The Items Our Editors Are Happy They Splurged On

Coming from the girl who has only ever used old, ripped luggage that her parents didn’t want anymore, this stylish rolling carry-on is life-changing. I’m a chronic over packer, so the space-saving solutions (like organizing pockets) are crucial to fitting in the extra pair of shoes I probably won’t wear (but want to bring, just in case!). Shay Mitchell (the founder of Beis/my ultimate girl crush) truly thought of everything, between the TSA-approved lock, 365-degree wheel rotation, and padded handle (because when you’re traveling for hours, every extra comfort helps!).

I get it – why spend $85+ on a pillowcase when you can get one from Amazon for less than the cost of a Starbucks frappuccino (I am an Everygirl, after all!)? But I don’t think of this purchase as just a “pillowcase” at all; I think of it as an investment. If you’re getting your recommended 7-8 hours of sleep a night (if you’re not, figure that ish out!), then your head is laying on your pillow for at least 49 hours a week, and at least 2,555 hours in a year (I know, that was a lot of math). Regular pillowcases can cause hair breakage, bed head, acne, and even premature aging. Why not spend 2,555 hours a year with something good for beauty? This luxurious pillowcase is anti-aging, helps your skin and hair retain moisture, and reduces friction. Sleeping on a SLIP pillowcase is like applying an eight-hour beauty treatment every single night — now that’s worth the $85 one-time purchase.

I’m going to be honest — the reason I first wanted an Apple Watch was because they look so cool and high-tech (please don’t judge me). But after doing research, it became clear that an Apple Watch was an investment in my health and productivity. I love the efficiency of reading and quickly responding to texts on my wrist (especially helpful as a social media editor who has the Instagram app open all the time) – but what I love most of all is the way it tracks my workouts. It’s an incredibly accurate running buddy, heart rate tracker, and encourager (“You’re so close to closing all three rings!”). It’s definitely an indulgence, but it keeps me very accountable in my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. Other perks I love: cycle tracking, controlling my Spotify, reading emails, alarms/stopwatches, guided breathing exercises, and getting news updates right on my wrist. Is it essential? No. But is it worth it? Absolutely.

If someone told me to run into my house and grab the three things that are most important to me, I would grab the following three things: pictures of my nephew, my mom’s chicken pot pie recipe, and THIS TELEVISION — it is honestly my favorite non-essential possession. Not only is it BIG, but it’s also a smart TV. I’m logged into my Netflix and Hulu accounts right on it, so I just push the button for whichever streaming service I want, and it automatically takes me to my ready-to-watch account. If you have cable, you can set it up with that too — meaning you can seamlessly transition between streaming and live TV.

This is the most expensive bag I have ever purchased for myself, but considering I have worn it every day for over three years, I can confidently say it’s one of the best investments I have made.

I know designer bags aren’t for everyone, but I have a few personal rules to help me justify the spend. First, I make sure I love a bag for a long time (this was on my wish list for two years before I purchased) and can realistically see myself wearing it on various occasions. I also have a strict rule that I don’t purchase any “trendy” or “instant gratification” bags, no matter how much I think I want a cute woven bag during the summer. I make a conscious effort to commit to wearing and taking care of the things I have invested in and only think about adding a new bag into my collection every two or three years — usually around my birthday.

Fashionphile is my go-to for big purchases and I regularly recommend the company to all my friends. Everything is authenticated and you can get brand-new condition items discounted. If you choose to go with something a little more pre-loved, the descriptions and photos are very detailed so you feel confident making the purchase. Also there’s layaway available which can help you budget out for a big-ticket purchase.

I’ve purchased a lot of big-brand sheets, but these are my favorite pair to date. They are soft, but more importantly to me, the quality holds up over time. I’m constantly having to wash them (and the duvet cover) thanks to two smoosh-faced dogs that live in our covers, and after a year of washes, they look just as good as the day I bought them.

I was originally gifted this hand soap, fell in love with it, and have purchased it multiple times since. What’s so special about a hand soap you ask? Well for starters, it smells like heaven and makes me feel like a younger, but way less affluent Gwenyth Paltrow when I use it. This is one of those splurges that makes a mundane task truly enjoyable. I also know I’m not the only one converted to the Aesop cult since I’ve had a handful of friends demand the link after staying at our home.

