Let me officially welcome you back to OLTIMEYA, but version 2.0. We (EYE) took a year long break trying to figure out how best to do this, and I’ve settled on a monthly roundup-style post. I’m really starting us off on a fabulous note, being two weeks late, but life (God) has been actually trying me, so be grateful we’re here at all, I sure am.

If you’re new here, OLTIMEYA is an acronym that expands into the below:

Now that we’re all on the same page, without further adieu:

ọgbọn

there is no official ọgbọn for January x

I will leave you with some topics I have planned to discuss over the year though:

1. The Mislabelling of “Friendship”
2. Andy Sachs Did Nothing Wrong
3. I Love the Way it Feels to Be a Haterrr
4. Dating “Potential”

L,E,C

my skincare (re)haul for 2025 – I’m in the midst of doing a huge skincare repurchase, since everything decides to conveniently finish at the same time; let me talk you through my Stylevana basket.

• Axis-Y Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum – this is a repurchase. I honestly think I saw my complexion even out when I used this at the end of 2023. I will warn, though, that it doesn’t last too long. I think I’m going to adjust my usage to only use it on the spots themselves, rather than my entire face.
• Beauty of Joseon Aqua Fresh Sunscreen – This is the new version of the original sunscreen. The regular one gave me a slight cast, so, though it worked, I’d only recommend it for people who pass the paper bag test. This aqua fresh one allegedly has no cast (at least according to the Tiktok evidence I’ve seen), so that’s why I opted for it instead.
• Some By Mi AHA|BHA|PHA Body Cleanser – This body wash is SAUR GOOD. I do a double cleanse when I take a shower, one wash with a bar of soap to feel clean, and the second wash with a shower gel to reintroduce moisture into my skin. This cleanser still cleans, but it has actives, which makes my entire body feel super smooth. Love it.

The six other items in the basket are new tries, will report back in another edition of OLTIMEYA.

thots & feelings

I know that in the index, I said that T&F would be fashion centered, but I’m here to tell you now that isn’t strictly true (as evidenced by this month’s selection). It’ll be a mix of media analysis, fashion or otherwise.

That being said, this month’s T&F is my 2024 faves. Click me to read that if you haven’t.

inspiration of the month

MY MUMMY! After I posted her birthday dedication, she proceeded to send my blog to basically everyone in her contacts list LOL. I hope y’all subscribed. Maybe I should add a button to the homepage to do exactly that…

MODE – wishlist and no buy

I shop mostly in concepts, so, rather than having specific items that I want to buy, I will outline a gap in my wardrobe and then look around for whatever item(s) fill said gap. That’s usually the rule of thumb unless we’re talking about a specific style (like a tabi or something of that nature).

I present to you my 2025 wishlist — mostly because I need to shop intentionally this year and want to have a focus on what I’m looking for:

• a wide-shafted black boot with a slim heel that can be worn to most gallivantations
• tall black tabi boot. this might replace the above, but maybe not, since the shaft is much slimmer than I want for the other black boot. I want the knee length tabi boots with the heel. they’d be such a versatile shoe in my closet, and tabis are comfy
• a brown boot. knee length and basic but not simple. I actually have a boot in mind for this, it just needs to not sell out before I get around to buying it.
• a white jumper. something that I can throw on but that says something. I’m looking for no graphics or prints, it needs to be plain and make me feel like I’m being enveloped in a cloud
• wide legged trousers. trousers, jeans, whatever takes my fancy. those Zara jeans have made me realise that this is my pant silhouette
• cool skirts. skirts with volume, texture or asymmetry. bonus if it has all three x
• pops of colour. I’ve surrendered myself to the fact that I am not a colour blocker, as much as I love colour on other people. my style thrives when I incorporate small pops of colour, through accessories or one statement item in the rtw
• in line with the previous wish, I’m putting two pairs of funky, archival heels on this list. these aren’t a need at all, nor will they really fill any gaps, but I want to start building my archival collection in 2025.
• fitted blazers. oversized blazers are officially out for me. I love the way a fitted blazer looks with a wider bottom. I’m super picky about how things fit though, so it’ll either mean multiple trips to the tailor over the course of the year or very few acquisitions.
• jewellery. I want to start curating different stacks for my looks — on my neck, my wrists, and fingers. I don’t discriminate :)) if you’re thinking of buying me a “thinking of you” gift (or birthday/ Christmas/ any other celebration gift), please buy me something I can stack
• pieces. garments that make me gasp and think, “this is so fetch oh my gosh”

and my no buy list (the most important part to me):

• heels. open-toe sandals in particular. I’m limiting myself to MAX two pairs outside of my wishlist for this entire year
• things in the name of a “good deal”. with the foresight of not wanting to have to do a huge purge at the end of the year, I’m committing myself to only buying pieces that I love, not merely like

enjoyment

It’s just my luck that the year I commit to taking landscape photos only (because I LOVE THEM), that Instagram decides to introduce a. portrait. only. feed. Will that stop me from doing what I want, though? Absolutely not.

yucks & YUMS

This segment was meant to be my earl grey cake recipe, and I regret to inform you that there shan’t be any such in this roundup. I was going to say “I simply haven’t made it” but that is a bold-faced lie because I made it for my mummy’s birthday. I simply didn’t have the capacity (or energy) to take any photos of the process. However, if you could give me suggestions for what baked good I should take on as my project this year, that would be greatly appreciated.

anything

I watched a lot of films in January (ten, to be precise), so I want to talk about my least favourite that I left my house to watch, Babygirl.

I’m going to start by putting my Letterboxd review, and then go into a touch more detail about how much I disliked it.

Disregarding the fact that this film was incredibly frigid (and by that I just mean the furthest from hot), it simply wasn’t good. The film that Halina was trying to make, the one about power, particularly when the typical roles are reversed, fell flat. It had nothing of value to say because a) the dynamic (outside of the affair) wasn’t explored with any sort of finesse, and because of that, both Nicole and Harris’s characters feel like they lack dynamism. In my opinion, it would’ve been so much better if Samual (Harris’s character) was truly depicted as the weirdo he was. One who knew what he was doing. The film shied away from leaning into it, and so it felt like both of them were bumbling their way through the plot. ALSO, the fact that Romy (Nicole’s character) kept allowing her 16-year old to justify her poor decisions was incredibly frustrating. Was I supposed to sympathise with Romy in any capacity when her own moral foundation is so easily influenced by her own cheating child??? #FreeAntonioBanderas

Overall, it was a mess. The only reason I gave it two stars and not anything less is because I thought it handled her shame decently. If it had been a story about that, it would’ve been much better, because then Harris’s character would’ve simply acted as a placeholder. He could’ve been as flat as he was because he truly wouldn’t have mattered to the plot.

Anyways, that’s all. I hope your February is going super well!

P.S. I will start reading my posts out again in the next one.

P.P.S… Happy Valentine’s Day