Transcription
Okay, I'm clapping like there's anything to clap about, but there's not because I can't find my microphones anywhere. High key, I'm finding it really annoying because I spent a lot of money on those microphones. They are Road and I've only had them like 4 months and they've gone missing and I haven't been able to find them. So, if we could just pretend that the audio is really nice, that would be amazing.
I have not spoken to another human all day other than saying goodbye to Jack this morning. We are here today to talk about my favorites from the first half of 2025. And believe me, I have many. I saw Eva Melo Melo. I'm not entirely sure, but she's one of my favorite YouTubers from this half of 2025, so it only makes sense to mention her. She did a video like this and I really enjoyed it, so I thought why not do one myself.
So yeah, I've got a quick mention first because I know it's very controversial, but in this cup is the matcha. I have an iced almond blackberry elderifile matcha from a cafe really close to me. And I will say I've been enjoying matcha. I'm not a convert. Coffee is still my number one, but matcha is definitely in there for me. People who say it tastes like grass, I just think you probably don't drink green tea very often. These are basically glorified tea milkshakes, but bubble tea without the bubbles.
I have a big list of everything I've loved the first half of this year. I hope this is one of those videos where you can make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or matcha, sit down, maybe in front of your telly, just have a nice like long watch or maybe like put it on in the background while you're clearing up. It's one of those. It's one of those. And when I mention something, you can like quickly glance over and like check what I'm talking about. I'm going to talk about clothes, beauty products, music, a few things I've watched and enjoyed, podcasts, food, restaurants, homeware. So, there's everything.
Let's crack on with clothing. I'm going to talk about bags to start with. Before I show you the bags that I'm obsessed with, you just have to know I'm not allowed to buy any more dark brown bags. I'm aware this is too many. I'm also going to tell you when something was gifted. Because as my prefrontal cortex has developed, I have realized that obviously, but maybe not obviously to everyone, when you are given something and you didn't spend your own money on it, your opinion, no matter what you think of it, whether you like it or you don't, is somewhat swayed because you did not part with your hard-earned cash. That doesn't mean that you can't like things as much as you like the things you bought yourself if you were gifted them. But I do think it's important to state where I did not spend my own money.
So, with that in mind, here's something I did spend my own money on, and I have absolutely rinsed. This is the Mars Sherwood Boston bag. I can't remember the exact name of the color. I was thinking about buying it on the Mars Sherwood website and importing it from Korea, but I knew the customs would be really hectic. And somehow I got so lucky. I kept checking Bestier and I found one for the same price as it would have been if I'd bought it from the Mar Sherwood site and not had to pay customs. So, I think it was £250. Yeah. on Vier. Someone was reselling it brand new. Clearly, they bought it and didn't like it as much as they thought they would. Luckily, it has found a great home with me. It fits so much inside. I've even used it when I stayed overnight in my family home. I love it so much. And also, I've not had this experience before, but I get compliments from people who are in the know and know the brand, and that is great. It's like being part of a secret club.
To the next dark brown bag, we have the Pollen Sole bag. I was gifted this. I have received a couple of bags from Pollen and the quality is just unmatched and this particular bag I think is particularly good and the one that I have gravitated to over and over again because it's a summer bag but it's really really versatile for summer. You can wear it in the evenings. You can wear it in the day. You can dress it up if you need to dress it up. This would be a really good bag for a wedding I think as in as a wedding guest or the bride should you wish. I just think it's exceptional. And these little pebble stones are made from offcuts of the leather they've used on other bags. It's worn really well. I have rinsed it for a lot of the trips I've made this summer. It's the only bag I've brought with me. I think it's wonderful.
Oh, I've left my third brown bag in the other room because I was using it. This is maybe the wrong way to start this video because if you're new, you're going to think I'm so dull. Three bags in nearly the exact same color. I actually don't know what the style is called, but it's a sling bag that's woven from Aliameina, who are, I believe, a Spanish brand. And they kindly sent me this one after I purchased and absolutely rinsed another bag of theirs last year. I think it works really well for summer because it's woven. It's also got um I believe a wax finish on it, so it is relatively resilient in the rain. And as you can probably see, it's lined as well, so your stuff isn't just hanging out of the rope. I think it's a really cool take on a sling bag and it's by far the bag I've had the most compliments on this year.
