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An honest review of Veja V-10 sneakers

I've never been a sneakerhead, but in the last several years, sneakers have become my most-worn type of shoes. Since I don't go into an office every day anymore—and since I spend most of my day at home, inside—my style has definitely become a little more casual. Thankfully I'm not alone; there seem to be more sneakers on the market than ever, at every price point (even by luxury brands like Dior and Chanel). I've been slowly building up quite a wardrobe of sneakers—everything from classic Vans and New Balance to higher-end designers like Isabel Marant and Chloe—but I hadn't considered Veja until someone in one of my subreddits declared that Golden Goose sneakers were out and Veja sneakers were in. All of a sudden, I kept spotting Veja everywhere, so I decided to see what the hype was all about. Read on for my honest and unfiltered thoughts on the brand. 



My 2024 birthday wishlist

Whenever I create my birthday posts, I like to look back on the previous year and see what I ended up getting. (Update on 2023: two of five items received, plus one more in progress.) Turns out these posts have some pretty strong manifesting powers, and who am I to argue with that? In the spirit of abundance, here's what's on my wishlist for this year. 



The 5 accessories I'm wearing the most

Of all the famous quotes Coco Chanel dropped in her lifetime, for some reason, people tend to remember this one: "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off." It's solid advice, but if you like accessories as much as I do, it can feel a bit stifling. (And frankly, I prefer "The best things in life are free. The second best are very expensive," which is 1000% spot on.) I truly believe that accessories can make your outfit: a strategically placed belt can transform your entire silhouette, the right earrings can light up your whole face, and never underestimate the power of a chic scarf. I do agree that too much can be...too much, but when you find accessories that you love, a little can go a long way. So with that in mind, here are the 5 accessories I'm wearing the most in 2024 (so far).



The best straight leg jeans of all time

As I've noted several times in the last year or so, we're in the middle of a silhouette shift from skinny jeans to wide-leg jeans, and for some of us, it's been a bit rocky. Honestly, I was happy to see skinny jeans go—I owned several pairs over the years but was never a huge fan; I have very bony ankles and if my jeans are too fitted there, they make me look awkwardly out of proportion. I like wide-leg trousers in general (shout out to the Madewell Harlow pant, one of my best buys of 2023), but because denim is such a thick fabric, any sort of slouchy or relaxed jean can be tricky to pull off. That hasn't stopped me from trying (check out this post at your own risk) and still probably won't in the future, but I recently came to the conclusion that straight-leg jeans just work so much better for my body type, so until I find a fit that I like even more, I'm just going to stick with them. I have three go-to cuts from three different brands; read on for my honest opinion on the best straight leg jeans out there.



What I wore in New York City in January

It's wild to think that a little over 10 years ago, I left NYC after 14 years to move to San Francisco. In those years since, I've been back to visit at least once a year (even in 2020, before the pandemic), although usually in summer or fall; I am the first to say that living in California for the last 10 years has definitely made me much less tolerant of actual winter weather (I do not miss it in the least). That said, I will never turn down a free hotel room in Manhattan, so when Sean had a last-minute work trip come up, I decided to join him. What was meant to be a super-quick 2-day trip turned into a really regenerative 4-night trip (thanks to Alaska Airlines for canceling my flight home!), and in spite of the COLD AF weather, we had one of our best NYC getaways ever. Here's what I wore in New York City in January. 



An honest review of One Love Organics

The concept of clean beauty—products formulated without potentially harmful ingredients—has been around for several decades, and while the market has been flooded in recent years, I always enjoy seeking out new and independent brands that are bringing something fresh (and effective) to the table. One Love Organics is not necessarily new (they've been around since 2010) but unlike some of the bigger brands that have sold out to, say, Unilever, you get the impression that they're still a founder-driven company focused on making really effective, cleanly formulated products. I've had the pleasure to partner with them a few times on social media but wanted to share my frank and unfiltered thoughts on their products. While I received all of the following items for free, this is an unsponsored post, and all of the following opinions are my own. Read on for honest reviews of One Love Organics products. 



How to do latte dressing

Within the last year or so, I started to notice that the color black has begun to look very harsh against my complexion. This is unfortunate because I like wearing black (it goes with nearly everything!) and have a lot of black clothes (it always goes together!). So I've been trying to incorporate lighter, softer colors in my wardrobe—when I'm about to buy anything for my upper half in black, I have to stop and ask myself if it comes in another shade—and thankfully for me, a trend of sorts has taken hold in the last few months, called latte dressing. While I'm generally quite choosy about which trends I do and don't wear, latte dressing is one that I can totally get behind. Here's how to do it.



