I’ve had a deeply weird start to the year, I guess it’s the combination of fascism, perimenopause, trying to write and watching Heated Rivalry too many times that has been affecting me. As a result, my 2025 wrap-up content is late, but I am planning to get it all out in the next couple of weeks. As you can see, I have consolidated my beauty and style favourites into one post this time, because the vast majority of my faves are the same as last year or go back even more. Everything I said in my 2024 beauty and style posts still stands, as does the information in my morning and evening skincare routine roundups. Which is great for me as a person, but less great for blogging content. So here are the handful of things I have added to my increasingly stable list this year:

Foundations. 2025 was an excellent year for foundations – I didn’t manage to try all the hyped new launches (most notably, I did not try the new Victoria Beckham, as I simply could not justify ordering it after finding some amazing ones already). My favourite proper foundation of the year was Tom Ford’s new Architecture Soft Matte Blurring Foundation. It is simply gorgeous and while expensive, actually cheaper than the previous iteration. It provides very decent coverage and looks amazingly natural for that, making your skin look creamy and expensive. Don’t be put off by the word ‘matte’ in the name – while it’s not actively glow-y, it’s definitely not dray or flat either. This foundation is not something I use every day, but if I want to look good, this is what I’ll wear. For touch-ups, nothing beats Dior Forever Skin Perfect Face Stick. I have never been a stick-foundation fan, but this is so easy to use, non-drying and pretty much universally loved. For everyday, my favourite is actually a 2024 launch that I discovered in 2025: Lisa Eldrige’s Seamless Skin Tint. It’s extremely natural-looking (great undertones!) and easy to use. It has, at least for now, dethroned the NARS tinted moisturiser in my collection. The only issue I have with Lisa’s product is the packaging: while it looks nice, it gets dirty very easily. 2025 was also the year when I rediscovered the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, truly a classic (although just reformulated) for days when I want something between Tom Ford and Lisa Eldridge.

Origins cleanser. As I said, my skincare routine has largely stayed the same, but I cannot resist buying new cleansers. I tried several nice ones in 2025, but my absolute favourite was Origins Youthtopia Apple Butter Cleansing Balm. It is very rare that I buy the same cleanser the moment I run out, but I did with this one. The name tells you all you need to know – it smells of apples and has a consistency reminiscent of apple butter, although not quite as dense. If you like the idea of a cleansing balm, but don’t like them too oily and/or prefer tube packaging, this is a great option.

Allies of Skin sunscreen. I am picky about SPF, as I don’t really want to use it, so I have to bribe myself with exceptionally nice products. Enter Allies of Skin Sunless Tan SPF 50 Sunscreen + Self-Tanner – an unreasonably long name but in this case forgiven, as it does impart essential information. The point of this product is, as the name suggests, that it gives you both sun protection and a (very) light tan in one go, which I think many more sunscreens should do. I assume it’s not easy to formulate in an elegant way, which makes me even more grateful that Allies of Skin has done it. Between this, UltraViolette and Beauty of Joseon I skipped facial SPF perhaps on a couple of days last year, and only by accident.

Glossier Banana Pudding Balm Dotcom. While I consider myself a relatively grown-up person who knows how capitalism operates, I do have moments when I regress. One of them was in 2025 when Glossier came out with their banana pudding lip balm flavour that I felt I absolutely NEEDED to buy immediately. It was not easy, as all the other elder millennial women in the world clearly felt the same. But get it I did and I love it (it seems to be sold out now again). The Glossier lip balm formula works well for me and this is possibly my favourite flavour yet, although I also love Strawberry and Black Cherry.

Chanel 1957. It was a pretty quiet fragrance year for me, as all I saw online was gourmands and vanillas. I do not hate these types of fragrances, but it has gotten so repetitive and boring. And don’t even get me started on dupes. In 2026, I will make an effort to search out things I personally like and just ignore the trends, but that’s a topic for another post. However, I did discover a new-for-me Chanel Exclusif last year – 1957. I was planning to get a bottle of Comete (which I still kind of plan to get) but somehow ended up with a different bottle. It is surprising, because it’s a musk-centred fragrance, which was never my thing. Except that now it apparently is. 1957 is of course Chanel’s version of a clean musk: understated, very elegant and with that unmistakable Chanel signature of iris and soapy aldehydes. It is one of those Chanels (like Cristalle EDT) that somehow truly works for any occasion: you can wear it with jeans to run errands or to the opera and be absolutely spot on for both. I am thinking of doing an overview of the entire Chanel Exclusifs line (similar to my Le Labo posts), so let me know if that would be something you are interested in.

Classic candles. I know I am repeating myself, but almost all candles I burnt in 2025 were old favourites. I realised this when I was sniffing Christmas offerings from different companies and had to admit to myself that I simply love Diptyque Sapin (currently unavailable, as it’s a Christmas edition) the best and have for years now. The same (years-long love) goes for Cire Trudon Balmoral, Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom and Byredo Bibliotheque. Honestly, I am not sure whether I’ll bother to branch out this year: there is something comforting in smelling things that never disappoint me.

The Row XL Park Tote. You may remember this unreasonably expensive bag from my last Things I Want list and I am happy to report that I have been wearing it almost every day since I bought it (there was a break during high summer). I really do love it: it is huge, the leather is beautiful and the colour amazing. The cost-per-wear is still outrageous, perhaps around 10 euros per day, but I promise it will be much better same time next year. The only problem is that I now also want the same bag in black, chocolate brown and light beige.

Yellow sweater by Gunia Project. Another thing that was mentioned on one of my lists perhaps two years ago was a butter yellow sculptural sweater by Gunia. I do not think it’s available any more, so I just recommend that you take a look at Gunia’s website – they have many other beautiful things, including lovely ceramics and jewellery.

A shearling coat. Another big investment I made in 2025 was into a Nour Hammour shearling coat. I had my eye on that model for months, but dithered: it was expensive and I had no way to try it on. But as soon as this taupe-y beige version showed up, I was sold. It is exactly the shade for me, goes well with most of my wardrobe and, crucially, my The Row bag. Fortunately, I have no regrets, it is gorgeous and warm and I have worn it every day when it makes even remote sense to wear shearling. My one niggle is that it only fastens with a leather string at the waist, which means that it has a more open front than I’d like. In Luxembourg weather it’s not really a problem, but I can imagine that it wouldn’t be great with -15 in Estonia.

Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner. I am, indeed, fully aware, that a vacuum cleaner is neither a beauty nor a style item, but it may be my favourite purchase of the year. I do not like cleaning my apartment, but as I also do not like living fully submerged in dust and dirt, I need to engage with this activity somehow. (I used to have a lovely cleaning lady in Brussels, whom I miss very badly, but it’s difficult to find someone as good in Luxembourg/I cannot fully justify it now that we no longer have a house.) Enter the Dyson. It is so easy to use and efficient that I almost enjoy vacuuming now. Which is exponentially more surprising than me enjoying a musk-forward fragrance.

I hope you found something interesting here – let me know in the comments what you enjoyed in 2025. I will of course return with my top books and also, I hope, with a list of my favourite experiences.