Neither of my favorite items are sexy or glamorous–especially not my top choice–but these are two products that I can’t live without.  They work for almost any cup size, and they cost well under $50.

My unreserved NUMBER ONE TOP CHOICE is a wardrobe saver that rescues all my tops from the trash: the Albachem 1674 Spot Lifter II.

albachem-1674-spot-lifter-iiI went into great detail about Spot Lifter II on the Campbell & Kate blog last March (and abbreviated detail on Hourglassy), but since then I’ve come to love it even more. My favorite turquoise tee-shirts are like magnets for oil stains, but I just douse them with Spot Lifter and it’s like there was never anything there. In November, I ate spaghetti in a white Campbell & Kate shirt. I had JUST congratulated myself for getting to the last bite without any spills when–of course!–my last bite missed my mouth and landed on my chest. I would have been extremely annoyed pre-Spot Lifter. Instead, knowing I had Spot Lifter at home, I just laughed at myself and moved on. Sure enough, my shirt looked as good as new after treatment.

We have an extremely limited Christmas gift budget this year. Think $15 per sibling. Happily, AllStitch only charges $7.49  a can, so I bought one for each of my two sisters. Shipping is more expensive because it must go ground (if it weren’t for the aerosol, I’d  take them in my suitcase to Florida). One can costs a little over $11 to ship, but combining both sister’s cans into a single order only cost $12.22. If you’re wondering whether there’s enough time for an order to reach someone by the 24th, I think there is. I placed my order on Saturday, December 12, it went out on Monday, December 14, and it’s scheduled to arrive tomorrow, December 17.

Do I expect my sisters to be excited when they open their gift from me? No way! But I’m pretty sure they’re going to thank me again and again in 2015.

Now for MY SECOND TOP CHOICE: the Bra:30 hipster tank top that I wrote about in October. Back then, I predicted the cost per wear would be excellent, and I was right. I wear it all the time–first thing in the morning and again when I change into lounge-y clothes at night. It was a lifesaver at a family reunion I attended recently because I had NO privacy. If my gift budget were higher, this would be my main gift to each of my sisters and sisters-in-law, and I’d give them the Spot Lifter as a stocking stuffer.