Cheryl Shops

Yep, it's that time: Sephora's Beauty Insider event starts Friday, April 1st. Rouge members get 20% off starting on the 1st. VIBs get 15% off starting on the 5th, and Insiders get 10% off starting on the 7th, all with code SAVESPRING through April 11th. It's a great time to stock up on your favorites or to try something new, and since it's been awhile since I've shared my full routine, now seemed like a good time to give you mini-reviews all of my favorite Sephora products. Here are my recommendations for everything to buy during the Sephora Beauty Insider sale. 

We've had several false starts over the last few years, but it seems like a lot of us are returning to the office, at least a few days per week. As much as I love how productive (and calmer) I feel at home, I miss gossiping with my coworkers and seeing what they're wearing. And when it comes to what I'll be wearing, I have a feeling it won't be a complete return to my pre-pandemic wardrobe—for one, I don't think I can manage a heel higher than two inches—however there are certain pieces that I can't wait to wear regularly again, especially blazers. As I've said many times before, I love a good blazer. Nothing makes me feel more like I have my act together. I haven't been wearing mine nearly as frequently as I'd like to, with the exception of my trusty J.Crew camel sweater blazer. Because this blazer is knit, it feels softer and more relaxed like a cardigan; but because it has a notched lapel and more of a tailored structure, it feels a little more polished than a sweater. One thing to note: this style used to be called the Sophie; it's now the Eloise, and while he collar has been slightly updated and the fabric is a little more lightweight, it's basically the same piece—and a wise investment. Here are 7 ways to wear it. 

I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon—vitamins, home gadgets, French beauty products—but I am late to the fashion game. Which is probably because like everything else on Amazon, it helps to know exactly what you're searching for, and in the case of clothing, I don't always know. I'm more of browser than a searcher, and while I am not one to get easily overwhelmed by choice while shopping, I almost always do while looking for clothes on Amazon. So when Amazon recently asked me to join their influencer program, I seized the opportunity to sharpen my search skills, wade through the thousands and thousands of products out there, and find the best ones. Here are my 5 favorite tops that I've found (so far) on Amazon. Bonus: they're all under $40. 

I first started coloring my hair in high school with Nice 'N Easy or one of those semi-permanent at-home kits; I believe it was some sort of deep red color that no one is actually born with but that appealed to me in my (thankfully short-lived) grunge-goth phase. In college, I graduated to highlights, and that's where my troubles began. I've now been bleaching my hair for close to 25 years, and all that hydrogen peroxide has taken its toll. My hair was not thick to begin with, but over the years, it has become so thin and brittle that it started to break. I really noticed this back in 2020 after six months of not coloring my hair due to the pandemic, when a much healthier root started to grow in. Of course, as soon as I was back on the bleach, my breakage returned too. So when my new stylist recommended Olaplex, I was willing to try anything. After six months of using the system religiously, I can assure you that the hype is real. Here's my honest review of the four Olaplex products I've been using: No. 3 Hair Perfector, No. 4 Bond Maintentance Shampoo, No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner, and No. 6 Bond Smoother. 

As I mentioned in my newsletter last week, I've been hearing a lot about dopamine dressing, which is basically wearing clothes that bring you joy because the last two years have been all about sad sweatpants and scuzzy slippers, and we're all OVER IT. So as I enter my 44th year on this planet—yes, today is my actual birthday—I am fully embracing that concept. This week's outfit feels very "me" on several levels. For one, it includes some of my favorite pieces. On another, it pays homage to one of my favorite Peter Lindbergh editorials from Vogue, featuring all of the supermodels draped over motorcycles in Dumbo, dressed in a mix of Chanel and Schott. But on the deepest level, this is how my inner child would like to dress, ballerina skirt and all. And I'm totally embracing it.