Ladies, normally we don’t push any kinds of products on this site. The Harpies tend to be rather critical of unfettered capitalism and Jeebus Crust, thanks to the Advertising Industrial Complex we all get bombarded with too many BUY BUY BUY! messages as it is.
However…I’m going to make an exception and throw this one Friday Fun Thread open for recommendations from the hivemind. I once got a great tip from commenters about jeans that I’m still benefitting from today. A couple years ago, I ranted about the misery of jeans shopping and how I despaired of finding the right fit. More than one commenter recommended the Joe’s Juicy brand. I checked it out and lo and behold, they fit! I never would have known had it not been for the Harpy hivemind. So in the spirit of sisterhood, we’re going to get our shill on*—feel free to advise, share and add links and generally rave away. (I’ll keep an eye on the mod queue so the links don’t gum up the commenting approval system)
So I’m sharing a tip in return, because I honestly feel like I’ve stumbled upon the holy grail…of bras. Y’all may recall from a bra-related post SarahMC and I did earlier this year, that frankly, I don’t like bras very much. But this Christmas, while in DC with MamaSharper, we did a little mother-daughter shopping, and new bras were on the agenda. Mom was about to go on a trip overseas and wasn’t happy with either of the bras she’d packed. She was getting increasingly desperate to find something that wouldn’t drive her crazy during a long-haul flight. I just needed a new bra or two. We were in a department store lingerie section when I spied a rack of Spanx’s Brallelujah bras.
Full disclosure: I’ve never worn anything by Spanx. I loathe squeezing into tight clothes, and Spanx are just old-fashioned rubberized girdles made of space-age spandex. They pledge to vacuum-seal all your flesh into a solid, streamlined shape that looks smooth and jiggle-free. Personally, I’d rather just get clothes that fit or drape and spare myself the discomfort. And I have feminist issues with our beauty culture’s need to painfully strap down any and all flesh that jiggles or wobbles. But I’d heard some good things about the Brallelujah bras from friends, and when I handled the bra itself, I noticed that it lacked the scratchy rubberized elastic that I despise. My mom and I both got a couple pairs and tried them on and…holy shit. They were fantastic. We turned to each other and exchanged looks of complete wonderment.
Here’s why I love the Brallelujah bra: It closes in the front, which means no hook and eye poking you in the spine. You can lean back or lie flat on your back with no discomfort because the shoulder and back straps are soft elasticized fabric, with no hooks or seams. Nothing digs into your shoulders or chest. They come in underwire and wireless; I got the wireless but my mother, whose bust is larger, got the underwire and was perfectly happy with it because the design of the bra keeps the underwire from pulling up and cutting into your chest. The seamless elastic also looks completely smooth under a sweater or t-shirt. NB: it is not a sexxxy bra—the designs are all very utilitarian, with no lace or ribbons or fun fabrics. This is an all-day wear kind of garment. SRSLY ladies, it’s a great bra, especially for those of us who hate bras. They only had one in my size, so I went home and ordered up a couple more on-line (I got them at a discount from HerRoom, a woman-owned on-line store that has good prices and advice about all kinds of lingerie). I also threw out a few of my basic old bras when I got home because after wearing the Brallelujah bras, the others were just too damn uncomfortable.
That’s my tip. What’s yours? Discovered something new? Want to give shout-out to a tried-and-true product you couldn’t live without? Shill away in the comments…
*I realize it’s not a true shill unless you’re getting some kind of kickback for your endorsement, so hey, if Spanx wants to send me a couple bras for my trouble, I’d be very happy to have them (34A plz, and 36C for my mom).
I am brand-loyal, meaning, I’ll look first but not only at: Sketchers sneakers, Manic Panic hair dye, Maja soap, Jack Rabbit black beans, Goya coconut water & Mazda cars.
But you can’t pry me away from plain, white Colgate toothpaste. No other toothpaste need apply.
Unfortunately, the magic bras above come only in a limited set of sizes. Along the lines of new bra discoveries, however, for those of us who can generally only find either very expensive or very utilitarian, Wacoal has recently come out with a new line (apparently for younger ladies? I don’t know) called b’temptd (which is kind of dumb, but whatever). They actually have really pretty things up to an E/DDD in 30-36 bands. And I’ve found their sizing very consistent — all four bras I’ve ordered from them (all in different styles) fit correctly in the same size.
