In one of my most treasured beauty-focused Facebook groups, I recently posed an extremely important question: “What’s the Rolls Royce of nail clippers?”
The floodgates opened on answers to this very mundane beauty purchase – but one that I needed to level up, stat. I settled on these from a Japanese brand that I’d never heard of. And *poof.* My days of jagged clipping are officially over.
It got me thinking about the other beauty products in my life that I reach for daily – yet aren’t cutting it when it comes to quality. Think tweezers, hair ties… you get it.
I realized that I’ve slowly been leveling up my daily go-to products and stopped settling for works-well-enough.
Here are some of my favorite boring beauty products that have truly upped the game in their respective categories.
Each & Every Deodorant: After spending almost a year testing ‘natural’ deodorants, I finally found the holy grail. Listen – I’ve had allergic reactions (looking at you, Schmidt’s), smelled like a dirty old coconut (*cough* Kopari *cough*) and just generally sweated as if I was wearing nothing at all (Dove aluminum-free anyone?). Each & Every is the only one that has worked for me. And yes, it keeps me smelling normal during my daily workouts and even during my smelly postpartum chapter (yes, this is a thing). I love the vanilla scent.
Mehaz Tweezers: Have you found yourself pulling at the same stray eyebrow hair 100x only to not be able to properly pluck it, even once you have it secured between the cold, hard tongs of a tweezer? Same. Someone once told me that Tweezerman has free sharpening, but am I really sending my tweezer out to get polished? No. I am not. I ended up buying this Mehaz
GIMME Bands Hair Ties: As someone with a lot of hair, I’ve spent too much of my life collecting stretched out hair ties and have had one-too-many “oh shit” moments as my only ponytail snapped mid-workout. Yes, I’ve tried Teleties and Bobbles – they just don’t cut it for me. I discovered GIMME Bands the same way I did the nail clippers – trusty old Facebook groups. GIMME Bands actually hold up my hair during what’s arguably a hair tie’s most important job in life – cardio sessions. I will never buy a Scunci again. A close second to their magic are the Kooshoos.
Tangle Teezer Hair Brush: Even my husband loves this brush – it’s even replaced the weird white mini brush that he’s had since college. While I don’t have particularly knotty hair to begin with, this brush never tugs. I love that it feels more like a gentle comb than a brush – but takes wayyyy less time and effort than combing, ya know?
Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Body Lotion: I, like most people, either forget to put body lotion on or just hate how most formulas feel on my skin. Lemme just tell you – this iconic product from Kiehl’s has changed my mind. Not only does this feel so luxurious to put on, it’s amazing at moisturizing my skin during the winter and doesn’t feel tacky. Hot tip: Apply right after you shower, when your skin is still a little damp (but not soaking) for maximum moisturization™ (not a real trademark, but looks fancy, right?).
Oribe Signature Shampoo & Conditioner: Okay, not gonna lie – I am just not a hair girl. Slather me in skincare and send all of the concealer and mascara, but I will be buried in a tight ponytail. My usual shampoo and conditioner is of the CVS variety, and it has always worked for me. But when you see Oribe products on sale on T.J. Maxx’s site, you don’t ask questions – you just buy them. But thanks to this discount purchase, I am forever ruined. My hair is like silk, I smell like a rich person, I feel like I need less product than my typical drugstore picks, and let’s be real: There is nothing chicer than seeing these two sleek black bottles in my shower each day. Next stop is the liter size for me (if they ever go on sale, that is).
Barefoot Dreams Robe: I am blessed to have friends who respect that you can truly buy friendship by gifting Barefoot Dreams anything – which is how I ended up with one of their robes. 2020 made me into more of a robe person, but this puppy pushed me into full Hugh Hefner territory. I mean, is there anything more delicious than slathering some Creme de Corps on before putting on this robe and heading to the couch after a day of cleaning up diapers and being spit up on? Try it and let me know.
What are the everyday beauty buys that have leveled up your life? Tell me in the comments.
