As some of you guys know I’ve been dealing with some substantial hair loss in the last several years. So I was very excited when Vegamour reached out and asked if I wanted to try a couple of their products for review. All items reviewed here have been generously gifted by the brand but of course all opinions here are my own and I was not paid for this review.

I wasn’t really going to write a full review about this Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm since I mentioned it in my monthly recap. But I was complimented the other day by a worker at BlueMercury on how great my skin looked. And since I never (NEVER) get complimented on my skin, I have to chalk it up to how good this product is.

At the end of every year I find myself restocking on my favorite Merit mascara and sometimes lip product (both their Signature Lip and Shade Slick) during their end of year sale (my first review of Merit here). Well after last year’s Merit Beauty review some people had mentioned trying out their Complexion stick. Fast forward a year and I decided to give it a try too along with their recommended brush and the Bronze Balm.

As I noted above, I was paid a small amount to write this review of Viori Shampoo and Conditioner bars. I so very rarely get paid to do this work so I want to say a special thank you to Chase and the folks at Viori who recognize my efforts and paid me for my time. That being said, I will try to be as unbiased as possible when writing this review. But lucky for me, these shampoo and conditioner bars are pretty good!

Since I’m always on the search for a good reef-safe sunscreen (because that’s important!), when the nice folks at kinfield asked if I wanted try out some of their products for review, I jumped on the chance to try their products.

I’ve mentioned it in the past here on the blog but I am unfortunately suffering from thinning hair. And this isn’t just some postpartum hair loss since I had my baby four years ago 😆. No, I’m pretty sure this is a genetic predicament considering my grandmother on my father’s side, my father, and my mother all had/have thinning hair. I try not to be too self-conscious about it because this is just my lot in life and how I was made (or rather how my scalp was made). But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to fight the good fight of the receding hair line.

When I turned 40 I talked about my red led wand and as much as I love that (and still use it as part of my skin care routine), I can’t get over the impact from this gifted red led therapy mask from CurrentBody.

As I celebrated my 40th birthday yesterday and as my friends and I contemplated turning forty this year, I find myself not fearing this milestone. Rather I look forward to what the next decade will bring. I guess because I’ve already reached menopause (thanks to my hysterectomy several years ago) I’m not so afraid of aging. I’m already confronted daily with white hair, more wrinkles, and thinning hair. There’s nothing to fear about aging, and I prefer to just deal with it as it comes.

I can’t believe I haven’t done a Merit Beauty Review considering I’ve been gifted a couple of their items, and loved it so much that I purchased a couple more myself. I guess since Merit’s PR people are so chill (they only asked for one Instagram post and Sephora review) I never thought to put time into writing a blog post. Buuuuut since their stuff is so good that I’m repurchasing my favorite items I figured I might as well write this review.

So I know I already do a “Most Worn” list at the end of each year, but I also like doing my “top 10 favorite things I’ve blogged about (ever)” list at the end of each year since I blog about a lot of things other than clothes. Also this is a more subjective list since it’s my personal favorites. So yes there’s some overlap (because obviously if an item of clothing is a favorite, it’ll get worn a lot), but here are some of my other favorite items I’ve blogged about. And for reference, here are my top 10 favorite things I’ve blogged about in 2020, 2019, and 2018 (also a lot of overlap between the lists over the years).

As I mentioned in a past post, I rarely accept gifts from skincare or makeup brands because my skin is so finicky. I’ve had decades of acne (and sadly still have highly cloggable pores, though I wouldn’t say I have acne now in my late 30’s). But I also have highly sensitive skin that easily turns red or gets a rash. So I tend to stick with the same skin regimen until a product is discontinued and I have to find a replacement. I recently wrote this post about my current skincare and makeup routine. Anyway I decided to try out Nuori after seeing it recommended by one of my favorite Instagram people, Therese.

I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile so I thought I would do a little round-up of all my favorite products for those of you interested. Now I’m no beauty guru and my skin is super finicky (I’ve talked about my acne and sensitivity issues in the past). And of course everyone’s skin is different so please take my opinions with a grain of salt!