Summer Dresses At Uniqlo and Old Navy

Uniqlo

I buy all my summer dresses at Uniqlo or Old Navy. One of the two retailers always comes through for me with color and cuteness. I prefer cotton or linen, and with a tad of spandex is ok. Each merchant's dress collection can always be dressed up or down and can be machine-washed and dried, although I tend to hang-dry my dresses.  

Let’s do a quick round-up to see what they’ve launched this year.

First Up is Uniqlo:

Followed by Old Navy:

I’m featuring what I like. There are a few other styles at both retailers. Each of the dresses comes in several more colors and/or patterns, and between the 2 retailers, why shop anywhere else? Mini, midi, or maxi, sleeves or sleeveless, every summer, they’ve got us covered! No pun intended, hardy, har, har.😉😎

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Sometimes All We Need To Spend is 29¢

Years ago, we had a great store in Manhattan called Odd-Job-Lot Trading with several locations throughout the city. It followed the model of dollar stores, but the merchandise was of higher quality. Once I bought a 2' by 3' kitchen rug for $4 that cost $17 elsewhere. I got nice pots and pans before T.J. Maxx came onto the scene. Durable kitchen tools sold for under $2, so when I was furnishing my apartment, I bought an apple corker and bread knife before I knew what they were, as my cooking skills were more limited back in the day. One afternoon, a neighbor came into my kitchen and unwittingly told me what the knife I bought was by referring to it as um, a bread knife. 🎆Ohhhh!🎆 Fantastic quality, and now all these years later, I use both repeatedly.

Such closeout stores are fun because the inventory is always changing, and you never know what bargains you’ll find on your next shopping trip.

A couple of decades in, I’m still using my 29¢ pencil sharpener from Odd-Job-Lot Trading. Still looks new, and it’s very sharp to sharpen a pencil in seconds. If I ever had 50 pencils to sharpen at once, I might've considered upgrading, but this simple manual one does everything I need it to do! I don’t need space, batteries, or a plug to use it.

Now my mother needs a pencil sharpener, and I’m considering buying her this 84¢ one from Walmart (↙on the left). Since my cheapee has worked for me, does she really need a more complicated or costly one? Like me, she doesn’t sharpen more than one pencil at a time every once in a while.

Honestly, I’m surprised by how much value I get from my 29¢ purchase. The lesson learned: Don't spend more if a 29¢ pencil sharpener is all we really need! We’ll then have an emergency fund to spend more on goods or services, where you should not go for the lowest price. 

You’ll have the money when it really counts to pay for reliability, proximity, or greater expertise to avoid hassles down the road. A mechanic who fixes your car should give you peace of mind when you call, because you get trusted, reliable service you won’t have to wait more than a day to receive, plus you won’t have to haul your car to the next town to be fixed.

Is it just me, or do you empty the shavings every time you sharpen a pencil?✐✎✏ 

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Spicy Shrimp With Artichoke

Our leftovers for dinner tonight. A light yet filling meal.

I made shrimp at home for the very first time. A one-skillet dinner, it was easy and delicious, so perhaps we’ll eat it again. I made up the recipe as I cooked it; therefore, I'm posting it below to remember how to make it again:

Spicy Shrimp with Artichoke

Ingredients

16 oz shrimp, frozen (Any size of shrimp works, but small is bite-sized without being too small.)

12 oz artichokes, frozen, quartered

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped (I eyeballed it.)

red bell pepper, about 1/2 cup, chopped

 1/2 cup carrots, sliced

A handful of nuts - I used almonds and walnuts, chopped

My homemade Hoisin Sauce --

4 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons peanut butter

A squirt so about a tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon hot sauce

A sprinkle of cumin

A sprinkle of salt

Directions:

1) I defrosted the frozen shrimp by tossing it into a bowl with water, vinegar, and lemon juice a few hours before cooking it.

2) Into a 12-inch skillet, I melted the butter and tossed in the diced onions, celery, carrot, and bell peppers. I let it cook covered on medium heat for about 8 minutes before tossing in the bag of frozen artichoke quarters to simmer for another 4 - 5 minutes. 

3) Chop and toss in the nuts. Lift the lid and stir occasionally.

4) Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. If the mixture gets dry, pour in 1/4 cup of water.

5) Next, I used the ingredients of my homemade Hoisin Sauce, tossing them into the pan: 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon hot sauce.

