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New York Times
16-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
These Sleek Toiletry Bottles Keep Your Products Airtight. But Are They Any Good?
Although Ries bottles are sleek, easy to fill and clean, and hygienic, they put you in a bit of a double bind. Because they only pump out a bit of liquid at once, they're more suited to products where a little goes a long way. Yet the Ries bottles are designed for toiletries you need a lot of, like shampoo and conditioner, and they only come in two relatively large sizes. They're also bulky and have a limited (and hard-to-read) labeling system. At up to $18 per bottle, they feel pricey for what they are. Ries bottles (left) use an airless pump, Cadence Capsules (middle) are an open jar, and Sea to Summit offers a simple squeeze bottle (right). Maria Adelmann/NYT Wirecutter Still, people who generally use small amounts of product might be fine with the bottles' modest dispensing. I could potentially see using Ries bottles for select parts of my travel toiletry kit, like a facial moisturizer. Some people might prefer Cadence Capsules, which come in a wider range of sizes and have endless interchangeable label options, making them especially alluring for those who use a bunch of different products in smaller quantities. With satisfying magnetic parts, they're also surprisingly delightful. But Cadence Capsules concede some practicalities to aesthetics. They're heavy, they're bulky for how much they hold, they're expensive, and the open-jar concept, which requires scooping out product, isn't for everyone. (Notably, while writing this piece, Cadence released adapter lids that may mitigate the latter issue, though we haven't tried them yet.) These plastic travel containers are chic, stylish, and come in a range of sizes. Plus, they have satisfying magnetic sides and interchangeable magnetic labels. But they're pricey, heavy, and the open-jar style isn't for everyone. If attractiveness isn't a big concern, the Sea to Summit bottles are simple, lightweight, and take up very little space. For me, they were hands-down the easiest to use for dispensing everyday hygiene items like shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Each Sea to Summit bottle has a screw top to prevent leaks and a removable insert in the mouth to control how much liquid is squeezed out. They're also translucent, so you can see how much product you have left. However, Sea to Summit's bottles are difficult to label and have a narrow mouth, so they're annoying to fill, empty completely, and clean. At about $33 for six bottles and a TSA-compliant liquids bag (which we like), they're not cheap, but they are the cheapest of the bunch. These basic toiletry bottles are simple, lightweight, and not bulky, plus they have a removable insert to control how much liquid is squeezed out. But the narrow neck makes them more difficult to clean and fill. Maybe there's a reason why toiletry bags are a hodgepodge. If Goldilocks is out there somewhere applying product from the perfect set of containers, I haven't gotten word of it yet. This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
New York Times
14-04-2025
- Health
- New York Times
The Best Skin-Care Advice I Ever Got Came From My Grandmother
There is a piece of advice that I think about every day. It was bestowed—as much of the best insight is—by a grandmother. When I was 12, I sat on the edge of my nana's bed as she expertly coiled her hair into neat rows around pink foam curlers. We chatted as she worked, saying the usual gentle nothings that percolate in such environments of mutual affection. She rolled, pinned, then covered her head with a loose fuchsia hair net that she tied back to front. As she fastened the final knot into place, she turned to face me. Through her centimeter-thick glasses, her eyes magnified to owl-like proportions. It was then, as she looked directly into my eyes, she said the words that are forever etched into my memory. 'Never forget to moisturize your elbows.' My grandmother Elinor's wisdom was earned—she lived through both World Wars and earned a degree in fashion design. Elbows! To a young person in the 'not a girl, not yet a woman' phase of life, the idea that my elbows might need tending to had not even occurred to me. I examined the pointy bends of my arms and, to my horror, discovered that my elbows were, in fact, dry. At this time, for me, any physical flaw was a possible point of weakness upon which the vultures of mean girls would feed. And so the ritual began. Every single day, immediately after drying off from the shower, I slathered myself from collarbones to heels in the best moisturizer I could afford—never skimping on my elbows. Over the intervening decades, I have tried a large number of creams, balms, butters, and oils. In my search for the perfect elbow emollient, I've endured feeling greasy, shiny, slippery, and sticky. I've dried out, broken out, and thrown out. The lotions my dermatologist recommended felt clinical. Pure cocoa butter smelled amazing but left me slick for hours. And then my mother (now a grandmother herself) sent me a jar of Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter. This supremely spreadable whipped body butter elevates a mundane daily hydration habit. But it will cost you. It's unlikely that skin has a soulmate, but if it did, this stuff would be mine. I have what can be described as combination skin. My arms and legs get dry. My belly and chest are sensitive. And well into my 30s, if I used lotion on my back, it would break out. For a while, I would use different products on the various segments of my body, trying to appease whatever epidermis deities ruled my Franken-skin type. Somehow, this whipped argan magic made every part happy. The Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter comes in a refillable glass tub. Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter The Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter comes in a refillable glass tub. Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter The cream is rich but not greasy. It doesn't immediately disappear into my skin like more-watery lotions. It is smooth and protective, absorbing over a few minutes, ensuring an all-day hydrated state. This is key as I live in Los Angeles, a literal desert, where air humidity can dip as low as 6% to 10%, and on any given afternoon, the temperature can shoot up by 25 degrees. You have to be prepared for arid conditions and a sudden need for tank tops and shorts. I am always ready. On those dry winter days when a single carpet shuffle means door knobs or handshakes come with an electric zap, I am never itchy, never ashy. And I am soft. Oh my word, my skin is so soft that on multiple occasions, someone has placed a hand on my arm and literally commented on my skin texture. Seriously. The body butter is thick, but not greasy, and I prefer the unscented option, which truly smells like nothing. Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter The Josie Maran body butter is available in several scents, and though I've dabbled in the vanilla varieties (currently, there are three), I generally stick with the unscented version. Unlike other 'unscented' creams, which lack added fragrance but still have some ingredients with an odor, this body butter genuinely smells like nothing. You might appreciate that, especially if you're sensitive to smells like I am. The malodorous clash of an unharmonious shampoo, body wash, and body lotion bouquet gives me a headache. Though I prefer unscented, none of the Josie Maran formulations caused my noggin a whiff of distress. Even my lotion-averse elementary-age son likes it. When he plays outside and gets chapped skin on his cheeks, nose, and chin, the whipped body butter is the only thing he will tolerate. He says that the other lotions I have tried on him—all labeled as 'gentle,' 'for babies,' or 'sensitive skin'—sting. Yet the Josie Maran body butter heals his redness within a few days. (I guess we're related.) The Josie Maran body butter absorbs best into my skin immediately after a shower, but on dry days I reapply after handwashing. Lauren Dragan/NYT Wirecutter Now, I cannot promise that every person who uses Josie Maran's Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter will have my experience. Bodies are diverse and particular, and the skin I've inherited plays a role in the mysterious alchemy that occurs when I slather on this specific body butter. I've tried other Josie Maran argan oil concoctions, like the Argan Infinity Intensive Creamy Oil and Argan Milk Intensive Hydrating Body Renewal Serum; they were both fine products, but my Goldilocks body deemed them respectively too greasy and too lightweight. Though this isn't an inexpensive body butter, I only need to apply it once a day, with occasional reapplication after handwashing. Despite this, I only go through a few 6-ounce jars a year, and the newly available refill pouches contain 13.5 ounces—over two jars worth of body butter. It might seem strange to get wistful over a container of body butter. But each day, as I add that purposeful extra dab of lotion, I think of the origin of the action and smile. Simple yet sage advice that I plan to share in my later years. My grandmother lived to be 105 years old. Her elbows always looked fantastic. This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
