This column is inspired by “Oprah’s favorite things” where she featured some great gift ideas in time for the holiday season on her show and magazine during the 90s and 2000s. As someone with that much influence and access to fabulous things, why wouldn’t her list of gift ideas be on point? It was once through a viewing of her show in the early 2000s where I discovered the Anastasia eye powder duo kit that I use regularly. My eyebrows have never been the same. Well, I may not have that kind of Oprah access to products but I do consider myself a savvy shopper nonetheless. Here are some of my favorite things or as we say in Spanish, “cosas.” Let’s take a look.
Blondo suede boots
I came across these booties because of a work trip to Seattle. While I was packing for the conference, I had a bit of a conundrum. Do I pack my clunky rubber rain boots or do I wear my professional non-waterproof boots but avoid walking in rain as much as possible? Once I landed to Tacoma and saw what seemed to be an atmospheric river enveloping the green and lush Northwest landscape, I knew that avoiding stepping in water would be impossible on this trip. What did I do? I went over to Nordstrom’s in downtown Seattle to check out their boot collection and was impressed by their array of choices in waterproof footwear. Of all the places for me to discover professional, chic, and weather-proof boots, the downtown Seattle department store was the place to go. First founded as a shoe store in 1901 by a Swedish American John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin, Nordstrom was where I found one of the best boots I’ve ever purchased: the suede and waterproof Blondo black bootie. The black suede makes them perfect for work and the two-inch heel and rubber sole allows you to walk in the rain without wobbling or slipping. They go great with jeans during casual outtings as well as with work dresses with pantyhose. The money you pay for them are well worth it.
Dr. Jart+ moisturizing masks and K-beauty masks in general
As many beauty enthusiasts know, Korean beauty has grabbed the attention of health and beauty experts in American and European markets. Long before we heard about the industry term “K-Beauty,” Korea has been in the beauty game for quite a long time. It was in the late 90s that the Korean government encouraged the exportation of Korean popular culture, which included music, dramas, and beauty products, to step away from solely relying on electronics as the country’s major exports.
As Korean celebrities started to indirectly or explicitly promote certain brands, the various skin care and beauty lines and healthy competition emerged. Thus, in a highly-saturated and competitive market, advances in skin and beauty technology followed and the world now had high quality BB creams, hydrations masks, oil-based cleansers, cushion foundation and now even snail slime–all products and advances that promote clean, dewy-looking, and luminescent skin. In Korea, it’s not about the matte make-up look that we see in the West, but a youthful and healthy looking epidermis that need not to be covered in too much foundation. This particular brand of beauty has done well in the market and in 2018 was estimated to be worth over $13.1 billion in sales.
While there is criticism about how Western audiences have exoticized K-Beauty as drawing from ancient wisdom or how the Korean market has a certain predilection for plastic surgery that follow Western beauty ideals, this does not take away from the skincare technological advances that a highly competitive market has produced. While you can now find many of these products in Sephora, I was lucky to receive a sampling of these through one of my friends (whom we’ll call Jlo throughout this Critical Chica blogosphere since that is her celebrity avatar!). She had just returned from visiting her family in South Korea and, lucky for me, decided to bring back some goodies. One of my favorites was Dr. Jart’s Dermask Vital Hydra Solution moisturizing masks, which contained a generous amount of emollient to cover your face and ingredients such as algae extract and hyaluronic acid. But what I see as the biggest perks of these masks, however, is having an excuse to pamper yourself with a cooling and refreshing mini-facial that you can do at home. Just lay down, take a rest, and enjoy this refrescante for your face.
Tahari A-Line Dresses
Work dresses can be boring. For those of us who wear dresses to the office, we all at some point have donned the corporate-America look that feels more like a uniform rather than an expression of your unique point of view and personality. I have searched for stylish yet professional dresses on the website Ruelala.com for discounted designer clothing throughout my professional life, and I have found some brands that work for me: Elie Tahari and Tahari ASL. Now, they both have similar names so what is the difference? Yes, they both don the name of Elie Tahari who is an Israeli-American fashion designer based in New York whose claim to fame not only has been making women’s clothing for over forty-years, including bringing to the world the tube top in the 70s, but also producing stylish suits and beautiful dresses.
