Cheryl Shops

I just got back from a weeklong trip to NYC, which felt like such a luxury. While it's been almost 12 years (!!!) since I've moved away, we tend to go back to visit at least once a year, however those trips are usually much shorter—I'd say three or four days on average, usually for a long weekend or a quick work trip. The pace of this stay felt much less intense, as I didn't feel the need to rush around and see everything on my list, although New York was its energetic, vibrant self as always. According to friends, it was also the first stretch of good weather they've had so far this season, and while it rained several days when we were there, it was so nice to be out walking around in the sunshine—walking is always one of my favorite things to do while I'm in NYC, and I averaged 18,000 steps a day(!). That said, packing for this trip was somewhat of a challenge due to the changing weather, so I broke one of my travel rules and decided to check a bag (it was a direct flight so I wasn't worried). I ended up overpacking a bit, but it was good to have options, and even better to have room in my suitcase for all the shopping I did. Here's what I wore on my trip to New York. 

As I've said many times before, I'm not a mother, but I have one (as we all do) and many friends who are. This year's gift guide contains products I actually own and think any woman—your wife, your sister, your mother-in-law, your dog mom, your mom figure, or you yourself—would like to receive. Some of these products you've seen before (whoops to the L'Occitane gift set below, which I featured last year), some are totally new, but all are highly recommended Mother's Day gifts. Read on for why. 

1. I own quite a few belts, but this is by far the one I've been wearing the most lately—it anchors your look, emphasizes your waist, and makes whatever else you're wearing look more elevated, thanks to its shiny gold details. It is a Khaite dupe, which is a bonus if Mom is into le fashion. 

Madewell Triple Metal Keeper Belt $78

2. As I was writing this post, I realized I featured an almost-identical gift set last year, but hear me out: the shower oil is one of my all-time favorite products, the hand lotion and body cream are really good, and there's a bonus soap. I gave my mom a set of L'Occitane hand creams last year for Christmas that she absolutely loved, so anything from this brand is a home run if you ask me. 

L'Occitane Almond Luxury Set $89 (c/o)

3. A friend came over recently and said how nice our apartment spells and to divulge my secrets, it's because of this very expensive candle. I try to burn it only on special occasions or when I really need a pick-me-up, but I will say the ceramic vessel is so gorgeous, I save mine and use them to store various trinkets—so it's really like two gifts in one. 

Fornasetti Scented Candle $255 (on sale from $340 through 5/4)

4. This book is incredibly analog—for one, it's a book, and instead of photographs of storefronts, it has very charming illustrations of them. Flipping through it will make you want to go to Paris like yesterday; I suggest saving your favorites to your Google Map for next time, as a nice digital counterpart. 

Paris Shopfronts book $23.67 (c/o)

5. Like everyone else on the planet, I am trying to drink less alcohol, but sometimes I really need to take the edge off. When I know I'm going to be spending an evening unwinding at home, I will open a Cann instead of a glass of wine; it has a similar relaxing effect, minus the ensuing night sweats and hangover. It has 2 mg of THC and 4 mg of CBD and does not make me at all paranoid. 

Cann 12-pack $66

6. I vowed not to buy any cheap jewelry in 2025, so I was nervous when I received this paperclip-link necklace for a collaboration. Turns out whatever kind of alchemy they used to make it was solid, because I almost never take it off and it's still bright and shiny, no flaking or greening to be seen. Highly recommend. 

Ana Luisa James paperclip necklace $63.75 (on sale from $75) (c/o)

7. Every influencer over the age of 40 has been raving about Sarah Creal's (rather expensive) makeup line; I couldn't stomach $50 for a lipstick, but this primer has been a godsend in preventing my lipstick from sliding around my face and disappearing into the ether. Even better: it still works during a midday re-application. 

Sarah Creal Lip Grip Peptide Priming Treatment $36

8. Ok, I don't own this product (yet), but if it's anything like the Illuminator Drops, I'm guessing it will be a non-negotiable part of my summertime makeup routine. The Illuminator gives you a your-skin-but-glowier finish, so I'm assuming this will have a similarly bronzy effect. And how gorgeous is the bright turquoise bottle?!

