Equality of the Sexists

I don't know about you, but it used to piss me off every time I'd be behind an 18-wheeler with those naked girl mudflaps on the back. I never understood it. When I first started seeing them years ago, I rather naively thought it was the logo for a specific brand of mudflaps. But it wasn't an advertising logo at all! So what was the point of it? Was there even a point? Could the ubiquitous and iconic Mudflap Girl be nothing more than a sexist attempt to objectify the idealized but unrealistic standards of female beauty as determined by the uber-masculine and arguably misogynistic trucker sub-culture?

Fear not, feminists! Mudflap Boy is here, and retribution is at hand. Mudflap Boy takes the mickey out of the whole sexist trucker thing with a line of products featuring - you guessed it - a pointless naked man splayed out in a provocative pose. Mudflap Boy products include t-shirts, postcards, stickers, belt buckles, and trucker hats. Isn't it about time women sported a naked man on their wheels, whether they be 2, 4 or 18? Now we can, with the oval Mudflap Boy bumper sticker. And the Mudflap Boy trucker hat, t-shirt, and belt buckle will ensure your message will get noticed whether you're making a long-haul trip from Albuquerque to Boise, or just hanging around closer to home.

Mudflap Boy has been featured on Veronica Mars and Mad TV, and has appeared in several print magazines including Bust and Cargo.


Now that Mudflap Boy has gently poked fun at the trucker industry, does this mean women can wolf-whistle at construction workers next? Mudflap Boy products for women can be found at www.mudflapboy.com. Mudflap Boy products for men, including the double-entendre double Mudflap Boy t-shirt, can be purchased from www.mudflapboys.biz.

Fun 'n Flirt!-y

I have to admit, the only reason I go to Kohl's is for their makeup lines. Although I love discount stores like Target and Marshall's, I've never found anything at Kohl's that I've just had to have - except for the makeup and skincare lines that are exclusive to them. They are all "diffusion labels" of Estee Lauder, which means you get department store quality at discount store prices, and without the pushy sales associates. Each line at Kohl's is like a mid-range version of an Estee Lauder company. American Beauty is like the Estee Lauder line - classic and traditional. Good Skin is like Clinique, with skincare products using the latest scientific advancements. Grassroots is like Origins, with an emphasis on natural ingredients. But my favorite of their lines is Flirt!, Kohl's youthful, funkier line of makeup aimed at the teenaged market. Flirt! is like the MAC Cosmetics of Kohl's, with an emphasis on color cosmetics (and unlike MAC, which launched some skincare products, almost as an afterthought after Estee Lauder bought the company, Flirt has no skincare products at all). Yesterday I left the house in stifling 90-degree humidity to treat myself to a mini-haul at the Flirt! display units.


With the advent of warmer weather, I always like to switch to lighter, sheerer makeup textures and colors. I couldn't resist Flirt's I'm Whipped Cheek Mousse ($12). Dab a little onto cheeks for a sheer, barely-there flush of color. It gives a youthful, dewy glow that looks more natural on complexions when it's hot and humid outside. I chose the shade Fantastique, a light peachy-pink, similar to Nars' Orgasm blush. It complements my red-headed-person's pale complexion perfectly.



Continuing with the mousse theme, I also chose the I'm Whipped Eye Mousse ($12). Like the cheek mousse, the eye mousse gives a sheer wash of color that doesn't look heavy or powdery like powder shadow can. I chose shade #7, Cross My Heart, a light pinky-peach (like the cheek mousse in Fantastique). It looks very bright in the compact but when applied it looks very natural.


Summer weather also means it's time to switch the heavy foundation for a lighter tinted moisturizer. I purchased Flirt's Act Natural Light and Sheer Foundation ($12). Although it contains an SPF of 15, it doesn't protect against UVA rays (the aging ones) because it doesn't contain Avobenzone, Titanium Dioxide, or Zinc Oxide. While I can't recommend it as a sunscreen (I use a separate sunscreen on my face anyway), I do love it as a sheer foundation. I hate heavy foundations anyway, and Act Natural Light and Sheer Foundation looks natural on my skin. And I applaud the wide range of shades it comes in. With my pale complexion, I usually pick the lightest shade of foundation within a line, and with many drugstore and budget lines, even the lightest shade isn't light enough. With Flirt, I was surprised to find that their third-lightest shade, Nude Envy, was perfect. While darker skin tones aren't as well-represented with the tinted moisturizer - perhaps because sheerer color can be more forgiving to within a few degrees of skin tone - Flirt also makes a stick foundation that comes in a greater variety of shades for both light and dark skin tones, with the choice of warm or cool shades of each color. And the pressed powder comes in the same shades as the stick foundation, so you won't have to test the powders separately to see what shade you take. If you take Nude Envy in the foundation, you take Nude Envy in the pressed powder. It's a no-brainer!

