The medicine cabinet is the new closet, and just like fashion, in skin care there are those cool brands that pop up on Instagram again and again. Drunk Elephant is one of them.
It’s easy to see why. The brand is millennial clickbait with its minimal packaging, cute product names, and clean ethos. Every product is free of essential oils, “drying alcohols,” silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances and dyes, and SLS. And reviews of the best Drunk Elephant products are typically glowing. But Instagrammability and clean formulas come at a price, with most of the line clocking in at more than $50.
That’s not to say that it isn’t worth it. The right serum can be truly life-changing, and a good moisturizer can make your morning routine happier. You just want to know it’s actually good before dropping the cash. So to answer one of our most-asked questions—”Is Drunk Elephant really that good?”—we had Glamour editors put the line to the test. Read on for the best Drunk Elephant products worth your money.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
The most raved about secret in beauty this year wasn’t a magic facialist or Real Housewife-lauded injection, it was an unassuming moisturizer made by a 60-year-old German scientist who’d never worked in the industry, let alone had an Instagram following. And yet, despite having none of the traditional resources that makes a beauty brand an overnight success—like paid celebrity spokespeople, $1 million ad campaigns, or millennial pink packaging—Augustinus Bader became a sleeper hit purely through word of mouth.
In the nearly two years since it launched, AB’s “miracle cream” has gotten accolades from Ashley Graham, Kate Bosworth, and Victoria Beckham (who’s since launched a moisturizing primer with the brand). Glamour even gave it a Beauty Award for Best Moisturizer, a highly competitive category as you can surely imagine. So before I even uncapped the weighty blue-and-copper tube of its famed The Cream, which costs a cool $265 for 50 mL, I was basically set to fall in love with it—price tag be damned.
But the only kind of hype I pay real attention to is beauty editor hype; if my product-inundated colleagues are raving about it, I figure it has to stand out from the pack. And for weeks, every single editor I knew had told me about the cream in an attitude I can only describe as reverent. I was ready to experience my own Bader-sparked miracle.
Bizarrely, I didn’t immediately fall head over heels for it (don’t worry, a second plot twist will follow shortly). Sure, it was a good face cream. The light texture absorbed quickly and my skin looked decent, but it didn’t exactly wow me. I felt like a thin layer just wasn’t doing much in the moisturizing department—which, apparently, I later learned isn’t even what The Cream claims to do. It’s more of an overall skin rejuvenator. The brand also sells a Rich Cream for dry skin, which contains additions like avocado and argan oil to aide with extra hydration, but I began with the original thinking it’d be enough.
In order to get maximum effectiveness from the active ingredients, I did what a few other friends and makeup artists had advised and skipped all other products, except face wash. The Bader formula is based on TFC8 (Trigger Factor Complex 8), a proprietary cocktail of over 40 different ingredients, including vitamins and amino acids. It’s meant to encourage regeneration and healing—Professor Bader actually discovered the formula while looking for solutions to help burn survivors heal quicker—and TFC8 is supposed to activate your stem cells, which go to work to repair fine lines, dark spots, and visible pores. I had heard that the ingredients within were enough to replace all other skin care, so I devoted myself to a one-step kind of lifestyle and waited for my skin to start looking like I had just walked out of a spa. And then I waited some more…
Two years ago, if someone said I needed a $400 hair-dryer, I’d probably ask if it’d declog my shower drain and do my laundry too. But that was until Dyson came along in April 2016 with its honest-to-god revolutionary Supersonic hair-dryer. It’s one of the few truly expensive tools I’ll admit is worth every penny. Thanks to its powerful motor, my straight, fine hair dries perfectly in pretty much 10 minutes flat.
Since then, the brand has released a few versions of the dryer—some in different colors, a pro version with longer cords—but it’s left everyone hooked on its magic wondering what’s next outside of vacuums and humidifiers. Now we’ve finally got an answer, and that would be the Dyson Airwrap, a dryer with multiple attachment tools that let you style your hair as it dries.
Sound familiar? The concept basically marries the idea behind thermal blowout brushes (like this) and self-curling irons like Beachwaver. But where it differs from the latter is that it uses entirely air—not extreme heat—to set curls.
The Airwrap comes in three kits: one for fine hair ($499.99), one for coarse hair ($499.99), and one that contains the attachments for both kits ($549.99). While it’s still a splurge, all the sets are currently on sale as part of Sephora’s Beauty Insider Sale. Depending on what Sephora Rewards tier you are, you can snag one for up to 20% off (almost $100!).
Each set features a mini, more travel-friendly version of the Dyson dryer. The top of the dryer then detaches to add the styling pieces: two 1.2-inch barrels (for fine and coarse hair), two 1.6-inch barrels and a firm brush for coarse hair, and a soft and round brush for fine hair. Like the OG, all the attachments are heavy-duty and lock solidly in place.