6) I added a dash of salt and cumin near the end, but before the dish finished cooking. Do so to taste.

Hours before cooking my shrimp dish, I separately tenderized 2 cups of dried brown rice in a rice cooker. It takes about 30 minutes but can sit for a while. Brown rice has slightly more fiber than white rice, yet I think people can eat the rice they prefer. I like the chewiness of brown.

We don’t have a Walmart in Manhattan, and I wish we did. Its house brand, Great Value, is excellent and lives up to its name!

On plates, spoon the spicy shrimp with artichoke and sauce over the brown rice. Bon Appétite!🍤🦐

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Celebrities In Diamond Stud Earrings

Click to enlarge photos you want to see.

A luxury item I covet but will never buy is a relatively huge 4+ carat pair of diamond stud earrings. 4-carat diamond studs can cost anywhere from $30,000 - $50,000+ for natural diamonds. Prices are determined by cut, carat, color, and clarity. Customers might consider G-H/SI or F-G/VS, which are of decent quality.

Well, that’s a lot of moola for a single piece of jewelry, isn’t it? Obviously, I was born into the wrong class in society! But, you know what? I will still indulge my love of diamond stud earrings on this blog!

Let’s do a roundup of celebrities who are lucky enough to either work in lucrative fields, or are born into families of wealth, or can borrow their jewelry from famous designers. I’d be fine and dandy with borrowing jewelry! Wearing diamonds without having to buy them is a fabulous deal!

Not all these famous ladies are wearing the biggest diamond studs. Some may even be lab-grown diamonds or not diamonds at all. Only they know.

I wonder if Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie borrowed their diamond studs to attend an awards show? Kelly Clarkson may have treated herself for all the shows and TV spots she does.

Michelle Williams, Michelle Obama, Judge Judy, and Simone Biles likely own the diamond studs they're wearing. All have had enough success to buy them.

Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber

Diamond studs of all sizes look great on everyone of all ages in all professions. What’s more, lab-grown diamonds are making diamond stud earrings more accessible to average wage earners, and the technology is improving all the time. Still not cheap, but diamond prices, both natural and lab-grown, are falling! Since 1st on the market, lab-grown diamonds have decreased by as much as 75%! Lab-grown diamonds are physically, chemically, and optically identical to gemstones formed over billions of years in the Earth. The only difference is their origin ... they are created in a laboratory, and only a jeweler using a special loupe can tell the difference.

Diamonds over 2 carats increase exponentially in price. Lab-grown white sapphires in 925 silver are a winning substitute for diamonds if you covet bigger stones without breaking the bank.

It’s all beautiful eye candy to us glitter-lovers!

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8 Leading Skincare Brands In the USA: A Blog Extra

Photo: Dreamtime

After finishing my 5-blog series on what skincare travelers would find in the pharmacies of 10 countries around the world, I thought my international readers might ask what skincare brands are popular in the USA?

When I wrote the 5 blogs in our series, I listed 5 of the most popular, best-selling skincare brands in each country featured. It's all done for fun. Truthfully, if publishing a book that one gets paid to write, a journalist would have to apply even more scrutiny to verify each entry by contacting a ton of primary sources, which I couldn't do for a personal blog. Perhaps the journalist would also visit the countries to do in-person research with funds provided by her employer, ahh, even more fun! My blogs come from reading a bunch of mostly secondary sources, deciding which are credible, and drawing from the consensus of what I find. It gives us a start and an introduction to the skincare of the 10 countries I featured.

So without further ado, our extra 11th country!🇺🇸

In American skincare, we hear the word efficacy spoken a lot. It means the ingredients are high-performing and in the right amounts to deliver the promised results. Retinol, retinal, retin-A (tretinoin), bakuchiol, peptides, vitamin C, niacinamide, and ceramides are some of the ingredients in top US skincare products with efficacy to moisturize and treat the signs of aging.

For US brands, I have two lists -- 1st I'll focus on knowing ...

5 Leading Skincare Brands Popular in the USA

1) CeraVe was developed by dermatologists containing ceramides to strengthen and protect the skin barrier. Super affordable, some of its formulas also have retinol for night and vitamin C serum with or without sunscreen for day.

2) La Poche-Posey is made in France (so I put it on France's 5 top skincare products since it is manufactured and popular in France).

