Beauty

The Best Shampoo Is the One That Does Less

Shampoo has been sold as a treatment for years when it is fundamentally a cleanser. The best shampoo removes oil and product without stripping the scalp, then gets out of the way. These are the ones that respect that job description.

A Flat Iron Has a Longer Past Than Your Morning Routine

The modern flat iron traces back to a 1909 patent, and the good ones still come down to plate quality and a little restraint. Here are the straighteners I would look at, the heat protectants that go on first, and the smoothing serums that finish the job.

Keratin Shampoo for Smooth, Frizz-Free Hair

Keratin shampoo is a daily care step, nothing like a salon smoothing service. These are the shampoos, masks and smoothing serums I would reach for when frizz and damage are the problem, and how to use them together.

Redken Acidic Bonding: A Salon Brand's Answer to Tired, Stretched Hair

Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate was the brand's first bonding regimen, a three-step system built around citric acid. Here is how the range works, the other bond-building shampoos and masks I would set beside it, and the glosses that add shine at the end.

How to Use Lip Liner

Lip liner earns its place when you use it as the first coat of color, not just an outline.

bareMinerals Original Foundation SPF 15, Shade by Shade

The bareMinerals Original Foundation SPF 15 is the loose mineral powder that turned a San Francisco brand into a name everyone knew. Here are the shades I would start with, the rest of the bareMinerals powders around it, and other powder foundations and brushes to try beside it.

Huda Beauty Blush Filter and Other Soft-Glow Blushes

A huda beauty blush is the brand's answer to a soft-focus, airbrushed cheek, and Blush Filter is the one that started it. Here are the liquid shades, the blushlighter palettes and the glowy liquids I would put beside them.

Nail Care Basics: Files, Oils and Hand Creams I Keep Within Reach

Good nail care is a small, boring routine that pays off, and it starts with the right file, a gentle cuticle tool and an oil you actually use. These are the tools, treatments and hand creams I would set out on the bathroom shelf, ending on the cream that finishes it all.

CHI Heat Protectant, and the Pizza Oven Idea Behind the Iron

CHI heat protectant comes from Farouk Systems, the Houston company that says it made the first ceramic hairstyling iron. Here are eight CHI sprays and stylers for heat days and eight other heat protectants I would compare them with.

Oud Perfume Has Lost Its Intimidation Factor

Oud perfume used to arrive with a warning label, smoky and animalic and very much an acquired taste. Western perfumers have spent two decades sanding it down with rose, vanilla and even fruit, and the result is a note that now reads rich rather than challenging. This edit moves from the bottles that made oud a Western luxury code to the ones that make it easy to wear.

Avène Cicalfate, Spring Water From Southern France and a Very Calm Shelf

Avène cicalfate is the restorative cream made for sensitive skin, and it comes from a thermal spring in southern France. Here are the Avène Cicalfate+ and Tolerance Control picks, the hydrating serums and cleanser from the same brand, and barrier creams from other labels.

Green Mascara

Bold Green Mascara Selects

Lash Princess and the Rest: An essence Mascara Shelf Worth Building Around

Every group chat has one opinion about essence mascara, usually about Lash Princess. Here are the four essence formulas I keep coming back to, the volumizing mascaras from other brands that do a different job, and the removers that get all of it off at night.

Small, Sticky and Sustainable: A Field Guide to Kind Patches

Kind Patches is a young brand built around very small things. Here are its pimple, collagen and glow patches, the other spot patches I keep beside them, and the gentle serums and pads for the days you want to work on a whole area.

Lip Mask Season and the Founders Who Took Bedtime Seriously

The overnight lip mask went from a Korean bedtime idea to a fixture on American bathroom shelves, and every brand in this edit has its own take on it. Here is what a lip mask feels like across twelve balms, jellies and butters.

Vanilla Bourbon Perfume for Cold Nights and Low Lighting

Vanilla bourbon perfume is two ideas at once: bourbon vanilla, the rich beans from Madagascar and Réunion, and the boozy warmth of whiskey, rum and cognac notes. These are the boozy vanillas I would wear on a cold night, the ones with tobacco and wood, and the softer vanillas for daytime.

Tatcha and the Kyoto Lesson: Skin and Mind, Same Root

Tatcha began in 2009 in a San Francisco garage, with a founder who had left Wall Street and a philosophy she picked up in Kyoto. Here is how I would build a shelf from the brand, starting with the moisturizers, then the cleansers and rice powder, then the essences, serums and primers.

Hourglass Blush and the Soft Glow Blushes Beside It

Every hourglass blush starts from founder Carisa Janes's idea that light should do part of the work. Here are the Ambient Lighting Blushes and Unreal liquids, plus the glowy powders and natural liquids I would wear next to them.

The Brown Smoky Eye, Done Softly

A brown smoky eye is the softer, easier version of the classic, and it suits almost everyone. Here are the brown palettes, liners and mascaras I would use to smudge one together in five minutes.

OLEHENRIKSEN: Ole Henriksen Left Denmark for LA and Brought Banana Bright

Ole Henriksen opened his first skin care centre in 1975, and the brand that carries his name is still best known for its Banana Bright vitamin C line. Here is the Banana Bright range, the cleansers, toners and moisturizers around it, and the lip treatments I keep within reach.

StriVectin Started as a Stretch Mark Cream and Ended Up on Everyone's Face

StriVectin arrived in August 2002 as a cream for stretch marks, and shoppers promptly started putting it on their faces. Here are the creams the brand is known for, its serums and exfoliating pads, and a few neck products from other brands for comparison.

Beauty Advent Calendars and Gift Sets to Open Early

Beauty advent calendars and gift sets land early every year, and the best ones are gone by December. Here are the calendars, makeup sets and skincare sets I would pick for yourself or to give this season.

Nails with a Touch of Luxury

French nails from your favorite luxury French (mostly) brands.

Color Wow, the Bottles Behind the Hype

Color Wow beyond one spray, from Dream Coat and Money Masque to Root Coverup and Xtra Large Bombshell