The best things I bought in 2023

In starting to plan the year ahead, I decided to take one look back at 2023 and realized there was a new idea there—I've never done a recap of my favorite things that I actually bought. I'm not including anything I received for free; these are things I spent my own hard-earned dollars on, and more importantly, these are things that I wear all the time, use all the time, or simply bring me joy. Here are my best buys of 2023. 



2023 year in review

The other day, someone asked about my holiday travel plans, and as I responded that I was leaving "a week from next Saturday" I realized that, no, I was leaving Saturday. As in this week. As in Christmas is now less than a week away. I don't know what happened to my sense of time—maybe it's just that I'm getting older and time seems to be moving more quickly—but yikes, how is it already the end of the year?! I had every intention to break this into several posts, but now that the clock is ticking (and, to be honest, IRL priorities have been taking precedence), here's a look back at the highs, the lows, the best sellers, the worst fails, and more highlights from 2023. 


It was 27 degrees and snowing, and I was coming down with Covid when we shot this photo, as you can probably tell from my face

What to wear with red tights

I am finally at the age where I don't feel compelled to try every trend, however I do give them a whirl when the mood strikes. Earlier this year, red tights staged a comeback—I tend to think of them as very '80s, but they definitely had a Gossip Girl (the original) season 1 moment in the early 2000s—and while I wasn't quite ready then, a display at my local Target caught my eye (I know, right?!) and all of a sudden, they seemed like the perfect thing to wear right now. Here's how I styled my red tights for a holiday party. 



The Cheryl Shops 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

Cue up "All I Want for Christmas Is You" because Black Friday is mere days away, the sales have already started, and it's high holiday shopping time. My family has really dialed back our gift exchanges over the last few years, which makes putting these gift guides together kind of fun—it's like shopping for imaginary friends and family without actually spending any money. That said, a lot of these gifts are on my own wish list (especially the splurges section), and I already own—and highly recommend—many of the others. So without further ado, here's my holiday gift guide for 2023!
 


An honest review of Cocokind skincare

People often ask me if more expensive skincare products are worth the price, and my answer is sometimes. The most important thing is finding something that works for your skin type, and there are usually solutions at all price points. While there are very expensive products out there that I begrudgingly admit work very well, the truth is that when it comes to your skin's basic needs—cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection—you don't have to spend a fortune. (If you are going to splurge, I recommend doing it on a serum, which is where you usually find the most potent, and active, ingredients.) You also don't have to settle for mass-market formula loaded with phthalates if you're on a budget; in recent years, there have been a bunch of clean and environmentally conscious brands to hit the market. One of which is Cocokind, so when they offered to send me a bunch of products to try, I gladly accepted. While I did receive these products free of charge, the following review contains my honest and unfiltered opinions. Here's my assessment of three of Cocokind's top products.




Spanx faux leather leggings vs. an Amazon dupe

 Yes, it’s yet another Spanx review, but this time with a new twist. Just as Spanx contacted me to see if I’d like to try their new fleece-lined version of their signature Faux Leather Legging (yes, of course), an Amazon brand reached out to me to see if I’d like to try their Spanx dupe. For context, I get contacted a lot by Amazon brands, and I turn most of them down, because in my experience, most of it is total crap. But Spanx leggings aren’t getting any cheaper and inflation doesn’t seem to be improving, so in the name of journalism, I decided to give both a try. While both Spanx and Santiny sent me these leggings for free, the following are my honest and unfiltered thoughts. Here’s a head-to-head comparison of Spanx Faux Leather Fleece-Lined Legging and Santiny Faux Leather Leggings



The Sephora sale masterlist

It's that time again for the Sephora Savings Event, which seems to be creeping up earlier and earlier every year. And now that it's been a full year since I left Sephora and am no longer getting showered with new product on a regular basis, I've found I've become much more particular about what I spend my own money on. So instead of recommending a whole bunch of new stuff, I thought I'd focus on my all-time favorite products from Sephora. If you don't know what to buy during the event, hopefully this list will help! The sale started today with 20% off for Rouge members, and VIBs and Insiders get 15% and 10% off respectively starting Tuesday, 10/31. Plus all Sephora Collection is 30% off for the entire event, which runs through 11/6. Here are the products I'd recommend trying.