At The Bodega With Mrs. Beck!

March 18, 2008

In case you missed it on Sunday, love muffins, I have some super duper exciting news to share with you! I have been talking with my kindred spirit, Melissa Beck (Real World), and we have thought of something just down right splendiferous for you! Melissa will be sharing some of her inexpensive beauty tips with us every week. So get ready to save, save, save and look fierce all at the same time!

Hi. I’m Melissa Beck, a hardcore Love Muffin. Though, you probably know me as one of the following: “old girl from the Real World,” “old girl that played that on the Road Rules” even though I did not, “Melissa Howard”, that “lady” that writes at www.princessmelissa.com” or perhaps you know me as the chick dancing in the corner, for a promo for Oxygen’s Girls Behaving Badly, on that channel that used to be UPN. Either way, it’s all me. Same chick, different packaging. Hello. Nice to meet you. For those of you that have followed my blog for however many years (wow, it’s been like 7) you know that I love a product. Be it a lip gloss to moisturize and maintain these soup coolers or an oil that keeps my feet from looking like I’ve been kicking around in flour, I love a beauty product. And I love a cheap, accessible beauty product even more! Luxuriating is not exclusive to rich folks.

To read more……

I once wrote a blog called 99 Products and that sent me into a vortex of emails between myself and strangers all around the world, exchanging tips on how to fight ash, eradicate cellulite, elongate the shelf life of a manicure and even how to polish black boots with Vaseline (so deliciously ‘hood).

So B. Scott and I got to chatting…

He was like, “You should do a column for the Love Muffins!” I’m like, “Holla.” And so we came up with this idea that I’d share with you all my little product obsessions every Saturday.

So on Saturday mornings before you head off to Duane Reade, CVS, Rite Aid, Eckerd, Piggly Wiggly, whatever corner store you may visit, to stock up on your essentials, peep B. Scott and my new column At the Bodega with Miss Beck and see if you’d like to try something new.

This first column will be about the fresh wonder powers of good old-fashioned Johnson’s Baby Powder.

My first experience (that I can actually recall) with baby powder was one of a disciplinary measure, but a life lesson learned indeed.

My father, Shorty, a military man used to be hardcore about his children “leaving the house all ashy.”

Once every two months, we’d go to the “the base” to go grocery shopping. This was not just a quick trip up to the Waldbaum’s to grab some milk and bread. This was an ordeal that would take about five hours in total because we were stocking up like it was The Depression. There would be no shopping in between. We only shopped every two months and when the rations ran low, after those two months, we’d venture out on this trip again. This journey required military ID checks upon entrance. The children had to be pressed and ironed, even jeans. My hair would be slicked back in painful pigtails. I had to hold hands with my siblings and “act right.” We’d stop off at the barber shop for my dad and brother and the BX (like a TJ Maxx but everyone is in fatigues) for school clothes.

If we were lucky, we’d be indoors somewhere when it was time to salute the flag. But most times, because the trip was so well executed, we’d be caught in the parking lot with four carts of groceries when it was time to do the flag thing. Sirens would blare and the trumpets would sound all over the base and we had to stop in our tracks, even in the dead evil heat of summer, and salute the flag. Not a bad thing, but it’s hard to stand that still for that long in the heat and not get antsy after “acting right”, in the face of childhood retail heaven, for five hours straight. But being antsy meant you got pinched so I would try my hardest to be motionless like a straight up toy soldier.

On morning before a trip, Shorty stopped me talking about, “Oh no, you ain’t going to the commissary with me looking like that.” He did an elbow check, an ankle check, a heel check and a foot check. Damn it, I had missed the webbing between my toes. My sister was behind me sighing loudly, rolling her eyes like “I tried to tell you…”

I’m nine, dude, what do you want from me! Rather than be flushed with embarrassment, I fought back.

I said, “But Daddy, you got a ring of ash all around your neck! How about that?”

Of course, a child is not supposed be hands on hip, neck twitching, questioning Shorty. But I was a stank little girl, yes I was, and I was fearless. But I digress.

He proceeded to explain that this mysterious white flaking was indeed not ash at all. That it was baby powder! And if I wanted to get it right, I’d take my “funky ass back in the bathroom and put some on ‘cause we fixing to be gone all day!”

So for long trips, we’d take precautionary freshness measures that included Johnson’s Baby Powder. I have been on the baby powder train now for two decades. It’s a daily thing for me. I try other powders every now and again, but I always find myself back with the classic. I mean, it must be totally valuable otherwise Snoop Dogg wouldn’t rap about it in his hit jam Lodi Dodi. “I got that Johnson’s Baby Powder and Coolwater cologne…”

So Love Muffins, if you want to be fresh like Shorty and Crew, get on the powder tip. Now, if you don’t want to walk around smelling like an infant, you have new flavor options! You can get lavendar (my personal favorite). They got vanilla and jasmine. Plain old aloe. Whatever you want. And it’s only $3. Lasts forever. And I swear, at the end of a long day when you peel off those winter layers, puffs of fine-smelling waft toward your face and it’s like WOW, I’m cute!

