Empties: February 2020

After the bewildering number of empties in December and January, February seems so tame by comparison. There are only 12 in today's post and 2 are duplicates. Most of them are affordable drugstore and naturals-heavy brands, with a couple of purchases from last year's trip to Paris thrown in. I realized as I was compiling this post that many of these products have never been featured on the blog before, and only a few are gifted PR samples, so going forward I'm going to be a lot clearer about labeling everything in the mix. Now, let's get to it, shall we?

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Solo Lisa Reads: February 2020

A new boss, lots of work projects, the Bar Method Fitness Challenge, my second cold of 2020(!), persistent neck and shoulder pain, domain issues on the blog, regular old adulting...February was a lot to handle. But whenever I craved an escape at the end of a long day, I knew that I'd have a hot cup of tea and a juicy read on my Kobo reader waiting for me at home. My book selections for February offer plenty of escapism, whether it's in the form of romance and "happily ever after" endings, or narratives that tap into nostalgia for the past. What are you reading these days?

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Drugstore Delight: Not Your Mother's Naturals Scalp Scrub

Are you a fan of scalp scrubs or do you think they're a gimmicky and unnecessary product? I was in the latter camp until just recently when I noticed that no matter how thoroughly I shampooed my hair, my roots were limp and my scalp didn't feel clean. The feeling persisted even when I switched shampoos and conditioners. That's why I picked up Not Your Mother's Naturals Activated Bamboo Charcoal & Purple Moonstone Restore & Reclaim Scalp Scrub ($8.99) during my last cross-border Ulta pilgrimage. I was already a big fan of NYM's hair masks (they smell amazing, the formulas are mostly natural, they're affordable and get the job done) so I figured their scalp scrub was worth a try.

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4 Facial Oils To Revive Winter Skin

Facial oils make a lovely addition to any skincare regimen, and not just during the winter! I've been rotating between the ones featured in today's post all season long. Facial oils can give regular moisturizers a skin-softening boost, layer over hyaluronic acid and serums to better lock in hydration, or provide plenty of slip for facial rollers and gua sha tools.

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Drugstore Delight: Nivea Pure & Natural Body Milk

One of the quickest, most dramatic changes you can make towards a more natural beauty routine is switching to a natural body lotion. The skin covering your body amounts to a larger surface area than your face, and unlike something that can be rinsed away like soap, body lotion absorbs and stays. Since I decided to green up my beauty routine I've really enjoyed the natural body lotions and body butters I've tested, and there are a handful of affordable and effective options I keep returning to. (Rocky Mountain Soap Company, I'm looking at you.) But I don't love the fact that I have to go out of my way to specialty stores or websites when I run out, often paying $15-30 for what amounts to very little product volume-wise. It sometimes makes me nostalgic for more innocent days when I waltzed into any drugstore and picked up the biggest pump bottle of whatever was on sale and smelled good.

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