The Weekly Roundup Netflix Bingeworthy La Roche Posay Takenaka Bento Bowls Lockdown Edition

How are you, my friends?  I do hope you are not just surviving but finding a way to thrive during this new normal.  I think we are all discovering new ways to fill our spare time at home.  My love affair with Netflix has ebbed and flowed over time.  There is a huge array on offer but that means it takes a fair amount of sleuthing to sort out the gems.  I've had a soft spot for Scandi noir ever since watching "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy and my search on Netflix dug up "The Valhalla Murders."

I binge watched this series from Iceland with glee.  Yes, a grim murder mystery might seem like strange viewing right now but the stunning shots of Iceland in Winter and the plot twists and turns were exactly what I needed.  It wasn't on the same level as "The Bridge" but it definitely came close.

I ordered this bento bowl by Takenaka from Chapters.  It has two compartments and has locking clips on the side of the lid.  Yes, lunchboxes and the like aren't really in high demand right now but hear me out.  It is BPA and lead free, made in Japan  so it is a bona fide bento bowl and the bowl without the lid is microwave and dishwasher safe.  It really isn't that easy finding containers that are made in a "reputable country" without paying a premium price tag.  This will be going to a family member who relies on junky restaurant takeout containers for storing her leftovers and has a birthday coming up.  The 50% off price tag made it an easy decision.  My order arrived within a few days which was a surprise as I have heard of very long delivery schedules from the likes of Amazon and Sephora.

I picked up this sunblock SPF 50 by La Roche-Posay at Shoppers.  Father's Day is coming up and mine lives in Nevada.  Even though he has been sheltering in place for months, he does have a back yard.  The Anthelios XL SPF 50 cream comes with a free 50 ml tube which makes it a really good value.  I always find men, especially when they are your aging parent, incredibly difficult to shop for.  They are at an age when they don't really need or want anything.  I do find that simple practical things tend to go down the best.

What have you been doing at home these days?

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April Monthly Favourites Lockdown Edition La Roche-Posay Facial Roller Facial Masks Office Organization

Hello lovelies, how are you all doing?  I hope you are not just surviving but have found a way to thrive as well, notwithstanding the current circumstances.  I thought I would do a Monthly Favourites, the Lockdown Edition, as I haven't done a monthly favourites in..well...months, really!  So let's do this.  First up is La Roche-Posay's Cicaplast Levres (Lips).

I have always had a lot of issues with lip balms.  Despite claims of being hydrating and moisturizing, they tend to dry out my lips and cause massive peeling and flaking.  I hate anything that has mint, spearmint, chilli extract, lemon extract or any type of lemon derivative in a lip product.  These ingredients, while they cause an initial cooling effect, actually trigger an inflammatory response that just worsens the condition of your lips.  La Roche-Posay's Cicaplast Levres is a holy grail product.  It is paraben and fragrance free and contains all the good things like lipids that your skin needs to repair itself.  I picked mine up at Shoppers for $10.95 CDN.  La Roche-Posay, which is a French masstige brand, is usually available at the pharmacy.  Right now, with department stores closed, the only place to go for skincare is the local pharmacy or the grocery store. I am sure that, like myself, many of you are keeping a sharp eye on your budget.  La Roche-Posay isn't astronomically priced like other luxury French brands and it isn't cheap as chips either but for a made in France quality product I would say it is good value for the money. I noticed that the cosmetics section at Shoppers was closed off but, thankfully, the masstige skincare section wasn't.

Next up is a new addition to my skincare routine which is this jade roller.

Can you believe that I picked this up at Dollarama (Canada's version of the Dollar Store) for a bargainous $4??  Who knows if it is made of real jade but the cooling effect is the same.  And yes, Dollarama is still open because it sells food albeit the canned and packaged, long shelf life sort which is what everyone is racing around to find anyway.  There is something so soothing and meditative about using this roller.  Believe me, I have been rolling away like mad.

If, like me, you are working from home, you have had to quickly figure out how to set up a home office.  My home office area has become a bit of a bomb site but this handy gadget has really helped to bring in a degree of organization.

The cable organizer was spotted at Dollarama for an inexpensive $1.25.

Lastly, I picked up a selection of facial masks (and no, not the surgical kind, I haven't seen those around in many weeks) at Shoppers.

They were on offer for well under $3.00 each so I picked up a few to put into care packages to mail away.

Stay safe! Stay healthy!

This is not a sponsored post.