Mollie's Feel-Good Feed: Your weekly dose of positivity

Our lockdown columnist Mollie King talks you through a few things bringing her happiness this week

Welcome to Mollie’s Feel-Good Feed, a place where each week Mollie King shares her round-up of the things bringing her joy in these strange and uncertain times. Check back each week for uplifting music, self care tips and, hopefully, a smile being put on your face.

Welcome back to my Feel-Good Feed! How’s your week been? I hope you’ve managed to stay well and found some enjoyment from one/a few of my recommendations from last week.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been trying to set myself little goals for the next day each night when I go to bed, and I feel like it’s really helped to give me that sense of achievement. Even little things, like baking banana bread for the first time – I know, I know, banana bread is so isolation in March, but it made me feel like Mary Berry for the first time ever. I’m not sure she would agree, however!

Singles

What better way to sip your morning coffee, or taste your last bit of wine in the evening than with the perfect song? Last week saw the release of the deluxe edition of Selena Gomez's album Rare.

It starts with a track called Boyfriend, which instantly grabbed me from the start.The production is really stripped back but it instantly feels sexy, and if you’ve been trying to find the motivation to workout in isolation, I think this track could help.

Sticking with the workout theme, two relatively new artists, 220 Kid and Gracey, have teamed up on a track called Don’t Need Love, which instantly makes you want to dance. I say this from having seen my boyfriend dance to it in the kitchen, which I can promise you is a rare sight – probably a good thing, but it has that beat that makes you want to move! Love it!

Albums

An album I’m loving at the moment is by an artist called Conan Gray, Kid Krow. He might be a relatively new name to us here in the UK, but he’s already got a huge and dedicated fan base. The album perfectly moves between upbeat pop anthems and melancholic ballads.

Some songs of his, like Wish You Were Sober and Maniac, are reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s album Red, which is my favourite of hers. Other favourites of mine are Checkmate, which is more guitar pop, along with Little League, which sounds like it could be off a 90s romcom soundtrack. Always a good thing, in my opinion!

TV

One of the TV shows I’m letting run from episode to episode is Next In Fashion. Presented by one of my favourite faces on TV, Queer Eye’s Tan France, and Miss Fashionista herself, Alexa Chung, it sees pairs compete to become the next big name in fashion by surviving elimination each week. It has the joys of America’s Next Top Model back in the early years, along with the warmth of The Great British Bake Off.

I wouldn’t say this next recommendation is the epitome of feel-good, but the excitement it brings certainly makes me smile and want to have an episode debrief with my friends straight after – The Nest.

It starts with a couple who are struggling to conceive, which, because I've had people close to me go through this, isn’t the easiest watch. But it’s worth it to get to the nail biting scenes on the other side. Without giving too much away, a young girl with a difficult background comes into the couple's life and wants to help them out. Definitely one to binge on iPlayer!

Self-care

I’ve been wearing my hair slicked back in a low bun a lot in isolation. For one, I always find it easier to get jobs done when my hair is away from my face, but I also feel like it gives my hair a chance to rest from getting overheated with straighteners or tongs.

I’ve put a video of how I do it up on my Instagram, but I also find it works well to scrape it back when it's wet to get it looking super slick. And there’s less chance of flyaways, which is always a good thing.

I also had a slight Amazon binge last week and bought a few bits for my nails. As I said in my last column, I’ve been trying to give my nails some rest from polish and gels. So this week, I've just been applying Jessica Nail Strengthener and giving them a slight buff and file from time to time. Really I’m just giving them time to rehydrate and strengthen up again.

Over the last few years I've been pretty careful about sitting out in the sun; I’m always mindful to put sunblock on, but it does mean my face sometimes looks like it’s missing that healthy glow. I’ve recently turned to Tan Luxe The Water, for a little spritz and warmth to the skin.

I use it just for my face and neck, but I find it sits well with my skin tone and make-up, without having to do a full DIY fake tan job. (Which, between you and I, I did this week and it went horribly wrong! The less mention of that, the better!)

Thanks so much for reading Mollie’s Feel-Good Feed – check back on Marie Claire every Friday for more of my feel-good recommendations. Take care and stay safe!