The TMD Top 2024
A Few of my favorite things from 2024.
Hello! And happy almost New Year! Writing to you from Ojai, California- I took a few days to shut myself off from the world in my favorite place. I wanted to reflect on my year, and give myself a few days for real introspection (God knows thats impossible to do that in LA). As the year ends, I personally love taking the time to visit all the things I’ve done- I took a look back at some 2024 goals and saw “start a substack??” (LOL). To think that at the start of this year, I literally didn’t even know how to create a post on here- to now nearly 5K of you!!!
This place of the internet brings me so much joy, truly. It’s incredible to have seen this community grow and I can’t wait to continue sharing my favorite things, topics, and finds with all of you here. I’m truly leaving this year and entering the new one with so much gratitude.
When taking a look back at my year, the idea for this post came to me at about 10 PM while brushing my teeth in my tiny bathroom at home. I was looking around at my shelf that houses all of my favorite skincare- some purchased from around the world, others from CVS, and many that were gifted to me by wonderful brands that are now my holy grails. As a little look-back to this year, I thought I’d share my absolute favorite things I acquired across our favorite categories. Looking at these images literally is like looking into my home- these products carried me through, brought me joy, and many of you as well.
I hope you enjoy- Happy New Year and thank you for being along this ride with me. Your support means the world.
X Julia
I have horrible hormonal acne- its something I’ve been trying to get control over for years. Finally, my skin has started calming down- don’t get me wrong I still deal with acne daily, but its manageable. These are the skincare saviors that are truly my holy-grails. A313 is magic in a tube- especially for anyone dealing with breakouts- a must-buy honestly it saved my skin this year. C.O. Bigelow rose salve is also my savior- its the only thing that actually hydrates my chapped lips and dry knuckles/ cuticules. I use their all purpose salve nightly and always have a tube of the lip balm in my bags. The Furtuna skin oil is also magic in a bottle- lucky for us they gave us a code (TMD 20 for 20% off). Lastly, the Rhode glazing milk is amazing for anyone with sensitive skin. It never clogs my pores and really does feel like I’m giving my skin a nice big glass of water (especially because I always fail to hydrate myself properly).
After-all this Substack is called Chic Things. These are a few of my favorite chic things that I’ve acquired and many of you have fallen in love with as well! I just picked up some more cashmere socks from J Crew which are currently on sale- they also make an amazing gift! I’ve talked about the Simone Perele bra before, it’s a true favorite - I discovered the brand from my chicest Parisian friend and know their bra’s are amazing for all chest sizes which I love.
As mentioned, I deal with horrible acne. This year, I switched from Hourglass’s vanish concealer to Merit’s The Minimalist complexion stick and have never been happier. It covers acne perfectly and blends into the skin so well. I haven’t gone a day without using it- the day I’m out I run to Sephora to buy a new one. Saie lip pencils were an iconic launch- I have one in every shade in every bag and use them religiously- same with my Summer Fridays lip oils.
Let’s be real- I can go on and on about shoes. I wont go too in depth about each shoe here- just know these are my holy grails of my non-vintage shoes. I am obsessed with each and every one and wear the above pairs on a religious rotation. Don’t get me started on the Rothy’s- unexpected, I know. Yet here I am just having gifted them to three people in my life and literally have not taken them off since I got them. They might have to be a separate post entirely. I would grab the Salomons before they sell out again- I have not taken them off either since purchasing them in Paris in September.
Honorable mention- my favorite thing I did for my home this year were set up my forever rose bouquets. The best ones are the dome roses from The Million Roses- I cut off the bottom half of the “vase” they come with, and place them into vintage silver footed bowls- I get asked about them all the time and dont have to worry about them dying anytime soon (I’ve had my other one for three years). The wonderful Chefanie also just sent me her amazing fan cocktail napkins which I find extremely chic. I use them under candles and as decor and am completely obsessed. They also make an excellent gift.
For anyone who is buying toys for children, or themselves, these are some of my favorites to gift and receive. Amica is the cutest company out of England I believe and they make the cutest felt animals!!
Of course, I wanted to recap YOUR favorite products from this year! These are the items that many of your ordered, loved, asked me about, and fell in love with alongside myself! Each and every one of these 8 items is uniquely timeless to me and truly a staple in all of our closets- I love seeing and hearing what all of you love and can’t wait to see what we discover together in 2025.
Again, I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you. For your support, love, engagement, and for riding along this journey with me! These were some of your favorite Substacks from this year - let me know what you want to see more of in 2025!!
Just joined Substack and your posts are so inspiring! Also had to shout out how secretly amazing Milani’s lip products are. The black cherry vanilla lip oil is a shade of deep purple that’s very difficult to find (most have too much pink) and looks chic with an all-black outfit and statement earrings 💫💖
Embryolisse for the W!! Best moisturizer ever.