Welcome back.
Today we're going to be doing my best of 2024.
We're going to be doing a little bit of everything.
There's going to be some clothes, some beauty products, some wellness related things, and also I'm going to share my favorite books of the year with you.
A couple of things before we get started.
Everything that I'm going to be talking about in this video is something that I discovered in 2024, something that I really, really loved and something that I've since either repurchased or continue to rave about to a friend.
If it's a book, it's one that's really stuck with me.
And I also do want to say that all of these things are things that I've purchased with my own money.
So there's no gifted items in here.
These are things that I truly have thought about for a long time and eventually decided to buy, and were worth the investment.
So I hope you guys enjoy.
Everything I talk about will be linked in the description box.
If you guys have any of your favorites must-haves things that have really made a difference in your life, please leave them in the comments.
I would love to know.
Let's get started.
Okay, I'm gonna start with clothes because I actually only have three things that I wanna mention.
The first one is this pair of jeans from Citizens of Humanity.
These are the Aninas, and these will quickly become my go-to pair of jeans.
I'll insert a video of me wearing them, but it's hard for me to find a jean that I can wear with both heels and sneakers.
I find that I always have to have casual jeans and ice jeans, and this is one of those pairs that can go with everything.
They do have other washes.
They have them in blue as well, but I decided to go for black because I really needed a good pair of black jeans, something that I could wear casually but also to the agency.
It's just my favorite pair of jeans.
They are so comfortable.
And another reason why they stand out to me is because I didn't have to get these tailored at all, which is very rare for me.
If you know, I have to get everything pretty much tailored, even just a little bit.
Very excited about these.
I'm probably going to end up purchasing them in another wash, something probably lighter, like on the lighter blue side.
What I will say is that this is what I would consider a pair of investment denim.
This is not a super affordable pair of jeans.
Obviously, you can wait for a sale to come around and hope that the price comes down a little bit, but this is the type of denim that you would buy if you know that this is one of those pairs of jeans that you're gonna have forever.
And that's what it felt like to me when I put them on.
I was like, wow, I've been looking for something like this forever.
This is a style that I can obviously wear in so many different ways with so many different looks.
This is worth the money for me.
And so just keep that in mind.
If you guys go check out the link and you see the price point, it's a little bit on the pricier side.
But denim is one of those things that I think is worth investing in because you have them forever.
Okay, the next thing I don't have with me to show you.
One of them is in the wash and one of them is actually on my body.
And I'm not gonna show you this, but Skims bras, are hands down the best bras I have ever tried.
And so I have two styles.
I'm gonna put them on the screen here so you guys can see.
The first one, which is gonna be on top, is the Fits Everybody Collection T-shirt bra. amazing.
So comfortable.
And the second one is a wireless form t-shirt demi bra.
And so the first one is more of a traditional bra.
It has the cups on the bottom and it just has a really soft, easy fabric.
Still very comfortable, even though it does have the underwire.
It is more of a traditional bra.
The second one is the one that I'm wearing right now is more of like my everyday comfy bra.
That's not to say that i don't wear the first one every day, but there's just a slight difference.
This bra is what i would consider your second skin bra and it's just the bra that's super comfy, you forget that you're actually wearing it and it's also still really flattering.
It's really really beautiful.
If you're in the market, i would highly recommend.
For me, this is really important because i wear this stuff every day for work.
I have to have really good quality undergarments and i've washed these a million times.
I find the quality to be really great and it's also just comfortable.
You don't even feel that you're wearing it.
The last thing that i would put under clothing is my sambas, my adidas sneakers.
I'm not going to grab them because they pretty gnarly and pretty dirty right now and they probably need to be thrown in the washing machine, but they have just become my absolute go-to shoe and it's really funny because I got them earlier this year, I think in the spring, and I had avoided them for so long because everyone and their mother was wearing them and I was like I don't want to be that girl.
Joke's on me, because I am that girl now and I tell everybody how comfortable and how awesome they are.
They go with everything.
They're very lightweight, which I actually really like, and I've realized that I kind of gravitate towards that.
The only downside about them and I tell people this too when they ask me about them is for me.
I really did have to break them in, especially in the back by your heel.
So it took me a couple weeks to get over that.
But once you're over it, they are a dream.
And I highly recommend them to everybody.
I will probably be getting another color.
Okay, next I'm gonna do beauty.
And this is a little bit of a bigger category.
But again, all products that if you watch my channel regularly, you've seen me use.
I'm going to start with the sunscreen, and this is probably the newest product out of everything that i'm going to talk about today.
I mentioned this in my last vlog.
I've been using this now at the time that i'm filming this for probably like three or four weeks, but i've been using it every day, and so i've really had some good experience with it.
It is The best sunscreen I have ever used, hands down.
I don't know what else to say about it other than it's amazing, and it's replacing everything else that I've used in the past.
So this is the Round Lab.
Korean sunscreen, that's all I'm gonna say.
Another product that I've fallen in love with this year is this Drunk Elephant Cleansing Balm.
A lot of you guys will know that I've been on my non-toxic and clean beauty and makeup and just everything flow this year, and this is one of the products that I ended up buying as a replacement for my other cleansing balm, and I love it.
