Eating Bananas on Bahia Time (And Not Wiping the Peels on My Face); Get $212 of Firsthand Supply; Reviewing the Latest Vacation SPFs

Boa tarde meus Príncipes Azuis. We are in Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil… it’s just an hour-ish north of Salvador, and this is day 94 of our trip. We fly home on a redeye tonight. Hallelujah.

I know better than to complain about the fantastic journey we’ve had, but I also know that everyone can relate to the joy of sleeping in one’s own bed and keeping a daily routine—I crave daily exercise, home cooked meals, hovering over my fragrance collection, stove-top popcorn. LFG!!!

Speaking of a daily routine: I feel like I’m meant to comment on the absurd clips going around of the jacked influencer/”coach” Ashton Hall who wakes up at like 3am, soaks his face in icy Saratoga Spring water, and then rinses with a banana peel, among dozens of other ridiculous things he documents with precision. Here’s an embed for those of you lucky enough to have missed it so far (this guy has like 100 of these videos up now—it’s his schtick).

OK so here’s my main grooming-centric comment: Don’t wipe banana peel on your face! I don’t care if it has unsung benefits, and nothing is “natural botox” so can we stop using that phrase? Just use some f*cking sunscreen and retinol like a normal human! What about this guy’s life is ambitious, I do not know.

The level of performance in this video is art, to the point of tipping the scales. This guy really has “optimized” things to new levels of absurdity; it is hustle culture on, uh, steroids, dare I say? But of course, that’s why Hall has gone viral. Chris Black summed things up nicely in his Pulling Weeds column for GQ:

“Hustle and self-improvement culture has hit a tipping point, and Hall may be the face of it. Most of us aren’t trying to live a lifestyle so devoid of fun, excitement, and joy, but the proliferation of this approach to life has made some of us feel guilty about not doing enough. I am not saying that we should all be out drinking and doing c0caine without a care in the world, but what happened to balance? Hall’s approach is aspirational because of his perceived wealth, physique, and follower count, but there are other and more enjoyable ways to get in shape and make money.” —Chris Black for GQ

It’s been an interesting week to examine Hall’s routine; those of you who have ever been to Bahia in Brazil know about the phenomenon of Bahia Time: Basically, it takes 4-5 times longer to accomplish things here, than anywhere else in the world. You could order a coconut at a beach from a coconut vendor, and somehow he will require 10 minutes to give it to you. A restaurant that serves but five items (usually consisting of rice, beans, and a small variety of proteins)… they might require two hours to prepare that most baseline meal. One time, it took a restaurant four hours to tell us they were sold out of the thing we ordered.

That’s just Bahia Time… life is artfully unoptimized, but guess what you get to enjoy instead? The beach. The breeze. That coconut you waited 10 minutes for. The best sleep of your life. These might be the happiest people on planet earth. Also, the bananas here are the freshest possible, and used solely for eating—not for face firming after a psychopathic $3 ice soak.

So, which is better? Hustle culture, or unhurried culture? Everything in moderation, of course. But there is a key point in Hall’s routine worth noting (and which got lost in the absurdity of his video): The early riser gets an unbothered morning. I’ve got an advantage, being 5 hours ahead of my professional network, but one goal of mine upon returning home is to borrow two hours from my night-owl evenings, and to allot them to the morning for even more daylight, head space, and fitness. Thanks, Hall, for that reminder. You’ll never convince me to use mouth tape, though.

Firsthand Supply Giveaway: $212 of Hair Care + Stylers

I was SO excited last fall when Firsthand Supply co-founder Josh Hester emailed me the news that the beloved hair care brand was expanding into body care and beyond—in addition to a beautiful rebrand that would accommodate their growth. This brand has been one of my all-time favorites in hair styling (The paste! The clay!) So, to have them beefed up and re-buffed… color me tickled.

