Blog

Moving from conspicuous to conscious consumption and doing reviews along the way.  Find plenty of unsponsored reviews of Quince, Everlane, Grana, and Cuyana on the site!  I'm working towards a minimal waste lifestyle, and oh yea I love bags >.<

Unsponsored Cocokind Review

I’m not sure where I first heard of Cocokind but it’s probably Instagram since I feel like they’ve been marketing on social media pretty heavily. So I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about. Here’s what I thought about some of their products:

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Augustinus Bader Review: The Eye Cream and The Eyebrow and Lash Enhancing Serum

I have been a long time fan of the Augustinus Bader Rich cream and have tried a bunch of items from the brand because of that (see my all my Augustinus Bader reviews here). And even though their prices are exorbitant I’m always intrigued by their new products and want to give them a try. The Eye Cream and The Eyebrow and Lash Enhancing Serum were the next on my must-try list, so what did I think of them?

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Vegamour Review

As some of you guys know I’ve been dealing with some substantial hair loss in the last several years. So I was very excited when Vegamour reached out and asked if I wanted to try a couple of their products for review. All items reviewed here have been generously gifted by the brand but of course all opinions here are my own and I was not paid for this review.

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Unsponsored Merit Beauty Review: The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick, Brush No. 1, and Bronze Balm

At the end of every year I find myself restocking on my favorite Merit mascara and sometimes lip product (both their Signature Lip and Shade Slick) during their end of year sale (my first review of Merit here). Well after last year’s Merit Beauty review some people had mentioned trying out their Complexion stick. Fast forward a year and I decided to give it a try too along with their recommended brush and the Bronze Balm.

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Viori Shampoo and Conditioner Bar Review

As I noted above, I was paid a small amount to write this review of Viori Shampoo and Conditioner bars. I so very rarely get paid to do this work so I want to say a special thank you to Chase and the folks at Viori who recognize my efforts and paid me for my time. That being said, I will try to be as unbiased as possible when writing this review. But lucky for me, these shampoo and conditioner bars are pretty good!

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Kinfield Review

Since I’m always on the search for a good reef-safe sunscreen (because that’s important!), when the nice folks at kinfield asked if I wanted try out some of their products for review, I jumped on the chance to try their products.

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Nutrafol Review: Women's Balance

I’ve mentioned it in the past here on the blog but I am unfortunately suffering from thinning hair. And this isn’t just some postpartum hair loss since I had my baby four years ago 😆. No, I’m pretty sure this is a genetic predicament considering my grandmother on my father’s side, my father, and my mother all had/have thinning hair. I try not to be too self-conscious about it because this is just my lot in life and how I was made (or rather how my scalp was made). But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to fight the good fight of the receding hair line.

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I'm Not Fearing Forty

As I celebrated my 40th birthday yesterday and as my friends and I contemplated turning forty this year, I find myself not fearing this milestone. Rather I look forward to what the next decade will bring. I guess because I’ve already reached menopause (thanks to my hysterectomy several years ago) I’m not so afraid of aging. I’m already confronted daily with white hair, more wrinkles, and thinning hair. There’s nothing to fear about aging, and I prefer to just deal with it as it comes.

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Augustinus Bader Review: The Face Oil

Last month I said that the Augustinus Bader Soothing Cream was one of my worst purchases of 2022, but I have to say the Augustinus Bader Face Oil was one of my best. I never thought I would be a face oil kind of gal because I’ve grown up with oily skin and acne. I’ve been trying to remove oil from my face all my life. But now that I’m close to 40 (like a month away), I find that the AB Face oil is just what I need for dry California winters.

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Merit Beauty Review: Clean Lash Mascara, Signature Lip Lipstick, and Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil

I can’t believe I haven’t done a Merit Beauty Review considering I’ve been gifted a couple of their items, and loved it so much that I purchased a couple more myself. I guess since Merit’s PR people are so chill (they only asked for one Instagram post and Sephora review) I never thought to put time into writing a blog post. Buuuuut since their stuff is so good that I’m repurchasing my favorite items I figured I might as well write this review.

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Augustinus Bader Review: The Ultimate Soothing Cream

I got the Augustinus Bader Ultimate Soothing Cream back when I was still getting credit from the AB website (but sadly that is not the case anymore), or else I wouldn’t normally splash out on a $265 jar of cream just to try it. But lucky for you guys I nabbed this right before they shut off my credit tap from referrals so I can give you my honest opinion of the cream.

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Top 10 Favorite Things I've Blogged About, 2021 Edition

So I know I already do a “Most Worn” list at the end of each year, but I also like doing my “top 10 favorite things I’ve blogged about (ever)” list at the end of each year since I blog about a lot of things other than clothes. Also this is a more subjective list since it’s my personal favorites. So yes there’s some overlap (because obviously if an item of clothing is a favorite, it’ll get worn a lot), but here are some of my other favorite items I’ve blogged about. And for reference, here are my top 10 favorite things I’ve blogged about in 2020, 2019, and 2018 (also a lot of overlap between the lists over the years).

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Nuori Skincare Review {Updated November 2022}

As I mentioned in a past post, I rarely accept gifts from skincare or makeup brands because my skin is so finicky. I’ve had decades of acne (and sadly still have highly cloggable pores, though I wouldn’t say I have acne now in my late 30’s). But I also have highly sensitive skin that easily turns red or gets a rash. So I tend to stick with the same skin regimen until a product is discontinued and I have to find a replacement. I recently wrote this post about my current skincare and makeup routine. Anyway I decided to try out Nuori after seeing it recommended by one of my favorite Instagram people, Therese.

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My Current Skincare and Makeup Routine

I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile so I thought I would do a little round-up of all my favorite products for those of you interested. Now I’m no beauty guru and my skin is super finicky (I’ve talked about my acne and sensitivity issues in the past). And of course everyone’s skin is different so please take my opinions with a grain of salt!

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