THE LITTLE LUXURIES THAT ACTUALLY MAKE LIFE BETTER
Because the good things shouldn't be saved for special occasions.
By The Magazine
We love beautiful things.
But some of the best luxuries in life aren't particularly extravagant.
They're fresh sheets on a random Wednesday. Drinking water from a glass you love. Good olive oil on warm bread. Flowers you bought yourself at the grocery store because they looked beautiful.
They're tiny upgrades to things you were already going to do anyway.
And maybe that's the kind of luxury we should be thinking about more often.
01. THE GOOD GLASS
You know the one.
The glass you normally bring out when people come over. The delicate one. The vintage one. The one you inexplicably decided is too nice for your own sparkling water.
Use it.
There is absolutely no reason your guests should be drinking from better glasses than you are.
The Ėditure rule: You are company, too.
02. FRESH FLOWERS FOR NO REASON
Not an enormous arrangement. Not necessarily from a florist.
A bunch of tulips from the grocery store. A few branches. Something seasonal from the market.
There is something slightly ridiculous about how much better a room feels when something living is sitting on the table.
Buy the flowers.
The Ėditure rule: Tuesday is enough of an occasion.
03. THE REALLY GOOD OLIVE OIL
There are certain things where the better version genuinely makes the ordinary version better.
Olive oil is one of them.
Keep the good bottle somewhere you can actually reach it and use it on the tomatoes, the salad, the bread, the pasta.
We're not preserving it for a hypothetical future dinner party.
The Ėditure rule: If it's too good to use, what's the point?
04. PROPER PAJAMAS
At some point, the old T-shirt has to retire.
There is something about putting on actual pajamas after a shower that makes going to bed feel like a ritual rather than the moment you finally gave up on the day.
Silk, cotton, oversized, matching—whatever makes you happy.
Just preferably not the shirt from a charity 5K you ran years ago.
The Ėditure rule: Going to bed deserves a ritual, too.
05. A CANDLE AT DINNER
Even if dinner is takeout.
Especially if dinner is takeout.
Turn off the overhead light, light a candle and suddenly the exact same meal feels considerably more intentional.
This is perhaps the highest return on investment available to us.
The Ėditure rule: Never underestimate lighting.
06. THE THING YOU TOUCH EVERY DAY
A beautiful mug. A really good towel. Hand soap that smells incredible. A pen that writes perfectly. The softest robe.
We tend to think luxury belongs in the things we use occasionally.
We'd argue the opposite.
If you're going to touch something every single day, that's exactly where the upgrade matters.
The Ėditure rule: Spend your attention where you spend your time.
07. TEN MINUTES WITH NOWHERE TO BE
Not every luxury is something you can buy.
Coffee before everyone else wakes up. A walk without headphones. Sitting in the sun. Reading ten pages before bed. Taking the long way home because the weather is beautiful.
Ten minutes in which nobody needs anything from you may be the most luxurious thing on this list.
Protect them.
The Ėditure rule: The best things on this list are free.
08. USING THE THINGS YOU'VE BEEN SAVING
The beautiful candle you haven't burned.
The dress waiting for the right dinner.
The expensive perfume you only wear at night.
The plates that live in the back of the cabinet.
We have a tendency to preserve the things we love so carefully that we barely get to enjoy them.
We're trying to stop doing that.
The Ėditure rule: The special occasion is your actual life.
THE TAKEAWAY
Luxury doesn't always mean having more.
Sometimes it's simply paying a little more attention to what you already do.
Drink from the good glass. Put flowers on the table. Light the candle. Wear the perfume. Open the bottle you've been saving.
Beautiful things are wonderful.
Actually enjoying them is better.
— The Magazine