Last night over a glass of wine, my friend announced he was on day 1 (and take 2) of a new diet. Well, not a diet, exactly, and I’m paraphrasing here, but he said something to the effect of: “When I cut out dairy, processed sugar and wheat, I wake up every day feeling better than I’ve ever felt in my life.”

Gah. I want to feel like that! Who doesn’t want to feel like that, frankly. But I don’t, and I notice it most when I first wake up in the morning.

Do most people wake up feeling awesome? Seriously?

The thing is, I would wager that most of us know exactly what we need to do to feel our best.

• We know how much sleep we need *
• We can list the foods we digest most easily **
• We can identify the habits that make us feel like garbage and, in theory anyway, we could not do those things ***
• We know what kind of exercise our body craves ****
• We understand who make us feel all happy and glowy  *****

I certainly do, I just don’t always do it—and how boring would life be if I did. (That’s what I tell myself, anyway—which might be part of the problem?) The truth is, I am a sucker for a good time, I’m pretty spontaneous, but I’m also someone who feels best when I stick to a routine. Because as anyone over the age of 30 knows, good times often come at a cost. And that feeling of waking up totally rested and relaxed? You can’t beat it. So I’m going to embark on a mission to have more mornings like that, and fewer when I wake up with a four-letter word in my head just because the alarm went off.

Now tell us, and be brutally honest, please: Do you wake up every day feeling refreshed? If so, I am jealous, but I want to know your secrets. Share, share.

* 8 hours

** Vegetables, cooked or raw, gluten-free grains, some fish, yummy good fats

*** I’m not telling

**** Vigorous yoga, hiking, boot camp drills in the park

***** You know who you are, and I thank you!

image via

Well, my boy has a bit of a problem, in any case, and I need your help finding him a good, um, boysturizer.

First, let me back up: Despite the fact that I do this for a living and can be a bit of a zealot (“Do you know what is in that?!”), this is something he has decided he wants to do (mostly) on his own. He’s switched his shampoo and conditioner, uses my Tom’s toothpaste, and is super supportive of what we’re up to over here. But after a couple of attempts to switch his face lotion to something a little less…Clean & Clear, we’re sort of stuck.

He likes his J&J moisturizer because it isn’t greasy, absorbs well and doesn’t leave any film on his skin. It also doesn’t smell like a girl, which is a bonus.

Now, I know most skincare lines are unisex, but if we’re being honest we all know that most of them smell like candy, fruit or flowers—and he doesn’t want anything like that. He also doesn’t want something that feels oily, which, hey, I get! It took me a long time to love the feeling of plant oils on my skin, and some people never get into it. Finally, it can’t feel filmy on his skin.

So far he’s tried Organic Apoteke Active Face Gel, which was too acidic and caused his face to turn red. The redness quickly faded, and with it a desire to ever try it again (which works well for me, frankly, since I only have half a bottle of it left and the company appears to be on hiatus!). Next, he tried Dr. Alkaitis’ Organic Day Cream, which is aloe-based but has shea butter high up on the list. This lotion feels lovely on my skin, but it was way too heavy for him, leaving him with that dreaded “coated” feeling. Also, it sort of smells like a natural version of the gum you get in baseball card packets when you’re a kid. To me this is a plus; to him, not so much.

So we turn to you:

Men, it’s time to stop lurking and share your skincare secrets. Women, tell us what your boyfriends, man friends and husbands are using. And if you’ve tried something yourself that you think fits the bill, weigh in. Let’s find him something that will make him as happy at that guy up top.

Please and thank you.