3) Neutrogena offers science-based anti-aging products that target anti-aging, hydration, and acne issues. Its formulas are developed and tested in a laboratory and sold in drugstores. Its popular Rapid Wrinkle Repair cream contains retinol, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin but is free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde-releasing agents, benzoyl peroxide, parabens, and mineral oil. 

4) SkinCeuticals is often recommended by dermatologists as having clinical strength ingredients like vitamins C, E, B5, and Ferulic Acid. The brand is luxury priced to boot.

5) The Ordinary continues to be manufactured in Canada, so I grouped it with Canada’s skincare. I made the assumption that because of its budget-friendly price points, it is popular in Canada, as it is in the United States.

 

I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ↑above list. Why??? France’s La Poche-Posey and Canada's The Ordinary may be widely used in the USA, but we can’t claim them as US Skincare, so I did more reading. ↓Below is a 2nd list to reflect this:

5 Top Skincare Brands Manufactured and Popular in the USA are:

1) SkinCeuticals, as already stated, is science-based, antioxidant-rich skincare (often produced by L'Oréal USA, a fact I didn’t know). A double lister!

2) Estée Lauder, founded in 1946, specializes in luxury skincare. Today, it is the umbrella company of many other skincare brands, not only luxury brands. (See my info re: The Ordinary* to follow.) Estèe Lauder now owns MAC, Revlon, Bobbi Brown, Tom Ford, Clinique, Darphin, Too Face, La Mer, Origins, Deciem* (bought in 2021), and The Ordinary* (bought in 2024) + other brands. The woman who started the company was born Josephine Esther Mentzer in 1908, yet reinvented herself. She was the only woman on TIME magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

 
3) SkinMedica is a medical-grade brand focused on anti-aging formulas. This is a new brand to me! I’ve never used it.

4) CeraVe's formulas contain ceramides to protect the skin barrier, as mentioned in list 1. Often it is cited as America’s #1 bestselling skincare. I love the popular and bestselling CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for the Face and Body! A 2nd double lister!

5) EltaMD is known mostly for its professional-grade and lightweight sunscreen, yet it offers other skincare. A pity its superior sunscreen at $41 for 1.7 ounces is so expensive, the sun protection isn’t accessible for us common folk to use daily! Let them eat cake, eh?

Other key US brands are Aveeno and Cetaphil (the latter is another drugstore brand developed by dermatologists). I buy and like both brands for their hand and body moisturizing creams.

I have the benefit of in-person research in the US, and yes, both lists seem correct, or in the words of the late great Executive Editor, Ben Bradley of the respected Washington Post during his tenure (1968 - 1991), of getting at "the best obtainable version of the truth.”:)  

As it happens, Estée Lauder acquired  The Ordinary* by 2024, adding it to its portfolio of brands. This explains why this Canadian brand is on the 1st US skincare list. I love The Ordinary’s many products and am only too happy to add to its American success! I hope Estée Lauder doesn’t change the company (its philosophy, formulas, or price points) for the sake of profits! Critics accuse EL of buying and then running MAC (also Two Face, another of its acquired companies) into the ground by weakening the pigments in MAC lipsticks while simultaneously raising the retail price of the lipsticks. Let’s hold our collective breath for The Ordinary!🙏

The skincare brands I buy repeatedly are CeraVe (my overall favorite moisturizer - clean, thick, and never greasy), The Ordinary (for serum treatments, especially Retinol and Retinal), Neutrogena (Rapid Wrinkle Repair, Sunscreen), and Cetaphil (Moisturizing cream with glycerin, Vitamins B3 and B5).

Here’s a little insight into how the beauty industry works:

Today, Cetaphil products are primarily manufactured in Canada, specifically at a major Galderma plant in Baie-d'Urfé, Québec, which serves as a global supply hub. While the brand was originally developed in the USA in 1947, it is now owned by Galderma, a Swiss company. Making my 11-county skincare lists, at times, I had to split a few hairs. Cetaphil was created in an American lab, is widely available in US drugstores, remains a bestseller, and is widely used by Americans, so I grouped it as a US skincare brand. Moreover, once a skincare brand becomes part of a conglomerate, users should stay alert to notice any changes in formulas over time.

What skincare brands do you use where you live?

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

🦘🐨🪃🦜

Australia’s🇦🇺 skincare brands focus on clean, natural, gentle ingredients along with sun protection. Australians live closer to the sun and receive up to 15% more solar UV rays than Europeans. Daily sunscreen use is vital to prevent skin cancer.

