All Editorials

Not Your Mother's Shampoo: Founders and Aura Boost Range

Not Your Mother's Shampoo: Founders and Aura Boost Range

Rocky and Bethany Pagliarulo, a married couple, founded Not Your Mother's in Tampa in 2010 to make hair care for young shoppers. Here are eight of its shampoos, from Aura Boost to Curl Talk, plus the conditioners and masks that match.

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Can I Use Odele Clarifying Shampoo Everyday: A Weekly Reset

Can I Use Odele Clarifying Shampoo Everyday: A Weekly Reset

I would not use Odele Clarifying Shampoo everyday, because it is a once-a-week reset and not a daily habit. I go through how to fit it in, which other clarifying shampoos compare, and what to follow it with.

The Best Shampoo for Gray Hair, and Why Purple Cancels the Yellow

The Best Shampoo for Gray Hair, and Why Purple Cancels the Yellow

A shampoo for gray hair has one main job, which is keeping silver strands bright instead of yellow. Here are the toning shampoos, the shampoo and conditioner pairs, and the masks, oils and scalp serums that keep gray soft and shiny.

Hydroquinone Serum Alternatives: 16 Dark Spot Removers

Hydroquinone Serum Alternatives: 16 Dark Spot Removers

A hydroquinone serum can no longer be legally marketed over the counter in the US after September 23, 2020, following the CARES Act. I go through sixteen dark spot serums, toners, patches, peels and SPF that use vitamin C, tranexamic acid and arbutin instead.

Azelaic Acid 10% and the Gentle Routine Around It

Azelaic Acid 10% and the Gentle Routine Around It

Azelaic acid 10% is the gentle active for the look of redness, bumps and dark marks, and it usually plays nicely with sensitive skin. These are the serums, creams and toners I would try, the soft cleansers that won't fight them, and the moisturizers that keep your barrier calm.

What to Pair With Azelaic Acid: The Ordinary 10% and Its Companions

What to Pair With Azelaic Acid: The Ordinary 10% and Its Companions

What to pair with azelaic acid: a plain moisturizer and a daily sunscreen, added one companion at a time to The Ordinary 10% suspension. I start with the suspension alone for two weeks, then go through the companions, other brands and calming serums.

CeraVe Moisturizer for Oily Skin: The Oil Control Gel-Cream

CeraVe Moisturizer for Oily Skin: The Oil Control Gel-Cream

The CeraVe moisturizer for oily skin I would start with is the Oil Control Gel-Cream, which is oil-free and lists niacinamide second after water. I walk through the rest of the CeraVe shelf and a few lightweight gel creams from other brands.

La Roche Posay Double Repair Moisturizer, Day and Night

La Roche Posay Double Repair Moisturizer, Day and Night

Yes, you can use La Roche-Posay Double Repair Moisturizer at night, since the brand says to apply it morning and evening after cleansing. It is built on ceramide-3, niacinamide, glycerin and La Roche-Posay's prebiotic thermal water.

La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum: What to Layer With It

La Roche-Posay Mela B3 Serum: What to Layer With It

Yes, you can use La Roche-Posay Mela B3 every day: the brand says 3-4 drops of the Melasyl and 10% niacinamide serum, morning and evening. Here is how I would build the routine around it, which other dark spot serums sit well beside it, and the daily sunscreens that keep spots from coming back.

How to Use La Roche-Posay Effaclar: One Step at a Time

How to Use La Roche-Posay Effaclar: One Step at a Time

How to use La Roche-Posay Effaclar: start with the foaming gel cleanser and a sunscreen, then add one treatment only when skin asks. I go through what each Effaclar step does and what to pair it with, from cleansers to mineral sunscreens.

Fresh Cream Body Wash, Amazing Grace And Philosophy Scents

Fresh Cream Body Wash, Amazing Grace And Philosophy Scents

Fresh cream body wash from philosophy smells of tonka bean, whipped cream and vanilla bean. If you want clean instead of sweet, Pure Grace is the sibling to try, built on lily, leafy greens and musk.

Tree Hut Body Scrub: Scents and Where to Buy

Tree Hut Body Scrub: Scents and Where to Buy

The Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrub is a body scrub, not a body wash: Tree Hut's directions say to buff it on damp or dry skin, then rinse well. Here is how I would pick a scent, build an everything shower around it, and what to try when you want something stronger, plus the rest of the Tree Hut shelf.

Benefit Lip Tint: Benetint vs Plushtint Compared

Benefit Lip Tint: Benetint vs Plushtint Compared

A Benefit lip tint comes as sheer Benetint, dewy Splashtint or matte Plushtint. Benetint is the original, a waterproof stain that is smudge-proof and transfer-resistant once it sets, so it is where I would start.

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Spicebomb Night Vision: EDT vs EDP Explained

Spicebomb Night Vision: EDT vs EDP Explained

Spicebomb Night Vision is really two fragrances under one name, a green apple and cardamom eau de toilette and a darker incense eau de parfum. Here is how to choose between them, and which spicy, fresh and night-out scents I would wear beside it.

