I feel like this year is just flying by! How are we a quarter of the way into the year already?! I was completely swamped this month, with work and house renovations. I briefly spoke about it here, and I didn’t get to really discover many favorites since all my focus were on work and house renovation. However, I do have a small list of items I am loving this month. Small, but mighty. Let’s get started.
This isn’t quite a March favorite; I’ve been using this product for years now and I swear by it. I have very sensitive skin, and was on a hunt for a gentle face scrub that wouldn’t leave my face dry like most face scrubs do. I first discover this at Whole Foods. I was worried that I wouldn’t like it and it’s pretty pricey (~$40 at Whole Foods) for something I’m not sure about. I remember trying to look for reviews and there weren’t much, but I thought – I’ll give it a try still! And I’m so glad that I did. It’s now a life-time favorite!
Not only do I have sensitive skin, but I have normal to dry skin. Some days, my skin is rough and will have small bumps. This completely gets rid of the small bumps for me. I don’t use this everyday (it’s $$ and I try not to let my skin rely on this), but I can always tell when I’ve gone a few days without it!
After finding out that Ulta sells them for ~$35, I bought them from there for years because Ulta would occasionally have a “Buy One, Get 1/2 off Other” or a 20% off coupon, etc. Currently, they have it for Buy One, get 40% off Other. Their deal for this item comes pretty often so I would wait and keep and eye out for that. But just recently, I went on Amazon to see if they sell this item since Amazon is now partnered with Whole Foods… and yes they are! I don’t live by an Ulta anymore, so this is great! Amazon sells them for the same price as Ulta, but it is on sale today for $25! I just bought a 2 pack!
I have dialed down what are my favorite underwear and where to get them, but yet, as a 31 years old gal – I am still struggling to find the perfect bra. If you’re wondering, I love the Cheeky Undies from Aerie and the Auden underwear from Target. A few years ago, I was at Nordstrom Rack, and bought the Natori feathers bra. If you find them at Nordstrom rack, you can get them for about $30 each. Natori website sells them for double that price. They’re super comfortable, fit perfectly, and gives the right amount of push ups for the ladies. Unfortunately, throughout time, they have worn out and the edges started to lift up which you can clearly see under a basic t-shirt. I’m sure all the ladies understand what I meant by that.
About a month ago, Darryl-Ann Denner talked about her favorite bra which is the Soma Enbliss Wireless Bra. She posted that they’re having a huge sale. Their bras are usually $50, but were on sale for $25. On top of that, they had a “spend $100, get $20 off”.. so I ended up getting 4 bras for $20 each! If you’re like me and don’t know what size you are, I recommend to check if they have any local location close by. I had one that wasn’t too far, so I went ahead and bought two different sizes and returned the ones that didn’t fit me. For reference, I am the same size in the Soma bra as I am in the Natori bra.
The Soma Enbliss bra is amazing! It is extremely comfortable and soft. I have been wearing these bras nonstop ever since I bought my first one. As you can see in the photos, the bra does have a wider band, which makes it look more like a sport bra. So keep in mind that it isn’t the “sexiest” bra out there, but extremely comfortable. I can’t mention that enough. What you don’t see in the photo is that front of the bra is double layered. That means if you see any wrinkles or edges pulling up, you can easily smooth them down; they are really the perfect bra to wear under a t-shirt. They don’t give my girls the same push as the Natori bra, but they still look good in them. When I’m wearing a dress or a nice top, I like to wear the Natori bra. And when I’m wearing the basics tees, I like to wear the Enbliss bra.
I also forgot to mention that I’m usually a 32 band on the bra. When I first purchased the Enbliss bra, it was tight so I had to use the last clasps. After washing and wearing it a few times, it does get loosen and I’m now using the center clasps. Just a heads up since that was my main concern after the first try!
The kitchen is in full renovation mode right now. I got excited and decided to already order things for the kitchen already including these ULINE glass spice jars. Now, I spent at least an hour deciding between 2 oz or the 4 oz jars. I was looking at the majority of my spices, especially the bigger jar ones, and realize they’re mostly around 2 oz. Thank goodness I realized that they’re not talking about the jar sizes, but the actual weight of the spices inside. After doing more researching and looking, the 4 oz ones are the ones I needed to order. If you’re on the same boat – get the 4 oz ones! I am obsessed with these spice jars.
I like to describe ULINE as an wholesale distributor for warehouse supplies. I was surprised to see that they even sold these spice jars. You do have to buy them in bulk (cases) with 24 jars in each case. I counted all the spices I had, and to my surprise – I had a little under 60 so I decided to order 3 cases which makes each jar ONE DOLLAR! What a steal. Even at the price of $1.10 – I think that’s still a steal. They are amazing quality, and most spice jars I found on Amazon or Target – they didn’t come with a lid that contains holes. That was very important to me as well. The only downside is that you do have to pay for shipping. It costed me about $20 for shipping, which I think is still a great deal for all the jars (that would make it ~$1.30 a jar for me). Literally, go check their website and there are plenty of options from different sizes, colors, and materials. Did I mention that they’re all about quick deliveries too? They are known to have items shipped overnight!
For labeling, I just used a label maker. Turns out, ULINE sells this too! Amazon sells this for cheaper – so get it from Amazon instead if you want.
I also bought these drawer spice racks from Amazon. I love how they’re expandable to fit your drawer size. Unfortunately, this specific one is sold out. There are other plenty of options on Amazon so definitely pick one that could fit your drawer. Just look up “spice drawer rack”.
4. Microwave Platter Cover with Magnet
Okay, still on the topic of kitchen items… I bought a microwave platter Cover. I’ve been meaning to get one and I know you can get them as cheap as a $1 from Dollar Tree. I just keep forgetting to purchase one, until Deema from PrettyonFridays mentioned this on her Instagram story and I immediately clicked the link and bought it. I think that’s literally my first ever “Instagram purchase”… I usually like to do my research before purchasing an item. Purchased it for $15, and I think it’s worth it! I love how it has magnets so it attaches to the top of the microwave (inside), so you wouldn’t have to remove it in and out! Seriously, that feature alone is worth the x$15 price.
5. Flexible Expanding Garden Hose
About a year ago, I purchased a garden hose from Costco. I thought “What a steal! 100ft garden hose for less than $30!!” And I would have to say that is probably my biggest Costco purchase mistake. It is so bulky and heavy that we literally dread going to water the garden at one point. The worse part was during this renovation, we had to shut down the sprinklers for the front of the house. So we had to lug the hose from the backyard to the front yard to water the grass. I’ve had enough. We had a flexible expanding garden hose before, but its time had ended late last year. I do remember how easy it was to use though so I decided to search for another one. This one is amazing! I would recommend changing out the spray nozzle as the one it comes with is very weak.
And that’s it for this month! I’ve been really enjoying doing my monthly favorites… it’s probably my favorite type of posts to write about!