The best things I bought in one year of quarantine
Like most of you, I’ve been coping with my quarantine restlessness through online retail therapy. The trick I use to minimize impulse buys is to keep a folder of bookmarks called “To Purchase.” If I can’t shake something from my brain after a couple of weeks (or if it goes on sale!) I’ll finally “Add to Cart.” Then there are the bookmarks I look at the next day and realize I don’t need at all. That said, here are the few things I haven’t regretted once since buying them. I believe in the power of things to make this dark pandemic life just a little sunnier!
Izipizi #E Screen glasses in Blue Tortoise
With these shipping from France, I was extra glad that I fell in love with these glasses when they arrived and I didn’t have to go through the return process. I use these almost every day at my desk, but especially nights when I’m working late (or writing blog posts!) It made a noticeable difference in my eye strain when I finally go to bed. Honorable mention to the #D Sunglasses I also bought in this purchase, which are also the best.
Old Navy Jersey-Knit Pajama Pants in Light Grey Heather
These were the loungewear win of the year. The thin, flexible fabric is still buttery soft, even after many washes. These $18 pants make me feel like some kind of LA wellness heiress swooshing around her two-million-dollar glass-walled home on her day off.
My mom gets the credit for this one, as it was a Christmas present, but those Brightland Instagram ads were orbiting me for months. It was only a matter of time! And I’ll probably be buying another bottle of this stuff before the month is out. It made salads and pasta sing with flavor. I’m a convert.
I followed the wise council of @thebestofbeauty101 and have been buying up Touchland hand sani throughout this pandemic. Though I am not a believer in spray-on sunscreen (isn’t it just flying into the wind?!) I am a spray-on hand sanitizer gal all the way. My nurse friends and Purell purists will probably never go for it, but 67% ethyl alcohol that doesn’t dry my hands or smell like chemicals is cool with me!
iDesign Lazy Susans from Target
After binging all of the Home Edit and spending many, many dollars at The Container Store, the one thing that changed my life more than anything else were these spinning wonders from Target. (Cheaper and just as good as the branded ones at TCS!) I put one in my cabinet and one on the top shelf of my fridge, and they host condiments, sauces, and spreads in both locations. Yes, I said “changed my life,” and I meant it. Peanut butter? Salsa? Coconut oil? Spin, spin, spin. baby!
We’ve all found our favorite masks at this point, I think, and this is mine. (Purchased at Gus & Ruby!) A wire pinch flap for your nose, another flap to fit under your chin, and a slot for inserting an extra filter, when I wear this puppy I feel as secure as I possibly can, you know, one year into a deadly pandemic with many weeks to go before I’m eligible for a vaccine. Insert ironic smiling face here!!!
Briogeo Scalp Revival Essentials Set
I’m still not fully over the trauma of combing my hair after a shower and watching flakes just lift up off my scalp through the roots of my hair. Truly horrifying. More horrifying that the Internet told me I was obviously either washing my hair too often, or not often enough. It was either a sign of a desperately dry scalp, or evidence of product build-up. Whatever it was (I never did figure it out), this trio of products (shampoo/conditioner/serum) escorted me out of scalp hell, and I’m very grateful.