This one's a funny one. I kind of fell in love with it again this year. I found this shirt for probably 7 to £10 on vintage maybe 2 or 3 years ago. I really liked it and I wore it a lot when I first bought it, but it was a little longer, but it was slightly too long and sat on my hips in a bit of an unflattering way. So, this time last year, I had it cropped. I think it was just before the end of summer. Since I got it back out, I have worn it non-stop. It's a really good length on me. I love this embroidered design. The buttons are so funny. I love anything that looks a bit 90s. I don't know. It's like the perfect mix for me of kind of polished. Like you could definitely dress it up and make it look really nice, but you could also wear it in like a Y2K skater style. I think it looks equally as cool. Kind of like that burnout dad look. If you are looking for something similar, the brand is called Your Sixth Sense. Even the label I love. It reminds me of, did you ever know those Chicken Suit for the Soul books? The font kind of reminds me of those. They were these self-help books from the '90s full of I think short stories from people helping you deal with like grief and trauma.
That was the only top I have, but I do have some sweaters. The first sweater will be familiar to you if you have followed me through winter. It says Umbito. It is from Paloma Wool. I will just do it up so you can see the zip closure. It's a very thick and tight to the body zipped cardigan. It's cropped. And I saw Sarah Gray, who's a YouTuber I love. She was wearing one from Chloe that was very similar sometime in summer last year and I thought, you know, sometimes you just see an item and you think, I need that. I want that. I just felt like moved spiritually to try and find one. So, I didn't go for the exact same color as her two that she has, but I did find one that was very me, very beige. It goes with everything that I own, unsurprisingly. I really like the handwritten text at the back. It's one of those things again when I wear it, I get a lot of compliments on it. If people know it's Paloma wool, I also get comments being like, "Wow, is that Paloma wool?" It makes me feel again like I'm in a special little club because I love Paloma wool so much.
I'm trying to use my language a bit more carefully in this video and not default to my immediate catchphrases. I always say, "I'm obsessed with it." I always say, "I'm a big fan." Things like that I find really tedious when I'm editing. So, I will do my best to use my words properly. Doing my best to be more interesting verbally, and apologies if I do default to some of my classic descriptors.
I bought that Paloma wool um sweater, by the way. I picked this sweater up from And of the Stories last year, and I have worn it so so much this year so far. I love this kind of more detailed stitching or stitch detail that runs down the sleeve and around the kind of armpit area. It's such a great color. This cool tone brown is really nice. I was gifted it and it's so great, but I'm so annoyed because it was only on site for a minute. I blinked and it was no longer available. And I just think like when you've got such a good versatile sweater style like this that you can make in a billion colors going to be a huge success, why not just keep it online, you know, make more of them? This is the kind of thing that can live in someone's wardrobe for years and years. Anyway, I love it. I really hope they bring it back this year.
If you have followed me at all in the past 6 months, you will have seen this cardigan. You'll recognize it instantly from the color. This is from Sesan. I was kindly gifted it. Sesan knits are unmatched in terms of quality. I know they are expensive. I have purchased many before I started receiving gifting from them. They are just really, really good. So, if you're thinking about buying something as well secondhand that you're like, "Oh, is it worth it?" 100% worth it. Suzanne knits. It's what they do best. This one is a pistachio green. It has these pearlescent buttons here and it has a slight crop and because of that crop, it is so easy to wear. It's also a relatively thin knit for Sesan. It's similar in thickness to their Gasbar collection. I picked up a size medium and god yeah. Oh, I just love it. It is so soft. It sits so well on me. It's the pop of color that I need in my vastly neutral wardrobe and it looks really nice with trench coats as well.