Below are 5 Top Australian Skincare Brands found in Aussie pharmacies:

1) Go-To Skincare is known for its simple, effective,

 skincare to nourish and protect the skin. 

2) Alpha-H is famous for its Liquid Gold, a powerful glycolic acid exfoliating treatment.

3) Ultra Violette is a leader in SPF sun protection for the face and body.

4) Lanolips uses sustainable, natural lanolin to make super-hydrating lip, hand, and body balms, such as its popular 101 Ointment.

5) Frank Body gained cult status with its coffee scrubs and has a full range of uncomplicated, natural body and skincare products that use coffee as a main ingredient.

Other key brands include: Naked Sundays, QV Skincare, Bondi Sands, Grown Alchemist, and Rationale.

🍀🍀🍀🏰 ☘️☘️☘️

The skincare of Ireland🇮🇪 centers on local organic seaweed, botanicals, and sustainable practices. Products are developed to treat sensitive skin, anti-aging, and natural wellness.

Ireland’s 5 Top Skincare Brands popular with locals are:

1) Pestle & Mortar (Co. Kildare) goes by the names Codex Beauty and Bia. Natural extracts and active ingredients go into making its skincare.

2) Collection (Co. Cork) formulates organic, scientifically backed hydration for sensitive skin.

3) Green Angel (Co. Dublin) contains organic seaweed harvested from the west coast of Ireland.

4) Kinvara Skincare makes vegan and plant-based, natural products.

5) Seabody is a luxury skincare brand that uses sustainably sourced seaweed from the Atlantic coastline.

Other key brands include: Ground Wellbeing, Dublin Herbalists, Nunaia Beauty, and Skingredients.

With Ireland, our 10th featured country, we complete our series of 50 top skincare brands used by the natives of each country. Whose skincare would you most like to try?

Update: As an afterthought, I wrote an extra blog for my international readers who wish to know what leading skincare brands they’d find in US drugstores. Publishing on Monday!

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Sweden🇸🇪 is known for the high-quality ingredients in its skincare, which is also wrapped in sustainable, minimalist packaging. The formulas are made to calm and protect the skin from cold, harsh climates. 

5 Top Skincare brands popular in Sweden include:

1) Verso, which has a patented Retinol 8 complex, said to be 8 times more effective than standard retinol and with less irritation.

2) L:A Bruket offers organic, sea-based, spa-inspired products for the bath, body, and face.

3) Björk & Berries is a sustainable luxury brand that makes skincare serums, lotions, and creams from birch leaves and the vegetation -- flowers, herbs, shrubs -- that grow in the Nordic forests.

4) Estelle & Thild formulates pure, bio-active, and organic skincare without toxins and pesticides. 

5) Woods Copenhagen - is clean, natural skincare containing Nordic ingredients like birch bark and sea buckthorn, all of it created to nourish and protect the skin.

Other key brands are True Organic of Sweden and Ida Warg.

Denmark’s🇩🇰 skincare is similar to that of its Nordic neighbor, Sweden. It also emphasizes minimalism, sustainability, and all-natural, high-performance ingredients often sourced from its own Nordic region. 

5 Top Danish Skincare Brands are:

1) Ole Henrikson has antioxidant-rich products like its top-selling True Serum to brighten the skin.

2) Nuori strives for freshness by blending small batches of products with natural ingredients every 10 - 12 weeks.

3) Woods Copenhagan mixes clean Nordic ingredients like
plants and berries with modern science.

4) Kjaer Weis, a luxury brand, makes certified organic and sustainable skincare. 

5) Ecooking uses simple, pure, organic, and locally sourced ingredients that are easy to recognize and pronounce. Founder Tina Søgaard, who worked in the beauty industry for years, began mixing her own skincare in her kitchen using raw, unpolluted, effective ingredients. Called food for the skin, each of her products, from scrubs and lotions to creams and her special Multi Oil™, is designed to target a specific skin issue. So clean, her formulas are perfectly safe to eat!

Other key brands are Rudolph Care, Beautè Pacifique, and Tromborg.

Return to this space next Thursday for part 5, the finale of our skincare in foreign pharmacies series. Guess the last 2 countries I'll feature. Hint, hint: Trish of The Red Cardinal lives in one country.

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Sundrug in Tokyo

Asian countries have innovative and advanced skincare. Without a doubt, I'd be especially excited to browse the aisles of the 2 countries below:

Japan🇯🇵 is known for concentrating on hydration, sun protection, and using gentle, effective ingredients.

