Cleaner Beauty No. 1

Since reading Skin Cleanse, I've been analyzing my beauty routine. Mostly using the Think Dirty app as a guide, I've been slowly transitioning my routine to be simpler and cleaner. Bonus: most clean beauty products are cheaper than the products previously on my wish list.

Here are a few favorites so far:

[Clockwise]
+RMS Beauty Lip Shine 'Royal' — RMS has great beauty products, their Living Luminizer is a beautiful highlighter and this purple lipgloss is right on trend.

+Herbivore Botanicals Lapis Oil — I've been eyeing this product for months and they just launched through Sephora, so it's easier to pick up some of their best products. I'm obsessed with any lapis or blue tansy products, so this oil looks divine.

+Egyptian Magic All Purpose Cream — This cult favorite is made from six of nature's most powerful moisturizing and healing ingredients. I spotted it at Costco and would love to pick some up before this winter.

+Acure Brightening Facial Scrub — This is a great substitute for my previous favorite exfoliator, ExfoliKate. Instead of micro-beads, this scrub uses lemon peel and is a 2015 Earth Day Beauty Award winner.

+Indie Lee Rosehip Cleanser — I'm obsessed with rosehip oil, so this cleanser is my jam. Indie Lee has great products with minimal ingredients and the beautiful packaging never hurts.

Recommended Reading

I've been slacking off on reading this year, but I just finished a Lorrie Moore book, skimmed Skin Cleanse, and I'm thinking about delving into screenplays...

Here is an excerpt from each:

1. Anagrams (Lorrie Moore)

When I told my husband I hated him, we hadn't been married long at all. It was when he was taking my picture with his new camera, narrowing his eyes, adjusting the shutter speed, posing me at various angles until my smile felt aching and absurd. We were in the living room. He had asked me to take my shirt off and I'd obliged. I'd been standing there by the mantel awhile and it was getting cold, the hairs on my arms standing on end, my nipples erect. "Got your high beams on," said my husband, like a college kid, camera to his face. Finally he pulled the camera away from his eyes. "Light's bad," he mumbled and walked off without taking the shot. Stunned and topless, I followed him into the dining room where he began taking pictures of the porcelain monkey-head lamp my Aunt Wyn had sent us for our wedding. "The light's hitting this great," said my husband. "The reading's perfect." His camera was clicking away. (P. 113)

2. Skin Cleanse (Adina Grigore)

Let me say, as clearly as I can, your diet is the most essential tool you have to getting great skin. You cannot eat crap and have clear skin. Period. You could ignore everything else in this book and just cut out sugar or drink more water, and your skin would get better. But the problem these days is that almost all of us are putting too much stock in what we're being told to eat by people who don't know us, and we're not listening enough to what our bodies really need. We are all individuals. In the same way that all of the factors in your background and lifestyle affect your overall health, they also affect how you should be eating. Your diet changes throughout your life, and it is greatly impacted by your state of mind. (P. 37)

3. Dear Life: Stories (Alice Munro)

'To Reach Japan'
She sent her letter to him there, at the newspaper. She could not be sure that he opened his mail and she thought that putting Private on the envelope was asking for trouble, so she wrote only the day of her arrival and the time of the train, after the bit about the bottle. No name. She thought that whoever opened the envelope might think of an elderly relative given to whimsical turns of phrase. Nothing to implicate him, even supposing such peculiar mail did get sent home and his wife opened it, being now out of the hospital. (P. 15) 

4. Yes Please (Amy Poehler)

The only thing we can depend on in life is that everything changes. The seasons, our partners, what we want and need. We hold hands with our high school friends and swear to never lose touch, and then we do. We scrape ice off our cars and feel like winter will never end, and it does. We stand in the bathroom and look at our face and say, "Stop getting old, face. I command you!" and it doesn't listen. Change is the only constant. Your ability to navigate and tolerate change and its painful uncomfortableness directly correlates to your happiness and general well-being. See what I just did there? I saved you thousands of dollars on self-help books. If you can surf your life rather than plant your feet, you will be happier. Maybe I should have called this book Surf Your Life. The cover could feature a picture of me on a giant wave wearing a wizard hat. I wonder if it's too late. I'll make a call. (P. 279)

These Things

As always, dreaming of travel and spending money on beauty products. Here are a few of my recent thoughts and inspirations:

[Clockwise]
+Hitlist App — If I'm not planning a trip, I'm not happy. This new-to-me app is amazing, it searches for cheap flights from your home airport and also gives great inspiration for new places to travel. (I also loved this article on the best approach to booking Airbnbs.)

+Luna Night Oil — I've been dying to try this cult favorite, so when Sephora offered a deluxe sample I jumped on it. I can easily see why people love it, it's blue, which is fascinating, and it feels luxurious. It's already been happily added to my nightly routine.

+Glossier Coconut Balm Dotcom — I adore all of Glossier's products and their new addition is no exception. It smells like summer and it lasts a long time, which is necessary for a lip balm addict like me.

+Everlane Ryan Muscle Tank — This tank has a great tomboy cut and is made from the softest rayon fabric. I just wish they had more colors...

+Land of Nod Llama-a-Rama Sham — Loving this whimsical llama print from Land of Nod. It would be a fun addition to the bedding collection and so cozy for this F/W.