And just like that, September has come and gone in quite literally, a blink of an eye! While it’s felt, to me, like the past month was slowly plodding by, it’s also felt like it’s flown by. I’m not sure how that’s happened, but it has!
And we’re into a new installment of 5 Things I Love this month of September 2019. This has quickly become one of my favourite regular segments to compile, as it’s got a far more relaxed feel about it 🙂 I hope you enjoy it too! 😀
What I Love – Body Wash
One of my favourite Jo Malone scents is Lime Basil & Mandarin, but it’s not the reason I love this body wash. It is in fact, after first experiencing the Lime Basil & Mandarin scent in a body wash, that it became one of my favourite scents!
The product I’ve enjoyed using a lot this past month in the shower, is the Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin Exfoliating Shower Gel. As the name implies, it is an exfoliating product, so I’d call it a shower scrub instead.
The shower gel comes in a large, tall tube, and squeezes out a thick gel filled with exfoliating beads. The scrub isn’t harsh on skin, although as with the face, I wouldn’t recommend daily use. It does however, make for a lovely once or twice a week treat.
The scent of Lime Basil & Mandarin is so uplifting to the senses, infusing the bathroom with its lovely scent, and lingering on your skin long after you’ve stepped out of the shower. It’s just like wearing a perfume to bed, at the end of a long day 😀
RELATED READING: Want to enjoy a luxurious new perfume scent without dropping too much money? Here’s a tip! READ HERE
It isn’t cheap (of course!) but it is a treat for your body and for your senses, and sometimes, you can’t put a pricetag on that 😉
What I Love – Not setting liquid foundation with powder
We are often told to set our liquid or cream foundation with powder, to avoid our skin looking too shiny. But I’ve found out from personal experience, that this tip, while helpful, can make my skin look more matte, and my makeup thicker and more cakey than I prefer.
These days, instead of applying some powder over my liquid or cream foundation, I just leave it be.
I find that when the base melds with the oils from my skin, my makeup can look more natural. My skin looks more like, well, skin! No natural skin looks matte and dry. I found it pointless to mattify my skin, then apply highlighter for an artificial glow.
I do have to say that this tip works for me, as I have drier skin, and I use very little base product. So, my skin does not look overly shiny nor greasy. On the upside, it also does not look dry or matte, and it does not settle into lines and pores the way it does when powder is introduced into the mix.
When I do apply a powder, I opt for either Guerlain Meteorites, or the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. Not loose or pressed powder, which is why you don’t see me mention that sort of powder anymore LOL! 😛
What I Love – Bags
It isn’t something exclusive to this past month, but I’ve found myself ditching many of my usual leather bags for something more casual and in some ways, more practical.
I’ve been mostly using cloth totes.
The bagaholic in me is screaming at how casual, and almost lazy I’ve become, but I can’t deny that cloth totes are just so practical and convenient!
I can carry my essentials, use them as a shopping tote, dump groceries in there when I forget my eco-bag and when I get home, dump it into the washing machine so I have a clean tote the next time I need it.
Even better, most of my cloth totes are free gifts LOL! 😛
However, I have to share one of my favourites, which is one I purchased – the Baggu Duck Bag. I have a striped one, as you see in the pictures here, and it is quite large.
It has short handles to serve as a handheld tote, as well as an adjustable long strap to allow you to wear it crossbody. The bag has no closure, but it is so deep that it doesn’t bother me very much.
The Baggu Duck Bag retails at about US$34 (I buy mine from Shopbop especially when a sale is on) which isn’t cheap at all. But I enjoy using mine, and I’m happy to share more thoughts on it, if anyone’s interested! 🙂
What I Love – Life
If I could describe life in September in 1 word, it would be “Supportive”.
I dithered between “Happy” and “Supportive”, because it has been both. But I ultimately realized that what I’ve appreciated the most this past month, is the support I’ve received, physically and emotionally.
I’ve had to deal with a few emergency situations in the past month, and while it’s not something I can’t otherwise handle, I’ve come to accept and appreciate that help, support and a comforting shoulder to lean on helps make the worry, stress, and days and nights, more bearable.
As trite as it sounds, people do enter your life at the most opportune and unexpected moments, and sometimes, it is to teach you lessons that you may not otherwise learn. The key is to be open and receptive, and to accept that we are not infallible or lost.
What I Love – Food
Ikea Kafferep Ginger Thins! ahhh! I’m medium-level obsessed with them LOL! 😀
I love ginger snap biscuits in general. I don’t generally eat biscuits, finding them too sweet for my tastes, but ginger adds a certain level of savouriness to a biscuit, that I particularly enjoy.
The Kafferep Ginger Thins at Ikea are absolutely delicious! They are thin and crispy, with just the right mix of savoury and sweet on the tongue. It goes very well with my bitter morning coffee (or tea if that’s your thing).
I’ve been quite careful to ration it out, so I don’t devour a huge handful at one go LOL! 😛 The temptation is strong, especially because they are so thin and crispy…. and delicious! 😀
What are 5 things you love in this past month?
I like taking a little time at the end of each month to reflect on the one gone by. There are lots that we can be thankful or appreciative for, and bright spots in each month. You know mine, what are yours? 🙂
Paris B
Your new instalment is also becoming a fave read for me. Love the little snippets of life that you are showing us here and the teasers (oh, the teasers!) of your fave products and all….
Sorry you had to deal with emergency the past month. Gotta say thank you for faithfully put up posts for us to read even though it’s been a difficult month. I do hope things are better for you now.
Hi Sue, abominably late, but thank you for letting me know that you enjoy this segment! It’s fun for me to write, and I love how I can just be natural about it, in the way blogging used to be 😀 I hope you’re staying safe during this difficult time! And I can’t believe I’m only replying you now, when I’m at Vol. 7 already LOL!
Hi Paris..
I just bough ukulele, and these past few days I love study and playing Baby shark song with this. I hope I can improve my skill. 😛
That’s SO cool Christina! I wish you luck and perseverance in your study 😀 I wish I could play an instrument. But I have NO talent in this area, but I’m happy to appreciate it instead 🙂
You bought a ukelele! HAHA! That’s so cool Christina!
I have to re-discover those ginger snaps from Ikea! I love them too <3
I hope you don't mind if I do a similar instalment on my blog Paris – I love reading yours, so it has definitely inspired me!
Ikea ginger snaps are really good! I also like the ones from Marks & Spencer 😀 And please go ahead and nick this segment! It’s a nice little break from all the usual blog posts, that much I can assure you 😀
Oh great, thank you Paris! I’d like to keep lifting my blogging game, but it’s hard to know how sometimes.