5 Top Skincare Brands Popular in Japan include:

1) Shiseido is arguably the most famous Japanese skincare beauty line globally. A luxury brand, it sells its makeup under the name Clé de Peau Beauté and its sun protection under the Anessa name. Superior quality, whatever it calls itself.

2) Sk-II is renowned for its signature ingredient, Pitera, a fermented yeast, extracted to improve skin texture, firmness, and a healthy glow.

3) Hada Labo specializes in intense hydration. The brand's famous skin laboratory mixes, not one, but multiple types of hyaluronic acid, which is sold at affordable prices.

4) DHC is an affordable label popular for combining traditional Japanese ingredients with modern science. The brand’s Deep Cleansing Oil is world-famous!

5) Blorè is known for some of the best high-protection, light-weight sunscreens ever sold, like its UV Aqua Rich Water Essence. Sunscreen is the skin's #1 anti-aging tool!

Other key brands are Kose Sekkisel, Tatcha, Melano CC, Curèl, and Cure.

South Korea🇰🇷 is renowned for having the most advanced skincare products on earth. The South Koreans are 20–30 years ahead of the rest of the world due to their innovative research and development, rapid trend cycles, and focus on preventative care. K-Beauty zeros in on a gentle approach, hydration, barrier protection, and prevention through top-notch, natural ingredients such as snail mucin and ginseng, selling at low prices. Its skincare is world-famous for achieving a healthy, glass skin appearance.🎉💥🎆

The Top 5 South Korean Skincare Brands are: 🎉🥳🎊

1) COSRX is known for using snail mucin and clearing imperfections.

2) Beauty of Joseon combines traditional herbal medicine (known as Hanbang) with modern science. The Dynasty Cream is a bestseller!

3) Laneige is known internationally for its advanced hydration in its creams, lotions, and lip sleeping masks.

4) Sulwasoo is a luxury brand known for its ginseng anti-aging serums and holistic skincare.

5) Anua makes soothing, clean formulas like its calming Hearleaf toner.

Other key brands include Medicube, Blodance, and Skin1004.*ੈ✩‧₊˚

If you want to learn more, please return to this space next Monday for part 4 in our 5 part skincare series. Which 2 countries will I feature next? Try to guess ... and stay tuned!

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 2

In Germany🇩🇪 skincare brands balance science, botanicals, and luxury. 5 Top Brands found in German pharmacies, favored by the locals, include:

1) Augustinus Barder, a beauty luxury label that uses patented stem-cell technology (TFC8) to repair cell tissue.

2) Dr. Barbara Sturm, a beauty line 

famous for its anti-inflammatory ingredients and "vampire facials.”

3) Babor, a professional brand that pioneered sealed glass capsules of concentrated active ingredients to treat specific skin issues.

4) Weleda, established in 1921, is famous worldwide for its nourishing Skin Food cream.

5) Dr. Hauschka is a pioneer of natural, holistic beauty sourced from plants and herbs.

Other key brands include Balea, No Cosmetics, and Isana. Beiersdorf AG, a Hamburg company, created ♥Nivea cream in the blue tin in 1911♥ and turned it into a centuries-old global brand. If not in a tin, it’s not the original formula. Note: The Nivea cream sold in the USA is not the same cream that is sold in German pharmacies.

France🇫🇷  commonly infuses its skincare with thermal spring water, antioxidant-rich grapes, and botanicals to nourish and pamper the skin. The French like to cultivate an elegant image.

5 Top French Skincare Brands widely used in France are:

1) LaRoche-Posay formulates its skincare for sensitive skin using mineral-rich thermal spring water. Its Cicapliast Baume B5 is a cult favorite.

2) Bioderma aims to infuse the skin with micellar water (Sensibio H20).

3) Avène specializes in thermal spring water to soothe hyper-sensitive and dry skin.

4) Caudalie uses grape-seed antioxidants in its anti-aging skincare products. The retailer's Beauty Elixir is popular.

5) Nuxe combines botanicals with luxury. Huile Prodigieuse is its famous nourishing oil for the face, body, and hair.

Other key brands are Embrolisse (its Lait-Crème Concentrate is a cult favorite), Vichy,  and A313.

Part 3 of our 5 part series will be published next Thursday. Can you guess the other countries (10 in total) to be featured?

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