9 Low-Effort Wellness Habits That Could Give Your Body and Mind an Instant Boost

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Think wellness is overcomplicated? Often, us too. Between supplements, sleep, nutrition, workouts and more (don't even get us started on the everything-maxxing trend), it's safe to say that the noise is getting ever louder - making it almost impossible to know what's really worth investing our time, money and energy into.

But one thing's for sure: our wellbeing absolutely deserves our time and attention. Far from being simply a nice-to-have, research shows that wellness permeates our entire lives, being an important predictor of physical health, longevity, and even how well we recover from illness and injury (not convinced? Take a look at this study, published in the journal Affective Science). And it's not jus tab out physical health, either, as further studies (like this one, from the journal Nature) reveal that wellbeing can even impact factors such as financial stability and resilience.

So, how can we prioritise wellbeing without being sucked into an expensive, all-consuming (and, arguably, self-sabotaging) vortex of money-making metrics? The solution, it appears, is simpler than you might fear: enter, low-effort wellness habits. That's right, we're talking wellbeing boosts that (ideally) take only a few minutes of your time - and, for the most part, are entirely free. And the best bit? Performed consistently, they can radically improve your energy, mood and focus.

Intrigued? Keep scrolling for the best expert-backed wellness habits to try today - you can thank us later. And if (like us) you're low-key obsessed with all things wellbeing-related, you might want to check out our guides to using friendship as a health tool, the warning signs your wellness habits are making you financially sick and everything you need to know about the soft hermitting trend - plus, find out how one Health Writer got on when she tried to be more optimistic for a month, here.

Low-Effort Wellness Habits Could Be the Key to Boosting Energy, Mood and Focus–Here Are 9 Expert-Backed Tricks To Try Today

What are low-effort wellness habits?

First up, let's take a look at exactly what we mean by low-effort wellness habits. You'll be pleased to hear that they're literally what they say on the tin: designed to be low-effort, yet high-reward.

“Low-effort wellness habits are small, achievable actions that support our mental or physical wellbeing without requiring lots of time, money or motivation," explains Yetunde Bankole, head of mental health and wellbeing at Vitality. "They could be as simple as stepping outside for a few minutes, drinking a glass of water, stretching between meetings or putting your phone away while you eat.

"The key is that they’re easy enough to realistically fit into everyday life. Looking after our wellbeing doesn’t always need to involve a complete lifestyle overhaul - small actions can help us feel better in the moment and, when repeated, become useful parts of our routine.”

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What are the benefits of low-effort wellness habits?

We get it: you're wondering how a few simple moments can really make that much difference, right? Well, hear this: experts endorse just five minutes (count 'em!) spent stepping away from your everyday life for boosting overall wellbeing, resilience, mood, energy and more.

"I think wellness has tended to become really quite complex, and actually, at its best, it is probably incredibly simple," shares private GP and co-founder of Coyne Medical, Dr Lucy Hooper. "Some of the simplest things in the world are the things that get us feeling better the fastest: going outside, moving our bodies, reading our books, stroking a dog, or just spending time talking to the people we care about."

Let's dig in to the detail.

1. They're accessible

This is the big draw of the low-effort habit idea (let's not call it a trend - we're hoping it's far more than that!): it's eminently achievable for pretty much everyone.

"The biggest benefit is that they feel realistic," agrees registered nurse-turned-entrepreneur Cassandra Sonma Ukaoba (Cass Uk). "You don't need to completely change your life overnight. Small actions, repeated consistently, can help you become more aware of your energy, mood and stress levels. They can also help us move away from waiting until we are completely exhausted before taking care of ourselves. Prevention is always better than reaching the point where your body is forcing you to stop."

2. They encourage consistency

“Whatever you're prioritising in your wellness, whether it's walking or drinking more water, you'll achieve your goals faster if you're consistent, rather than boom or bust, boom or bust," shares Gemma Bray, aka The Organised Mum and author of The Organised Mum Method. "Motivation is really fleeting. I think of it like a little flame that ignites your will to do something, and it comes and goes, it doesn't stay around. It's momentum that helps you build a habit.”

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3. They promote self-awareness

You know what they say: prevention is better than cure, and never more so than when it comes to wellness. A few daily habits allow us to check in with ourselves on a regular basis, and might help issues from building up.

"Low-effort wellness habits can help us become more aware of how we're feeling," agrees Madalaine McCarthy, women’s health and fertility acupuncturist and founder of Yin Space. "Rather than waiting until we're completely exhausted or overwhelmed, we can use small moments throughout the day to pause, check in with ourselves and respond to what we need. The idea of regular, gentle support is important. We don't necessarily need to wait until something feels significantly out of balance before taking care of ourselves."

