Product Reviews

Years ago, when El Hub and I first started dating (aka the Dark Ages), one major relationship issue I had to get over was, well, to put it politely, going “number two” at his house. It was always awkward because 1.) his bathroom didn’t have a window for ventilation and 2.) his computer (where his booty was almost always parked) was in the room adjacent to the bathroom. I was always freaked out about certain odors wafting into the other room.

For the record, it’s really hard to do your business in peace when your crush is working on a computer right outside the bathroom as you’re taking a poo. If only I had Poof back then. This lil’ green and brown bottle would’ve saved my ass.

Poof in your pocket!

Poof instantly banishes toilet odor when you’re “dropping off the kids at the pool.” It’s a liquid toilet deodorizer that comes in a bottle small enough to fit discretely in the palm of your hand. Right before you go number two, you put 1-2 drops of Poof into the toilet bowl. The drops form an invisible layer on the surface of the water that seals in any stinky smells. Once you’ve added the drops, you plop your booty down and then, ahem, handle your business.

“As soon as something hits the water it just sucks up the smell,” says Sherilyn Luke, co-owner of Poof. Instead of smelling stinky poo, the scent of Japanese mint is released. Ahhh, freshness.

But does it work?

Holy crap (pardon the pun), your girl was psyched to give this stuff a try. One morning I drank two cups of coffee and then waited for the poo fairy to visit. When I felt her knocking at my door, I grabbed a copy of Allure, my bottle of Poof, told El Hub to “leave me be” and locked the bathroom door.

One drop or two? Hmmm. I decided to go for broke and use two. The drops hit the water and let out a tiny whiff of mint. I settled in, and once the magic started, well, it was ON. The company isn’t kidding when they say the mint scent is strong. And as, um, you do your business, the stronger the mint smell gets.

It should be known that I have a superhuman sense of smell. I think that for most of the population, the mint will be strong enough to cover up any eau de poo, but for my sensitive nose it was a little overwhelming. Instead of the mint overtaking the poo smell, I smelled a combination of mint and poo. For days afterward I couldn’t get close to a candy cane or chew mint gum without feeling nauseous.

I’ve since discovered that one drop works better than two. I like that the bottle is small, so I can just pop it in my purse or hold it in the palm of my hand without anyone noticing. You better believe I am going to be packing a bottle of this next time I go places where I feel self-conscious about poo-ing, like my in-laws’ house or the small bathroom at work.

Poof in your purse!

But don’t think you can start farting in public because you’ve got your Poof. Sheri tells me the deodorizer only works in the toilet.

A few places to Poof

A small studio apartment. Live in a tiny apartment? Leave a bottle of Poof in your bathroom for your guests.
Your bootycall bag. Heading over to your bootycall’s house? You know she/he doesn’t need to know that you are actually human. Pop a bottle in your overnight bag if you plan to stay for breakfast.
The office bathroom. You know your co-workers talk smack about you when you leave the bathroom. No more of that, b*tches!

A homegrown business

Hawaii tends to have weird health trends that local people latch onto. My relatives are always obsessed with something new. Last year they were all about Zicam nasal spray, before that it was Noni juice, before that it was Airborne for colds. Trends travel around the islands faster than I can wipe out on a wave.

Sheri and co-owner Jamee Kunichika both hail from Hawaii. Five years ago they noticed a Japanese product, One Drops, that a lot of local people were carrying around. They liked the product but didn’t care for the scent, so they reformulated it, changed the scent, developed their own attractive packaging and started marketing it to mainland consumers.

Both Sheri and Jamee have day jobs (Sheri works in finance and Jamee is a lawyer) and families, yet still handle all aspects of their growing and increasingly demanding side business on their own. “We’re hoping one day that we can do this full time,” says Sheri. “It’s getting to that point where we have to consider, well, are we gonna jump ship and leave our full time jobs to pursue this?”

I’ve gotta give Poof some love because not only does the product work, but I’m also a firm believer in giving small businesses (particularly businesses that are minority and women-owned, holla) a chance. If you’re curious about Poof (and I know you are), you can purchase your bottle online at Poofdrops.com. One 0.5 oz bottle of Poof holds approximately 400 drops and costs $10.

2008: It’s gonna be a whole new poo.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen