Aug 23, 2020
Updated: Aug 26, 2020
1. Madewell Mesa Packable Straw Hat in black — I grabbed this on sale for like $15 and I love it. I have the size large. It’s like a fedora up top with a wider floppier brim. It matches everything in my closet! If this were a non-COVID summer, I’d be wearing it all the time. Right now I wear it on my daily walks.
I haven’t traveled with it yet, so I can’t say how “packable” it is. It did some folded up in shipment and I gave it a quick steam to smooth out some wrinkles.
2. Fujilfilm X-T30 — For the most part, I’m a camera novice. I had a Canon years ago and I took it on a few trips years ago, but I’ve been wanting an upgrade. The X-T30 is a mirrorless camera with beautiful image quality that shoots 4K video. I’m still learning and playing around with it, but I’m excited I made the investment. Thinking of maybe starting a Youtube channel?
3. Riki Cutie Mirror — This has replaced all of my other handheld mirrors that I use for makeup application. The quality is stunning and gives such a clean image. Because it’s meant to be a travel mirror, it’s super lightweight.
This is the first Riki mirror I’ve been able to try (it was gifted as part of an upcoming campaign I’m working on) and I don’t think it will be my last. It lights up with 3 LED brightness levels, has a wearable ring, and a little kickstand. It’s scratch-resistant and shatter-proof, and is about the size of my iPhone X. It’s not a necessity but it’s really nice to have, especially if you’re a makeup enthusiast and enjoy detail work.
4. Boy Smells Anjelica candle — This candle is such a treat. Notes are Sicilian lemon, bitter orange, powdery musk, Angelica seed, and abroxan. I wasn’t sure I would love the powdery notes of this when I ordered it, but I was wrong. It’s fresh, sparkling, bright, and green.
This was released in their Pride collection. It’s still available. I hope they add it to their permanent collection!
5. Appointed Co. planner — I bought this planner at the beginning of 2020. As much as I love and use my digital calendar, nothing replaces my paper planner. As a writer and researcher, I love the tactile experience of writing things down by hand, keeping track, staying connected in a tangible way. I love being able to jot things down that have no other place to go and that aren’t worth creating an iCal event over.
The appointed co planner has everything I want: primarily a weekly calendar with organized priorities, tasks, and notes. Multiple calendar views. Elegant design. Easy to navigate and personalize. I used the Moleskin weekly planner for years and I loved those too, but this is an upgrade in design and experience. They’re releasing their 2021 calendar designs soon, and I’ll definitely be purchasing one.
6. FentySkin Hydra Vizor SPF 30 — You know I love testing SPFs, so I had to order this to try it for myself. Full review coming soon. It’s a beautiful, creamy, dewy moisturizer/SPF. A chemical SPF with no cast. I happen to like a dewy finish, but some oily skins may find this too heavy. It does contain fragrance, a fresh desert melon scent. I happen to really enjoy the fragrance and it hasn’t bothered my skin. But, I know some sensitive skins cannot use this, so YMMV. The thing I might love most about this is the elegant, refillable packaging.