Olivia and I decided that it would be a good idea to do a roundup of some of our favorite items over the past couple of months, so here we go!
One of our favorite and probably most used item as of late is the Nespresso - Vertuo Coffee Maker and Espresso Machine with Aeroccino Milk Frother by Breville. The machine is a bit pricey, but if you compare it to going to Starbucks a few times a week, it definitely pays for itself pretty quickly. We bought this in early April and have used it literally every day since. It’s great because it can do regular coffee and espresso. In terms of coffee, my favorite Nespresso pod would be the vanilla custard pie. It has a really light vanilla flavor, which I like. For espresso, the drink that we have been loving is an iced latte made with homemade vanilla simple syrup (recipe here). All we did was make the simple syrup the night before, then let it cool down before refrigerating. The next morning, we used the double espresso chiaro, and chilled it in the fridge for about an hour. To make the latte, we used one cup of 1% Lactaid milk, two tablespoons of half and half, one tablespoon of the vanilla simple syrup, and the double shot of espresso. We used a martini shaker to mix everything up, and poured over ice. To store the pods, we bought this cute drawer, and just put the actual machine on top of it.
In terms of beauty gadgets/products, our first favorite is a gel nail system. With everything being closed, most people are starting to do their own nails at home, and we jumped on the bandwagon too. We got the Gellen top and base coat as well as their set of six polishes. The actual set of colors we got is sold out now, but they have a lot of really pretty sets! Also, the Terresa UV light makes doing your own gel nails super easy, and the results are pretty comparable to going to a salon! The polish lasted a full week and a half before it started to chip, which is pretty good considering how much hand washing we’re all doing these days.
Another beauty gadget we’ve been loving is this jade roller and gua sha stone. The roller definitely helps to reduce any swelling in your face, and is supposed to reduce wrinkles and increase elasticity over time. This definitely comes in handy during allergy season when your face gets a little puffy, and it's also perfect if you didn't get enough sleep the night before. Also, if you put it in the fridge before you use it, it feels amazing! Our last beauty gadget favorite is a hair tool that I don't know how we've lived without for this long. If you haven't already tried the Revlon Hair Dryer and Volumizer, we highly recommend it. It's easy to use and gives your hair not only more volume than a regular blow dryer, but also makes your hair so shiny!
We also shopped the Tarte and Sephora sales from a few weeks ago and wanted to share some of our recent beauty favorites. We’re a little late to the game with the Tarte Shape Tape concealer craze, but after trying it, we can totally see what all the hype is about. It has probably the best coverage of any concealer we have tried, but it still blends really easily. Another product that I recently tried is the IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+. I was a little hesitant to try it because I wasn't sure what the coverage would be like. Since it's a CC cream it obviously won't have as much coverage as a foundation, but I was pleasantly surprised with the coverage! Plus, it blended so easily, and feels so light on the skin.
For skincare, Olivia bought the Inkey List Salicylic Acid Cleanser as well as their Blemish + Blackhead Serum. She's loving them so far, and is going to be talking about them more in her daily skin care routine post, coming soon! For hair, the Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3 is a holy grail product. All you have to do is leave the hair mask on after you get your hair wet in the shower, leave it on for ten minutes, then shampoo and condition. Another favorite is a sample that I got from Sephora and WOW I have never smelled something so amazing. The Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream not only has the best smell, but it feels so good on your skin. I hate creams that are greasy and heavy, but this one absorbs super quickly, and doesn't leave any residue. The product also claims to have a smoothing and tightening effect on the skin. I only have the sample size so I can't speak to that aspect yet, but I'm definitely going to be getting the full size! Sephora offers it in a mini size for about half the price of the full size, so that's a great option if you just want to try it first.
With shoe favorites, another item we’re really late to the game on is the Tory Burch Miller sandals. We each recently got a pair, and are in love with them. Olivia got them in the patent leather sand, and I got the vintage vachetta leather. They are pricey, but after doing a lot of research on them, they definitely seem like they hold up for a few years. We also both recently bought a pair of Adidas Swift Run sneakers, and have been loving them! They’re pretty reasonably priced and are super comfortable, but still really cute. The only drawback of them is that they’re a little hard to pull on because the back of the shoe goes up pretty high and is a little stiff, but that’s the only downfall of them. Like most Adidas shoes, they run on the larger size, so we would recommend ordering a half size down. With that in mind, check them out in the “big kid” sizes if you have smaller feet. Olivia ordered hers in a big kid 4.5 and was able to get them for about $30.
In terms of clothing, Olivia recently got these 90 Degree by Reflex leggings and has been loving them. Even though they're pure white, they are squat proof which is always a necessity for leggings. Another pair of leggings we want to mention are what we consider to be dupe for the Lulu Align leggings, but are a fraction of the price. The only drawback about this pair is that the waist isn't seamless like Aligns, so it does pinch a bit more, but for high quality and a reasonable price, we're okay with that! Okay, so moving on to something aside from leggings... she also recently bought a pair boyfriend jeans from American Eagle, which are really affordable and perfect for the summer. The exact style she bought has since sold out, but these are a really close match! So, the final clothing favorite isn't necessarily considered clothing, but while working from home, we'll consider it clothes. I bought this pair of pajamas about a month ago and am obsessed! They're really soft and lightweight and I usually end up lounging in them even after waking up. Definitely check them out if you're looking for a cute set for spring/summer.
Other miscellaneous finds include these blue light blocking glasses, which have definitely come in handy when working from home. They come in three colors and are super cute and affordable. Also, this pill shaver is a game changer. It's perfect for sweaters that accumulate fuzz and also work really well on leggings that tend to pill in the inner thigh area. From someone who ruined a pair of Aligns with a razor last year trying to remove the pills, this is a handy tool to have. Another fave is this product that helps with eyebrow and lash growth. We've both been using it for a little over a month now, and although subtle, we think it definitely is helping with growth and we're excited to see the results after using it consistently for a longer period of time! Okay, so our next random favorite is a little weird... but if your feet tend to get sweaty in the spring/summer, we definitely recommend this product. All you have to do is spritz some on your feet in the morning before putting on your shoes, and it helps prevent odor and kills bacteria. You can also use it on shoes, yoga mats, and even your gym bag! To wrap up the miscellaneous section, we wanted to include this Lush body wash. It has such a nice lavender scent, so it's perfect for right before bed. A little goes a long way so it will definitely last even if you buy the smaller bottle!
Let us know if you've tried any of these products and what you think of them or tell us what you've been loving lately!