The 2019 All Purpose Gift Guide

The 2019 All Purpose Gift Guide

Stocking Stuffers/ White Elephant/ For Everyone, Young and Old!

It’s baaaa-ack! 

Here’s this year’s version of the super-convenient, pretty-affordable, Prime-ready, one-stop shopping list. Almost everything on this list has been tested/ approved by me or someone close to me.  Enjoy!

For the person in your life who’s almost ready to bite the Botox bullet but also wants to try all the miracle products first:

Snail Mucin

For the brilliant coworker who spaces out in meetings but somehow pulls it all together in the end:

Visual notebook

For the neighbor who had their Christmas lights turned on November 1:

Christmas Lights charger

For your friend who hibernates from November to March:

Comfy



For the uber organized traveler who shows up three hours before flights and still prints out travel documents:

Multi charger

For new parents who are too busy to finish a cup of coffee before it cools off:

The picture is of this nice copper but that seems to be going in and out of stock, so the link below is for a black one. FYI.

Ember

For the proto-hipster who insists on sleeping with their phone outside their bedroom because of electro-magnetic-whatevers but spends the other 18 hours a day scrolling…:

Blue light glasses

For the nieces/ nephews when you forget how old they are/ don’t know what they like :

Mechanical color pencils

For the fashionista who has everything, darling:

Airpod case

For the prepper/ parent/ crafter that needs to corral their stuff but also make it look good on Instagram:

Organizer

For everyone, seriously:

Flashlight:

For the freelancer who spends 10 hours a day at their desk:

Elliptical

For the teenager who thinks she likes Bob Ross because it’s ironic but secretly loves feeling comforted in a world of strife and turmoil:

Bob Ross Mug

For the person who would rather cook at home than put their nice bag on the bathroom/ restaurant floor:

Purse hook

For the hyperactive child/adult who always needs to move:

Tangle Twisters

And if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, check out some of my other lists!

2018 Gift List
Hygge List

Winter Beauty list

If I don’t get a chance to see you in person, I hope with all of my heart that you are able to celebrate whatever holiday makes your heart happy with whoever makes you laugh and brings you peace.

See you in 2020!

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Let's Talk Skin Care - Part 4 -Skin Care Extras & Additions

Part One Here

Part Two Here

Part Three Here

Alright, are we ready for this? Let’s go.

Moisturizers

I’ve teased this enough but yes, I stand by my statements that a moisturizer is NOT a skin care essential.

WHY?

Because your skin’s moisture might be just fine without it.

Or, your skin’s moisture might be just fine after you’ve started taking care of it correctly, using ingredients and products that protect and repair the barrier, that encourage healthy skin growth, etc.  

That is to say, all too often, I have people asking me for a moisturizer recommendation but that’s a question I can’t really answer without knowing if you’re already exfoliating (and doing so in a way that’s proper for your skin type) or if you’re using a retinol or doing any of the steps I’ve outlined in Part One, Part Two, or Part Three.

Further, what season is it? What kind of climate do you live in? How much water do you drink? All these things can factor into you needing a moisturizer or… not. It all depends.

ALSO, many of those skin care products already have some type of emollient in them. So you may find, after you’ve been cleansing and exfoliating and protecting your skin well, that the right routine and the emollients already in those products are sufficient for your individual needs.  For instance, your retinol may also have hyaluronic acid. Your choice of vitamin C may also have a peptide/ vitamin E mix.  In the last part of this series, I recommended a solid facial cleanser, the Woodlot Nourishing Cleansing Balm. This balm contains olive oil, shea butter and jojoba oil. If I take this with me on a trip, I will not need a separate night moisturizer because that is quite a lot of moisturizing ingredients…. for me.

Get it?

And THAT is why I don’t think a moisturizer constitutes a “skin care essential.” Because it DEPENDS. And anything that DEPENDS cannot, by definition, be essential.

However… (you knew this was coming, right?)

There will be times when you are doing everything right and still you feel dry or itchy. Then you have the delightful experience of picking out light or heavy, fragrant or organic, or whatever type of moisturizer you need for YOUR FACE.

For me, in the winter, I love a good oil (but only certain types because other types clog me up.) I love the luxurious feel and putting a nice healthy barrier on top of any active ingredients I’m wearing that day. For several years, my go-to has been the Boscia Tsubaki Oil which seems pricey but a bottle lasts a long time (until my sensitive skinned teen got a hold of it – but hey! It works for her too!)

