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Apart from acquiring lush floral bouquets for my bedside table straight from the garden and investing in floaty blouses to take me to the spring and summer months in style, I’ve been reviewing the essentials I use as part of my beauty and wellness routines. Through this admittedly quite extensive process, I’ve developed a system of trading out the products I don’t feel drawn to anymore for one’s that inspire rest, creativity, and self-care. In other words, I’m being more mindful of everything I use on the daily to set myself up for success as I move throughout my busy day as a beauty editor.
Since kicking off this effort at the beginning of spring, I’ve successfully identified 13 products across skin, body, and beyond that not only deliver the results I crave, but keep my routines feeling elevated. Interested in knowing which products made my new and improved lineups? Scroll on for my official edit of the best beauty and wellness essentials that inspire slow living and intentionality.
The Best Intentional Beauty and Wellness Essentials, Listed
Best for a Fresh Fitness: Alo Total Refresh Mat Spray
Alo
Total Refresh Mat Spray
Key Ingredients: Green tea, cucumber extracts, lavender essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil | Notes: Eucalyptus, lavender
Following a yoga practice, I’ve discovered that treating my mat to a gentle cleanse can provide a cleaner, and more centered routine the next time I step onto it. The Total Refresh Mat Spray uses a holistic blend of green tea and cucumber extracts with lavender and eucalyptus essential oils to remove sweat and surface impurities from the surface of my mat for an easy post-workout clean-up.
Customer Review: “Very unique product. I am happy that I bought it because I spray it on my mat and the lavender sent is heavenly. Other women at the gym have complemented me on the use of the product. I am very happy to use it.”
Best for Repairing the Skin Barrier: Cetaphil Repair & Renew Serum
Cetaphil
Repair & Renew Serum
Key Ingredients: Gallic acid, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, vitamin B5, cica, bifida ferment
My nighttime skincare routine has evolved throughout the years to focus more on repairing and revitalizing my skin barrier by adding gentle-yet-effective products to the lineup. This new overnight antioxidant serum is designed with sensitive skin like mine in mind, and uses a medley of nourishing ingredients to support the skin barrier while also protecting it from free radical damage.
Customer Review: “I have combination skin that sometimes breaks outs around my chin. After applying, the serum felt lightweight and absorbed quickly. No sticky residue but I did notice a tightness as it dried. I didn’t experience any new break outs while using it and my skin looked a little smoother and more visibly refreshed. The packaging is simple and easy to use. It has a pump that dispenses just the right amount.”
Best for Reusable Eye Care: Dieux Forever Eye Mask
Key Ingredients: 100% medical-grade silicone
One-time use eye masks frequently deliver the brightened, smooth effect I’m after, but I prefer products with versatile, reusable designs like Dieux’s Forever Eye Mask. Crafted from medical-grade silicone that’s lightweight and thin, it holds your favorite gels, serums, and creams close to the skin to encourage maximum product absorption. My dark under eyes and fine lines are a thing of the past.
Customer Review: “I’m really impressed with these under eye patches. I’ve avoided most eye patches because they feel so wasteful—so the reusable feature is great. The best part is they don’t slip and slide around on my face while they’re on. I did also buy the Dieux eye gel to go with them, but truly whatever you like will work. I know some folks like a caffeine option. You could even store these in the fridge for a de-puff! Really happy with these and anticipate using them for a long time to come.”
Best for Barrier-Boosting Support: Fresh Sugar Melt Lip Cream
Fresh
Sugar Melt Lip Cream in Mango Pulp
Key Ingredients: Activated sugar, verbena phyto-peptides, hyaluronic acid filling spheres
I recently had the opportunity to test all the shades available of Fresh’s newest lip product, and I can’t help but recommend them each time I receive a compliment about how plump and juicy my lips look after swiping it on. Packed with barrier-boosting hydration and powered by activated sugar for gentle exfoliation, these sheer, skin-flattering tints keep lips nourished and smooth with boosted hydration levels.
Customer Review: “My new favorite lip product! It’s so smooth, goes on like butter, and doesn’t leave my lips feeling sticky at all. The color is gorgeous and really gives my lips a nice glow. It’s easy to take with me everywhere and I can use it if I have a full face of makeup on or nothing else at all!”
Best for Restful Nights: The Laundress Beauty Sleep Detergent
The Laundress
Beauty Sleep Detergent
Key Ingredients: Proprietary enzyme blend | Notes: Bergamot, lavender, freesia, grapefruit, jasmine, rose, lily-of-the-valley, oakmoss, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, musk, patchouli
Using The Laundress’ Beauty Sleep Detergent is as close as I can get to falling asleep on a bed of velvety rose petals, and I won’t be giving it up anytime soon. While I currently only use this on my sheets, duvets, and more delicate pajamas, I’ve loved adding this to my nighttime ritual. Its delicate notes of night-blooming jasmine, bergamot, and lavender on a glowing sandalwood and amber base lulls me gently off to sleep after helping my wind down at the end of the day.
