2025 closet resolutions

and my favorite beauty buys of 2024

Happy New Year! 2024 was quite the rollercoaster and I am looking forward to a fresh start. As I navigate my second pregnancy (less than 4 months to go but who’s counting?!) and my husband gets back to running (I married into an athletic family..opposites attract) after suffering a stroke last fall, I am overwhelmingly grateful for my family’s health.

When my husband and I first moved out of Venice, I was heartbroken (this move made a lot of sense for our current phase of life and was very much a mutual decision, but still!) I missed seeing cool creatives walk up and down Abbot Kinney, the artistic environment and the community that was (literally) right outside our door. It had been easy to see items I lusted after on Net-A-Porter while I was grabbing lunch at GTA, or someone whose style I’d admired for years stroll past me as I walked my dog. One of my closet resolutions last year was to find inspiration in new places and to shop for the life I have, which has really evolved since becoming a mom.

Seeing things through the eyes of my curious and creative toddler has helped me dive back into the world of being creative offline, while this platform has helped me find an audience and community online that I am so grateful for.

Anyway….despite the fact that fewer and fewer of my clothes will fit over the coming months I have some closet resolutions (btw… I shared my style resolution with my friend

Sogole Kane

here) for the coming year, based on my mistakes and observations from 2024. If you have any of your own, please share in the comments! I’d love to hear what they are.

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• Don’t rush to replace- a good clean out can often feel like a great excuse to buy more but that’s how the cycle unnecessarily repeats itself. I had a lot of closet clean outs in 2024- mostly due to big life changes like moving houses, but I’d like to think more thoughtful consumption can lead to fewer overhauls (though some are inevitable).

• Take inventory & create fresh pairings - Don’t forget to reach into the back of your closet and pull out the pieces that have survived your clean-outs but that you don’t wear very often. Also, if you always wear the same black boots with the same black bag- mix it up! One of my favorite lessons from my

  Allison Bornstein
  sessions this year was that it is not a crime to wear black and brown together.

• Don’t make assumptions. - Just because I wear something in X color a lot, does not mean I will *of course* wear it in Y color. Took me 31 years to learn this. I made that mistake multiple times in 2024.. mostly with shoes. Why did I feel the need to buy a pair of Sambas in navy, red, green, white….I’m too embarrassed to keep going.

• Know my missing puzzle pieces and create a wishlist -

  Kelly Williams
  reminded us here that not only is it important to know your closet, but it’s also key to look at inspiration and figure out what’s missing from your wardrobe to help recreate your own version of those looks. DUH. She also noted that a lot of us end up in a cycle where we buy the same thing over and over again (*um….guilty!!*). I'm going to make a running ‘puzzle piece’ list on my phone to refer to while shopping or feeling like I’m in a style rut (right now it’s a silver bag, brown shoes, and a bomber jacket).

• Find new ways to layer- I am so inspired when I see fun, well layered looks featuring silhouettes I hadn’t previously thought of combining (this happens often with my friend

  Hey Mrs. Solomon on Style
  and my IG style crush, Amanda Murray Often times I get stuck in a simple shirt and pant rotation and forget to mix up proportions to create a more dynamic look.

  

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  A fun little extra… I thought I’d share my top 10 beauty products from this year.

  

• Clarins Mask- I’m not sure what’s in this stuff but I’m convinced it’s magical. One of the few masks I have found to actually depuff my face.

• Goop face oil- Hydrating and a nice, light formula. I went through two bottles of this stuff this year.

• Sofie Pavitt products- I couldn’t pick just one! Her micellar pads are game-changing, the mandelic acid serum helps clear my chin and her simple face wash is perfect. No notes!

• INN Beauty moisturizer- To be honest, this has replaced the much more expensive moisturizer I used to rely on and much to my delight it comes in a very handy purse friendly size! It layers well with this tinted SPF.

• Augustinus Bader lip balm- I’ve mentioned this product on here more times than I can count, but it’s a big favorite. So many tinted lip balms are actually drying but not this one.

• Dae styling cream with wand- Given that I bleach my hair once every few weeks, it is no secret that I am prone to flyaways. This stuff really helps tame them and smells incredible. I also use it on my daughter’s hair and she doesn’t mind (a win, if you know how toddlers are).

• Westman Atelier lipstick- Staying power and vivid (but not too vivid)color! Also nice magnetic packaging that won’t cause a mess.

• Makeup by Mario plumping cream blush- (in Rose Crush). It’s called a blush but it’s really a two in one for me. I swipe some on my cheeks and lips for a nice pop of color.

• OSEA body oil- After living down the street from their HQ one upon a time, I finally tried Osea products and wow! I love. This body oil is excellent and seeps in quickly.

• Youth to the People body scrub- If there’s one thing I have gifted to my friends that they constantly thank me for it’s this. It has Yerbamate and Jojoba oil and has completely cleared the bumps on my arms.

Honorable mention to Salt & Stone, a new to me brand I tried at the beginning of this year. Their natural deodorants actually work (!!!) and every time I use this body wash I get compliments. UPDATE- they gave me a code! Use LIZMCKAY15 for a discount :)

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New Year’s notes…

• if you’re working on budgeting, this post from

  Ten Dollar Latte
  had some really helpful tips.

• Shopbop hearts are up to date here. My recent buys include this chambray shirt, which is nice and lightweight and perfect under a leather jacket.

• Last year I attempted no-buy January. I won’t be participating this year, mostly because I am in nesting mode, but I will be sharing my plan to save for investment pieces and stay organized with spending.

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  Happy New Year! Sending everyone lots of love. xx, Liz