12 Products That Have Actually Changed My Life
I know that today in the age of social media, we tend to speak in hyperbole.
We’re quick to call something a favorite or say we’re obsessed after a product makes a great first impression, and I’m guilty of this habit too.
But as I look back over hundreds of products and things I’ve tried in my decade-long career as an editor and creator, a select few stand out.
These products I’m about to share with you are, in fact, life-changing. At least to me.
Some cost less than $20 and others are over $1,000 but I can officially put my Austen Stamp of Approval on each and every one of them.
I’ve also broken these life-changing finds into categories so now matter what area of your life you’re hoping to level up, you can find a recommendation that works for you.
12 Life-Changing Products I Can’t Live Without
Beauty and Fashion Products
L’ange Hair Dryer Brush
Okay, I know that these have been around for years—but seriously WHO WAS I before the hair dryer brush?
My mom actually gave me this brush because she prefers her heated round brush more, but I love that this brush actually does blow out hot air just like a regular hair dryer.
This brush solves two main pain points for me. The first is that I never have to do the dance of using a round brush and a hair dryer together at the same time again.
If you can dry your own hair with that method, I think you deserve a medal or you might have a second career as a juggler.
The second is that it is so much easier to travel with. The shape of the traditional hair dryer just makes it so hard to pack but this fits seamlessly into my backpack and carry-on duffel when I’m on the go.
I also like that you can adjust the temperature and that it has a cool setting, just like on a regular dryer, which I usually use as the last pass through my hair to help make it shiny.
Amazon Ice Roller
If you have never felt the magic of an ice roller touching your face first thing in the morning, you are missing out.
Ice rollers provide an instant cooling sensation and can be used to sculpt your skin, but there are long-term benefits as well such as reducing redness and inflammation and even shrinking pores.
The ritual of using an ice roller in the morning only takes me a few minutes and reminds me to take a breath before I start my day.
It also comes in handy if you’re feeling sick or you wake up feeling puffy from one too many glasses of wine at dinner the night before.
There are many ice roller options out there (including some very expensive ones) but the one I’ve been using for years from Amazon is affordable and reliable, so I’ve never felt a desire to upgrade or change to another roller.
Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Pads
As with many things in my life, I was first influenced to try these because of Lindsay Silberman whose product recommendations have yet to lead me astray.
I had no concept of what a peel pad actually entailed—is my skin literally going to peel off? Do I put something on my skin and then peel it off?
As it turns out, neither of those is the case. You simply open the first pad and wipe across your entire face until it is basically dry.
Then you wait two minutes (I usually brush my teeth in between to make sure I actually wait the full two minutes) and then do the same thing with the second pad.
And that’s it. It’s so simple and I always wake up with refreshed skin.
I personally only use these once or twice a week in the evening, as the treatment will make your skin more sensitive to sunlight.
These come in three variations: extra gentle, universal, and extra strength. I personally like universal the best, but have used extra strength on days where my skin was really giving me trouble.
Koolaburra by UGG Slippers
I was no stranger to work from home life, even before 2020. But I would often just walk around in socks.
Somehow, it wasn’t until last year that I finally purchased a pair of slippers for myself when working from home and now I wear them basically every day when I work from home.
This particular pair of slippers has been great for me for two reasons.
First, they are sturdy and give my feet more support than a pair of fluffy slippers would, with rubber soles on the bottom.
Also, they also are closed-toe shoes which makes them feel much more like regular footwear. Whenever I would picture slippers I would always picture these super dainty ones that didn’t actually feel practical.
These have become my go-to Inside Shoes, so I don’t wear them outside but I’ll wear them within our apartment building if I’m picking up a package or taking our garbage to the trash room.
Especially in the winter months if I wake up to a chilly apartment, having these by my bedside to slip into makes getting up much more pleasant.
Nuuly
Clothing rental services have been around for a few years, but many of them seemed solely focused on occasionwear.
