My Favorite [New] Things I Bought This Year

It’s time for a roundup of my favorite new skincare, wellness, and beauty finds for 2023! These are items that I purchased and find myself using often and recommending to others. As a beauty/wellness lover and esthetician, my favorite type of shopping to do is for skincare items, wellness products, and makeup.

scrub me secret: I wrote a blog earlier this year sharing a list of places I like to shop for skincare. These esthetician-approved places are spots I trust you can find effective and high-quality skincare that works for your specific skin type. You should also be able to find trusted skincare professionals at the places recommended who can help you choose skincare items.

Of course, there are items that I purchase repeatedly because they are staples in my skincare routine; but today I’m going to keep my list focused on new items I discovered this year. Before we start, let me name a few of my favorite items I’ve been using for a long time!

10 Things I’ve Bought and Loved This Year

Empress Platinum Gua Sha Stone

This gua sha tool made from medical grade stainless steel has become a tool I use almost daily at my skincare treatment studio. I love the different grooves on the back of the tool that help better aid in lymph drainage and facial contouring. This gua sha tool is so heavy, that all you need to do is place it onto the skin and let the weight of the tool do the work. No need to add more pressure than that.

More great things about this face massage tool are that it chills really easily if you’re looking for a cooling facial massage AND it’s indestructible which means you won’t have to worry about it breaking if you drop it.

Good Molecules Niacinamide Toner

This was a product that I was gifted earlier this year and then I ended up loving it so much that I repurchased it when I was running low. Niacinamide is an ingredient that helps diminish unwanted red, pink, and brown spots on our skin. This toner contains that complexion evening ingredient plus ingredients like vitamin C and licorice root that help keep skin clear and healthy looking.

I like this toner because it is alcohol-free and does not contain any AHAs or BHAs. This means it’s safe to use daily without unbalancing your skin’s barrier or over-exfoliating your skin. I’ve recommended this product to many of my facial clients.

For more sensitive skin types I would suggest using this toner every-other-day instead of daily.

scrub me secret: Another product that I love from Good Molecules is the yerba mate eye gel. It’s a caffeinated eye gel that helps the under-eye area look brighter and less puffy. I find it layers really nicely under my under-eye concealer and tinted moisturizer. I use the Yerba Mate eye gel in the mornings and my PCA ideal eye cream in the evenings.

Goop Beauty Glow Lotion

I bought this lotion a couple of months ago and I love it! I find that my skin does feel more radiant and healthy. I also love that I get a hydrated feeling without any greasiness left on the surface. I find it layers nicely under my SPF.

This facial lotion has a great blend of protecting, radiance-producing, and anti-inflammatory ingredients like squalene, Kakadu plum extract, vitamin C, and spirulina. I love it when products use plant-based derivatives to give us great results.

LightStim Elipsa

This year I invested in this LightStim infrared and LED therapy device to use in the treatment room on my facial clients. It was such a great purchase! I have been able to produce visible anti-aging and acne-clearing results for my clients using this light therapy device. I also have been using it on myself a few times each month to combat signs of aging and give my skin an overall radiant glow. And I’ve been getting lots of compliments!

This light therapy is so effective because it blends the technology of infrared light therapy with LED therapy. Infrared light therapy increases energy in our cells while also helping our body to heal and fight inflammation. This infrared light paired with bacteria-fighting blue light is great for clearing acne or clusters of breakouts. Infrared light paired with red LED light increases collagen and elastin production while fighting inflammation that contributes to aging.

If you’re an esthetician and thinking about adding a new LED device tp your treatment room I would recommend LightStim!

Mandarin Essential Oil

As you know, I love to use essential oils in my handmade skincare items. When used properly in skincare recipes essential oils can have awesome effects on our skin. We want to make sure we have high-quality and pure essential oils in our skincare items. We also want a very minimal amount of essential oils in our products, these concentrated ingredients need to be diluted with carrier oils and other skincare ingredients for them to work their best.

Mandarin essential oil interested me because of its skin-brightening properties and its sweet, tropical aroma. I bought some earlier this year and ended up putting it in my new body oil recipe, I love it so much!

Kosas Bronzer

Kosas creates well-formulated beauty items that work really well, so it’s no surprise that I ended up loving this bronzer. This talc-free, mineral oil-free, fragrance-free, and hypoallergenic bronzer feels safe to put on my well-cared-for skin and it gives such a nice shimmery sheen!

I love this bronzer because it contains concentrated fatty acids that help it sit well on your skin and give you a healthy, bronze glow all over.

scrub me secret: I love the brightening under eye concealer from Kosas as well! It’s been my go-to under eye concealer for a couple of years now.

Gen See Mascara

I purchased this mascara on a whim when I was shopping for facial items at Credo. Honestly, I originally bought it because I thought the tube and the packaging were cute. I didn’t even know that it had won an Allure 2023 Best of Beauty award! I like that this company cares about what goes into their makeup and that this mascara is 91% organic and ophthalmologist-approved.

What I like the most about this mascara is that I can wear it all day long with no smudging or eye irritation. I’m a woman who loves a natural look and this mascara helps darken and lengthen my lashes while still keeping them soft and natural looking. No clumpy or stiff lashes with this product.

Kitsch Microfiber Hair Towel Wrap

I stepped up my game with hair care this year! Just like our skin, our hair deserves attention and proper care. Part of keeping my hair voluminous and soft is drying it in a way that avoids damage and maintains its optimal health.

This hair wrap is so much better for drying hair after a shower vs. a bath towel. Bath towels are heavy and can tug on and damage hair fibers which can result in split ends, thinning hair, and frizzy-looking hair. Drying my hair with this microfiber hair wrap is easy and dries my hair fast without damaging it.

Quince Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses are for us skincare girlies and guys! When purchasing sunglasses it’s important to get polarized shades so we can protect our eyes and eye area from harmful and aging UV rays.

I use to think the only way to get high-quality nice-looking sunglasses was to go for designer items. But then I found Quince! Sunglasses on their site are $50 which I think is a steal for these nice frames.

Massage Table Warmer

Such a simple item that made my skincare services feel more luxurious. This massage table warmer sits underneath the spa pillows and sheets to give my facial clients a warm and cozy experience. All my skincare studio visitors have been able to get even deeper relaxation since I bought this.

This device is easy to clean, has many warming settings, and also has a self-timer. Highly recommend for any esthetician.

Katherine M StribakosComment