wowOwow - The Women on the Web

You all at WoW do know that those flip flops you keep pushing so industriously are terrible for women’s feet, joints, back and posture? It doesn’t matter if they’re created by some kischy designer, or one gets them for a dollar at the big box store, flip flops are a disaster waiting to happen, and should come with a user warning stamped boldly on the straps. Emergency rooms see hundreds of flop related injuries all over the country every month of warm weather, more in regions in which summer is virtually endless. But, okey-dokey, push those $20+ travesties.

I had to laugh at the little $34.95 moisture analyzer. O my goodness, my analyzer tells me it’s time to rehydrate (not the black spots in front of my eyes, the fact that I’ve ceased to perspire, my parched lips and mouth and the wave of dizziness I’m suddenly expe…). You’re skin needs rehydrating? If you are to the point that your skin is that dehydrated, you may be in serious danger of heat stroke. Good grief. How about WoW providing a really accurate guide to staying safe in hot weather that doesn’t involve free advertising for some overpriced product? A useful, practical, free and actually helpful guide.

I do not believe that I have ever, in my entire life, worn the same make-up for 16 hours. The thought is not only terrifying, it also made me feel a little nauseated at the thought of the build-up of dirt, oil, particulate matter, cigarette smoke, broken down cosmetics and other pollutants and toxins trapped by the $29 dubious miracle "All Nighter". Nasty. Sounds like an invitation to epidermal disaster.

I won’t even go into the fixing a fake tan. No, I’m trying to refuse…argh…can’t resist…if you can’t see the essential wrongness of spraying a host of dyes and other potentially toxic aerosol chemicals on your skin, botching the job, or having build-up (is this like "waxy yellow build-up"? I think I just revisited dinner), and then using more chemicals to remove the gummy mess, only to repeat the process…maybe you’ve been huffing your spray tanner.

Please, WoW, I beg of you, if you’re going to openly endorse products, could you do so for those that make some actual sense? Not shapewear, and over-priced gewgaws, and ridiculous anti-aging products, and unhealthy cosmetics, and dangerous shoes and procedures. Give it some thought, because your "Picks" are decidedly ridiculous, sometimes unwise, over-priced, and occasionally potentially dangerous or unhealthy.

Sheesh! So much uproar over a few products!  Here’s my thought (not especially original), if you don’t like the product, don’t buy it.  I think the WowOWow readers can make intelligent decisions.  Relax and enjoy the day.

Perhaps I expect a little more from this website than the same sort of over-priced garbage consistantly promoted on the sort of sites dedicated to teenage girls, bored twenty-something women, and "ladies" with more money than sense. WoW purports to be a website for more mature (not necessarily aged), evolved, thinking women. Of course, it continually disappoints.

Sorry, but I don’t find the list cute. I find it depressing. A perfect example of style over substance. 

As for the readers of WoW thinking for themselves, I never said they couldn’t. If you are so deeply offended by my opinions, perhaps that says something about you, my dears. I have never seen a single product promoted by WoW’s staff that I would purchase, for a wide variety of reasons. 

As for those lethal flip-flops, well, if you’re ignorant enough to wear them constantly, that’s entirely up to you. I’ll feel free to laugh when you suffer from severe injuries or badly fallen arches because of your, um, o, fashion sense. Ugh. 

Anyway, if my post disagrees with your idea of cuteness, or fashion, or fun, don’t read it. Try Seventeen magazine if it still exists…it sounds like something more appropriate to your tastes.

Interesting how often women on WoW take up such ludicrous stances as "you don’t hold that kind of power over me", use the word "elite" (you really ought to look it up, it isn’t an insult) as a pejorative, and insist that someone who finds over-priced, useless, products that even sound more than a little weird, or even potentially dangerous must be "hateful" or "venomous".

I’ve got a little secret for you, pritzi: thousands of truly ignorant people achieve college degrees every year. Millions more are considered "professionals". The combination of the two guarantees absolutely nothing. As for having a conversation regarding your choice of daily lipgloss colors, am I required to congratulate you for this achievment? I assure you, I can intelligently discuss perfume scents, including top, middle and bottom notes, natural versus artificial ingredients, and the lethal toxins contained in the cheap, celebrity fragrances that many quality stores are considering removing from their shelves. I can discuss make-up as well, including color palettes, warm, cool, and mixed skin tones, exotic hues and dramatic effects suitable for evening or day wear, the real way to enhance eye color, shape and depth, why contouring is such a disastrous practice (and generally blush as well), etc.. I can also shape nails like a pro (when mine are long everyone thinks that they must be very expensive fakes) and perfectly apply polish to last without chipping. I can properly fit a bra, and shave with a straight razor, and I even know better than to outline lips with hideous dark pencil.

