A lot of people have asked for another post of what I bought myself recently and I finally had time to put it together today. Some things were Christmas presents to myself and others were items I purchased in the last few months.

I can’t wear shoulder bags and tote bags with my Toteme winter coat because they slip off my shoulder. I had a crossbody bag that I wore with it but as soon as I saw this Celine Small Bucket Cuir Triomphe in smooth tan leather, I knew it was time for an upgrade. It’s the perfect size and color to wear with all my grey and taupe coats now and will also work perfectly with dresses in the summer. I love this bag and I’m so glad I splurged. It’s also available in black.

I bought the Celine Small Bucket Cuir Triomphe in November and decided to spend my Christmas money on some coordinating accessories. The bag doesn’t have a pocket and it’s too small to carry my full wallet so I bought the Celine Coin & Card Pouch to use for cash and a credit card. It also has a key ring attached inside which means I can easily find my keys in the bag too.

I saw Rosie Huntington-Whiteley post the Celine Medium Zippered Pouch in Textile and Tan Calfskin on her Instagram and immediately fell in love. I needed a new makeup bag and it’s the perfect size. Unfortunately, it was sold out in New York but Robert at Celine in Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills managed to have the last one left anywhere which was a Christmas miracle. The pouch will also be perfect to carry in my Celine Medium Triomphe Beach Bag.

I had a blue wool and black leather coat from Barney’s that I loved and wore for years until it was past its prime. I bought this J.Crew Collection toggle coat in Italian fall blanket wool to replace it. So far, I’ve only worn it once but I’m hoping it will get more wear after the holidays. It’s currently on sale and also comes in camel.

It’s so hard to find reasonably priced grey wool pants so I bought three pair of these J.Crew Pull-on straight-leg pants in Italian knit wool. They are also on sale but mostly sold out. I always bookmark anything I want that’s sold out because it will usually come back into stock if you’re patient.

I stalked these Brunello Cucinelli Monili-Trimmed Suede & Leather Sneakers until they went on sale this week. They haven’t arrived yet but I’m hoping they will be a comfortable shoe to wear with all my grey pants when I take walks in the city. You can find more sizes here.

I did one of the crazy things I’ve been known to do and bought another Tory Burch White Poplin Embroidered Dress. The one I bought at the end of summer feels a bit large so I ordered the second one in a size down after it went on sale. I wear it unbelted and without the removable collar, not shown here. I really love it and plan to wear it at least once a week this summer.

I also have this Mille Jasmine Dress in Black Organic Cotton and love it for the beach so I decided to buy the Jasmine Dress in Cafe Voile after it went on sale this week too.

These Malone Souliers Imogen Flats were a wildcard purchase. I hurt my knee earlier this year so I’m always on the lookout for flat shoes that can work with dresses for when sandals aren’t appropriate. Like when it’s 80 degrees in October. They’re currently on sale.

The hardest part of putting these posts together is that so many things I buy sell out before I can even post them in Stories. This Black Sequined Dress is mostly sold out but it was that way when I found it online. I checked every day until my size was available again. I thought it would be the perfect dress to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home again this year. It’s also available in white sequins which has more sizes in stock right now.

I think it’s hard to find good black dresses that are reasonably priced so I immediately bought this Tie-belt Satin Dress in both black and light beige as soon as I saw them. You can wear the dress with or without the best. H&M Dresses tend to run large so make sure you check the size chart before purchasing.

I bought these Rupert Sanderson Hemploe point-toe suede flats in November when they went on sale and wore them to the last holiday party I attended before Covid cancelled everything. They are another good style that works well with dresses and pants. There are a few good sizes left too.

I’ve never met a beauty device I didn’t like so when my Newa stopped working, I decided to upgrade to the  TriPollar STOP Vx Facial Renewal, Reshaping & Rejuvenation Device. It combines radio frequency which you can use on the entire face with ELV, which is the Stop Vx’s electronic vibration mode, which encourages the muscles to tighten, creating a more lifted appearance. When I was using it consistently three days a week, I definitely noticed a significant tightening of my jawline. My doctor says that radio frequency is better than ultrasound for skin tightening. The TriPollar Vx is expensive but in office procedures can run into the thousands of dollars so it’s a good way to keep your skin tightened between professional treatments.

I ran out of a lot of my skincare products in the fall so I decided to go back to Augustinus Bader. I tried the Victoria Beckham by Augustinus Bader Cell Rejuvenating Power Serum and so far I like it. I use the Augustinus Bader Rich Cream after the serum during the day and after GlyDerm Cream Plus 12 at night. My skin was having a melt down for a while this fall and I couldn’t figure out if it was from wearing masks, a product I was using, or something I was eating but after using this combination, my skin has finally calmed down.

I went all in on the new Les Mains Hermes collection. I bought the Hand Cream and Nail Files for a few of my friends for hostess gifts and holiday presents this year as well as myself. The hand cream has a nice unisex sandalwood based scent and I’m convinced the nail files will be a collectors item. I also bought the Base Coat, Nail Polish, and Top Coat for myself. Since the pandemic started, I’ve been doing my nails at home so I decided to splurge on the new line of products and I can honestly say they live up to the hype. I was loyal to Deborah Lippmann polish but I found it the color inconsistent and the polish heavy lately. The Hermes nail polish wears well and doesn’t chip as fast. I’ve also used it Seche Vite Top Coat and it wears just as well if you only want to try the colored polishes.

I had a staycation last week at The Carlyle Hotel and popped by the Diptyque store to stock up on my favorite candles, Figuier and Baies.

After a bit of a kerfluffle when I ordered the wrong storage size, I finally got the new Apple iPhone 13 Pro. I no longer use my large camera at all and instead take all the photos for the blog and Instagram on my phone. I usually upgrade to each new phone to take advantage of the new camera lenses and the new phone takes much better low light photos which makes it worth the hassle. Of course, the new phone is slightly different than the old version which meant that I had to buy the iPhone 13 Pro Green Leather Case. I do think the leather looks chicer and wears better than the silicone.

While I was traveling for Thanksgiving, my AirPods stopped holding a charge so I upgraded to the AirPods 3rd generation. This time, I signed up for AppleCare so if these break, I can get them fixed or replaced. I have a gold Tapper Chain for my AirPods and I can honestly say that it’s saved me from losing them while traveling on every trip. They’re also available in other chain colors, nylon, and leather styles.

I have a Bowood pillow in my apartment so I ordered a Bowood Stocking from Stuck on Hue. Most of her styles are sold out now but maybe you can pre-order stockings for next year. She also makes beautiful pillows. I need new pillows for my sofa so I think I might just order some Althea pillows from her.

Happy Holidays!

XOXO,

HC