When Nuuly arrived on the scene in 2019, I couldn’t be more excited (and I was actually invited to the brand’s launch breakfast here in NYC.)
Nuuly comes from the URBN company, aka the parent company of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People, which definitely sets the tone for the vibe and the brands of pieces included.
I have rented pieces from Nuuly to wear to work events, to style for photo shoots and even to attend a formal wedding.
I love the variety of options where I can rent everything from a colorful sweater to a long gown.
I’ve been able to rent pieces from brands like Farm Rio, Avec Les Filles, ASTR the Label and many more thanks to Nuuly, so I can add quality pieces into my monthly outfit rotation without committing to them forever.
I also love that you can pause your subscription at any time, which I often do if I am planning to travel or if I know I can find outfits out of items I already own.
Lifestyle Products
Peloton Bike
I have always enjoyed cycling workout classes—I gravitate towards them because I love the instruction, the music, and the fast-paced cardio workouts.
In 2020 when in-person classes weren’t an option and I also found myself walking less and being much more sedentary, my lack of movement started to catch up with me.
It was Andrew’s idea to get the Peloton when we moved into our Hoboken apartment and I was grateful but still nervous about being consistent.
There were pretty much no excuses and it totally eliminated my previous excuses of “I have to pay for the class AND I also have to rent shoes and buy water” or “It takes me 30 minutes just to commute to the class, I’m not sure if it’s worth it” because all I have to do is walk into the living room, put my shoes on and hop on the bike.
For $44/month Andrew and I share a subscription to the Peloton app with our own profiles. At the time I’m writing this, just one Soulcycle class in NYC is $40.
I also have loved getting to find my favorite instructors who I also follow on Instagram and see my milestones of number of rides and miles ridden that show my progress without a fixation on tracking my weight.
Plus, they’ve added Netflix and other streaming services as an option while riding now. It’s safe to say I’m obsessed.
Stanley Cup
Is liking a Stanley Cup cliché? Maybe a little bit, but I simply don’t care.
Unlike a lot of new Stanley customers, I never struggled with drinking enough water. In fact, throughout the day, water is the main beverage I crave.
I mainly struggled with having to constantly get up to replenish said water or the condensation from the cup getting all over my desk because of how much ice I like in my water.
As I’m sure you can deduce, the Stanley Cup eliminates those struggles.
The 40 ounce size can be a bit top heavy, so just make sure not to leave it too close to the edge of a counter or table where you could knock it over.
They also come in other sizes and in so many fun colors so it’s hard to go wrong. I also love that they’re dishwasher safe (aside from the straw) so it’s easy to clean them.
I know they can be a bit pricey, but I personally only own one Stanley and they are fairly durable so you don’t need to constantly get new ones or upgrade, unless of course you want to.
The straw and handle also makes it easy to use anywhere—like while I’m on the Peloton or in the car versus other water bottles where I have to unscrew the lid or struggle to sip.
Matchabar Electric Milk Frother
You know how when someone says they want to save money the default piece of advice is somehow always, “well, you could start by making your own coffee at home.”
Now I’m not opposed to treating yourself (which you probably know if you follow me on Instagram stories given my tendency to check out local coffee shops) but instead I have been amazed that I actually CAN make my own drinks at home.
I’ve only begun with matcha so far but this electric whisk has inspired me to try to make other drinks myself too.
I added this matcha starter kit to our wedding registry, but I highly recommend the whisk even as a standalone product.
I love that I can actually make my own matcha at home, and while saving the money is great, it has also been fun to teach myself this new skill after watching baristas make my drinks for years.
I’m surprised with how tasty the drink is and I love that I know exactly what I’m going to get each time I make my go-to, which is a matcha latte with almond milk.
PS—I also love drinking my iced matcha lattes with these glass straws, which are dishwasher-safe.
Ninja Air Fryer
As someone who grew up in a toaster oven household, I wasn’t sure how the air fryer would fit into my weekly cooking routine.