While I was at the Flirt display, I couldn't resist spritzing myself with their two perfumes, Flirtatious and Glamourazzi. Both have hints of vanilla, which is why I love them both. Flirtatious (pictured at top), their first fragrance, is an intoxicating blend of exotic wild berry, enchanting honeysuckle and creamy vanilla. I really love the combination of berries and vanilla. It vaguely reminds me of English trifle. Glamourazzi is Flirt's new fragrance, a sparkling blend of exotic flowers, spicy ginger and vanilla. It was a tough decision, but in the end Flirtatious won out. It's a better warm-weather fragrance, with its fruit and flower notes. Glamourazzi is heavier and spicier and would be great in colder weather, especially as a holiday fragrance. I'm sure I'll be going back to Kohl's to buy it once fall rolls around. Both fragrances retail for $35 for a 1.7 ounce bottle.

In keeping with their youthful theme, Flirt! teams regularly with young celebrities to create seasonal color collections. Past Flirt! Guest Creators, as they're called, have included singer Michelle Branch, actresses Milla Kunis and Vanessa Minnillo, and tennis superstar Serena Williams. Flirt! is available at all Kohls stores, or at kohls.com.

Ren and Primp-y

Ren Clean Skincare claims to be the first company to pioneer the concept of clean skincare. In fact, the word Ren is Swedish for "clean." But Ren is actually a British company. The line is called "clean" because it's free of parabens, petrochemicals, coloring, preservatives, and other synthetic ingredients. But this line isn't one of those homemade-type lines that use natural ingredients that do nothing to benefit your skin. Ren uses advanced bio-actives (i.e. natural ingredients that are effective) in their products. Their packaging is vacuum-sealed to prevent air or other contaminants from compromising the effectiveness of the product, thus enabling them to eliminate all preservatives from their products.

I first reviewed Ren Skincare in my very first post on this blog. I tried the Rose Centrifolia Facial Cleansing Gel and the Rose Complex Moisturizer for Normal Skin. Back then, Ren only had two cleansers to choose from, the gel cleanser for normal skin and a cream cleanser for dry skin. Since my skin is combination, with clogged pores, I opted for the gel cleanser. But that was a year-and-a-half ago. Since I first reviewed Ren, they have come out with two more cleansers, one specifically for combination skin, and one for sensitive skin. Ren also introduced new moisturizers to go along with them. So I decided it was time to revisit Ren and try the line for combination skin.

I purchased the Mayblossom and Blue Cypress Balancing Facial Cleansing Gel ($32) and the Mayblossom and Konjac Balancing Moisturizer ($45). The cleanser is a lightweight gel containing extracts of antimicrobial Mayblossom, Willow Bark (a natural salicylic acid) and Australian Blue Cypress oil to clear pores and prevent pimples while it balances combination skin. I like the consistency of the gel cleanser. It cleans my face but doesn't strip it. I'm not sure it entirely removed all of my makeup, so I just used a second half-pump of cleanser and went over my face again. Since my skin is so sensitive and breaks out easily, I'd rather cleanse twice (at night only) than use something so harsh it causes a negative reaction to my skin. I follow the cleanser with the Mayblossom and Konjac moisturizer. It's a lightweight gel-cream with Mayblossom and Willow Bark to normalize sebum production, and Japanese Konjac root disperses sebum to reduce shine and hydrate dry areas. It feels a bit slippery when I first apply it, but it absorbs instantly into my skin. It's perfect right now with the summer heat and humidity, but in the colder months I might go back to the Rose Complex Moisturizer. Then again, my skin seems to break out with heavier moisturizers, so I might try to use the Mayblossom moisturizer all winter and see if my skin still feels comfortable. For now, using Ren's products for combination skin helps my skin to feel clean and balanced. They're not too heavy, nor are they not heavy enough. They're just right.

Ren has a wide range of facial care products for all skin types, including serums, eye treatments, and masks. In addition to facial care, Ren also makes clean body-care products, including body washes, lotions, and body oils. They've even branched out into fragrance and hair care. In the span of just a few short years, Ren has already garnered a celebrity following that includes Kate Beckinsale, Kate Moss, Kate Winslett, and a host of other celebrities not named Kate (including Jude Law, Christy Turlington, and Sting). The company also donates a portion of its proceed to charitable causes in Great Britain, proving that their conscious, as well as their products, are clean.