Built to Last: Beauty, Wellness, Kitchen, and Fashion Stalwarts that Play the Long Game
Our vetting process for gadgets and tools, while thorough, is fairly straightforward: We look for products—effective, hardworking, alluring products—that play the long game. Will it give you the best ROI? Can we count on it for a good time and a long time?
From the kitchen to the closet and a few corners in between, these goop-tested, reader-approved splurges are in it to last.
KITCHEN HEROES
ESPRESSO YOURSELF
A morning coffee shop mission is one thing. Being able to latte up in the comfort of your own home is another. Anza has a sleek wooden handle, contemporary brass finishes, and architectural lines—but it’s more than just good looks. It’s fast and efficient, and it makes a mean shot of espresso. Survey says: worth the splurge.
POT SHOT
Nontoxic. Easy to clean. Made without the unappealing, hard-to-pronounce stuff found in conventional pots and pans, like PFAS and PFOA. But here’s the real kicker: That durable nonstick finish is made with…diamonds (which are forever).
NOT YOUR GARDEN VARIETY
This hydroculture garden is real smart. It has a self-adjusting lamp that adapts to your greens as they grow, a no-hassle soil-free system that sprouts year-round, and a handy app that lets you keep tabs on your baby arugula whenever you’re skipping town. Black thumbs, green thumbs—come one, come all.
WELLNESS WARRIORS
BRING THE HEAT
The next best thing to sauna spas and sweat lodges: the gemstone infrared mat. It’s portable. It’s user-friendly. It helps melt away the stiffness that ensues from spending too much time logged on to your laptop. Roll it out virtually anywhere in your house. Turn it on, wait for it to heat up, and let the amethyst, tourmaline, and jade gemstones go.
WITH PLEASURE
What sets this stealthy pleasure-giver apart from other vibrators is that it doesn’t vibrate at all. It has an air-pulsing seal, which feels a lot like oral sex and, dare we say, even rivals it. How it works: The ergonomic head suctions to your clitoris while gently pulsating air. It’s waterproof and whisper-quiet. Put it on autopilot.
SOOTHE MOVES
The first thing you’ll love about this ceramic diffuser is that it’s an instant joy booster. And the second: You can use it on the daily. Prop it up on your bedside table, shake out a few drops of lavender oil, and let it diffuse into the night. Plug it in in the bathroom to create a mini spa experience with a steady stream of eucalyptus. Send it to a friend in need of the perfect wellness gift. Or place it your living room and add a smidge of French bergamot.
CLOSET STAPLES
TEAM LAYER
What makes this cozy cardigan a forever piece is its classic sensibility and wear-with-everything hue. What makes it pure luxury is the featherweight feel—cashmere spun with a trace of silk. Plus, it’s made in Italy and therefore made to last.
GOOD JEANS
GP was itching to re-create a pair of ’90s jeans: The subtle flare, the sexy hip-hugging fit, and that vintage-soft wash (the kind that molds to your body the more you wear them) make these trend-resistant jeans fated for repeat wears.
HEART OF GOLD
The English language has one word for love. In Greek, there are seven. Foundrae’s heart-shaped keepsake, encased in clear quartz charm suspended from an eighteen-karat-gold paperclip chain, is a symbolic nod to all of them.
BUILT-TO-LAST BEAUTY TOOLS
VIBE OUT
Jillian Dempsey’s vibrating, face-smoothing T-bar—plated in twenty-four-karat gold—feels amazing, like a firm massage, and it leaves your skin visibly lifted, firmed, and smoothed for the better part of a day—or night. Use it before foundation, with or without moisturizer, for five minutes on each side of your face. (If you’re a visual learner, get the full tutorial here.)
ARCH SUPPORT
Your own personal eyebrow grooming kit comes from the woman behind some of the best brows in LA: Kristie Streicher (of Striiike salon fame). Inside, you have a brow brush for taming flyaways, tweezers for tackling rogue hairs, and a slick pair of trimmers made with the utmost Swiss precision to keep the unruly at bay—plus, a convenient leather case to pack it all in.
IT’S ELECTRIC
ZIIP uses nine—nine!—different electrical treatments to target everything from dullness to breakouts. This DIY collagen-stimulating, do-it-all facial device is a new goop obsession (and a bestseller). It comes with a clean, nourishing gel you glide over the face and neck before zapping away. The results speak for themselves.
