1. Vanilla notes (and Lancôme La Vie Est Belle and Idôle)
Isn’t the smell of vanilla so comforting and cozy? I’ve been feelin’ vanilla lately but haven’t wanted to wear anything that smells too much like vanilla. I just want something a little bit vanilla. Like, as much as I love baking, I don’t necessarily want to walk around smelling like cake batter or Play-Doh. You know what I’m sayin’?
Lancôme La Vie Est Belle and Idôle recently caught my nose eye because both have notes of vanilla.
La Vie Est Belle is a warm gourmand scent (a.k.a. a foodie fragrance!) with vanilla, iris (YES), patchouli and praline notes, and Idôle is a floral with notes of citrus, rose, jasmine and white musk layered over a vanilla base.
I hadn’t smelled them in person before they arrived at my doorstep, and I don’t know if it was just dumb perfume luck, but I love them! The vanilla is there, but it’s subtle, and both scents are so feminine and long-lasting, too.
I’ve been telling everyone I know who loves perfume about them!
2. Casabella Waterblock Gloves
You know you’ve crossed into the land of “Adulting Really Hard” when you have a favorite pair of cleaning gloves…but hey, I’ve tried every single brand under the sun, so let me just save you from a lifetime of cleaning glove misery — the Casabellas are THE BEST.
They’re the thickest ones I’ve found, so they’re sturdy and don’t fall apart quickly. I hand wash my dishes in very hot water, and a pair of this will last a good six months, whereas the other cheaper, thinner gloves might last three months, tops.
The Casabellas are also longer up the sleeve than most cleaning gloves, so less water and soap drips into your gloves, which is NOT my favorite thing. These keep my hands and arms dry, dry, dry!
They also have a handy lip at the end of the glove, which also stops water from sneaking in as well.
I bought this pair at a local hardware and gardening store called Friedman’s up in Petaluma, but they’re also available online.
3. The chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front of Trader Joe’s
It’s all about the little things, right? When I’m standing outside in line, waiting to shop at Trader Joe’s in the socially distanced line — which is never really that long; five minutes at the most — they have these chalk drawings on the sidewalk to tell people where to stand. The drawings are either a cheerful play on words or some sort of seasonally-related scribble like these pumpkins. I appreciate that little touch because it gives me something to look at while I’m waiting. Always brings a smile to my face. 🙂
So thank you to whoever does these drawings every single week… You’re such a treasure!
4. Colorful bowls from Costco
I bought this set of super shiny bowls on a whim last weekend, and I loooove them. The brand is Laurie Gates, and you get six stoneware ceramic bowls for $21.
We’ve been using them for soup, pasta, cereal — seriously, everything. You could probably even use them as serving bowls.
The outside of the bowls are all the same beautiful beige color, but when you look inside, each bowl has a different color and pattern. Everyone in our family has already picked out their favorite. Connor loves the red one, I love the green one, and El Hub loves the blue one… They’re all super cute and fit nicely in my hand.
Oh! — and they’re also deep, but not obnoxiously deep, so when I’m eating cereal or soup, liquid is less likely to splash over the edge.
5. Cleaning tips from Vanesa at Amaros Cleaning on Instagram
MIND BLOWN! Vanesa and her husband run their own housekeeping company in Texas, and she shares very helpful tips and shortcuts on how professionals clean appliances, surfaces and areas of a home. I’ve learned so much from her feed, and yes, I used the vacuum tip to clean my stove the other day and it totally worked! 😁
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. TGIF! 🎈
Rachel says
October 23rd, 2020 at 12:05 pmI have totally thought about doing that with my stove and vacuum! Those bowls look so cool! I’m a sucker for cool dishes especially if they have a handmade or stoneware look! Happy Friday! We made it!
Janine says
October 23rd, 2020 at 12:44 pmHey Karen! OMG , La Vie Est Belle! I remember when Lancôme brought that fragrance out. They Macy’s I worked in had the Lancôme counter opposite the escalators and EVERY man that walked past the counter stopped dead and wanted to know what that fragrance was. It IS true, men just love a vanilla gourmand perfume. I know that Christmas they sold TONS of that fragrance to a lot of men along with their blockbuster makeup kits.
Sami says
October 23rd, 2020 at 6:31 pmI love La Vie est Belle! I get compliments on it all the time. I also got Idole & love it as well. I bought Idole bc of the bottle and the campaign/description LOL
Suzanne C says
October 24th, 2020 at 12:00 pmOh gosh, I think that cleaning Instagram account is going to be my new favorite thing.
Try Replica’s Coffee Break perfume if you like vanilla. Very low-key, but definitely there. Also coffee (obvi), lavender and spearmint (didn’t expect that, but it’s amazing), and some other things. Really complex, yet harmonious.
Kim says
October 26th, 2020 at 8:49 amI’m going to be all over the cleaning tips – thanks for sharing that. I’ll take any hacks in that dept that I can get! 🙂 SO with you on the rubber gloves. I feel the same way about dishes. I’ve been meaning to invest in some thin cotton gloves to wear inside mine so I can use even HOTTER water. HAHA! That was a trick from my mother. I only handwash about 10 items per day but always wear rubber gloves.
Everyone’s sense of smell and what they like is very different but I remember having a few of Lavanila’s flavors in the past and didn’t find them too fake smelling (or cakey). And they’re all about the vanilla, obviously. 🙂
Those bowls are awesome – one of the boys has a fairly steady diet of cereal and I got him some plain, deep, white bowls from Target (that he loves). But these colorful bowls are beautiful!