Cheryl Shops

Ciao! I am back from 12 glorious days in Italy and am full of Aperol spritzes, pasta al frutti di mare, and gelato. (All totally delicious.) I will say, Italy in August is not for the faint of heart—temperatures were in the high 80s or low 90s every day, and I was sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat from, which made rewearing things a bit of a challenge. As I noted in my Substack, I packed for the entire trip in a carry-on, and I'm proud to say I wore everything I brought except one shirt and one skirt; I really should have packed one less pair of shoes (especially since I bought two new pairs, whoops), but overall, I was really pleased with what I brought. I tried to capture photos of all of my outfits, either out and about or in the full-length mirrors in our hotels, so I could show you how careful packing can pay off. Here's everything I wore on my trip to Italy.

I am leaving Wednesday afternoon for Italy and am deep in the throes of trip preparation, so this week's post is a bit on the lightweight side. I am taking the rest of the month off from blogging, however I will be posting up a storm on Instagram and am planning on sending out my Substack newsletter before I leave. In case you're not already subscribed to the Cheryl Shops newsletter, here's more on why I decided to move it to Substack and what you can expect going forward.

This is a photo from the last time I was in Rome, almost exactly 10 years ago!

While I will try everything when it comes to skincare, I tend to be more loyal to my makeup brands, and I really don't switch things up often. But if someone is raving about a certain product or line, I do like to try it for myself. I had heard great things about the clean brand Iris & Romeo—especially their Weekend Skin tinted moisturizer—so I was excited when they sent me a box of products. Iris & Romeo's tagline is "less makeup, more you," which as someone who usually goes for a "no-makeup makeup" look, I can get behind. So far, they have a pretty limited range of makeup, but I like a brand that takes its time and doesn't rush to launch a bunch of stuff just because. While Iris & Romeo gifted me these products without any obligation to post, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. Here's my review of everything I tried from Iris & Romeo. 

I just completed my first-ever No-Buy July and lived to tell the tale, which I'm now going to share with you. It may sound slightly ridiculous that a shopping blogger took a break from shopping for a month, but believe me, I needed it. After an alarmingly high credit card bill in June and with a big trip to Europe coming up later this month, I wanted to make sure I could enjoy my vacation without worrying about overspending. I also, to be honest, wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I will admit, it was not easy, and I got really in my feelings at one point (more on that later). But I learned a lot about myself and my habits, and it enabled me to take a much-needed—and very eye-opening—look at my spending. Here are my key takeaways from No-Buy July and some advice for those of you who want to try a no-buy month. 

It's peak summer in the northern hemisphere at the moment, but in San Francisco, we're approaching the time of year I affectionately call Fogust. (That would be fog + August = Fogust.) Today, it was glorious and sunny; I wore a T-shirt and linen pants. Yesterday, it was drizzling and so chilly, I put on a leather jacket. Long story short, layers are the way to go here. My go-to outfits lately might not look anything like what you've been wearing recently, but they're always an option any time of year in northern California. Here are some of my favorite recent looks. 

I have always had very fine, thin hair, but in the last year or so, I've noticed in photos that it looks even thinner than ever. Thinning hair can happen for a number of reasons—illness, stress, diet, over-styling—but for many of us, it's a natural part of aging. Which doesn't make it any easier. There are a ton of products on the market to address this, with varying degrees of efficacy. The most proven ingredient for hair regrowth is minoxidil, which requires a doctor's prescription and comes with its own set of side effects. The question is, can you rely on more natural, plant-based methods to help address hair loss? Vegamour kindly sent me a package from their highly regarded GRO line to try, and the following are 100% my own unfiltered opinions. Here's my honest review of Vegamour GRO. 

I have a complex relationship with Amazon; I find shopping it to be a frustrating experience if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, because there's so. Much. Stuff. I've also really dialed back the amount of clothing and accessories I buy on the site, because, really, most of it is junk. That said, Amazon sells many legit brands and products that I use on the regular, it's incredibly convenient, and to be honest, I probably order from it two or three times a week. And because I am human—or maybe just because I'm a shopping blogger—I do get a little excited about the deals they offer during Prime Day, which happens to be today and tomorrow. As with shopping any sale, it's best not to get too emotional about it; the thing I always ask myself is whether I'd still buy something if it were full price. Which is why Prime Day is a great time to stock up on staples: beauty products, kitchen items, and gadgets that you need to replenish and won't get all dopamine-boosted about. You can shop all of my Prime Day Picks in my Amazon shop (there are more than what I've listed here), but read on for more on the items I own, use, and would highly recommend. 

