
Anyway...
I really don't know much about makeup...actually, that's not entirely true any longer -- over the last few years with Nicole I've learned many, many things. Mostly brand names, though. Nars (not Mars). MAC (Not Apple). Burberry (apparently they do makeup as well as that tartan pattern).
Is my life richer for knowing these things? Probably not.
Have I likely forgot how to do something critical by having replaced the knowledge in my brain with factoids about makeup? Likely so. (Right over left, and under...right over left, and under...must repeat to remember)
I have, however, learned the delicate art of answering the question: What do you think?
Men, you know what I'm getting at here.
It's a trap!
Answering that question is something that I believe should be a critical part of a man's education in this world. Choose your words carefully, gents. And from the safety of the Land Rover.
But I digress.
Thankfully, I have an easy "out" to this question from my wonderful wife -- when she tries on new makeup here at home, she typically vanishes from the living room looking as lovely as normal, into the bathroom, where she stays, sequestered, for the better part of an hour. When she emerges, it's a sharp contrast to the look she had when she went in.
That dichotomy, from before to after, is where I land for an answer:
"Wow! It's really different from when you went in! What do you think?"
Don't get me wrong, I'm honest, and I focus on the bits I really like, and Nicole is VERY good at applying makeup and she never, ever looks like Mimi from the Drew Carey show; but at the same time, it's quite a shift in looks in a relatively short amount of time. She then grabs the camera, takes lots of pictures, and we often end up going out to dinner/drinks somewhere (this is often a weekend ritual). During that amount of time, the look grows on me, I become more accustomed to the New Nicole, and can make more useful comments.
Right, now, where was I?
Ah, okay, yes, let's talk about space, shall we?
The best way that I can think to explain what it is like to live with a makeup addict is to show how the space in the bathroom is utilised. First, let's start with my stuff:
Pretty much all of my stuff in the bathroom.
Yep, that's about it. Okay, inside of the medicine cabinet I also have my deo-spray, and the shaving kit Nicole gave me for Christmas, but trust me, that's really about it.
And now, let's take a gander at Nicole's corner of the same shelf.
The other corner. Part I.
"Wait a second!" I hear you shout ... "Where's all this alleged makeup you say she has??"
Fair point. Let's just pan over to the other corner of the bathroom, shall we?
Nicole's Corner. Thar be dragons!
But wait, let's just zoom in a bit, shall we?
A rainbow of, um, stuff!
Lots of crayons. I think.
I don't know, I think this stuff is for the cheeks. Or the ears.
Does this go on the lips? Nose? Eyes? I don't know.
I don't know what it is.
So I think you are starting to get a glimpse of what this world is like.
Men, if your partner is into makeup, I offer you these words of wisdom - which I hope will make all of this have value: It's all about options.
Makeup is, I believe it is fair to say, about a woman's (or man's, to be fair, as I guess there are some men who are into it as well) ability to choose a colour, a hue, a look, all through a variety of visual accoutrements.
So, what is it like to live with this colourful world of options? Let's just say that the next place we rent is going to have two bathrooms. Possibly three.
And, Nicole, my love, you look fantabulous.
Handle with care.
As a child I remember being fascinated by watching my father shave. He used a "safety razor" -- looked a bit like this:
Not terribly common these days, but, they still make them.
As he would shave, I'd lather up my face with the shaving cream, and he'd hand me a spare razor -- without the actual blade -- and as he'd scrape away his beard, I'd essentially scoop the shaving cream off my own face. I suppose in many ways that is how I learned to shave. A decade too early, but, the gestures, motions, facial contortions, all observed, mimicked, and repeated.
Eventually the time arrived for my own facial hair to be dealt with. I don't remember exactly how old I was, I don't actually recall the first time I shaved "in earnest" -- but it was the beginning of a process that will likely go on for the rest of my life.
I've tried just about every sort of razor and shaving system out there (curiously, I've never actually used a safety razor such as the one pictured above)...wet, electric, rotary, even straight edge by a barber. I held very, very still during that one. Talk about trust...
