So we've got the highlights and the pieces where I really feel like I've gotten my cost per wear from them.

We've got my worst purchases where, you know, it's not as functional as I wanted it to be.

And I also want to include in this year's video things I didn't buy and I'm pretty happy I didn't buy, especially in hindsight.

I'm wearing some super sparkly diamond earrings today and this video includes a little partnership with Ideal.

Their pieces are really, really stunning.

They're an incredible brand with amazing practices.

So I'm excited to share a few bit more details about my year stack later in today's video.

If this is the first video of mine that you've clicked on, over the course of this year, I have been a lot more intentional than previous years about what I add to my wardrobe.

Not only have I been downsizing a lot of sections of my wardrobe, I've also just been more patient before a purchase.

So if a running wishlist and everything I buy spends some time on this wishlist, it can be from a couple of days to a few months, sometimes like over a year before I actually buy it.

And this has been the biggest thing in allowing me to have more best purchases than I do worse.

Having a wishlist is advice that I've heard so many times I'm almost immune to it.

But honestly, it does work and it's one of the best practices that I've been using to honestly actually spend a bit less money and most importantly not buy things I don't want and don't need.

If you watched my last video, something that is not a surprise is the Dragon Diffusion bag.

This is the mini triple jump bag and even though it's this mini size, it fits a lot.

It really fits more than most of my bags.

If I compare this to like another mini bag like this Bottega one, the Dragon Diffusion fits so much more.

Let's start from the beginning.

These bags, if you don't know, are made from leather.

They're not straw, they're not like a wicker or anything like that.

These are leather and the leather is very soft, durable and good quality where I've put some pretty heavy things in here and it still looks perfect.

Just based on the nature of this material, it would not be weird to have some slight fraying on the edges.

I'm kind of talking about things like this but I can barely see it on the bag.

These bags are also handcrafted and I really feel like you can see and feel it in the quality.

It also has a cute little charm in the bag.

It's just a very nice touch.

The reason this is the best purchase for me though is that it's soft and slouchy.

So it's really easy to use.

It's very comfortable to wear against me and it's not like a very structured bag that's hard to get into.

It kind of cumbersome to work with.

The slouchiness of this makes me really want to use it and it becomes a fuss-free grab-and-go piece.

Here are some possible downsides because I want to share with you all the information.

It doesn't have a closure.

Where I live, this is like not a huge problem but traveling, I'm pretty careful, it has no closure.

With this color, the outside doesn't transfer on any white clothing I'm wearing.

It's been really tested.

But the inside can transfer if you put something white in.

If I was carrying this inside this bag, it's very likely that the inside will transfer some red onto this cotton piece.

In my opinion, if you like the Bottega look and you kind of want that woven design in an outfit, the Dragon Diffusion really gives the same look and I think it's a very, very, very good alternative to a Bottega bag.

My worst purchase this year is something a bit surprising but it's a Cezanne Tammy skirt.

I love this skirt.

I wore it so often and it's the color, it's the style, everything is very pretty.

So the reason why it's my worst is because it actually shrunk a whole size.

This skirt is made from viscose.

I normally hand wash my viscose just to be on the safer side but this one I accidentally put in the machine along with some other clothes after traveling.

The annoying thing is that the instructions actually say you can machine wash this at 30 degrees which is always how I wash my clothes, 30 degrees.

And obviously, it doesn't really work.

I tried to like steam it, iron it afterwards to see if it will like, you know, go back a little but no, not really.

It definitely is a bit small now.

This is my worst and most disappointing purchase this year because obviously, it doesn't fit me anymore now that it's about a size smaller.

If you're wondering about my clothing care practices, I recently made a video all about clothing care and I like to think that I'm pretty gentle and careful when I look after my clothes.

So I feel like viscose is a fabric that I'm gonna try to avoid.

It's so hard because so many clothes are made from viscose but unless it's a brand that I've purchased from before, I know that viscose lasts a long time.

I think I'm gonna try and buy less of this fabric slash avoid it entirely.

The best jewelry purchases for me are always the ones that are love at first sight and they manage to take basic pieces like a t-shirt, like a simple long-sleeve t-shirt and make me feel really elegant in them.

So let me share with you a little bit about Ideal because I really think that they're an incredible, incredible brand who makes very, very sparkly diamond pieces.

They're not like a cloudy kind of sad diamond.

They really, really, really sparkle.

I'm also extra excited to talk about them because I feel like they have some very good practices on top of having very pretty jewelry pieces.

All of Ideal's jewelry pieces are made and checked in their atelier in Antwerp.

Ideal uses lab-grown diamonds that uses less of the earth's energy to make and create and just so you guys know, lab-grown diamonds are not fake or artificial.

The way they look and the science of them is exactly the same as real diamonds.

The diamonds are set on 14 karat gold.

It's solid gold so you can wear them every day for different activities you're doing and they won't tarnish, change color, anything like that.

Let's have a look now how their earrings work.

So Ideal's concept is modular jewelry.

All of their earrings start off with a diamond stud and you can choose the size.

Either a petite one, a medium or a large and then they also have some incredible pieces in their high jewelry line.

Those are even bolder and more eye-catching.

They come in all different metal bases to suit you.

So whether that's yellow gold, white gold, rose gold, they've got them all.

And it's all 14 karat gold.

And then you bring in the add-ons.

So for me, I've chosen the round Ono.

This one is so, so pretty and I especially love that you can wear it in different ways.

You can wear the diamond stud alone, that's look number one.

You can put the Ono in the front or in the back and I love the versatility that it brings.

Of course, if you have the diamond stud, you can also pair it with different add-ons.

For example, something a little bit more dangly, something that climbs along the year and there are so many options to choose from.