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AYR The Label: Who It Is and What to Buy

AYR The Label: Who It Is and What to Buy

AYR traces a New York women's label from a Bonobos-born denim idea to year-round jeans, cashmere, shirts, coats and easy separates. I’m looking at the design logic behind clothes meant to work across a calendar, and how I would build the outfits around them.

Is Essence a German Brand? Owner and Origin Explained

Is Essence a German Brand? Owner and Origin Explained

Yes, essence is a German brand: it belongs to cosnova, a company based in Sulzbach, Germany, founded in 2001. This edit covers the lineup I would start with, drugstore matches from other brands, and the brushes to go with it.

Jean Paul Gaultier Ultra Male vs Le Male: What's the Difference

Jean Paul Gaultier Ultra Male vs Le Male: What's the Difference

Jean Paul Gaultier Ultra Male is the spicier follow-up to the sailor-torso Le Male, and it anchors a shelf of warm, vanilla and tobacco fragrances for men. Here is the whole Gaultier family, then the sweet designer scents and the niche ambers that sit next to it.

The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA: How to Layer

The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA: How to Layer

The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA is a moisturizer that copies what skin already makes for itself. Here is the family around it, the gel creams and hyaluronic serums that sit beside it, and how to choose a texture, starting with the daily cream.

Dr. Squatch: Founder Jack Haldrup and What the Soap Is Made Of

Dr. Squatch: Founder Jack Haldrup and What the Soap Is Made Of

Dr. Squatch started in 2013 when Jack Haldrup, dealing with psoriasis, found a cold-process soap at a farmers market that did not leave his skin tight or itchy the way commercial bars did. He began making his own bars in his garage on personal savings, and a Kickstarter campaign plus a run of viral videos grew the brand fast enough to land a Super Bowl ad in 2021. Here is the full bar soap lineup, plus the body wash, shampoo, cologne and deodorant it has grown into since.

Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum: How to Use

Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum: How to Use

The Good Molecules Discoloration Correcting Serum came out of a beauty shop, not a lab with a famous name, and that explains a lot about it. Here is the story of the brand, the serum and eight other formulas for uneven tone that ask for patience.

The Ordinary Lash Curl Finisher: Using It With Mascara

The Ordinary Lash Curl Finisher: Using It With Mascara

The Ordinary's directions never mention using Lash Curl Finisher with mascara, because the gel is designed to replace it. Curl your lashes, comb it on from root to tip, and start with lashes that have no mascara on them.

Thayers Milky Toner vs Witch Hazel Toner: Which to Use

Thayers Milky Toner vs Witch Hazel Toner: Which to Use

Thayers Milky Toner does not list witch hazel: it is a creamy, alcohol-free toner built on snow mushroom, hyaluronic acid and elderflower water. This edit sets it beside the original witch hazel and aloe toner, then covers the Milky line, other Thayers toners and milky toners from other brands.

Pureology Shampoo: Which One for Your Hair Type

Pureology Shampoo: Which One for Your Hair Type

A guide to Pureology shampoo by hair type, from the rich Hydrate formula for thick, dry lengths to the lighter Sheer and Pure Volume washes for fine hair. The matching conditioners are here too, so you can build the pair instead of guessing.

L'Oréal Midnight Cream: What It Is and How to Use It

L'Oréal Midnight Cream: What It Is and How to Use It

L'Oréal Midnight Cream is a barrier-minded night moisturizer from the Age Perfect Cell Renewal line, not a retinol. Here is what the brand says it does, plus the L'Oréal Paris serums, other night creams and sleeping masks I would try around it.

Best Eyeshadow for Green Eyes Over 50: 7 Shades

Best Eyeshadow for Green Eyes Over 50: 7 Shades

The best eyeshadow for green eyes over 50 is plum, bronze or soft brown in matte or satin. Seven shades, one product each, and why they work.

Gifts for Mom Who Has Everything: Anna Jarvis and the 500 Carnations

Gifts for Mom Who Has Everything: Anna Jarvis and the 500 Carnations

For gifts for mom who has everything, I would choose presents that answer something she loves already, from an evening ritual to a new family photo. I brought together small scent sets, useful body-care pieces, keepsakes, kitchen objects, and soft layers for home.

Hiking Gifts for Her: Emma Gatewood's Trail Kit, Reconsidered

Hiking Gifts for Her: Emma Gatewood's Trail Kit, Reconsidered

A thoughtful set of hiking gifts for her spans trail layers, shoes, packs, water gear and the small cold-weather pieces that suit her kind of outing. I would start with the routes she actually takes, then choose layers, footwear and extras around them.

Pura Fragrance Diffuser: What It Is and Which to Buy

Pura Fragrance Diffuser: What It Is and Which to Buy

Pura fragrance is built around a plug-in smart diffuser you run from an app, with scent vials you swap in and out. Here are eight Pura diffusers and refills, and eight candles, room sprays and reed diffusers I compared them with.