While this wasn’t an extravagant fashion purchase, it was a lot for me when I first graduated college. I knew myself though, and this quickly became my best purchase of 2019. I use this bag literally every single day. I won’t lie and say it looks brand new, but it’s held up in ways that cheaper bags never could. The shape has only slightly changed, and it actually looks better with a less-structured, worn feel now. This bag is a lot bigger than I thought it was online in terms of storage inside — I bring this to work every day, and it holds everything I need, but it’s also a great carry-on, workout bag, or shopping tote when I need it!

As a single person who lives in a box and very rarely has company, I tend to wince at the thought of spending a lot of money on my apartment. The only person I have to entertain is the monster inside my radiator. But on a whim, I picked up these glasses to spruce up my wine nights (AKA stop drinking out of the bottle and/or a Christmas mug like a heathen). These add just the right amount of whimsy to my bar cart but still look minimal and on-brand to my life ya know. They also go with everything because they’re a plain glass with a hint of the iridescent color, making them extra versatile and match well with the hodge podge of glasses I have.

I am very much a numbers person. I like to research everything and calculate my project CPW (cost per wear). What I have found after years of analyzing my spending is that when I am buying less expensive items and compromising quality, they end up in the giveaway pile or the trash after a single season. It is wasteful, not cost effective, and just plain silly. I have two pairs of Chanel flats that I have had for over eight years. I bought both pairs hardly worn on eBay and have them resoled to preserve them. They look amazing, are so comfortable, and add a touch of classic sophistication to any outfit. I am pretty sure my current CPW is around $2.

I love to cook and entertain and my kitchens have always been on the smaller side, hence my need for a toaster that can wear many hats. This smart oven really does pull its weight in the kitchen as it isn’t just a toaster — it can convection roast, bake, has a special pizza setting, and can perfectly toast a bagel to nice and crispy without burning. I have cooked an entire pie from scratch in it with perfect accuracy. It can fit many slices of bread/bagels and cooks up Trader Joe’s appetizers in record time with the convection setting. It’s more than a toaster, it really is a mini oven, and if you have a small space or often cook multiple dishes at the same time it can function as an additional oven. I got this as a Christmas present five years ago and never looked back.

I’ve loved to cook since I was a little girl and I received my stand mixer as a gift from my grandma (as a teen, not as a little kid) because it was too heavy for her to lift onto the counter as she got older (though my mom says Grandma offered it to her and she turned it down). That alone makes it one of my favorite things in my kitchen, but it doesn’t hurt that it makes bread-making a dream, whips airy cream and fluffy meringue, creams butter and sugar for cookies, and so much more. Plus, the potential for attachments for zoodling, rolling pasta, and grinding meat make it even more useful. I’ve tried to make buttercream without a mixer before and lived to tell the tale, but life’s so much better when the KitchenAid is there to do it for you.

When I broke my last blender (one I had in college) while making a pesto, I made the decision to find the silver lining, take advantage of the situation, and do some research to find the best blender I thought that I could at a price I could still afford (just cannot justify a $500 blender, ya know?). After reading a few articles and reviews from websites I trust, I settled on this one and, despite it being a bit more than some would spend on a blender, I haven’t regretted it since. I use my blender regularly to whip up smoothies for breakfast, homemade hummus for snack time, and all kinds of salad dressings, sauces, and pestos for flavorful, healthy, accompaniments to lunches and dinners. It makes everything so easy and I’ll never go back to the budget blenders I’d had before.

I’ve had this sauce pan for years and still love it just as much as when I first got it. All-Clad is one of my favorite brands because it heats evenly and efficiently, is (in my opinion) easy to clean, despite not all of the pans the brand makes being dishwasher-safe, and cooks things beautifully. I heat up leftovers in it, cook pasta and rice, make sauces, and more. It gets used almost daily and is well-loved around here. This one was a gift, but I can’t wait to add more to my collection.