On my wishlist, I have something like a little bit more dangly.

So if I want to add something like the solar cuff to my year stack, I don't need to repurchase that base.

I can simply add on any of the other pieces to create different looks.

The other add-on I have is the power cuff and I love how secure this one feels on my ear.

There are actually 22 diamonds on the double row and it's super, super, super sparkly.

I've said that so many times.

It's so important, especially with staple pieces, you want to wear every single day to just get something you love.

I do offer free shipping and no question asked returns if you want to swap it out for something else and it's not 100% something you're gonna love and cherish for forever.

Every order comes with this certificate of authenticity.

So lots of details down to the person who checked it.

If you're in search for a pair of diamond earrings that you'll wear every single day and have forever, I highly recommend checking out Ideal.

I actually recommend having a look on their website at the different styles, learning a little bit more about their company because I think they do some incredible things and I'll have that linked down below.

I have a code with them dailyhelen10 if you'd like to get 10% off.

You can also subscribe to their newsletter to see, you know, fun little surprises and promos throughout the year.

I am truly obsessed with Ideal so thank you so much for your support and let's go back to some best and worst purchases.

One of my best purchases this year is the Douwen Lian dress.

This dress is absolutely stunning and the reason it's my best purchase is that this does what I want all my clothes to do.

On those busy days where I don't know what to wear, I now immediately go to this dress.

I know it works.

I know it's simple enough to be accessorized in different ways for different events and it really makes my life easier.

Yesterday, which was a Sunday, filming on a Monday, I went to see Wicked.

I had like 20 minutes to get ready between uploading a video and meeting my mom.

So I put this dress on, put on a big shell necklace and I felt very polished the whole day.

I recommend for everyone, not necessarily, you know, it doesn't have to be Douwen, doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg but just finding a dress that will do that for you where it's easy to wear, easy to care for and it makes you feel incredible.

Something I'm glad I didn't buy is the Chrissy Dawn Scarlet dress.

So I was so close to buying this.

So close to buying this because it's beautiful to me.

Like the simplicity, the lines.

I feel like the neckline, the length, the fabric.

I actually love the way this looks.

The first reason I didn't buy it is just because I now know I have a perfect white dress in my wardrobe.

So why would I go out and buy another one?

So that was like obvious.

Second thing is that this dress is dry clean only.

So every time I wear it, I need to pay another 20 Australian dollars to get it dry cleaned which is how much my local dry cleaner charges.

Because I wanted it in white, there's just no way you can extend the wears that many times.

Also in the summer, like hot, sweaty.

It's just not practical.

There are 178 reviews.

I filtered through it and apparently if you hand wash it, it will shrink.

So that was a big, big no for me.

I have to say here that I'm a big fan of Chrissy Dawn but this dress, no.

Here is another best purchase and this is the Everlane flat.

Every so often, one purchase can have a big impact on my personal style.

So this shoe is that one for me this year.

I only got this like one or two months ago but it's become my everyday shoe to the point where like I couldn't not talk about it in this video.

The reason I do wear it every day is because I think it works really well with my midi maxi skirts.

It's a very flattering shoe silhouette to go with those pieces.

It's a bit daintier.

I also like that the sole is comfortable enough for me to wear when I'm doing tons of walking which I do every day.

And I feel like the strap really holds my foot in very securely and the shoe doesn't move around at all.

The color is really the cherry on top.

It's this chestnut-y, caramel-y brown color that is both unique and neutral.

Not all Mary Janes are made equal because I also have these pair of shoes.

Granted, they're a little small for me and they were like sent to me for review but I didn't really like them.

Too narrow, not the right shape.

I couldn't walk in them nearly as much and it really comes down to finding the comfortable style that is right for your foot shape.

This one suits medium to wider feet and I think it's really suitable for walking.

Another worst purchase is the handbag one.

So these bags are a little bit dusty because I actually just haven't used them that often.

It's the same reason for both of these bags.

I think that when bags are very structured but very small, it becomes a little bit cumbersome to use.

I like to use these small bags as a top handle because, you know, it has such a prominent top handle and what I find is that it can be quite annoying to work with the flap, try to squeeze my stuff in at the same time and any structured bag won't hold as much as a slouchy bag.

So the practicality is a little bit low for me.

It doesn't matter if we're talking about the Sommelier one or this one from Cara.

It's kind of the same situation where top handle, structured and small makes for a pretty complicated, impractical design.

For my bags, I think that if I get a structured bag, I would prefer something that's like small to medium, a little bit bigger and these are just a little bit small in capacity because they're structured.

If a bag is slouchy like a pouch, then these can be quite small and they still hold a decent amount because they're more malleable and they fit more.

So that's just something to keep in mind if you're choosing a smaller bag.

You want to go a little bit slouchier if you want that capacity.

I don't talk about makeup very often and I actually love playing with different skincare and beauty products.

I do have two lipstick purchases that I feel like were such good buys this year.

First up is my favorite lipstick I've ever purchased.

This is Glossier Fuzz.

I think it's so important to explain why I like this.

I like that this is a sheer wash of color.

When I put it on my lips, it's quite matte.

It's quite sheer.

You can really build it up to something a bit brighter or you can wear it just as a tint of color.

The color is this perfect brick red shade which is my absolute favorite go-to where it's both neutral but it's still kind of like a dulled down red.

The other lipstick is the Chanel La Rouge Duo and this one is in Tender Beige.

These actually look a little similar on my hands but I assure you they look so different on my lips.

This one is much more neutral, mauvey, um, and brown.

When I look back at past videos or like past photos, I often feel like my lipstick was quite intense and I like how natural these look in my everyday makeup.