4. They boost focus and productivity

Focus and productivity might not necessarily be terms you immediately associate with wellness, but think how good you feel when you manage to tick off those small wins first thing in the morning, and tell us that's not wellbeing.

"There are also practical benefits to low-effort wellness habits," agrees McCarthy. "A short walk can provide a change of environment, gentle movement and a break from screens. A few minutes of breathing can help us pause before moving on to the next task. Acupressure can provide a moment of physical focus and relaxation.

"This being said, it's important not to overstate what these habits can do. They are complementary wellness tools, not substitutes for medical care, adequate sleep, a balanced diet or professional support when it's needed. However, they can be useful additions to a broader approach to wellbeing."

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Expert-backed low-effort wellness habits to try today

1. Walking in nature

Surely the simplest wellbeing win of them all, stepping outside is an instant mood-booster - even if it's just to your garden/terrace/front door step - and if you combine this with a walk (however brief), so much the better.

"Movement is the single most useful thing you can do for strength, mood and heart health, particularly in midlife, and it does not require planning," notes Dr Shashi Prasad, specialist in integrative women's health at The Marion Gluck Clinic. "Additionally, if you have the chance, combining movement with mindful time in green space lowers stress hormones, reduces blood pressure, and boosts immune function and it gives you a genuine break from the demands of the day."

2. Breathwork

When in doubt, the experts all agree: focus on the breath. A key principle in many wellbeing practices, simple breathwork really can shift your whole body (and mind) from stressed to soothed in a remarkably short space of time.

"Slow diaphragmatic breathing is one of the most wellness powerful tools available - even just a minute can reduce physiological stress markers," shares Dr Tom Maggs, chief medicial officer at Healthwords. "This is because focusing on the body through breath deliberately encourages the parasympathetic system to activate, as deep, controlled breaths stimulate the vagus nerve.

"Box breathing (inhaling, holding, exhaling and pausing for four seconds each) is an easy way to start, creating a predictable rhythm that calms the body quickly and reliably."

3. Connection

We've said it before, and it remains true: our friendships quite literally make us healthier.

"Social connection is so important for our brains," shares Dr Hooper. "A lack of connection has been shown to impact both mental and physical health, even increasing our risk of dementia. Spending time talking with friends or family, even just a five-minute conversation, is vital for our wellbeing."

Take this as permission to get that girl's night out of the group chat.

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4. Grounding

"Grounding techniques can be so effective for boosting wellbeing," shares Bankole. "Simply taking a moment to notice what you can see, hear and physically feel around you can bring your attention back to the present.

"This grounding technique is particularly useful because it is you telling your brain that there is nothing threatening in your immediate environment. You engage your senses to communicate that you're safe, in order to interrupt that stress response and invite calm."

5. Progressive muscle relaxation

"When stress builds, simple evidence-based techniques can bring the body's immediate stress response down," explains Dr Glenn Mason, consultant counselling psychologist at Onebright. "Practice them when you are calm, so they are easy to reach when you are not.

"Progressive muscle relaxation targets the physical side of anxiety. Tense and release each muscle group in turn, starting with your shoulders, arms and hands before moving down to your legs and feet, holding the tension for a few seconds each time before letting go."

6. Reading

"I read every single day, and I think it is one of the most underrated things for relaxation," shares Dr Hooper. "You can read a book anywhere and, in a few minutes, be taken somewhere completely different in your mind. It can even create that little bit of holiday vibes in everyday life and give our brains a break from work and screens."

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7. Spending time with pets

Animal lovers, listen up: hanging out with our pets is great for our mental health.

"Spending time with animals is very calming and has been linked to reducing stress, possibly via the release of oxytocin, our so-called love hormone," says Dr Hooper. "Stroking a cat or a dog also encourages us just to take a moment to stop, slow down and focus on something outside of ourselves, which is really therapeutic."

8. Single tasking

Forget everything you've been told about multi-tasking: it's really not the flex we've all been led to believe, when it comes to mental wellbeing. Whatever wellness habit you've plumped for - focus on that, and that alone.

"One of the biggest messages is actually just to focus on doing one of these things at a time," advises Dr Hooper. "So, if you are taking that walk through a park or by the river, try to do it without checking your social media or emails, because you might then lose the benefits of that mental break. Even if it’s just five minutes, giving your mind a break will pay dividends."

9. Gentle stretching

Perfect for those of us who spend much of the day sitting at a desk, building gentle movement into your routine has so many benefits.

"Gentle stretching is another super option for enhancing wellbeing, particularly if you’ve been sitting at a desk or holding physical tension in your shoulders, neck or jaw," says Bankole. "You're acknowledging without judgement what is going on physically for you, we can hold that stress tension in our bodies physically without noticing. By noticing it, we can support ourselves through that mind body connection and gentle stretching helps us to release that tension at least physically.”