The various attachment pieces for the Dyson Airwrap
The brush attachment is fairly intuitive to use. And the whole thing is way lighter than it looks. You just drag a small section from root to tip on top, and then again from underneath, lifting your hair slightly at the root to give a volume boost. The trick is to get your hair about 80 percent dry with the brush (or the dryer if your hair is already fairly straight) before moving on to the curler attachments.
Navigating the curling wands is a little trickier and definitely takes some getting used to. The barrel sucks your hair in (much like a vacuum) and wraps itself around the barrel. Because of the way the technology works, there are two different barrels for each side of your head—not super ideal, but it still takes up less space than both a hair-dryer and a curling wand. They’ve also got little arrows to show you which direction it’ll curl, based on how you look at it in the mirror (I made the mistake of looking down instead of in the mirror; blame on my Beachwaver obsession).
Spend two minutes scrolling through any Insta-girl’s feed, and chances are you’ll come across Nécessaire. Since the body care brand launched in 2018, it’s been impossible to avoid photos of its yellowy-orange body washes propped up next to a eucalyptus plant or Diptyque candle, all living together in #Instabathroom harmony.
The sheer volume of influencers hyping it is enough to make you skeptical…if the products genuinely weren’t so good.
The thinking behind the brand is that the products you use daily, like body wash and body lotion, don’t have to be an afterthought—they can be both good for your body and your wellbeing. The result is a line of five products, some available in two pure essential-oil scents, Sandalwood and Eucalyptus, that will leave your skin feeling incredible while simultaneously transforming your shower or bath routine into a relaxing spa-like experience. The scrubs, washes, and lotions are all made with a list of no’s: No parabens, phthalates, sulfates, or silicones, to name a few. There’s also The Sex Gel which might just be the only lube you’ll ever see people proudly display in their shelfie.
The reason we can say all this with confidence is because we asked the Glamour team to test out all of Nécessaire’s products (at the behest of many of our friends) to truly see if the internet sensation is all it’s cracked up to be. The result was pretty unanimous: Yeah, it is. Read on for our honest Nécessaire reviews.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
While Kylie Jenner might be the beauty billionaire in the family, Kim Kardashian’s line, KKW Beauty, isn’t one to sleep on.
Since its launch in 2017, Kardashian’s made an art form of releasing limited-edition drops that bring in double-digit millions in a single day (no doubt, with some influence from Kylie along the way). But over the past two years, the brand has evolved from contour sticks and fragrance to a full-blown empire, including lipsticks, concealers, and even body makeup. Following in Kylie’s footsteps, the line was previously only available on Kim’s site, but starting today, most of the collection will be available at Ulta, both online and in store.
As with any celebrity line, though, we’ve gotten a lot of questions from friends: Are the products actually any good? Or is the fact that they sell out constantly due to Kim’s devoted fans? The TL;DR? Honestly, yeah, they’re worth your money.
We asked Glamour staffers to test everything from the brand, and while her lipsticks were definitely a standout (the red looks great on everyone), there were rave reviews across the board. Scroll on for our honest thoughts.
All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are now the parents of three—though the exact timing of number three’s arrival is still shrouded in some mystery. We know Lively gave birth recently, though, and a new tweet from Reynolds seems to confirm that another daughter has joined big sisters James and Inez.
“I understand how overwhelming it is to be a new parent. What they don’t tell you is it never gets less overwhelming, but with each kid I do learn more,” she says on the site. “Before I had my first, I was lucky enough to have the parents in my life who I trusted most share their ‘must-haves’ with me. I hope to do the same for you with my baby registry picks. Good luck! You’re gonna need it.” (Along with sharing her favorite products, the actress is also making a donation to Child Rescue Coalition, a nonprofit organization that helps save children from sexual abuse and is a cause she’s passionate about.)
Lively has a entire section of the registry devoted to sustainable on-the-go essentials. “I thought carrying around my own cups and bowls, etc., would make my life more hectic. I was wrong,” she says on the site. “Not only did it organize and simplify everything I need for my babies and myself, but most significantly, it helps to teach my kids DAILY the importance of being thoughtful about our choices. They appreciate seeing easy ways they can participate in protecting our planet and their future. We don’t go anywhere without these pieces now.”
And not everything is just for baby. Lively also selected items that will help fellow moms. “It’s easier to take care of everyone else instead of ourselves. But it all starts with us mamas. Here are some basics, as well as some special treats,” she said.
Lively also selected a diverse array of books for little ones. “I read an article with an incredible list of kids books that have representation and help to show children many different experiences and perspectives,” she says on the Amazon site. “I was so excited that I went on Amazon and ordered every book on the list. This is just a small selection. It’s been fulfilling for me as well because I didn’t grow up with these books, so I’m getting to read them and learn along with my children. We are never too old to learn.”