I bought these trousers from CO. I'm really sorry I'm not going to fully get them out, but I will find a photo of me wearing them or a video or something. They are a barrel leg trouser. Yeah, they're 100% cotton. They do make a bit of a noise when you're sitting in them. So, if you're sitting anywhere quiet, people will know you're there. But the cuts really, really good and looks great with all sorts of sandals specifically. I'm a little bit tall to wear them with trainers. They become kind of ankle swingers, which is the look that I want from them, but specifically with an exposed ankle. Let me just check what size I got these in cuz I know that's helpful for people who are a similar shape to me. These are a 40. Um, and they're nice and loose.
The final bottom is a skirt. Again, this was kindly gifted to me by Stories and it is just a linen skirt. I think they might still have this on sale. By the way, everything I mention here that is buyable is linked in the description. I don't actually really make any money off affiliate links, but I know it's really helpful for people to have everything all consolidated into one place. And with this new affiliate link platform that I use, I'm able to also link items that I don't get commission from as well as the ones that I do, which I think is much better because I don't want to link 15 alternatives to an item unless I feel moved to do so. I'd much rather just show you the one that I have that is available and just not get a kickback from it cuz me as a shopper, I don't want to see 15 alternatives. Anyway, this is a lovely linen maxi skirt. It has again like a kind of embroidery design at the bottom with some cutouts. I just love a little bit of detail on very simple clothing. I think it really brings everything together. I wear this skirt a lot with this top which is Do you know what? This has been a great pickup as well. This is from Unilo. I have a similar one as well from SKIMS. The Skiins one is my favorite fit. But if you maybe don't want to spend the money on Skiins, this Unilo one she's very good.
Then we just have two pairs of shoes. The first, and I'm really sorry for the state of them. I feel like they are very well worn, but please know that that is a good thing here. The first pair are these Keen unique sandals. I was going to Jamaica in January for a job. And I was looking around like, oh, I kind of want some new sandals, but I want something quite practical. I saw them in office maybe and they were on sale because it was January. So, I bought them. I think they were 50 quid. Incredible. Love them. Couldn't recommend them enough. Super comfy. I would potentially get the canvas ones instead of the leather ones, although I haven't tried them myself just because they might be a bit easier to clean.
The second pair of shoes are these incredible dark suede ballet flats from Arquette. Arquette really pull it out the bag with like every year there's a few items that just oh incredible and these are just so good. I saw my friend Georgia wearing them and knew I had to get them. They were kindly gifted to me. They are super comfy. They've got padding in the bottoms and they just go with everything. Everything I own for summer they go with. If it's dry I wear them. I did also spray them down with what's that stuff called? That spray that helps waterproof them. I did that with these and they're doing okay. They're not that resilient, but you wouldn't expect that of suede.
Those were all my clothes. Shall we move to beauty? I just want to say before I get started on this product that this is a favorite that has humbled me. If you cast your mind back, I absolutely slated this product in 2020. But look who's laughing now cuz I have a fully paid up subscription and I love it. This is Estrid. They are razors and reusable razor heads. Handles lasted five years. Still looks pretty good. It's made of metal, so it's just got a bit more durability. I probably could do with replacing it at this point. It's getting a bit grubby. And these are some of the best razor heads I found on the market.
If you follow me on Instagram, you will hear me wax and lyrical about this product. This is the Bioma Brightening Serum. This must be my fourth repurchase. I put this on morning and night. It has two key ingredients that I used to get from two separate products and then I saw that this had them both in one and I thought why on earth am I spending double the money so it's got nyinomide which if you have any kind of rosacea or acne is so good so soothing I think it's a B vitamin and then it also has hyaluronic acid which is amazing for helping your skin retain water. This also has something called a triceramide complex in it which I believe is just for like softening and soothing the skin. For some reason this says it's about brightening and hydrating. I would say that this is your most affordable one-stop shop to having clearer skin.
