All the things I wish I bought sooner

I’m sure we all hate reading unnecessary introductions, so let’s directly dig in:

Mariage Frères tea

There’s not a day I start without drinking a huge cup of green tea, and for a number of reasons: I love the taste, I love all the health benefits, and I love the ritual of making it (even if sometimes, my husband prepares my cup even before i wake up).

But drinking so much tea, I’ve became quite picky. I want great loose leaf tea, made with real ingredients, no plastic bags. That’s why Mariage Frères is my favorite tea brand: everything is so rich and taste absurdbly better than supermarket tea..

Problem is, once you get used to really good tea, you can never go back!!!! I drink their Thé au Sahara (green tea with mint and dried rose petals) as well as their Thé à la Menthe Suprême (green tea with a lot of mint) and it’s safe to say I’m addicted.

Fabric shaver

This one is really not shiny or glamorous but SO useful. I can use it on just about everything when my clothes start looking a bit tired because of pilling. Because most of the time, something “old” just needs five minutes of care and attention.

Also it’s very satisfying and addicting, kinda like those ASMR videos. In the end it helps save you so much money cause it prevents you from replacing something unnecessarily.

La Roche Posay eye cream

I don’t follow a strict, long and particularly exhausting skincare routine. Most days, I double cleanse, use one good active (azelaic in the morning, retinol at night) and layer it with a great moisturizer. But there’s something I completely neglected for years: my under eye area.

I used to think all eye creams were ridiculously expensive day cream repackaged as eye cream. But after trying to use vaseline and getting milia, I started using this tiny La Roche Posay one, and it blew my mind. Super inexpensive, takes an extra 5 seconds to use, and my eyes are so much brighter and look much more rested, especially when it comes to this annoying hyperpigmentation and that slightly grey-slightly purple dull look I tend to get underneath them. Game changer!!

A jewelry polishing cloth

My mother in law put me onto this one absurdly inexpensive thing that somehow makes a gigantic difference!! Silver jewelry (as well as other precious stones) can quickly become so dull they do nothing for you anymore.

Just a swipe with polishing cloth, and everything looks new again. I have a couple at home and use them every now and then. Great way to make your entire outfit way more…. polished. AH AH AH (please be kind I’m very proud of this joke).

Calming essential oils

I’m an anxious person by nature. I think I got it from my mother yay!! But she also got me into essential oils, particularly chamomile and rose when I REALLY need to calm down.

I found these tiny empty roll-ons in a little shop in the 1st arrondissement, and started making my own relaxing essential oil blend with a few different essentials oils diluted in a carrier oil (I use jojoba). I carry a few in my different bags, so that when I’m particularly stressed out I can roll a little onto the inside of my wrists and take a few deep breaths.

I don’t know which one helps more: the calming scent or just the fact that I finally stop and breathe properly for a minute, but it’s not woo woo, it really works. I can’t leave the house without one anymore.

Heel grips

I have a little stock of heel grips at home because I’ve just accepted the fact that I am quite incapable of knowing if my new shoes will rub until I’ve worn them outside for a couple hours……… Very affordable and help me wear shoes that are otherwise a tiny bit loose at the back (or determined to end my will to live).

The tip is to anticipate: better to have a few ready in your bag or at home than to remember they exist AFTER the blisters and the bleeding feet already happened. This is a very much a learn-from-my-own-mistakes recommendation <3

A walking pad

Please please please, hear me out!! I’m REALLY not into the whole wellness-gadget craze the internet keeps feeding us: vibrating plates, super expensive lymphatic drainage machines, red light therapy for the entire body and all of that. But there’s still one thing I really think is worth buying: a very, very simple walking pad.

I mostly work from home, and some days I write and I create and I edit and I’m stuck on creative calls, which means I can easily get to the end of the day only to realize I’ve barely moved.. and end up having to draaaaaag myself outside at 11 pm just to feel a tiny bit more human. Once, my phone told me I’d taken 390 steps and that was the last straw.

Having a walking pad next to my desk makes it so much easier to get a few steps in without even thinking about it!! That’s the beauty of it!! Mine was really inexpensive and is one wellness purchase I use CONSTANTLY (in comparison to the drainage roller sitting at the back of my bathroom closet).

The Ordinary salicylic acid body serum

I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that I’m not someone who wants to spend one extra hour in the bathroom for a 12-step body care routine. BUT a friend of mine put me onto the body exfoliant from The Ordinary, and I’m sad to report it makes such a ridiculous difference.

I use it a couple times a week on clean skin right after my shower and it helps my skin a lot (my skin is sooooo smooth now!!). I particularly use it in the winter when everything feels a little bit more dry and sensitive and a little rough. I don’t need ten other products, it does all the heavy lifting. I just finish with a rich body cream (currently this one) and done.

A good handbag hook

I know it’s cool and nonchalant and stuff to leave your bag on the floor in cafes and restaurants but I HATE it. I don’t want the bag I’m coming home with to bask in all the filth (or risk having it snatched it to get it snatched by someone under the table when I’m having my steak-frites).

So I got myself one of these little handbag hooks you can put on the edge of your table. It’s one of those slightly old fashioned objects that are actually super useful: it takes up absolutely no space in your bag, and it costs nothing. This way you can have your handbag hanging next to you within arm’s reach rather than balanced on your chair or between your feet.

Smart light bulbs

Ok this one is a bit more gadgety but bear with me. Smart light bulbs are such a good invention!! I can control mine from my phone and adjust the brightness, make the light warmer or cooler depending on my mood or what I’m doing. It’s great when I’m hosting cause I can modify the lights throughout the evening...

I know it sounds a little unnecessary but it’s extra comfortable and therefore I’m willing to invest in it. Now, normal overhead lighting feels so harsh so aggressive, I would never back!!!

Silk pillowcases

I originally got my hands on those little things because my sister ordered way too many and gave me a couple. They are supposedly amazing for your skin but I noticed was the biggest difference I notice was in my hair.

I can guarantee you, you will wake up the next morning almost tangle-free and with wayyyy less frizz. Used to roll my eyes when I scrolled past a video of a girl saying how life changing silk pillowcases are.. Well I’m one of them now.

So.. fancy to share yours???

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