Why I Both Cook With This Olive Oil and Keep It in My Shower
I'm kind of a lazy person. I'm also always looking for new ways in which I can afford to be lazier, in the sense that I'm curious about how my daily routines can be simplified; I want to know which unitasker tools or items can expand in their functionality, and how I, especially as a shopping writer, can machete chop my way through layers of product marketing ploys to find all the stuff that deserves a permanent place on my shelf.
That is why I cook with this olive oil — and I also use it in the shower.
Yep, that's right; one bottle lives on my kitchen counter, and another next to my conditioner. The jump from frying pan to body moisturizer started several years ago, after an appointment with a talented facialist-masseuse left my legs feeling deeply hydrated. As someone who has always struggled with dry skin, it felt like the heavens parted when the specialist told me that she simply used regular old olive oil (she swore by Trader Joe's and Pompeian's EVOOs, specifically, for their quality and affordability) to massage my legs at the end of the spa day package. When I texted this to my friends with all the fervor of a 1920s paperboy, some responded with skepticism, but quite a few said some version of yes, duh, welcome to the club.
Pompeian's Light Taste Olive Oil lives in my shower. Photo by the author Photo by the author
For as long as olive oil has been around, people have been using it on their skin. The ancient Greeks considered it liquid gold, dousing it on their Olympians who, in turn, also competed for coveted storage pots of the stuff. Dermatologists also recommend it; Amy Kassouf tells the Cleveland Clinic that that it 'can be a great moisturizer for people with dry or sensitive skin,' which is probably why slathering a tablespoon of the stuff on my body after a shower has been working out so well for me over the years. There even have been promising studies about how the application of olive oil can help minor cuts and scrapes heal faster.
If I was a spoiled and delulu noble in the court of Versailles, I might insist on using the 18th-century equivalent of Flamingo Estate's $82 olive oil as a body moisturizer. But one of the best things about my Pompeian olive oil fealty is that it checks off both my need for a great, affordable cooking olive oil and a body moisturizer.
When I'm home, I'll usually divide a bottle into two vessels, funneling half into a plastic squeeze tip bottle to take in the shower. But it's nice to know that when I'm traveling, I can almost always find a bottle of the stuff at every echelon of grocery store.
I have sung the praises of Pompeian before for another reasons: its unbothered aesthetics. In a marketing landscape of increasingly millennial-marketed blob art-maxxed branding, Pompeian feels refreshingly, unassumingly 90s-retro in its graphic design. One of my go-to lucid dream spaces echoes the landscape of golden, rolling hills and cypress trees depicted on the label of its dark green bottles. And when I add its Light Taste EVOO to my cart, I relax my shoulders a bit knowing that this is not an over-hyped bottle of influencer snake oil that will jump to make incongruous collaborations with hair care brands or footwear companies (granted, the Chocos x Waffle House sandals are kind of cool). This is the kind of olive oil beloved by my Midwestern aunties who still use Hotmail. It is an amphora of sincerity, which makes it even more enticing.
I'm not going to linger on my EVOO soapbox for much longer, especially as someone who is not a certified derm, but if you are someone whose skin veers on the dry side and doesn't want to spend $85 on body oil, this can be a pretty sweet hack, whether you're concerned with drizzling it over burrata or your bum.
