Small, realistic things I do to make my days more magical
10 daily practices for fueling your soul with whimsy
I’ve seen many posts lately about things people have been doing to inspire more romantic, magical days, so I thought I’d jump on the train. As a fantasy reader and writer, I fill my time with fairy tales and archaic bouts of imagination. I believe in magic wholeheartedly, and entering my twenties has meant learning how to make this happen for myself.
Here are 10 things I try to do on the daily to romanticize the magic of the quotidien.
1. Wear perfume for the boring things
Perfume is often thought of as a luxury item or something that you save for fancy, special occasions. By using perfume habitually, you can turn this feeling into an every day event. Things like doing laundry, cleaning your room, or sending emails can feel a bit more put together and lavish just by catching a whiff of a sweet scent on your wrists as you go about your day. And if you do run an errand or two, a stranger telling you you smell good will lift your self confidence exponentially.
To do this, I think finding signature scents is always a fun experiment. Scents are so specific, and our olfactory lobe is situated right near the hippocampus. This means that smells are heavily associated with our memory storage. Ever smelled that one Bath and Body Works spray you bought with your first paycheck at sixteen and instantly felt transported to lunch in the cafeteria? Creating a new, unique, and sophisticated scent for this new stage of your life can build fresh memories and associations for yourself. I also like to use different scents for specific activities as a nice way to mix things up.
My personal perfume collection recommendations:
Sol de Janeiro 76 — my current summer go to, it is sweet, fresh, and colorful like smelling a fresh pie from a windowsill of a cottage in the woods
Sol de Janeiro 68 — the perfect shade of pink for your bathroom counter, this one is bright, salty, and refreshing like sand sticking to your wet skin as the sun dries your hair
Victoria’s Secret Amber Romance — a beautiful golden with warm, spiced notes of vanilla and amber, this perfume feels like you’re a princess reading in her tower
Yves Saint Lauren Libre — I am obsessed with this one, I wore it every day last semester, it is the perfect blend of sophistication and creativity with notes like orange blossom, vanilla, and lavender. It’s like writing in a journal with a feather quill and ink set
Chanel Mademoiselle — My favorite scent of all time, I normally do save this one for special occasions lol. It is girly, powerful, and soft with orange, jasmine, and rose combining to feel like you’ve just graduated from Harvard Law with a pink, scented resume in hand
2. Accessorize in a way that feels like you
This summer I have made it a point to prioritize my morning routine. I know we’ve all seen the glamorize GRWMs on social media that make you feel like you need fifteen steps to leave the house feeling presentable, but I think it’s better to reframe this time as an opportunity to find what makes your mind achieve clarity. Feeling like I’ve molded a sense of self by the time I roll up to work makes me feel significantly better prepared for the day.
The magic of this comes from finding one or two things that really make a difference to you. If you skip the gua sha, maybe you don’t feel anything different, but I bet making your bed makes you feel like you’ve got life figured out (an honorable mention for the list is definitely making your bed every day). For me, I’ve discovered that my essential step in personalized accessorizing. Getting to work and realizing I’ve forgotten my earrings literally can damper my mood, so I always set aside time for picking out accessories. I invested in a high quality necklace this winter (Kendra Scott birthstone), and the little gold thread makes me feel like I’m both adding to my outfits and representing myself as a person. I also add on a few rings and some gold hoops.
Showing up with jewelry is a small thing, but it has the power of making me feel like I’m put together. It’s also just magical in its own right: putting little pieces of gold on my body to make me sparkle. I definitely recommend finding what kind of accessories make you feel whimsical.
3. Go outside for mundane activities
This morning, I drove to Dunkin’ with my summer playlist blasting on a warm 88° day and then brought it back home and ate it in my backyard while my puppy played in the grass. I could’ve scarfed it down in the car, stared at my phone at the kitchen table, or watched some YouTube with it in my room, but the warm weather and my caffeine-buzzed brain made me rethink this.
