May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month … of which we can all stand to be gently reminded if it ever stops raining enough for us to enjoy some warm-weather outdoor activities on a consistent basis.
As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed. The best thing we can all arm ourselves with while cavorting around outside is a good sunscreen.
Buying sunscreen used to involve buying lotion — that was it. No more. Nowadays you’ll see “families” of sun-care products under one brand, be it Coppertone, No-Ad, Ocean Potion or Burt’s Bees. Sunscreens come disguised as tanners, facial moisturizer and anti-aging products. They’re subdivided into kids lines and sport lines. They come in such intriguing formats as lip balms, deodorantlike sticks, and sprays … one can go on and on, like Bubba describing shrimp preparation and dishes in the movie Forrest Gump.
Sun Bum ($3.99-$19.99) is another such brand offering multiple choices. It has sunscreen products for all areas of the body … including the scalp, for those going with the bald look. Nios Shield SPF 15 for Scalp serves what it calls “an unmet need in hair styling” by offering a product with argan oil, wheat protein, vitamins B and E, and SPF 15 protection.
Sun Bum also offers SPF 50 Clear Zinc Oxide for the face, with a barrier of aloe and Vitamin E; SPF 50 Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion, also with Vitamin E; and a few new hair products: Shampoo, Conditioner, 3-in-1 Leave In, Sea Spray and Shine On Lightweight Oil protect hair from the bad rays as well as chlorine, salt water and environmental pollutants. There are a gaggle of Arkansas outlets listed at trustthebum.com.
BE AN ISLAND GIRL
It has been a while since we last visited Crabtree & Evelyn, that save-me-from-stinky-celebrity-fragrances bastion bearing an upscale persona but not impossible prices.
Our latest Crabtree fragrance collection exploration has been its Caribbean Island Wild Flowers collection (formerly known as India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily, which takes even longer to say). The scent is described as bearing “refreshing fruity, floral notes of wild island flowers and night-blooming jasmine [entwined] with citrus and the subtle scent of balmy ocean air.”
The jewel in the crown of the collection is the Eau de Toilette ($60), whose spray bottle delivers a light mist. Other products include the Body Polish ($28), which not only cleans, but exfoliates with grapefruit peel powder and avocado stone granules, soothes with aloe vera juice and moisturizes with soybean oil; and the rich-lathering Hand Wash ($18), with its dose of avocado, aloe vera and honey extracts. A Body Wash, Body Cream, Body Lotion and Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy can also be had, as well as gift sets and a fragrance diffuser. My one-word description of the scent: ladylike. It’s a bit on the sweet side and makes me think more of teas, pearls and pumps than Caribbean islands. (Note: The Hand Wash is thick, and its odoriferousness may be overpowering to some. I’d suggest cutting it with a thinner, fragrance-free liquid soap.) See crabtree-evelyn.com for a retailer near you.
FLIP (-FLOP) THE SCRIPT
Healthful flip-flops. Sounds like healthful food, right? And probably as cost-restrictive and unappetizing, you’ve probably deduced while munching on your 57-cents-a-pound banana.
Granted, shoes like Vionic’s Floriana Toe Post Sandal ($79.95) cost far more than bananas, or those $5 rubber flip-flops at the drugstore. But the Floriana — described as “intricately designed with earthy stones in geometric shapes, dainty riveting and gorgeously textured material” — bears the customary Orthaheel contoured footbed designed to reduce the over- pronation that causes those pesky aches and pains. The manmade upper comes in six colors, bookended by black and white.
I’ve continued to try Vionic shoes, having had trouble walking in them in the past when they flew strictly under the Orthaheel banner (my feet apparently didn’t seem to want to be aligned back then) and have had better luck with them lately. My sampling of the Floriana was a continuation of this happy turnaround. Vionic shoes are sold at a variety of stores (and clinics), and listed at Vionicshoes.com.
JUST LIKE MAGIC
Oh, do you need some way to get spray sunscreen in hardto-reach areas, like your back? My Cabana Boy is a wand that applies sunscreen in those very areas. Users need only snap in any full-size can of sunscreen and push the nozzle on the handle of My Cabana Boy to evenly spray the sunscreen wherever it needs to go. My Cabana Boy can be used with all standard sunscreen sprays and after-sun aloe products including Banana Boat, Bullfrog, Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, and Neutrogena. The New Jersey-made wands are sold for $9.99 and thereabouts at Wal-Mart and my-cabanaboy.com.
JEWELRY ADDS HISTORY
For fashion purposes, I’d rather have big and bold costume jewelry than fine jewelry, which will disappear on me unless it’s the Hope Diamond. One of my new favorite online locales at which to browse for costume jewelry is Stauer.com. For over a decade, Stauer has offered curated jewelry, watches and luxury items, including handbags and sunglasses from all over the globe “at competitive prices,” according to a news release.
I recently tried a Stauer offering, the Azteca complete set ($129). You don’t just get a brief online description at this website. The Azteca set came with a history of the color turquoise … how the color “was so sacred that no mortal was allowed to wear it” — just the gods the Aztecs worshipped. “In fact, if you got too close to turquoise during this era, it probably meant you were in a spot of trouble,” according to the description.
“Fortunately for the fashion-conscious, things have changed in the last 2,000 years and turquoise jewelry is now permissible for mortals.” Natural turquoise stone, a longtime staple of American Indian craftsmanship, is scarce these days … and expensive, according to what I’ve read on other websites. Azteca is a veinless but attractive facsimile, with its arresting smooth, blue-green ovals separated by hand-twisted links and smaller beads. The 20-inch, weighty necklace bears a large pendant; a bracelet and earrings echo the style of the necklace.
And there’s much more. Among the notable items at Stauer are the Helenite Necklace and Stud Earrings Set ($149), whose stones are produced from the heated volcanic rock dust of Mount St. Helens, and the Bavarian Rose “Love Stones of the Mad King” collection ($99, complete with an interesting vignette on “mad” King Ludwig of 19th-century Bavaria).
Stauer also has a retail presence and catalog business. Visit stauer.com or call
(800) 859-1843.
Got fashion and beauty news? Contact Helaine R. Williams, Dressing Room, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or email:
High Profile on 05/24/2015