A Elie Tahari suit can be on the pricey side, so that is why the Tahari ASL brand, which was launched by Elie Tahari and clothing executive Arthur S. Levine, came together to offer women’s workwear for “women on the go” and at a much more accessible price point. While I admire the designer’s collection, I happen to purchase a lot more of my dresses from Tahari ASL, which are just as beautiful and easy on the pocketbook. I have a go-to ASL dress that I use for important occasions (my friends call it “the red dress”) including on a business trip to meet Ecuador’s Ministry of Education that I was fortunate to get invited to through the power of the internet and LinkedIn (I will have to write about that later–it’s a crazy story!). What do I love about it? The A-line silhouette, which allows you to have a fitted top and a flared skirt. I usually feel comfortable in a flared skirt at the office since it gives you shape without having to hug your body too much, which allows for flexibility, like meeting people on official business to exploring the city with new friends and colleagues. Tahari-4-Evah.
Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
Okay, now we are getting to the smaller things/cosas. Foundations are a very individualistic and particular choice for many people. I have gone through my own journey with them trying to find the right color over the years as an olive-toned Latina. Growing up, I received mixed messages about beauty and whiteness and as a teenager I struggled figuring out what shade of brown or whiteness I was (since Mexican Americans are of course a mix of indigenous and European culture and we also sometimes internalize the European beauty ideal, at least I did in my “unwoke” youth days as a teenager looking at Seventeen magazine). In high school I wore a shade too light for my skin, and the quality of that stuff was not great since I could only afford the cheapest brands such as “wet ‘n wild.” I simply couldn’t afford spending money on things like makeup.
Finding the right foundation was so important to me that when I received my first college stipend on the first week of college at UC Berkeley (a stipend that I derived from my scholarship funds and college loans), I remember planning one of my first major purchases with this college stipend money. What do I buy with this chunk of money? The possibilities were endless but I felt an enormous amount or responsibility with those funds since I wanted to use a portion of that money towards helping my family. What did I buy? Books, shower flip flops, toiletries for the dorm, my favorite snack, which was Cheeze-It crackers at the time, and a Clinique all-in-one powder foundation. I had never bought that much for myself at one moment and it was telling that a trip to the Clinique makeup counter at Berkeley’s Bancroft Clothing Exchange was part of my first spending spree. I simply wanted the good stuff. Now, years later, I’ve tried many products in my adult life and found something that really works: Armani’s luminous silk foundation. Long gone are the days of caking on makeup and hiding my skin imperfections; now I welcome wearing sheer, dewy, and light foundation that compliments my olive-skin tone. Also, it didn’t hurt to read that the current Duchess of Sussex is a big fan of this foundation.
Furla Amelia Large Leather Tote
You can’t go wrong with a good black tote handbag. I like a structured and classic handbag that is big enough to hold your laptop but not too big that it loses its shape and begins to feel heavy on the shoulder. The Furla Amelia Large leather tote was the perfect find on ruelala.com where I paid only a fraction of the price. Since Furla is known for producing high-quality Italian leather goods, these bags are usually priced in the $300s or $400s range. I paid less than that so I highly recommend finding them on a designer discount site, but if not, the full-price still gets you high quality products and costumer service. One of the things that I love about this bag besides its minimalist structural feel, is the pebbled leather that feels soft and luxurious. I also dig the golden hardware and the expandable sides which allows for you to pack in a lot more when needed (I sometimes store a small water bottle or yogurt). And when you have a problem with your bag (my handle started to show some wear and tear surprisingly early), I called up customer service and they repaired it immediately in their New York City headquarters. That was four years ago and I haven’t had any problems with my bag since.
Winky Lux Lip Balm
Last but not least we have a fun “Instagramable” beauty product: the Winky Lux Lip Balm. But, rest assured, this is not the reason why I have it on my list. While this lip balm is beautiful since it is the only lipstick to feature a chrysanthemum flower inside, it is also a well-made and clean product that is vegan, Paraben free, and Sulfate free. In addition, it reacts with your skin’s pH balance to leave your lips with a rosy pink tint.
This was recently gifted to me by a friend who is hip to this these “experiential” products (that is, products that are also providing the consumer with an experience), so I haven’t quite worn it down to its last chrysanthemum flower petal. What will happen when I get to the end? Will the flower fall apart? I will let you know when it happens but so far I’m enjoying having this luxurious lip balm in my bag for this year’s winter season.
Hope you enjoyed this list of a few of my favorite cosas! Do you have any of these products? If you do, let me know how they are working out for you. This is the first edition of the “cosas” column, so it featured some of the top things I have come across over the last few years. The next column will reflect more recent products of the year 2020 (wow I can’t believe it’s a new decade). If you have any recommendations on things that you love, shoot me a message, I would love to hear about it!
Critical Chica 