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Just One Thing: How Simple Changes Can Transform Your Life

Still can't quite switch off? Don't beat yourself up - turn to this self-help manual for guidance on how simple tweaks can help boost wellbeing. Plus, spending a few moments reading is great for all of us.

How often should we be building low-effort wellness habits into our day?

The objective here isn't to give you yet another chore to tick off your to-do list - quite the opposite. So, how often should we be prioritising these wellbeing breaks? You might be pleasantly surprised by the answer.

“According to a recent study, over half of UK adults (56%) say they’re too busy to spare five minutes for emotional wellbeing," shares psychologist Suzy Reading. "But the solutions don’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. Even the smallest steps can make a genuine difference – and it’s not just about the obvious foundations of sleep, nutrition and exercise. My mantra is that self-care is health care, and it can be as simple as finding tender, tiny pauses in your day to restore balance and calm.”

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Purple Blush Sounds Intimidating—But It’s the Most Flattering Shade I’ve Tried in Years

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In the past decade, blush has undeniably had a (very sophisticated) renaissance. Previously a bit of an afterthought for many doing their makeup, it's now become a must-have desert island product, including for yours truly.

That said, we really do tend to go through phases with our blush. Rhode's 'Sun Soak' Pocket Blusher, for example, popularised the idea of 'sunburnt blush.' We also recently saw a rise in 'blonzer' (that's blush and bronzer that had a baby), and a couple of years back, it was all about 'pink sugar rush' hues.

The latest blusher 'trend' to hit the mainstream—and one I truly predict will stay—is purple blush. It may look intimidating, but purple can be an incredibly pretty and flattering colour to wear on the cheeks. Here's how.

(Image credit: Rebecca Fearn)

Why is Purple Blush Becoming Popular?

"I think purple blush is having a moment because people are becoming much more adventurous with blush in general," explains celebrity makeup artist Joy Adenuga. "We’ve moved beyond blush simply being there to add a little colour to the cheeks; it’s now a real focal point of a makeup look, and people are experimenting with shades they might previously have thought were too bold."

Purple, she says, can in fact be incredibly versatile, despite looking potentially scary in the packaging. Adenuga points out that the hue can refer to lavender, violet, mauve and plum, meaning something for everyone.

The evolution of colour theory on social media has also helped popularise all variations of purple. "Creators are showing how purple tones can work with different undertones rather than treating blush as one-shade-fits-all. Brands such as Fenty Beauty, Rare Beauty, Huda Beauty and Clinique have all done really wearable interpretations of purple, from soft lilacs through to deeper plums."

She looks to Rihanna and Hailey Bieber for having pulled off purple beautifully in the past.

How to Use Purple Blush

Many purples—such as my favourite, Violette Fr's Souvenir de Volubilis—look frankly terrifying at first. They are incredibly bold and super pigmented, so it's easy to discount them if you don't apply them carefully.

Violette Fr

Plume Blush in Souvenir de Volubilis

This is where a makeup artist's top tips come in: Adenuga's top tip, interestingly, is not to be frightened by how a product looks in the packaging. "Purple blush often looks completely different once it’s sheered out on the skin," she shares.

The amount you use, however, is important—particularly if you're using something especially bright or pigmented. The makeup artist recommends starting small and building up if needed. "I'll often put the product onto the back of my hand first, work it into my brush and then apply whatever is left on the brush to the face."

It's also important to pick the right purple for you. "If you're apprehensive, I’d start with a shade that feels close to what you use. Instead of going straight for a vivid violet, try a mauve, berry or pink-lilac. It gives you that cooler, brightening effect while still feeling like a traditional blush," Adenuga says.

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"Think about depth as well as undertone," she adds. "Softer lilac and lavender shades can look beautiful on fairer complexions, while richer violets, berries and plums really come alive on medium and deeper skin tones. On deeper complexions especially, I love a saturated aubergine or berry-purple because you get that gorgeous richness without the colour becoming ashy."

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And don't forget to consider placement. Taking the product higher and blending it out into the temples (think: the under-eye blush trend) can make the look feel more modern.

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"If you're still nervous, layer a touch of purple over your usual pink or rose blush. It gives the complexion that beautiful cool-toned freshness without suddenly feeling like you're wearing a purple cheek."

My Purple Blush Experience

When I first saw Violette Fr's Plume Blush in the shade 'Souvenir de Volubilis' in the pan, I thought, "absolutely not". It is so vibrant, and when I swatched it, I noticed how incredibly pigmented it is. It's also not a super dewy blush as I'd normally wear, so I'd convinced myself before even trying it that we weren't going to get on.

