JESS GRAVES
The thrill of discovery is a powerful lure. Knee-high Khaite boots in black glazed leather. Toteme’s two-piece cashmere set that calls to mind a horizontally reclined transatlantic flight. A duo of U Beauty’s Resurfacing Flash Peel and The Super Intensive Face Oil for “expensive-looking barefaced skin.” The avid readers of Jess Graves’s The Love List—and there are a great many—encounter a steady stream of highbrow things to swoon over, delight in, buy. “It does get a little niche and obsessive sometimes,” Graves says, referring to her subscriber chat, where hyperfixations on cult brands swing from High Sport to Byredo. But there’s an underlying ethos of utility—better, not more. “I am perfectly happy to buy a $300 cream or a $900 pair of pants,” she says, speaking for her audience, “if they’re going to save me five minutes in the morning, make my life easier, become a backbone of my wardrobe.”
Graves, whose apartment overlooks Manhattan’s Gramercy Park, launched The Love List in 2006. This past spring, as her presence on Substack solidified, she mostly closed up her consulting business to focus on the newsletter full-time, along with longer-form essays she plans to collect in a forthcoming book. “I protect my mornings pretty fiercely—that’s my most productive writing time,” she says. “My email’s not pinging like crazy. My mind’s fresh.” Graves’s interest in beauty came early—she remembers the transformative effects of a seventh-grade blowout—though the landscape has, of course, changed. “I’m a millennial, so we weren’t going to Sephora as teenagers. We had Noxzema pads and Clearasil.” Now, her relationship to beauty is more like a conversation among friends, made easier with last year’s move from Atlanta. “Violet Grey was probably the first time I was introduced to Sofie Pavitt’s products,” she says, “and now Sofie’s a friend and my aesthetician.” Graves swears by the line’s cleanser and keeps her freezer stocked with Nice Ice toner pods—“very helpful this morning after too much Champagne last night.” It was Pavitt who wisely suggested paring down the number of active ingredients in her skin care routine, particularly helpful when dry New York winters are challenging enough. “Really, you only need a handful of very good, core products,” Graves says, as proved by the hit list in her BAG. “It doesn’t have to be complicated.”
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My sister is a beauty YouTuber. She introduced me to this product after raving about it on her channel. At first I was confused by it, but she showed me all the ways she uses it: as a highlighter, on her eyelids and cupid’s bow, and even to touch up powdery, worn-in undereyes halfway through the day. I’m a total convert.
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8
Ben Gorham is such an interesting founder and really a visionary. I interviewed him ten years ago for a magazine article. He has such presence—and he’s the first person I can remember talking about a gender-neutral approach to fragrance. Mixed Emotions is a fabulous base for layering. It’s sort of a perfume umami.
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Whenever they come in stock, I buy a handful. They’re great to gift with matches, or you can stick them in Christmas stockings. The papers smell divine, and the packaging is so chic.
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6
While the bottle will tell you this is technically a night cream, I use it during the daytime too, especially in the winter. It’s the only moisturizer on my vanity that leaves me looking hydrated after a long day, it wears beautifully under makeup, and, yes, it’s also a fabulous night cream. I can sleep with the heater on and wake up still dewy!
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5
I live and die by all of Dianna’s clean and efficacious products, but the Renewal Mask is a standout in her line. No matter how dry my hair gets in the NYC winters, this mask can restore it. I put it on during a hot bath, leave it for ten minutes, then rinse it out with cool water. It’s a failsafe for shiny, healthy-looking strands.
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4
Once this finds its way to your vanity, you’ll never go without it again. It’s a truly luxurious face oil. I particularly like the skin-soothing turmeric and heavenly-smelling frankincense in the formula. You can get away with wearing only this if you're in a rush.
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3
If I had to chuck every single makeup item but one, this would be what I kept. Baby Cheeks, specifically in the shade Bichette, has been my daily go-to for cheeks, lips, and eyelids for three years. It gives me that perfect ‘cold girl’ flush that looks like healthy-looking pink from the sun.
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Everyone is talking about growth factors right now. This serum is packed with skin-loving peptides and do-it-all ingredients that plump and repair. My skin drinks it in like water. I apply it before moisturizing in the morning and evening.
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Sofie is my aesthetician magician here in New York, and her products are just as polished and practical as she is. I recently did a spicy laser treatment with her and immediately applied one of these when I got home. It felt incredible and soothed the inflammation right away. I always keep them in my freezer for post-treatment (or just the morning after a salty meal).
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