Filed Under Miss Beck's Bodega

18 Responses to “At The Bodega With Mrs. Beck!”

WorldlyOne on March 16, 2008 at 10:23 am #

Girl, I can’t get with the baby powder, but I miss yo crazy lil ass! Glad your here!
Keke on March 16, 2008 at 11:05 am #

i LOVE Melissa, she was my favorite on ‘RW’ and One of my favs on ‘Girls Behaving Badly’ That show NEEDS to be back on the air.

I’ll be coming back to check up on this ish’..
Filmfairie on March 16, 2008 at 11:15 am #

Melissa!! Yayyyy! I have been reading your blog for years! In fact thats how i became and instant lovemuffin! i am so glad you are here… and also we have been on the baby powder train since we were kids too.
Can’t wait ’till next week’s tip.
Lovely Bliss on March 16, 2008 at 11:34 am #

I love the title! As a dominican from New York, I love bodegas! I also love the combo between Melissa and B. Scott. I have been reading her blog ever since it came out.
Dalia on March 16, 2008 at 1:35 pm #

Great post!I’ll definitely be a regular for this series.

Great idea!
billiam on March 16, 2008 at 2:22 pm #

Dear miss beck,

where exactly are you supposed to apply the baby powder? around your neck? or um, in the general sweaty/moist areas?
im all sorts of confused, im sorry.

o/t
im a man and in all my years ive never used eye cream, but as i near 25 i find that my bags are progressively getting puffy and dark. clearly, i need to start using eye cream, pronto! before its too late. can you suggest a good eye cream that i can find in the local cvs? or is eye cream strictly a cosmetics counter visit sort of thing?
something about rubbing hemorrhoid cream on my face doesnt sit well with me.

ive been reading your blog for years now, and im also an ardent love muffin. so im very much happy about this new pairing.

i remember when you were on the real world and you walked into the house with a big ol bag of rice! shut it DOWN
noname on March 17, 2008 at 3:29 am #

This was really cute. I absolutely love the story. Melissa was one of my favorite Real World cast mates ever.
ejanice on March 17, 2008 at 4:04 am #

I love this in an especially differnt kind of way.
Londyn on March 17, 2008 at 6:14 am #

Melissa is crazy, lol. I can almost hear her telling this story.
Momo on March 17, 2008 at 7:22 am #

I am totally loving this combo. Could possibly be the best combo since Reese put peanut butter with chocolate! I love, love, love Melissa and have been reading her blog and enjoying her beauty secrets already, but this gives me another opportunity to get to know more about her. Thanks B. and thanks Mrs. Beck! (This is great since Melissa doesn’t update her blog very often. I don’t have to be disappointed daily when checking her blog and she hasn’t updated).
Mo Betta on March 17, 2008 at 7:22 am #

B. Scott, thanks for making this addition to your site–EVERYBODY loves Melissa!
James on March 17, 2008 at 11:00 am #

Yes! She was one of my favorite realworld girls! Loved the Louisiana season…

Plus she is Filipino and Black Holla. Blackapinos Unite!
GossipChick on March 18, 2008 at 7:40 pm #

MELISSAAAA i LOVE you!!
i am an AVID reader of ur blog and love this bscott/beck collabo.

**one thing though, shouldn’t the title be ‘MRS.’…i mean u got the ring gurlll!!
queenie on March 20, 2008 at 2:36 am #

I have to say that I’ve been gone for a while (about 2 months…sorry B ;-\) and I come back, and my homie is joining. This is the best news ever!!!! You should totally youtube as well (btw gotta catch up on that too) that would be sooo awesome! You are funny as sh*t to me.

Now, on to the baby powder. I have a question about applying it. I have really big breasts…DD’s, and they sweat. It’s really gross and I hate it. I’ve tried babypowder, but it seems like it kinda cakes up. So, how should I be applying the powder to avoid the caking? I know I just told the world all of my biz, but hey we’re all adults and I know I’m not the only one with big boobs that sweat.

Welcome Mrs. Beck!! I came back on the right day. Do your thang B. Luvs ya
nicolebitchy on March 20, 2008 at 11:52 am #

talc causes cancer!

http://www.helium.com/debates/114737-which-powder-cornstarch/side_by_side
okay on April 12, 2008 at 8:19 pm #

Yes, baby powder is the truth!
Mo Betta on April 14, 2008 at 9:23 am #

they have those scented cornstarch powders that are the bomb too–and it won’t kill your reproductive organs like baby powder does–that talc is no joke on the human body–speaking of talc, you also have to be careful of vitamins that have talc in them..anyway….
mimilicious86 on April 14, 2008 at 1:32 pm #

Melissa, melissa!! OMFG!!! Where da hell ya been girl, tha kid misses u!!! Dude, on the real bodegas are the shit!! Being latina (dominican to be exact!) my papi use to take me all the time in the summer time with the devil following us like he like us or some shit like that, lol. And yes, I am an official love muffin, an appledapple scrumdiddlyumpcious love muffin with gold encrusted sprinkles get wit it!!!