Another quasi-moisturizer I like to put on after using chemical exfoliants at night especially is the Scinic Honey Ampoule. It feels thick and sticky when it goes on but in the morning my skin feels soft like a baby’s behind!

Hyaluronic Acid

This is an ingredient that is everywhere and can be found in a lot of skin care products. It’s cheap and effective and I don’t think you can overdose on it, so pile it on! 

I personally use this Hado Labo one and it’s the complete opposite of the Honey Ampoule. It almost feels like water when you apply it, it’s so light and, well, watery. Obviously, I use this on days when I just feel the need to put a little something extra on top of active ingredients or if I’ve had a bit too much sun or wind exposure.

Peptides And Collagen

Two other buzz words in skin care lately and yes, they’re important but again, probably not as essential as all the other stuff. Once again, you’ll probably already see these ingredients pop up in your Vitamin C, retinoid, etc.  If you are doing the other things and you do NOT have any peptides and collagen, these would probably be the next best thing to add to your routine.

Personally, I like The Ordinary’s Buffet (which, LOOK! Also has hyaluronic acid!) but I also prefer to add collagen to my diet, not just topically, because then I get the benefits throughout my aging and decrepit body. I add a collagen powder to my morning coffee and like the way this one dissolves: Collagen Peptides.

Snail Mucin

Now you’re really starting to look at me funny… if you’re American.  If you’re in Asia, you’ve already heard of Snail Mucin because it is ubiquitous in skin care and for good reason. Because it is a freaking miracle ingredient. Here’s an article about it which says that it’s basically a nice organic moisturizer but there’s still something really magical about snail mucin.

If you’re dipping your toe into this area, just go straight to the Mizon products, like the All in One Repair Cream or the Intensive Ampoule. I think either one would be great for all types of skin.


Other things you can use: Masks, Spritzes, Toners, Oh MY!

At this point, let’s be honest. A sheet mask is probably not going to change your skin tone and erase twenty years of sun damage if that’s ALL you’re doing. But if it feels good and makes you happy, experiment! Have fun!  Use what feels good to you! I don’t personally love putting slimy cold paper towels on my face, but you do you! Once you’ve got the basics down, there’s a beautiful, fun world of skin care to explore that won’t hurt anyone, might boost your self-confidence and distract you from the dumpster fire that exists in the real world.

So go. Be Beautiful.

ONE LAST WORD….

OKAY, A FEW MORE WORDS.

WATER.

SLEEP.

DAIRY / SUGAR.

If, after trying all the products and routines, you still are not happy with your skin, you’ll have to take a good hard look at your lifestyle and what you’re willing to change. For some people, you might be willing to drink three gallons of water a day before you’ll give up cream in your coffee. Other people might do the opposite. For me, my skin blows up when I consume dairy, liquids especially. Giving up sugar also helps me get *that* glow.

But it might not work for you. That’s okay. At the end of the day (and this blog series *WHEW*) that’s what it’s all about. Figuring out what works for YOUR LIFE and what is going to make you feel your best.

For helping me learn more about what works for me, hat tip to The Ordinary Regimen Guide: https://theordinary.com/regimenguide

One more gif because when I searched “pretty” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau kept coming up and so… I agree. ;-)

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Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!

Let's Talk Skin Care - Part 3 - The Essentials Continued

Review the previous parts and catch up on my skin care manifesto, won’t you?

Part I here (Includes an overview of the essentials and my suggested routine)

Part II here (Includes nothing but sunscreen)

Once again, it was when I started cleaning, exfoliating, using Vitamin C and Retinol on a consistent basis that my skin finally became pretty damn good. That doesn’t mean I don’t get acne (I do, on a monthly basis!) or that it’s never dry or dull, but if I keep up the essentials, it looks good 95% of the time.

I’m going to go through each of the remaining essential categories (Remember I did a whole post on sunscreen in Part II) and give my best recommendations, but you’ll soon start to see why this might get long (or complicated.)

Cleansers

Why use them: Because you get makeup and gook and pollution on your face. Clean that crap off!

My current lineup:

(Something organic and sustainable) Seed Gentle Face Wash

Hado Labo Foaming (super gentle and moisturizing)

This is the best AHA BHA exfoliating cleanser.  My dermatologist recommended it and sells it at her office and I love it.

Drugstore fave: Aveeno Foaming – either the calming or clearing ones. I’ve also used these for years and currently they’ve been stolen by the pre-teens in the house.

In the winter I also will sometimes use an oil cleanser, especially if I don’t have too much makeup to take off (but I’m never going to be one of those double cleanser people) and I really like this solid cleanser for travel: Woodlot Nourishing Cleansing Balm

A few skin care essentials that really work!

