2024: my favourite things
and gosh are there a lot of them!
I have no idea how to summarise 2024. It’s been one of the strangest - and quickest - years of my life. I’ve made some amazing memories, been to several countries, got my first ever full-time postgrad job, and hit several personal and professional milestones. I also struggled mentally a LOT, had some unfortunate health news, and learned the invaluable and inevitable lesson that pretty much everything you plan as an adult happens a different way to how you planned it. More on that another time, because no, I did not move to Paris, despite naming my Substack Emilie in Paris and even buying a plane ticket.
This is the first year of my life that I’ve had ‘adult money’ and as a consequence I’ve bought some great stuff. If you’ve been keeping up with my posts, you’ll know that I’ve been on a mission to downsize my belongings and replace them with higher quality things that will last me a long time, through trend cycles, wear and tear, etc. So here are 12 of my favourite things I bought (or was gifted - I’m not an influencer but I DO have a birthday) that genuinely improved my quality of life.
Longchamp Le Pliage large tote in black
via longchamp.com
If this was stolen or I lost it, I would IMMEDIATELY repurchase it. Once I got hired into my big-girl job, I was on the hunt for a bag, and had several non-negotiables: it had to zip at the top (there are some grabby hands in London), it had to be waterproof, it had to have inner pockets and it had to go with everything. After resisting the pull of the Longchamp for a few months, I decided on this bag. And now I understand why every single woman and girl in London has it - because it’s perfect. It fits an infinite amount of stuff, and has acted as my work bag, hand luggage on flights and overnight bag. It’s indestructible and will never go out of style. It’s the best bag I’ve ever owned.
& Other Stories Voluminous Belted Wool Coat in Beige
This coat is one of those things that’s expensive for a reason. I have a great light trench coat for spring and autumn, and a big puffer jacket that’s perfect for rain and snow, but I came to the realisation that should I want to go to anything in the middle of winter that a puffer jacket isn’t appropriate for - a.k.a. almost everything - I didn’t have a coat. Coats need to be tried on, and this was the first one I tried. It’s a heavy wool blend that keeps me warm when it’s absolutely freezing. I love the length, I love the thick belt, and I love that it’s slightly oversized (I wear a size S) so that big jumpers can fit underneath it. I think I’ll be wearing this for a lot of winters.
Fussy deodorant (limited edition yellow case)
For full transparency, I was using Wild deodorant for about a year and a half before I switched. Wild is also great, but the biggest issue I had with it was that it left white marks. I think that Fussy is a much better version of the same concept: it doesn’t leave white marks, the refills last a lot longer, the smell lasts longer on your underarms, and the plastic shell itself works better and doesn't get as messy. The limited edition scents are really fun - I got the pistachio sorbet scent in July and finished it THIS WEEK. That’s almost six months for a single refill. I’m not sure why I chose the limited edition bright yellow case, but I genuinely love it.
Veja Esplar Leather White Lavande
via veja-store.com
This was an incredibly London purchase of me. Everyone in London is wearing these to work. Like the Longchamp bag, I was searching for a smart trainer that I could wear to work events but also wear with jeans on the weekends. These go with absolutely everything, have proven themselves very waterproof and have been subject to a LOT of walking. I was originally going to get the classic black-and-white pair, but I think the lavender is less of a harsh contrast and gives the shoe a bit of femininity. I got them onsale for about £80, and the fact that they’re made out of recycled materials makes me happier to wear them.
Glossier solution
via glossier.com
I completely believed that Glossier’s skincare was only popular for the packaging until I tried this. Their makeup is great but this shines as the best Glossier product I’ve tried so far - I changed my birth control pill to desogestrel (the mini pill) this year and was warned by the doctor that I may experience breakouts, which I thought were inevitable because I have very acne-prone skin anyway. And while it did start off that way, once I started using this, they cleared up straight away. I will be buying another bottle as soon as I finish it, but like the Fussy deodorant, it’s lasting for ages. I would recommend this to everyone.
Monsters: What do we do with great art by bad people? by Claire Dederer
I read a lot this year (31 books to be exact) but this was one of the few I gave a 5* rating to. The question of whether the art can be separated from the artist is always relevant, but 2024 has proved it more relevant than ever. You know what I’m talking about. Dederer’s book is a great, refreshing take on the question, and uses various cases to examine different moral issues with consuming art. She describes her own personal relationships with artists before discovering the crimes they committed and how that changed her relationship with their art, and her narrative is incredibly honest. I would recommend this to anyone who’s curious about the age-old question.