Westman Atelier Sun Tone Bronzing Drops $46.40 (on sale from $58 through 5/4) 

9. I was going to feature this in my holiday gift guide, but it sold out; it's back but on backorder until July. Alas, I think it's a gift worth waiting for. The dish is a lot more substantial than you'd expect for the price (it's quite heavy) and all of the little sections are handy for storing earrings, rings, bracelets, etc. Plus, it looks super cute on your dresser. 

Anthropologie Bumblebee Trinket Dish $24 (c/o) 

10. Is it weird to get Mom shoes as a present? I don't think so, especially when they're so comfy. I've been wearing this pair so much lately—they're like a slightly more refined Birkenstock with a sturdier sole. 

Frankie4 Hunter sandals $188 (use code LTK_CHERYL15 for 15% off)  (c/o)

11. I own a longer version of this nightgown and it's the only one that doesn't give me the night sweats (hello, perimenopause). This one comes in a bunch of really unique prints (all of the leopard variations are amazing) but I'm partial to the champagne bottles.  

Printfresh Cami Nightgown $98

12. Having professional laser hair removal is great and all, but schlepping to the 6–8 in-office treatments is not easy for a busy Mom, nor is it cheap. I've been using this at-home device and am amazed at how effective (and not at all painful) it's been already. I'll be doing a full review on this once my treatment is complete. 

Nood The Flasher 2.0 + Serum $199 (use code cherylshops for $50 off)  (c/o)

13. Whenever anyone describes something as "Botox in a bottle" that makes me think they've never had Botox. These patches aren't that, but they're close—I've found they help lessen the appearance of crow's feet (which I don't Botox) and my elevenses in between treatments (which I do). Because doesn't every Mom want to look well-rested? 

Karuna Age Rewind XL Microneedle Patches $15 (c/o)

Use code Cheryl15Spring25 for 15% off your purchase at Inez. 

There've been a lot of think-pieces lately about how women don't wear heels anymore as well as some heel-shaming from Gen Z. We definitely have the pandemic to blame—we all dress more casually now, with an emphasis on comfort, and the many of us who used to suffer through foot pain in the name of fashion have since breathed a huge sigh of relief. I wore heels nearly every day for years, and while I wouldn't have called them comfortable per se, I think there was a lot of muscle memory involved; now that I spend most of my day in slippers as I work from home, my feet have pretty much atrophied and any heel over an inch is not doable for more than an hour or so. And yet on the rare occasion when I do wear heels, I feel more confident, more intentional in my movement, and more elegant. Please, feel free to take away my feminist card, but I don't think there's anything wrong in wanting to feel more feminine, whatever that looks like to you. So the question is, can we as women have it all, e.g. the boost that comes from wearing heels with the comfort that we're used to from flats and sneakers? Inez is a brand that's trying to bridge that gap. While they sent me a pair of high-heel sandals to try, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. 

In Allison Bornstein's Wear it Well book (highly recommend btw), she describes a category of clothes as "love to buy, hate to wear," e.g. things you think you should like but actually don't suit you. For me, that's a classic white button-down shirt—I've bought many over the years, but they never look right on me, they rarely fit me well, and they just feel a little...boring. That said, I like the idea of a classic white shirt, but I finally figured out that for me, that looks a little different. Instead, I love a lacy white blouse. It's like a classic white shirt with a little more personality. It's softer, more feminine, more interesting. It has a free-spirited, '70s vibe with a little bit of French girl thrown in. (For the record, my Three Words are Classic, French, Rock-and-Roll). I own quite a few lacy white tops and tend to buy at least one new one every spring; at this point, they can hardly be considered a trend, but this is my trend guide and I'll call it what I want! Read on for deets on my latest purchase. 

