5 Things I Love Right Now

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Well, this week I was supposed to be up in Boston for work, but the workshop I was going to (and my flight) got cancelled due to the sky blizzarding all over everything. I had planned an afternoon of shopping at all the stores we don’t have around here, so I’m a little disappointed the rug got pulled out from under that. But on the other hand, we’re less than a week away from the first official day of spring and a month from now I’ll be eating croissants in Paris, so I refuse to let this little change in plans get me down. So in honor of looking on the bright side, I thought I’d take a few minutes to spill the details on some things I’m testing and really excited about right now.

Sunday Riley U.F.O. Face Oil ($40) – The past couple months my skin has been extra-troublesome. Nothing like it was years ago, but for whatever reason I’ve had a really bad clogged pore problem lately. I decided to give salicylic acid another shot, but since I’ve had problems with it causing dryness and irritation in the past, I went on a quest for something formulated to not cause dryness. The eventual winner: Sunday Riley Ultra-Clarifying Face Oil, since it has a fairly low concentration of salicylic acid and no isopropyl alcohol. Now, let me tell you one thing about this stuff: it has cumin seed oil in it, and apparently cumin seed oil has a strong scent. Thus, this oil kind of smells like tacos, which is not my first choice for a personal fragrance. But since my skin was noticeably less bumpy in a matter of days, I’m willing to let that slide. It’s also cut down on redness quite a bit, and I haven’t had any rashy, itchy patches like I’ve gotten with other SA treatments. I intend to do a full review on this with pictures & stuff after I’ve used a bit longer, but I felt the need to tell you about it now because I’m pretty excited.

Le Labo Lip Balm ($14) – I popped this little guy in my Nordstrom order with the Sunday Riley Oil because I was oh so close to the minimum for a GWP. Plus I needed lip balm, so might as well try something new, right? Zero research on it at all, but it ended up being a pleasant surprise. I meant to take it to work to keep at my desk, but it turns out to be perfect for prepping my lips in the morning, so it’s still hanging out in my bathroom. It absorbs quickly, isn’t sticky or greasy and has no scent or taste that I can detect at all. What’s not to love?

Byredo Bibliothèque Eau de Parfum ($175) – I’m a lifelong bookworm, and even though I’ve switched mostly to digital books for transport and clutter-removing purposes, I love a good bookstore or library. So yes, I blind bought this based solely on the name & notes description. I’ve been wanting to try Byredo fragrances for a while now – I blame Sabrina (@beautylookbook) because they always look so pretty in her flatlays – and the idea of smelling like a French library finally just pushed me over the edge. In reality I wouldn’t say Bibliothèque actually smells like my idea of a library,  but I love it just the same. The opening notes are full of almost overripe fruit (and I mean that in the best way possible) mixed with violet. The leather and vanilla notes give it a nice cozy feel, especially as it dries down, which in my mind is much more in tune with the name. It gives me the feeling of curling up late at night with a book, reading by lamplight – something I’ve spent many a night doing.

Longchamp Le Pliage Large ($145) – This tote isn’t really news to anyone – just do a quick google search and you can find a bajillion reviews of it. Apparently it’s popular for a reason, because I’m in love. I mainly bought it for travel, but I’ve been carrying it as my everyday work bag for the past couple weeks and let me tell you, it’s handy. The large size holds all the essentials with room to spare for lunch, a thermos of coffee and whatever else I need to haul back and forth, without being too heavy. When it’s not in use it folds up into a little rectangle, which is great for stashing it away.

Verb Dry Shampoo ($8) – I already did a short review of this in my recent dry shampoo edit, but it bears repeating: this dry shampoo is pretty damn nice. I got my hair trimmed a couple weeks ago, so the bleached-out, crispy ends left over from when it was purple are finally gone (yessss!). It looks and feels so much healthier now, which means I actually want to style it lately. I like my beauty rest though, so here’s no way I’m going to spend a bunch of time fixing my hair just to wash it and start over the next morning. Nope, shower caps & dry shampoo for days (literally).

What beauty bits are you in love with lately?