If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. For this installment, we spoke with musician Bryan Adams — who just released his new album, So Happy It Hurts — about his preferred guitar since the ’80s, the gel that keeps his hair tidy, and the alternative to airline food he eats by the handful.
I keep my hair quite short, and I like it tidy. So I need a good hair gel, and I keep coming back to this one. I stumbled on Bumble & Bumble in New York years ago when I lived there momentarily, and I’ve just sort of stuck with it. I occasionally use other hair gels, but what I like about this most is that it doesn’t smell. And it has a really nice texture.
When you’re Canadian, it’s essential that you have a decent jacket. I’ve been wearing my Wuxly parka for probably three years now. I just love it because it’s all vegan, which was a big sell for me, and it still keeps me super-warm. Even compared to other insulated parkas, I’ve never had a warmer one. Every time I travel, I bring this with me.
[Editor’s note: Wuxly lists all prices in Canadian dollars, so the price shown is an approximate conversion in U.S. dollars.]
I started using this at the beginning of the pandemic, and now I’m totally addicted to using it. I actually used this while working on my album So Happy It Hurts. During the process, I wanted to share my ideas with my collaborators, so I used this. Now they’re all hooked on it because it’s such an easy service to transfer instead of sending files by MP3. With this, you just send a link with a password and you’re in. It’s basically like SoundCloud but a whole lot nicer. One of the things I like most about it is that it’s super-secure.
I’ve had a Martin D-18 guitar since the ’80s, and it was pretty much my writing tool. It’s just a very solid guitar, and the brand is brilliant. I actually have another Martin, a 000-18, which I really love too. It’s a very old one — from 1947, I think. But my D-18 is my go-to. I’ve actually got a couple of them. And even though mine’s a bit older, they still make new ones and they’re just as nice.
When you’re traveling on planes a lot as I am and you don’t really fancy the airline food, it’s great to reach into your bag and grab a handful of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds with a bit of sea salt are just wonderful. This is by far my favorite brand. “Yum,” is all I can say.
When I travel, I have three essential things I need. One, as I mentioned, sunflower seeds. Two, good earplugs. Three, you have to have a nice eye blind. These are my go-to earplugs. The normal, marshmallowlike ones always end up falling out. I like that you can wedge these into your ear, they just cut out everything, and they stay in place. [Editor’s note: Courteney Cox can’t live without these earplugs either.]
This is great for the airplane and also the hotel. I can’t always rely on hotels to have blackout curtains, so I always pack this eye mask with me. It’s comfortable to wear, and I don’t have to worry about light issues. If you’re like me and you’re like Count Dracula, you just want to have a little bit of darkness. These completely block out the light.
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