Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove – Monthly Favorites, January 2019

WHOA, LAST MONDAY of the first month of 2019. Heyooo! Today started very Monday-ish. Namely because Miss Liv’s NG tube started leaking mid-feed, meaning she got soaked with food and it was a no fun time for all. BUT, girlfriend SMILED AT ME – like full-on beaming smile – and this made everything better. Today’s also my brand spankin’ new assistant’s first day on the job, so our casa is full of potential today, my friends. The potential for good napping + good CURing alike. 😉

Anyhoo.

Onto some cool sh*t I loveloveloved this month!

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

1.)  

You saw it here first, folks – and I loveloveloved ’em so much, they made the favorites list this month. Hollah! Really, I’ve never met a Physicians Formula Butter product that I didn’t lovelovelove, from the Butter Bronzer to the Butter Blushes to the Butter Highlights. Everything is creamy AF, so easy to apply + blend, and wears well. These lip creams take the cake, though! They’re SO insanely creamy + comfortable to wear. Actually feels like slightly melty butter on your lips (if that’s an appealing analogy – ha!).

The pigmentation is like your favorite lipstick, but the formula + shine is like your favorite balm meets your favorite gloss.

My favorite shades thus far are Rio de Janeiro (as seen in this post!) and Pinkini. Rio de Janeiro is a super wearable red, while Pinkini is a beauuuuuutiful mauve that wears like a mauve-y nude, if that makes sense? Either way, it’s a PERFECT everyday shade for literally any occasion. Also is blue undertoned, meaning it helps make your teeth look whiter!

My ONLY constructive tip: pair with a liner! Especially if you’re someone who rubs her lips together subconsciously, you risk it sliding outside your lip edge if it’s not lined first. And no one wants/needs to be all Miranda Sings unexpectedly. 😉

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

2.)

So lately I’ve been going all Marie Kondo on my closet (aren’t we all?). In doing so, I happened to come across a few of those cotton-y, clingy camisoles from literally high school that we all wore to death – remember ’em???

These are the waaaaaaay cooler big sister.

Express has actually nailed it with . Because it’s the most *versatile* cami in my closet. I lovelovelove it. So much so, that I bought 4. 😉 When in doubt…buy it in every color.

I digress.

So this cami. It doesn’t look like a pajama top or lingerie, which is key when it comes to versatility + wearability. Pair with a blazer for something you can wear to the office, or rock with a leather jacket for date night. Can be worn left out or tucked in. The options are endless, people. It also works by itself for warmer weather, which I wholeheartedly appreciate.

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

3.)

Aiiiiiiight y’all, #RealTalk…I suck at brows. We all have our special talents, and eyebrows are not mine. I’m lucky if I get them not looking like sperm on any given day.

Enter, .

Now, you can totally tell I’m no brow guru given the fact that I’m JUST NOW hopping on the ABH Brows Bandwagon (ICYMI, Anastasia Beverly Hills is basically THE name in the brow game to beat). I picked up Brow Wiz on a whim in Ulta because everyone and their mom swears by it, and it lowkey saved my game. I mean, I’m still not WINNING the game – but at least I’m IN the game. Capiche 😉

The pencil applies perfectly and wears all day. It’s a very natural application + look, too, so you’re not likely going to see any lines or streaks.

P.S. Anastasia Beverly Hills made last month’s favorites, too!

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

4.) Dockatot

When J + I were doing our baby registry (which feels like an actual eternity ago at this point), the biggest controversy potentially on the face of the planet arose on my Instastories. To dock the tot…or to not dock the tot. Y’all were SPLIT on the Dockatot!

Liv has had one for about a month now, and I gotta say…

We’re hooked.

We’ve tried her in SO many different bouncers and sleepers and bassinets because of her reflux; girlfriend needs to be pretty angled/upright typically to alleviate the symptoms as much as possible. While oftentimes she prefers being on a slight incline for that reason, Olivia loveloveloves her Dockatot! We dock her there if we’re hanging out on the couch to watch a movie or chill and want/need an arm break (7 pound babies are heavier than you think – ha!) It keeps her safe + snug, and she’s right next to us without rolling around!

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

5.) Bird Box

I mean, Bird Box is no new news. Unless you’ve been on a river for 24 hours yourself, chances are, you’ve at least HEARD OF Netflix’s totally meme-worthy thriller. And if you’re like me, you’ve already watched it twice.

The premise is this: Mallory (aka Sandra Bullock) is a v pregnant lady at the time when this mysterious thing makes its way to America and is causing folks everywhere to kill themselves upon sight. (Sick, I know).

Since it’s labeled as “horror,” I wasn’t even ure I’d be watching it – but I took the plunge when it blew the heck up on social media, because I had a serious case of FOMO and was definitely curious. Turns out, it’s definitely more of a thriller – I HATE horror movies, so if I can not only handle it + lovelovelove it, you can, too!

 

6.)  

I first tried the Bio:Renew line on a press trip with P&G to Cincinatti. They gave each of us a bottle of shampoo/conditioner to try, so I used it in my shower that night. And I was so. stinkin. impressed. First off – it smelled amazing. Herbal Essences EVERYTHING has ALWAYS smelled amazing, in my opinion, from way back when they made those neon bottles like “Totally Twisted” – remember???

