9 Wellness Gifts, Reviewed by Our Editors
Every year, our editors get early access to our holiday gift guides. Which means we get our wish lists written and our orders in way early. Here are the wellness gifts we wanted most—and what we thought after taking them for a spin.
SAMMY SAIYAVONGSA
SENIOR PROGRAMMING MANAGER
“Whenever I have a guest at my house, I always get questions about my BIOS Skyview lamp. The design is gorgeous, and the size is substantial. The lamp is supposed to help promote focus and productivity in the daytime and restful sleep at night. So during the day, the lamp sends out gentle waves of sky-blue light and transitions into softer, warmer light into the evening. There’s a lot of evidence that light therapy can help optimize our circadian rhythm, but I just enjoy how the gradient of the lamp mimics the tones of a beautiful sunrise and sunset. I’ve been using the lamp as it’s started to get darker earlier and found that my dog also seems captivated—and calmed—by the light.”
“It’s hard to top the vitruvi Stone Diffuser, but I have recently fallen in love with a new member of the family: the vitruvi Glow Diffuser. This compact diffuser doubles as a soft ambient lamp and creates the ultimate relaxing vibe. Another brilliant design feature is the fact that you can control the mist direction by twisting the lid. Other diffusers I own only mist from the top, but my Glow Diffuser is enclosed between two shelves on a bookcase, and I like that the mist can go out instead of up.”
AURA DAVIES
DEPUTY EDITOR
“I love sleeping. Like, deeply and passionately. And I’m always looking for ways to do it better. So I was intrigued by the idea of mouth taping: It forces you to breathe through your nose throughout the night—which, proponents of the practice say, may help you get a better night’s sleep. I was apprehensive about what it would feel like, physically and psychologically. You can wear the tape with the tabs extending vertically and the middle strip sealing the opening of your lips (this orientation was not comfortable for me, psychologically), or with the tabs running parallel to your lips and the middle strip extending vertically across your top and bottom lips (for me, this felt very comfortable and nonrestrictive). Whichever way you wear it, my advice is to do your skin-care routine a bit earlier in the evening to give the creams and oils time to sink in before you apply the tape. I didn’t see a huge difference in my Oura sleep scores on the nights I slept with my mouth taped. But I did feel like I slept more solidly, with fewer disruptions, throughout the night. If I woke up in the early hours of the morning, I didn’t stay awake long enough to remember it. For me, it’s been an enjoyable add-on to my nightly routine, and a practice I plan to continue.”
KIKI KOROSHETZ
VP, CONTENT
“We-Vibe really came through with this set. I like the Touch X because it delivers the sensation of a palm vibrator (which is generally my preference), but it has a slimmer shape than most others I’ve tried, so it’s like holding a light remote control in your hand. You can press the shallow cup against your vulva for that broad palm sensation, but you can also use the tip for more-targeted clitoral stimulation (which doesn’t really work with most other palm-size vibrators, in my experience). And then the Tango X is kind of wild because it’s tiny—like a finger—but it visibly rocks. I can’t think of another bullet vibrator that’s close to as strong as this one.”
“This salad dressing story influenced me to attempt to enter a vinegar era. (I’ve been in a heavy, prolonged olive oil era.) I got a kit of vinegar-based sauces from Acid League, which I love. And then I just tried out their trio of apple cider vinegar tonics. (You dilute an ounce into a glass of water or add to another drink.) I was worried the vanilla manuka spice and passion fruit oolong versions would taste too sweet for me, but they are actually pretty subtle. The coffee Chaga maple is the strongest, and that’s great if you like coffee and maple syrup. And the bottles are so pretty—a nice gift for all the hosts I would have previously given a bottle of olive oil.”
MARGARET WILLES
COPY EDITOR
“After my old electric toothbrush gave up the ghost, it took trial and error to find a new one I liked. In the process, I found there are two things a good toothbrush needs—oomph and a long-lasting battery. Right now, I’m loving the (ultrasleek) SURI electric toothbrush, which ticks both these boxes, and more. Its bristles are silky-soft but still manage to make me feel like I just got a cleaning at the dentist’s office. It’s all those sonic vibrations: 33,000 of them per minute. The battery also lasts for over 40 days, and the brush comes with a compact self-cleaning travel case, which came in handy during a recent trip—I threw the whole case in my weekender without a second thought. Best of all, SURI will recycle the plant-based heads for you: Simply drop them in the mail once they reach the end of their life.”
KELLY MARTIN
SENIOR EDITOR
“I love hot yoga because it can open you up to a range of motion you otherwise wouldn’t be able to access. But sometimes I push myself a little too far and pull a hammy or an adductor. I go to a sports chiropractor when I’m injured—I’m convinced my chiro, Kevin, can fix anything—but for daily maintenance and muscle care, I swear by my Theragun. I just upgraded to the new PRO Plus. It packs serious power and comes with a bunch of new features, like a heated massage head, which feels so good, and red-light therapy. I’ve been Theragunning my hamstrings before yoga and it’s made a huge difference in skandasana and standing splits. Plus, I’ve been doing the presleep routine, which comes programmed on the device, and I’m falling asleep more easily. I have a lot of athletes in my life, and I’d totally get this for them for the holidays. For everyone else, it would be the smaller, lighter Theragun Sense.”
“I started smoking (legal) herbs after writing this story about how plant compounds called terpenes can affect your mood and energy. And then I got this cute lockbox to keep my supplies organized and tucked away. There are sections for jars, lighters, tubes, and carts. A rolling tray snaps into the lid. I keep papers and gummies in that covered compartment. The set comes with an on-the-go bag, too, which comes with me to yoga. I love that the whole setup is minimalist and discreet—what you get at the store rarely is, you know?”
DENISE JOHN, PHD
SENIOR SCIENCE EDITOR
“My neck and shoulders get pretty stiff after I’ve sat at the computer for a long time. To help, I stretch periodically throughout the day. Which is why I love this neck wrap: I pop it into the microwave for 90 seconds—that’s my sweet spot—and drape it over my shoulders while I work. I can feel my shoulders relax from the warmth, and my neck is more flexible at the end of the day. Plus, the linen-cotton blend is easy on my skin.”
