THE BEST HITS OF DOPAMINE
Let’s talk dopamine. Defined as a chemical messenger in the brain, dopamine affects things like mood, movement, motivation, and more. It’s known as “the happy hormone” because it’s associated with feelings of pleasure and well-being. We get dopamine from how we dress, eat, read, listen and so much more. So from chocolate to community playlists, this month’s curated list of the best things is dedicated to finding a hit of dopamine in your everyday life.
THE BEST SHOPPING
Cashmere. Chocolate. Beauty that works. Sometimes it’s the little things that make you feel amazing. Here’s what’s on your dopamine shopping list.
Because what doesn’t feel better than cashmere? LERET LERET is a luxury label specializing in the perfectly universal cashmere sweater. Thoughtfully designed in New York and meticulously made in Mongolia, siblings Edouard and Andrea Leret founded the brand to tell their unique stories while honoring century-old craftsmanship. We love their playful approach to design and fine textures.
Chocolate makes you happy–that’s a fact. We were recently gifted a box of Up Up Chocolate bars and were instantly obsessed with the taste and their story. They are dedicated to making chocolate from child-labor-free cocoa with a high level of transparency. So it’s a feel-good treat, guilt-free. We recommend the gingerbread milk bar for a fresh taste and dark sea salt when you want to keep it classic.
We partnered with Molly Sims this month for a pop-up of her beauty brand, YSE in our New York store! Molly spent years figuring out how to care for her skin. But once she did, she wanted to share her holy grail products so nobody would have to worry about their skin the way she did. Enter, YSE Beauty–a brand focusing on simple, clinically effective formulas so you can feel good in your skin.
THE BEST READS
Surfing. Breakout performances. Personal essays. Our reading list this month is all about feel-good stories on just about everything.
A friend handed us this book and while we were skeptical at first, we couldn’t put it down once we started. “Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life” by William Finnegan is a fresh approach to your 20s (and a bit into your 30s, 40s and 50s). It’s a personal account of his life as a surfer, bumming around and chasing waves across the globe and meeting many characters along the way before turning his experiences into a blossoming journalist career. Highly recommend.
If you haven’t seen “Anora” yet–you should. We love a breakout star moment, and Mikey Madison is no exception. The writer, Ruth Madievsky, does an excellent job humanizing the actress while also painting a beautiful story of how she came onto the Hollywood scene. She’s one to watch and we’ll be cheering her on every step of the way.
Because we can’t get enough of Substack. DigitalTinz is written by Tina Zhang and has little of everything but largely clothing that caught her attention. It’s an appreciation for minimalist clothing that gives you the same dopamine kick color but also personal accounts of how to enjoy your life.
THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT
Pleasurable garbage. Comfort food. Collaborative playlists. We’re adding a pep in our step with all things entertainment.
Whether yours is reality TV or taking a midday nap–we all have our guilty pleasures and this podcast is a celebration of them! We’ve been listening to “Sentimental Garbage” by Caroline O’Donoghue for a few years off and on now–and it makes us smile and laugh every time. It’s all about the culture we love that society can sometimes make us feel ashamed of. It’s chick-lit and feels good.
Music is such a mood booster and while we love making a personal playlist, we love a playlist that connects to others even more. Lindsay Holland is a surfer, influencer and founder of Marnie Rays–a surf retreat in England. When she posted her collaborative playlist on Instagram last month, we took note. Curated by 55+ people around the world, we love listening to a taste of everyone’s everyday tunes.
Few things make us feel better than a big, creamy bowl of pasta. Sometimes we like it simple, other times we like it spicy. This creamy cajun-style chicken pasta from NYTimes Cooking is a good combination of both. It’s colorful, a little spicy and a touch sweet–aka everything we need midweek.
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