Best of January 2020
January was a whirlwind and pretty much the fastest January I’ve ever experienced in my adult life. I came back from vacation and delved headfirst into work and just feel like everything has been going at the most rapid pace. In doing this month’s list I noticed that most of them focused on me getting my life back on track.
Messiah - This Netflix Series blew my mind. It follows the story of a religious figure; Al Masih (Arabic for Messiah) who seemingly appears out of nowhere and is able to amass a following starting in Syria and then ignite interest all across the world. The series captures a lot of modern issues - ISIS, Israel/Palestine conflict, the United States' role in world issues and much more. It’s a great watch, with a solid cast and really makes you wonder about your own belief system, i.e. - if someone was to appear tomorrow claiming to be the Messiah - what would you do?
Downy Unstopables - You know you’ve gone full adult when laundry related products get you excited. I’ve seen the ads for these and was always intrigued but never purchased, until now. These are basically fragrance beads that you put in the washing machine along with your clothes and laundry detergent, where during the wash cycle they release fragrance to keep your clothes smelling fresh. I cannot sing enough praises about this, your whole house smells amazing when these are in the machine. Your clothes smell nice and clean, and I’ve found that the scent lasts pretty long, Downy claims it can last for up 12 weeks. I’ve found it to be quite a great addition to my laundry process.
Blue Sky Planners - Continuing in the same vein of being a responsible adult, I finally got myself planners. I don’t know what took me so long but I am finally here . The Cupcakes x Cashmere Blue Sky collab came just at the right time so I picked up 2 of these and have been using them diligently. I keep the small one in my handbag for more personal day to day and the bigger one I use mostly at work. Between my notebook I mentioned in November’s favorites and these, I can say that I really am feeling more on top of things. You can find a range of these planners here.
iPhone 11 - It was finally time for a phone upgrade, my current phone was on her last leg of life, and about ready to quit. The iPhone 11 has really lived up to its expectations - between the insane camera quality (especially when taking photos at night) and the excellent battery life (I recently went 2 days without charging my phone - I was SHOOK!), this upgrade was truly worth it.
Tony Moly Sheet Mask - I had these masks a couple months now in my stash and almost forgot about them until recently. I randomly remembered them when I was searching for something to help with moisture (the a/c at my job has been super cold lately which in turn results in drier skin) and I was blown away. I left it on for about half hour and then rubbed the remaining serum in and my skin was so moisturized and glowing! Korean beauty products are known for its focus on glowing skin and this surely did that. So far I’ve used the avocado mask and the honey mask, both of which I’ve equally loved so I can’t wait to try more. They’re very reasonably priced and Amazon has a 10 pack assorted collection here.
Hair, Skin and Nails Gummies -I’ve been taking these on and off for a while now and over the past 2 months really committed to taking them daily (along with my regular vitamin lineup). These are a welcome departure from my regular vitamins as it feels like I’m having a treat - they’re sweet but not overly processed tasting and with a low sugar content. For those who don’t like the chalky taste of regular supplements, this is a good choice. Nature’s Bounty also has a women’s multivitamin gummies option which you may like as well. Locally, you can get these at GNC or Starlite Pharmacy. There's always Amazon if you have trouble finding them in store.
Olly Restful Sleep Gummies - I told you guys that this month was heavily focused on getting my life back on track, lol. As I mentioned, I’ve been super busy over the past few months and sometimes that messes up my sleeping pattern. I decided to give these a go after seeing quite a few Olly promotions on my newsfeed. You can say I was “influenced”.
I know it may seem super gimmicky, but they truly work for me and they do exactly what the name says - gives “restful sleep”. Some sleep aids I’ve tried sometimes leave me with a groggy feeling the morning after but this doesn’t. One of my friends who takes these also mentioned she had very vivid dreams (not nightmares per say) but that hasn’t really been my experience - I think I only had 1 or 2 strange dreams the first few days but afterwards there was nothing abnormal. These are more natural based; containing a mix of melatonin and botanicals such as chamomile which aids in working with your body to promote a more natural, healthy sleep cycle. Taking 2 about half an hour before bedtime works just fine for me. You can get these on Amazon or via Olly’s website.
And that rounds up January’s favorites, a busy month that set the tone for a productive and organised new year. Thank you for reading