The Vine: December 23, 2009
Hi Sars,
For some time, I’ve been engaged in a long, fruitless search for a shower caddy (of the hang-it-over-the-showerhead-variety) that does not rust. I’ve searched the usual suspects — BBB, Linens ‘n’ Things, The Container Store, Target, etc., to no avail.
Even those caddies that are coated with the white plastic/poly-something still rust — they take longer to do so, but ultimately they do, because they’re still constructed of metal. And I hate admitting this, but I’m anal enough that I feel compelled to replace the thing once the rust gets to a certain point. The idea of an all-plastic (or other rust-proof material) hanging caddy seems so simple, yet it eludes me. Please help!
Can Of Shaving Cream, You Are My Next Victim
Dear Can,
God, that Barbasol ring.I feel you.
Perhaps the readers have workable suggestions, but depending on how long the rust takes to get to that certain point, maybe just replacing it periodically is your best bet.It goes, what, a year before it starts to look nasty?And it probably costs in the neighborhood of $10-15?So it’s a buck and change a month to “maintain”?
Not to contribute to our wasteful consumer blah blah whatever, but I would get a nice-looking coated-metal caddy; sand the rust off with a Brillo pad whenever I clean the shower; and when that no longer arrests the rusting process, just chuck it and get a new one.
Hi Sars,
I’m finishing what I believe will become one of my favorite books ever, A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr.I was wondering if you or your readers could recommend any other books along that line.
Anything involving tort cases or other types of civil proceedings would be great; the bigger the story’s scope and the closer the author can get to Harr’s storytelling style, the better.My only requirements are that the books recount actual events in case I get curious and want to pull court transcripts or other public records; and that they be about civil, not criminal, cases.I’m not interested in fiction or true-crime stories.
While I’m at it, I’d love recommendations on books about the history and philosophy of American law.(I believe legal scholars refer to this as jurisprudence but I don’t want to misuse the word.)I’d prefer books geared towards laypeople, but am open to those suggested for law school students as well.
Thank you in advance for any help you or the readers can give.
I Wish They Had A Law School For Poor People
Dear Law,
The Amazon page for A Civil Action suggests, among other titles, William Bernhardt’s Murder One and John C. Tucker’s Trial and Error: The Education of an American Trial Lawyer.I haven’t read any of the books, and that last one may not have enough civil-section activity for you; Amazon also thinks you’d like this book about the Buffalo Creek mining disaster and ensuing lawsuit.
My taste does run more to true crime, so I’m not much help, but the readers can no doubt put together a reading list for you.
Dear Sars,
I just heard that Estee Lauder is discontinuing their Prescriptives line of makeup. This breaks my heart; their concealer and powder (Virtual Matte) have been lifesavers to me over the years. I don’t care if I misspelled Estee Lauder; they hurt my feelings.
I imagine that thousand of women are in the same (heartbroken, weepy) boat as I am…do you and your readers have any suggestions for similar brands of makeup?
With $30 powder and $25 concealer, I can’t really afford to stock up. Might as well get this search over with. I use Level 3 powder and Level 3 Cool concealer, if that helps.
Sadder Than When They Discontinued My Bra
Dear Sadder,
I so seldom wear that kind of makeup that I can’t really help you (I’ve had the same bottle of SPF 15 Cover Girl whatever the hell since God was a child).
Let’s hope your fellow Lauderites have found an acceptable substitute.Readers?
Tags: Ask The Readers Estee Lauder Jonathan Harr popcult retail
@A Law Prof: As a current law student (just finished my first semester!) I’d be very interested in that syllabus. Law is my second career, after a completely unrelated first one, and I do occasionally feel like it would be nice to read something related to my classes that isn’t an opinion. My email address is mimstein at mac dot com.
And of course, all the suggestions here are giving me some great ideas. Of course, at the moment I’m reading all the mindless fiction I can, but I can’t keep that up my entire break!
I’m here to second the recommendation for “The Nine.” Yes, it’s the same Jeffrey Toobin who shows up on CNN every so often, but if you can get past that, he’s a great writer and the book is fascinating. He also has books about the Monica Lewinsky scandal (“A Vast Conspiracy”) and the OJ trial, which does go into the civil case (“The Run of His Life.”)
“Innocent Man” is fantastic, but if I recall, it’s definitely more true-crime than civil action. But you still might be interested.
I got rid of the Barbasol rust ring by switching over to shampoo lather to shave. Lather up your hair, take some and soap up your leg, and commence shaving. Done it for decades now. Saves money in that you’re using suds already committed to the job, saves room in the caddy, saves evil rust rings, and, um, pH balanced!
I have a brushed stainless steel caddy from BBB, but they discontinue stock so often there that I wouldn’t be surprised to not be able to find it again. Which is always a sucky thing… Prescriptives!!!
Last time I was in BBB they carried shower caddies made of teak. Wood doesn’t rust, but they were pretty pricey (around 60 bucks).
Also, you can get shaving cream in a tube, or a plastic pump bottle. I used it for years before I gave up the habit entirely. Just sayin.