Spoiler alert: I was wrong. This is one of the most beautiful blushers I've ever used. Yes, you have to be very careful with application (a little goes a very long way, but applying a tiny bit at a time with a dense brush is best practice), but the results are absolutely worth the extra effort IMO.

(Image credit: Rebecca Fearn)

The colour blends seamlessly into a really pretty pinky-violet and looks gorgeous when placed high on the cheekbones. The formula is also much more workable than I expected; at first you think it's going to be matte, but it kind of emulsifies into a cream when you apply it.

I'm really excited to try more purple blushers and experiment with different colour variations, from lighter lavender to deeper berry. It truly is the new unsung hero of the blush world.

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The Beauty Digest: Cécred Comes to the UK, Romilly Wilde Returns & £22 Skincare Gets Serious

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The Beauty Digest is my Beauty Director’s edit of what’s actually worth your attention. Each week, I’ll be sharing the new launches I’m using and loving, the viral treatments I’m putting to the test (and what I really think of the results), plus my take on the industry conversations everyone’s talking about.

The New Launches on My Radar

Bobbi Brown

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Spotlight On: Romilly Wilde

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I adored Romilly Wilde skincare when it first launched, and I’m borderline obsessed with its signature fragrance, Idle. So when the brand paused trading three years ago, it felt like a significant loss to my beauty routine. This week, however, it relaunched—and somehow, it’s even better than before.

At the heart of the new range is some pretty meticulous peptide science. The brand is particularly interested in the skin’s proteome—the proteins that underpin its health, resilience and longevity—and uses biotech-engineered peptides and mini-proteins within its formulas. What impressed me most, though, is the level of testing behind the claims. Rather than relying solely on manufacturer-provided studies of individual ingredients, the brand has independently tested its finished formulas on real human skin samples exposed to pollution and other environmental aggressors. Across the studies, all 12 measurements of protein damage were significantly lower in treated skin, with the research accepted for presentation at the European Society for Dermatological Research’s 2026 annual meeting.

But science aside, the products are also an absolute joy to use: sensorial, luxurious and beautifully presented. It’s a brand that takes the science seriously without forgetting that, ultimately, you still need to look forward to putting it on your face every day.

The Treatment Trial: Wellness Screening

(Image credit: Lottie Winter)

This week, I tried the Wellness Screening at the new Six Senses Hotel in London. The non-invasive assessment uses electrodes to measure the body’s electrical conductance, alongside metrics such as blood pressure and oxygen saturation, to provide a broad snapshot of various wellness markers. While it isn’t a substitute for blood testing or medical diagnostics, it offers a quick way to get a top-line overview. From there, recommendations include general advice and a range of treatments available at the spa, from red-light therapy and cryotherapy to sessions in the hyperbaric chamber. It helps, of course, that the spa itself is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

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I Was Told My Fertility Was a Race Against Time. Doctors Say the Reality Is More Complicated

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There’s a particular kind of anxiety that seems to arrive in your late twenties: suddenly, everyone becomes very interested in your ovaries. The phrase “biological clock” starts appearing everywhere - in conversations, social media, normally served alongside nuggets of unsolicited advice. Tick-tock. Your eggs are ageing. Your fertility is declining. And here’s the thing: some of it is true. But generations of women have been handed the same message: don’t wait too long. And that fear can be hard to shake.

​Yes, fertility changes with age. But knowing that doesn’t have to mean living your twenties in panic, feeling as though you’re racing against an invisible deadline. There is power in understanding your fertility, knowing what actually matters, and making decisions based on facts rather than fear. Your biological clock is information - not a countdown to your life expiring.

​The irony is that, despite being told to start thinking about my fertility journey at 20 (thank you, endometriosis), I know surprisingly little about it. I know the basics. But ovarian reserve? AMH? When fertility actually begins to decline, and by how much? I couldn’t confidently tell you.

​And as a women’s health journalist, that feels like a fairly glaring omission.

​So, consider this me staging a mini intervention with the phrase we’ve all come to share a universal shudder with. I’m not asking for false reassurance; I don’t think any of us are. What we want is to know what’s true, what’s exaggerated and what, frankly, we should have been told years ago. Because understanding our fertility won’t stop the clock ticking. But it might mean we’re finally the ones holding the stopwatch.

Here's what actually happens to fertility with age

Right, let’s get down to business. If, like me, you’ve been throwing the phrase around with enough confidence to convince yourself you know what you’re talking about, gather round. It’s time for a fertility 101.

​According to reproductive health expert and founder of Hertility, Professor Helen O’Neil, there isn’t actually one biological clock ticking away. There are two separate things happening at once: how many eggs you have, and how healthy those eggs are.

First, egg number. “You’re born with every egg you’ll ever have,” explains O’Neill, “and that number falls steadily from before birth onwards. By 30, around 12% remain; by 40, around 3%. Eventually, that supply runs out, and menopause occurs.”