There are certain details that I tend to gravitate toward, and one of them is fringe. Whether it's long, hair-like strands or a lightly frayed hem, I truly can't get enough fringe. With all of the clean lines and minimalism that we've been experiencing recently in fashion, fringe has been somewhat hard to come by, but with the resurgence of boho, it's suddenly back and I'm very happy about it. I know certain trends can be feast or famine, so I'm trying really hard not to go overboard with so many great options, but I've already bought several fringed pieces this year and have my eye on a few more. But first, the sweatshirt that followed me around the Internet.

I don't know how this happened, but I feel like my social media feeds have been taken over by a sea of sameness. Everyone is wearing the same tastefully neutral, '90s minimalist–inspired looks—which is a great aesthetic, but I'm getting tired of seeing it on everyone, everywhere. I, myself, am guilty of dressing this way recently; to be fair, a lot of what's in the market lately has adhered to this vibe. But I am so over it. As I noted in my newsletter a few weeks ago, quiet luxury is dead and while I'm not really feeling the Boom Boom look that Gen Z is leaning into at the moment, I am going boho for spring. That means lots of ornamentation (ruffles, lace, embroidery, fringe), pattern, texture, and softness. I'm embracing messiness versus minimalism. I want to love everything I'm wearing, versus adapting a specific way of dressing to fit in with the aesthetic of my (now former) employer. I just want to dress like me. Thankfully, I jolted myself out of my Scandi street style rut a month ago on my birthday, and here's what happened.

Yes, this is the same outfit from last week, with a jacket added

Now that it's officially spring, we can start officially talking about spring trends. As I noted last fall when I decided to resurrect trend reports, this is not meant as a directive, e.g. we all need to start wearing this thing right now. In my 20s and even into my 30s, I felt the need to participate in every trend, with mixed results. One of the many great things about getting older, however, is that you have the wisdom to see a trend and think that's not for me. You can also choose not to participate in any trend at all—it's your life and your style, after all—but I always like to stay open to new things. Sometimes you never know how much you'll love something if you don't try it, which is how I feel about the butter yellow color that's all of a sudden everywhere this season. Did it start with Timothée Chalamet's Oscar suit? Or on the runways last fall? Either way, butter yellow is shaping up to be THE color for spring, and I was wary at first, but then I tried it on.

 It's officially spring, so yay to that! I, for one, am staring to get very tired of wearing the same sweaters and pants day after day, to the point that I've stopped shooting daily mirror selfies because I'm boring myself. But the good news is that the days are brighter and longer (I love that the sun sets after 7pm now!), everything is starting to bloom, and new spring things are hitting the stores. The problem with shopping for spring now is that it may be a month or two before you have the opportunity to wear your new things. The weather can go from one extreme to another this time of year—ask my mom about the time it snowed on Mother's Day—but the best thing you can do is check the forecast, get creative with layering, and go with the flow. Here are a few ways I'm starting to transition to spring outfits. 

I first started using the term "going-out tops" in college, when I had a collection of crappy, mostly polyester tops that I'd wear out to the bars or frat parties. I say crappy because they were not the highest quality—most of them probably came from Contempo Casuals, where I worked—but that was intentional, because they'd inevitably end up smelling like smoke and beer at the end of the night (remember when you could smoke indoors in the '90s?!), so I didn't mind if they got somewhat ruined. I paired my going-out tops with jeans or, if I was really getting dressed up, with black pants, all of which were low rise and bootcut. Once I started working and could afford something slightly nicer, I started collecting more grown-up going-out tops from Intermix (R.I.P.), Scoop, (same), or various sample sales in NYC. But then I settled down and while I still went out—more to restaurants than to clubs—I gravitated toward more subdued, serious clothes. After all, I didn't need to catch anyone's eye anymore! Fast-forward 15 years, and I'm in a different (and happy!) relationship now, but I am much more social, especially post-pandemic. Whether I'm meeting my girlfriends for drinks or going out to dinner with another couple, I've found myself struggling in recent years with what to wear. San Francisco is definitely a low-key town when it comes to fashion, but especially since I'm dressed pretty casually for most of the day, I really want to make an effort in the evening. And that's when it hit me: I didn't have any going-out tops! 

