Corporette.com

Updated: Dec 23, 2020 73 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Vivosmart 4

Coffee Break | ·

This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I recently bought Garmin's Vivosmart 4 fitness tracker — almost on impulse — and I'm really happy with my decision. I wanted an option that was somewhere between a pedometer and a device that cost hundreds of dollars and does way more than I need. The main reasons I got it are to motivate myself to both exercise more and form better sleep habits, and to keep track of fitness stats like my resting heart rate. 

I really like that it's relatively small and is comfortable enough to wear 24/7 (which I do, except for showering; the manual says to avoid getting soap on it, but swimming is fine). It has a nice range of colors available, and I chose the light blue. The battery lasts for days, and it charges via USB. 

The Vivosmart is easy to use (once you learn what the icons mean — the screen is tiny, so not a lot fits on there), and the Garmin Connect app is great, too. It gets data from the Vivosmart via Bluetooth, and you can customize the display of your daily stats/values; for example, I removed Weight because I track that elsewhere. (You can also customize the screen of the device itself — it always includes the time of day.)

Until quarantine, I wore this Citizen watch every day — and since my Vivosmart arrived, it's been on my wrist every day instead. I've been very happy with it so far and highly recommend it — but if you're looking for a much more thorough review (including a video), try this one.

The Vivosmart 4 is priced from $99–$102 at Amazon and is $99 at Target. Vivosmart 4

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Sales of note for 10.10.24

  • Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
  • Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
  • Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
  • J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
  • Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
  • Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
  • White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles

Sales of note for 10.10.24

  • Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
  • Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
  • Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
  • J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
  • J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
  • Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
  • M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
  • Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
  • Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
  • White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kate Antoniades

Editor of Corporette since 2014, Kate Antoniades lives in her hometown of Rochester, NY. A cat person and Oxford comma loyalist, she loves thrift shopping and has too many craft supplies.

Comments

  1. Garmin Venu?

    Speaking of Garmins– Does anyone have experience with the Venu? I’m debating between that and an Apple Watch. I generally get irritated about Apple products because I feel like they don’t last long enough, though I do have an iPhone. I’m very interested in the sleep tracking, activity tracking, and workout functionality, but I tend to like the look of bigger watches and thought I could wear whatever I get as an actual watch.

    • Anonymous

      I go back and forth between my Garmin and Apple. I wish I could somehow combine them, as it would be perfect. Apple benefits – full texts come through and can be responded to on your watch, answer calls, control headphones. Downsides – I don’t love the overall sleep and activity tracking, battery life is horrid. Garmin benefits – better looking (like a real watch), battery life is great (like 4-5 days), and tracking is on point. Downsides – it doesn’t play well with apple in that you get text notifications, but no content and cannot answer back. I feel like in a year or two, I will be fully Garmin, once it does more on the text front.

    • Anon

      I have the ForeRunner 35. I am a fairly serious runner and find that it has everything I need while being easy to use.

  2. Anonymous

    I have a colorless bump on the tip of my nose that is making me self-conscious. I’m 99.9% sure it’s a harmless fibrous papule. I had a dermatology consult scheduled for this Spring with the plan of having it removed. The appointment was canceled because of COVID, and given the cosmetic nature of the condition, I’m not interested in rescheduling until the COVID situation is over with. Until then, does anyone have home remedies for preventing the papule from growing in size, or better yet, how to shrink it?

    • Anonymous

      I would reschedule with your derm. I’ve been to several doctors appointments and have felt very safe doing it. If it bothers you, just go.

      • Cat

        +1, also if for some reason you are wrong and it’s something that should be treated… I wouldn’t want to have wanted 12+ months to have it looked at.

        • Anon

          Joining everyone else to tell you to see the doctor. I’m not going anywhere else, but I have been to a few doctor and dentist appointments and they’ve all been handled very well. It could easily be a year or two before this is over. If you are very high risk, you could at least start with telemedicine and go from there.

    • LaurenB

      Your dermatologist is going to have a “clean,” safe office. I would go. It’s a low-risk endeavor IMO.

  3. Stabby

    I have two tweens, 1 grade apart in school, who could be at home, ignored, all summer (as they were all spring). I was grateful to find out that a half-day camp we signed up for in Feb would occur. They asked for people to split into morning and afternoon sessions. I work, and had lined up with a sitter to pick the kids up when the camp was over, get lunch, and do other things (catch-up homework from school, some reading, some pool), so we didn’t opt for afternoon sessions. This week, I got an e-mail confirming we’d attend in the morning. Yay. And we got a second e-mail (not kid-specific) confirming the camp. I read the second e-mail more closely a moment ago — they have put my kids in two different sessions — WTF is a working parent supposed to do with this? It’s like they have no idea that working moms plan summers in the winter before the summer. Lining up competent adult sitters who drive is no joke. And the morning and afternoon sessions aren’t back to back — they are off by an hour and a half. Now I either need a sitter for the whole day ($$$), to get my $ back, or to get the kids both in the morning session (not sure sitter is available before lunch and the pool isn’t open then). Ugh. I HATE 2020.