Check out Pompeian's line of olive oils here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eater
9 hours ago
- Eater
Everything the Eater Staff Bought This Month (Including Tomato Chocolate)
Welcome back to our monthly round table of what the Eater team bought, loved, and can't stop texting about in the group chat during July. After convening with my coworkers, I think it's fair to say we've been busy figuring out which candles are the best for dinner parties, taste-testing seasonal summer flavors of our favorite desserts (tomato chocolate? check… Salt & Straw's tomato gelato, we're coming for you), and finding the best graphic T-shirts for the friend/saint who always asks for 'more bread for the table, please?' at Olive Garden. Last month, we loaded up on buckets of Maldon salt and the Platonic ideal of dirty martini olives and brought home a pre-seasoned tadka spoon. During July, I noticed that some of my best food-related purchases were for other people — (is it just me, or are there a whole bunch of birthdays in the summer?) — and while I'm a big fan of birthdays in general, I think the trifecta of Gemini, Cancer, and Leo season feels the most festive. What better way to celebrate a friend than over an ice cold margarita on a balmy bar patio with fireflies, or (literally) touching grass together at a park picnic? My coolest presents last month — chic bug-repellent shawls and a kit for assembling Portillo's legendary hot dogs at home — beget outdoor living, laughing, and loving. That's just the tip of the Dubai chocolate sundae, so let's unpack more of the best stuff the Eater staff bought in July, from strawberry-themed phone chains to pint-sized portable blenders. A dinner party candle with the right amount of stage presence I've been struggling with candles recently. Sure,I like my Earl Grey lavender one, and I gave the Trader Joe's grapefruit one an earnest try, but I've found that most candles in my collection compete awkwardly with the smells of cooking (most of my apartment is just one big room). I find it sensorily confusing to smell matcha while eating a bowl of pasta, for example. I'd gotten whiffs of Big Night's signature dinner party-inspired candle at its events, where it does what a candle should do: lend a pleasant waft every so often but not overwhelm, especially in the presence of food. Finally, I decided to go for it and get the Dinner Party candle. With notes of herbs, saffron, and a little wood, its green yet warm scent hangs in the air in a way that complements whatever I'm cooking or eating, but without the lemon Pledge vibe of some candles. —Bettina Makalintal, senior reporter at Eater Tomato chocolate… yes, tomato chocolate While I love chocolate and I love tomato season, I always thought that those affinities would have virtually zero crossover in a Venn diagram. Wrong! Compartés, one of my favorite innovative modern chocolate companies, just dropped its summer collection, and among the offerings is this bright red tomato-flavored chocolate bar. Before trying it, I thought it would be like one of those zany 'Salted Zucchini Bourbon Vanilla Brie'-type ice cream flavors that's interesting but ultimately not terribly appetizing, but I was wrong; it's great! It somehow manages to accurately capture the umami flavor of a ripe summer tomato and infuse it into a delicate, creamy white chocolate base. Sometimes I forget that tomatoes are a fruit and that they're versatile enough to venture outside of the savory spectrum. — Hilary Pollack, senior commerce editor This lightweight, ginormous stockpot Will I unabashedly praise Eater's cookware collaboration with Heritage Steel? Well, yes, because in the 20 years that Eater has existed, our food-obsessed team has spent a lot of time figuring out what works (and what doesn't) with stainless steel cookware. Every piece from the Eater x Heritage Steel line is made in the US out of 5-ply stainless steel that's durable but lightweight, which is the perfect combination for this 8-quart lidded stock pot; when I'm making a double batch of pasta in the summer, it's so helpful to not be heaving around a heavy, cast-iron pot. — Francky Knapp, commerce writer This coconut syrup is now my favorite way to sweeten anything I'm not sorry that I love sweets — truly, you can pry them from my cold, dead hands. But I do try to be conscious of what makes the cut for my daily sugary-stuff allotment; it must be delicious and worth any potential future dental work. I didn't know coconut syrup was a thing until recently, but I'm obsessed: It's rich and molasses-like, but with a more mild flavor than maple syrup (yes, it is a little bit coconutty), and it's now my go-to for topping yogurt, ice cream (shoutout to my Creami for helping me