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Best Of

Best Of

Best of August
LockSimple

Sep 5, 2025

•

6 min read

Best of August

Everything I loved last month

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

🏖️ Best of June
LockSimple

Jun 20, 2025

•

4 min read

🏖️ Best of June

So far, anyway.

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

+1

🍀 Best of March + Amazon favorites
LockSimple

Mar 24, 2025

•

3 min read

🍀 Best of March + Amazon favorites

Everything I'm loving this month.

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Concealer

+4

🐐 The best face makeup products of all time
LockSimple

Mar 12, 2025

•

3 min read

🐐 The best face makeup products of all time

15+ years of testing: Here's what made the list.

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

✨2024 edition: My favorite things
LockSimple

Dec 16, 2024

•

5 min read

✨2024 edition: My favorite things

Plus: A work update, 3 last-minute gifts, a supplement with RESULTS and more

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

+1

🍂 Best of October & this month's Amazon Edit
LockSimple

Oct 29, 2024

•

3 min read

🍂 Best of October & this month's Amazon Edit

My favorite things this month

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

+2

🧴What Ruth Balciunas buys with her American $
LockSimple

Oct 23, 2024

•

3 min read

🧴What Ruth Balciunas buys with her American $

The O.G. beauty edit

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

🌴 Best of July
LockSimple

Jul 29, 2024

•

3 min read

🌴 Best of July

Everything I'm loving this month.

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

🏆 Best of June

Jul 10, 2024

•

4 min read

🏆 Best of June

Plus, what you loved in June!

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

💐Best of May
LockSimple

May 28, 2024

•

1 min read

💐Best of May

12 favorite discoveries this month.

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

🌸 Best of April

Apr 16, 2024

•

3 min read

🌸 Best of April

10 things I tried and loved this month

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Best Of

💛 Best of February

Mar 6, 2024

•

2 min read

💛 Best of February

A smattering of things I can't get enough of

Amber Katz
Amber Katz

Things I Buy as a Civilian

I've tested thousands of products in nearly two decades of beauty writing and blogging. Eighty percent are aggressively medium, 10% are actively bad — and 10% are AMAZING. This newsletter is about that last 10%.

© 2026 Things I Buy as a Civilian.
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