So would anyone like to take home a few of these 8 dozen cookies I made?

Jokes. 

Honestly though, I have felt some very deep sadness in these past few months.

I don't really like sharing the dark stuff and always want to keep my pages happy and positive and silly.

But I think it's really important that you know I'm human too. 275727391_511101200623912_876881347980481753_n

When grief becomes overwhelming and I feel like I can't make myself do anything, I bake.

I tried this for the first time a couple weeks ago because I was tired of just sitting and staring and bawling.

And suddenly a thought popped into my head.

Bake cookies.

I'd never done it before. On my own, at least.

So I decided to listen to that little voice.

And as I cracked eggs and laid out parchment paper and mixed the ingredients all together, my soul stilled.

I felt okay.

I could breathe and think about something else outside of me.

This has now become my go-to for those heavy, difficult days.

Two days ago, I made brownies.

I know this strategy works too because I get a sweet treat to reward myself for getting through and feeling and processing and healing.

Trust Lupin's advice: "Eat, you'll feel better."

And this is coming from someone with 82 lip glosses, 37 hair spritzes, and has tried almost every skincare thing on the planet.

So basically I tried them all so you don't have to.

I present to you my beauty faves that I use allllllll the time.

5. Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk

Yeah, she popular. Ya wanna know why? Cuz she gooood. A matte lipstick that isn't drying? Check. A perfect shade for all skin tones? Check. (Don't believe me? See the fancy thing Google did right here.) Luxurious packaging that makes you feel like a Hollywood starlet? Check. I reach for this so often that all my other lipsticks are like "what about me?" and I reply with "what about you?" as I glide on this lippie... again.

4. Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

When I said I've tried a lot of products, I've tried a BAJILLION sea salt sprays. Because sometimes air drying my hair is the lazier quicker route I wanna go that day. And I got so tired of the crunchiness, the stickiness, and the not-working-ness of all the other sprays. But this one right here is the winner. Hands down. I spray it into damp hair, do the *scrunchscrunch* thing, and have perfect texture, soft locks, and no goopy grossness. Bonus points! It smells like summer. Like straight up beach.

3. Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Makeup Remover Facial Cleanser

Picture this: you've had a long, stressful day. You come home and all you wanna do is put on your comfy jammies and snuggle in to watch a movie with popcorn and some peanut M&Ms. And then you remember, you have a full face of makeup on and you really, really don't want it on when you're chilling on the couch. Everyone, meet your new best friend. This gem of a product removes your makeup AND cleanses your face in one easy step (even waterproof mascara!). Slap on some moisturizer and you're ready to do the 'nothing' we all love the most.

3 1/2. Too Faced Hangover Pillow Cream

(Pssst. My fave moisturizer is this one by Too Faced. Had to sneak it in cuz it's related to the cleanser. Sorry. But also, you're welcome cuz it's amaaaaazing. And the whole "infused with mineral rich stardust" thing? Totally believe it. Just wait until you see what your skin looks like. Okay, back to the real list now.)

2. Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Polish

Honestly the best gloss out there. It's long lasting, non-sticky, and the plumping is a baby tingling feeling but nothing (and I mean nothing) like other plumping glosses out there. One time, another product was so plumping I had a red ring around my mouth and I couldn't make it stop burning. I like to think I went through that to prevent you from walking through the mall looking like you're going to ask people 'why so serious?'... it was fun. This won't do that. Promise. Plus, there are sooo many shades to choose from but some of my faves are Erica, Emma, Dolly, and Sophia.

1. HOT TOOLS One Step Volumizer Hair Dryer and Hot Air Brush

YOU REACHED THE WINNER! This little dude right here is a hair game-changer. I used to hate trying to wrangle my hair with a round brush for that perfect blowout look. Now I give myself the 'hi I'm effortlessly cool with perfect hair and great style' vibe without stress. When I had longer hair this was super simple to use as well but for a bob? Yeah, it good. I've tried other one-step blowout brushes too but I keep coming back to this one because my hair is always shiny, smooth, and rolled under juuust enough. It's just *chef's kiss*.

So those are my top five beauty must-haves! But you can check out my entire list of beauty faves by clicking HERE

And yeah, I'll be sharing more of my fave things soon including video games, movies, books, and more!

(I'm also an Amazon affiliate so if ya make a purchase through one of these links, a little bit of moolah lands in my pocket. I help you look pretty, you help me continue chasing my dreams. It's a win-win. lol Thanks!)

One of my fave artists of ALL TIME.

And I got to sing with him.

Okay, okay. It's a TikTok duet but heyitcountsallright?

He posted a vid and I was like "ya know, this could be a duet".

So I did it. I made it a duet.

This is the result.