Girly Winter Favs

Some of the things I've been using lately have been life-changing or mind-blowing.  OK, that sounds a bit dramatic, but it's almost not really an exaggeration!  Lemme explain...

First and foremost, is the Eve Lom cleansing balm with muslin cloth product.  I've heard about cleansing balms for quite some time now from Fleur, a British youtuber/blogger since the beginning of 2013 (here are her first & second blog posts on the subject).  Unfortunately, cleansing balms have yet to really take off in the states.  I finally got a sample of the eve lom one by using my points from sephora, and was immediately hooked.  The cleanser has a good consistency of a bit of grittiness, but still remaining very gentle.  It has just enough oils to get all my waterproof makeup off, and leave my skin happy.  However, the real star of the show is that simple, unassuming muslin cloth.  It gives me such a great cleanse that I no longer use my clarisonic brush, feel the need to do any clay facials or peels, and use any spot removing serum for acne scarring.  Basically, I don't need to do anything besides use this cleanser and moisturize.  It exfoliates just enough to give me clearer, smoother, and brighter skin without any crazy tools.  I'm a total convert.  Now, you could say, just use a face towel!  But, I have tried that before, and either they're too soft to do any sort of exfoliation or they're too harsh and leave me with scarring (a bad experience with a peel and a face towel).  Also, much to my chagrin, the Eve Lom cleanser costs an arm and two legs, and there aren't a whole lot of other cleansing balms available in the states at the moment.  I can't wait till it becomes more mainstream and affordable!

Available from Sephora

Secondly, and probably just as important of a life change is: I got new bras!  After the pregnancy and breastfeeding, the girls developed some new needs.  I now had different bra priorities.  I needed structure (shape) and lifting help.  Also, my aesthetic has always been to go with nude colored bras because they go with anything I'm wearing without showing through.  My postpartum/post-breastfeeding body is not the greatest right now, so I wanted some pretty bras to distract me and make me happy.  Now, a functional bra that is not only nude in color and pretty?  That sounds like a fool's errand!  Surprisingly, they do exist!  After a trip to Nordstrom, I was introduced to the Natori brand.  Its aesthetic is similar to La Perla, a brand that I've seen celebrities wear, but way more affordable. Now, don't get me wrong, they still call for double of what I normally spend on my tried and true maidenform bras, but the lace, a shaping bra that can be unlined??  Life altering and mind blown all wrapped into one.  Truly.

Natori Feathers underwire contour bra in cafe

Natori Lynx underwire in cafe/nude

Finally, podcasts.  My everyday in Houston has become all about commuting, and washing dishes at night.  So, I've finally jumped onto the podcasts bandwagon to pass my time more effectively.  I first started listening to Psychobabble only because I follow Tyler Oakley on youtube, and it's funny and all, but it can easily get old and repetitive because he mainly sticks to banter about celebrity gossip.  So, I went to the list of top podcasts, and found a bunch of NPR ones that I'm in love with.  My most favorite at the moment is definitely the Ted Radio Talks (I highly recommend the Love episode that released around Valentine's Day).  My good friend Jieae recommended some other ones to me that I'm excited to start listening to as well.

There are so many other favorites of course, but these 3 are the top, cream of the crop, elite picks in my life right now.