Customer Review: “The scent is perfect for bed time! Nothing like opening the bedroom door and smelling Beauty Sleep throughout the entire room. It’s not overwhelming. Feels like a moment of luxury during my nighttime routine when I smell it and get to crawl into bed. The fabric spray is great for a quick refresh as well and perfect for pajamas. Would be a great gift!”
Best for Gentle Exfoliation: Soft Services Green Banana Buffing Bar Microcrystal Exfoliant
Soft Services
Green Banana Buffing Bar Microcrystal Exfoliant
Key Ingredients: Magnesium oxide, alumina, glycerin, shea butter | Notes: Banana leaf, chamomile, white musk
One of the easiest ways I’ve been practicing intentionality in my bathing routine is by adding fast-working and effective steps to it that will deliver visibly results. Recently, my showers have benefited from the addition of Soft Service’s Green Banana Buffing Bar, which provides moderate-to-intense physical exfoliating for deep buffing with superfine crystals and hydrating glycerin and shea butter. My skin is always left looking glowy, smooth, and free of any uneven textures.
Customer Review: “I’ve tried just about every exfoliator on the market as someone with dry skin (+kp to boot). In my opinion, Soft Service’s buffing bar is the only one that works. I’d go so far as to say other exfoliators don’t hold a candle to theirs. I’m a long time lover of the original formula, and I had to try the green banana buffing bar.”
(Image credit: Courtesy of Maya Thomas)
Best for Sensorial Showers: Cyklar Bergamot Bond Sensorial Body Wash
Cyklar
Bergamot Bond Sensorial Body Wash
Key Ingredients: Sodium PCA, fatty acid water, multi-oil complex | Notes: Bergamot, lavender, bamboo, peony, verbena, skins musks, cashmere woods, amber
Sensorial showers are another way I’ve been taking my bathing routine to the next level through using product more intentionally, and I can barely remember what they were like before I began using Cyklar’s luxurious oil-infused body wash. It supports my skin barrier with a multi-oil complex to soften and nourish, while glycerin locks in moisture and fatty acid water delivers waves of hydration. I love how glowy and smooth my skin looks after using it, but I’m especially drawn to its sparkling and bright scent of bergamot, verbena, musk, and cashmere woods.
Customer Review: “I’ve been using the Sensorial Body Wash in Bergamot Bond and honestly, it makes my shower feel like a mini spa moment. The scent is fresh, citrusy, and uplifting—the notes are clean and energizing without being overpowering. The texture is silky and lathers beautifully, leaving my skin feeling soft, refreshed, and hydrated. It rinses off easily and leaves my skin smooth and refreshed.
Best for On-the-Go Aromatherapy: Aesop Ginger Flight Therapy
Aesop
Ginger Flight Therapy
Key Ingredients: Ginger root, lavender, geranium
Aesop’s uplifting pulse-point therapy roll-on oil promotes a calmer mind with a sense stimulating blend of ginger root, lavender, and geranium. It can be applied directly onto the neck, temples, wrists and more to combat nausea, stress, and tiredness with a 0.33-oz design that can be easily tucked away for travel. I like to pack this in my purse for all my cross-country flights.
Customer Review: “This essential oil roll on is a game changer. When I travel I simply roll a dab on the wrist, under the nose and on the back of my neck and my whole mood lifts. I keep one by my bed and at night use a dab to fall asleep in a blissful calming scent. There isn’t a time I wear it that someone doesn’t ask what is that delicious scent. Love Aesop and love this ginger therapy!”
Best for Balancing the Mind and Body: Osea Vagus Nerve Pillow Mist
Osea
Vagus Nerve Pillow Mist
Key Ingredients: Essential oil blend (Chamomile, lavender, juniper berry, lemon tea tree, moroccan rosemary | Notes: Chamomile, lavender, juniper berry
As a notoriously restless sleeper, I take any help I can to deliver deep rest. Lately, I’ve been pairing my scented sheets and duvets with Osea’s Vagus Never Pillow Mist to create a soothing atmosphere and balance my mind and boy as I prepare for bed. A few spritzes of this is enough to melt away hours of stress the day has brought me with a soothing scent combining chamomile with notes of lavender and juniper berry.
