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Above: getting an overdue manicure yesterday with my new mini wallet from Marni (50% off). I am a stalwart when it comes to nail colors: either bright red (OPI Big Apple Red) or white-pink (I like Essie’s Fiji and OPI’s Let’s Be Friends and Lisbon Wants Moor). I can’t explain the instant effect this manicure had on me, but it felt sort of like getting a leg up on my week? (An energy multiplier, maybe?) How to explain that feeling to a man?! Nails are my one weekly beauty indulgence; I’m more sporadic on hair, facials, eyebrows, etc, but I almost always get my nails done once a week. I think a big part of it is that I always read while I get my nails done. It feels like the most luxurious hour long retreat — a pause for just me — and I feel so pulled-together when I leave.
Anyhow — this, and a few other items, on my radar this week —
VERONICA BEARD VEST // CORPUS BODY CREAM // STAUD SKIRT // OSSA PHONE WRISTLET // PRESTON LANE COUNTERTOP SPRAY // CHANEL FLATS // STAUD ELLISON DRESS // YSE EXFOLIATING PADS (20% OFF WITH JEN20) // MARNI MINI WALLET (50% OFF)
01. I cannot resist this pink linen vest. I am obsessed with this look paired with white jeans!
02. I love a scented body lotion, and this one — bergamot, pink lemon, orange blossom — is on its way to me. My other favorite (a major splurge) is Byredo’s Blanche. It’s such a great clean base layer scent — plays well with other perfumes.
03. Full maxi skirts are having a moment. You know how much I love my Doen (look for less here and here); this striped Staud turned my head, too.
04. The number one question I field from my Instagram account — where is your phone sling from?! It is from the brand Ossa and highly impractical (glass beads!). It makes Landon angry – ha. But it’s so cute! I take it on and off depending on what the day has in store for me. I’m not, obviously, jogging with it attached. This one is similar (and from the same brand) as mine — so cute for spring.
05. I have now tried two of the Preston Lane all purpose cleaner sprays. They are effective and smell so, so good — the most luxe cleaner. I know this is a bit nutty but I like to use it to clean down the counters just before bed. Feels like such a luxe reset for the next morning. I like both the Mayfair and Doheny Drive scents, but find myself reaching more often for the Mayfair because the lime gives a really fresh smell to the kitchen.
06. I’ve noticed this micro-trend of sneaker/mary-jane hybrids. This is the Chanel take on the trend. Loeffler Randall has a great option, too, for much less, and it has apparently sold out once already!
07. Staud knows how to cut a dress that flatters. I’d feel so sexy and chic in this little number in the perfect green hue! I’d style with other pastels.
08. I just ran out of my beloved Dr. Dennis Gross facial pads (which are currently 25% off — ordered a new set and a back up)! While waiting for the new order to arrive, I’ve been using these YSE ones. They’re really, really good too. I like the textured side of the pad for scrubbing off excess random little bits of makeup and the like. (And, they gave us a code — JEN20 for 20% off.)
09. I just received this gorgeous mini-wallet from Marni. She’s perfect. I usually carry just a card case and the little Goyard pouch for cash / receipts / etc, but this achieves a similar effect (super compact and chic) in one. It’s 50% off!
P.S. What are your grooming rituals? (Comments are fascinating.)
P.P.S. Reteaching a thing its loveliness.
P.P.P.S. A humble thing.
My signature nail color is Safety Pin (a silver/gold/rose gold neutral metallic gel) but I love a deep taupe in winter and Yves Klein blue in the summer. In my little kid era though, I’m fine with nails taking a backseat! And I always match fingers and toes.
I got my hair cut yesterday and I’m going to have to go every 2 months to maintain this cut, and I’m really looking forward to it. Previously I got my hair cut once or twice a year, if that, and I’ve never gotten more compliments on my hair than in the last two months. I recently read A Little Less Broken by Marian Schembari and I’m realizing how much of my difficulty with certain grooming rituals is sensory. I love my hairstylist here and had such a great time because she’s so gentle, I feel like in the past I’ve been gritting my teeth through rough shampooing or a blow dry that yanked my head. I actually was thinking of booking weekly blowouts with her too and trying to maintain from there like our grandmothers might have.
This haircut was a keystone for some more self care: I bought new bras from aubade (literally haven’t worn a real underwire bra since 2019 with various pregnancies), a new Gucci lipstick, that bronzer you recommended and a Sisley brush to go with it, and I’ve been doing my brows daily with the Fenty pencil. I’m like a new woman! Leaning into the rituals that give me joy. Interestingly, even for cis folks, performing their gender « correctly » (ie in a way that aligns with their self image and culture) can give a kind of gender euphoria and there’s always a layer of that with makeup and nails for me personally; I wonder if there’d be something similar for the husbands with getting their beard lined up or a fresh haircut? Like yes it’s a sensory grooming pleasure but with a layer of « manly »? Or the joy Jennifer Garner had in 13 going on 30, her joy at getting to perform « grown up lady » in a way that matched her vision.
This is so gorgeous and so thoughtful of you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I do wonder if some of the pleasure of my nail routine (and occasional blowouts) is similar — like slipping into a version of myself that aligns with what I think I want to look like? A lot of food for thought there.
I’m so delighted you found these little ways to take care of yourself!! I’m inspired, honestly. I must have had a similar bug this week because I got my hair done, my nails done, and my eyebrows done all within 24 hours…this, on the heels of a spa getaway and a renewed commitment to exercising, LED mask, and meditation each morning (or most mornings). It’s felt so nourishing…
Onward!