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April 5th, 2010
The New York Times: Raising the Bar
Anyone out there remember soap? The Samurai Shopper does, and admits a sentimental affection for soap's plain-Jane properties. Soap may not be the most voluptuous product you've ever used, but it is efficient, disposable, a marvel of minimalism. I, like many others, traded up to fancy-pants facial gels, foams and creams that smell expensive -- and are. But washing with emulsions of Meyer lemon or fig makes me think: what do figs smell like anyway, and should I smell like one?
The Samurai Shopper wona t revert to gratuitous, self-mortifying austerities even now, but a bar of soap seems tempting, especially when packing for a trip. Watch me clumsily funnel product into teeny bottles, cursing those who've made air travel liquid-lite. And I share the melancholy in my native land: people pining for their what-me-worry past when beauty began and ended at the bathroom sink. Grab soap, wash face, pat dry, move on. It's a Doris Day movie.
Of course, soap, along with hygiene, had barbarous beginnings and is still possessed of a crude alchemy: fatty acids -- melted-down animal fat, usually beef -- treated with sodium salts extracted from lye. (That's sodium tallowate in mass-market parlance.) Cheap soaps do banish dirt; the trouble is they mess up the skin's pH (acid/alkali) balance, which keeps skin supple.
Wea ve bought the propaganda that all soap is bad from the neck up, but that's a crock. Fine soaps use plant-based oils that have less detergent and are less drying. My face likes olive-oil-based soaps from Castile in Spain and Marseille in France that have been around for centuries. They're mostly fragrance-, preservative- and animal-fat-free. They also have history and provenance. Whole Foods has a bevy of modern bars made the old-fashioned way that clean, exfoliate, brighten and moisturize with pure oils and butters, plus the occasional shot of milk, vitamins and herbal essences.
Mountain Ocean's Skin Trip -- under $5 a -- is ridiculously good for face, hair and body; use it and save up for the higher-priced spreads that stay on your face all day and night. Though I can't claim any Nubian Heritage, that brand's Carrot & Pomegranate and Coconut & Papaya Soap With Vanilla Beans (both $3.80) are superfatty, supergentle. One With Nature's Almond Soap -- under $5 -- is invigorating. Ditto Alaffia's Shea Butter & Goat's Milk Daily Toning Facial Soap at about $4 -- in travel-friendly three ounces.
Unless you have serious dermatological issues, dry-skin panic is just that. After washing your face, you know the drill: apply serums and emollient creams, and youa ll seal in moisture and replenish oils. And if you don't do this, why not? New Yorkers with supersensitive skin and a 21st-century conscience can support local business with a perfect soap from 3Lab, based in Englewood, N.J. It's called One Perfect Soap ($15), and it is. The Brooklyn-based McBride Beauty gets respect for its Soy & Coconut Cleansing Bar ($12), with six elementary ingredients.
Less-than-perfect soaps can leave a film that doesn't wash off readily in hard water, ergo the dreaded "soap scum." But whatever your watera s texture, Erno Laszlo's devotees can work it. Laszlo's iconic Sea-Mud soap ($39) has ruled the roost since Garbo, the Duchess of Windsor and Marilyn Monroe were clients. Washing with Laszlo soaps means following his splashing technique: 20 rinses with soapy water (formerly 30), plus 10 in clear water. A tad boot-camp-ish but not silly, since rinsing well removes soap scum and rinsing some more adds insurance.
Animal-righters are missing a real gem in Lanolin Agg-Tval Eggwhite Soap from Sweden. A single bar from New London Pharmacy ($4.50) used with Jane Iredalea s Magic Mitt ($15) will astound. The Magic Mitt removes makeup without cleansers -- hence, magic -- but I'd rather lather Agg-Tval, then circle with the Mitt to loosen any embedded debris.
Clinique's Facial Soap ($11) is a staple in its lineup, but Ia m not a believer. Clarin's $15 soap is unremarkable, too, but both are bargains compared with Sisley Paris Phyto-PAte Moussante Soapless Gentle Foaming Cleanser, at $105. In between are lush, handmade, triple-milled possibilities that raise the bar on soaps of yesteryear. So come clean. Admit it: A soap bar is easy, and the only thing it strips away is the fussiness of skin care.
- S.S. Fair
In The News
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April 5th, 2010
The New York Times: Raising the Bar
Anyone out there remember soap? The Samurai Shopper does, and admits a sentimental affection for soap's plain-Jane properties.
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February 19th, 2010
GQ: Beauty Tested, Beast Approved
Beauty Tested, Beast Approved is a grooming blog for normal guys. My wife, Amy (the beauty director of Allure magazine) has tried thousands of products over the year, mostly on herself, but often on the human guinea pig who sleeps next to her. Here are some of my picks.
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May 1st, 2008
Black Enterprise - In Good Company
With more than 50 employees, Richelieu Dennis, Nyema Tubman, and Emmet Dennis have transformed Sundial into the go-to source for culturally authentic organic skin and haircare products, which they create, manufacture, and distribute.
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February 20th, 2008
Macy's Celebrates Black History Month
We're proud to welcome and honor the business leaders who are making history in the communities we serve!