I love a good ointment. When I get a prescription for topical eczema medication, I always ask for an ointment, not a cream, because I think it’s more effective for my dry skin. So when I noticed a tube of Aquaphor Healing Ointment in my sister’s house, I was excited to give it a try. My hands were feeling pretty dry in that Vegas winter weather. After I scanned the ingredient list, I decided not to use it because it contains lanolin. Unfortunately, my skin isn’t a fan of…

Do you ever see something that immediately jolts you back to an earlier time in your life? For me, Carmex Classic Lip Balm’s distinctive bumblebee-yellow metal tin will always be one of those things. The smell of it as well—a strange marriage of wax and camphor/Vick’s VapoRub—is forever ingrained in my brain. Growing up, my family always kept a few tins of Carmex distributed around the house. Carmex used to print the price on the label, and I remember seeing the price increase from…

Along with Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond was one of my favorite stores as a teenager. (Yes, I’m what some might call a “nerd” or an “old soul.") The “beyond” includes Harmon Face Values, a division of the company that sells health and beauty products—not only name brands but also their own generic versions. I picked up a three-pack of Harmon Face Values sunscreen lip balm the other day. It looks like a dead ringer for ChapStick’s moisturizing lip…