Not to incite unnecessary stress, but it appears that Bangkok is in a second COVID lockdown and home, for many, will once again double as a place of work. But we know the drill this time. We’ve been through this once before and we’re much more prepared to continue our lives at home without interruption this time around. In anycase, here are a few items that might help make the experience more pleasant.
Homebodies will tell you that sound systems are key to the lifestyle. If you already have a key Bang & Olufsen speaker at home, such as the popular disc-shaped Beoplay A9 or the modular wall-mount Beosound Shape, the Beosound 2 will be a great addition or two as the speaker is less conspicuous and can connect with your existing Bang & Olufsen speakers to create a synergised and wireless home sound system that extends to your secondary living spaces, like the kitchen or even the master bathroom. And oh yeah, we recommend the Beosound 2 in gold.
For Christmas, I was gifted a candle from the Swedish aroma brand called Amoln, and I have to say it has made my home feel that much cosier and more welcoming over the holidays. There are several scents of candles from this brand, including 1945 (a supposed earthy letter of love from a daughter to her father), Berrybomb (a combination of berries and blossoms), Barr (the fantasy of Scandinavian forests captured in scent), Chado (a Japanese tea-themed fragrance) and more. What I find charming and stylish about Amoln besides its soothing and lasting scents is the uniform and iconic blue packaging no matter what scent you choose.
Make you home a place of comfort and zen and get yourselves an Amoln candle, available at Norse Republics.
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Truth be told there are many great natural and artisanal soap makers in Bangkok, and I guess my general recommendation here is to go order some for your baths and showers as they are such a luxurious experience compared to mass-produced body wash. But if you don’t know where to start with natural soaps, here’s a fairly unknown brand that my colleagues and I have recently found are very good value for money. With only an Instagram page to browse and inquire, Votano has several enticing bars, including the striking Rose Clay & Moringa, Lavender Vanilla, a dark Coffee Scrub and Cinnamon, just to mention a few. FYI, Votano is often bouncing around your favourite community spaces like The Commons and Habito Mall when market events are on, but with the pandemic, just order from IG directly and get it conveniently delivered the next day.
Lockdowns are the time to give your skin a rest from makeup (and pollution) and focus on skincare. While I’m sure you each have your 10-step after-shower staples, this Estee Lauder kit is a Sephora limited-edition special, so if you’re a skincare or Estee enthusiast, this might be something rather exclusive you’ll want to snatch up it quickly becomes unavailable. The Advanced Night Repair set contains five products plus a cute little leopard skin and pink flower-patterned pouch to keep them in. The products include the Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate, Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, Micro Essence Skin Activating Treatment Lotion, Revitalizing Supreme+ Night Intensive Restorative Crème and Revitalizing Supreme+ Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme—all the goods that will make sure you come out of the lockdown looking well-preserved and perhaps even better than you did before the staying home.
When you feel any kind of anxiety rising up during lockdown, I find that one of the best things to do is to let it all out the old fashioned way. That is, don’t pick up your phone and go on a public Twitter/Facebook/IG Stories/TikTok rant you might regret. Rather, pick up a writing utensil and some pages and pen (or doodle) away your frustrations. Something special that you can get cheaply right now is stationery from Sizzler’s limited edition Christmas collaboration with Thai artist Suntur. Although Christmas is passed, if you’re a fan of Suntur’s whimsical, minimalist doodles, I’m sure the red and green colour scheme and Santa hat motifs aren’t any kind of deal breaker. Let loose your creativity or emotions in the blank pages of the Sizzler X Suntur notebooks. With all the online work you’ll be doing at home, it’ll also be nice to think on paper every once in a while. You can find the notebooks as well as other useful items like pocket alcohol sprays and drink tumblers, all embellished by Suntur’s drawings, at Sizzler branches until January 24.
See also: Editor’s Pick: Christmas Coffee, Nostalgic Sneakers And More Festive Flair
