I went to the spa, and my brain all but melted away in a sea of forest hikes and swimming, lavender sea salt scrubs and crudité. It was very, very nice, and all a little too relaxing, and it has taken me a while to get back in the swing of things (and in truth, I’m not entirely certain I’m there yet). So please bear with me as I get back up to speed, and meanwhile, here are a couple of discoveries I made while I was away: first up is this Hourglass lipstick (the color is called I Can’t Live Without) and it is one of those your-lips-but-better shades, only maybe just a tiny bit darker, and now that I’m trying not to do a too-bold lip, which I’m told can be aging, I’m finding that it’s just the ticket.

The problem with deodorants, as opposed to antiperspirants, is that if they’re scented and you sweat even a little, that scent gets stronger, and unless you’re a really big fan of that scent, this can be a problem. This stuff, however, smells of nothing (well, as much like nothing as anything can) and it really works, too.

I have historically been lousy at applying concealer, and mostly avoid doing it altogether, even though the circles under my eyes can be tragic sometimes. But recently I discovered this under eye primer, and I have to say it has changed the game. You smooth it on after your moisturizer  but before makeup, and it de-puffs and color corrects and just generally makes the application of concealer a lot less tricky and more seamless. It’s also super-light, so you don’t feel like you’re wearing a cakey extra layer in the heat, which is nice.

My hairdresser used Davines This is a Medium Hairspray on me a while back after she finished my cut and blowout, and I loved the smell so much that she gave me a tin to bring home. I’m not typically a hairspray-user at all, and haven’t been since my eighth-grade Final Net days, when I would all but shellack my ill-advised Dorothy Hamill bob to keep it from going all mushroom-y in the Houston humidity. This stuff, however, is pretty much weightless, and like I mentioned the smell is divine, and on hot, sticky days when I want to wear my hair down anyway, it definitely helps to keep things from going sideways.