Anyway, for Christmas 2012, Nicole has gifted me a spectacular shaving set which comes complete with some key ingredients to make this daily ritual of mine a bit more pleasant. Yes, I said daily. I know a lot of men don't shave every day, but my beard grows pretty quickly, and a day without looks pretty bad. Indeed, there has only been one time in my life when I did not shave daily: Chicken pox at the age of 18. Yeah, that kinda sucked. The doctor suggested I not shave for a week or two (ya think?!) until the skin issues cleared up. So other than that one week, decades ago, every single day some sort of metal scrapes my skin.
My current razor of choice is the Pansonic LV-81:
The Panasonic LV-81 Razor
This was actually a Christmas gift from Nicole last year. Hmm. I'm starting to wonder if she's conveying some sort of message about my facial hair....anyway, moving on.
The Panasonic LV-81 is the best electric razor I've ever owned. It can be used wet, or dry, and delivers a phenomenal shave. It does need to be cleaned pretty regularly, but the cleaning system it comes with takes care of that nicely. Of course, how often you need to clean it probably depends upon your beard growth rate, and the type of hair you have.
Most mornings are dry shaves for me. 3-4 minutes, I'm done. Actually, one of the (curious) features of the LV-81 is that it tells you exactly how long your shave lasts each day. I'm not sure why someone would want that information, but, I will admit to a certain amusement when my shave lasted for four minutes and four seconds the other day. 404 Beard Not Found. Nerd joke. Don't worry about it...
Where was I?
Ah, right, the daily ritual and the gift. Every week or two I would take the time on a Saturday morning to do a proper wet shave with the Panasonic. I've tried various creams and gels, and they all work moderately well. It's a much slower and messier process, so it's not something for every day.
I should mention that I've had a goatee for the last 15 or so years. Ever since a colleague said to me that the only thing that would make me more sinister would be my having one. Thanks Pete!
The goatee matters as it does add to shaving time, as well as some of the nuances of the process. There's a no-go area for razors, and being very careful with your "edging" is essential. There have been a few times where I trimmed a bit too far and things became uneven, but mostly this isn't a problem when using an electric razor.
Right, so, this year's "Scott, you have too much facial hair and I'm too nice to say anything about it" gift from Nicole is:
A manly box for manly men.
Ta-da! The "Art of Shaving" Sandalwood shaving elements set! The box itself is large, square, robust, and is clearly meant to convey a sense of manliness. You won't see a set like this distributed in a pink chiffon bag. And if you do, you're in the wrong shop. Nicole picked this gift up on her travels to the United States a few weeks back, so I don't actually know much about the shop it came from. Nor do I know the price, but I shouldn't do, as it was a gift. You can visit their online store, though, for more information.
The inside of the box opens up to reveal a nice showcase for the products:
The complete set.
In order from left to right, we have:
Sitting atop the box is a small plastic bracket for holding the brush. The bracket even comes with a bit of double-sided sticky tape so that you can mount this on your bathroom wall somewhere. The brush in the bracket looks like so:
Convenient holder for the badger brush.
The back of the box (well, actually, the strip of thick cardboard which keeps it all together) comes with some useful instructions on how to use the elements in the kit:
Helpful hints.
Now, if you read carefully, you'll see that under the first section they suggest that for best results you should shave after or during a hot shower.
I can honestly say, I don't think that I've ever done that in my life. I've heard this is the right way to do things, read it on boxes such as this (and, let's face it, if someone has printed it on a box, it must be true), but not once that I can recall have I ever showered first and then shaved. I may have to try this approach with this kit, but, given how messy the process of wet-shaving is, I really like having the shower after to get rid of any lingering shaving cream, from wherever it may have travelled.
The badger hair brush is absolutely fantastic when paired with the shaving cream. You really don't need much of the cream, it goes a long way. I moisten up the bristles in hot water, then just barely dip into the shaving cream.
Dynamic duo.
Here's a closeup on that brush:
Badger, badger, badger, eek, a snake!