Customer Review: “This is the product I didn’t know I needed. I’ve been misting on my pillow and comforter before bed for a few months now, and I cannot believe how much better I’m sleeping. It smells so good and light enough that it’s not overpowering as I’m trying to drift off to dreamland. Highly recommend!”
Best for Soothing Sensitivity: Eadem Mami Wata Ultra-Calming Rescue Mist
Eadem
Mami Wata Ultra-Calming Rescue Mist
Key Ingredients: Panthenol, ectoin, cica, alpha bisbolol, allantoin, glycerin, polyglutamic acid, aloe vera
I can’t start or end my day without doing what I can to keep my skin calm and hydrated, and one of my favorite ways to do that is by spraying it with Eadem’s Mami Wata Ultra-Calming Rescue Mist. Described the brand as, “a skin-perfecting rescure treatment,” it uses a barrier-fortifying formula powered by glycerin, aloe vera, and more to quench skin thirst, promote skin barrier recovery, and provide protection. I’m obsessed with how it can be used anytime, anywhere (including over a full face of makeup for a burst of hydration).
Customer Review: “Eadem Mami Wata Ultra Calming Rescue Mist is one of those products that quietly becomes a staple. The mist is ultra-fine and lightweight, delivering instant hydration without leaving any sticky or heavy feeling. Whenever my skin feels irritated or stressed, a few spritzes noticeably calm redness and restore balance. It layers beautifully under or over makeup and works perfectly between skincare steps. Simple, soothing, and effective—this isn’t just a refreshing spray, it’s a true skin reset in a bottle.”
Best for Everyday Rituals: Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash
Aesop
Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash
Key Ingredients: Mandarin rind, rosemary leaf, cedar atlas | Notes: Orange, lavender, rosemary
Investing in my everyday hand care routine is one of the easiest ways I’ve been practicing mindfulness and intentionality, so adding this aromatic hand wash by Aesop just made sense. Non-stripping and ultra-hydrating, it effectively cleanses skin using a refreshing formula enhanced with mandarin rind, rosemary leaf, and cedar atlas. I really like the lather I get from it, and the subtly earthy scent that lingers behind.
Customer Review: “This is such a lovely hand and body wash. The scent is warm, slightly sweet and uplifting without being overpowering. I keep it in the shower and use it as my main body wash. The texture is smooth, it lathers nicely without being too bubbly, and rinses away easily without any residue. My skin feels comfortable afterwards, never tight or dry, and the fragrance lingers lightly which I find very pleasing.”
(Image credit: Courtesy of Maya Thomas)
Best for Soothing Skin: Chantecaille Jasmine and Lily Calming Mask
Chantecaille
Jasmine and Lily Calming Mask
Key Ingredients: Bisabolol, lily bulb, sodium hyaluronate, evening primrose oil, vitamin B5, macadamia oil, flower waxes (jasmine, orange, mimosa)
Cooling masks have been my go-to lately, and Chantecaille’s Jasmine and Lily Calming Mask ends up on my skin every Friday night as part of my PM wind down routine. Infused with a luxurious concoction of botanicals that soothe and hydrate skin it’s designed to double as a rich night cream for a glowy complexion in the morning. Created as a solution to skin that’s been overexposed to elements, it’s also become on of my favorite masks for post-travel skincare.
Customer Review: “I adore this mask as my overnight moisturizer. I have dry, acne-prone, sensitive skin, and this makes my skin look nearly flawless when I wake up in the morning. It calms my redness, inflammation, and blemishes. I notice a difference when I don’t use this. I don’t even need any serums or other products at night. You won’t regret this mask!”
Best for Inspiring Creativity: Diptyque L’Eau Papier Eau de Toilette
Diptyque
L’eau Papier Eau de Toilette
Key Ingredients: Alcohol, fragrance, water | Notes: White musks, steamed rice accord, mimosa, blonde woods accord
My love affair with this fresh and musky perfume extends back years, but it’ has remained one of my favorites for everyday wear. With its enchanting blend of skin-like white musks swirled with a creamy steamed rice accord, powdery, mimosa and warm woods, it immediately reminds me of the cozy feeling I get from curling up with a good book and steaming cup of tea. There’s something raw and delicate about this blend that keeps me coming back year-after-year.
Customer Review: “What a delicate, intriguing scent that makes you return for sniffs. This has to be tested on the skin! Sprayed on paper it has a dry, inky paper smell much like the smell of a hard-working printer machine. But on the skin it truly develops so much beyond that. I would say that it is a green scent: like buds right before bloom, with a dash of fresh tonic and cotton. If this scent were a person it would be someone who humbly dedicates their life to mastering one craft to perfection. I absolutely love it and would gladly have it as my signature scent!”
