Amy's Anti Gift Guide

So right now is a season where you're being inundated by blog posts telling you, "buy this fur vest!" "you NEED this lipstick," go get yourself over to [insert any online store] RIGHT NOW for all these xyz deals.

Aren't you just a little bit sick of it all?

I am. So I did the opposite. Also known as the worst things I have tried/bought in the last few weeks. I'm not trying to spew negativity upon you, but let's just be real for a second in a very consumer-focused environment.

1. Garden of Life Raw vanilla chai protein powder

So the vanilla chai flavor is super alluring, right? I thought so too. I've had it in my Amazon cart for eons, but never bought it. Enter Natural Living Expo that I went to recently and I got a sample packet of the stuff. I was stoked because I really, rreeaally wanted to love it. I tried it today. Imagine a non-smiley emoji with x's for eyes. I have tried (and endured) a lot protein powders and green drinks that most would probably hate, (I LOVE me some Green Vibrance) and usually I can stomach them. This...no. It was chalky. It was clumpy. It was awkwardly thick. I thought I could power through, but then I made the worst mistake ever and I let it just sit there in my glass for about 60 seconds. Maybe 65. Then I took another sip of the most congealed concoction and had to spit it out. Sorry for that mental image. You've been warned.

PS I love the Garden of Life brand so don't ditch them all together. I think their vitamins are awesome, but I just can't even pretend to like this protein powder.

2.  MAC Mineralize Skinfinish highlighter in Soft & Gentle.

So I was looking for a new highlighter for my kit (not that I don't have 19 billion already). And basically every YouTuber in the world recommends this highlighter. The thing that stood out to me most was that several people said "it's not glittery at all! it's so subtle!" WRONG. It is the most glittery highlighter I have. I have started using it as an eye shadow instead of highlighter beucase I wouldn't put this thing within 75 feet of a bride. Unless she wants bright sparkly north stars on her cheekbones in her wedding photos.

3. Earth Science Almond Aloe Moisturizer (lightly scented)

First of all, this is a brand I REALLY like. And I've used this moisturizer in the fragrance free version and it's an all-time-favorite. But the scent in the lightly scented version? To me it smells like some combination of crushed flowers, baby powder and car air freshener. I know fragrance is pretty subjective and someone else might totally disagree, but I would at least like to say that the title is misleading and it's definitely not lightly scented. It's just straight up scented.

But I'm not all humbug about Christmas. We  decorated the day after Thanksgiving. We have our countdown to Christmas calendar up. We have Christmas tree and cranberry scented candles. It's getting real.

standing guard just in case the squirrels get any ideas about trying to inhabit our tree

Also, I hereby bestow upon you permission to not go uber-crazy on your Christmas shopping this year. It's just stuff. It doesn't equal happiness, or Christmas cheer, or anything that will bring you joy for more than a week. Make memories. Drink mimosas. And have fires. The end.