Then there’s egg quality, which is less about how many eggs you have and more about whether an egg has the right number of chromosomes when it divides. O’Neil likens it to skin ageing: the process happens to everyone, but the pace varies from woman to woman. “Chromosomal errors become noticeably more common from the mid-thirties,” she explains, and crucially, it’s egg quality rather than egg number that matters the most for whether a pregnancy happens and continues.

So, what about the number 35 we’re so often served as a landmark number? Well, nothing dramatic happens on your 35th birthday. “It’s a gradual curve that steepens over time,” says O’Neill. Thirty-five is a medical convention, not a switch that flips on your birthday. In fact, one 2014 landmark study of six natural-fertility populations found that only around 12% of women had reached the end of their natural fertility by 35.

Time to take stock: society would have us believe it’s the clock we need to be watching. But what O’Neil is saying is: yes, age is a factor. A factor. Not the entire equation. Egg quality matters, too - which makes me realise I’ve spent an awful lot of time worrying about the countdown, and remarkably little time understanding what’s actually happening inside it.

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What do we really know about egg quality, ovarian reserve and ovulation?

To women’s health specialist Dr Ravina Bhanot, there’s another misconception worth filing away: your periods aren’t a fertility report card. “Egg number starts declining before birth, while markers such as AMH, which reflect your ovarian reserve, tend to fall more steeply from the mid-to-late thirties. Egg quality becomes increasingly important from the mid-thirties, while ovulation and regular cycles are usually affected last.”

Feeling the fertility haze? No need. Put simply, you can have perfectly regular periods while your fertility has already begun to decline - and a low ovarian reserve marker doesn’t automatically mean you can’t conceive.

But what exactly is ovarian reserve? In short: an indication of how many eggs you have left. One of the main ways doctors assess it is through AMH, a hormone produced by the small follicles in your ovaries. Think of it as a rough indication of your egg supply.

And the more I learn about all of this, the less I’m beginning to see my fertility as a literal clock at all. There isn’t one number counting down towards some great reproductive deadline. Several things are happening at once, each on its own timeline - and even the tests we have to measure them come with caveats.

And as O’Neil points out, while we can measure ovarian reserve, “there’s currently no test that can directly tell us the quality of our eggs. Quality isn’t uniform: even in your twenties some eggs are abnormal, and even at 40 some are perfectly normal.” AMH doesn’t measure egg quality either, and a 2017 study of 750 women found that low AMH did not meaningfully reduce their chances of pregnancy within six or 12 cycles. “It’s not a fertility score,” says O’Neill, “and it can’t predict natural conception on its own.”

One more thing worth bringing into the conversation: fertility isn’t solely a female responsibility. “Sperm quality also declines with age, while lifestyle factors can affect male fertility,” says O’Neill. “A healthy pregnancy is a shared biological project, not simply a countdown on the woman’s side.” So, if we’re going to talk about reproductive timelines, perhaps we should stop acting as though there’s only one biological clock in the room.

So, what I’ll be taking from all of this - and perhaps you are too - is that AMH can be useful, particularly as a personal baseline tracked over time, but it’s only one piece of the picture. Age shifts the odds; it doesn’t sort women neatly into ‘fertile’ and ‘infertile’. Fertility is less a countdown and more a collection of moving parts.

So why has this become such an anxiety-inducing conversation?

As I’ve been in the depths of research, I keep coming back to one question: why is fertility so often treated as something we only need to think about when we’re ready for a baby, despite being part of our wider health? By the time we do start looking, we’re confronted with a confusing mix of statistics, success stories and, increasingly, social media advice.

There’s evidence that we’re not exactly being handed the tools to navigate it. A 2024 UCL study of 931 teenagers found that 45% were already worried about future parenthood, yet just 35% rated their sex education as good or very good. They also found that fertility was among the topics more likely to be learnt about outside school.

​I don’t think the answer is to tell women not to worry. Fertility really does change with age. Instead, we need to ask whether we’ve turned a genuine biological reality into a level of urgency that isn’t always proportionate.

​Joyce Harper, Professor of Reproductive Science at UCL, says conflicting messages are part of the problem. “Celebrity pregnancies and influencers talking about having children later in life can feel more relatable than population-level statistics, while the reality is that fertility does decline with age. Women today are juggling a lot,” she says - from careers and finances to housing and finding the right partner - so fertility decisions are rarely based on biology alone.

​The language around fertility can be as powerful as the biology itself. “Repeated messages that women are ‘running out of time’ can create anxiety, guilt and pressure,” says Harper. Some women may feel pushed into decisions before they’re ready; others may disengage because it all feels too overwhelming. “Neither outcome is helpful.”

