An honest review of True Botanicals Chebula Active Immunity Serum and Renew Pure Radiance Oil

I write about skincare quite a bit for my day job, so when I got Jessica DeFino's newsletter a few weeks ago, I stopped dead in my tracks. I realized how many times I've written copy along the lines of "yes, it actually works"...and the thing is, shouldn't all skincare? The sad reality is that a lot of it doesn't—or at least, it doesn't produce the results you're looking for. Again, I don't tell you about most of the products I receive for free, but when I find something that, yes, actually works, I get very evangelistic about it. My last rave review was quite spendy, so I'm happy to report that while this week's duo is not exactly a bargain, it's definitely more palatable. Read on for my unfiltered thoughts on True Botanicals Chebula Serum and Pure Radiance Oil.


Yes, this is my actual skin, in good lighting. I am not wearing any foundation. 

How to wear a cutout dress

If the words "cutout dress" give you anxiety, you are not alone. I have never had rock-hard abs, and so I've always avoided cropped tops, cutouts, deep sides, or anything else that could potentially reveal my jiggly bits. To be honest, I'd never even considered trying anything with cutouts until I saw Grace Atwood, one of my blogging heroes, in a Farm Rio dress that looked so doable—and flattering—that I had to order it. Cue "A Whole New World" because I've discovered...maybe I can wear cutouts? Here's how I wore my Farm Rio dress.



Top 10 things to buy on Amazon Prime Day (and 10 more things I bought)

So, I was planning on not covering Prime Day at all—sifting through over a million deals is a lot of work in a very short period of time—but then I saw how good the prices were on some of my all-time favorite items, so I thought what the heck? I realize I am a little late to the game, but you've got another full day of shopping ahead of you. Here are 10 products on sale for Prime Day that I own and highly recommend, 10 that I bought today, and there are even more in my Prime Day shop



Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2022 Picks

Every year, I ask myself whether I should be covering the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. It feels like Groundhog Day in a way—many of the same items are included year after year, so much so that I always reference the previous year's post to make sure I'm not repeating the same recommendations. It also feels that every year, there are more of Nordstrom's private-label brands present and fewer designer brands. And now, this year, it looks like the discounts aren't as deep on certain items (thanks, inflation!). Can we catch a break? In a word, yes. As much as we all love to complain about how the sale isn't as good as it used to be, there are still some great deals to be had—I know because I went through literally every product that's included in this year's sale (except for kids and men's stuff, sorry). Here are my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks for 2022.