October Favs
- The Glow Girls
- Oct 21, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 7, 2021
Another crazy month of 2020 gone! With all of the madness going on in the world and a busy school schedule, it's the little things in life that bring us joy. Here are our favourite things this month that kept us sane and made life just that much better!
Sarah's Favs
This moisturizer has been my go-to for over a year now and I absolutely love it! Having struggled with acne my whole life I am always looking for clean and gentle skin-care products and The Ordinary brand is a great affordable option for people like me! The moisturizer is a vegan, water, alcohol, oil, silicone, nut, gluten and cruelty-free product with a pH of 6.5-7 which is in the recommended range for moisturizers to keep your skin pH balanced! It contains 11 moisturizing ingredients making it a great option for all skin types using naturally occurring compounds, at an affordable price of $5.80 for 30ml or $7.70 for 100ml CAD.
Similar to The Ordinary moisturizer, Method’s Body wash is naturally derived, cruelty-free, and planet-friendly! The Simply Nourish body wash literally smells like you’re cuddled up in bed with a cup of tea and dessert with the coconut, rice milk and shea butter leaving your skin soft and smooth. This body wash is a great natural alternative to less friendly, heavily scented body wash with no parabens or phthalates for healthy and clean skin! Priced at $7.99 for 532 ml you can feel good about buying the simply nourish body wash and reducing your negative impact on the environment!
With colder weather coming in, I have switched from iced coffees to homemade hot lattes that put Starbucks to shame. This wouldn’t be possible without the Earth’s Own Barista Edition Oat Milk. Not only do I love oat milk simply because it’s not dairy, but it is the most environmentally friendly milk alternative out there! The barista edition foams incredibly in a home steamer coming out rich and creamy, adding the perfect balance to any coffee! I also use it for chai lattes at home, making me feel like I get an expensive and luxurious coffee every day in the comfort of my own home!
Hand sanitizer has become a hot commodity this year and this pocket-sized luxurious sanitizing spray has become a staple in my purse, car and gym bag. Tyneham’s signature Calm scent masks the horrible smell of the alcohol unlike the stuff at the mall that smells like cheap tequila from your local bar. I swear this stuff is basically perfume and it has aloe vera that leaves your hands soft, protecting against the harsh alcohol that would normally dry your hands out. 10/10 recommend to everyone to help stay safe!
Never did I expect to buy a laptop stand but it has done wonders for my posture and back strain from sitting at my desk all day. I picked the Soundance stand off of Amazon because it looked sleek and was not crazy expensive but there are lots of versions out there right now to best suit your needs. I love using the stand at my desk for watching lectures, taking notes and making my webcam eye-level on zoom! It’s also great to hold my laptop away from food in the kitchen while reading recipes (or watching Netflix). I have also noticed that because of the heat vent my laptop has not been over-heating as much as usual. So if you spend a lot of time working at your desk with a laptop this is a great product for you.
Julia's Favs
This book is incredible! If you’re anything like me, and get stressed about absolutely everything, you’ll appreciate Jay’s valuable advice on how to live a happier and more peaceful life. Fun fact, Jay also has a podcast called On Purpose, which I also love!
Look Organics is an organic skincare line founded by Caroline Tusiuk, a Canadian certified nutritional practitioner, sustainable weight-loss coach, and consequently, a social media influencer. I started using her skincare line after struggling with hormonal acne earlier this year and have been loving the results! I really like the idea of using all-natural, organic products on my skin and especially appreciate the fact that Caroline uses the products as well. I also highly recommend following her on Instagram for recipes and health advice!
This scrub, created by Huda from Huda Beauty, is amazing. You apply it on dry skin, rub it in, and the dead skin on your face will start to roll off. Your face will feel like a baby’s bum after! It’s on the pricy side, but definitely worth it!
I obviously had to include a snack in this month’s favourites. I found these bad boys at Loblaws in Kingston. This cookie dough is gluten free, dairy free and vegan so it’s safe to eat raw but tastes equally as good when you bake it. I found them right beside the ordinary cookie dough at the grocery store.
Sandra's Favs
Who let a cleaner smell this good? Methods all-purpose surface cleaner cuts grease and grime while filling your house with the fresh smell of pink grapefruit. All of the ingredients are naturally derived and biodegradable making it the perfect every day cleaner. While I personally complement this cleaner with a Lysol wipe to ensure every surface is disinfected, I can’t get over how good my house smells thanks to this product.
If university has taught me anything, it’s that I cannot function without some sort of caffeine stimulant. I found that I was either spending a small fortune at Starbucks or drinking the dirt water also known as instant coffee just to get through the day. However, my life changed the day I met the Nespresso Vertuo. Each cup of coffee only costs between $0.88 and $1.50 and it tastes amazing. While the machine is an upfront investment, Nespresso usually has some sort of sale making the purchase hurt a little bit less. Plus, the added Aeroccino warms and froths your milk giving you that “luxury café” feel at home. I’m still working on the latte art though.
If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be a giant marshmallow, all you have to do is slip on this hoodie from H&M. The soft and fluffy material provides levels of coziness I have never experienced before. Absolutely perfect for chilly fall mornings. Warning: productivity may be affected while wearing. It is just too tempting to snuggle up and nap.
As a chronic napper, I have heavily invested in my bed in order to reach maximum comfort levels. This fluffy pillow cover from UGG is so soft and cozy, I literally can’t imagine sleeping without it anymore. You know you want one too, so just do it. Future you will thank you for it.
I love a good bubbly drink every once in a while, but the sugar content in mainstream sodas is just terrifying, and sometimes carbonated water just doesn’t hit the spot. I recently read an article that covered the lengthy list of negative effects aspartame has if consumed regularly in relatively large quantities. From headaches to seizures and even links to certain cancers, it was enough to make me kick diet coke to the curb. Zevia is a zero-calorie soda that is sweetened with stevia. While you can slightly taste the stevia in this soda, I found that their flavours still taste pretty close to the real thing! Some of my favourite flavours are cream soda, ginger root beer, and cola.
Comments