Hey folksickles. I feel like this list will be shorter than years past as I stuck to mainly the same products and things in 2025 especially, so there's that. But alas here are the products and things I very much enjoyed and would repurchase. I will say that I don't have photos of the products here because I've used up many of them and thrown them away but... there's always Google and in the instance that I've reviewed a product, the product name will be clickable and you can take a gander at the review.
1.
ORLY Nail Polish in Beautifully Bizarre: I have been really loving this nail polish. I would describe this as
ORLY Kiss The Bride Nail Lacquer's (a favorite of mine, as you might know) younger sister because it still has that pastel pink vibe but the teal pearl shift to it and slight tinge of lavender give it a bit of a kick while the color is still super wearable and, in my opinion, appropriate for any occasion because it's not particularly loud in any way.
2.
Colourpop Shadow Stix in Rising Sun: I've been using this as a base for yellow eyeshadow and it's just so beautiful! I love the way the pink tones in it peak out from underneath the eyeshadow and give it this kind of lit-from-within dimension and depth. It's so pretty!
3.
L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Panorama Mascara: It's been so long since I've loved a mascara so much that I would outright say if I couldn't wear falsies any more for whatever reason that I'd be ok just wearing that mascara alone. I'm looking for a noticeable difference in length, volume, and definition - a mascara that fans out my lashes nicely and won't clump them together. I have finally found a favorite and have to rave about it! I just absolutely adore this mascara almost to the point where I don't want to try anything else because I fear I'll be disappointed.
4.
Lorac Mega Pro 3 Palette: I feel like I am such a sucker for a good warm-toned neutral palette and this is no exception! I was genuinely sad when it was time to move on to the next palette. These shadows are beautifully pigmented, buttery smooth, blend easily, and generally play nice with one another. Truly a pleasure to use!
5.
Hourglass Blush in Sublime Flush: This blush such a lovely, brightening pink that I think would look good any time of year but it's really giving me spring vibes.
Obviously the following two are holy grails for me because I use and rebuy them all the time!
6.
The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane: Squalane is the only product that significantly diminishes both redness and texture on my face where, due to PCOS shaving, my skin was once left angry and inflamed but now it's even toned, even textured, soft and smooth. It generally makes my skin look and feel great.
7.
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence: Another holy grail product for me because it brought back my skin from being dry and tight to being soft, smooth, and supple. Very few products give me as nice of a hydration and softness as this does.
And now, some shows I really loved. I feel like I watched so much trash anime in the past few years so it's nice to have so many things to talk about for a change!:
16. Demon Slayer: I started watching Demon Slayer in March and felt like I've been sleeping on it this whole time! Its themes of recovery after loss, found family, and the friendships one makes along the way are all so resonant. I really did start, in a way, to feel like these characters are my friends and now that I'm there, I'm not ready for it to come to an end! Granted, there's another three years before that happens.
17. Dan Da Dan: Now, takes on this anime are fairly controversial, but generally I enjoyed it. One of the main factors in that being that despite Ken and Momo's obviously growing affections and awkwardness with one another, they have moments of connection that feel real and not overly contrived or distant, which I appreciate. Granted, the cliffhangers with which each season ends has me so annoyed because we have to wait quite a while to see what happens next.
18. The Wild Robot: I didn't talk about most of the movies I watched last year on here because what I discovered about myself last year was that I'm not much of a movie person. I find that often the run time doesn't give adequate time to develop a relationship with the characters where I truly am invested in them and what's happening to them. But that wasn't the case here. This movie is overall so sweet and heartwarming and once again, the theme of found family here made it quite beautiful to me.
19. Blue Eye Samurai: Watching an animated film set in Japan wherein no one spoke Japanese was a bit odd to me at first, as someone who is clearly an anime viewer. However, the storyline of this was captivating to me and the theme of found family shows up again. Although granted, this is a rated R animation with full frontal nudity that doesn't discriminate based on gender, so you've been warned.
20. Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun: After waiting for 5 years we finally got a season 2, which I thought was great because we learn more backstory regarding Yugi and Tsukasa. However, we are left with a cliffhanger and no news of when a new season is coming out which... is frustrating because are we looking at... another 5 years?!?
21. Helluva Boss: This is another rated R animation that is not going to be for everyone. Granted, its way of perversion is mostly talking about kinks and not actually showing that. Regardless, we get a lot of development in Stolas and Blitz's relationship in the newer season - I personally love the emotional payoff and psychological exploration that we get of these characters. Not just Stolas and Blitz, but essentially the majority of the main cast in the seasons. Again, clearly, I'm a sucker for found family as a trope because here it is again!
22. The Apothecary Diaries: This was a really fun historical fiction, mystery anime that, while it does have romance in it does a great job of not selling itself as a romance. So the will they, won't they dynamic of our couple here doesn't bother me. Especially because the backgrounds and personalities of these characters sort of set them up for a slow burn anyway. I'm really looking forward to more seasons!
23. Golden Kamuy: This anime is one I've been meaning to come back to for ages and finally did and... while mostly fun, what a wild ride it is! One of my favorite things is how this anime just flips fanservice on its head and serves it up in the style of mostly muscular men being naked in... well largely it's in onsens or in a banya but it is one that plays up the ridiculousness. That said, despite it's R rating, there is no full frontal nudity and everything is covered in shadow. Other than that, we have... wait for it... found family yet again! The discussion about Japan's indigenous people - the Ainu, and the connection between Japan and Russia is interesting, especially because I was never taught that part of history in school. I mean in short it's a historical fiction that's full of dick jokes so it won't be for everyone but if you have a somewhat immature sense of humor and like historical fiction I think it's a great one to check out. We also do have psychological exploration of characters when it comes to people like Tsurumi and also all the tattooed prisoners, but I won't spoil.
24. Bridgerton: Last but not least, I have watched the first two seasons and the Queen Charlotte special in the past but did a rewatch because it had been some time. I will say, Season 3 wasn't my favorite and I feel like, while I did sort of root for Penelope, I feel like her losing weight this season sort of made it feel less like a victory for the "fat" girls and, frankly, that wasn't really touched on. Her age is, which strikes me as odd because Penelope isn't really too old to still be out on the marriage market so I don't know. I also just, the yearning wasn't there the same way it was for Simon and Daphne or Anthony and Kate so it just didn't hit me the same way. Francesca also rubbed me the wrong way, and I say this as someone who can be shy and introverted and socially awkward. I just found her sort of rude and sort of a departure from how she was portrayed in the earlier seasons and I don't mean because a different actress is playing her now. It feels like she went through a personality change. Eloise remains my favorite character and I so cannot wait for her season. Granted, we do have our silly goofy boy Benedict up next so I'm curious to see how that plays out because I mean... he is silly goofy but he's also been messy these past couple of seasons so I'm curious what a Benedict truly smitten by love will be like.
Lastly music, I did listen to some things here and there that were alright but these two hit the hardest:
23. Mon Rovia: If you like folksy indie music that has a message and heart behind it I HIGHLY recommend checking his music out.
24. Oh Wonder: I have loved Oh Wonder for years and years so listening to their entire discography felt like a treat. Their music is so upbeat and uplifting. But another thing that made me feel really endeared to their music is that I was catsitting for a friend while I was going through their discography and she would come to me for cuddles when I was singing their songs and it was the absolute cutest thing.
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Disclaimer: I paid for all the items mentioned above.