survive hot summer temps), pancakes, or even adding to coffee or tea. — HP This retro-inspired Scandinavian coffee maker To be honest, I have very low expectations when it comes to coffee makers. I grew up in a family that worshipped their espresso machine and milk frother, with my parents consuming at least three lattes each day and teaching me how to be a full barista by eight years old. Growing up with all that pomp and circumstance surrounding caffeine consumption, as an adult, I now just want a coffee maker that's simple to use, doesn't take up too much space, and looks cute in my kitchen. This Bodum coffee maker exceeds all those expectations; just press the power button twice on the simple LED screen to immediately brew a pot of coffee or program the machine to brew you a cup up to 24 hours later. Inside, a cute little showerhead evenly distributes water over an easy-to-clean metal filter, which brews delicious java and is way more sustainable than buying paper filters. Finally, the Mondrian-esque color blocking subtly decorates my kitchen and the minimalist machine takes up only a little bit of counter space. Gone are the days of spending 10 minutes finagling my retro espresso machine every morning while still only half awake. If you're also a coffee-drinker with simple tastes that just needs their caffeine fix as soon as possible every morning, this is a game changer. — Emily Venezky, editorial associate Portillo's world-famous hot dogs, straight to my mom's door You can take the woman (my mother) out of the Midwest, but you can't take away her desire for Portillo's legendary Chicago-style hot dogs. I ordered this hot dog kit from the restaurant for her birthday, and it shipped in just a few days, for free, and included everything you need to recreate the magic at home: 10 hot dogs, 10 poppy seed buns, yellow mustard (no ketchup, of course), green relish, celery salt, and a jar of sport peppers. — FK Ninja's super tiny and easy-to-use portable Blast blender I have a huge blender from That Big Blender Company Everyone Loves and I'm going to be honest with you: I kind of hate it. Ninety percent of the time that I need to use a blender, it's to make a single-serving smoothie or a modest amount of sauce, and I do not want to fumble with loading and cleaning a pitcher the size of a fish tank to make, like, one glass of Bluenana Breeze or whatever. This month, I got a Ninja Blast, and it's so tiny in the best way possible! You can literally drink your smoothie out of it without removing the cup from the motorized base because it's so light and small. It has just two buttons, comes in a million colors (I went with the metallic olive green), and is cordless and rechargeable, so you could easily take it with you on a weekend trip or to a party. This is the exact no-frills compact blender I need; zero wrangling, no huge parts. — HP Your everyday coffee doesn't have to be boring My husband loves space, and he loves orange cats. Accordingly, I was instantly intrigued when I saw this bag of beans from the Austin-based Sightseer Coffee Roasters, which features an orange cat as an astronaut on its label. I've been on the hunt for a good everyday coffee: something not too dark but not too bright either, easy to sip black, and ideally with some berry-ish notes. I tend to like Ethiopian beans and these hit all of my criteria. I've already restocked with two more bags, looking forward to starting my mornings with that goofy space cat. —BM Last Crumb's seriously decadent key lime pie cookie Last Crumb's cookies are internet-famous, for good reason: They're elaborate, unique, decadent, and, of course, doughy and delicious. I love a cookie with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth interior and Last Crumb really nails it with the fillings. (They made Keith Lee's eyes roll into the back of his head, if that means anything to you.) I was blessed to try the Summertime Collection this month, and lord, there are some absolute BANGERS in this (admittedly very pricey and luxurious) box of cookies. My absolute favorites are the Florida Man (basically a miniature key lime pie, complete with a fluffy meringue-like topping), the Tokyo Zest (a yuzu cheesecake cookie), and the Donkey Kong, a banana cream pie creation that is arguably Last Crumb's most famous and celebrated cookie — and, if you like banana like me, the best cookie you've ever had in your life. — HP Emma Bridgewater's floral English earthenware mugs You know that trope of ultimately, slowly, turning into some version of your mother? I welcome it wholeheartedly, especially if it means growing her collection of Emma Bridgewater's mugs. The English ceramics company is well-known for its earthenware pottery, which is often hand-painted