💖 Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Let's get romantical.

I love love. I love a good rom com, a cozy romance novel.

And yet! As someone who was single until her early 40s, I have a complicated relationship with Valentine’s Day.

I used to find it supremely stressful in my 20s and felt just IMMENSE pressure to have plans that day from high school until I was maybe 28. For about a decade around that 28 mark, I used to report on Fashion Week at that time so I could pretty much ignore it and that was actually my favorite! It just eliminated the whole thing from my lifestyle. Sometimes I’d go on vacation with a friend and just ignore it.

I think I spent two or three coupled Valentine’s Days my entire life before I began dating my husband at 41. We went on our first date on February 3, 2022 (it was peak Omicron/Covid before that so we had a month of phone dates prior) and I was blown away when he sent flowers over that Valentine’s Day via Uber Eats so quickly in our relationship. P.S. If you missed my Substack on woo-woo things I did to bring more love into my life, here it is.

Now that I’m on the other side of it, I still find the holiday kind of overdone but sweet. Peter and I do dinner and some flowers. We skip the gifts in favor of allocating those funds toward a warm winter vacation.

My favorite thing about V Day? My inner single girl still loves to give a little gift from me to me around this time of year, when we’re all getting over a winter illness or dodging one (just FINALLY over 2.5 weeks of the flu over here!) and just need a little something to keep us going during these tundra months of January through early March.

SO! Here, my picks for gifts for you, a loved one, or your significant other.

Crown Affair The Basics Set My friend

Julia Casella

got me into this brand and I’m so grateful. When I had the flu, blowouts were obviously not happening. She turned me onto the Crown Affair air-drying method and I’m so glad she did! The twist-and-clip method works and my weird natural texture was effectively tamed and looked decent enough despite a lack of heat. This gift will save your recipient hours of time and actually makes low-maintenance hair life a reality.

Sacheu Lip Liner Set Like switching to gel nail polish, I find using what I refer to as a civilian lip liner (a regular pencil) versus a lip stain liner to be… pedestrian. Why do your lips 17 times a day when you can do them once or twice? Exactly. This trio costs $30 and comes with the only shades you’ll need. It’s uncomplicated, lasts forever and can be paired with any lip balm, tinted or otherwise. I’m into pairing it with this one.

Nation LTD Arlem Sweatshirt I have bought and loved so many sweatshirts from this brand. They each have something a little special that makes it less schleppy and more like a real, intentional top. They’re ideal for WFH but also for working out, errands, meeting friends for dinner and more. I buy a Nation LTD sweatshirt every Valentine’s Day for myself.

Bliss Soapy Suds Body Wash Whether you use this as a hand wash, as I do, or use it as a body wash in the shower, you simply can’t beat the lather or the scent. I stray and try other hand washes, but I always, always come back to this one. It just smells so clean and fresh to me and I finally got the big bottle after years of the smaller ones. In my house of four, it goes quickly!

RPZL Home Bow Tumblers These bow-adorned glasses are stunning for cocktails and mocktails chez vous, but also work well to store makeup brushes and eyeliners.

Quip Ultra Next Generation Electronic Smart Sonic Toothbrush Available in a bevy of gorgeous neutral hues and multiple ways to house and store it in your bathroom, this deeply 2025 electric toothbrush is environmentally friendly, but also makes brushing your teeth a pleash. It turns off automatically after two minutes, is adjustable in terms of gentle, medium or deep cleaning and the little light bar shows you exactly how much brushing you’ve done—and have left. It stays charged for 30 days, as well.

For more V-Day gifts, read on…