1. E.L.F. Zhou Monarch Choker
I know: I’ve talked about this before. But the E.L.F. Zhou Monarch Choker (£102 GBP) is one of my favourite possessions, and I feel like I never get the chance to wear it (less even, now that it’s summer). So, I’m talking about it again.
My honey bought me this choker near the beginning of our relationship, during my last trip to Toronto. It’s a gorgeous, extremely sturdy leather band with “two d-ring buckles in a butterfly wing arrangement,” which suited us perfectly: we’re not lifestyle kinksters, and E.L.F. Zhou doesn’t require its customers to be. (Although it’s definitely sturdy enough to be – which I guess we are, too.)
There are a number of things that I remember about that trip, besides how short it was. I remember my phone dying on me right as I was supposed to meet him on the Friday. The hokey little restaurant where we stayed too late and had the best fries of my life. The way he looked at me the first time he slipped this around my neck, like he was falling endlessly and was wholly all right with that fate.
2. Je Joue Mimi Soft Vibrator
It’s no secret that I adore Je Joue’s Mimi Soft vibrator ($94.99 USD). My original one’s battery wore out last September, and I hadn’t gotten around to replacing it – even after giving one away for my blogiversary.
The brand was kind enough to send me a replacement so I could compare the updated version, and I’ve given it a spin around the block already. My initial response? It’s still good… But isn’t quite the same as it was in 2014. Stay tuned for more.
3. The Body Shop French Grape Seed Scrub
Did you know that The Body Shop’s spa line includes four different body scrubs?? Because I didn’t, but they’re all fantastic.
This is my favourite of the bunch, and well worth picking up: The Body Shop French Grape Seed Body Scrub ($32 CAD). It’s so thick that it seems almost sticky, with a hydrating green base that’s full of grape seed oil, grape seed powder, and grape bud extract. It smells mostly like grape seed, but also–inexplicably–like the base notes of The Body Shop’s Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream ($21 CAD).
I’ve used this scrub twice this week. Even that buttery E.L.F. Zhou British leather has nothing on how soft my butt is right now.
4. The iPhone 8
After months of deliberation, I finally bought a new phone: the iPhone 8 in Gold. (It’s not very gold.) It’s bright and shiny and it ended up being the only major smartphone option for me – the Pixel, Galaxy 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X are all so large that I can’t hold them in one tiny, arthritic hand.
I’ve been spending a lot of time recently thinking about systemic biases in design. (If “recently” means “over the past three years.”) Modern design is so thoughtlessly catered towards men that it’s even made for biologically male bodies in “female” spaces: the height of the toilets in women’s washrooms; the depth of the chairs used in nursing areas; the weight of the doors to women’s changing rooms.
How different would smartphones look if they were made for a 5’4″ frame, rather than a 5’10” one? Would I be able to stay in public for more than a few hours at a time if chairs were designed with my body in mind? What about cars – would women have a lower motor vehicle accident mortality rate if seat belts were made for us, too?
5. Saje Spa Spirit
My final April favourite is something that’s helping me get through my most recent breakup. Saje Spa Spirit ($16.95 CAD) is a scent I started using in January, and it came with me in the move.
It’s bittersweet: Spa Spirit is mostly eucalyptus and benzoin, and my ex and I loved it equally. Smelling it makes me wish I could go home again – to step through the door into the always-too-hot apartment and tell my cat he wasn’t allowed into the hallway; to lean into my partner and kiss him hello. I want to feel his threadbare t-shirts under my palms; to nestle up against his tall frame and let his chest hold the entire weight of my body through my face.
Spa Spirit smells like home, and in doing so, it makes home portable. It isn’t a place where I was once very happy, and once very sad: it is a warmth that I hold in my chest, and I share with you.
Even if you don’t like dogs.