with animals, flowers, and other cottagecore staples. I gifted this cornflower mug to my mother for her birthday, and aside from looking really cute it also feels good to hold; the candle is curved just so, and the slightly larger bottom gives it the appropriate amount of weight. — FK Everyone's thinking it (the shirt's just saying it) If you're the Table Mom of your group, this shirt is made for you. This off-white Pasta Dept. Tee takes care of the need to ask for more bread because it's not a matter of whether you'll ask for extra bread, but when. The puff ink design gives this shirt extra oomph rather than the (eventually) crackly iron-on designs of other shirts, and it arrives in the mail inside on-brand bread packaging. — Dianne de Guzman, regional editor I can't stop eating this spicy, garlicky Palestinian dip I know that Palestine is renowned for its high-quality olive oil, but I'm a newly obsessed shatta stan; this condiment from Canaan Palestine is a blend of hot chiles, garlic, olive oil, and Dead Sea salt that I put on eggs, fish, meat, and (my personal favorite) drizzled over labneh with some crusty bread. It's kind of doing the same thing for me that chile crisp did when I first discovered it (meaning: going on everything, all the time). — FK Ossa's hella sparkly strawberry phone chain I have a huge purse, and always have to put some sort of tactile accessory on my cell phone so that I can easily find it while rifling around in my cavernous, seemingly bottomless bag. This month, I decided I'd had enough of my Octobuddy (although it was, admittedly, very useful) and switched to this more luxe-feeling, crystal-emblazoned strawberry chain. In addition to being almost unreasonably sparkly (I get compliments on it from strangers literally every day), it has a really nice feel in your hand that gives it an ASMR element, too. — HP See you next month.
Eater
a day ago
- Eater
The 10 Best Deals of the Week (Including 50% off Trade's Cold Brew Coffee)
is the commerce writer at Eater, and an award-winning writer with bylines in GQ, VICE, The Daily Beast, and other publications. A curious home cook with a deep love of Polish cabbage rolls, her devotion to food service journalism knows no bounds. As we edge towards August, some of the best food- and cookware-related deals really start to ripen. We're almost entering Summerween, which means this is one of the last periods in which all kinds of colorful, cookout-ready pieces, from cheery Le Creuset pinch bowls to main character energy, farmstand graphic dresses, will be filling the digital sale racks; in no time at all, an influx of pumpkin decor (that we kind of hate-love) will be hitting the shelves of our local T.J. Maxx. Crank your AC unit, and let's shop. Le Creuset Factory to Table sale Attending a brick-and-mortar Le Creuset factory sale is something of a sport, and one that I will happily sit out knowing that I can find deals that are just as good during the heritage French cookware company's Factory to Table sale online. You can expect the usual smorgasbord of Le Creuset classics from this sale, including Dutch ovens, braisers, and cast-iron grills galore, but I've set my eyes on its more niche selection of colorful bowls, herb planters, and the iconic miniature cocottes. Save $40 off this flight of miniature cocottes Get 38% off these colorful stoneware bowls Upgrade your kitchen basil plant pot SSENSE's 75% off sale is filled with designer goods For newcomers to SSENSE, the site is a vast, impeccably curated marketplace for the streetwear- and emerging designer-inclined; think, freaky-beautiful Chopova Lowena necklaces that pay homage to pigs and strawberries, Maison Margiela sneakers, and this bubbly, mouth-blown ashtray that looks like it belongs to Zeus. Unsurprisingly, the site's 75% off sale is filled with huge deals on all kinds of personality-forward food- and drink-related treasures. Everyone should own (at least) one chalice RIP E.B. White. You would have loved this strawberry- and pig-embellished necklace This set of whimsical dishes (for ice cream, snacks, and keys) Save 15% on Misen's colorful steak knives Beloved for its professional-grade cookware and kitchen tools, Misen is another brand that we're always keeping (literal) internet tabs on, because it frequently offers flash sales on its wares. Today's find: a set of color-blocking steak knives, which are 15% off with the code NEW15 Get 50% off your first month of Trade Coffee's cold brew subscription It's prime cold brew season, and Trade Coffee — which specializes in curating subscription coffee boxes with indie roasters from all over the United States — is offering 50% off its cold brew subscription service for the first month. Every two weeks, you'll receive a 2-pound bag of coffee that is ideal for cold brew, and you can cancel any time. The farmstand graphics are going fast at Lisa Says Gah As Jess Mayhugh recently reported for Eater, there's finally a name for all those vine-ripe fruit and vegetable-themed fashions that have been brightening up the Union Square farmers market these days. Lisa Says Gah is home to all kinds of food-centric apparel that masters the trend, and some of its dreamiest, farmers market-worthy pieces are on sale — but hop to it fast, because these pieces usually sell out faster than ramps. A moveable (and wearable) feast Your next vacation bag awaits