I also care deeply about my appearance. At 51, I have no wrinkles, and my small crow’s feet and my single vertical frown line have been in existance for years. My substantial breasts and backside are still right where they’re supposed to be (no enhancements). I’ve had professionals refuse to believe that my self-applied make-up wasn’t done by an extremely good artist, other women ask where I got my clothing, shoes and jewelry because it looks so put together, exotic and lovely, and I am completely self taught. How amusing and arrogant to assume that I don’t care about my appearance because I disagree with a WoW recommendations article. Pretty big leap, pritzi, and also somewhat of a cheap shot. Pity it missed.

I have never compromised my capabilities for appearances sake. I am also not a snob. The products that WoW insists on endorsing are consistantly expensive, always faddish, frequently insulting (especially to mature women), sometimes unhealthy or dangerous, and sometimes simply produce an astonished "What the hell is that?". If I express my disgust (why purportedly intelligent women insist on using the word "hate" regularly is beyond me. It has to be the most over-used, and misunderstood word in the English language) with this practice, what gives any of you the right to attack me…especially if you find the products useless yourselves? It’s like girls in high school. You’re different, you play by different rules, and you express yourself differently, and even if they happen to completely agree with something that you said, because you don’t quite fit into their clique, attack is imminent. 

I’m simply campaigning for a change in the products WoW promotes. More interesting, eclectic, affordable (that doesn’t mean trashy, cheap or ineffective/poorly made/toxic) ideas, styles, and items, and less kitschty, Yuppie-esque, boring, cookie-cutter junk. Thinking a bit outside the box would be really nice for a change. But, perhaps you’re correct, in that this issue on this site is a lost cause.

Briana, it’s a lost cause with any business that targets women or girls. They all depend on us hating ourselves so much that we’ll never think we’re good enough and we’ll do anything to make other people recognize and adore us. And on us hating our faces and bodies so much that we’ll do anything to "fix" them. And on us believing that all we have to do to change any of the above is buy whatever they’re selling. 

Wow, BrianaBaran!  All that knowledge/skill/talent/ability to kick butts with both arms tied behind your back/expertise in every subject on the planet, including ones that haven’t even been discovered yet/creativity/etc etc etc, I’m surprised you haven’t found a cure for cancer yet.  I bet you could probably even crush a beer can in between your substantial breasts (or ass crack) that you have bragged about.  I’m truly shocked that the majority of your career experience has been in retail.  What a waste!  And to think that I am only the executive director of the finance department at my (Fortune 500) company.  Oh well, chalk it up to my ignorance.  I bet you are always the life of the party, aren’t you? (Assuming you ever get invited to one.)

P.S.  - My little secret to you, BrianaBaran, is that so many women use the word hateful in regards to your posts is because that is exactly how you come across.  It is certainly not because we are too ignorant to fully understand the meaning of the word.  So, I guess that just means that maybe you don’t know quite everything.   (But almost, so smile!)    

This is one of the BEST threads ever! I always enjoy Jane Buckingham’s selections of products - she seems to put together her lists like a good cook puts together a special casserole: a dash of spicy fun; a few ounces of delicious irony, some good solid nutrition, and some originality in the presentation. (And most always at pretty reasonable price-points, too.)

So I read the beat the heat list and had a couple of good laughs. The hydration meter? Well, I hope I’m smart enough to know when I need more water, I chuckled. Then I looked down at my hands and realized my finger tips were pruney, and realized that I needed to have a glass of water. Hmmm. Maybe NOT so smart, after all! When I’m sitting on the beach, mesmerized by the warm sun and the sound of the waves rolling in, and have a super book to read - I honestly believe I wouldn’t notice if my toes burst into flame. So perhaps a little "reminderandum" as Archie Bunker used to say, wouldn’t be amiss.

The flip-flop controversy? Well, I do wear flip-flops, but only around the house. On trips, I always bring a cute pair in my carry-on so I can slip into them once we’re airborne. It always seems like a good idea. And then, twenty minutes into the flight, I realize my feet are freezing, and scrabble around for the chenille socks with those rubbery little grippy-dots on the soles. Less attractive than the adorable L.L.Bean flip flops with the rainbow flowers, but so be it. As for walking seriously in a pair of flips? No way! Give me my Merrells or Propets any day.

I recently ordered a bottle of perfume from my favorite perfume shop, and along with my fragrance, they included a full-sized bottle of some fancy-schmancy self-tanning product. For a nanosecond, I thought about applying some to my legs, which are definitely that whiter shade of pale - which is OK, since they match the rest of me. Then I decided to forego the experience. After a couple of horrifying sunburns (see my post on dear Mr. wOw’s sunburn article) I have religiously slathered on sunscreen every day of my life, even on dark, cloudy winter days. Result: skin not too bad for an old bat! (I once had a student - a lovely young man - tell me that he went home and asked his mother to start using sunbloc and stop tanning so "one day you will have skin like Prof. Crawford." Thank God he was a really good student so I could justifiably give him the A he earned; had he been a poor student, it would have killed me not to give him an A just for being a living doll - and a darn good flatterer!)

