January Cheap Treats

 Because it's January, and I've resolved to treat my skin a little better, I've added a new player to my (quite minimal) daily beauty regimen:

This Neutrogena sunblock spray really is fresh and cooling, just like it says. There's no greasiness to it, no smell, and you can find it at the drug store for less than $9 for a 5-ounce cannister. I mist it on my arms and back of the hands, right down to the knuckles, as well as on my neck and chest, before I head out for the day. My dermatologist would approve, I'm sure.

After 20 years of not wearing any perfume, I'm treating myself to scent again. One of my new favorites is Faith Hill's eau de toilette "True," a modest splurge at $25 per ounce. It smells like clean, clear water, like a cool spring breeze, like denim cutoffs and a fresh white tank top. I found it at my local drug store:

 I love the packaging, and of course, it doesn't hurt that it's pale blue:

Another new favorite is "Dream More," a body mist from Gap, ridiculously inexpensive at less than $10 for a 7-fl. oz. bottle. (It was on sale.) It reminds me of crisp,white paper, of a lavender-scented breeze, of purple and white crocuses poking up through the March snowdrifts of my Kansan childhood:

At this price, I can afford to spray it all over myself, the linen closet, and my drawer full of vintage hankies:

Aaaand it doesn't hurt that it is a pale lavender-blue.

By now you've figured out I'm a sucker for pretty packaging. Here's another package I love, an intensely fragranced hand cream that is also light and quickly absorptive. It's available here at $24 for 4 ounces, which sounds pricey. But a little dab is all you need, so it will last me months and months:

It's called "Breathe," and it has shea butter in it for richness and peony and white lily for fragrance. To me, it smells like my infant daughters' skin.

(For some reason, both Lovely Daughters #1 and #2 smelled like flowers when they were babies. The Boy smelled entirely different, like fresh bread. All three of them were delicious.)

Lollia hand cream packaging is so pretty that the back is even more attractive than the front:

As a final January treat, I nabbed this beauty at my weekly patrol through the local Goodwill store:

A generous 13 inches across, this glass platter sports an uneven, goofy series of concentric circles:

I love how the platter look like ripples in a pond:

And it was only $4.99.

Gotta love that.