You know how there are levels to Target People.

Like, the Stanley cup stampeders vs. the once-a-year visitors (I swear, they exist. I even know one!)

Pre-pandemic, I was closer to the annual visit side of things. NYC had thrown me off my Target game— because honestly, who has time to peruse aisles when you live in the greatest city in the world?!?!

Not to get too morose, but during my stint in the Midwest, I shopped to stave off an impending depression about living in such an incongruous environment. Target became a safety blanket. I would just order random shit and pick it up in a daze. Thankfully for my mental health and wallet, I rescued myself from that situation and am firmly planted in a life that doesn’t revolve around Wild Fable! Omgggg, the tragedy.

That existential threat notwithstanding, I am back in a good place with America’s favorite store. Target is a comfort— brimming with the things you really need (tampons, milk, toothpaste, towels) and whatever else you really don’t (the balance of the store).

Sharing my Target essentials and favorite items:

• Olly’s Goodbye Stress gummies, purchased during aforementioned midwestern crisis, are a buy that stuck past the Indiana/Kentucky border. We all know that I don’t care about placebo effect as long as I believe it works (the literal definition of a placebo), but these little guys make a true impact on my day. They just soften the edges a bit with the L-theanine, lemon balm and GABA. Also, are delicious! I ventured out to a different brand and the placebo was nowhere to be found.
• Random but fabulous for traveling, the up/up brand hand sanitizing wipes are cheap, effective and don’t reek of alcohol. I keep a pack in my travel Longchamp and just wipe on/wipe off.
• The jumbo Pantene conditioner in classic clean has been in nearly every shower I have ever had. The slip, the scent and the detangling are unmatched at that price point. Who even knows how much it costs, because one bottle lasts a lifetime!
• Dr. Teal’s Epsom salts in bulk— we discussed this in our Bath Skills workshop.
• Hearth & Home’s candle in Canvas is the perfect background burn. For such an affordable price, it burns cleanly and covers a mid-sized space well. I have a backstock to use in between more expensive candles. Boy Smells, the $10 increase is killing us!
• Saltair body wash in the santal scent. I really wanted to not be influenced by this product, but in a frenzied Target run one Saturday, there was one left and it was on sale. The fragrance is fantastic! The lather is no match for my beloved Neutrogena rainbath, but a great addition to the routine.
• On the same frenzied visit, I grabbed Venus’ exfoliating scrub for waxing maintenance, and color me impressed. I have been a Euro Wax product devotee for years, but this $10 version will be replacing all others. I even popped a bit in a travel container for my NYC trip.
• My holy grail product— my Dove hairspray. I devoured a can over the summer and almost cried when TSA confiscated my backup earlier this month. It gives such a flexible hold and smells fantastic. It was a crucial element to my warm weather hair styling— wash, braid, rough blow-dry, pounds of Dove, beachwaver to Hot Girl Summer! Bringing this thing full circle, a spray of my beloved Dove reminds me how far I have come to return to myself and my happiness.

I am dying to know your Target must-haves. It is the shopping equivalent of secret single behavior— so personal, so cherished, so necessary! Drop in the comments Xx

**image via Kourtney K. Barker, my guilty pleasure hero