​And honestly, that’s what I’ve wanted from this conversation all along. Knowing the facts shouldn’t leave women feeling like they’re running out of time. It should leave us feeling like we finally have some.

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So, what does all this mean for women who aren’t ready yet?

Where does that leave those of us who aren’t ready for children yet (or might not ever be)? According to reproductive specialist Dr Lucky Sekhon, the most useful thing is to know all the information, rather than panic.

"If having biological children is important to you," she says, "it’s worth understanding how fertility changes with age and paying attention to your reproductive health. That means not ignoring very irregular periods, severe pelvic pain or other symptoms, and speaking to an OB/GYN or reproductive endocrinologist if you have concerns - particularly if you have endometriosis, previous ovarian surgery or a family history of early menopause."

“Egg freezing may be worth discussing for some women, too,” she mentions - particularly if you think you’re likely to build your family after 35 or have certain fertility risk factors. But importantly, it isn’t something everyone needs to rush into. Nor should an AMH result become another number to obsess over.

Sekhon's key piece of advice is this: “Know your reproductive health before you need it. Pay attention to your menstrual cycle, don’t ignore symptoms like very irregular periods or severe pelvic pain, and understand that fertility is part of your overall health.” And I’m taking that as permission to wrap myself in information, rather than letting my “biological clock” wrap itself around me.

Maybe the point isn’t to stop the clock

Here’s my truth: what if I leave it too late? still pops into my head at least once or twice a month.

I’m an anxious girl. I live by what-ifs: what if I want children one day, but not for another five years? What if I spend so long being certain I’m not ready that, by the time I am, my biology has other plans?

But this is precisely why this conversation matters: whether you desperately want children, aren’t sure, or know you don’t want them at all. You deserve to understand what’s happening in your body without feeling like every birthday is a deadline. And, actually, this is a conversation men need to be a part of, too - fertility is not a one-woman story.

Because fertility decline is real. But so is the anxiety we’ve built around it. The answer isn’t to pretend either one doesn’t exist, but to understand the difference.

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There is quite literally nothing like buying yourself a fresh water bottle and suddenly becoming extremely committed to hydration. I’ve been loving Frank Green’s ceramic-lined bottle for making my daily water intake feel more appealing - and, frankly, looking at it on my desk is motivation enough to keep sipping.

Adanola Wide Leg Yoga Pants

If you’re anything like me, finding a pair of trousers that are genuinely comfortable and make you feel vaguely put together is a small miracle. Adanola’s Wide Leg Yoga Pants have become a firm favourite for exactly that reason: soft, stretchy and ridiculously easy to wear, whether I’m heading to Pilates or simply committing to a day of doing very little.

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As a Fashion Director, I See Hundreds of New Collections—These Are the High-Street Drops and Investment Pieces I’d Spend My Money On This Week

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Welcome to What Lily Loves, a personal edit of the pieces, places, and ideas currently inspiring me. Think of it as your insider guide to what’s shaping my wardrobe and daily rituals. From standout finds and under-the-radar designers to shopping destinations, cultural hotspots—from restaurants and theatres to podcasts—here are the latest discoveries I’m loving.

(Image credit: @lilyrussobah)

The Designer Drop

Dear Frances Alma Boots

Dear Frances

Alma Knee Boot

Every winter, I make sure I have a great pair of black knee-high boots in my wardrobe. I don’t mind investing in them, because they need to tick a lot of boxes. They have to be smart enough to wear to work and straight on to dinner, with a slight heel, while still being comfortable and durable enough to walk around London in and withstand the rain. And, crucially, they need to be tall enough in the leg. There is nothing less flattering than a knee-high boot that cuts off the calf prematurely. So, when I say it’s hard to beat the Dear Frances Alma boots, I don’t say so lightly.

Spotlight On

ME+EM Atelier Jewellery Collection

(Image credit: ME+EM)

ME+EM has become a go-to for modern women looking for smart wardrobe additions, whatever the occasion, and recently launched its Atelier jewellery collection. Made in Florence by third-generation artisan Marco Casamonti, the family-run business has been going since the 1950s, and its hands-on approach means no design is too intricate. Each piece is 24kt gold-coated over a brass base and designed to last. Whether it’s an everyday necklace to update office outfits or day-to-night earrings that won’t tarnish, this collection is worth your time — and money.

Shop my edit:

ME+EM

Mini Drop Earrings

ME+EM

Link Necklace

ME+EM

Forever Hinged Cuff

ME+EM

Enamel Hinged Cuff

ME+EM

Drop Necklace

ME+EM

Transformer Earrings

New In This Week

COS

As a self-confessed magpie, with a wardrobe that reflects just that, I always make a concerted effort at the start of a season to invest in great wardrobe staples that allow me to tie the rest of my wardrobe together. I love colour and I love prints, which means I need to make sure I also have some great basics, including blazers, knitwear and neutral footwear in order to create outfits.

