Spooky Book Mail, Dry Skin Musts, and the Back Massager You Need
Who doesn't love a little book and retail therapy?
I’ll be real with you: I planned to do a new book release newsletter. Because so many books—from Jess Lourey to Mia Manansala are out. But I’m still deep in the covid recovery and my energy levels no longer exist. Why did I think starting a newsletter while sick with covid was a good idea? Which is also why I still need to add image headers to this but I also need my bed. Also, pardon typos because your girl is about to pass out after hitting send. So instead, I’m going to mention two pieces of book mail I got and save the rest for later.
First, Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig—who you may be shocked to learn is one of the nicest guys in publishing. (It’s tied between him and Alex Segura, they’re both super amazing people.) “A small town is transformed when seven strange trees begin bearing magical apples in this masterpiece of horror from the bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents.”—per the description. I love when authors take their niche interests—in this case apples—and turn it into something creepy and amazing. Buy at Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other retailers.
The other goodie that came my way is a new tarot deck. Now, if you don’t know how deep into the witch world I’ve gone, welcome. Spooky season is here, and what better way to celebrate than with a new deck? The Goddess of Love Tarot: A Book and Deck for Embodying the Erotic Divine Feminine by the fabulous Gaby Herstik is a beautiful love-themed deck and a great way to dive into tarot. Buy at Amazon, and other retailers.
And now onto shopping, my favorite thing in the world next to Bean.
I’m not sure y’all know this but I live in the desert. In the summer it’s actually humid thanks to the monsoon, but we’re about to dry out for fall. Did you know that the humidity can get down to four percent? That’s not a typo. Four. My skin hurts. (Yes, the humidifier runs 24-7.)
I’m of that age (mid forties) where my skin is already drying, and I love me some peels, which don’t exactly hydrate. So add the arid climate and I feel like my skin will rip off some days. If you’re at all in the same boat, I have some solutions. (Please note that I bought all the items I mention, nothing was gifted.)
The Budget-Friendly Option: Because really, who has fancy skincare money right now? The Ordinary has a new serum out that’s supposed to save your skin barrier. All the marketing schpiel says it claims to recover your barrier in two hours. So I had to try it. First off, it’s a disturbing shade of pink that can only be compared to pepto bismol. (It doesn’t smell like it though, thankfully.) It goes on clear and it’s nice? It works. But does it make your skin barrier whole within 2 hours? Lol no. But what it does is add another layer of intense moisture. You can even go without moisturizer on top if you live in a less dry area. For $17 it’s not a bad little serum to try, and to be honest it is one of the better hydrating serums I’ve used. Buy at The Ordinary, Sephora, and other retailers.
The Break the Bank Option: Skinceuticals Triple Lipid Restore really is that girl. This stuff is incredible and has the price tag to show for it. I didn’t want to like this. I’ve been on the hunt for a new moisturizer because my last one was even pricier. I tried a bunch of less expensive options which promptly broke my skin out. (My skin is such a snob.) And then I dried my skin out further by trying to clear the zits. (No one told us we’d have pimples in our forties.) So I tried this moisturizer and oh my god. I love it. I want to bathe in it. Smear it head to toe. I’m sorry y’all, but this one is so good. It’s also $150. I’ve added it to my honey app drop list to see if there’s a price drop at any point because I’ll need to sell a hell of a lot more books to make this work. (I do plan to try the SkinFix moisturizer and Dieux Angel moisturizer Reddit claims are dupes and are way more affordable. Stay tuned for that one.) Buy at Skinceuticals.
If any of y’all have beauty product questions feel free to hit me up! My super power is shopping—and finding the deals to go with.
One more must buy that isn’t beauty! When I had actual covid a few weeks ago and not the post-viral fatigue that’s keeping me in bed, my back started to spasm. Badly. Every time I moved I had a spasm. It was brutal. And there was only one thing that fixed it: This back massager. I know, you’re thinking how good could it possibly be? Well, I recommended it to the brilliant and lovely Layne Fargo and she posted on Insta that it “feels like Adam Driver himself is digging his giant knuckles into my back.” Do you really need more convincing than that? And it’s reasonably priced ($54.95). It really gets in there, helped my spasms, and now I use it on my calves because the leg aches I’ve been getting are brutal. Buy at Amazon (sorry haven’t found it elsewhere!).
And now, for Bean.