Exfoliation

Why exfoliate?
Because you have dead skin cells on your face and when you get rid of them, it makes you look fresher and brighter.
It also makes your skin keep working to make new cells.
It also removes the dead stuff on top so that your topicals (Your Retinoids, Vitamins, etc.) can get down in there and actually make a difference.

This explains it pretty well and this.

How often you exfoliate depends on you and how well your skin can handle it. My skin can handle gentle chemical exfoliation every other day at least.

Once again, you can simply use an AHA BHA exfoliating cleanser, like the one I recommended above.

For a gentle serum, I like this Lactic Acid - Or this AHA (with a very cool bottle) Mizon 8% AHA.

For a once a week (or even once a month) heavy duty mama jama, I’ve got The Ordinary AHA BHA Peeling Solution.  This is serious stuff. You will feel a burn. And please, slather on the sunscreen the next day.

I do like a physical exfoliant occasionally, too. Like I said, my skin can handle it and sometimes, if my face is feeling a little rough, I go ahead and use one of these:

Tony Moly Brightening Peeling Gel I know this says ‘peeling’ but it’s super duper gentle and is not nearly as serious as the Peeling Solution.

Queen Helene’s Mint Julep Scrub 

A few skin care essentials that I can’t live without.

Vitamin C

Why use it: It’s a powerful ingredient to stop aging and fight free radicals. More here: https://www.byrdie.com/vitamin-c-benefits

As I said in Part I, my go-to basic Vitamin C serum is the CSI one. I’ve gone through at least 5 bottles at this point.

I’ve also used The Ordinary 12% Vitamin C. I’m sure it did something but for whatever reason I went back to the first one when I was done.
 
I’ve also heard good things about this set of serums on Amazon that has Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid and Retinol all in one package.

Retinol
Why Use it: It’s a superhero ingredient that fights wrinkles AND acne, stimulates collagen and more. More info here.

I’ve used a prescription retinoid for years now so this is one area that I don’t actually have a personal recommendation for. BUT. If my prescription ran out tomorrow and I couldn’t renew it, then I would try one of these.

LilyAna Natural

The Ordinary 2% Emulsion

Neutrogena

OKAY. I know that’s a LOT of information and it may seem like a LOT of products (and it’s one reason why I personally try to find the most effective products at the most reasonable price – which I’ve shared with you!)  But once you get the essentials down, it’s pretty easy:

1. Cleanser

2. Vitamin C

3. Sunscreen

4. Exfoliant

5. Retinoid

Also, PLEASE remember that as you start to use or boost your frequency with these active ingredients, sunscreen becomes MORE important. So please don’t skip that step.

That’s pretty much all I have to say about all the Essential steps I talked about in Part I.

But I hear some of you still yelling at me:

But what about MOISTURIZER?!?!

I know, I know. I really haven’t forgotten it.

But it’s not an essential.

(I’ve shocked you, haven’t I?)

I’ll go into WHY I believe that moisturizer is NOT a skin care essential (and we’ll start to play with things like masks, snail mucin, collagen and more) in Part Four of this series, here.

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Let's Talk Skin Care - Part 2 - Sun Protection

The second part in my skin care essential series! For part one go here: Skin Care Essentials.

Let’s just start with the obvious, shall we?
1. I’m not a dermatologist or any kind of doctor or a person who is qualified to work on your face.
2. I am a woman who has read umpteen-dozen articles and reports and whatnot (and who goes to a very beautiful, perfect dermatologist).
3. I am a natural blond w/ freckles and I am of a certain age (I like to say I’m between 35 and 80. Guess.)
4. Sunscreen is the #1 MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR SKIN.
5. EVER.

Basically, I’m not going to get into the whys and hows and benefits of sunscreen usage. It’s like telling you that you have to drink water. And that you shouldn’t lick paint in old houses. Y’all, please. We’re smart enough to advance to the next stage.

A very beautiful Hillary Duff from Younger saying, “Sunscreen Sunscreen Sunscreen”

You know you should be wearing sunscreen. Hopefully, you’re already wearing it on at least an as-needed basis (days at the beach, by the pool, etc.)

Now you need to upgrade.

Do It Every Day.

Yes, this is hard. For those of us who work in the North of the Northern Hemisphere (or South of the Southern Hemisphere) we may feel that sun is not always dangerous. We may work inside 95% of the day. But there are windows and… whatever. I’m not explaining it. My very beautiful dermatologist says to do it.