This is my favorite fragrance at the moment. I love it. I talk about it all the time. It's Dip Teique Ilio. It smells apparently of iris and I can kind of smell that. But to me, it's like a very dry floral. It's almost salty. It smells like summer. I might put some in now. Just so nice. I would maybe change the packaging of this if I were Vita Liberata because my grubby hands covered in self-tanner have gone all over this. I must have been sent this a couple of years ago now. I discovered it this summer. It is the easiest and best gradual tanner I've ever tried. The only thing I will say is be prepared to be using this across your whole body. I was just using it on my legs and I started getting comments. I just looked so different. I would be using it across legs, arms, probably neck and declletage if I was doing it again. It suits all skin tones. It's a natural tan. It applies just really easily and evenly and that must be to do with the consistency of the lotion. I've never felt anything like it. It's almost like a balm. Anyway, just super easy to use.
This is the Necessary body lotion in Haninoi, which is a very woody scent. I picked this up on a whim. M couple of months ago now. I just wanted there to be a pump body lotion in our bathroom beside our soap so that when I get out of the bath, I can just like pump some in my hand and rub it all over my body. I mean, this is obviously self-explanatory, but having it in a pump format makes a big difference. And I also love the way that the bottles sit together on our sink. I think it's nice to be able to offer people a hand cream when they are washing their hands. But sometimes when you buy a big hand cream, and I've been guilty of this with like the ASOP ones, people tend not to use them. So, I think it's really nice to have one in a body lotion format because then you know you're going to get through it. This scent is just a very warm, woody scent. It's a lovely rich body cream. It smells great and the packaging is really nice as well.
This IRA detox I revive cream makes my eyes look a lot better. There's not really much more to say about it. I will say I was sent this. I don't know if I would repurchase unless I were rich because it is very expensive. Sometimes with a premium product, you really do see results and this makes my eyes look a lot less hollow.
Moving on to arguably the cheapest item in this video. I bought a bunch of these large lei Marles body washes on Amazon. They last a while. These are like the large eco format and the scents are really good and they're just super affordable. They're really available in Europe. I have always struggled to find them in the UK. But yeah, this one's flooded tiar which I've been informed by one of you so thank you. Is a flower from the ti plant. I wondered if it was jasmine but apparently it's not.
For hair I just have one product for now. I'm currently trying out a new all-in-one hairspray, and if I like that, maybe that will make it to the end of year favorites, but this has been a favorite for a really long time. It's the ColorWow Dream Coat for Curly Hair. So, I think that means you don't need heat to activate it. It just is magic in a bottle. I don't know what's in this, but it basically just makes your hair dry really smooth and like you've just left the salon. Oh, and I bought that color. Wow, I think I've said that.
I have two lip products. They won't surprise anyone. One is the Road Peptide Lip Tint in toast. I really like this color. It's a very nice kind of dusky pink brown. I have so many lip balms. This is one of many. It comes with me in my bag. I love the color. I think it looks really nice. I often wear this when I'm barely wearing any makeup or I have no makeup on at all because it just adds like a little sheer tint to my lips and I like my lips to look a little bit bigger, a little more there, more present. This is one way to do that. I had it on today, but it's kind of rubbed off now along with a liner from Glossier in a brown I can't remember the name of.
Speaking of Glossier, I love this color right here. It's all I've worn all year. It's called Crest and I believe it's one of their newer ultra lip releases. You can see from how much this has rubbed off just how much I've been taking this out. It's a very similar color to Clinique's Black Honey, but it is cruelty-free. I still shop pretty much exclusively cruelty-free. I think I've bought like one non- cruelty-free product this past year, if that. I know someone will be like, "Oh, but you're not fully cruelty-free." I pretty much am. Like 99% of my uh cosmetic purchases are all cruelty-free still. And the 1% is just like a sun cream or I'm passing through an airport. I need something, you know. Anyway, so yeah, you're not going to catch me buying Black Honey anytime soon, sadly. But this is a really good alternative. And I love the formula of all the Ultra Lips. I think it's great. Put some on now for you. I feel most me in a dark lipstick. And this is dark but sheer which makes it really versatile. I can wear it so many days.