Thanks guys! I remember being fascinated with mineral makeup infomercials a while back… this is a great time to try them out, and I’ll try Bare Minerals first.
The other suggestions are also very helpful and I’ll absolutely investigate those too. I love The Vine.
Walmart has at least one all-plastic shower caddy – http://tinyurl.com/ybowbgb, but the shape might not work for you. Simple Human has several stainless-steel shower caddies — higher end but they might last longer than some others. http://tinyurl.com/29zzl7
@Sadder:
Sephora will fully take back any product you don’t like both in the stores and on the web site, so if I were facing discontinuation on my favorite powder and concealer (MAC Studiofix and BeneFIT Boing), I’d buy one or two last rounds and start by trying new products from Sephora. If you’re looking for something that has a matte finish, Make Up Forever is great, and somebody mentioned Bare Minerals, which never disappoints. I have gone through this discontinued process twice with my favorite perfume (Ultima II Sheer Scent, which I still haven’t found) and lipstick which could only be found at Ricky’s in NYC. The lipstick hunt was pretty cool, and I ended up finding something just as good at a local boutique. But beware! The ladies and occasional gent that work in Sephora are typically brand reps, which means they’re not impartial when pointing out products to you. So even if they know there’s a competing product that will be perfect for you, they’ll still point out something from their own brand–which is why the return policy is so key. So, since I’m psycho about makeup, what I’d probably do is go in there with a compact of what I currently use and just spend a couple of hours doing ye olde contrast-and-compare while fending off aggressive sales peeps. Lastly, if you stock up on product that you won’t be using for a while, make sure you wrap it tightly in multiple layers of zip lock bags and store it in a cool dry place so that it doesn’t separate or start to take on that spoiled smell. Good luck!
”Attorney for the Damned” is a collection of various closing arguments, speeches, and writings by Clarence Darrow (the Scopes ”Monkey” Trial guy). It’s excellent.
We use a shower caddy from Simple Human (http://www.simplehuman.com/products/bathroom-organization/shower-caddies/index.html?gclid=CKHahs605Z4CFYJx5Qod4WZjJA) that we love. It shows no signs of wear after six months (and comes in plastic, bamboo and metal), but more importantly, they have a five-year warranty. Also, it’s just designed well. Every time someone visits and uses our shower, we get asked about it. Which is good, because I hope that keeps them from noticing that I don’t scrub the tub that well.
It might not be your style but it is all plastic!
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100006723&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=100006723&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D29X-_-100006723
Bare Minerals is good but you could also try Motives by Loren Ridinger. It’s quite excellent.
http://www.marketamerica.com/jini/categories-105/cosmetics.htm
Sadder – I was a Prescriptives devotee for years. I was curious about the whole mineral powder craze, but didn’t want to spend a bunch of money. On a whim at CVS, I bought Revlon ColorStay mineral powder foundation – and love it. I usually try to avoid the big chain brands, but it really does work great.
I also like the Aveda tinted moisturizer ($40 – oof)… and Boots True Identity ($12 at Target).
Hi Sadder,
I work for a cosmetics retailer in Australia, and we have been a long-term stockist of Prescriptives. It’s been discontinued worldwide, and i can assure you that you’re not alone… i feel like over the last couple of months we’ve been grief conselling people who’ve been using and loving prescriptives their whole lives and are now totally set adrift.
product purchased now will keep fresh for 2 years – unopened – and then once open will have the usual shelf-life. so maybe have a think about stocking up, you will still have some months before stocks run out.
Otherwise, i would recommend taking your favourite products to a sephora or dept store and touch/feel/look/test similar products untill you find something you like…ask for samples, try it out at home for a few days. don’t just jump in and purchase the first alternative and try different brands.
get the shopgirl to try it out on you as well in store and then have a look outside in natural light too, because one of the best things about prescriptives is that the color range is so awesome – so you’ll be looking for that perfect color match or it wont feel right.
best of luck!
Sadder,
Back before I had my now two year-old son, I was a Prescriptives devotee, too. I wore their foundation and loose powder exclusively, and most of my eye shadow, blush and eyeliner were their products as well. Their makeup is wonderful. The reason I stopped wearing it is because they don’t sell it at Target or the grocery store, and I can’t seem to fit too many trips to Macy’s into my schedule. I started wearing L’Oreal True Match liquid foundation and Translucide loose powder. I can honestly say that I like them both as well as the much more expensive Prescriptives products I wore for years. The True Match line has warm, cool and neutral tone collections, and there are about 12 shades under each umbrella. I used to be Yellow-Orange Level One (sometimes Two in the summer) at Prescriptives, and I am wearing Neutral Level Two in the new brand. Hope that helps…good luck with your search for a replacement.
Re: Shower Caddy
I use this: http://www.amazon.com/Mesh-Shower-Organizer-Easily-Hangs/dp/B000JD4CC0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1263255941&sr=8-2
It doesn’t hang over the shower head (some other models do), it hangs from the rings, but it’s mesh, so you can just wash it.