I'm never going back to anything else.
I wanna say it's kind of pricey.
It's this thing is probably about 35.
It actually comes with a lot of product and you don't really need very much.
I'll show you guys what it looks like.
Um, this is what it looks like on the inside, and it comes with a little spatula so you don't have to put your fingers in there, which is really nice and honestly, this product lasts you a long time.
You don't need a lot and it just takes everything off super well, it takes off Waterproof mascara.
It's my favorite thing to put on my face after a long day of work.
Moving into makeup, This rare beauty powder has quickly become one of my favorites.
I use the shade ivory and this is a pressed setting powder So this is what it looks like Super good.
Two things that stand out to me about this product.
The first one is that it's talc-free, which is why I ended up going for this.
I wanted something that didn't have talc in it.
And the other thing I really like about it and I didn't realize this until I started using it is that it actually doesn't deposit a lot of product on your face.
So it takes away the shine, but it doesn't put on a layer of makeup every time you use it.
So I think a lot of people could actually really like this product.
Another talk-free product is this NARS blush.
This shade is called Orgasm Edge.
And I got the mini version because I wanted to try it before I fully commit to it.
I don't know how well this is going to focus, but it's a super natural, really pretty classy everyday shade.
I'm actually wearing it right now.
And I really like it.
Then I obviously have to mention my Westman Atelier contour stick.
I use this all the time.
The biggest selling point for me was actually the shade.
So this is the shade Biscuit.
What I love about this one is that it's a cooler toned brown.
I found it really hard to find a bronzer that wasn't super orange or super warm.
And when I tried this, I was like, wow, this is the bronzer that I've been looking for.
Again, it's a little bit higher price point, but I've had this for probably six months now and I mean I still have a ton of product left in here.
I've also, I think, kind of learned the way that I like to apply it, which is putting the brush on the stick and then applying it to my face, rather than drawing a bunch of lines on my face.
So I think that that's kind of helped it last longer, but I would absolutely repurchase this again.
I think it's such a great product.
Honorable mention is these pawpaws makeup sponges.
Game changer, I get these off of Amazon.
It comes with a pack of six.
No shade to beauty blender, because I do love a beauty blender, but this is half the price and I actually think that they work better than beauty blenders.
So if you are someone who likes to use a makeup sponge, especially for foundation, give this a try.
I think you'll really like it.
This year I wanted to get some really good quality hair brushes, because the brush that I've been using was honestly, probably like eight years old.
It was falling apart and I was like I want to invest in a brush that is good quality, is gonna last forever and is really good on my hair too.
And so I started looking into dupes for the Mason Pearson brush.
It's probably my favorite brush on the planet but it's also Like $300.
And I just didn't think that that was necessary.
So I found this dupe.
The brand is called Shosh.
So this is the medium-sized version.
I actually got this brush second.
I got the big one first.
But I love the big one so much that I wanted to get a smaller one that I could travel with.
And so I bought this recently when they had the Prime sale in October.
This one I want to say was around $50.
And then this one, which I bought like over a year ago, was also around $50 at the time.
So again, it's like a little bit more than you would pay for the brush that you buy at CVS.
For the quality and for the way that it's made my hair feel, I think it's worth it.
I think these are going to last me for many, many years.
The actual brush is a nylon boar bristle brush.
So again, a little closer look.
Yeah, I love these and I...
Would recommend these time and time again.
Okay, next I have this magnesium spray from Aloe.
I talked about this recently.
I got a sample of this, just like a small bottle.
I would spray it under my feet at night and I would have the best sleep ever.
And I'm not really someone who struggles with sleep, so take this with a grain of salt.
But again, I loved it enough to buy the full-size version and I'm still seeing the same results that I had with the original one.
I do three sprays under each foot and then I let it dry and then I go to sleep.
And the way that this product works.
From my experience, it's not something that's going to put you to sleep necessarily, but it's something that's going to keep you asleep.
And for me, this is the biggest thing that I struggle with.
Like, once I'm awake, it's hard for me to go back to sleep, not necessarily in the middle of the night, but 4 30 in the morning, 5 30 in the morning, when I maybe could really use another hour, an hour and a half of sleep.
And I find that when I use this, it allows me to kind of fall back asleep and wake up at the time that I actually want to wake up at, rather than me being wide awake and like starting my day when I probably could use a little bit more rest.
So I love that one.
And then the other like wellness related product that I really like is this, And I found this product because someone that I follow on Instagram, someone that I know personally, posted it on their story and was like, if I start to feel a little something, I take two of these before I go to bed.
And I wake up and it's gone.
It's like not turning into a cold.
It's not turning into a flu or anything.
And I was like, I need to try this.
I will say like I'm not really someone that's getting sick all the time.
I have a pretty strong immune system.
But when I am really busy with work or when I'm traveling a lot, I notice that I'm more susceptible to those kind of things.
Especially if it's like a late, you know, airport landing and an early wake up.
If I'm maybe only getting six hours of sleep every night, I find that I'm way more susceptible to getting like a little cold or a little rundown.
Sorry.
I don't know what happened there.
So anyway, I bought it.