That said: Despite the new body care SKUs, I knew I wanted this giveaway to be focused on their hair care line, because that’s what made me fall in love with Firsthand in the first place. Here’s what 3 of you can win in this contest:

• All 3 Firsthand Supply stylers: Clay Pomade, Texturizing Paste, and All-Purpose Pomade, ($28 each = $84)

• Hair Oil ($34)

• Equilibrium Shampoo & Everyday Conditioner ($38 each = $76)

• Scalp Massager ($18)

You’ve got until Saturday, April 12 to enter and answer the prompts. Remember, I judge based on quality replies! You must be 18+ in the US contiguous 48/DC. Full T&Cs here.

 Enter the Giveaway

New and Notable: There’s Like a Million New Things

So many new product launches lately—more than usual. I’ll be returning home to finally test out the things I’ve missed all quarter, and will dedicate a future spot in a newsletter to my favorites. But these are the products I’ve got my eye on from the homestretch of Q1:

• Highland “The Wash” Shampoo: Highland is one of those “wherever you go, I’ll follow” brands, so I’m stoked to see them taking their first step into hair care (after launching two game-changing hair stylers in their first couple years).

• Horace SPFs: These two SKUs are EU exclusives, given US sunscreen regulations. So on future trips abroad, add Horace’s SPF50 face/body sunscreen and post-sun recovery lotion to your to-do list. Maybe the latter will release stateside, since it lacks SPF…

• Jaxon Lane Smooth Criminal Eye Cream: I don’t love many eye creams (and Jaxon Lane’s founders know this about me) but they did excite me for this one’s immediate benefits, which is the real service eye creams should provide: depuffing, dark circle disappearance, and instant soothing. Color me interested.

• Meridian Slimmer Trimmer: A smaller, faster-snipping version of the now-classic body groomer.

• Claus Porto Classico 22 Collection: My Portuguese visa swells with pride for this one. Claus Porto sneaked me a sniff of Classico 22 last fall, and it is oh so uplifting + fresh + optimistic + an instant classic for the label. I’ll be walking over to grab the entire soap/EDT lineup as soon as I’m home.

• Wahl Manscapers — Tool Box and Black Ops: Two new “everything” trimmers from Wahl. The former is their response to the Multigroom, while the latter is a precision head-to-toe trimmer with diamond-hard coating that cuts 4x closer than the brand’s other blades.

• Patricks Sea Salt Foam: Cannot wait to try this texturizing, bodifying mousse from the luxe men’s grooming label. More guys need mousse!!

• Dr. Dennis Gross DermInfusions Fill + Repair Eye Cream: I am a big fan of the firming, plumping DermInfusions line, so count me interested in a second eye cream of the week!

And lastly, Baxter of California Hard Cream Pomade is finally back in stock after a long hiatus. A big FYI for those fans who, like me, have been missing it immensely.

Parting Shots from an Endless Vacation, Featuring Vacation

I finally got to put the latest Vacation SPFs to the test here in Brazil: their Crystal SPF 50 Face Gel and Orange Gelée SPF 30 Spray Oil. The face gel I love—it wears a pinch heavy and glossy, but neither of those bothered me. Definitely a product I’d use time and time again, albeit second to my favorite face SPF from the brand, last year’s Shake Shake Mineral Milk SPF 50.

As for the spray gelée oil: I can only frame it against its predecessor, the buttery balm Orange Gelée SPF 30 itself. For starters, the original rub more successfully broadcasts and maintains that clovey scent (and god do I love that rapturous aroma); the spray oil doesn’t give the same transportive experience. Secondly, the spray is, well, an oil spray. And when you spray oil... you better hit the target. We ended up spraying it too willynilly and had a slip-n-slide hotel floor. Both wear heavy (they’re oil, yeah) but the original is easier to spread while the spray tends to concentrate. So, all things considered… I would much sooner reach for the original Gelée.

I also got to test their Classic Whip for the first time (there were issues shipping it to EU before…) god it’s fun to use that stuff, so much so that we went through it all in two days. Then again, that’s proof it’s a good sunscreen: We went out of our way to reapply it. Now I wanna try the glowy version of the whip!

And here’s a parting shot for this entire trip: A little capuchin monkey (they’re called Mico) that got curiously personal with my Crystal face gel during a product shoot.

Too cute.

Alright, see you from lovely Lisbon next week, dear Blue Princes.