12 Things I Loved in April

I am a married woman!!!! 🤍 I genuinely don’t have the words yet to describe how beautiful our wedding day was, how full my heart is, and how surreal it feels to be writing this as my best friend’s wife. This month has been the most meaningful of my entire life, and I am so grateful. God is so good. Most of what made it onto this month’s list are things I either brought with me to Maui for our honeymoon or used in the weeks leading up to the wedding. It’s a very travel-forward, skin-forward, newly-married-and-glowing list, and I am not sorry about it at all. Let’s get into it! If you missed last month’s 12 Things I Loved, you can check it out here: 1. Cocokind Magnesium Calming Mist Flying to Maui for your honeymoon is exciting. Flying in general, however, is genuinely stressful on the body: recirculated cabin air, low humidity, disrupted sleep, and the general tension that comes with airports. I brought this magnesium mist specifically for the plane, and it was such a good call. Magnesium absorbs transdermally (through the skin), so spritzing it on your face and neck during a long flight is a simple, effective way to support your nervous system when you need it most. It’s calming without being sedating, and it genuinely helped me feel more settled and less depleted by the time we landed. A carry-on essential. 2. Toups & Co Makeup — discount code: HEALING25 I want to talk about this brand for a second because I genuinely love everything about them. Toups & Co is a small business that actually walks the talk when it comes to ingredients. No synthetic fragrance, no endocrine-disrupting additives, nothing your skin has to work against. And here’s the thing: my skin is happy with everything I put on it from this brand. Not just tolerating it — genuinely happy. The makeup also looks incredible, which matters, because clean beauty used to mean sacrificing performance and that is simply no longer an excuse. Use code HEALING25 for a discount. Support small businesses that are doing it right. I’ve been taking this for a few months now specifically because I knew I’d be spending extended hours in the Maui sun. Astaxanthin is a powerful carotenoid antioxidant (it’s what gives salmon and flamingos their pink color!) that provides internal photoprotection. It doesn’t replace sunscreen, but it works from the inside to reduce oxidative stress caused by UV exposure, supports skin elasticity, and helps prevent the kind of cellular damage that leads to premature aging. Think of it as your internal SPF backup. For anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors, this is one of the most underrated supplements you can add. A newer brand that I am completely smitten with. I got the lavender because it was the only scent in stock when I ordered, and honestly? I’m so glad that’s what I got. It smells lovely, not synthetic, not overwhelming, just genuinely beautiful and clean. I’ve been spritzing it around my home and it instantly changes the energy of the room in the best way. Scent is deeply connected to mood and the nervous system, which is why I take it seriously: I’m not putting a synthetic air freshener full of phthalates in my space and calling it self-care. Realm is the real deal and I’ll be keeping an eye on their restocks to try more scents. 5. Solara Sunscreen (and their Tinted Face Option!) This is what I wore on my body during extended sun hours in Maui, and I feel so good about that choice. I’ve been sharing a lot about sun health on Instagram lately, so go check out those posts if you haven’t, because there is so much nuance to this conversation. The short version: mineral sunscreen is the move. Conventional chemical sunscreens use UV-absorbing compounds like oxybenzone and octinoxate that are absorbed into the bloodstream, detected in breast milk, and are known endocrine disruptors. Mineral sunscreen uses zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide to physically block UV rays at the surface of the skin without being absorbed. Solara is one of the few mineral options that also performs beautifully: no white cast, no greasiness, just effective, clean sun protection. They also make a tinted face version that I love for everyday wear! I included this in every single welcome gift bag for our wedding guests as a party favor, which tells you how much I love it. A lip balm is such a small, practical thing, but the skin on your lips is thin and absorptive and most conventional lip balms are full of synthetic fragrance, petroleum, and other ingredients you’d never choose if you read the label. Sky & Sol is a clean, nourishing option that actually works, feels amazing, and is genuinely giftable. My guests loved it. So do I. 🤍 Okay, I have to be honest with you: these are not a health food. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But my (now!) husband and I have been absolutely obsessed with these as a junk snack alternative, and the ingredients are genuinely not terrible compared to what you’d find in a conventional bag of Cheetos. Sometimes you want something crunchy and snacky and a little indulgent, and I’d rather reach for something like this than something full of seed oils, artificial colors, and MSG. They have a “fries” version and a “balls” version and both are very, very good. Treat yourself. I will never trust hotel haircare. Never. The bottles are cute but the ingredients are almost always loaded with synthetic fragrance, sulfates, and silicones that leave my hair feeling stripped and coated at the same time. I travel with my own, always, and Innersense is what I bring. I use their color protecting shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in conditioner and my hair thanks me every single time. The formulas are clean, the performance is excellent, and the scent is beautiful without being synthetic. If you’re someone who notices a difference in your hair when you travel, this is your sign to start packing your own products. I needed new bowls. Both large bowls and smaller snacking bowls, and I wanted something that felt elevated without being precious about it. Year and Day completely delivered. These glossy bowls are genuinely stunning and feel substantial in your hands. The brand itself is lovely: thoughtfully designed, built to last, and the kind of thing that makes your kitchen feel like it was put together on purpose. I love them so much I keep finding excuses to use them. Snack bowl, soup bowl, fruit bowl... if it can hold something, I’m using a Year and Day bowl for it. 10. Young Goose LADR + Blue Peptide Spray Two things I’ve been excited about from Young Goose this month. First, the LADR serum: I apply this right before doing red light therapy, and the pairing is intentional. I’ve been using my Celluma panel consistently and absolutely loving it for skin repair, collagen stimulation, and overall radiance, and LADR is formulated to enhance how your skin responds to the light. It essentially primes your skin to get more out of each session. Second, I’ve been testing their Blue Peptide Spray, which contains copper peptides, a form of peptide known to support wound healing, collagen synthesis, and skin regeneration. Copper peptides signal your skin to behave more youthfully at the cellular level, stimulating repair processes that naturally slow down as we age. Still in the testing phase on this one, but I’m intrigued and will report back! 11. Clean Skin Club XL Travel Towels I’ve talked about Clean Skin Club towels before because I love them, but I’m specifically calling out the XL travel size here because they are everything when you’re staying in hotels. I don’t love the idea of using the same harsh, heavily bleached hotel towels on my sensitive skin, especially on my face. These disposable towels are soft, hygienic, and genuinely feel luxurious. They’re a non-negotiable in my travel kit at this point. My skin deserves better than a hotel towel that’s been laundered in industrial detergent, and honestly, so does yours. 12. Pure Encapsulations UltraDetox 10-Day My husband and I did…