    • Monday

      Isn’t splitting them up a weird choice for Covid protocols too? (Assuming the camp knows these are siblings?) It means that all of the kids will be exposed to your household now, rather than half.

    • Anon

      Call or email them and push black. remember that the people running these camps are often pretty young and inexperienced so I usually try a “I know this isn’t your fault, but could you help me out?”

      • Anonymous

        The e-mail has been sent. Will f/u with a call but I have a feeling that no one is minding the shop now. Ugh. Wish me restraint and a bit of luck. And a stiff drink at 5 sharp.

    • Anonymous

      Why isn’t step one contacting them about the mistake and asking them to fix it?

      • Anonymous

        It was! I just needed to be nice in my e-mail and am venting here. It is not even obvious which kid is in which session from the e-mails sent. These people are usually good at what they do (say, golf camp) and maybe admin tasks are no one’s strong suit. If I start screaming, as this year does to people, it will just go downhill, which I don’t want. I just needed to bifurcate.

        • Anonymous

          Ok gotcha!! I agree super annoying to have one more thing to deal with.

      • Anonymous

        Yeah, why spread negativity to all of us when it might be so easily resolved?

      • Anonymous

        Can’t you find a way to vent that’s not going to needlessly and pointlessly bring others down?

        • Anon

          She probably can’t vent to her spouse because he assumed she would handle all the camp stuff while he’s busy working (yes, I know she works too, that’s kind of the point)

    • anon

      Geeeez I have no idea why people are jumping down your throat for needing a place to vent (collapse and move on, y’all) when everything feels like it’s going wrong — I’m pretty sure most of us can relate. I hope it gets resolved quickly!

  4. Jules

    Has anyone ordered stick-on paint swatches from Samplize? I’m thinking of trying them out before I have my doors and metal awnings painted and wonder if they are actually easy to move around and if they are true to color (for SW paint).

    Thanks.

    • Pink

      Someone on the morning thread recommended them to me when I asked for paint color suggestions, so I’m ordering several. Will report back but maybe some of the suggestions on that thread would be helpful to you? BTW, You can get a $5 discount by putting in FIRSTFIVE in the code box when checking out at Samplize.

      • Jules

        I found that coupon, too, but thanks for that! I just put in my order, and I’ll report back to the hive, too. Good luck on your project.

  5. Anonymous

    Ideas for a little gift for a colleague who just found out she’s pregnant?

      • Anon

        Yes to the book! I’m pregnant and this is my suggestion whenever anyone says that they want to get me a gift and what would I like/what do I need? I was fortunate enough to inherit ALL.THE.CLOTHES from three friends who recently completed their families, so I legit don’t need another any type of clothing from newborn to 2T, but I love children’s books!

      • Anon

        Yes. Pat the Bunny. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Jamberry. Goodnight Moon. All board books if possible. This is the best gift.

        • Anon

          Or if you mean a baby book, like the kind of thing parents make notes in religiously for the first few months, then basically forget (or is that just me?), then a baby book for the parents and a board book for the baby.

          • Anon

            I know this will be weird, but for what it’s worth I was super picky about what I was looking for in a write-memories-down baby book, I would not give this as a gift unsolicited.

    • Anon

      Our son was given an AdirondackBaby blanket with his name and an animal embroidered on it. It’s an incredibly soft blanket and we all really like it. The only downside is that it’s so soft, the cat thinks it’s for her.

      • LaurenB

        This is for a coworker who just found out she’s expecting, so no name to be had.

  6. Quarantini

    So far this summer, I have had to quarantine twice in advance of some doctor visits of a longer duration. The window from test to procedure is getting longer, but my employer is very cool about it. It’s a tricky e-mail to send (I need to quarantine in advance of an appointment, not b/c of exposure; of course I will let you know in the unanticipated event that the test is positive).

  7. Calico

    My dog had out of control zoomies today during my performance review on Zoom. Thundering up and down the hallway outside my home office. Duck squeaky toy. The works.

    I guess she sensed my anxiety? My boss seemed to find it funny.

    • Senior Attorney

      Ha she probably thought she was doing you a favor by doing what you wanted to do but couldn’t!

    • Anonymous

      When our cat would do this while I was growing up my dad would say “I guess her spaceship is landing”.

    • Anon

      My cat hates people besides my husband and me, but she’s taken a shine to my boss via Zoom. She’ll wake up from a deep sleep whenever she hears my boss’s voice and come charging in to say hello.

    • Anonymous

      My cats make regular appearances on my videoconferences. Was on a remote depo today that had appearances by dogs and children. I don’t think anyone cares at this point.

    • anne-on

      My cat hated the sound of voices through computer/phone speakers and the only way she’d calm down was sitting in my lap being pet. During the pandemic there were more than a few calls when I absolutely looked like Doctor Evil with an cat sitting alertly in my lap staring at the screen making ‘mew?’ sounds. Nobody cared and quite a few of them found it adorable/hilarious. Especially when they heard the outraged yowling when I tried to put her down.

    • Calico

      I’ve always heard actives first, like your serum, then moisturizer then occlusive barrier (oil or heavy cream.) A lot of BB creams are moisturizing, so if it were me, I’d do serum then BB cream then call it a day.

