Hello! Welcome to the winter-vacation syndication segment of the newsletter! The Friday Dispatch and other regular Hattie content is on a break until January 12th. Until then, you’ll be getting some top-ten lists from me.
Each week throughout the year, I’ve provided you with lists of things I didn’t buy. Today, I’m going to spotlight 10 things I’m glad I purchased! Most of them cost less than $20, and my two “big ticket” items were both under $200. So, if you got any Christmas cash in your stocking, and you’re looking to spend it…read on!
The 10 Best Things I Bought in 2023
Chaise lounge – When I moved into my prior apartment, which was a sublet, there was a chaise in the living room, and I fell in love with it immediately. Upon engaging with the chaise, I, uh, learned some things about it…chiefly that it was in horrible disrepair. Two of the four legs were broken, the remainders were loose, and the bottom of the chaise had a full-length chair. I still used it, stacking heavy books to prop it up since the feet that fell off also fell apart.
Eventually, I grew tired of balancing precariously on the chaise anytime I wanted to read a book. I started shopping and found a vintage floral chaise from the 1960s on AptDeco. And I had a coupon! With tax and delivery, it came out to just about $180. It’s since become a focal point of my new apartment, where it sits in a cozy corner of the office. Dottie loves it, too.Gaming chair – Hey, speaking of our office! When my boyfriend and I moved into our new apartment, the very first room we set up was our office. We were eager to have dedicated writing spaces. I turned to the queen of work-from-home, my own mother, for guidance on maximising my office space. Years ago, my mom shared a hot tip with me: if you’re going to spend lots of time in your home office, buy a gaming chair. They’re comfortable, they’re intended for long-haul butt-sitting, and they come in fun colors. I scored a pink gaming chair at Walmart for $119, and I had a $10 coupon. My coworkers lovingly refer to it as my “girlboss throne.” The chair I bought is sold out now, but the brand has a lot of comfy options if you need to upgrade your sit-uation.
Nip + Fab Dragon’s Blood Fix Plumping Serum – Man oh man. This stuff smells amazing, it is absurdly moisturizing, a single bottle lasts forever, and it’s sixteen bucks. I’ve used Nip + Fab products before, but nothing became part of my repertoire as quickly as this did. I bought the serum for an article I was writing about microneedling for plumper lips. The microneedle device is somewhere in the back of my beauty cabinet, but the serum stayed out on the counter because I use it every day.
Note: if you buy this stuff, the best time to use it is straight out of the shower, or right after washing your face. Being A Little Bit Damp enhances the effect. I also have a $3 spray bottle full of plain water that I keep with my makeup, and when needed, I spritz my face with it before I apply the serum.AmLactin – Okay, unorthodox-ish beauty hactic (hack/tactic). Put AmLactin all over yourself. Ok? Okay! The end.
Okay okay okay, not the end. Story: months ago, I got a sample of AmLactin Intensive Healing Body Lotion in a magazine or something. It’s a body lotion with 15% lactic acid, intended to eliminate unevenness and bumps, such as keratosis pilaris. When I got the sample, though, I had an alternative use in mind.
I ignored the warning on the little packet that said “do not apply to face.” I applied to face. See, I love lactic acid products, but I’ve found that most of my favorite moisturizers negatively impact the efficacy of a lactic acid serum; further, many of the affordable lactic acid products available on the market are wimpy. The AmLactin lotion strikes the perfect balance of “softening” and “exfoliating.” On the other side of my sample packet was a coupon, and by stacking the coupon with a BOGO deal at Walgreens, I was able to bring home two 7.9-ounce pump bottles for $14.
Also (Tara and other feet-phobic friends, don’t read this!), AmLactin does wonders on dry foot skin. I take the term “horse girl” a little too literally; aside from a full pedicure, AmLactin is the only thing that transforms my hooves into normal human feet.Cloud Whip C Cream – Take everything I said about lactic acid above, replace it with “vitamin C,” and you essentially have my review of Cloud Whip. My friend Lynn introduced me to this brand, Eight Saints. They have a lot of great products, but the Cloud Whip cream is my favorite by far. It fades discoloration, moisturizes beautifully, looks great under makeup, blends well with your favorite foundation, dries down to a semi-matte finish, smells good…it’s got everything. There are a couple sizes available (Try the mini for $14, it lasted me around three months), including an unscented version, but if you haven’t tried Eight Saints yet, I recommend getting their Discovery Kit because there’s a whole slate of great products to try.
Vacuum bags – Cheating a tidbit here! When I was home for Christmas last year, my mom and I used these vacuum bags to store a bunch of her heavy sweaters, and I ordered some right away. I bought MORE when I was preparing to move.
Two things about these: they come in a variety of sizes. GET A MIX OF SIZES. You may think that going for the megapack of jumbo bags is the right choice. You are not right! Because the jumbo bags end up being sooooooo heavy and SO LARGE and you will break a nail when you try to lift one onto a shelf. You’ll want variety.
If you don’t own a vacuum, or if you, like me, only have a Hello Kitty dustbuster with weak lungs, fear not! These vacuum bags come with a hand-powered pump. Once you get the hang of it, you can churn through your entire closet in mere minutes (or, at the very least, your entire collection of corduroy miniskirts).Clown phone case – The best $5 I spent all year. Was he a practical phone case? No, he got caught on everything, his big hair covered the camera lens, the silicone got loose and floppy. Did he “fit in my pocket” or “protect my phone when I dropped it?” Not even a tiny bit. But did he make me happy? Yes. Yes he did. I love you, Clown.
Water bottle – I’m a little beverage baby. I’m a hydrationpilled watercel, and I love having three different drinks on my desk, and I love getting up to pee every 34 minutes. So, naturally, I have many fun cups! I have a Dunkin’ cup for iced coffee. I have a million mugs for hot coffee. I have a thermos for warm, on-the-go beverages. I have the ubiquitous Stanley mug, and a custom-made Sonic mug, from which I exclusively drink cherry limemades.
When I headed to Austria earlier in the year for a work event, I knew I needed to get a standard-issue water bottle. Since I was going to be on my feet and conducting video interviews all day, every day, I wanted a water receptacle I could tuck into my purse. I also needed a straw, so I could easily drink without spilling on myself. I poked around at various stores, refusing to spend more than $15 on a stupid water bottle, until I was at TJ Maxx with my friend Sophia and found a lavender HydraPeak bottle for $14.99. Score. I LOVE this thing – because it’s got a super-snug lid, I can sleep with it *in bed* next to me. This means that, when I wake up parched beyond belief at 2am, I do not blearily reach for an unlidded receptacle and spill water on the power strip. This had been a problem, previously.
The one and only downside of the straw is that, when you take this bottle on an airplane, it can get pressurized and squirt water straight up at the ceiling when you try to take a drink. Ask me how I know.Auden bras – Another must-have product I discovered while writing an article. Target’s Auden bras are size-inclusive and, last time I checked, all under $25. Here’s the full selection; I like their wire-free options, which vastly outperform much-more-expensive bras from fancy lingerie brands. Many of these are convertible, too, with a built-in clip to make the straps into a racerback.
A very sparkly dress – At the mall with my friends Chloe and Rosa, I stopped into a Windsor store and, on a whim, looked at the clearance rack. That’s where this metallic ballgown sat for 90% off. I got a $200 dress for $19.99, and then I published a book, and I wore this sparkly dress to my launch party, and it was perfect.