Pink minnows
Thought this list was only going to contain skincare products and clothes? You should get some fish. I’ve had these since February and I love them. I have a few different varieties, but, because they can’t read - although they’re watching me type this - I feel comfortable telling you that rosy minnows are my favourite. They’re a landlord-friendly, cheap, clean, low-maintenance pet, and aside from feeding them every day and cleaning the filter and tank every couple of weeks, they don’t require any work. It’s very soothing to have them in my room, although admittedly I’ve had a few casualties. The minnows are very hardy though, and despite some other species not lasting very long (which I partly blame a certain giant pet retailer for selling me sick fish) they are unbeatable.
Lancôme Lash Idole Mascara Black
I braved the Sephora in Westfield right after it opened for this - something I’m never doing again. I don’t have brand loyalty for anything, but I do to Lancome for mascara, because they are just excellent. This one is non-clumpy and makes my lashes very long. Literally all I ask for in a mascara. I have the waterproof version, and it really doesn't come off. I have nothing more to say - it’s just great.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Demon Copperhead is probably my favourite fiction book I read this year, and that’s saying something, because long books that span someone’s entire life are absolutely not a genre I normally reach for. But this was excellent. It’s a retelling of Dickens’s David Copperfield set in 1990s Appalachia, and discusses the poverty experienced in America, the opioid crisis, the care system and the high school experience. I’m a heartless bitch, so I never cry while reading, but I squeezed out a few tears towards the end of this. I finished it in March, and I’m still thinking about it. I think what makes it so great is the protagonist’s naivety and innocence, which slowly leeches out throughout his life until he is completely hardened by his experiences. It’s harrowing. I wasn’t too happy with the ending, but Dickens is to blame for that.
Shreddy subscription
If you work from home like I do, Shreddy is a great option. It plans out your workouts and you can chop and change them if there’s anything you don’t like. It combines interval runs, pilates, barre, HIIT and weighted workouts so you get a little bit of everything. It’s a lot cheaper than a gym membership and the UI is great. You can also set daily reminders to complete your workouts, and you can change the setting for home workouts or gym workouts depending on where you are. The home workouts require a couple of weights and some resistance bands, and they pack a punch in less than 30 minutes. I’m shamelessly on the Grace Beverly train, because I do Shreddy workouts in Tala leggings while listening to Grace’s podcast.
Garnier Papaya Hair Food
I’ve struggled a lot with my hair since having Covid in June - the texture’s completely changed, I was diagnosed with androgenic alopecia, the whole nine yards. I’ll make a separate post about my alopecia another time, but my saving grace throughout all of it has been Garnier hair food, which I was deeply committed to at university and forgot about until recently. I particularly like how huge the tubs are, because you can use a lot of it without feeling guilty. The papaya is especially good, and I use it for everything - to slick my hair back into a bun, after the shower, in the shower if it’s particularly matted, and as a curl definer before using gel. Since my diagnosis I’ve started using topical minoxidil every day, which is very drying, but this keeps my hair healthy and shiny.
Apple EarPods
You can pry these out of my cold, dead hands. I’ve had AirPods, I’ve had Bose over ear headphones, and nothing compares to these. I’m on my second pair, because the first pair went through the washing machine, and were remarkably fine on the other side but did sound very tinny afterwards. They don’t need charging, they can’t fall out and get lost, there’s no risk of them getting stolen, and the sound quality is just as good (I’m sure over ear headphone enthusiasts would disagree, but quite frankly I use these almost exclusively for listening to music on the underground where you can’t hear anything anyway so it doesn’t matter). I think the wire is a fun, soon-to-be vintage look anyway.
So there you have it! This list was surprisingly difficult to curate because of the huge amount of things I’ve bought secondhand, which I refuse to recommend because it’s incredibly annoying when all someone can say about the source of something is ‘it was secondhand.’ I try to buy secondhand whenever I can, but I also like to treat myself - so, while I have shown some new clothes and shoes, everything on this list is either made from recycled materials (Longchamp bag and Veja trainers), a slow fashion staple (& Other Stories coat) or vegan and cruelty free (all other beauty products… except the Lancome mascara which shows some very conflicting information online about whether or not it counts as cruelty free!). I hope I have inspired you to buy something reliable yet fun.