This season, COS has really delivered on all fronts: a slimline everyday heel that will work with prints and brights, a great black jacket to layer over dresses and jeans, and polished knitwear in new-season colours to refresh last autumn’s outfits are just a few of my fabourites. If you aren't sure where to start when getting dressed in the morning right now, COS is a great place to start.

Shop my edit:

COS

Funnel-Neck Cotton Trench Coat

COS

Clean Cut Long-Sleeved T-Shirt

COS

Montmartre Bowling Bag

COS

Corduroy Straight-Leg Jeans

COS

Angular Leather Heeled Loafers

COS

Black Belted Peplum Jacket

On My Radar

TARTAN REIMAGINED : THE BARBOUR WAY, The Exhibtion

(Image credit: Barbour, @jamesdkelly)

Barbour will take over London’s Saatchi Gallery this weekend with Tartan Reimagined: The Barbour Way, an immersive exhibition celebrating the brand’s 130-year heritage and evolving relationship with tartan. The experience traces Barbour’s Scottish roots and distinctive family sett, before exploring its AW26 collection and contemporary interpretations of the pattern. Highlights include designs from the British Fashion Council’s Tartan Reimagined student competition, alongside Re-Loved creations and collaborations with Gucci, Erdem, Glastonbury x Oxfam, Paul Smith and Aardman. Visitors can also see a working South Shields factory setup, including live re-waxing and jacket restoration.

The exhibition is open to the public on Friday 18th September: 12pm – 9pm and Saturday 19th September : 10am – 6pm, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s Square, King’s Road, London, SW3 4RY. Book online for free at saatchigallery.com

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Fragrance Houses Are Becoming Art Galleries—And Bringing the Beauty Counter’s Sense of Community Back

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Any self-confessed beauty lover will likely remember the first time they walked into a beauty hall. The scents, the sound of chatter and leaving with a new beauty treasure (or a few too many samples) nestled into a tissue paper-laden bag.

Long before digital retail and trending brands made beauty a decidedly online experience, the beauty counter served as a sanctuary. For generations, department store beauty halls were unacknowledged third spaces, somewhere accessible between home and work where you could seek advice, test products, and find human connection without an explicit requirement to buy or clear out. Now, some fragrance houses are bringing that feeling back by transforming their physical stores into living cultural galleries.

From interactive shopping experiences to partnerships with up-and-coming artists, by merging scent with fine art, interactive design, and architectural curation, brands like Byredo, Fueguia 1833, and Penhaligon’s are giving visitors a reason to settle in.

(Image credit: Byredo)

Take Byredo’s flagship store in Covent Garden, which the brand describes as a "moment of stillness within the city’s rhythm". The two-floor space functions as a curated environment where fragrance, design, and art intersect. Rather than purely focusing on the sensorial experience of spritzing a new scent, Byredo has turned the location into an evolving art space, even marking the launch of its Bal d’Afrique Absolu earlier this year with a partnership with Nigerian-British artist Soldier. Their year-long collaboration explores identity and memory through painting and sculpture, complete with IRL "In Conversation With" events.

Similarly, Fueguia 1833 treats its boutiques like botanical research galleries, inviting customers to engage visually and tactilely with hand-blown glass bell jars and raw ingredients before ever committing to a smell.

Over in Soho, Ffern’s flagship store takes a similarly slow, cultural approach to fragrance retail. The brand has long worked with artists and makers, treating the world around each fragrance as an opportunity for creative collaboration rather than simply a vehicle for selling scent, and its physical space feels like an extension of that philosophy. Rather than functioning as a conventional shop designed to move customers from browsing to purchase, it encourages visitors to spend time with fragrance, art, ingredients and craft.

(Image credit: Edvinas Bruzas for Ffern)

A brand-encouraged moment of 'stillness' or fragrance halls that allow for visual experiences might seem like yet another way to land a 'sell', but with loneliness in the UK reaching record numbers, it seems that these sanctuaries are needed now more than ever. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 49.6% of adults in England—roughly 25.9 million people—report feeling lonely at least occasionally, with 7.1% (around 3.8 million people) experiencing chronic, daily isolation. Young people make up a large chunk of that group, with people aged 16 to 24 reporting persistent loneliness at nearly double the rate of over-65s.

It’s also no coincidence that fragrance flagships are taking their cues from public galleries. According to Art Fund data, 48% of UK adults visit art spaces annually—not just to view works, but to seek community. And according to the YMCA as England has lost over 50% of its youth and community hubs since 2010, many galleries and arts centres have been forced to step up as civic anchors. So, with many of our cities missing the third spaces that foster genuine human connection, beauty is stepping in by adopting gallery-style curation.

