1. Sephora Virtual Artist: prepare to spend all of your free time playing with this online app. I have no idea how long this has been around—for all I know, it’s been on Sephora’s website for years—but I just discovered it yesterday, and it’s magical. You either upload a photo of yourself or allow the site to access your webcam to take a pic. Then the app allows you to virtually try on lipsticks from a ton of brands sold by Sephora. If you’re a lipstick geek like me, you will spend hours playing around with this. And if you know your Color IQ number (I had mine done in-store a couple years ago) you can input it and it will recommend lip colors for your skin tone. You’re welcome.
2. Exploding Kittens: a friend gave us this card game last weekend, and it is hilarious. If the graphics look familiar, it’s because the game is illustrated by the folks from The Oatmeal. The game is fairly simple: each player’s goal is to not draw an exploding kitten card (or if you do, to have a defuse card in your hand that you can play.) The drawings are so wrong and so funny—the potty humor is right up my alley. Hooray for inappropriate card games! (They also make a regular, safe-for-work version in case you have kiddos or hate gross things.)
3. Watercolor Sky: if you follow me on Instagram you’ve probably seen this pic, but I had to share it again here. My desk is right by the window of my home office in the front of our building, so I get to watch the sky change all the time. Earlier in the week the sun was getting ready to go down, and the sky looked like a beautiful pastel watercolor painting:
4. Matboard and More: we’ve had some pieces sitting around waiting to be framed for way too long because I was hesitant to spend the money on a professional frame job. But then my friend recommended this website for totally affordable frames and mats, and it is genius! I’ve now gotten three frames from them and each one has worked out quite nicely. I was nervous about getting the dimensions right, but the website walks you through taking measurements and where to input them when you’re placing your order. Below are two pieces I framed myself using the materials from Matboard and More. The price obviously depends on size and materials, but if you go with the cheapest options as I did, you won’t spend a lot. Each frame you see below only cost $37.81, and that included mat, backing board, and plexiglass! Had I gone to a framing shop each one would have cost at least twice that.
5. Yerba Prima Dry Brush: this baby is for brushing your skin before you hop in the shower. Dry brushing is believed to have a load of health benefits, including exfoliation (obviously), unclogging pores, stimulating your lymphatic system (to help remove toxins), and reducing cellulite. I bought this natural bristle dry brush (under $10) quite awhile ago and used it regularly, but got out of the habit after moving last summer. I’m starting to get back into the habit again because my skin (particularly my legs) gets so itchy and I though dry brushing might help flush out whatever toxins are causing me to itch. I haven’t been doing it regularly enough lately to see any effect, but I’m hoping it will help. Regardless, it’s an enjoyable pre-shower ritual that feels good, so why not?