Cheryl Shops

 Last week I shared my best fashion buys of 2025; this week we're onto beauty. While I receive a lot of products for free—I work in the beauty industry and get a lot of gratis at work, and brands send me a lot of stuff to try as well—I do actually buy a lot of things myself, so most of what I've included here is stuff I've spent my own money on (with a few exceptions that are noted below). Here are my top 10 favorite beauty buys of 2025.

It's hard to describe the magical experience of shopping at AquaFlor in Florence (although I tried here) and perhaps even harder to describe the scent of the diffuser I bought there. It's still going strong more than six months later, and whenever I pass it, I'm reminded of our amazing Italian vacation—warm, citrusy, luxurious. I will likely pay through the nose in tariffs for the refill, but it will be 100% worth it. 

A lot of influencers have been raving about this, so I decided to investigate and completely agree it's worth the hype. The texture is unlike anything I've tried before. It's matte yet not thick or drying; the color payoff looks kind of like you applied it a couple of hours ago and it's softened into a lighter version of itself. That said, the color is buildable and longer-lasting than you'd expect. I love this so much, I definitely want to try it in more colors (this is Betise and I have my eye on Mon Cheri). 

I have fine, naturally wavy, color-treated hair that I know I should let air dry, but I prefer to blow it out twice a week. I have tried a gazillion straightening sprays and lotions, but this one is by far my favorite (it's what my stylist uses on me as well, which is how I discovered it). It manages to keep frizz at bay without weighing down my hair or making it look stringy. This is the smaller size and it's lasted me the better part of a year; I will definitely be repurchasing...once Sephora finally restocks it, fingers crossed. 

Buying perfume sampler sets is generally an unwise way to spend money unless it comes with a bounceback coupon for a full size. That said, I have truly enjoyed this set of minis that I picked up in Florence. I don't know that I'd commit to full sizes of any of these scents, but I love wearing them occasionally to mix it up, particularly Santal Astral. 

Full transparency: I hate the name of this product and I'm not a big fan of the shiny bronze twist-top packaging either. But the formula itself blends into my skin seamlessly and you can build it up on days when you're looking extra blotchy. I've been using it daily for months and it barely looks like I've made a dent, so it's an economical buy as well. 

Having been burned (literally—I'm talking rashes, folks) by the cellulite creams of the early 2000s, I tend to be skeptical of any cream claiming to firm the skin. But I did notice that my arms and chest looked noticeably tighter while using this one. The texture is thicccck, which I love, and the scent is citrusy and light, which I also enjoy. It's not a miracle, but it's a damn good body butter. 

In full transparency, I work for Tatcha and received this product for free; my opinions don't reflect those of my parent company, but I will say, this is by far my favorite product we launched this year. It makes your skin look plumper and feel smoother; it's no fountain of youth, but it may just be the next best thing. 

I ordered this after trying it in the restroom at Kitchen Istanbul, one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco. It's a liquid pumice soap and it makes your hands so soft, plus the scent I bought, Anacapri, smells like heaven (they offer it in several others). It's still somewhat pricey for hand soap, but it's at least a lot less than Aesop and I love the scent even more!

I have reached the age where my lips have begun disappearing, particularly on top; keeping lipstick in place is a real challenge. I don't know what wizardry is in this formula, but it manages to grip whatever color I put on my lips and make it last much longer. I went through this embarrassingly quickly and promptly bought another tube as I can no longer live without it. 

I don't know if I'm a long-nails kind of person but I definitely can be with these. More sophisticated than the press-on nails of our youth, they also last much longer—mine held on for 14 days with only my thumbnail popping off once (I re-glued it and it stayed put from then on). I wouldn't recommend this particular design as the gold tips started to wear off after a couple of days, but I would definitely try a solid color.