The Weekly, 08.09.21

Ten days in Italy and I am a new human! Chris and I returned last week from almost two weeks of travel around Italy, and it was the trip of a lifetime, to say the absolute least. We flew into Rome, where we explored in the insane heat for a few days, with a favorite being our dinner overlooking the city at sunset with a bowl of black truffle carbonara. From there, we headed to Florence, where we ate steaks bigger than our heads, toured more churches than I saw in ten years of Catholic school, and had the most gorgeous view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge from our hotel balcony. We travelled deeper into Tuscany, spending a few days popping around villages, touring a winery, and ending our last few days poolside overlooking the vineyards and olive trees in Chianti. And then finally, back to Rome for COVID testing and our flights back home – the longest flight of my life with a migraine from the travel anxiety, but all in all, a total dream trip.

Now it’s back to reality (somewhat) with a few weeks left of vacation and a week of family time ahead. After ten days living out of a suitcase and moving around almost constantly, I have some real honorable mentions and favorites for this week’s post that I am excited to share with all of you. I love putting together these posts, not only because I love to share what I am using and loving in my own routines, but because I get a chance to appreciate the things I have instead of always buying something new. I came home from Italy to clean out my entire closet (ambitious), and my mind is already starting to think about going back to school and cooler temperatures (thanks a lot, social media-Nordstrom sale extravaganza), so I have a few items that I just ordered to share with you, too!

Shall we jump in?

01 Ⅰ If you missed it on my stories earlier in the week, I loved nothing more than getting to lay around in big fluffy robes at the hotels we stayed in on our trip. I have always liked a bathrobe to get ready in, and so I was inspired to really make an upgrade and get myself a quality bathrobe. I saw this gorgeous waffle linen bathrobe from my favorite bedding brand, Parachute, on Olivia Muenter’s favorite things a few weeks ago. Since she is a similar size as me, and I always have a hard time finding robes that fit around my wider hips, I decided to take the plunge. I would say you can size down in this one – I grabbed a large and wish I had gotten a medium, but not enough to take the time to exchange. This is a great all-year round robe, as the material is linen, yet has a thickness to it because of the waffling. Very luxe – I went with their off-white flax color, and it’s just as dreamy in person.

02 Ⅰ Elemis has always been and will continue to be a tried and true skincare brand for me – their cleansing balm is such a key product in my skincare routine, and it’s product where I can tell the difference in my skin’s texture and breakouts when I don’t use it. I just reordered a big tub of it, as well as their AHA cleansing balm that I have never tried before (will share more if I like as much as the regular one). But then I saw this set with some of my all-time favorite products from Elemis is on sale! I absolutely love their Dynamic Resurfacing pads – major, instant glow! And the Marine Collagen cream is a great daily moisturizer for multiple skin types. It also includes their Superfood facial oil, and you know how I feel about a facial oil. This is a great set if you want to try the brand, are looking to invest in a skincare routine made simple, or are just looking to stock up with some savings.

03 Ⅰ Despite trying to prepare, my hot tools for hair burnt out on European outlets on day one of my trip. Luckily, I planned a step further, and brought a universal diffuser with me and the newest product in my curly hair rotation. I am absolutely loving this in-shower styling product from Curlsmith, a brand that is new to me. You use this jelly on soaking wet hair in the shower, and then soak up the water from your hair. Diffuse and voilà – beautiful natural curls that are not crunchy. This is a super affordable product, and great for my 3A curls. You can also take a curl quiz on their website and they will help you find the best products for your curls, making it super simple.

04 Ⅰ I was so nervous that when I travelled, my skin was going to breakout even worse than it had been the few weeks before we left. I had ordered this mask from Biologique before we travelled, and am so glad that I brought a little travel container of it with me. Built to help rebalance your skin, I used it the day after we flew and right when I got home from our trip, and I didn’t have a single breakout in our ten days. I swear this mask made a difference! A fair warning – it’s pricier, and it also looks and smells like actual shit (partners or roommates should be warned), but it really does work. Hot tip I heard – mix in a little bit of baking soda to really get the grime up from under the skin’s surface.

05 Ⅰ File under my all-time favorite products, Summer Fridays just re-released their lip butter in new (and seemingly improved) packaging, with a new flavor (do we call lip balms flavors?), too. I had to pick up this new lip butter in the vanilla beige and I am very excited for it to come in. I use this all the time – nothing helps my dry lips like this stuff, and I love that it has some shine that looks like a super natural lip gloss. It doesn’t hurt that it also smells like heaven. It’s the number one thing I don’t travel without.

