If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked comedian Margaret Cho — who is a panelist on Tastemade’s Forking Delicious show — about the animal slings, Venus flytrap cat tree, and the sculptural phone case she can’t live without.
I have total Ajumma hair loss. When Ajummas hit about 40, they always get a perm, and I’m sure it’s to cover Ajumma hair loss, which is very weirdly not addressed at all. I do everything to combat that outside of surgery. One of the things that I do is caffeine shampoo, and this is a really great one. It’s not expensive. It smells kind of masculine, which I don’t like, but it doesn’t stay on the hair. I leave it on my scalp for a long time, like five minutes. It is really invigorating and soothing, and I feel like it makes my hair grow. It’s really good for anybody dealing with that, or if they just want something refreshing on their scalp. It’s tingly and kind of minty, with a peppermint, menthol feeling, but it’s not camphor-based or anything. I don’t drink coffee, tea, or any sodas that have caffeine in it, so this is the only caffeine in my entire life, but I really recommend the shampoo.
I’ve been sleeping with earplugs since I was in my 20s. I’ve always had to have something in my ear — I think it’s the feeling of something in my ear, which is weird. These earplugs are the best. They’re kind of sticky, like silicone, and they really conform to the inside of your ear and really block out sound. They’re also good for rock shows — I go to music shows all the time — and I think it’s really saved my hearing ‘cause I go to loud events constantly. My hearing has not degraded at all because I use earplugs anytime I go to a show, or anywhere loud. I have a big ear hole — that’s a weird thing to say — but these are big, so that’s good.
I spend 12 hours a day in bed, and that’s not an exaggeration. Of course, there’s exceptions, but I don’t have any devices around me, I don’t have any screens on, I don’t have any light. I really am very adamant about sleep hygiene and the way that I sleep. I’m a lifelong insomniac. This was maybe a couple of years ago when I really wanted to commit to improving that without taking drugs or sleep medication, which I am very against for myself. I had to implement a pretty serious meditation practice and also cut out any kind of light around my eyes. Sometimes I’ll read an actual paper book, but I don’t have any light from devices, so no TV and no screens. I have a writing pad, and I actually do a majority of my writing at that time, whether it’s for comedy or whatever. That’s the place where it oddly happens the most.
If you think about it, it’s actually hard to not have a device on for 12 hours, but that’s my goal every day. I found that it has really helped my sleep, my mental health, and my physical health.
I’m not a vegan, but I use it in any situation that calls for Parmesan cheese, so in pasta sauce or pesto. I use it in salad dressing. Also, I give it to my cats and my dog. They absolutely love it. We all eat it. I put it on popcorn. I put it on anything that requires cheese that I’m not willing to grate. The only problem is that anytime I use it, the cats and the dog think the food is for them. So they just assume that I’m making this pasta for them or that I’m making a salad for them, which is okay; they get a little bit of a taste here and there. But they love it. I have two Sphynx cats, so they’re hairless. They’re Pink Panthers. They’re very beautiful. And I have one Lykoi who’s a werewolf cat. My dog is a Chihuahua Dalmatian mix, a mutt from the LA shelters. Lucia is an LA shelter special. The cats are Sarang, which is Korean for love, and Uju, Korean for universe, and Sacre Coeur, which is Sacred Heart.
This is an Asian American business. I love these phone cases. They’re super bulky, so you can’t really put it in your pocket, but that doesn’t matter because it’s so good in the hand. It’s ergonomic, and it feels good to carry. Also, it protects your phone like anything. And it’s a stand. I want to use my phone more because it makes it a very pleasant-to-hold, tactile, sensual, ergonomic object. It’s like a work of art. It doesn’t add any weight to the phone. The parameters are a little bit awkward, but it doesn’t matter if you’re putting it in your purse or whatever. I actually like the bulk around it because it protects the phone, and also makes it easier to find in a dark purse.
I have had a form of these Campus boots since maybe early 2000; I think it’s beyond that. I’ve been wearing Frye boots forever. I mean, they’re a classic. Yoko Ono wore Frye boots. I want to wear what Yoko Ono is wearing all the time. I just love these boots. I love that they come in the silver color now, which is so fabulous because it adds sort of that ‘70s glam rock thing. But the thing about them — they’re super comfortable. I don’t want to sacrifice comfort for style, especially in my old age at 56; I can’t be wearing high heels, but I want to be fabulous, and these boots just make your legs look great. They just really flatter any outfit, and they’re really versatile, but also super flashy. I love them in all the colors, but the silver is really crazy. I think we’re heading to Imelda Marcos numbers when it comes to my boot collection. And of them all, I have the most Frye. I have a lot of vintage Frye. For me, it’s the best boot brand. They’ve been around for over a hundred years for a reason. They’re really fabulous.
Rom&nd is such a great K-beauty brand. Everything from Korea has that weird, I can’t even describe it, a fruity scent, but you know it’s from Korea. Do you know what I mean? Every beauty product, especially lip products, have that. I don’t know if it’s a hibiscus peach smell, but I love the smell. The colors are really great, and it’s a versatile lip that you can put on without a mirror, and it’s really hydrating and really soothing. I have one of these in the pocket of every jacket and in every purse. I love this particular color, but I love the brand. I don’t know what the formula is, but it is really, really nice. And it’s just a fresh color that’s easy to wear. Lipstick is hard to wear because I eat all the time and you’re getting the lipstick all over the food. It’s weird. I just hate that.
This coat is new but I have all of their other pieces. They have the jacket, the pullover versions, the fleece ones, and a windbreaker, but they’re all designed to carry your pet in your front pocket. It’s so cute. My dog loves it, and my cats love it too, but my dog doesn’t like it when my cats are in there because my dog’s like, “Excuse me, that’s my ride.” It’s like a sidecar. It allows you to take your animal anywhere, hands-free. And what’s really cool is that all of them are designed to spread the weight of your pet across both shoulders so it doesn’t feel heavy. Sometimes when you carry a dog in a pouch, you’re weighed down on one side. It’s also warming and secure, so if an animal has any kind of anxiety, it’s really good for them. I love it. It’s an everything coat. It’s a coat for going out and also for staying in, but I use it for both.
I love this sling as well. I mean, sometimes you want to have a little purse. I use it as a purse as well because it has pockets for your phone and for whatever you need. I love when a dog sling has a zippered pocket for your essentials because the dog is going to be flipping around in there; you don’t want to get everything lost. I love the color. It’s that Klein blue, which I think is actually a neutral for me. Lucia looks really good in it when we’re going around. She’s been on the red carpet in it, and she loves it.
It’s the cutest. I have carnivorous plants. Well, I did, and they all died; they’re really hard to take care of. But they are really beautiful. I love Little Shop of Horrors, and I love anything shaped like that, so to have a cat tree that’s a carnivorous plant like Audrey is so adorable. And my cats love it because they get right inside and they just melt. They’re like cream filling inside of there. It’s so adorable.
There’s something magical about this. Usually when there’s an automated toy, the cats will kind of figure out what it does and then be over it. But this one, they come back to time and time again. Its movements are erratic, kind of like a creature in the wild, so my cats are really attracted to it. They will actually bat it around. They really play with it for a long time.They have not grown sick of it, and they’ve had it for a long time. The battery lasts for a really long time. I like that it’s rechargeable and therefore easier to take care of.
In the video below, Margaret walks us through some of the things she can’t live without.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
