Fitness: Gear

In Your Bag
Sneakers. Check. Towel. Check. Shower Shoes. Check. But what are you missing? What should be in every woman’s gym bag? We polled around and came up with a sampling of products that will help you go from fitness to fabulous without requiring that you bring a suitcase to and from the gym.

If you shower after a workout, you already know you need the essentials: shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. But lots of bottles create bulk and pose a risk of spillage. If you can get by without conditioner, your best option is a three-in-one shampoo, shower gel, and moisturizing bath product like Philosophy’s (www.philosophy.com). And you don’t have to sacrifice on scent; these one-bottle beauties come in a spectrum of fragrances from Mimosa and Coconut Frosting to Cinnamon Buns and Waffle Cone. But if can’t bring yourself to use shower gel in your hair and shampoo to wash, then Not Soap Radio’s Portable Panacea is for you (www.notsoapradio.com). This shampoo, conditioner, and body wash come in separate bottles held together at the top and bottom by caps. Panacea stands on it’s own for convenience when you're showering.

Don’t have time to shower or have a gym-shower phobia? A dry shampoo will keep you from looking like…well…you just came from the gym. A few sprinkles of Stila’s Hair Refresher, oil-absorbing powder infused with livening fragrances like jade blossom (www.stilacosmetics.com), and perhaps a dab of L’ Occitane’s solid perfume on your pulse points will keep you sweet, not sweaty, until your next shower (www.loccitane.com).

We're wild about Zum Lab Magic Stick by Indigo Wild for pretty much everything (www.indigowild.com). This lavender-scented stick is made of certified organic sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, beeswax, coconut oil, carnauba wax, shea butter and vitamin E. You can use it on flyaway hair, chapped skin, chapped lips, cuticles, and under your eyes.

Sore Muscles? Badger Balm’s Sore Muscle Rub soothes with ginger to ease pain and normalize circulation. It also contains cardamom, rosemary, and lemongrass oils to soothe muscles and joints. The fragrance is wonderfully calming (www.badgerbalm.com). Badger’s rub also uses cayenne pepper extract, which is naturally anti-inflammatory and has been shown to block pain.

Now that you are squeaky clean and have refreshed your body, give yourself some face time. Tarte Cosmetics’ Little Blot Book oil absorbing sheets and mattifying powder compact will leave shine free (www.tartecosmetics.com). The sheets absorb excess oil from your skin, not just cover it up, and the mattifying powder contains vitamins E and A, green tea, aloe, and chamomile to soothe and nourish you skin.

If you would never leave home, let alone the gym, without a bit of makeup, Too Faced Cosmetics’ Quickie Chronicles palettes have everything you could need to get you ready anything in a moment (www.toofaced.com).

~Meghan A.T.B. Reese