my ins and outs for 2026

0:00Happy New Year, everyone. It's 2026. Can you believe it? I can't, to be honest. I feel like it was just January 1st, 2025, literally yesterday. And now it's January 1st, 2026. And to be honest, it's making me really good.

0:30So instead, let's discuss what I think is going to be in and what I think is going to be out in 2026. And this list came to me sort of like a vision, a message from the universe. This list was created in a sort of spiritual way. And I can't really explain why these things came to me, but they did. And I didn't question them. Some of these things are more cultural, more societal, more universal, and some of these things are more personal to me. But all will make sense as I share the list. So without further ado, this is what I think is going to be in and what I think is going to be out in 2026 with a special bonus category of what I think we expect to be out, but will continue to be in in 2026.

1:23Things that we think we're sick of, we're not. They're not going anywhere. That's a bonus category this year. So get excited. I briefly interrupt this episode to let you know that this episode is presented by Venmo. Okay, hear me out. Apparently, you can earn cash back with your Venmo debit card. All you have to do is join Venmo Stash in Boom. You get cash back when you shop at your favorite brands. It's kind of an awesome flex. With Venmo Stash, you can get up to 5 % cash back at your fave brands. Just pick a bundle of your go-tos to shop with your Venmo debit card and earn cash back at them.

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2:37It's like chill jewelry. You know, when you think of like super elegant, super put together jewelry, you think of a gorgeous charm necklace, dainty hoop earrings. That stuff's pretty timeless. I think that's always going to be in. If you think of elegant jewelry, that's maybe a bit less timeless, a bit more trendy, you know, you might think of big statement gold, you know, chunky necklaces and big statement gold earrings. I feel like everyone just wants to relax this year and have a little bit of fun. And there's a connection between that energy and chokers and toe rings. Like imagine going to a coffee shop on a Saturday afternoon and seeing a girl in line with a choker on, a cute little tank top, maybe a cute little skirt, some flip fops and a little toe ring.

3:24Like, can't you just see that in 2026? It's cute. It's fashionable, but not taking fashion too seriously. There's a lightheartedness about it. Perhaps I feel this because chokers and toe rings, I feel like we're really in the 2010s and perhaps the 2010s are back. So maybe that's why I feel this coming. Chokers and toe rings. Sorry, I said it. To be honest, I want a toe ring and I think I'm going to get one. Can you just like leave a toe ring on? I think you can just leave it on. Like I don't think you have to take it off to shower or anything. I might order a toe ring. Yep. Cause I feel it coming back and I think they're really cute, to be honest.

4:02Wait, maybe anklets too. Are anklets back too? Should I add that? Maybe anklets too. Okay. Casual, lighthearted jewelry. Next, bands. I'm not talking about like silly bands. Remember those? I'm not talking about rubber bands. I'm talking about musical bands. Think the Beatles. Think ABBA, the Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls. I don't know. Is that even think bands musical groups are in 2026. I feel like the last few years it's really been all about the solo artist like the solo pop star even the solo indie artist to be honest and I think bands are going to make a comeback this year. Musical groups a bunch of talented people who come together to make something better than they could all make as individuals.

4:54This feels into me. there's something really romantic about a band you know like there's something really cool about this idea of like a group of friends that all make music together and they all get on stage and they perform together and you and your friends can all be a fan of this band and all have your favorite band member that you have a crush on like I feel like that energy is back I feel like having band posters on the wall is back even if you're like not a teenager anymore I know that's kind of like a teenager thing having band posters on the wall. Fuck it. I think that's back. I think being 30 and saying, you know what?

5:31I love this band. I'm putting a band poster of this band on my wall. I feel like that's back. I feel like band culture is back and I'm excited about it. Even though it's a concept that goes back many years, there's not that many bands anymore. And so the thought of like bands starting to pop up, it just feels exciting. And that's not to say that there haven't been bands over the last few years, but it hasn't been the popular type of musical output. I feel like it's just been a lot of solo artists. I don't know. I feel it. Next, it's in to have a non-stereotypical personality. Okay, let me give you some examples because this doesn't make any sense unless I give examples.

