Thoughts on Personal Style
Beauty products that are actually exciting me again, buying luxury goods from Japan + how to transition your moisturizer for summer
There’s been so much talk over the past year about how algorithms consistently feed us the same things over and over, which have killed our personal style, made our homes beige and sterile, and even destroyed our creativity. We see this a lot in the beauty space too— and I often feel trapped by the algorithm. In order to grow, you just have to keep feeding the algo what it wants based on what is trending at the time. Oh, and make sure to post a trending song!! Sometimes I just do what I want at the detriment of my growth, and I’ve been in one of those periods lately.
I’ve shared in previous posts that I have been working on curating my own personal style over the past year and a half. It’s hard to focus on what I want my style to be without seeing what everyone else is wearing and peeping all the micro trends popping up. And let’s not forget the targeted AD’s I keep being fed. I am so drawn to creators who have their own personal style and don’t gravitate to trends. I’m just like how are you doing it out here?! When everyone is sharing the same fashion, the same micro trends. And what’s interesting is that I don’t find myself wanting to wear what they are wearing. Instead, I find myself wanting to look into my closet and style what I have.
I want to share more about this process— and in case you haven’ noticed it has clearly been a huge hyperfixation of mine lately. But I also feel like I’m in this weird place, where I love to share my favorite things with my community because it genuinely brings me joy, and I’ve also made it a piece of my job. But I also find myself wanting to gatekeep things that I really took the time to find, are unique and I know on one else will have. But then I feel like a hipster who doesn’t want their music to go mainstream. And I don’t have a million followers so none of this probably matters.
I’ll end my rambling by sharing this piece on trends that I really enjoyed. It talks about how to discern if a trend aligns with your style and the anxiety trends can provoke. Once you get to a place where trends are fun to follow and you no longer care about external validation, it is so freeing! I wish I could go back and tell my 25 year old self this.
And this quote from Totally Recommend that I found via Julia @smarterinasec made me laugh because maybe this journey I’m on doesn’t even matter.
What I’m wearing
As we’ve already established- I have this curated list of closet items saved in my phone that I am perusing for, that fill a specific gap in my wardrobe— and I am looking to fill those gaps with secondhand items, if I can. I am addicted to finding the perfect item, secondhand at an incredible price. This is a skill that takes an incredible amount of patience and delayed gratification but I so much prefer it to pulling the trigger on something just to have it, and not being totally happy with it. My husband is truly the master of this, and he’s taught me well.
For example, I’ve wanted a pair of red cat eye Celine sunglasses for a long time. I’ve probably had a search going on eBay, Poshmark and Mercari for 8+ months. I finally found the perfect pair for under $200 and I pulled the trigger. Celine sunnies retail for about $450, so I was happy with this price for being in new condition. While I have a mostly neutral wardrobe (navy, white, tan, black, grey, with some green), and I am truly a jeans and tee gal, I love using accessories, shoes and bags to make an outfit feel like me.
A few months back I also found a vintage Celine bag on eBay for $800 (retailing right now for $4150), in essentially brand new condition, with dust bag and everything. And I know quality wise, I will have this bag forever. I love buying vintage because not only is it sustainable, but the quality of the bags is so much better then than they are now, and you can get them for a fraction of the price. Designer handbag prices right now are insane.
Now, what I will absolutely not gatekeep are my best tips for finding authentic vintage designer goods on eBay. It actually kills me that I cannot find the YouTuber who originally shared this tip, because I’d love to give them credit, but they shared that the best place to buy, is from sellers in Japan. Since then, I have done a serious deep dive over the last year or so on buying bags from Japan. Japan is renowned for its super-strict laws against counterfeits, thanks to its tight regulations around copyright and the sale of fake designer goods. Sellers can be severely penalized for selling fakes. I’ve heard shopping in person for luxury designer goods there is apparently incredible because of this. However, I will not be making my way to Japan any time soon, so shopping on eBay is my next best option.
Stick to sellers with lots of items for sale, sales, reviews and 98%+ positive feedback. Review the negative feedback. Once you start see reviews about fake bags, run. Once I find a seller I love, I save that seller to my profile.
Understand the rating system, and examine the photos closely. When you select “show full description” there should be all of the details like measurements, and the rating system and explanations of any damages (cracking, water stains, hardware, etc.)
What is their return policy? If they offer returns, I am much more likely to make a purchase.
Understand customs + duties charges for your country. I’m not going to lie— this part is extremely confusing and hard to find information on online. I have been told that purchases under $800 to the US have no customs charges. When I purchased my Celine bag it was exactly $800, and I paid 4.5% or $36. Once it shipped, I got an email that I had to go in and pay customs fees in order for the package to be delivered. I paid, and it was delivered immediately. I’ve heard if you are in Canada, and spend about $800, you can expect $150-$200 additional taxes + custom fees.
Here are a few trusted Japanese sellers (I or a friend have personally used):
This is not to say, that getting a counterfeit item isn’t possible. I’ve seen a few videos on YouTube of people getting fake bags, Louis Vuitton especially. But I think if you do a bit of research, it’s easy to find reliable sellers and therefore some excellent secondhand finds.