Oh, I have a final beauty favorite. I got contact lenses and they have made my life great. I'm so happy I have them. I don't wear them every day. I probably wear them twice a week. I'm still remembering which side is which. But yeah, I'm so thrilled that I can put them in and take them out now and that I'm like a true contact wearer. Makes me very happy.
Let's do home wear. For homeware, there is one candle that has scented our house this year. It is Big S after rain. It is by DS and Durgga. I was sent this randomly actually. I don't think I'd ever shopped from DS and Durgga. That will change now because Hannah Louise F, my friend, told me how good this candle was and for good reason. It's like eucalyptus. Very fresh. It smells like a posh hotel in the California woods. Just makes the house smell amazing.
I'm going to run upstairs and get the next item. I forgot to mention some an item of clothing. I just sat on it so I remembered. These droplet earrings from Cos. I bought them actually for a shoot. I bought them for the oxytocin shoot just because I thought I wanted a feature earring. I didn't end up wearing them for the shoot. Yeah, I just held on to them. I didn't end up returning them. And I actually just love them. I've worn them so much.
I got this from Jack for Christmas. When we were last in Foro, I looked over at their stand of groceries and saw they had these handmade mugs and I was raving about them to Jack. I thought they were so cute. And then he gave me one. Maybe it was for my 30th actually. I can't remember. But either way, it's such a nice mug. It's perfect in every way. It is exactly as the perfect mug should be. It was also disgustingly expensive. I think it was nearly 40 quid. But we support local poses in this house.
Another thing I need to go and get. It feels so funny to just take art off the walls. This is a picture I bought an oil painting off Facebook Marketplace in April. Maybe it's giving enchanted April, that's for sure. A lady in her garden. It's an oil on canvas and it's been beautifully framed and it's by an artist called Monica Lorenson. I've never seen another piece of hers that looks like this. This is very feminine and very soft and the color palette she used is just so so nice. I initially bought this to go in this room, but I decided to put it in the living room and I actually love it there. I love seeing it every day. It brings me a lot of joy.
I finally bought an armchair for the living room. I've been looking for the best part of two years. It is so hard to find a nice occasional chair or an armchair and I knew what I wanted. I wanted something that had chrome and was a kind of tubular design and they go for so much money and when they are more affordable usually they're broken or they get snapped up super quickly. People have like they're tracking them so they can just whiz in and snap them up. So, imagine my delights when I came across our T2 OMK armchair in a very dark brown leather on Etsy for 400 quid, which is about the same price as you get an armchair new from pretty much any retailer. And you're going somewhere like West Elm and it's going to be 600, 700, 1,200. I love it so much. I'm so happy we ended up with something vintage and secondhand. I did a whole redecoration video. You can watch that. I'll link it somewhere.
Okay, final favorite is Sky sent us their new Sky Glass TV and it's just so good. It's beautiful. Looks amazing. And obviously it has Sky on it, which I love. The quality is just really nice. I've never owned like a nice TV before this one. It's so cute.
Can I be completely honest? I've not loved any films I've watched this half of the year other than Anora. Anora was exceptional. Do you know what? Actually, take that back. Really enjoyed Companion. I'm not a horror person, but it was amazing.
In terms of what I've been listening to, I have been rinsing. The rest is politics, just the UK one. I don't really listen to the US. And I listen to a lot of The Manager's Playbook and The Cutting Room Floor, which I'm now a paid subscriber to. I also love Colin and Samir and The Writer is Popcast. These are like my long-term classic podcasts.
Favorite album from the past 6 months might be Addison's. If you haven't heard the Addison Ray album, you really should just listen to it. It is Perfect Pop. If you are someone who really liked Kylie Ray Jepson's Emotion, I think it hits those same beats. An album that's taken me by surprise with how much I've enjoyed it is Kala's In the Blue Lights. It's a reimagining of some of her favorite songs from her discography in a jazz format. If you really like live albums, if you really like tiny desk performances and you love jazz and R&B, this is such a good project. It's so soothing. It would be perfect like at a dinner party. I also think in terms of innovative pop, Fancy That by Pink Panther S is incredible. I love how nostalgic it is for me as someone that kind of became a person in the early and late 2000s. It's such a British album. I love that. I love that it's so electronic. It's so dance influenced. And I also love her tonality and the way she sings. Love the way she writes. I think it's really experimental and she doesn't get enough credit for that.