 For women of a certain age, I tend to think of makeup before Bobbi Brown and after Bobbi Brown. In BBB times, women wore bright, garish colors on their lips and eyes, heavy allover foundation, and everything was just a little overdone, not to mention mismatched in tone. Bobbi Brown was a makeup artist who favored a more natural look, and she launched her line at Bergdorf Goodman in 1990 with 10 revolutionary, neutral lipsticks that sold out immediately. Estée Lauder bought the line in 1995, and Bobbi herself ran it until 2016, when she stepped down (and later started the excellent Jones Road). There have been many makeup lines launched ABB, but you can't ignore how influential it's been. We have Bobbi Brown to thank for the no-makeup makeup look, neutral- and yellow-toned foundations, and the undeniable power of blending. And while it's been nearly 10 years since the founder herself left her namesake line, Bobbi Brown continues to make some of my favorite makeup on the market. While I haven't personally tested the entire line, I counted 14(!!!) products in my medicine cabinet that I use on the regular, many of which are holy-grail status for me. While I received all of these items for free from Bobbi Brown, this is not a sponsored post, and the following are my honest and unfiltered thoughts. These are the best Bobbi Brown products. 

We're not quite two months into 2025 and, well, what a year it's been so far. If you're into numerology, 2025 is a 9 year (e.g. its individual digits add up to the number 9), which apparently is a time of transformation, letting go, self-love, creativity, and emotional healing. It represents the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one, which sounds good enough to me—hopefully the messiness of the first few months of the year is part of the process. (And we should trust the process!) My birthday is on Sunday, and while I've already got a whole list of things I want to manifest in 2025, here's what's on my birthday wish list. 

Like millions of Americans, I watched the Super Bowl a few weeks ago, mostly for Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance, which was incredibly powerful and layered. Also, like millions of Americans, I was transfixed by Kendrick's flare jeans, which, according to various sources, were the $1,200 Celine Marco jeans. When it comes to men's jeans, slim has been the dominant silhouette for close to 20 years now (even in the slouchy-slim variation that a lot of people in the hip-hop community tend to prefer), so when someone in the spotlight flips the denim script in such a dramatic fashion—particularly in jeans that fit as well as Kendrick's did—I pay attention. Did we just experience a major style zeitgeist moment or a flash in the pan? Are flare jeans in style again? Let's dive in. 

For my birthday a few years ago, I decided to try eyelash extensions for the first time ever, and I loved them. I got a volume set (e.g. 3–4 additional lashes to each natural one) but kept the length and curl more natural-looking so it didn't look like I had tarantulas stuck to my eyelids. The best part was the "I woke up like this" effect plus the fact that I had to wear very little makeup otherwise, and it was enough to convince me to keep up with the habit for a few months, getting the lashes "filled" every 3 weeks at $90 a pop (plus tip). At some point, I realized this was not the most cost-effective beauty routine, so I sadly let it go. Of course, ever since then, I've tried multiple lash serums in the hopes of achieving a similar effect by way of growing my own lashes. While some have done...something, none have worked nearly as well as Revitalash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner. After years of it not being available in California (more on that in a minute), I finally got my hands on a tube in November of last year. Revitalash provided me with this product for free with no obligation to review, however the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. 

This is the time of year when I tend to get the outfit blahs. It's cold and dark and wet, and all you want to do is wear something cozy...but that gets uninspiring after awhile. You may be tempted by all of the spring stuff rolling into all the stores and websites, but if you're like me, you're trying to be responsible and not go out and buy a whole bunch of new stuff just because you're tired of what you already own. Whenever I start to feel this way, I like to take a look at the pieces in my closet that I love but haven't worn in awhile, then try to find new ways to wear them (okay, maybe with some things I've bought more recently). Here are some of my favorite outfits that I've put together recently.