When Things Cease to Exist

I am a girl. I am concerned about my skin. I've never had good skin. I have what people in the industry call "combination skin."

It took me forever to find a good facial cleaner. For the past few years, I've been using Noxzema's Triple Clean Cleanser.

I switched at one point when someone told me my skin-cleaning routine was less than optimal, but then my face started getting really dry so I had to switch back.

I bring this all up because I ran out of Triple Clean while I was in New Hampshire. I didn't fret. I thought "I'll just get more when I am next in a CVS."

I went to a CVS in Cambridge and they did not have it.

"Interesting..." I thought, and just borrowed Sister's Neutrogena for my remaining time in MA.

When I got back to NYC, I went to two CVS's and neither of them had it.

"Well, everywhere you go - Duane Reade!" I sang, and went to a Duane Reade.

They did not have it either!

I thought "Maybe I have no idea what I'm looking for. Maybe I'm confused. Maybe it was Clearasil? I know it was blue. It must have been Clearasil."

I bought the Clearasil and have been using it for a week and my face is already coming off. Dryness. No good!

Now.

I looked online and Noxzema Triple Clean does, in fact, exist.

But it seems as though you can no longer buy it in stores. I don't know that for a fact, but I have tried four places and none of them had it. I am going to go to another Duane Reade tonight and if its not there, what am I going to do?

I could order it online, but that seems absurd. I could buy something else, but who knows if it will be good for the face? I can't continue to waste money on things that are just going to make the skin situation worse.

But, more importantly, a huge pet peeve of mine is when things to which I am addicted cease to exist!!!

Seriously. Like why did Noxzema just stop making this? Well, I don't think they did, because its still on the website, but I can't rationalize paying shipping for a $4 bottle of facial cleanser.

What happened?

And what am I supposed to do in the aftermath?

This has happened historically with food.

When we were little kids, we used to eat at this restaurant in Milford, MA called Pub Dennis (right near the rollerskating rink - yeah!). They made these special drinks for kids that they called "slushies" but were this Pub-Dennis-Only concoction of like creamy goodness and syrup that I can't even describe. Most amazing drink of all time. We went there fairly regularly - like at least once a month. One time we went there and ordered the "slushie" and they brought us regular like 7-11 style slushies!!!!

My mother used to take us to KMart all the time and could only appease us with slushies. You know the ones. They weren't regular slushies. They were special slushies. Sort of solid. Almost like red and sugary snow. Then one day - they were gone!!! Replaced by regular 7-11 style slushies. Devastation. (The good news about this is that the KMart style slush has resurfaced at movie theaters worldwide in the form of the Arctic Blast or some other titled thicker slush that is like snow.)

In the town near my hometown, there was a restaurant called Rome Restaurant that had the most amazing french fries on the planet. It was an Italian restaurant but for some reason they had the world's best recipe for spicey fries. Hmmmm. Sister and I were addicted. We ate there fairly regularly - like at least once every two months. Then, one time, we went there and ordered french fries and they brought regular french fries to us!!! We were mortified! We asked what had happened to the other french fries and the waitress looked at us as though we were insane. If we'd known the last time we ate there was going to be our last time for those fries, we would have savored it.

The same thing happened with Friendly's. Spicey Spuds. Heaven. Then one day - gone! Tragedy. Sister called me on Sunday night and said "Leah - I am at Friendly's. You're never going to believe this. They have Spicey Spuds again!" "AWESOME! NO! YES!!! AHHHHHHH!" "See Boyfriend? I told you this was a big deal." And then she hung up.

And what happened to O'Boisies? I loved those!

And now my face is falling off because Noxzema Triple Clean Cleanser seems to have disappeared.

Do you have any similar sad stories about products disappearing?

It just isn't right when things cease to exist, and when you are not prepared.

It's so much better knowing when something happens for the last time.

Sniff. Woe is me. I am going to Duane Reade after work. Wish me luck, folks.