I bought this vacuum last year because I have hair that sheds every other second and also a cat, so the loose-hair situation in my apartment was approaching dismal levels. Now I just let the love of my life (it’s the vacuum in case you haven’t guessed) do all the work and zip around sucking up the hair while I lounge on my couch like Princess Margaret. Honestly would pay 3x this for the extra relaxation time alone.

I recommend this all the time, because I honestly think it is the best thing I have ever put on my face, full stop. Leave it to me to become addicted to a fancy ass skincare product, but here we are. I have tried all the dupes of this and truly nothing compares. I have repurchased multiple times now and it was more than worth the (admittedly intense) sticker shock. Every. Single. Time.

We have a great regular vacuum, so when literally everyone was telling me that I needed the very pricey handheld Dyson, I didn’t really believe them. After my dad got one and basically talked my ear off about how great it was, I finally caved. And let me tell you, I wish I listened the first time. Our house is hands-down much cleaner than before I owned this immaculate piece of machinery. My kids’ messes (and they make a lot) are gone in under two minutes instead laying around for an embarrassing amount of time because I’m avoiding dragging out a giant vacuum from an inconvenient hiding place and messing with a cord. This Dyson is so easy to use and efficient that my 4-year-old has taken over all vacuuming – and he looks forward to it. Worth the cost many times over just for the sake of my sanity.

Let me begin this by saying I never in a million years expected myself to splurge on this robe. $100 for a robe sounds ridiculous — but this one is truly unlike anything else I’ve ever felt. The only way to describe the feeling of this robe is “buttery,” and it literally brings me joy every single day. I wear it around my house every day, and it literally gets me out of bed on cold winter mornings. It’s a splurge, but it’s a perfect item to treat yourself to.

Babyfacial has a pretty high price tag for a 20-minute, at-home mask, but had I known how much it would help my skin, I would have pulled the trigger so much sooner than I did. I use it once a week, and it’s improved my skin’s texture and overall appearance SO much over time — it literally gives me the same results that I’ve gotten from getting professional facials (which costs more than this for one!). Even though it’s a little pricey, it’s lasted me a year since you don’t have to use it more than once or twice a week. If you’ve been debating picking it up, you won’t regret it — I can’t imagine ever not having this in my medicine cabinet.

After years of carrying around my makeup in an old, stained makeup bag that I got seven years ago through a Clinique “free with purchase” deal, I became fed-up enough to look into buying a real, adult makeup case. I have a lot of products and travel back and forth between my friends’ and my place frequently, and this has made the process so much more enjoyable to me. It’s hard and sturdy on the outside, so it doesn’t feel like your products are getting banged around as much, and it comes with a removable mirror and a brush case inside. It also fits absolutely everything I need, no questions asked. It’s a purchase I’m grateful for every single time I use it.

I’ll admit that I know next to nothing about skincare — I’ve been living off of samples from Sephora for the past three years since I am still trying to figure out what’s supposed to work for me in terms serums, eye creams, toners, and all that. Last year, a Sephora employee put a dash of this moisturizer into the tiny plastic sample container and told me that this is going to straight up melt into my skin and absorb instantly (which I enjoyed hearing after giving her a very long and passionate rant on how I hate feeling like anything is ever on my skin). After scheming to get about 15 samples of this over the course of five months at various Sephora locations, I finally decided to just buy the actual thing. So. Worth. It. It’s just the right amount of moisture for my dry/combination/normal hybrid skin, creates a smooth and poreless canvas for any other makeup, and feels extremely light and cooling.

My Staub cocotte is one of my most used (and most beautiful) pieces of cookware. It goes from the stovetop or oven right to the table, won’t chip, is easy to clean, and is perfect for making soups and stews. Bonus: I don’t have a lot of drawer or cabinet space in my kitchen, and it’s pretty enough to be left out on the stove. Space saving, functional, beautiful, and currently on sale!

I am happiest in jeans (OK leggings) and sneakers, but sometimes, want to look like I actually got dressed vs looking like I just stepped off a treadmill. Ever since I bought my Vejas, I have actually felt cute and put-together when pairing them with both jeans and leggings. They took a minute to break in (don’t lace the top hole and they’ll feel great after a day or two) and I have lived in them ever since. The best part is that they work well with jeans and leggings and even make workout pants feel more outfit-ish. That’s a thing, right?