Our real estate agent is submitting the offer we worked on last night to the seller's agent as I write this. I find myself trying to focus on almost anything other than the question "What is going on with the offer?"
Which brings me to the topic of today's entry: sunscreen. As Kim commented earlier this summer, it's tough for fair-skinned descendants of the peoples of North European tea-drinking nations to find a good sunscreen, especially if there is water involved. Too much re-application is required, and failure to re-apply at the proper moment results in lobster-colored burns.
Mrs. Geek and I thought we'd found a suitable sunscreen when we went on our honeymoon three years ago with Banana Boat Surf SPF 30. This stuff was great for people like us! You put it on in the morning, and you needed Liquid Loofah to get this stuff off, even if you'd been snorkeling earlier in the day. Alas, this particular sunscreen is no longer available. Back to square one.
Mrs. Geek and I tried two other sunblocks this summer: Banana Boat Sport SPF 50 and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch SPF 55. The first was chosen based on the reputation of the Banana Boat Surf. It's probably a very able sunblock, but it does not really pass muster when it comes to being very waterproof. I found that I could feel it rubbing off after perspiring. The Neutrogena product was chosen after looking at reviews on Consumer Reports, where the Ultra Sheer Dry Touch scored very well when it came to being waterproof. The Neutrogena goes on very well, feeling almost like skin lotion, but did not seem to be more than marginally better than the Banana Boat in its waterproof characteristics. I'm sure it's a great sunblock (with a hefty pricetag), but it just didn't seem dependable when moisture was involved.
This changed recently when Mrs. Geek and I happened on a couple bottles of Bullfrog Surfer Formula Body Gel, SPF 36. This stuff goes on a little oily, but once on the skin, feels like a thin layer of polymer coating your skin for the rest of the day. That jibes pretty well with my memories of what the Banana Boat Surf was like. I haven't tried putting it to the test yet, but Mrs. Geek once took some original Bullfrog on a white water rafting trip once and came through unburned. This stuff gives me real hope.
said drgeek
on 2007-08-14 at 12:21 p.m.
|
The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
|