simple pleasures: my solo trip to London and my new favourite lip product

no.7 - seeing Troye Sivan live, my current read (it's amazing btw) and my recent purchases

simple pleasures is a monthly curation of all my favourite new (and old and loved) things - think a collection of passions, habits, books, quotes, purchases, recipes, and more.

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Hi loves! And if you’re new here: welcome!

I still can’t quite fathom that there are over a hundred of you! Thank you for all the love and support, it truly means the world.

I apologise for the delay in this month’s simple pleasures newsletter. So many exciting things happened in June and just like that, it’s halfway through July!

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Highlights

• Attended a lovely book club meeting with fellow bookshop colleagues (hi there, I know you’re reading this!). I love that I’m now part of an in-real-life book club where we gather around a table to eat great food and discuss the book we’ve all chosen to read that month. Togetherness is truly a form of art.

• I took my long-awaited solo trip to London! I discovered that traveling solo is incredibly rewarding because, even though it can be scary, it’s incredible to really spend the whole day doing whatever you want in your own company. Everything, down to the nitty-gritty details, were all things that I decided to do. This means a lot of bookshops, musicals, and reading in the park. I became my own best friend for three days and took myself on some amazing dates. In the end, I couldn’t do everything I set out to do, but I’ll simply *have* to return. An itinerary of my trip is up now!

• If you’re Dutch, you probably know “De Efteling”. It’s our very own Disney theme park (but really, it doesn’t even come close). I spent the day there with my close girlfriends, and it reminded me how very grateful I am to have them in my life.

• Saw Troye Sivan in concert. I adored him live back in 2019, but he’s transformed into an even better artist and performer. If you haven’t yet, check out his new album:

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Reading…

• I am HOOKED on Alice Winn’s In Memoriam. Set against the backdrop of World War I, In Memoriam is an emotional story about two boys secretly in love, both of the opinion it’s unrequited. Although the setting is dense, Alice Winn writes in a very approachable way, and I love that she isn’t shy of the melodramatic. This might just become another favourite of the year. I’m really on a roll because, ever since I started honing my reading taste, I have been loving almost everything I read.

• I love how

  Madeline Mills
  and I overlap in so many of our favourite books. In her mid-year reading check-in, she lists some absolute gems, which prompts me to extend my TBR…

• The excitement about my own solo travel was invigorated by

  Sasha Mei
  ’s article in which she makes her case for solo travel. Because yes, I also “like hanging out with myself and seeing what’s possible when I’m on my own”. I’m yet to truly grow out of my shell and make friends with the person next to me on the bus, but I love the mere idea of it.

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Watching…

• Challengers in the cinema is *an experience*. I almost fell off my seat, I was that on the edge of it. Beautiful. Powerful. Go watch it.

• My boyfriend and I have been watching the Bad Boys movies so we could go see the new one on screen. Although I liked the nostalgia from the first one, the second and third were a bit of a let-down, as they basically re-hash the first, but not in a convincing way. I’m curious about the newest one. I’ve heard people giggling about it as they exited the cinema.

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Spending on…

1. I got these beautiful Mejuri pearl earrings during my stay in London as a little souvenir. I love that they add a little class to an outfit but in a subtle way

2. I really only own one bikini and it broke, so it was time for a new one! I got this one from AYA swimwear, an Amsterdam-based brand, because I wanted to get a triangle bikini and liked the subdued shade of brown. It also (surprisingly) hugs me in all the right places.

3. I sometimes use self-tanners and was on the hunt for a non-hormone-disrupting one when I stumbled onto Eco Sonya Invisible Tan. It does the job and it doesn’t stain, even though it doesn’t stay on super long.

4. Ilia lip sketch is THE lip product right now. As someone who only uses lip liners (I don’t like the feeling of lipstick), a jumbo lip pencil is such a save. The colours are gorgeous and the consistency is a dream. I have the shade Banquette for daily wear and Kiln for nights out. And if you weren’t sold on it already, Ilia is also a non-toxic brand.

5. I can’t wait to delve into my (signed) copy of Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters. I’m currently reading Mellor’s debut novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein. Somehow my OCD wants me to read them in order even though they’re standalone novels.

6. Another non-toxic beauty product on the list. Since I ran out of body lotion, I figured I’d try an oil and have been loving the Sans Ceuticals Activator 7 Body + Hair + Face Oil. I really only use it for my body but I feel like it makes my skin glow.

7. A good rice cooker is hard to find in Europe, but this Yum Asia one is absolutely amazing. So glad we purchased one.

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Listening to…

Only if you’ve been off the grid completely could you have missed THE summer song: Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please”. It has been playing from my speakers on repeat.

I also have been updating a few playlists, including this one that I play whenever I don’t know what to listen to. It includes some of my favourite songs ever.

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Inspired by…