Fragrance sits somewhere between art, memory and personal expression—so it makes sense that the spaces where we discover scent reflect that.

Even legacy department stores use fragrance to foster connection. At Liberty, the fragrance hall has been deliberately redesigned to make scent an interactive, visual medium, explains Natalie Guselli, Head of Beauty at Liberty.

“Fragrance is inherently creative—it sits somewhere between art, memory and personal expression - so it makes sense that the spaces we discover scent in are beginning to reflect that." Now, says Guselli, "Customers increasingly want more than a traditional retail experience; they want to explore fragrance in a way that feels immersive, inspiring and culturally relevant. At Liberty, we’ve deliberately looked at how we can take fragrance discovery beyond simply smelling a succession of bottles."

In the spirit of design and creation the brand has become famous for, and just like a gallery, the department store has curated the space with fragrance-themed commissions. "Our nose installation is a playful visual interpretation of scent and an invitation to consider fragrance approachable and interactive," says Guselli. "Artist Tasha Marks designed the wall under the idea that 'anyone can be a nose'. We wanted our fragrance hall to feel democratic, encouraging customers to stop, explore and discover before they necessarily know what they’re looking for."

(Image credit: Liberty)

Guselli adds that she sees physical spaces as vital counterweights to digital shopping: "There’s something particularly interesting about making an invisible medium like fragrance visual. Installations, art and design can give physical form to the emotion, storytelling and imagination behind a scent, and ultimately create another route into discovering it."

Noting also that "As beauty becomes increasingly digital, I think physical retail has an even more important role to play in offering experiences that can’t be replicated through a screen. For fragrance especially, stores can become places for cultural discovery as much as product discovery—somewhere customers spend time, encounter new ideas and hopefully leave having found something unexpected.”

Over on the King's Road, Penhaligon's has embraced a similar ethos, designing its flagship as a gallery-like space centred on British craftsmanship. According to Penhaligon’s Global General Manager Julia Koeppen, their "vision for King’s Road was to create a living, evolving space where scent, craft and artistry come together." When considering how to build out the space, Koeppen says the brand "began with narrative rather than product display."

"It's an approach that has found a natural expression through our long-standing partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, or QEST, an organisation dedicated to preserving and evolving Britain’s craft heritage by supporting makers and bringing their work to a wider stage", explains Koeppen.

It should feel like a modern salon, intimate, engaging and constantly revealing another layer of the story.

It's impossible to ignore the ever-changing world around us, and despite placing art at the centre of the space, Koeppen explains that the heritage brand has not shied away from our "phygital" reality.

"Our approach at King’s Road is deliberately discreet. Technology should extend the experience, not dominate it. Our digital content reveals the makers, materials and processes behind each exhibition, allowing their stories to live beyond the boutique," explains Koeppen.

Not diluting the core of a heritage fragrance house is vital, Koeppen notes. The physical experience remains at the heart of the concept: encountering the scale and texture of the work, discovering fragrance and engaging in conversation. For us, technology is most effective when it brings people closer to the craft and the people behind it."

As fragrance houses begin to fill some of the void left by shrinking third spaces, Koeppen highlights how even the store layout addresses the demand for community: "King’s Road was conceived as more than a static retail environment. It is an evolving cultural programme, with changing exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops and artist conversations creating new reasons to visit."

(Image credit: Penhaligon's)

The goal for them? , "is to make the boutique a place of discovery and exchange, where someone might arrive through an interest in contemporary craft and encounter fragrance, or come for Penhaligon’s and discover an artist. It should feel like a modern salon, intimate, engaging and constantly revealing another layer of the story," says Koeppen.

The pressure-free environment that so many beauty lovers use to shop in beauty halls is also at the heart of the store, Koeppen explains.

"The ambition was never to recreate the formality of a traditional gallery," Koeppen says. "We wanted the curatorial confidence of an exhibition within an environment that still feels warm, personal and distinctly Penhaligon’s. The art is given space and presence, but it sits within an intimate, lived-in interior where visitors can browse, ask questions and engage at their own pace. It is refined without being remote, theatrical without becoming intimidating."

Measuring the success of these spaces goes beyond instant transactions. "We are looking at engagement with the exhibitions, time spent in the space, event participation, new client recruitment and whether visitors return as the programme changes," says Koeppen. "We don't see success simply as an immediate sale or a widely shared piece of content. It is whether King’s Road creates a lasting connection and a genuine reason to return."

By returning back to the essence of OG beauty halls and embracing cultural curation, these fragrance houses are offering a modern return to what beauty counters always did best: providing people with an inviting space to slow down and connect.

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