My CLWs

Can't Live Without products: the seventy quid and under edition

I should like to dedicate this post to my inaugural Broad of the Week, Maud Wagner, America’s first female tattoo artist, a magnificent broad, by all accounts (who is making me long for a new tatt… shall I?).

I also dedicate this post to my mate Jen, who said ‘DO SKINCARE VERNON!’ And so: I shall.

Soon.

But, first

I Can’t Live Without:

THESE BOXER SHORTS!

I consider the evolution of the status of the boxer short from man-pants to actual, wear-outside-the-house, bold as brass fully fledged woman’s summer short, one of the finer recent developments in fashion. I got heavily into boxers last summer, via a multi pack of men's boxers from M&S (strong recommend on that as an entry point), then worked up to this stripy pair by Speltham, which I think of as the professional fashion person’s boxer, and which I still rate among my most successful purchases of 2023. I originally got them in blue stripe, just re-purchased in the red. They hit the mid/lower thigh, they’re substantial enough to not make you feel vulnerable / like you are just actually wearing bloke’s underwear, they’re breezy and cool in both the literal and the metaphorical senses; you can wear them with a poplin shirt and loafers , or a slim fitting t shirt, a blazer and a sling back kitten heel, call it ‘business boxer’ - or, as I did ( just last week when the sun finally came out), with a logo t shirt , my fave Aligne leather jacket , biker boots (which I like to layer over visible socks, because black leather against a bare calf can look a smidge harsh IMO), and let me tell you: I felt several million dollars. Size up for maximum sense of security: I’m a UK 8 – 10, somewhere between XS and Small, and I went Medium, am happy with my choice.

THESE LEGGINGS!

I’m an accidental fitness person – never thought exercise would happen to me, loathed it at school, ignored it through the first half of adulthood, but then, somehow, ten years ago: it did, and now? Here I am, a fully fledged, if totally accidental, fitness person (more on that journey at some point). This necessitates activewear. I’ve tried a lorra lorra leggings over the decade since I got (accidentally) fit, I’ve tried expensive, cheap, everything in between – and I tell ya: these new season Uniqlo ones are up there with the very best. Soft as butter, seamed in a really flattering way, with pockets, the waist stays put even during the most vigorous cardio, they wash really well, and they cost £24.90. I’m pretty much in love with the colour option Uniqlo calls ‘brown’, but I’d call ‘the pinky purpley minky taupe OF MY DREAMS’ (the pic above does not do it justice).

These here sunglasses

I’ve got this theory that every truly successful look should be accessorised with something that… kinda throws it off a bit. Something that works precisely because it doesn’t quite work; something a bit odd, a bit weird, a bit wrong. It keeps the whole from looking too slick and Instagram-influencer-perfect, which I think is dunzo as an aesthetic. Real world and imperfect is where we’re headed, trust me. ANYWAY: I bought these Le Specs on sale two summers ago, partly because the style is called Oh Damn! and I’m a sucker for a good name, mostly cos I knew the shape (oblong) and the frame and lens colour (creamy orangey pink and grey-ish green) would be Just The Right Amount Of Wrong for me. And they are!

And now: Jen’s skincare section!

This cleanser

I refuse to go for so much as a day without The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleanser (£11.10 at Boots). Genuinely: I panic if I start running low. My skin is pretty solid, but can veer from slightly too oily, to slightly too dry; I wash it a lot, cos I live in filthy London and pollution ravages your skin quite as badly as sunlight (dehydrates it, disrupts the microbiome, damages the barrier, yadda ya). This is gentle but potent but hydrating but doesn’t break down the skin’s barrier - chapeau for that! Plus it’s really decently priced. It launched last year, I got it on the recommendation of a trusted aesthetician; I won’t lie, I have tried other cleansers in the meantime, but I keep coming back to this glorious powerful gentle puppy.

This vitamin C

Having said my skin is pretty solid: I’ve been off the active skincare ingredients for a couple of weeks, since a facialist pointed out I’d overdone it, my skin had become red and taut with too much retinol (probably) - but a fortnight on, having used nothing but the above cleanser, some super gentle hyaluronic acid , some super gentle moisturiser, and SPF 50 obviously (please tell me you SPF? Every day? YEAH EVEN IF THE SUN’S NOT OUT), and huzzah! I can now start reintroducing the big (serum) guns. Could not wait to get this one back in my dermis. Vitamin C is a cornerstone on a good skincare regime, it corrects sun damage, brightens, evens out tone - and this one by Paula's Choice is one of the best I’ve tried. Packs a right punch. Five stars on Tripadvisor.

These sneakers

OK, so these aren’t Can’t Live Withouts - so much as, Really Very Much Enjoying Living Withs. They spark joy! They do! They’re Adidas SL72s in, like, a browny suede? With maroony satin insets, and sunshine yellow laces and stripes, and a bonus blue streak on the soul? They look vintage, and not unlike charming, chic moles, poking from beneath the hem on my wide leg jeans. They’re gonna be the sneak of the summer.

This podcast

Dear Joan & Jericha… It’s not new – it originally launched in 2018 - but a mate and I were remembering it the other day, and making ourselves cry with laughter – literally, weep – when recalling our best bits. Which are many. It’s by Vicki Pepperdine and Julia Davis, who play evil agony aunts, and it is the rudest, funniest, most rogue thing you’ll listen to this week. Month. Possibly ever? The first time I heard it, I half-walked, half-crouched my way down the road – that is how hard I was laughing – and somehow walked straight into Julia Davis, but was too shy to tell her what she was doing to/ for me, in that moment. They released more series during Covid, and thank f***, that podcast was one of the handful of precious things which got me through lockdowns. Some of you will have already heard it, of course - but I know that if you have, you won’t mind me flagging up its genius here. If you haven’t? I’m jealous that you get to hear it for the first time. Actually jealous.