Next week— I’ve been looking for the perfect 100% cotton white t-shirt, and have a few great affordable finds that I’ll share!
What I’m reading
Okay, I feel like I’m out of my slump, but now nothing can live up to a recent 5 star read…
I finished Annabel Monaghan’s Summer Romance (ARC, releasing on 6/4) this weekend and this book truly healed me. Which is also how I felt about her other two books, especially Nora Goes Off Script. If you haven’t read any of her books and we have similar taste, she is truly a must-read author for me. Just like with Nora Goes off Script, this book features 30+ characters navigating life during divorce and death of a parent. This story follows Ali, a newly single mom of three navigating divorce with an unsupportive partner while still reeling from the death of her mother over two years ago. This book is about regaining confidence, self-worth and finding your voice again after losing yourself in a loveless marriage. Ali meets Ethan at a dog park, and realizes he is someone from her past. Both Ethan and Ali are fully fleshed out characters with complex but relatable struggles, and you can’t help but root for them. The romance was so sweet, and they had great chemistry. It was so beautiful to see Ali realize the type of love she deserved all along. There are a lot of lovely side characters in this book that just make it even better— you really feel immersed in their world, and this cute little beach town. This was the perfect summer read and totally bingeable. I couldn’t put it down, and I won’t stop thinking about it.
I’m reading another ARC right now, The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (releasing 6/11). It’s really hard to come back from a five star read, and I’m 50% done with this, and while I’m going to finish it— I already know it’s not going to be a favorite. This one comes out June 11th. But next up, I have Ali Hazelwood’s next book and I am so excited for that one!
What are you reading right now?
Recent Beauty Buys + what’s in my Sephora cart:
I feel like there have finally been some beauty launches that I’ve been excited about for the first time in what feels like months!
I recently picked up the Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Concealer in shade 4N and I’ll film a full review for Instagram, but so far I love it. I wanted something that leaned more full coverage for covering my rosacea since it’s been in full force with the heat lately. I also picked up the new Armani Luminous Silk Cheek Tint in 62 Delicate Mauve. This shade looks like the perfect mauve that hopefully won’t pull too warm on me. Lastly, I grabbed Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder Lowlighter in Unbothered— a mauve pink gold. This looks like a more affordable Westman Atelier Super Loaded tinted highlight in peau de rose.
Right now I have two shades of the Ilia Lip Sketch Hydrating Lipstick + Lip Liner Crayon in my cart, along with the Saie Dew Bronze Soft-Focus Effortless Liquid Bronzer in Salt, a cool brown.
Changing your moisturizer with the seasons
A question I get asked every Spring and Fall, and I am happy to keep sharing the intel.
Keep in mind that how moisturizers wear and feel depends on a few different factors— your skin type, your season, but climate plays a huge role. Is where you are humid or dry? If dry you may need something more substantial, and if humid, you may need something lighter.
Moisturizers are made of humectants, emollients and occlusives. Humectants draw moisture into your skin, emollients keep your skin smooth, and occlusives seal in moisture and prevent water loss. The ratio of each of these helps to determine if a moisturizer is a gel, gel-cream, mid-weight lotion or cream, a heavy cream or a balm. The more humectants, the lighter a moisturizer will feel (gels, gel-creams). The more emollients and occlusives, the heavier a moisturizer will feel (heavy creams).
A good rule of thumb when transitioning seasons is to bump your AM and/or PM cream down.
I’ll share an example using my routine. As a reminder, I have combination skin, rosacea and acne prone skin. Using tazorac makes my skin behave slightly dry.
AM Moisturizer: In the winter, I like to use a mid-weight lotion or cream as my daytime moisturizer. In the summer I like to switch to a gel-cream for most days. On the most hot and humid days, I will reach for a gel moisturizer.
PM Moisturizer: In the winter, I am consistently using a heavier cream at night time, but I switch to a mid-weight cream at night time. If you have central air pumping cold air at night, you may want to keep with the same PM moisturizer year round.
Favorite Lightweight Moisturizers
Favorite Mid-weight Moisturizers
Another area you may want to think about adjusting is your cleanser. I like to think about changing out my “bookends” for the seasons— meaning the first steps (cleanser) and last steps (moisturizer) of my routine, but mostly keep my serums the same.
In the winter, I like to use more cream cleansers, but find myself reaching more for gel cleansers, come summer.
Okay- that’s it!! Hope you have a great rest of your week!
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I’ve been slowly trying to transition to more secondhand items over the past year and it has been difficult to know where to start or how to find good quality/brands that I like. These tips are so helpful and I appreciate the links for sellers you or a friend have used!
I have a question/idea for a future newsletter! I am easing my way back to using a retinol after a 6 year baby break! I am starting with Differin and usually doing the sandwich method with Prequel barrier lotion. Curious about how much irritation is normal, how many days in a row I should use it before a break, and how to include other acids/exfoliators in my routine. Would love your insight!!