Oops. This past month has seemed like a pretty random mix of online purchases and in-person purchases, but by God these things tickled the collective fancy of my Instagram followers. Sho. From pressure-relieving seat pads to face-contouring wands that instantly create cheekbones, here are the gadgets people are obsessed with.
That means you should obviously choose the sexiest item. This “long sitting” gel seat cushion has a special honeycomb design that helps distribute the load and relieve pressure on the lower back, lower back, sciatic nerve and most importantly on the elderly. Fanjita. Undercarriage. Yes, guys, I bought a seat pad specifically to prevent my tail from going numb when I’m writing at my desk for long periods of time.
I can hear you all screaming right now, “You shouldn’t be sitting that long at a time anyway!” “Apple Watch allows me to stand up and do jumping jacks every 20 minutes!!” “Get a standing desk!!!”
Please calm down. If I want to sit at my desk and spit out words until my entire fanny loses all sensation, I’ll do it. Thanks to the new gel seat cushion, I was able to ride even further than before. What an honor to win!
All kidding aside, this cushion is really great for people who have back pain and find any office chair uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel soft and fluffy, like you’re sinking into the sofa, it just feels supportive. In a really forgiving way. It also allows air circulation between your butt and the chair, which is convenient. You can also lift the cushion with a special handle (regular handle, but I have it in QVC mode) and use it in the car or on the go. Globe Theater. (If you know, you know.)
I bought it from Amazon here* – it was £24.99
* indicates an advertising affiliate link. This means we earn a small percentage of every purchase you make through our links.
I know this is subjective, but I’ve tried a lot of earplugs – it’s safe to say most are commercially available – and these are the ones that still leave my ears in the ear in the morning. These are the earplugs left inside.
Most others are so big that they threaten to burst through the wall of my ear canal, or stick out so much that I can’t sleep on my side, or are too hard that I end up yanking them out around 3am. And it burns my ears.
Before using this type of earplug, the Alpine Sleep Soft was my best choice (yes, I’ve tried Loop and all the other earplugs that frequently come up as candidates). This is because earplugs made of soft silicone can be easily inserted and removed. (no rolling or twisting required), small enough for my delicate ear canal (most earplugs are definitely made for giants), and snoring-blocking yet high-pitched. The noise has formed a great noise seal that can penetrate.
(Alarm, fox mating, owl hoot)
Having tried just about every type of earplug (I’m not a big fan), the Alpine Sleep Soft are the best, except for the custom earplugs that have to be molded from your own ear canal. But then along came Alpine SleepDeep.
These are oval shaped and appear to fit a little snugly inside (if you push them further with your thumbnail they get sucked into place as if entering some kind of space satellite airlock). Also available in two sizes. . That’s the key. We recommend the smaller size unless you have a very large head. Or a large ear canal.
As mentioned above, these are the only earplugs that you can wear at night and leave them in when you wake up in the morning. I think they are pretty amazing.
I bought it here* – I bought a mixed pack of both sizes, but if you just want the “small”, choose the version labeled (confusingly) “50 pack” please. It seems like a small size in itself.
It’s kind of a cheat entry since we featured this great vest top last week, but it’s nevertheless one of our most popular recommendations this month. This is a soft, beautifully cut vest top that is built-in so you don’t need any underwear underneath. I’m a convert.
You can read the full rave reviews about this top here. Alternatively, you can buy Uniqlo’s ribbed bra top (£19.90) here*
Contouring online is an extreme sport for some people, where they alter their entire bone structure or magically change the shape of their nose through clever optical illusions. It looks impressive in the movie, but when you see it up close, it’s completely fine. Don’t think you’re missing a trick if you haven’t covered your entire face with stripes or dark wavy lines yet. I gave it some brown paint and buffed the whole thing to a questionable finish.
What I can suggest is that if you want those “supermodel cheekbones only” mentioned above, just swipe the Contour Elf Beauty Wand (I use medium/tan) just below your actual cheekbones and use a fluffy brush Dust it lightly and blend it. . The sponge applicator seems to apply the color better than the stick, it’s less waxy and easier to buff. The shade is well thought out, it’s not orange and it stays on your face until you wash it off.
If you don’t want to invest in expensive contouring products, it’s a good way to step into the world of sculpting. I also like that the plastic tube packaging is very lightweight, perfect for my on-the-go makeup bag.
I bought mine at Boots, but you can also buy it online here*. It costs £9 and is just as good as other more expensive products.
On a boring note, I have some really nice Tiffany earrings. A gift from many years ago. 10 years? During that time, I tried and failed to wear these diamond studs for more than a few days at a time. When I try to thread it through the post, the threads seem to tear the inside of the piercing hole, making it painful and swollen every time, and it takes a few days for it to grow back.
I made the decision to sell my earrings and buy myself “new” earrings (actually, I had loved them before, so they were new to me, but not to the world), and this time they were standard I chose a classic “push-on” bag. All is well, my ears are very appreciative, and the smooth post just keeps sliding. But I have to say that the woman at the jewelry store put the fear of God in me about losing earrings. She was all for screw posts for safety.
I started doing some serious research and spent about 8 minutes on the train home from London finding a potential solution. It was a lockable earring back from Lox.
These clever backs allow you to insert the earring posts, but then they lock in place so the backs won’t slide out even when you apply Hulk Hogan levels of force. I just can’t shake it. wonderful! To put it back on, just push the prongs together (a little fiddly, but not frustratingly so) and slide them out.
So far, very good. I’ve walked around with the backpack, taken it on and taken it off hundreds of times, and there’s still no sign that the LOX’s strength has diminished.
Buying two sets of lockable bags will set you back nearly $10. If you ignore things like MI5-level hidden spy cameras and nanobots, this is probably the most expensive gadget on the market today, but by its very nature it should be difficult. If possible, I would only have to buy each gorgeous earring once because I don’t want to lose them…
I bought LOX on Amazon here* – £9.99
I didn’t want to self-promote (or I did, but I thought I’d save it until the end!), but my most bought recommendation this month was actually from my new book, Supermodel How not to become one. I can’t tell you how many messages I get every day from people who have finished reading this book and feel the need to tell me right away how much they loved it. Or even from people who just started and can’t quit. Or someone who can’t stop laughing out loud in public.
There were dozens of wonderful, heartwarming messages and mini-reviews, often with entire sentences quoted at me. It’s so fun to hear how people devoured this book and then gave it away to their friends and family because they made such a fuss about it.
If you haven’t read it yet (or haven’t listened to it – the audiobook is available in popular places like Audible and Spotify), find it at your local bookstore or order it online here*. If you liked anything you read here on Substack, I promise you’ll love this book.
