Well since we're well into the year and this is the first Some Pretty Picks post, let's make it a big one, shall we?
I hope everyone had a great start to the month. Things have been a little quieter here on the blog because I've been working to get a lot of things caught up on and nailed down before the winter ends and we get busy!
A major thing I've been loving is the Olympics. Winter sports are my favorite and as a former figure skater love watching the world watch my sport. There's something magical in high level competitive sports - especially when you have anywhere from 15 seconds to 4 minutes to go for the gold. There already has been some incredible wins and heartbreaking losses and that's the kind of drama I can get behind.
Things I've Been Loving Lately
1. Researching clean beauty skincare. Greenwashing is a huge problem in the beauty industry – where brands can create intentional package and add marketing statements to help them appear "clean and green" formulated without harsh, disruptive chemicals, but in reality they haven't changed harmful formulations.
There's so much to learn still about clean and green beauty, and it's quite a controversial topic, but I think it really is important to learn about and work to incorporate as many natural-based products on our skin as possible. A few brands actually leading the charge for healthier products are:
- Nuori – I'm interested in the Protect + Cleansing Milk from the clean Danish brand of skincare
- Aime – a new to me French brand that promotes simple, fragrance-free products that are gentle and clean. I'm considering their 4-step system once I finish up my current cleanser.
- Woods Copenhagen – formulated with natural ingredients in Denmark
- Caudalie – probably one we're a little more familiar with. I don't love the size of the company –it's a major player in the cosmetics field and I don't think mass production of products create the best products, but if you want a good clean beauty brand that can be found in Sephora, this one is one of the better ones.
2. Candles you can try before you buy. My biggest frustration with online candle shopping is that you normally can't try before you buy. I've bought so many designer candles just to return them immediately because they gave me a headache upon first sniff. But thanks to Tegan of Half Baked Harvest she turned me on to a candle company Snif that actually allows you to burn a sample for 7 days of their candles before you commit to buying. Truly a genius business idea!
3. Dresses for Spring. Living in South Carolina where today is supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny it's hard not to jump the gun when it comes to buying spring/summer clothes. And now that brands are releasing their new collections, a few have jumped out to me immediately.
A Little Bit of Life Lately
1. Jeni's Ice Cream: last week Jeni's kindly sent me a PR package of their ice cream to celebrate their upcoming store opening in Greenville (you can watch the Reel here). It was my first time trying lots of their flavors and my favorite was the Goat Cheese with Red Cherries and Brambleberry Crisp. Jeni's is known for their super unique flavors and these two did not disappoint!
2. Wallflower New Collections: Over in our Etsy shop, we launched a fun Valentine's Day collection and we're so excited for some beautiful spring scrunchies and other accessories to hit the shop soon! Follow along on Instagram or our Etsy shop to shop!
3. Custom Printed Curtains: My home office redesign is going so well. We re-trimmed doors and baseboards last week and this weekend is installing the bead board, trim, and installing a new ceiling light. But the highlight of the week was getting in the stunning fabric for my curtains that was custom printed in England. I promise a full blog post on finding/sourcing fabric for curtains is coming soon!
4. My Mirror Delivery: So I did a thing in January and ordered the Mirror by Lululemon workout system. Well it came in the mail a couple days ago and WOW did it exceed my expectations. Turned off it looks like a beautiful full-length mirror but with the press of an app turns into a full-on workout class with more disciples than you could image. I've already taken a boxing lesson, cardio, strength training, barre class, and yoga class. I LOVE IT! I'm so excited to do a full review of it once I get into a good routine.
I do have a referral code – ELEWDB7K - that if you're interested will get you $200 off your Mirror purchase.