I was a little skeptical.
I was like, you know what?
I'm just going to keep this in my medicine cabinet and I'll try it next time I start to feel a little rundown or anything.
And this actually saved me twice this year.
I thought that I was coming down with something.
I took it that same day.
Sometimes I wouldn't even wait until the night.
I would just take it right away as soon as I felt something.
And the next day I woke up and I was fine.
Take it for what you want.
I have had a really good experience with this.
I'll read you some of the ingredients.
Vitamin C, zinc, grapefruit seed extract, astragalus root.
I've been saying that wrong for a really long time.
I thought it was astralagus, but it's astragalus.
Reishi, echinacea, ginger, maitake mushroom, Oregon grape root, shiitake mushroom, and yarrow extract.
Anyway, I'm not a doctor, but I've had a really good personal experience with this.
Okay, we're almost there, but we're almost at the last category.
I just have a couple more miscellaneous practical things that I've really liked.
I don't know if you guys know what this is, but This is a pilling stone.
Someone at work told me about this.
And I was, again, just one of those things that I was skeptical about before I actually used it.
But this is a game changer.
If you have a lot of sweaters that have pilling on it.
Avery has these really nice merino wool sweaters that he wears under his suits to work for like the winter season and for a little bit more of a casual look.
And some of them started pilling under the armpit and pilling a little bit at the bottom.
And I used the stone on them and it looks brand new.
I used it on my sweaters.
It looks brand new.
I even used it on that black coat that I have from Revolve.
And it took me a little while because it was obviously a lot of fabric.
But it looks good as new.
Last thing before we get into the books.
Some of you guys might remember that I think it was during the summer this year.
I was on a big no phones in the bedroom kick.
It was more for myself than for Avery, but I wanted to stop using my phone as my alarm.
And so I bought this.
It's not on right now because it has to be plugged in.
But this alarm clock is a dupe for the Hatch and it wakes you up with light and then sound.
You can customize the settings.
I have it on a five minute wake up timer, and so five minutes before the alarm it starts to wake me up with light slowly, and then after the five minutes, the alarm goes off and my alarm is bird noises.
It's a very peaceful way to wake up.
I also just love the light.
I find that it actually is a lot more peaceful to wake up that way, rather than waking up with one of those terrible iPhone alarm sounds.
I also love that it doesn't force me to look at my phone the first thing in the morning.
Long story short, I really love this alarm clock.
I think it's such a nice way to wake up.
Just made the whole experience that much nicer and also a lot more calm.
Last but not least, We're gonna do books.
Some of my favorite reads from 2024.
I actually took kind of a long reading break this year because I felt like I was in a little bit of a slump and I was reading a lot of the same books.
And so I took most of the summer off from reading and then only just got back into it.
But I still have a couple of books that really kind of hit me or either were just like, really enjoyable for me.
So I'm excited to share them with you.
I was gonna say I want to start with something light, but none of these are really that light.
But I'll start with one that was just really heartwarming.
Tuesdays with Morrie.
I love this book.
Yeah, I don't even really know what to say about this book.
There's so much to say, but I don't want to give it away.
It's really just one of those books that makes you realize how precious life is, and I think everybody should read it.
It's one of those books that made me tear up multiple times.
It's also one of those books that I would definitely read again.
Another book that really made a mark on me is When Breath Becomes Air.
This book took my breath away.
Not to give too much away, but this book is written by a doctor.
He's since passed away, but he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and found himself in the position of the patient, and this book talks about that experience and what it was like for him and how his perspective on life changed.
And it just
It's one of those books you have to read.
Okay, a couple more.
I also read The Body Keeps the Score this year.
This book is really about trauma how it affects the body, how it can stay in the body, how it presents in people.
It gave me a really good perspective on what PTSD looks like in people and how it is to live with that.
It also talks about studies that they've done.
It talks about certain types of therapy that they do on patients who have experience trauma and have the PTSD diagnosis.
I just think it's really interesting to learn about what kind of effect trauma has on people and how it manifests differently in people depending on obviously, what they've experienced and also their biological makeup.
I don't know.
I personally find this stuff very interesting and I think that it affects more people than we think.
I also read The Power of Now this year.
This was one of those books that I always knew about but I never really picked up, and part of it's because I had read The Untethered Soul.
They're very similar, but I actually like The Power of Now better.
It talks about how to live in the present, why we don't live in the present, what happens when we don't live in the present, and this is definitely more of a spiritual read and I think you have to kind of be ready to read this book, but it's very interesting and again, also something that I would probably read like every couple years just as a refresher.
The last book, this is the one that I read most recently, is Verity by Colleen Hoover.
I've again known about this book for a while, but I just was more on the train of reading non-fiction and a lot of like psychology and self-help books.
This is more of a mystery slash psychological thriller which I love and I finished in two days.
So I loved this one.
And I'm actually really excited to read more of her books in the future.
Okay, I think that's everything.
We've made it to the end of my favorites.
I hope you guys enjoyed this video.
Please let me know what you think in the comments.
Don't forget to check out all the links in the description box.
And yeah, let me know if I should do more of this in the future.
I love you.
And I will see you in the next one.