6:09Someone being goth, like dressing goth, doing goth makeup, wearing goth clothes, but then also being a gym rat. Okay, let me give you another example. Someone being a Pilates princess, eating chia seed pudding for breakfast, but being a hardcore EDM fan, electronic music freak, and fuck it, also smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Having an inconsistent personality, I feel like we've been so obsessed with having a consistent aesthetic for so many years, and we've been so obsessed with putting ourselves in boxes. Like, oh, I'm a Pilates princess. Oh, I'm cottagecore. Oh, why can't somebody who's cottagecore also be obsessed with drinking like a dirty martini?

6:55Do you know what I'm saying? Like you don't normally put those two things together, but why not? We're interesting. We're complicated. And I think in 2026, we're all going to lean into that, into our duality, or even beyond our duality, right? I don't know what a word beyond duality would be. Like, I don't know what it would mean if you have like four different traits, but you get the idea. Being dynamic, being interesting, being a combination of a bunch of different things that don't seem like they'd go together, but they go together because it's you. I feel like that's in. Moving on. Convertible cars.

7:30Do I think everyone's going to go out and buy a convertible car? Absolutely not. This is an energy thing. I can't explain it. I feel like the sales of convertible cars are going to go up a little bit. Am I going to go out and buy a convertible car? No, my lease is not up. But there is something about the energy of having the top down, driving, headscarf on, glasses on, driving around in a convertible. I can't explain it. It's just the energy of 2026 to me. This one's weird though, because again, it's like, are we going to see a bunch of convertible cars on the road? Probably not. But it's the energy.

8:01You see what I mean? But I also think too, the sales will go up for convertible cars a little. Because I think people just want to have fun in 2026. I think people want the wind breezing through their hair or grazing their bald head. It doesn't matter. But it's just like, I think people want the wind in their face this year. Everyone's done with the stuffy air inside of their car. People just want to breathe. They want to be one with the earth. Okay, moving on. Looking up words you don't know the definitions for and using the dictionary and growing your vocabulary. This is in for 2026. we're all sick and tired of using like gen z slang there's something so not exciting about like using the word chopped to describe someone which means that somebody looks ugly and i know that because i get chopped in my comments sometimes people are like emma is a little chopped in unk that means to look old and ugly okay listen like i i think in 2026 we're gonna to find a more eloquent way to say chopped and unk.

9:05I think in 2026, it's in to sound smart. Because I think a lot of times when we talk in a super Gen Z, super trendy way, it doesn't sound good. I think sounding smart is in. And I think people are going to be craving that. Craving vocabulary expansion. And I think that's for the best. And there are many ways you can expand your vocabulary. Read books, read articles, and look up the words that you don't know the meanings for. I think that's in. Next, peanut butter. I can't explain it. Peanut butter's in. Eating fruit with peanut butter. Apples with peanut butter. Bananas with peanut butter. Dates with peanut butter.

9:43Peanut butter flavored desserts. Peanut butter cookies. Peanut butter pie. Chocolate peanut butter cups. In. I feel like almond butter, hazelnut butter, and pistachio nut butter, pistachio butter. I feel like extravagant butters have been in. And I feel like 2026 return to self, we're all going back to peanut butter because it's so good. I feel like we all forgot how good it was for the last few years. And we've kind of overlooked peanut butter. It's back. This might be a personal thing because I'm really into peanut butter right now. But I I just, the lighthearted, fun, classic energy of peanut butter feels to align with what I see for 2026.

10:25Moving on to croissant sandwiches, in. They should have been in. I don't know why they're not in. Croissant sandwiches are so fucking good. To cut a croissant in half, toast it a little, put a little pesto, a little mozzarella, a little tomato, yum. Yum. A little bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant. Yum. Peanut butter and jelly in a croissant. Sure. If you eat meat, fig jam, ham, some brie, some arugula. Yum. Prosciutto. I don't even know what kind of meat goes into a sandwich like that, but I feel like croissant sandwiches are in. They're so good. They're so underrated. I don't see them nearly enough.