It really is a remarkable lathering experience it creates, and with much more precision than you may think a big bristly brush would provide. If you haven't shaved this way, you should give it a go. I'd done so once before, many years ago, but after a series of moves around the planet, I lost the kit and ended up sticking with just the wet/dry electric razor.
I mentioned that the after-shave balm crucially contained no alcohol. If you've never experienced a really close shave, you may not know why this matters, but, with this kit, you may well find out. Sometimes this process can exfoliate your skin in such a way that it's a bit raw, exposed, and the application of a cologne or after-shave which has alcohol will make your toes curl. Put bluntly: It hurts. Every now and again after a wet-shave when things were particularly sensitive, I've regretted spraying on my Allure or Code, as, inevitably, some of the drops make it to a bit of neck/skin which immediately made me wince in mild pain.
The after-shave balm does have one gotcha though: The dispenser seems to be a supersonic velocity pumping mechanism. The tiniest of presses results in a high speed spurt. If you're not paying attention, it will splatter...just keep that in mind when you're trying it out.
Anyway, that's the set. It's fantastic. I used it several days in a row over Christmas, and look forward to using it again soon.
Without a doubt, it's resulted in the closest shave I've had in years, and I'm extremely happy with this thoughtful gift!
As most of you know, Nicole, the Chief Bag Lady of Bagful of Notions, is currently on the road. I felt a bit bad that regular readers weren't going to have as much new content, so I've decided to contribute an article of my own. Nicole isn't aware of this, and she'll likely want to delete this MAC and Mecca and Essie-less post, but until she notices, let's have another contribution for the gentlemen out there. You may not have recognised it, but the title of the article is the clue to the review.
Wait for it...
Code! Armani Code, the fragrance for men.
It's the binary representation of the ASCII text "CODE"...
Code Label
Okay, anyway, moving on.
As with my review on Allure, it's difficult to put into words scents for men without the proper vocabulary. If this were a red wine I could go on about the tannins, the hint of leather on the palate, perhaps the forrest fruits on the nose, but I don't have the right words for scents yet.
What I can say is that Nicole likes this as much as, if not more than, Allure.
First, what does the bottle look like? (Cause, yeah, somehow to someone this matters, I guess)
Code bottle
Yep. A black bottle. With words. Sold yet?
I'm going to do my best on a description of the scent - first of all, what it isn't: It isn't sleazy. It isn't Leisure Suit Larry with or without Lounge Lizards. It isn't insulting, overpowering, or eye-watering.
As for what it is, well, if I were to close my eyes and try to describe it, I would probably say the following:
A melon (probably ripened honeydew) based fruit salad in a bookstore.
Yes, you read right. Melon. Bookstore.
There's a crispness, a clarity to the scent which reminds me of honeydew melon (the light green kind). It's slightly watery as well, meaning, to me, that it doesn't leave a taste in your mouth, nor your nose. You get it, it registers, it moves on.
The bookstore bit, okay, I admit that's a bit peculiar, but its the slightly dusty, but not musty, scent of paper, some new, some old, that I'm trying to capture here.
Perhaps the best advice I can give you here is that you've learned a lot about Nicole and the aesthetic she has, you know she's not one for cheesy, overwhelming or pungent. She appreciates the subtle, and she loves this scent (on me) -- so, go out, grab a sampler from your polite Armani representative (in other words, not the one at David Jones in Melbourne who annoyed Nicole) and try it on for size. See what you think, what he thinks, and who knows, maybe you'll have a new scent on the shelf, as we do!
Nicole is a Melbourne (Australia) based beauty blogger who has a lifetime of experience admiring all things bright and beautiful in the world of fashion, makeup, handbags and more. She moved to Australia with her husband Scott in October of 2010 and has brought with her a passion for polka-dots, a mania for manicures, and a hankering for handbags. Bagful of Notions is dedicated to Nicole's adventures in these colourful worlds as she shares with you top beauty tips and delicious discoveries she's sure you'll enjoy!
A Melbourne-based beauty blogger and personal makeup shopper who considers herself as a local guinea pig, litmus tester, makeup cheater and your friend who will tell you when something is stuck between your teeth. Here's a toothpick.
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