After traveling to the Philippines in January and a quick weekend back in New York in February, my next month or two are focused on cozying up at home. I’ve never been more excited to snuggle up with a new book, stay in for a movie night, or just do nothing on my couch, at least for a little while until warmer weather is here. I’ve been turning to YouTube a lot lately (instead of TikTok and Instagram), and one of my recent cozy discoveries is this book and fragrance influencer @bewareofpity. Her content is soothing, with in-depth classic book reviews and surprising scent recommendations. In one of her videos, she mentioned that Bath & Body Works’s Book Loft is supposedly a close dupe for Diptyque’s L’eau Papier (a musky, woody scent that’s right up my alley). I’ve never jotted down a note so fast.
And on the actual book front, I visited a couple of secondhand and independent bookstores around Houston and amassed a haul. I found a ’70s printing of Sylvia Plath’s Letters Home (I vowed to the bookstore owner to never take off the book jacket) at ¼ Priced Books, as well as a 1913 hardcover of my favorite Wharton novel, The Custom of The Country (for only $35 — a huge steal), and The House of Mirth at Kaboom Books. And I picked up one new book from Basket Books & Art: Do Something by Guy Trebay, for when I’m missing New York (which is always).
Here’s everything else I’ve seen recently:
I did a big beauty cleanout in February, which included tossing crumbling makeup palettes and passing along barely used skin care to friends. Once I was done, I realized I didn’t have a natural-looking contour product and was on the lookout. I’ve been testing Iconic London’s new shades and am pretty impressed. It’s easy to blend with a brush, beauty blender, or my fingers, and it’s long lasting for a cream-based stick.
I also got rid of any lipstick that irritated my lips. (Apparently that’s many of them!) Since this freed up a lot of space, I let myself finally try out Refy’s buzzy Lip Sculpt. It really does live up to the hype. It’s very pigmented, doesn’t budge, and is good on sensitive lips.
I was recently gifted one of Baggu’s new purses from its recycled-leather line, and it has been the only bag I’ve reached for since. I was a bit skeptical of the new line at first, but I actually like the leather bag and non-leather strap combo. It makes it easy to throw on and hang up without worrying about warping the strap, and it’s a touch nicer looking than my usual Baggu crossbodies or Uniqlo drawstring bag. It’s held up incredibly well, and I’ve gotten many compliments from friends, family, and folks out in the wild.
The new Baggu bag also inspired me to finally get into keychains and bag charms. This one from Maison de Sabré is my current favorite, because it’s not only cute but it lets me stash away an Airtag to keep track of my keys (a must for me!).
Here are a few others I’ve been eyeing. I think the martini would balance out all the fruit nicely.
Even though I’m taking a step back from buying home stuff, I am always looking. Zara Home has been mentioned a lot among Strategist staffers lately, so naturally, I’ve been window shopping. This is my running list of links I’ve sent to my partner over the past couple of weeks.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