I sound like a broken record in my posts these days, but I cannot emphasize enough the importance of going outside. Our bodies were physiologically made to exist with the dirt and the sun. You don’t have to do anything grand like go on a hike or plant a garden (all great ideas, though), but I try to find some moment in my days that I can relish the breeze and the sound of the birds even for the most boring things. Eat breakfast outside, eat ice cream outside, do your homework outside, take a meeting outside, call your parents outside, watch a movie outside. Anything you would normally do in the comfort of your bedroom, you can also do outside. This summer is the perfect opportunity to practice this habit and soak up the sweet summer air. It will make you feel like a little fairy or a Robin Hood character.
4. Write things down on paper
I am personally working hard on making this one a reality for myself, but I’ve noticed that whenever I do it I feel like I’ve spent my time so much more intentionally and productively. I started an idea for a new fiction short story this week, and my normal routine for that is to open a Google Doc and spam my thoughts until I get a coherent story line. I’m not saying this doesn’t work, but while I was brainstorming I noticed an old journal that I had never filled out. I am sure the majority of you can relate to this. The multitude of blank pages scattered around your childhood room from relatives who heard you were into writing and only gave you pretty journals for the next few holidays. This particular journal is the Winter Soldier journal, and I had done nothing with it except written Bucky’s trigger words on the inside (sadistic much?).
So, I figured, why not use this journal to map out creative writing projects? And this new short story premise was born between lead and paper. The physical act of putting pen to paper does so much for invigorating our brain and its creativity. I realized that I was so used to typing out my thoughts on my keyboard (much like I am doing now) that I had forgotten the magical art of making a character map in a composition notebook like I did in middle school. So now I’m thinking, why don’t I do things on paper more often?
Whenever you have the opportunity, put your thoughts into writing. Take notes in class by hand (I am often the only one in a classroom doing this yet I persist), write recipes down in a journal, use a diary to unwind, draw sketches when you’re bored.
5. Accentuate your environment with ambience
I have a small TV at school and, aside from movie nights, I exclusively use it to run ambience videos in my room throughout the day. The Shire, Pixie Hollow, Hogwarts. Little moving snapshots that make me feel like I’m looking out of my window like it’s a portal to a magical world.
Along with these videos, I spend a lot of time creating an ambient environment in my room. I think the presentation and aesthetic of your living space can make a huge difference for your psyche. You can do this without giving into consumerism, like melting your own candles and painting your own prints to hang. I love having warm fairy lights, the orange-pink glow of a salt rock lamp, and swaying dreamcatchers along my wall to make my room feel magical. A huge aspect of this for me is candles, which kind of goes back to the perfume thing. Having curated scents around you can literally transport you mentally. I have these hanging shelves in my room where I have my candles and books and fake succulents. Changing out scents for the season or the activity I’m doing (mahogany balsam for reading fantasy and pumpkin bonfire for a cozy movie). You’re no longer just doing something in your room, you’re experiencing an activity in a personalized, comforting haven.
6. Experiment with flavors
Do you make your coffee at home but it just never quite tastes right? I’ve had the same experience, and I think a lot of that stems from making basic or boring drinks. I made an effort this year to branch out when it comes to the flavors I consume, and the joy of trying something new and colorful on a random Wednesday when I have a lot of homework makes a boring day suddenly whimsical.
Through this, I’ve discovered my love for blueberry coffee, as well as tried raspberry, lavender, hazelnut, and white chocolate. Branching out of my typical vanilla options made me excited about going to coffee shops and actively looking for inspiring creations. The act of trying something new can stimulate our brains and provide the conduit between a drab morning and a unique one.
I’ve done the same thing with baking, which I try to do as often as I can. Filling your home with your own, hand-made creations adds a level of personality and pride that a store bought good just can’t replicate. I made banana muffins, peanut butter chip cookies, and have a list of things I want to make in the future that keeps me motivated about the act of creation. You can do this with regular cooking, with soda brands, with ice cream. Anything that makes you feel like you’re making bold choices each day.
7. Make showering intentional
I have found that I’m much more excited to shower when I have products that make the process enjoyable. While a bit consumerism-y, I personally love finding new bath products that elevate the showering experience. Instead of just buying the first drug store products I find, I have tried to be specific and intentional with the products I use to clean both my body and mind. Showering should be an activity that helps you reset and leave feeling refreshed, and the items you use to achieve that make a difference.