Eater
2 days ago
- Eater
Why I Both Cook With This Olive Oil and Keep It in My Shower
is the commerce writer at Eater, and an award-winning writer with bylines in GQ, VICE, The Daily Beast, and other publications. A curious home cook with a deep love of Polish cabbage rolls, her devotion to food service journalism knows no bounds. I'm kind of a lazy person. I'm also always looking for new ways in which I can afford to be lazier, in the sense that I'm curious about how my daily routines can be simplified; I want to know which unitasker tools or items can expand in their functionality, and how I, especially as a shopping writer, can machete chop my way through layers of product marketing ploys to find all the stuff that deserves a permanent place on my shelf. That is why I cook with this olive oil — and I also use it in the shower. Yep, that's right; one bottle lives on my kitchen counter, and another next to my conditioner. The jump from frying pan to body moisturizer started several years ago, after an appointment with a talented facialist-masseuse left my legs feeling deeply hydrated. As someone who has always struggled with dry skin, it felt like the heavens parted when the specialist told me that she simply used regular old olive oil (she swore by Trader Joe's and Pompeian's EVOOs, specifically, for their quality and affordability) to massage my legs at the end of the spa day package. When I texted this to my friends with all the fervor of a 1920s paperboy, some responded with skepticism, but quite a few said some version of yes, duh, welcome to the club. Pompeian's Light Taste Olive Oil lives in my shower. Photo by the author Photo by the author For as long as olive oil has been around, people have been using it on their skin. The ancient Greeks considered it liquid gold, dousing it on their Olympians who, in turn, also competed for coveted storage pots of the stuff. Dermatologists also recommend it; Amy Kassouf tells the Cleveland Clinic that that it 'can be a great moisturizer for people with dry or sensitive skin,' which is probably why slathering a tablespoon of the stuff on my body after a shower has been working out so well for me over the years. There even have been promising studies about how the application of olive oil can help minor cuts and scrapes heal faster. If I was a spoiled and delulu noble in the court of Versailles, I might insist on using the 18th-century equivalent of Flamingo Estate's $82 olive oil as a body moisturizer. But one of the best things about my Pompeian olive oil fealty is that it checks off both my need for a great, affordable cooking olive oil and a body moisturizer. When I'm home, I'll usually divide a bottle into two vessels, funneling half into a plastic squeeze tip bottle to take in the shower. But it's nice to know that when I'm traveling, I can almost always find a bottle of the stuff at every echelon of grocery store. I have sung the praises of Pompeian before for another reasons: its unbothered aesthetics. In a marketing landscape of increasingly millennial-marketed blob art-maxxed branding, Pompeian feels refreshingly, unassumingly 90s-retro in its graphic design. One of my go-to lucid dream spaces echoes the landscape of golden, rolling hills and cypress trees depicted on the label of its dark green bottles. And when I add its Light Taste EVOO to my cart, I relax my shoulders a bit knowing that this is not an over-hyped bottle of influencer snake oil that will jump to make incongruous collaborations with hair care brands or footwear companies (granted, the Chocos x Waffle House sandals are kind of cool). This is the kind of olive oil beloved by my Midwestern aunties who still use Hotmail. It is an amphora of sincerity, which makes it even more enticing. I'm not going to linger on my EVOO soapbox for much longer, especially as someone who is not a certified derm, but if you are someone whose skin veers on the dry side and doesn't want to spend $85 on body oil, this can be a pretty sweet hack, whether you're concerned with drizzling it over burrata or your bum. Check out Pompeian's line of olive oils here.