It's that time of year again: the time when influencers take a stand about not covering the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale...then a few days later, cave in and share their picks. I, on the other hand, will proudly cover it from the get-go, because, let's face it, I always end up shopping this sale—proudly. First, some key dates to know:

• Icon cardmembers can shop starting today, 7/9
• Ambassador cardmembers can shop starting tomorrow, 7/10
• Influencer cardmembers (that's me!) can shop starting Wednesday, 7/11
• Everyone else can shop starting Monday, 7/15 through Sunday, August 4th. 

Nordstrom seems to have fixed their pandemic-era stock issues, or at least they did last year—I ended up buying most of what I featured—so I'm following the same format this year. First up: my shortlist Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks for 2024. 

The idea of a capsule wardrobe is not new; I was first introduced to them by Lucky Magazine (R.I.P.) which had a recurring feature called the Lucky Closet (or something like that) where they'd mix and match a set number of pieces to create infinite outfits. Bloggers and influencers have embraced the concept in more recent years, but I've found I'm often underwhelmed by the results. Too many "classics" or "essentials" and you've got a bunch of really boring basic outfits. It is quite challenging to pick a very limited number of pieces to mix and match, and that's why I've never featured a capsule wardrobe here before—until now. I am not a stylist, but in the interest of getting more wear out of my closet this month, I challenged myself to come up with 10 outfits using only 10 pieces, and I tried to pick the most interesting (yet versatile) ones I could find. Here's what I came up with.

As longtime readers know, I love shoes, and I am frequently willing to splurge on a really unique pair, like my Chloe Susanna boots or Hermès Oasis sandals. Life is too short—and our feet are too precious—to wear cheap shoes. That said, designer prices have gotten really out of control in the last few years, and I've become very choosy on what's worth the investment or not. Case in point: the Sam Edelman Michaela flats I'm wearing in this post (they were a fraction of the price of a pair of the Alaia studded flats that inspired them), which I love. There have been several pairs that have caught my eye recently, and while they may be worth the sky-high prices in the long run, several felt way too trendy (and way too marked up) for me to commit fully. Thankfully, I found some great dupes. Here are three of my favorite shoe dupes at the moment, just in time for summer. 

I've casually mentioned this a few times in the last several months, but I co-wrote a book and it's finally available today! It's called Live Natural, and on the surface, it's a coffee table book filled with gorgeously photographed West Coast interiors. But if you actually read it—and I hope you do—it's filled with a ton of actionable tips on how to improve your indoor air quality, design and decorate more sustainably, and create a home that's healthier for you and for the planet. The author, Ali Davin, is my longtime client, and more importantly, she's an incredibly talented interior designer with an incredible eye and a deep well of knowledge on natural, nontoxic materials. I am so proud of this book (working on one was a lifetime dream of mine) and I hope you love it as much as I do.

So in honor of Live Natural's publication day—and considering it's peak beach reading season—I thought I'd share my favorite books that I've read recently. I don't talk about books much here outside of gift guides, but I am a voracious reader, mostly literary fiction. I read every night before bed, on planes, at the hair salon, or pretty much any chance I can get. In no particular order, here are my top 10 books from the last 5 years. 

I was incredibly fortunate to attend the Taylor Swift Eras Tour last summer in L.A. (yes, I was there one of the nights that the show was filmed for the Eras Tour movie!) and in spite of seeing the movie twice, I kind of wanted to go see the live concert again this summer. Of course, once I heard that she totally revamped the show and added a new era for The Tortured Poets Department, I REALLY wanted to go again. That's probably not going to happen for me unless I win the lottery, but for those of you who were lucky enough to score tickets this summer, I will live vicariously through you. In the meantime, you need to figure out what to wear. I have some suggestions, starting with this very sparkly blazer. It was sent to me as a gift without any obligations, and the following thoughts are my honest and unfiltered opinions. But first, here's what you need to know about what to wear to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. 

LoveShackFancy is a brand that I tend to shop very sparingly—it's ultra-feminine, in a way that often reads young to me (and I'm not alone)—but they do a boho summer dress like no one else, and when they get it right, they're very very good. Case in point: I still wear this dress, which I featured back in 2018, all the time. That said, their dresses are on the pricey side (usually $300–$400). So when I heard talk of a good dupe from Gap, my ears perked up—given Gap's propensity for sales, chances were I could get one for a song (spoiler alert: I did). So I decided, in the name of journalism, to put it head-to-head with its reported inspiration, the Edie dress. Here's how they compare. 

Conventional wisdom—and a gazillion fashion editors—will tell you a classic white button-front shirt is a wardrobe essential. I agree to an extent; like many essentials, however, it can feel a little...boring. White shirts also tend to be problematic because they're hard to keep clean and can sometimes be see-through. Which is why I prefer a chambray shirt. It has a little more personality than plain white, but it's just as versatile. It leans a little more casual, but we're in a more relaxed day and age, so I think that's quite appropriate. I've featured my chambray shirt many times here over the years, so I thought it was time to put all my best outfit ideas together. Here are my favorite ways to style a chambray button-up shirt.