Winter Essentials+

I neglected to mention in my last post is the blogging is truly the ultimate therapy. The ability to upload and share your unfiltered thoughts helps relieve the stress and tension of everyday life. It’s a suspended fantasy we live in on the interwebs. 

Now that we’re (hopefully) in what will be the final stretches of winter to spring, I thought it would be fun to share a little something other than clothes for once. Amanda’s Beauty Regime post was the inspiration here, though this particular post of mine is nowhere near as exhaustive.

During the entirety of my cold, these lozenges were the lifesavers for my throat. People often forget that the snow reflects a lot of UV. This winter it has been particularly snowy so I’ve applied this SPF moisturizing lotion daily to everywhere that’s exposed to the elements because I am lazy like that. Why not kill two bird with one stone? 

I got these two in Vancouver a while ago. I thought they made for the perfect winter manicure. The Deborah Lippman one is in "Glitter in the Air" and the OPI one is in "Pirouette My Whistle." I like to layer the Deb Lippman one underneath and the OPI one on top.

From L-R: Impassioned, Chili, So Chaud, Media, all by MAC. I’m not a big makeup person but there's something about the transformative power of lipstick that I love so much. My wardrobe is mostly neutral so these are a fun way of incorporating more colour in my otherwise relatively drab wardrobe. I don’t wear these everyday but on the occasion they’re so much fun.

After a whole lifetime of buying chapstick (expensive lip balms included) and losing them one after the other, I’ve had enough. I went a bought a tub of Vaseline instead and I'm so glad that I did, partially a) I don’t really bring it out with me often so the chance of me losing them is very small, b) no scent/perfume = no irritation, and the unintended side benefit of c) working well to moisturizing the raw area area my nose from all the blowing and sneezing during my cold.

I absolutely love my new watch by Seiko. For the longest time, I wanted the Cartier Tank after seeing it on Lin but it’s not exactly the most utilitarian thing for your average college student. Same goes for my mum's heirloom watches. I need something that doesn’t look too fancy and won’t be prone to theft. My dad got this for me at a mom-and-pop watch store when I was in Hong Kong this winter break that was super affordable. I like the Mad Men vibe of the small watch face – something Peggy might have worn on her first day at Sterling Cooper. I often find the modern day preference for ginormous watches faces to be overwhelming on people with smaller wrists like me. It makes my hand feel instantly more delicate and feminine. It’s great not having to take my phone out of my pocket to check the time (plus I don’t like bringing out with me to class anyway).

What are your random winter essentials this season?