I Interview Hundreds Of Beauty Experts — These Are The Must-Have Products Right Now

Each week, I interview beauty pros on my podcast Clean Beauty School. I also interview folks for stories—be that celebrities, dermatologists, stylists, makeup artists, and estheticians—to get a peek into their beauty routines and hear their best advice. And not for nothing, but I also spend some time at various beauty events chatting with experts and editors about what’s happening in the beauty market. 

This is all to say, a decent portion of my time is spent getting an understanding of what folks are into right now, so I can better decide what to try myself—and, of course, relay back to you. 

I talk about the skin microbiome a lot—not just because emerging research around the topic personally fascinates me, but because so many of the experts I trust and respect also see the potential in microbiome skin care. 

One of my favorite people to chat with about the microbiome is mbg collective member and board-certified dermatologist Whitney Bowe, M.D. At this point, she’s best known for her skin care routine “skin cycling” that went viral last year, but she’s also a regular for many media outlets, talk shows, and has amassed a huge following on social media. 

A core part of what she talks about in skin care is barrier support—starting with the microbiome. “The skin barrier is a living, thriving ecosystem. It's so much more dynamic and complicated than what we originally thought," she told me. "We need to find ways to keep it balanced, rich, and thriving. And in terms of repairing the skin barrier, it really needs to start with the microbiome." 

At-home professional-grade tools cost a pretty penny—certainly “investment” is a worthy descriptor of how we should be thinking of these. So I’m always very careful to recommend tools unless I have personal experience with it, or have a trusted pro who can vouch for it. 

A lot of folks are understandably skeptical of clean mascara—but don’t overlook the new wave of clean wands that deliver and then some. Whenever I talk to beauty fanatics about makeup, one talking point always comes up: Just how good modern mascaras have gotten. 

Take, for example, Ayurvedic beauty expert Shrankhla Holecek, MBA, who told me, “When going the clean route with makeup, I was expecting to make a few compromises with performance—but this mascara is just incredible,” about Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara.

Let me tell you something: People are excited about sunscreen lately—practically buzzing. I feel like every beauty editor I talk to says something along the lines of, Can you believe how good sunscreens are as of late? 

Beauty journalist Jennifer G. Sullivan said almost that phrase in her episode when we got to what she’s into lately. (In the episode she said that she’s been loving Naked Sundays lately.) 

Lots of people consider concealers a desert island product—a little pot or tube of liquid that can make anything practically disappear? Sounds like magic! Certainly I have a hard time imagining my beauty routine without a concealer.