11:04It's like a light, buttery, flaky outer layer for some delicious, flavorful insides for a sandwich. It just feels right to me. I also feel like too, a lot of times sandwiches have too much bread to the point where you like can't taste what's inside. And croissants are so light and fluffy that whatever you put inside can shine, but the buttery yummy croissant is still present. It's just, it's not taking over. I feel like it allows the insides to shine. I don't know. Croissant sandwiches in 2026, moving on. Talking to strangers. We have really stopped talking to each other. In the elevators, we're silent.

11:43At cafes, we sit with our coffee and we don't talk to anyone. When we go out to a bar, we sit with our friends, we don't talk to people. That's out. It is in to talk to strangers. Okay, safely, of course. Be mindful. But I think it's in to just talk to one another. And the truth is, it's so enjoyable. Some of like my favorite memories of going out into the world are as fond as they are because I talked to strangers when I was out. For whatever reason, I got wrapped up in a game of pool with strangers. For whatever reason, I talked to the barista for a little bit at a coffee shop. Do you know what I'm saying?

12:20Like it's in to talk to each other. I think we're all feeling lonely and we're all feeling isolated due to the age of the internet. Let's talk to each other this year. Next, lip stains. We're all sick of reapplying our lip products every 45 minutes. And that's like generous. 45 minutes, maybe every 20, depending on what kind of lip combo you got going that day. We're sick of it. I'm sick of it. We're all sick of it. I think lip stains are going to be in. You can eat, you can drink, you can kiss, you can smile, you can laugh, you can spit. it, fuck it, you could throw up and that lip is not going anywhere.

12:59Lip stains are in, okay? Because we all love to have a lip on. That's not going anywhere, but we want it to stain so that we can live our lives. That's the energy of 2026. We want to live. We want to have fun. We want to be lighthearted. We don't want to be thinking about fixing our lip. We want to know that it's there, rain or shine. Moving on. Utilizing free will. Now, I know free will is kind of up for debate whether or not we have free will, whether we can choose to do whatever we want or if everything is predestined. Okay. But that's, let's ignore that for a second. Let's just take this surface level.

13:33Utilizing free will, meaning being spontaneous, breaking routine, being bored on a Tuesday night and being like, you know what? I'm going to take myself to dinner and I'm going to sit at a restaurant and I'm going to eat this dinner by myself on this random Tuesday night. another example you know what I'm bored I'm going to randomly go on a road trip to a nearby town that's two hours away so is that really nearby maybe not but you get the idea like being random is in in 2026 remembering like wait a minute I can be random because I think we forget about this sometimes I forget about it all the time I get so caught up in the minutia of my routine that I forget that I can do whatever I want I mean I can't like of course we have we have things that we have to tend to.

14:17We have responsibilities and stuff like that. But when we've tended to our responsibilities and we have free time, we forget we have free will, kind of, maybe. I don't know. We can be random. When the weekend rolls around, we don't have to go to the same bar that we go to every weekend to try to meet people. We could drive an hour and go to one we've never been to before. Do you know what I'm saying? Random, being random. I, the other day, had a really random day. I went grocery shopping at a grocery store I don't normally go to. I went to a new workout class that I don't normally go to. It was weird.

14:51It doesn't seem like it should be weird. It's like, who cares? But I'm in such a routine in my life that I forget that I can try new things. I can break my routine. And I saw things I wouldn't normally see. I experienced people I wouldn't normally experience. And it was really grounding. When you're in your routine, you're an autopilot and you're not paying as close attention to the world around you. When you break routine, you have to be focused, you have to pay attention and it forces you to be present in a way that I think we're all craving. And so I think that's in 2026. And last but not least, having a pen pal via text, a friend from high school, for example, a friend from college, an old work friend that you used to work with who moved away, a pen pal via text.

15:37Now, what does this mean? It means you text each other once a month, maybe twice a month with long gaps in between. You might not respond for two weeks to this person, but it doesn't matter. You're pen pals. You keep each other up to date, but with a lot of space in between, with a lot of breathing room, something you get back to when you have the chance. I have a friendship like this where we text each other like once a month and we'll go like a month without Responding to one another and no one gets their feelings hurt and no one cares because we're pen pals We don't live in the same city anymore, but we still want to stay connected So we do but we're not also so close that we need to respond to each other, you know at a quick rate There's something really fun about it There's something really nice about it.

