After December, February is my favorite month of the year.
Because in December you get cozy, you have Christmas, and you reflect on the year and get excited about your vision for the following year.
Then comes January.
January is the month version of Mondays.
You have all these plans and resolutions, but you’re just too tired so you decide to snooze till Tuesday.
Enter February.
You are ready to go!
Plus, there’s love in the air with Valentine Day – or Galentine -. There’s also the Super Bowl… there’s something for everybody.
Also, did I mention that February is my birthday month?
What’s not to like? 
Of course, this is the perfect time for all content creators’ gift guides.
And I get it, but historically I’m not the best gift-giver when it comes to the romantic world.
Every time I’ve tried to “surprise” my husband with a gift, he hasn’t been exactly thrilled.
This year I’m trying to break the strike, let’s see.
However, something I’m really good at is giving gifts to my friends and myself.
So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for yourself or for a friend, you’ve come to the right place!
I love a good categories, so today I’ll be sharing gifts for:
- Personal branding
- Personal growth
- Beauty
P.S. this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click through and purchase something, I may receive a portion of the price. It’s at no extra cost to you, but the profits go directly back into improving this blog!
Personal Brand:
This one is so, so important! I’m preparing a whole series on this because it’s such an undervalued asset.
Branding is what people think of you after you’ve left the room.
Whether you’re being intentional about it or not, you’re building a “brand” around you.
So why not take control of the narrative?
And you don’t have to be an influencer or have aspirations of becoming a public figure.
Personal branding can help you advance your career, get the right clients, and find like-minded communities.
The best thing you can get to be intentional about your personal brand is buying your full name’s domain name.
Yes, girl, buy the domain for your name!
I’m talking about the combination of your name + last name.
You don’t own your Instagram or your Twitter handles.
So please, buy “yourname.com”.
There’s a difference between buying your domain name and your hosting site.
Think about the domain as the “structure” of the actual house, and the hosting as the “land” where you’re going to build the house.
Meaning, you need to “park” or host your domain somewhere before it goes live.
That’s why I 1000% recommend buying from BlueHost.
It’s a small investment, and it gives you the domain for free.
Meaning, you buy “the land”, or “the parking spot”, and they give you the “construction materials” or “car” for free.
Pretty cool.
Plus, it’s perfect for newbies like us who may need A LOT of customer support.
Once you buy it, you can build a simple website on WordPress with an about section, you can also include some private links to your resume.
If you’re an artist or work in the consulting or freelance business, include your portfolio.
Include a contact form or info about how to work with you.
Don’t worry too much about design, they have cool free templates.
Also, if there’s a business you’ve been meaning to start, buy your domain, and maybe come home every night and spend one hour working on it.
You’re going to feel like you’re already working on your dream future.
Personal Growth:
I’m all about growing personally in all categories. But this Valentine’s Day I want you to focus on two specific areas: education and spirituality.
I wish I could tell you to go back to school or go get a certificate, but with this economy, I know that that’s not a reality for most of us.
However, that shouldn’t be an excuse to stop learning, which is why I recommend Skillshare.
It’s a platform that gives you access to hundreds of high-quality classes about virtually any topic.
From how to grow your houseplants to how to write a business plan, they have it all.
They have it all and for different skill levels.
If you don’t know where to start, you may want to look into developing your soft and hard skills.
- Soft skills: these are social skills, people’s skills, personality traits, etc. It’s what you take with you from job to job regardless of the role of the industry. For example:
- Time management
- Conflict resolution
- Teamwork
- Problem-solving (this is a big one for both employers and individual clients if you’re a business owner).
- Hard skills: these are more technical and tend to be industry-specific. Some examples include:
- Marketing
- Computer programing
- Project management
- Video production
- Sales
So yes, a resource like Skillshare can help you learn specific skills to grow in different areas.
I’m currently taking a class to improve my storytelling skills on the podcast, and then I want to take a class on video editing to produce better promo clips for my Instagram.
Faith and spirituality:
You knew that I had to include a book on this list!
I wanted to include a “one-size-fits-all” type of book, and this one was the clear winner.
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis has transformed my Faith Journey.
Regardless of your beliefs, I highly encourage you to give Mere Christianity a try.
I can’t tell you enough how much your life can change after an encounter with Jesus.
Forget about crazy religious rules or cultish fanatics.
At least give it a chance and read for yourself what the message of Jesus is about.
-of course, I will always point to the Bible first, but I get it that if you’re on the fence, you mind find it confusing at times-.
Maybe you grew up in an unhealthy religious environment, or maybe you haven’t been able to move past the: “okay cool, God loves me, what should I do about it?”.
Again, wherever you are in your journey, this book is transformational and insightful.
I promise you won’t regret it and will give you a different outlook on life.
Amazing gift to love yourself this Valentine’s month!
Beauty:
Ok, on the morning of our 20th birthday we should all be required by law to buy a basic skincare set.
For real, having beautiful and healthy skin can have effects on your whole well-being and how good you feel about yourself.
I like skin care that’s simple and safe, especially for my sensitive acne-prone skin.
I’m not a skincare guru, but I am a ve-ry picky buyer!
So these are the basics that I wholeheartedly recommend:
Okay, if you’re still scrubbing your face with wipes, I’m gonna ask you to stop.
A cleansing balm or oil is the way to go, because you massage make up off your face, instead of rubbing it as if you were cleaning a public restroom toilet.
I’ve tried many options, and by far, my favorite is this one by Farmacy. 10/10 type of product.
It’s a clean product, it removes even the most water-resistant mascara in the world, and it has an applicator, so you don’t have to stick your fingers inside the product.
Trust me, this makeup remover is totally worth it!
I love and completely recommend First Aid Beauty.
I have sensitive skin and break out easily.
Ang gosh, this cleanser is SO amazing.
Your skin will be super clean without that nasty feeling like you just used dish soap on your face.
You know what I’m talking about? Yeah, that tight and dry feeling. Ew. No, not with this cleanser.
SPF:
By now, I must sound like your grandma telling you to wear sunscreen.
I know that everyone says this, but no one talks about how hard it is to find a sunscreen that feels like skin, doesn’t leave you oily, and doesn’t give you those tiny bumps in your forehead.
Enter Elta MD. Really, I don’t know why brands keep launching their SPFs. Elta MD is sitting comfortably on the throne.
I first got my hands on Kiehl’s a year ago when I got it inside an event’s gift bag.
Until then, I’d never been a huge fan of moisturizers because I used to never notice a real difference.
But oh my gosh!
This stuff is beyond this world, I used it to get my skin ready for my wedding, and I was so happy with the results!
It’s lightweight but you can still see incredible results really quick. 100% recommended.
So there you have it. I feel like if you get one item from each category, you will be SET for 2021.
Especially if you get Mere Christianity.
That one will set you up for LIFE.
Please comment below: did you end up buying any of these gifts?
Make a calendar reminder to check back in 6 months and tell me if you don’t love them!
In the meantime, let’s connect on Instagram, and of course, make sure to come back next week.
With love, E. ♡