I have very fussy skin – ultra-sensitive, acne, rosacea, the works. I was never able to find a cleanser/acne reducer that worked and usually had several different soaps/cleansers and had to rotate between them. A few years back a friend tipped me in about Paula’s Choice products. Now I shameless shill for them any chance I get. The ‘skin balancing cleanser’ and 2% beta hydroxy acid gel have kept my skin clean, soft, and blemish free for about 7 years now. They cost about the same as the pricier drugstore products and last a long time.
I got a friend hooked on Paula’s Choice. She got me hooked on Smartwool socks by forgetting a pair at my house and them telling me to keep them. They’re pricy but so warm and comfy. I highly recommend them if you live in a cold climate. (Note – I used to be someone who just bought the cheapo 6-pack cotton gym socks, and still wear them in the summer, so I’m normally pretty cheap about socks)
oh yeah, and bras….I hate those rubberized elastics too. They itch like crazy! I had to stop buying my favorite Victoria’s Secret bras because of it.
I’m a 38D/40C and I highly recommend the Bali “passion for comfort seamless minimizers”, which you can find at outlet stores or online. They’re comfortable, unpadded, flattering, don’t have the annoying rubberized elastic, don’t slide off my shoulders, and come in a wide range of colors and sizes. oh yeah, and cheap ($18/each if you catch one of the 3 for $54 specials)
The best recipe book(s) that I have found are the Cook’s Illustrated series. I got the vegetable one last year and now it’s an absolute pleasure getting five to ten servings a day! Now I have The New Best Recipe and it’s saved my holiday season. Anyways, the great thing about them is that they test as many possible permutations of the recipe before deciding on the final formula, and everything is laid out very clearly so even baking klutzes like me can take on complicated dishes without messing it up.
Bounce sent me one of those stupid stick-it-in-your-dryer bars as a sample and although I didn’t WANT to I frickin love it. Their commercials are idiotic – the amount of time in my day it’s saving is less than 3 seconds, not exactly life changing – but my clothes are soft, dog/cat hair free and I no longer end up with a zillion used dryer sheets all over the house. I even bought a bunch of refills today. My husband said it’s like drugs (the first one is free but then you’re hooked) and I laughed at him…but it’s kind of true.
I love the SodaStream. Got it about 6 mo. ago. I loved carbonated stuff, and this helps me make my own, easily. I don’t use any of the SodaStream flavorings (I heard they were gross), instead I carbonate juices (1/4 juice to 3/4 water) and Monin flavorings (1/5 syrup to 4/5 water) to make Italian sodas. I’ve got a liter of carbonated water in the fridge at all times now to quickly mix up a bubbly beverage.
@MsM: The SodaStream is hands-down my very most favorite kitchen toy. I drink at least a liter of seltzer every day and not having to schlep and recycle (and pay for!) all those bottles from the store has made my life so much easier (and well-hydrated!)
I also really love my juicer, which is a Breville (obtained at a deep discount from Overstock.com). I make a lot of fresh veggie juice which is very healthy and cheap, and have perfected watermelon-lime coolers for the summer.
things to shill:
* Toby’s Estate Coffee (for more info check here: http://www.tobysestate.com.au/ ) My favourite cafe in the whole world, with the amazing barista Tony, uses this coffee and it tastes so good.
* Adidas Predator boots for playing football (or soccer as it can also be known). They are so comfortable, good to kick and run in, require no breaking in, and are quite beautiful. I feel like when I put them on I could Lionel Messi. (http://www.adidas.com/football/au/products/predator/ )
* the recently acquired stainless steel Breville toaster and kettle – beautiful, and they work so good!
* I would like to do a shout out for my hairdresser Steph, who is a 3rd/4th year apprentice. If any harpies come to Sydney Australia, and would like a great hair cut, I would take you to her.
I’m glad I decided to read this post – I may have to try that Spanx bra, although it looks expensive, because I also generally hate bras and my size is the same as yours. The most comfortable bra I’ve found to date is Victoria’s Secret’s “Body by Victoria” wireless, but it’s still not really outstanding.
I guess I have at least one enthusiastic product recommendation. My hands get really chapped in the winter, as a result of a general propensity toward dryness combined with my habit of washing them frequently. Aquaphor, an ointment made by Eucerin, fixes my skin absurdly quickly. It is kind of expensive but worth the price, because even a small amount will revert my hands to factory settings (ha ha) overnight, no matter how bad they are to start. I can even rub some in my skin and wait just an hour or so to see marked improvement. At first I was reluctant to try it because it basically looks and feels like Vaseline, which I find kind of gross, but the first time I used it I stopped caring about that because it just plain gets the job done.
[...] my post about Brallelujah bras—in which I confessed I’d be ditching my tired old bras—I [...]