There is so much unfiltered joy in going into Target and seeing that they have the pink loofas in stock, or trying out Treehut scrubs until you find your favorite flavor. Cycling through the products I’ve now accumulated builds a dependable routine that I know will make me feel good and excited to use them. Lavender body washes, coconut conditioners, almond oils. You don’t have to use four different things, it could just be one consistent product that you chose because you enjoyed it that makes this routine become a bit more magical.
8. Screw the fig tree, try everything, even if you’re “bad”
Hobbies!!!
Humanity suffers every time someone tells another person that they are bad at their hobby. There is no such thing. Do it because you love it, not because you’re a prodigy. I think that we go through cycles with our hobbies. As children, we want to try everything under the sun to figure out what we enjoy and have skills in. Then, as adolescents, we believe we should only pursue the ones we’re good at. Adulthood means returning to those childhood attempts at creativity and realizing that skill had nothing to do with it. And don’t even just settle for typical possibilities like painting or knitting. Do something crazy. Get really good at making flower crowns, start hand making your syrups, learn how to make paper, make short films with your pets as the leads. If you can think it, you can do it.
I think leading with creativity—constantly viewing the world as a source for it—teaches us to look at things from new perspectives and develop our passions. No one’s forcing you to make a career out of it or enter into a competition, just do it on Saturday afternoons and in between life.
9. Go!! To!! The!! Movies!!
You will never find me writing a life advice article without a mention of the magic of film. There is nothing quite like it (except reading, of course). If you struggle with imagination or even if it’s your strong suit, like me, films are an eternal source of inspiration and whimsy. Have you ever had that experience where you walk out of theater feeling as if you lived their story with them; like you now embody the characters you just saw and could take off into the streets to fight aliens or confront an ex. The power of the viewing experience literally transports our minds so much so that we physically feel like we have experienced the story. That, if anything, is magic.
And I know, streaming services are so accessible these days. Most people at least have Netflix, but if you’re like my family we literally have every one you could think of having. But the movie theater, above anything, is where I feel the happiest. It’s not the cleanest place ever, it can be dodgy, it’s expensive as hell, but heartbreak really does feel good in a place like it (Nicole Kidman intro I mourn you every day).
The size of the screen, the audio roaring from a speaker directly above you, rows filled with other people who have chosen to enter this world with you for two hours. Freshly buttered popcorn, ice cold cherry coke, a reclining seat. There is nothing as immersive as this. Nothing—not even a huge flat screen TV—can mimic this experience. Of course, this is an exception to these being “daily” practices, but I just can’t make a list about magical living and not include the cinema. I know it’s expensive, but if you’re able, make yourself go out for a new release (or a rerelease) every few months. I promise, the magic will touch you as soon as you walk in those doors.
I also recommend going alone. Great first step for building comfort in doing things independently.
10. Read before bed
If you’re like me, you procrastinate reading even though you do genuinely want to do it. I find myself with a day off of work, writing “read” on my to do list, yet as the day progresses I keep thinking of other, more “productive” tasks I could do instead. Subsequently, the only time I allow myself to read is after the sun has set. I’m sure most of you lead equally busy lives, so I want to actually recommend this as a habit to develop when it comes to reading.
Allow yourself to prioritize the important things, but make sure you have purged your to do list by dinner time. Once you’ve hit that marker, I urge you to turn off work mode and give yourself permission to rest. Dedicate this specific time in your day to enrichment, specifically, in this case, reading. My only warning is that if your book is really good this might lead to some late nights, but I think there are worse things. I don’t personally believe there needs to be any restrictions on what you’re reading at this time, as long as it soothes your mind and brings you comfort. I am currently reading People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, and it’s been a nice, gentle option before heading off to bed for me.
I hope you found inspiration in this list for tiny things you can do on an every day basis to sew threads of magic into your life. A horse is a just a hornless unicorn and a lizard is just a wingless dragon. Live every day intentionally and look for opportunities for whimsy at every chance you get. The world is full of them. You just need the right sparkly lenses to see it.
Don’t forget to stay whimsical. See you next time!
Grace
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Agree. Always, always (!!) read before bed!