Toilette of a Moose

There's nothing like a meme to get you back on the blogging track when you're having some difficulty coming up with a post. Given my week, it's not surprising I'm rather uninspired even though I have lots still to tell about our holidays. So I took Jeff up on his offer to share with you some of my toilette routine. Never fear, it's rather tame. Borrow if you wish, share if you'd like.

1. Conditioner - y/n?
But of course. I tend to get the frizzies if I don't condition every other day. And a frizzy moose is not pleasant.

2. Razor - manual, electric?
I have a battery operated Venus Vibrance razor. It exfoliates as it rids me of unsightly leg and underarm fur. Not that I have a lot of time to do the legs, which is why I wear pants a lot. I'm toying with the idea of getting a epilator so I don't have to do it so often.

3. Shaving cream - foam, gel?
I use really cheap conditioner to shave with - it softens the hair as well as being a lot less expensive than shaving gels, especially those branded "for women".

4. After shave - y/n, brand?
Uh... no. And I don't think there is a female equivalent to put on your legs/underarms after you shave. Maybe moisturiser? In that case usually on my legs but never under my arms. Who would moisturise their underarms?

5. Toothbrush - regular or electric?
I have a hybrid battery toothbrush. It looks like a manual toothbrush but you push the button on the handle and it goes all vibrate-y. I think they market it as "sonic action". I doubt that claim, but I like that I can put it in with a regular toothbrush holder but get the benefits of an electric brush.

6. Toothpaste - regular or gel, whitening etc?
I have an imported toothpaste. I ordered a couple of tubes of Crest Vanilla Mint (I misidentified it as Colgate over on yellojkt's blog - my bad) from an online site in the States and had Momma Mooselet ship it over to me. I love it, but no one else does. This is not a bad thing - more for me.

7. Floss - y/n, flavored, thick/thin, waxed?
Yes, but not as much as I should. I have a Hummingbird (again with the vibrating... and leave your comments in your head, please) that I like because the floss is thin and taut enough that it doesn't shred between my very close together teeth, and I don't have to pry all kinds of fingers into my mouth - which is pretty small, believe it or not - to use it. My dentists hates it; he's always trying to get me to use something else, to which I politely tell him it's my Hummingbird or nothing.

8. Mouthwash - y/n, brand?
I've never been a mouthwash fan. I use it occasionally - the Hermit likes it - and I make the kids use one that Momma Mooselet sends over because it has fluoride in it and our water in Queensland isn't fluoridated, but I don't. Seems like overkill.

9. Toilet paper - over or under?
Under is uncivilized; it rolls too easily to the floor. No one else in my house seems to thinks so, however, especially my husband. If he changes the roll (and yes, he does change it, unlike the children most of the time) the next time I use the bathroom I switch it to over. No, he doesn't switch it back and no, we don't discuss it.

10. Magazines?
Sometimes. We have a couple of books like "Uncle John's Aussie Bathroom Reader" and "50 things you always wanted to know about world issues... but were too afraid to ask" (really, that's the title) and magazines when they come into the house. I'm a bit of a cheapskate and don't buy a lot of magazines. I'm not opposed to bathroom reading, I just don't get a lot of alone time in there to do it - I have kids under age 5, remember?

11. Hair dryer or towel dry?
A vigorous towel dry followed by a quick blow dry - so both. Now that I have short hair it is very easy to style.

12. Hair "products" - mousse, gel, hairspray, etc?
All of the above. Actually I put a little mousse in, blow dry it, use a little wax to separate the front and keep it from falling flat, and then spray it. I don't have a particular brand preference, either.

13. Cologne or body spray - y/n, brand?
Occasionally. When I was working I rarely wore scents as it could wreck havoc on someone with a respiratory condition, so I never got into the habit. When I do wear them it's usually something with a vanilla base. I also have a bottle of a JPG knock-off that I got for Christmas called "Catsuit" or something like that.

14. Deodorant - Spray, roll-on, stick (gel or white), scented etc?
Australians really like their spray-on deodorants, or their roll-ons. I never cared for either, so I again went and stocked up on my favorite US brand - Suave stick. It's white, but goes on clear. I think it's got a bit of a baby powder scent, but I wouldn't swear on it. I use it because it's good value for money... and I don't stink.

15. Sink and shower soap - liquid, bar, bodywash, etc?
All liquids. The sinks are stocked with Bath & Body Works soaps (thanks again to Momma Mooselet, who either sends/brings their products) of varying scents, mainly vanilla. The exception is the kids bathroom, which has a basic generic liquid hand soap. The shower has shower gels, also from Bath & Body Works. Current scent is Cherry Blossom. There is a bar soap for the Hermit, but bar soaps are far too drying for my taste. And I don't want to be washing my boobs with soap that most recently washed the Hermit's backside, thankyouverymuch.

16. Sink cup - disposable Dixie type, regular?
A regular plastic cup in both bathrooms. I don't think I've ever seen disposable cups here, so it's either a regular cup or the cupped hand method.

17. Make-up - always, sometimes, never? Brand?
My own addition to the meme, as I'm fairly certain Jeff doesn't wear make-up (at least not now... I've seen his band photos from the 80s, so there may have been a time where the boundary wasn't so clear).

As I push bravely past my mid-30s and onto 40, the condition of my skin warrants I wear some basic make-up most of the time. Concealer to hide the lovely shade of purple under my eyes, foundation to hide the post-Clive blemishes (that pregnancy was awful to my skin) and a bit of mascara to widen my perpetually sleepy eyes. Depending on what I'm doing I may go the whole hog, or if I know I won't be leaving the house, or I'm in too much of a hurry, or I just don't give a flying f*ck, I'll skip it. Fortunately for the public I don't have too many of those days. I'm partial to Neutrogena brand foundation and concealer that I get from the US (I refuse to pay the prices here for decent foundation - $30 for Revlon? I think not!), but I'm not choosy about the rest of it. Eyeliner is eyeliner.

Have I grossed you out in any way? TMI? Or harmless fun to get me back on track? Yeah, the last one, definitely.