Now which ones should you wear?
I should say, whatever works for you. And that’s mostly true. But you really do need a separate product from whatever is in your moisturizer/ foundation.

Here are the ones that are in my current rotation:

My most favorite sunscreens are these Japanese Biore ones. If you hate the way sunscreen feels on your face, try these. Also, the Japanese REALLY know sunscreen and are able to use ingredients that we don’t use in the US.
Biore UV Perfect Milk
Biore UV Watery Essence

My very-close-second favorite right now (and only because I just got it and haven’t bought, like, five tubes of it) is this La Roche Posay Cooling Water Sunscreen. It comes closest to the Biore Perfect Milk, in my opinion. This is the one I just took on a cruise and it worked awesomely.

The Elta MD UV Clear is a very highly recommended product. I know my dermatologist’s office sells the whole line so I bought it this spring to see how it was. It’s my least favorite right now, but I’m not sure if that’s because I’ve been spoiled by the Japanese products. Possibly, my skin also went a little weird in the last few months as the weather changed so it could have been that. A lot of people love it, so I thought I’d still include it.

If you don’t want to order sunscreen, my best drugstore recommendations are Neutrogena ones with Helioplex. My husband got this one for a trip and I’m about to steal it from him. I think “Sport Face” is a funny name but it feels really nice - as nice as some of the ones I have pictured. Also, you can find the La Roche Posay and the Elta MD in a lot of stores.

And then of course, you need sunscreen for your body.

My sunscreen lineup by the pool.

I’m not as picky about this stuff, except I like a lot of it, and I prefer it is not applied by my children because then I get sunburned on my back in an artistic swirl pattern. (Yes, we just got back from vacation. My back itches for some reason.)

So that’s the long and short of it.

TL; DR. Wear high SPF sunscreen as much as possible so you look fabulous when you’re an indeterminate advanced age.

For Part 3: The Other Essentials, click here.

For Part 4: Why Moisturizers are NOT an Essential (But here are some that really work), click here.

Perfect Holiday Gifts for Everyone

Back for 2018! I’ve compiled a list of all my favorite things (kind of like Oprah, really) from this year that would make great gifts for everyone on your list - young, old, tall, short, etc.

Ready?

Let’s begin.

1. My favorite purse hook! I recommended it here, this little baby stays on your bag, is discreet yet mighty. – Clipa on Amazon.

2. The holidays means time with family and friends and I can only stand the constant roar of sportsball for so long. Also tweens and teens need a reason to get off their phones. Enter the family board game.

Two of our family favorites are this domino game (apologies for the name. There needs to be a new name for this, right? Like Crooked Train?) and my favorite card/ board game, Sequence.

3. Everyone needs cordless bluetooth headphones. I mean, it’s almost 2019!

I’ve bought 3 pairs of these. I use them until they fall apart and then buy another set. For $25, the value can’t be beat.

But if you want to upgrade someone’s listening experience, you can go with some noise canceling ones. My husband got these Bose headphones as a present to himself for business travel and they’re like a spa for your ears.

My cheaper favorite headphones seen out in the wild.

4. Great notebook & pens! Basic? Yes. But a lot of us planner nerds always appreciate a good writing pen and paper. A lot of people I know love a Rhodia Graph notebook. I’m going to ask Santa for a new Ecoqua grid notebook as I’m almost done with my old one.

Seen - the inside of my Ecoqua notebook.

And of course, you already know I’m recommending my favorite Micron Pens.

5. I took a felt message board to a gift swap last year and I think it would still be a hit this year too!

Handy even when one does not have a book that’s been out for one month….

6. Okay, this is the one gift suggestion that I don’t have YET. But I know a lot of people LOVE theirs and I’m definitely asking Santa for an air fryer too.

7. My whole family loves their Swell / Yeti/ Corksicle bottles and tumblers.

My favorite corksicle tumbler with a limited edition HBIC Nation sticker on it!

If you know someone who likes to keep their cold drinks cold and their hot drinks hot, here are a few stainless steel vessels I thought were stylish and practical.

A Corksicle wood “carafe.”

And then this special edition Swell bottle is pretty extra but in a sophisticated way.
Swell MCM:

8. Packing Cubes! The gift that no one knows they need until they get them!

Of course there are the utilitarian ones. Perfectly functional and a great gift.

And the fancy princess ones. You decide who is getting them and how much you love them.

I’d love to hear if you also love these gifts or what your go-to gift for people is this year! ‘Tis the season for sharing all the helpful tips!