16:22It's a great way to maintain friendships but in a way that's reasonable. Like we can't all be available to one another all the time, but I think having sort of a pen pal via text, I think that's in. Okay. Now let's move on to what's out. Starting with something that I really love, and I'm sad to say that this is out, but I really do believe that it is. And before I say it, I want you to know I love this thing and I always will love this thing. And I don't think it'll ever be out completely, but I think it had sort of a chokehold on get togethers, social get togethers, for the last few years. And I think it's on its way out.

16:56Charcuterie boards, cheese boards out. Here's the thing. I've hosted quite a few little gatherings at my home. I haven't in a while. It's been a while. Every single time I make a cheese board, an eighth of it is really consumed. I am left with so much cheese and so many crackers. It's actually quite wasteful. I mean, it's not wasteful because I repackage everything back up best I can. But then it's like, wait, how am I as an individual going to go through this much cheese? I live alone. You know what I'm saying? and also when I go out and I go to some sort of social gathering where there's a cheese board, I notice, number one, it's not usually getting touched that much.

17:30I've never seen a cheese board that looked ran through. You know, it'll be the end of the evening and the cheese board's still pretty intact. And on top of that, when I'm out, I don't really reach for the cheese board because number one, cheese gives me gas. Okay, I love it, but it makes me fart. Sorry. And I don't want to be farting when I'm out, especially not right now. Single? No, no, no, no stink. You never know where the night might go. You know, I'm not eating half a block of a cheddar cheese and I'm definitely not digging into the brie. That's high lactose. A crampy tummy is not good for socializing.

18:04It's also really filling. Like if I am at some sort of social event and there's a cheese board and then there's also dinner, it's like I don't have room for both. It's one or the other. And a lot of times both are present, you know, I think cheese boards are really fun to make, but I think oftentimes they're not properly utilized, but I will love them forever. And I love cheese. Um, and I think in very specific sort of settings, they're, they're going to continue to make sense. You know, like if you're at a, at a wine bar, it might be nice to order a little cheese plate, right? But that's a cheese plate.

18:39That's not a charcuterie board. I think charcuterie boards, cheese boards, the massive displays that are so gorgeous with so much cheese, so much crackers, so much jam, so much weird cured meats that I don't really know which one's which that kind of smell a little. Like I just think it's over. I'm sorry. Next, overusing cuss words. We need to start saving bad words for when they really are necessary so that they can have proper impact. Walking around saying like, fuck this, fuck that. This is bullshit. Smells like shit. Everything's shit. We're done. We have to be done with that because I think bad words have lost their meaning.

19:19I want to use fuck when I went to like make a point, you know, I want to say shit and for people to jump a little. I want bad words to regain their gravitas. I want that for us. And And I think, too, overusing cuss words, it's like saying like and um a lot, which I am guilty of. I do say like and um a lot. I also think that that's out for 2026, hopefully for me. But that didn't make the list because for whatever reason, the spirit and the universe did not call on me to say that. The spirit and the universe called on me to say that cuss words are out. But they're not fully out. It's just overusing them is out.

20:00overusing them to the point of them losing their meeting. That is out. Next, Instagram captions are out. I think it's in to just post your pick and not have to think about a caption. We're all tired of writing captions. I don't wanna think of something funny. I don't wanna think of something heartfelt. I just wanna post the goddamn photo. I want the photo to speak a thousand words. I do not wanna think about my Instagram captions anymore. I'm done. And I don't even wanna like choose an emoji. It's like, no, let's just be done. Let's just post the photo and run. Occasionally, there might be a moment where a little story in the Instagram caption is necessary.