I mean, as far as I could tell it was able to make most of the same things that the toaster oven or regular oven could.
But one year when my in-laws asked us what we wanted for Christmas we mentioned the air fryer and I am so glad that we did.
An air fryer also uses less energy than a convection oven and we tend to use less oil when cooking foods in the air fryer.
The baskets are great because you can actually add in vegetables, which I never would have thought to put in the toaster oven. I’m constantly air frying frozen veggies like broccoli or fresh veggies like zucchini.
I also really love having these two baskets because if you want to put potatoes in one and broccoli in the other you can cook them at two different times and temperatures.
Or if you want to make twice as much broccoli and use both drawers, you can use the match cook feature and it will make sure the temperature and cook time is the same for both baskets.
It’s perfect for when you don’t want to have to preheat your oven or clean a baking sheet because the cook time and clean up time is much faster.
And if you’re wondering, we haven’t used our toaster oven in months.
Tech Products
Digital Kitchen Timer
I love being productive just as much as the next Virgo / only child.
However, the idea of having perpetual time blocks on my calendar that I have to follow every single day that I sit down at my laptop stresses me out.
On days when I am procrastinating a specific task or that a task is taking me longer than I think it should, I reach for this digital kitchen timer.
I was influenced by Jules Acree to buy this and it has been great for when I want to see a visual countdown as I’m working on a particular task.
Now you might be thinking, “Austen you dummy, there’s a countdown timer on your phone! Why would you spend money on this?”
You’re right—however, I like this because the timer doesn’t dim so I can always see how much time is left whereas I have my phone screen set to power off after a few minutes of no tapping.
Also, one of the top reasons I get distracted or things take me longer than they should is because I’m reaching for my phone while working and this means I don’t have to have my phone right next to me while I’m working on my focused task.
It makes no noise and you can set both the minutes and seconds on it very easily.
Clip-On Phone Light
Also known by its other name, “the Alix Earle light,” this clip-on phone light from Amazon has been one of the most popular purchases amongst content creators in the past few years and it’s easy to see why.
This small but mighty light simply clips onto your phone and you’re good to go. It has three different warmth settings—one that is more warm, one that is more cool and one that is a mix of the two.
I personally find the cool-toned light to be the strongest of the three and give the most light so I generally use that one when filming makeup videos.
You can also adjust the brightness and you can change the angle of the light depending what you’re filming and what in the shot you’re trying to illuminate.
This light has also been a lifesaver to bring to brand events that happen after work. Sometimes the lighting at evening events can make it harder to capture the content that I want and this guarantees I can get well-lit shots for all of my social platforms.
It’s small enough to throw in a purse and it is rechargeable via a USB-C to USB cable so you don’t have to worry about purchasing batteries for it.
AirPods Pro
The AirPods Pro is another one of those products where it’s just hard to remember what life was like before I had them.
I have long struggled to find in-ear headphones that work for me. For years I mainly purchased SkullCandy wired headphones because they came with a few different sizes of ear covers and I would always resort to using the smallest ones to make sure that the headphones actually stayed in my ears.
When I returned to an office job in 2019, I realized I was more sensitive to noise than I once was and was in the market for some noise-canceling headphones.
However, everyone at the tech startup I worked for used AirPods so it’s safe to say I was ~influenced~ and I decided to give them a try.
I never owned the original AirPods but the AirPods Pro were perfect for me. I love the fact that I could easily switch from noise canceling to transparency mode and that they easily paired with my other Apple devices.
Plus, they stayed in my ear because just like with the SkullCandy headphones I was able to choose the size that worked best for me.
After 3 years of use, I repurchased the next generation of them and I’ve loved both pairs.
Now I need to hear from you—tell me about a product that has changed your life! Or if you feel the same way about any of these products on my list, please leave me a comment and let me know.
yours,
Austen