06 Ⅰ I have only fallen deeper in love with Nécessaire products since I started using them to see if they were worth the hype a few months ago. Now, they are 100% a staple in my routine that I cannot live without, and their body lotion/serum is the duo that I am re-ordering the most, especially for summer. I see such a difference in ingrown hairs, irritation from chafing, and just general hydration in my skin when I use these products, and love that they are unscented so I can use them even with my headaches. Now I see that they have this travel set at Sephora, and if you have been itching to try the brand but aren’t sure you’re ready to justify the higher end price tag, grab yourself this $40 set that lets you try four of their best products including the lotion and body serum, as well as their exfoliator and spa-worthy body wash – RUN! This is a pretty amazing deal.

07 Ⅰ I finally ordered an item that has been on my wardrobe wishlist for a few months – a white linen button-down. I decided cleaning out my closet was the thing that I needed to do upon unpacking from Italy, and a goal I have for this year is to shop less fast fashion, and invest in more pieces that I will keep and use for a long time, similar to capsule pieces that I can wear in multiple ways. I was having a hard time finding something left in stock in my size that would be longer, but not oversized and something I was swimming in. I grabbed this option in a petite from Gap, and the fit is perfection. Tucked into some jean shorts, tied with a skirt or over a dress, or worn open with a pair of bike shorts, I think this is such a versatile piece I will be wearing multiple ways, especially in transition temperatures. I’m not sure white is left in stock, but I also love this light blue option, which I think is equally as versatile.

08 Ⅰ This is the moment you have been waiting for – a comfortable strapless bra! I promise. If you aren’t following the undergarment queen, Caralyn Mirand, you must. She’s a model, and advocate for wearing properly fitting bras, and she shared this strapless bra as the best of. So I had to buy! While I love my Skims bandeau, I was looking for something with a little bit more support, and so I decided to try this one from Wacoal that she swears by because of the circular cup shape that really keeps the girls locked and loaded. Another key? Make sure you’re fitted and wearing the correct bra size, because so many people are not. I just got refitted, and needed to go up in band size, and it’s made a world of a difference, even in the cups. The results? This bra is it. Perfect coverage, no digging, and no spilling. I 100% recommend after wearing it over and over on my trip for hours at a time – totally unheard of.

09 Ⅰ A real shock to me, I barely did any reading on my travels! Normally I plow through books, but Chris had us jam-packed with activity all day almost every day in Italy, so I barely got in any reading time. I know, I know – woe is me. The one and only book I read? From the same author as recent favorite, Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has seemingly made a resurgence on reading lists lately, so I decided to give it a shot, and I am glad I did. The story was unexpected, filled with some beautiful plot twists and the same great writing style I appreciated it her other books. Evelyn Hugo is a film-star that survived seven husbands, and her story comes with buried secrets. At the end of her career, years after her last release and facing the loss of her adult daughter, Evelyn decides to give exclusive access to her biography to a young writer with no real reason. It’s a page turner, and in the end, a really beautiful story of what we give up for fame, money and success.

10 Ⅰ When I am feeling overstimulated or stressed, I love to watch makeup tutorials online. And one of my favorites is SJ from @alwaysplayingwithmakeup, who recently influenced me to order this makeup brush from Ilia when I reordered my favorite mascara. I love a dense complexion brush, and this one looks like it’s going to be perfect for foundation, blush/highlighter, or even bronzer/contouring. I rarely buy new makeup brushes, but this one looked right up my alley – a brush that is multi-purpose is a brush for me.

11 Ⅰ While yesterday was the last day of the Nordstrom sale, I only grabbed myself one thing this year – these mules from lust-worthy brand, Jenni Kayne. Similar to trying to invest in more quality, multi-purpose pieces for my wardrobe, I am trying to do the same for shoes, because I end up donating so many pairs I don’t wear after only a few uses. I live for a mule, especially for work, and these have been on my wishlist for about a year. So I decided they would be worth the sale price, and grabbed them in this beautiful espresso suede. Perfect for Fall, I know I am going to get a lot of use out of these when we return to work.

12 Ⅰ And now that I am slowly creeping back into the mindset of Fall shopping, and realizing that many of my pants still don’t fit from pre-pandemic days, I decided I want to hop on this trouser pants trend (looks very cute paired with sandals or sneakers), and order these linen pants from one of the brands I am loving more and more from Nordstrom, Open Edit. I think these will be adorable paired with a white tee or tank for warmer temperatures, or a front-tucked chunkier sweater once it cools down. I don’t want my mind to be in back-to-school shopping, but with a turn into August, I just can’t help preparing. Shopping makes it a little easier to swallow, or at least that’s what I tell myself. I also ordered some new jeans, but I will share on those if they are any good next time…

That’s all she wrote for this week – make sure to hit subscribe to get these Weekly drops to your email. I’m still fighting some jet lag, a week later, but am ready for a week of relaxation on the beach. I have a few new books lined up, and look forward to cooking some meals at home and getting my body back to equilibrium. Until next time!

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