Oh my god, another great album. I am so into R&B as you know and Destin Conrad's Love on Digital. It came out this summer, so it's still kind of an early exploration for me, but I find it so easy to listen to. There's so much really, really high quality R&B, and he's just like smashed it out the park. It's so good.
I add everything I'm listening to to my Honey playlist. I keep it really regularly updated with all my current favorite new things. It's a very new playlist. It's full of new releases. I will leave it linked below. If you're wondering what I'm listening to right now, that is my default playlist. And there's some artists I'm really excited about that have featured many times on Honey. And the people that I've just been rinsing a lot the last six months I think are going to be big. There may be slightly smaller artists are Quinn to Hollis, uh 24 MG, Gym Legacy, and Akioke. Obviously, Gym Legacy is doing so well right now. I love Black British music. Yeah, if you want to like sample any of those, the playlist is down here. And of course, Oxytocin by Lucy Moon. If you like R&B, but in like a Clara way, then you should listen to my song.
I have 8 minutes left before my memory card is full. So, let's quickly talk about food. There is one thing I've eaten more of than maybe anything else in the past 6 months, and that is dark chocolate cherries. This is a tiny pack. I usually buy the enormous packs off Amazon, but they are by Forest Feast. I cannot tell you how good these are. I'm addicted, guys. I'm going to have one now. I love them. They're genius.
Second thing I've been eating loads of this year that is very new to me is kiwis. If you had told me two years ago that I would eat kiwis nearly every week in 2025, I would not have believed you. But stranger things have happened evidently. I hated kiwis my whole life. And then I discovered that brand of kiwis that begins with a zed. I currently can't think of it. They're absolutely delicious and changed my life, but recently discovered they're imported from New Zealand, which is not the kind of air miles I want to bring into my life on the regular. I've switched back to normal, very ripe kiwis, and they're doing the job.
And I'm just going to finish with two restaurant recommendations for you and two cafe recommendations all in London. So if you're visiting or you are here, I hope this helps. The first I tried in January. It is Yaya's Noodles and Dumplings in Shortitch just by Liverpool Street Station. Guys, unreal dumplings. Unreal noodles. I've got really into Chinese food in the past year. I love dim sum so much. It like makes me excited to think about dim sum. This could be a bounce back because when I was glut gluten-free, I just couldn't eat any Chinese food. So now I can. I just take full advantage of it. But Yaya was incredible. I still think about it every time Jack suggests a date night. First of all, I think of Yay before I think of going anywhere else. I would say you spend about £20 ahead, probably more if you're drinking, and that's with sharing a few dishes between you.
The second restaurant is Dala in Hackne, which is now famous for being the wedding that Charlie and George Daniel went to after their wedding. It is delicious. Lovely Italian. Amazing tiramisu.
Third is a place I've spent way more time in than I thought I would this year. All press in Dston, but they also have one in Shitch. I now personally feel that All Press make the best flat white in London. There also are roasters. I sometimes buy their beans. The vibe in the Dston one specifically is just so nice. So, when it comes to places to work, All Press and Ozone are like right up there for me.
I couldn't mention this mug without mentioning Forno. Forno is a pacificico. So it is effectively an Italian bakery as well as a cafe. I am a huge fan. And because it's right kind of between Cambridge Heath and London Fields, I spend so much time there meeting friends because I have so many friends in this kind of neck of the woods. It's good and it's local. Oh my goodness, the cornetto unreal. All the pastries.
And with that, I have a minute left of recording time. So I'm going to say goodbye and thank you for watching. I hope this has been somewhat interesting. I will leave a playlist where you can watch some more of my vlogs. They are fun and very much in this general vibe. If you like anything I've mentioned today, I think you will enjoy the vlogs. And now I've got a little more to film today and then I'm going for dinner in Notting Hill with my friend Maya. Life is great.