Those cooling towels are definitely on my MUST have list, however. I’m one of those blessed women for whom the joy of menopause brought hot flashes that could probably heat the Empire State Building. Although I am now YEARS past the menopause itself, my body still experiences hot flashes. In addition, I take a couple of meds regularly that tend to cause hot flashes. So anything that will cool me down and ease that blast of heat sounds like a winner to me. (Why is my life so often a see-saw between trying to cool off as sweat trickles down the back of my neck, and a frantic search for a shawl so I can warm up?)

When I read BrianaBaron’s initial post, I thought she made a ton of good points. She has passion, I thought. And, yes, I agree that billions and billions of dollars/Euros/rials/yen change hands every day for products that are just plain dumb, and often seriously dangerous - all in the name of style and beauty. I hate the idea of the "anything for beauty" scams that are out there, and the unsound and unproven "promises" that manufacturers make for their latest product. I hate that women buy SO much stuff that can be harmful: skin-lightening creams that cause serious burns; lash-lengthening serums that can cause eye irritation, changes in eyelid pigmentation and so on; cute flip-flops that are probably made in sweat-shops (and these days, it is hard to find products in the mass market that you can trust were made in anything BUT a sweatshop, sadly); make-up that can cause breakouts or worse; and on and on.

Then the reactions came in toward Briana’s post. OK, Briana’s passion sparked many to advise her to lighten up and just enjoy. And I agree to an extent. But some of the articles on wowOwow really are lightweight, and just-for-fun, escapist froth. We all need a daily dose of that quality, I believe. I guess what I’m leading up to is a kind of balance point. I love reading about new fashions and beauty products and other accessories. Most of the time, I end up NOT rushing out to add to my already ridiculous stock of non-essentials. Sometimes I give a new product a whirl. But at other times, like Briana, I feel a good rant coming on, and find that to be as essential as bathing in froth. When safety and health are concerned, I’m there.

I read Joni’s summary of the recent wowOwow survey, and discovered that lots of us would like to see more in the way of book discussions and other more serious subject matter. I think we’ve managed most of the time to maintain a well-edited balance (there’s that word again) between the frothy and the serious. I never fail to learn more about life and about other women’s lives and views from what I read on this site. There’s definitely room for every possible shade of opinion here - it’s what makes this site such a gift. We can argue, disagree, even get angry at one another. And then we end up reaching out, offering support, sharing insight with the very folks we criticized the previous day.

Keep posting - everyone! I will now take another drink of water, find my shawl for my chilly shoulders, apply an ice-bag to my sweaty scalp, switch my fuzzy socks for my flip-flops … you get the picture!

Ok…Everyone knows less is more when it comes to make-up, but who needs clogged pores on top of heat index of 105? Give me a sauna or steam anyday, i’ll pass on the hydration meter in lieu of a swizzle stick!

My my, BrianaBaran.  I am to understand that you are the only one allowed to toot her own horn?  I have been reading your posts for a good while now, and there has not been a single one in which you have not boasted of your expertise in whatever the subject of the article happens to be (braggert), while at the same time criticizing and sneering at whomever wrote or contributed to the article along with those who commented on it (hateful).  I assure you that the only reason I even mentioned my career to you was to defend myself against your calling me ignorant.  I worked hard to get where I am today and you can belittle me all you want to, however your delusional opinion that no one has any sense on this earth other than yourself does not make it true.  So I have no bragging rights for my accomplishments and hard work, while you brag of having been accused for having high dollar nail tips because ‘you are just that good at it’.  What kind of sense does that make?  You know what?  I stink at doing nails. I am a procrastinator.  My eye sight is not what it should be, I just noticed a vericose vein on the back of my leg, I have a bunion, I get grouchy if I haven’t had enough sleep.  Nor can I name all of the presidents or remember much of the French and Spanish I studied in high school and college.  I am far from a snob and far from perfect, however I am not an idiot just because I called you to task for your overreaction to just about everything you post about in every article.   Your self-righteous attitude and never ending lists of things you do and know so much better than everyone else is tiring (and I probably speak for a great many who read this), not to mention unbelievable.  More to the point, even if EVERYTHING you claim to be a master at is true, humility goes a long way, baby.  Maybe that should be the next mountain you climb, and my guess is that it will be the most difficult one yet.  Point of the story is, lowly as the rest of us might seem to you and the legend you are (in your own mind), we are all worthwhile women - our shortcomings and all.