But most importantly, my hair felt like literal silk afterwards.

Which is saying something, because my hair has some texture to it. I typically require a blowout to achieve actually sleek + smooth hair, and a helluvah lotta conditioning products. I nearly ALWAYS am heat styling after a wash, because otherwise, it’s a frizzy, textured hot mess express.

At first, I chalked it up to the water. We have hard water at home, so maybe the hotel’s water quality was just stellar. Right?

…Wrong.

Then I tried it at home

Then I worked with them here.

Then I fast forwarded five months and I’m still using the same line, which really says something when I have what feels like 32 bottles hanging around the house to be tested for the job. Bio:renew itself is an exclusive blend of antioxidants, aloe, + sea kelp that Herbal Essences whipped up + put in every bottle. Also paraben-free!

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

7.)

I have approximately way too many pairs of jeans in my closet, but maybe half that make me feel like a million bucks. (Still Marie Kondo-ing my way through the rest. 😉 ) I’m always on the hunt for the best jeans for your money – the best fit x best wearability so that you’ve got the best cost per wear. Because I’m all for investing in quality jeans if it means my cost per wear ends up being a few pennies each time, capiche? In the past, I’ve invested in $150+ denim that definitely had great cost per wear. I remember splurging on a pair of jeans from Delia’s back in early high school, because Delia’s was ALL THE RAGE and their Morgan jeans were the first jeans that ever actually made me feel comfortable + good while wearing them.

But then I found American Eagle’s jeans.

I know, I know not like AE Jeans are new news either, E.

But I found myself stocking up on quite a few pairs during Black Friday + Christmas sales, so now I’ve got a nice lil’ collection and can better speak to the line as a whole.

In short, it rocks.

I have YET to find a pair that doesn’t fit or feel flawlessly. Which is saying something, since I’ve got everything from skinnier jeggings to looser boyfriends. They run TTS, are already on the affordable side, AND almost always have one sale or another happening (like BOGO 50% off – hollah!). So the fact that I can pay under $40 for a PERFECT pair of jeans is just mindblowingly awesome to me (+ hopefully to you, too 🙂 ).

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

8.) Acrylic storage containers 

It started with a Lazy Susan.

And then a vault for makeup.

And then containers for sunglasses.

Then another Lazy Susan because WHY NOT, SUSAN?

Y’all, the addiction is real. Right now I’ve got three extra acrylic storage containers in our garage because girlfriend went a bit TOO hard on good ol’ Amazon Prime and now I don’t even have enough things to organize. HA.

As I’ve been purging + cleaning out, it’s also been a process of better organizing the things we do have to optimize usage; especially on my makeup vanity, I ended up finding so many products just stashed away in the backs of drawers that I had TOTALLY forgotten about, which is so sad! I lovelovelove acrylic storage for that reason – even if something is in the back, you can see it + use it, so you save money in the long run not having to repurchase things you already have.

These are all acrylic storage containers that I’ve bought in the last year…

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

 

9.) Hydrafacial

I had been *dying* to try a Hydrafacial when my friends at Moxie Blue Salon in Philly reached out to come in and try one out (fun fact: they’re one of the few places in the city that actually does them!).

A Hydrafacial is meant to clear you out before providing an *insane* dose of hydration, so it’s essentially the perfect facial treatment for the middle of winter (hello, It’s-always-12-degrees-and-sunny-in-Philadelphia). My facialist, Mackenzi, was SO KNOWLEDGEABLE on skincare, which is really important to me if/when I’m splurging on an actual facial treatment somewhere.

The procedure is only 30 minutes long; it starts with a good cleanse + vaccuuming out your pores.

Hydrating serums + antioxidants are added back IN right after, so you’re essentially cleaning out the bad gunk from your pores and refilling them with straight up good stuff to be absorbed instead (since the actual size of your pores isn’t changeable – sad!).

I was legit GLOWING afterwards (and for some good time after). I grabbed brunch with my aunt after and she couldn’t stop complimenting my skin – my face looked actually radiant and felt phenomenal. It was plump + glowy + hydrated and I felt totally confident sans makeup, which is my favorite kinda feeling.

100% recommend. Go see Mackenzi. Tell her I said hi. 😉

 

10.) Goody Ouchless Forever No Slip hair ties

Remember when I shared two fun, EASY PEASY hairstyles with Goody way back in November? WELL MY FRIENDS, I’ve also been using their Ouchless hair ties since the summertime, and they are worth talking about.

They’re legit the only hair tie I’ve ever used in my entire LIFE that truly lives up to the no slip game. They. Don’t. Slip.

Not sure if it’s the specific bump structure, or the little bead that’s there, but you feel neither pain nor slippage. Truly a feat, my friends. One pack of these bad boys and you’ll never need hair ties again, I kid you not. Whether you’re going for a sleek pony, a sock bun, or some half-up ‘do, they’ll get ‘er done.

Cool Sh*t I Lovelovelove - Monthly Favorites, January 2018 - Physicians Formula, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Dockatot, Herbal Essences, Express, American Eagle, + MORE

Have you tried any of my Monthly Favorites yet?

And what have been YOUR Monthly Favorites? I wanna know!

P.S. ICYMI and wanna get caught up on Weekend Reading and/or last month’s favorites, just click here!

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