      • Anon

        FWIW my derm says oils are an emollient, not an occlusive. She is anti-oil but says to use them prior to cream.

      • Anon

        Thanks. Both have “actives” which is why I’m confused about which should be the first to go on.

        I have dry skin so I need a little moisture than my BB provides. If I don’t do a moisturizer first, it doesn’t “lay” as well on my skin, if that makes sense.

    • Elderlyunicorn

      I am always mystified by this as well. I came across Caroline Hirons’ site … if you click on “Routines” on the right hand side of quicklinks, I found her explanation super helpful.

    • anon

      Thinnest to thickest consistency is what I’ve always heard. In your case I imagine that would be serum –> oil –> bb cream.

  9. Anonymous

    My sinuses have been so weird today — my head feels like it’s full of water and every time I move it I get dizzy. (Including laying down, flopping side to side.) Dayquil didn’t help a ton — I have some very expired pseudophedrine (2015!) — should i try that instead? any other recommendations?

    • Country Biscuits

      Might as well try it, but if you can get out, get a fresh one plus guafenesin to loosen things up. Tea and the usual hot stuff!

  10. Referee?

    I was fired from my a job (2017) and I am considering whether or not I should include my boss in that job as a reference. Since then I have come to realize that he hired me for something I did not really have expertise in–when I was dismissed I was told it was because I lacked the skills for the job. FWIW I did not exagerrate my skillset in my CV. I since moved on and worked in a similar research project (I am a researcher) in a different lab. It was a better equipped facility i.e. large government facility versus the small research university I was fired from. One of the reasons I am considering listing him as a reference is because it is at that university I was able to switch to my current research area. I am already listing a former director at my most recent place of work, and the professor who supervised my doctorate. I do have another person from my alma mater who I have asked to be a reference in the past but he has not worked with me in my present research area. In case you are wondering, to get the job at the large research lab I listed the boss who fired me but it was also mainly because it was my most recent position and I thought it would be weird or look suspicious to completely exclude him. Advice needed please, thank you in advance.

    • Anonymous

      Absolutely not. You already have someone who supervised your work – you should never use someone who fired you as a reference! Only people who will say great things about you and have confirmed that when you asked them to serve as your reference.

    • AFT

      Are you in touch with the boss? Can you reach out to them to ask if they’ll serve as a reference for you? Hopefully if they aren’t able to be a good reference they’ll decline.

      • Referee?

        I am the OP. I met the boss who fired me at a conference last year where I was presenting a poster. He said he was glad that things were going better for me. Any other communication was routine correspondence related to a scientific paper on which I am a co-author. During the conference I did not ask him to be a reference.

        • LaurenB

          Even if you had been the worst employee ever, of course anyone running into you would say “glad that things are going better for you.” That’s not evidence he would give a good reference; that’s just the socially correct, polite thing to say. I think you took it way too literally.

    • Anonymous

      Absolutely not this person fired you why would you think they’d give you a good reference?!?

    • Anon

      Your references are supposed to be people who speak well of you. You should not list someone who fired you. Aside from making life hard on yourself, it makes you look like the kind of person who is deaf to feedback.

      Throwing this out there: are you… familiar with professional norms?

    • Monte

      The end of the response from Anon at 10:10 seems unnecessarily snarky and mean-spirited, but I do agree that you should only include people who you truly believe will give you a strong reference. I understand the desire to be as complete as possible, but considering how your tenure at that job ended, you should skip asking former boss (even keeping in mind that it did not sink your getting the most recent gig). The description of your last interaction does not indicate that this person would be a strong advocate for you. Do not include him.

  11. anon

    I’m so frustrated. On Tuesday, a client asked me to handle a contract with a vendor. Services are supposed to start Monday, and I work in an industry where contracts cannot be backdated to the start date.

    On Tuesday, the vendor’s in-house counsel said they’d provide the first draft by the end of the day Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon, I followed up, and he said he’d gotten slammed and given it to outside counsel, but outside counsel had templates and would get it to me by the end of the day Wednesday. Around close of business Wednesday, outside counsel told me he’d have a draft for his client to review by early Thursday. Today at lunch time, in house counsel told me he was reviewing the contract and would have a copy for me this afternoon. It’s almost close of business, and I’ve received nothing.

    I could have drafted the contract, and would have suggested doing so if I’d known they were going to take 3 days. (Industry norm is that the vendor provides the contract, but it doesn’t have to be that way.)

    I’m supposed to be on vacation tomorrow. Now I’m not only going to have to push my vacation, I’m going to have to work over the weekend. I’m also reminded of why I like to go places for vacation. Because of Covid, I’m not going anywhere, so everyone in my office knows I can just push my vacation to next week and expects me to do so.

    • Anon

      I would have provided my company’s own contract on Thursday, re-stated the need for the contract to be in place by Monday, alerted them to the PTO (people still need medical care, care for sick people, or even take a day of PTO to run errands that cannot be done over the weekend) and express that your time for negotiations on Friday is limited.

      You can reach out to the business development group at your client and ask them to push their contacts at the vendor.

Back to Top

About

Work with Corporette®

Serious Stuff

work fashion blog press mentions