“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” Awww, look how far we’ve come together. This is our FIFTH annual Top 5 Staff Picks blog post, and not only am I not stressed about choosing my top five products this year, I’ve actually been looking forward to it! I know many of you probably think […]

I have long idealized Scandinavian culture for a myriad of reasons: the universal healthcare, high reports of happiness among residents, great educational systems, hygge… I could go on and on! But I had never thought or heard much about Scandinavian or Nordic skincare. That all changed when Integrity Botanicals recently brought Scandinavian brand RUA Nordic […]

I’m willing to bet that your hands and nails need (nay, deserve!) some extra love and care right now. Think about it; in addition to washing them eight thousand times a day (okay, I know, that’s an exaggeration, but … you do wash your hands a lot, right? Okay, good.) you use them a ton, […]

You know that friend you have, the one you can always call when you want to be told “no,” or to be talked out of doing something? I am not that friend. I’m never going to talk you out of getting a new beauty product (unless, of course, it has toxic-laden ingredients or is covered […]

After all these years as a beauty writer, I have occasionally thought about designing my own line of makeup. I haven’t ever seriously considered it, but I’ve wondered what it would be like. Every lipstick shade would be brown-based and have shimmer. There would be tons of bright pink blush and mascara that builds nicely […]

I’m not proud to admit this, but I have a long history of not taking as good care of my teeth as I should. Let me back up and explain that I had significant dental issues as a young kid, but, as my teeth/mouth have been relatively low-maintenance since I got my braces off 28 […]

By now, you’ve no doubt seen several variations of the “beach body” meme: “How do you get a beach body? Have a body Take it to the beach Congratulations, you have a beach body! I love this meme for many reasons; dismantling the oppressive patriarchy that has, for generations, told women they had to look […]

New makeup for every type of makeup wearer! The lines between “want” and “need” have always been blurry for me when it comes to makeup; one person’s necessity is another person’s wishlist, and who am I to judge?! Be it for health reasons, for self-expression, or because the world is bleak and we need joy […]

One doesn’t usually expect a skincare line made for sensitive and acne-prone skin to also be luxurious and rich, but such is the beautiful paradox of The Other Skincare Company. The brand was created with the goal to establish and maintain a healthy skin barrier, which is one of those concepts that a lot of […]

(Read all the way to the end for details on how to win your own 3-piece d’still travel set!) Three time zones. Two cameras. One fantastic conversation! On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of talking to Ula Blocksage, founder and formulator of d’still. I have written about the brand in the past, here in this piece […]