Happy New Years Eve everyone! It feels great to be back writing more consistently – hopefully once a week. I’ve been scheduling content like a mad woman & have the next few months all written & scheduled. Can you believe it? I wanted to start the new year off with a chit chat post talking about my current favorites. In October, I did this before in my current fall obsessions post & I enjoyed it so much, that I feel like I could make this a seasonal series on Mind Beauty Simplicity. Which by the way, has it’s own domain now! That’s right, the .wordpress is gone from the site URL & is now simply, mind-beauty-simplicity.com! Already, 2022 has been a wonderful blogging year & it has just started. I’m excited to see if my goals for this new year come to fruition. Let’s get into these favorites – shall we?
Makeup / Beauty:
Starting off with makeup favorites, I’ve been really drawn to neutral eye looks & bold lips – specifically the shade red. I guess you could say it’s a common color for the holiday’s but I personally find it’s more than just that. I feel the most confident when I wear shades of red [ both lip color & clothing ]. I discovered the Maybelline Color Sensational Ultimatte Slim Lipstick & have been wearing the shades More Blush & More Scarlett interchangeably anytime I wear makeup. For a drugstore product, they are very long lasting & smooth. I highly recommend them.
Binge Worthy Entertainment & Page Turners
Downton Abbey:
I decided to re-watch Downton Abbey from the beginning on account of the newest movie coming out in March. This fictional British series is so beautifully written & is filled with drama & romance. I highly recommend it if you haven’t yet watched it. You can find the entire series on Netflix.
Hypnotic:
I made the mistake of watching this Netflix movie alone one night. It’s a psychological thriller [ my favorite genre ] about a woman who comes across a hypnotherapist in hopes for some self-improvement. This movie made me not want to ever be hypnotized or answer any unknown calls on my cellphone. It was eerie good & I recommend it to anyone who loves this genre of movies.
TheSilent Patient:
I’ve gotten back into reader this past year – & I hope to continue this habit in 2022. Over Christmas break, I finally finished the novel The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. I was recommended this book through Booktok as it was quite similar to Verity by Colleen Hoover. A psychological thriller [ surprise surprise ] about a psychotherapist who tries to treat a patient who became silent after the murder of her husband. Although the twist was discovered slightly early, I enjoyed the writing & concept of the novel. I couldn’t put it down.
Gadgets
I’m excited to have been gifted an Ipad & an apple pencil for Christmas. I’ve been wanting one for a while & feel like it will come in handy for blogging. It’s very travel friendly so I can blog & promote on the go. And I find using social media to be quite enjoyable on this device. I like to keep my blogging life separate from my real life, so having a different device for all these tasks instead of using my phone all the time, is quite nice. I also plan to use it for reading, as I have the book app. But I’ll be honest – I do find myself preferring paper backs.
Fashion
Eileen Fisher Scarf & Beanie
Another Christmas gift of mine – & a classic addition to my wardrobe is this scarf / beanie combo from Eileen Fisher. I don’t usually shop at this store in my leisure but I feel like the store is a hidden gem. I absolutely love the neutral shade & the material is so so soft! It’s one of those shades that goes with so many outfits & I can tell they are going to be accessories I’ll have for quite some time.
Universal Thread Cropped Knit Sweaters
You should not sleep on Target brand clothing. Seriously – these are great quality with an even greater price. I love the texture of these & love how you can dress them up or leave them casual. These will be other clothing pieces I’ll be wearing a ton this winter. Something about wearing a cozy knit with a warm beverage in hand screams hygge & relaxation.
Ugg Crew Socks
I feel like this current favorites post is all about my Christmas gifts – but I can’t help if my family knows me so well. I absolutely love the Ugg crew socks & my mom got me like six pairs in multiple neutral shades. I will be living in them this winter.
Mindset:
As a whole – the word for 2022 is self care. I know, how original. I think it’s so important to make time for ourselves & create a routine that keeps us from becoming too stressed. Whether it’s fixing a warm beverage in one of my fun winter mugs in the morning or setting some time to read or write – making ‘me time’ is so crucial. It truly is the little things in life. I’ve been spending less time on social media [ even deleting the Instagram app off my phone ]. Focusing on being more intentional & present are habits I’ve been trying to have & continue to have in the new year.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about my current lifestyle favorites. Let me know if you’d like me to continue this series on the blog & whether you’d like it seasonally or even monthly. I think this is such a fun way to showcase my life & provide little updates with my readers. See you next Monday.
Mind Beauty Simplicity 