20:31If the Instagram caption is calling, write. But I think in general, just let the photo speak a thousand words. I'm done with Instagram captions. Unless I really have something to say, I'm not writing a caption. I don't care if it's bad for the algorithm. I don't care if it feels impersonal. You know what these images, if I'm posting an image, I want it to speak for itself. And also too, I think Instagram captions, it's like so hard to make one that doesn't feel like cliche. There's something I feel like 80 % of Instagram captions sort of feel a bit cliche. And for that reason, they're out. Next, emojis.

21:09I feel like emojis are out a little. I feel like in 2026, we're just, we're typing. We're expressing how we feel. We're expressing our tone through our words. I think the thing about emojis is that they've all developed such complex double meanings where it's like, wait, is this laughing emoji sarcastic? Is this laughing emoji actually because this person thinks this thing is funny? Is the heart emoji sarcastic? Like being like, talk to you later, heart. Is it like passive aggressive? I think we're exhausted. Emojis have actually complicated the way that we communicate at this point because they all have such double meanings.

21:44It's like impossible to know what the emoji actually means. So I think now we're just going to speak. We're just going to type. And I think in 2026, they're out. Moving on. I think it's out to have a favorite food, to have a favorite color, to have favorites. We're boxing ourselves in. I don't have a favorite food. I don't have a favorite color. I have cravings for foods. Sometimes I really want sushi. Sometimes I really want pesto gnocchi. Sometimes I really want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sometimes I really want a burrito. Sometimes I really want a breakfast burrito. Sometimes I really want avocado a toast.

22:17Sometimes I really want a smoothie. Sometimes I really want a basket of fresh blueberries. Sometimes I really want tater tots with aioli. Sometimes I really want falafel with hummus. Like I love every food. Sometimes I really want, oh my God, yum, a yellow curry. Yum. Okay. Like don't make me choose my favorite food. We don't need to choose favorite foods anymore. Same thing goes for a favorite color. Sometimes I really am drawn to blue. Blue just spiritually feels like my color of the moment. And then the next day I might wake up and say, you know what? I really love cream and yellow, like a really creamy, light, buttery pastel yellow.

22:52Then the next day I might wake up and say, you know, I like maroon. Then the next day, olive green. Why do I have to choose? We're complex people. We're constantly changing. We're constantly evolving. We don't need to have favorite things. Like we're adults. Oh, what's your favorite food? No, don't ever ask that again. What's your favorite color? I mean, luckily, I think most of us have grown out of that question, but it's like, I don't know, blue? I don't know. I don't know. All of them? I don't know. Like we're done with that. Okay. I briefly interrupt this episode to let you know that this episode is brought to you by State Farm.

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24:05I've been wearing the same scent for like six years now. And it is a funny story. It was my first boyfriend's scent that he wore around the time that we broke up. And when we broke up, the scent was so strong, it stuck to my entire house. So we were broken up, but my entire house for like three months smelled like him. It was hell. Did I at times dig my face into my couch pillow to remember what he smelled like? Yeah. Did I avoid washing pieces of clothing that smelled like him because I hugged him when I was wearing it? Yep. It was hell. But it also was like the first fragrance that I ever really liked.

24:44I've never really loved. It's so rare that I like a perfume and it was one of the first ones I ever really liked. So then I decided to adopt it as my own and I've been wearing it pretty much every day ever since. It's a really basic perfume. A lot of people wear this particular one. It's like a very famous fragrance. It's Baccarat Rouge 540. it's not special it's not even a signature scent it's literally just a scent that everyone knows so I never got into the whole like fragrance lore there's a lot of people that are really into it layering scents having a massive perfume collection wearing something new every day or having a very specific layered combo that is them I think that that is out do I think fragrance is out smelling good is out no but I think the sort of obsession with fragrance and having it be something that's super individual, hyper individual is out.

25:34I just think it's fatiguing. And I think it's in to just mindlessly be like, this perfume feels like the vibe today. Spray it quickly and walk out of the house. I think being like, okay, let me layer the base notes. People have gotten into it in such a deep way. And I think that that's out. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I'm feeling. I think we're entering into a far more nonchalant time period where we're not overthinking small details of our daily routine. Okay, next, mascara. I think mascara's out. Listen, mascara will never fully be out. It is at times like a key element of a makeup look, but I think mascara-less looks are going to be in.