In my late 30s and for much of my 40s, I suffered badly from migraines, on account of (in retrospect it seems so clear) a super-stressful job that was too good to leave, even though I knew it wasn’t good for me. But I stayed, for years, until they kicked me out, burning this lavender candle at my desk to soothe my head, and—I’m pretty sure—completely zonk out anyone who entered my office for a meeting. But it really is the most excellent scent: strong and green and deeply sedating.

This essential oil from C.O. Bigelow is extra-powerful too.

And I don’t know if I will be able to resist these Liberty of London lavender sardines for the unmentionables drawer.

The other day, I banged the hell out of my ankle trying to move the sofa back into its space after my dog Mister dive-bombed it and sent it sliding across the floor (this, alas, is a near-daily occurrence). It hurt so much a bruise was imminent, I knew, and I bruise badly. So I went directly to the medicine cabinet and applied Herb Pharm’s arnica oil to the affected area, and it never turned purple and gross. Because I am such a bad bruiser, I have tried other arnicas, and some of them are good, but none are as effective as this stuff. It must be highly concentrated or something, I don’t know.

I’m all for natural beauty in theory, but in real life rarely choose to go that route: I always feel like the items in question just won’t do their job as well as the ones with helpful chemicals. But the other day, I was in the horribly-named-but-excellent Detox Market (they sell natural beauty products, but doesn’t the name make you think it’s all going to be about cleanses?) with my friend Andrea. While she made a return, I checked out the RMS lipstick, and tried this plummy color, called Russian Roulette. I thought it was very pretty, but also that it looked a lot like most of the lipsticks I already own, so I passed. And I went home, and the late morning turned to late afternoon, and at one point, I went to reapply lipstick before going out and it was still on. I have since purchased it, and can say that first time wasn’t a fluke: I don’t know what they’re putting in this stuff, but I’m pretty sure it’s magic.

*You can read her post on Detox Market here, on I Want to be Her.

I wasn’t looking for a new favorite mascara the other day when I popped in to my local Nars shop to stock up on my current lip color of choice, but of course I’m always sort of looking for a new favorite mascara, and I decided to give their latest formulation, called Climax, a whirl. And I’m so glad I did, because this stuff gives crazy volume—like the kind where people ask if you’re wearing false lashes—and builds nicely with precious little clumping.