Sustainable Baddie’s February Staff Favorites: Sandy Liang FW23, Ilia Eyeshadow, Mary Oliver, and More
February, the shortest month of the year, has nearly come to a close, which means it’s time for SB staff favs! Of course, because of Valentine’s Day, the theme of this month is love, and we certainly embraced it. With recommendations of products to add to your self-love routine and new things to introduce to the ones you love, these staff faves will help you enter your next era of springtime excitement and energy. This February, Sustainable Baddie staffers, Aparna, Natasha, Carla, and Nikole discovered (or re-discovered!) some products, hobbies, and activities that we can’t wait to share with you. Read on to find everything from new foodie obsessions to your next great read (or writing inspo for your next book!) to inspiring new adventures. We hope you find something for yourself on this list, and we want to know what things you loved this month too!
Kicking off this week of staff faves, we are excited to introduce you to Nikole, our newest Sustainable Baddie team member! Nikole is the brains behind our social media and website, and we are thrilled to have her on board.
How I Built This with Guy Raz - “I’ve been stepping into my entrepreneurial bag lately; I love hearing the stories behind the brands I love <3. In each episode of How I Built This, founders share their journeys and provide insights on how to navigate the challenges they’ve encountered along the way. My favorite episode to date is Episode 481 with Shiza Shahid, the Co-Founder of Our Place and Co-Founder of Malala Fund. If you’re currently transitioning careers from the non-profit space to the for-profit space, definitely check out that episode!”
Blender 👩💻- “Blender is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software toolset used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D-printed models, motion graphics, etc. I’ve been using it to create a lot of artwork and 3D models for projects. Shoutout to YouTube University for all the free courses and resources 🤞”
HelloFresh - “Grocery shopping is a bit overwhelming, especially as a vegetarian who doesn’t really enjoy freestyling recipes 😅. Over the past few months, I decided to try HelloFresh (their discount codes were super convincing). I really love that all the recipes take less than an hour and I never end up wasting food! So far, their vegetarian recipes have been really good and I save more money using their services compared to going to my closest grocery store.”
Mayron’s Goods Hand Cream - “A birthday present from my lovely roommate! I hadn’t heard of this brand before but they’re free of synthetics and parabens, and they’ve been the savior for my dry reptile hands. Also, I don’t usually like citrus scents, but this Bergamot and Blood Orange scent is subtle and sublime!”
Credit: ny.gov
Vestoj Magazine - “This magazine is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s a literary journal on topics related to fashion, including interviews with designers, selected fiction from past centuries that features fashion as major imagery or even as a character in itself (like by Edith Wharton or Alice Walker), and critical analyses of the state of fashion today. Highly recommend to all of our fashion-loving baddies!”
Credit: Grammarly
Blue Iris by Mary Oliver - “More poetry recs, as always, who’s surprised. I think the OG cottagecore lesbian queen Mary Oliver is required reading for all sustainable baddies. This collection opens with a poem about sunflowers and I’m still not over it!! I’m a forever lover of Mary Oliver. Some poetry snobs find her to be overly simple, but I think that’s a misunderstanding of her craft and her abilities. She is simpler in her writing style than many poets, but she’s careful with her words and incomparable in her descriptions of nature.”
Banana Bread - “For some reason, I’ve been making a sh*t ton of banana bread this month. One weekend, I made three loaves. I can’t find walnuts in Colombia for the life of me, so I’ve begun to spice up my recipe by adding toasted hazelnuts and dark chocolate chunks instead. It is genuinely one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had. Reminder to all: never let your brown bananas go to waste ‘cause there's a yummy banana bread just waiting to be made.”
Weekend Trips to Little Pueblos - “I’ve literally spent almost every weekend in February traveling outside of the city (Medellin) to the pueblos where my family lives. Whether it’s just a day trip to my dad’s hometown or a full-blown weekend trip to my tía’s pueblo about three hours away, these trips have been so fun, healing, and a great way to spend some time with my family before I head back to NJ/NY.”
Feeling Inspired for My Next Book - “Oooo…Sustainable Baddie exclusive! The ideas are flowing in; I’ve been writing and planning out my second book this month. If I continue to feel as inspired as I have and don’t end up hating everything I write, I hope this book will be out by the end of the year! I’m learning this time around that the process of creating a poetry collection can be fun and enjoyable and not soul-crushing (hahaha). That’s not to say this won’t be a Sad Girl™ book, but I think the more I have fun with the creative process, the more people will see that joy shine through <3”
Credit: HBO
Running with Nike Running App - “Getting back into running has helped my mental state this month 😮💨. The Nike Running App offers a range of guided runs with coaching to help you get motivated so that you feel like running is a feasible endeavor. It’s helped me to go easy on myself and actually enjoy running to decompress my mind and just be in the moment. And, if I do start to drift off thinking about something, I find it helpful to use this moment to brainstorm and feel creative. It’s kind of like when you take long showers, but without the water consumption.”
Credit: Bikini Kills from The Daily Beast
Sandy Liang FW23 - “Though I wasn’t at the show, I nonetheless felt super inspired by the collections she presented. I really enjoyed the girly motifs like the roses and bows placed on the models’ hair and clothes. It made me curious to lean into a sleek version of girly outfits. I even crocheted a version of the long bow hair clips!”
Credit: Annie’s Catalog
Ilia Liquid Powder Eye Tint - “I am not very good at makeup, but I’ve wanted to experiment more with eyeshadow (I am used to wearing none). After looking through shelves of makeup, I realized that I love Ilia’s products because they feel so light and are cruelty-free and vegan. I found this amazing eye tint with the most ethereal mauve pink color that actually shows on my brown skin. It’s been fun pairing it with my purple outfits!”