Last year, my husband and I came up with the idea of Micro-upgrades™. The concept is simple: upgrade to the nice version of your everyday items. We’re talking about minor stuff you use all the time. Small objects that make a giant difference. If the “fancy” version is less than $50, buy it.

Here are some of my favorite micro-upgrades.

👄 Lip balm was the jumping off point for micro-upgrades! I was going through lip balm like nobody’s business. Applying, reapplying, and layering again. But all the drugstore brands never really cut it for me. Jack Black Lip Balm is like buttah. And that’s because shea butter is in the mix. But the real win is the hydration levels. There’s not a whole lot of reapplying happening because this balm lasts for hours, effectively cooling and healing my dry lips. No more chapped corners.

🧦 This past NYC winter required all of us to upgrade our outdoor wear, and no gear was more essential than wool socks. So I made a micro-upgrade to Darn Tough’s Hiking Socks. Hanging outside in deadass winter for more than two hours was never doable before. But now I’m out there all day and NOT COMPLAINING. The socks keep things dry and toasty, like having a tiny breathable, non-itchy sweater wrapped around your feet.

🦶🏽Being Asian, the no-shoes-in-the-house rule is a guiding principle to life. Must keep out unwanted germs from your sacred space. It’s also a really good excuse to get into the slipper game. I’ve gone through many iterations of slippers: fuzzy ones, rewashable ones, and ones that keep your feet a little too warm. Meet micro-upgrade #3, Linen Slippers from Fog Linen. They’re light, roomy, and, again, breathable. (You can tell breathability is very important to me.) It’s a slipper you can wear year-round.

🧽 The art of face washing was never lost on the Liang family. Growing up, we always started and ended our days with a facial towel scrub. But somewhere along the line, the cloth towel fell out of favor for me. I don’t know if it was pure laziness or if those Neutrogena ads brainwashed me into believing splashing water on my face was more effective. Then a couple months ago, I decided to change up my entire beauty routine. And that meant another micro-upgrade. Honest's Konjac Sponge came into my life, and now I’m exfoliating like a pro. I also love that it’s made out of an Asian plant. Nature at its finest.