February Unstructured
The antithesis of girl bossing, mascara for asian lashes, and poplin skirts
I highly recommend listening to the audio version of this column. It’s way more fun. It’s 9 minutes of unfiltered chaos, all delivered in one take.
And just like that, we’ve reached the last day of the shortest month of the year—which, ironically, followed what felt like the longest month of the year. Hopefully, we’re on the other side of dark, gloomy days, and our collective seasonal depression is packing its bags.
I didn’t do much this month… except write a lot on Substack (welcome, 6k new friends!), bake muffins (not sure who that girl is, but I like her—she can stay), and go on 2.5-mile walks. Okay, maybe I did some things.
Overall, it was a good month. Lots of social catch-ups, lots of friend time. The real highlight? Feeling like my husband and I are finally out of the dreaded “roommate stage” of marriage and back to being besties.
If there’s interest, I’d love to dive into this—how we crawled our way out, what actually helped (beyond the classic “schedule more date nights!”), and maybe even gather some wisdom from the girlies. Let me know if that’s something you’d want to read about!
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I was influenced (don’t you love when the influencer gets influenced) by a makeup artist swearing that this is the ultimate mascara for short asian lashes. After 3 weeks I can confirm, it is the *only* mascara that makes these stubs look long and never clumps! It’s so affordable too! (be warned, it’s hard to get off, use the blue eye makeup remover!)
This month as a culmination of anniversaries (19 years together, Valentine’s Day, my daughter’s birthday — ie the anniversary of my being in labor for 40 hours, etc) my husband encouraged me to choose my first VCA piece. I’ve had my eye on a carnelian necklace or onyx pair of earrings for a few months now and almost pulled the trigger in Istanbul in January, but ultimately did it here. I’m obsessed with these and wear them almost daily.
If there’s a little in your life who loves Paw Patrol, you have to get them this super cute coloring placemat with the dry erase markers included. It’s less than $20 and has given me 20+ minutes of a quiet activity, which in my home is better than giving a parent a bar of gold.
I love exploring different makeup trends and lately i’m (back) on the “no makeup” makeup trend. I’ve found that the most natural blush is actually a shade of red and this drugstore blush is *so good*
I finally unpacked from all of my January travel this month, and that meant replacing all of my travel makeup back to its place of origin. Here are my top products that I always travel with (including hair, body, and skincare!) You’d be surprised, it’s not a lot, especially with my line of work.
I am absolutely obsessed with the CT Pillowtalk that’s famously gorgeous on everyone and I’m not even a pink lip girlie (except maybe I am now!?) I just ordered 4 drugstore “dupes” to see if I can get my hands on anything else that looks similar for daily wear and to save the “real thing” for the high holidays.
I bit the bullet and bought my first Pura and now I’m buying a second for my entryway. I can’t tell you how great it is to have an amazing scent the minute you open the door to your home. My husband chose the scent (??) and at first I was like what in the Margaritaville is this, but this Tommy Bahama smells SO good, and better than the 6 others I bought. Don’t tell him I said that.
Restocking my favorite stain remover. Seriously, I went though about 8 that all promised magic and failed at the first sight of strawberries. Now this is the only one I swear by and tell all of my friends about.
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What I’m Reading
Guys, I’m reading substack all the time. Kidding, kinda. I’m still working my way through Funny Story and I’m as surprised as you are that my library keeps extending my loan. I think they know I have good intentions.
What I’m Rewatching
So I paused on Younger, because I’m *actually* watching a NEW show guys! Whoa, I know. Sahir and I are finally getting around to watching Ted Lasso (don’t yell at me) — no we’ve never seen it. Yes, it’s good so far. I’m only 2 episodes in.
Also, we’re watching a documentary on the USA Men’s Basketball team at the Olympics on Netflix. Coming from someone who isn’t really into sports, Sah and I have come to really enjoy the Netflix Sports documentaries. They are seriously very well done. He likes to watch them because it’s more information about what he already knows, and I like to watch them because I have no idea how the plot plays out and it’s exciting for me. So far, we’ve watched: The Last Dance, Beckham, Hustle (not a documentary, but still good), and we’re onto Court of Gold.
What I’m Talking About
I’m so into a white poplin skirt. It’s the perfect winter to spring piece that’s easy enough for a “non-fashion” girlie to style. I found two great options: this one comes in various lengths and this one is a little fancier and perfect if you’re a bit taller.
What I’m Wearing
What goes perfectly with a white circle skirt? White sneakers of course. If you missed my post on the perfect white sneakers you can catch it here. The squad of over 200k+ came through with best recommendations for white sneakers that go with everything. Here’s the one that came out on top.
Goal for March
My goal for March is to look into adding video to this newsletter. I’ve been toying with the idea of a video version of a while, and I think I’m finally ready to pull the trigger. Do you watch people yap on YouTube? I’m so curious if a version where I share the newsletter would be interesting? Feel free to reply to this email with thoughts!
I’ve talked about my in shower moisturizer combo for lazy girls and this from was a huge part of it. Needless to say, I used every last drop.
Chemical exfoliation is great, but nothing slugs the dead skin off like a sugar scrub. Sure, you could make your own but this one is so good and literally *no* effort.
Drumroll…. time for our monthly care package winners!
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This month our winners are getting to share brand new PR goodies from brands that I love including NARS, First Aid Beauty, Laura Mercier, elf, covergirl, and more!
The winners of our 2x Care Package giveaway (all paid subscribers are automatically entered): antaramishra05 and alexandra.tennant
Please reply to this email & share about your hair, skin, and makeup preferences and I’ll add items that are custom to you in the box!
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Puracy stain remover is amazing, isn’t it?! Back when Jessica Alba first started Honest, her stain remover was my holy grail. The formula changed though, and I found Puracy and never looked back. Is it weird to be so excited about stain fighting?! 👊🏻
Hope you keep enjoying Ted Lasso, one of my faves!