Every beauty and wellness device I’ve tried, ranked by how long they lasted in my routine

From day-one staples to one-week wonders, a completely honest ranking

Article content We independently select everything we recommend. Buying through us may earn us a commission, which supports our work. I hate to admit it, but I love a gadget.

Anything that promises a great result with minimal effort, I am in on. But even the best working tools sometimes fail to stay in my routine – a girl only has so much time in a day! That means the ones that stay have effective results that are worth the effort, fit into real life without having to think about it and become something I genuinely miss when I skip them.

It’s also important to remember that not everything works the same for everyone. Some of the picks I have surrendered to the graveyard are fan faves, while some of my go-tos aren’t loved by all. Over the past few years, these are the products I have tried, with varying degrees of loyalty.

Which beauty and wellness gadgets are worth buying? | Certified staples | Hit or miss | Didn’t work for me | | | | Best beauty and wellness gadgets, explained Certified staple: Oura Ring, $530+ CAD My review: I’ve gone three years wearing my Oura Ring without a single day missed.

Its effortlessness is what makes it a non-negotiable in my books: wear it and it works. With previous fitness trackers, the charging would drive me bananas and I would end up with days (if not weeks) of missed tracking. But for me, the best part is that it fits into my routine without any awkward bulk, meaning that I can wear it both to the gym and to a wedding without clashing.

Technology seems to be moving at a breakneck speed, but even with the third generation ring (they’re now on the fifth), I get incredible accuracy and have never (knock on wood) had an issue. Certified staple: Hatch Restore 3 Alarm Clock, $230 CAD My review: I am a certified alarm snoozer and always have been.

I have snoozed my alarm fewer than a handful of times since I got the Hatch Restore 3 clock over a year ago, which is a staggering statistic. My favourite part of it, though, is the nighttime meditations, which give me notably better sleep in under five minutes. My one caveat is that it’s a home fixture, so any rhythm you build around it naturally breaks when you travel.

I don’t necessarily have a bad sleep without it, but I lose the routine and getting back into it takes a beat. That’s less a criticism of the product and more just the reality of building a habit around something that can’t come with you everywhere. When I’m home, it very much earns its very valuable nightstand real estate.

Certified staple: Loop Experience 2 Earplugs, $50 CAD My review: As I get older, I am not afraid of the usual things like mortality or aging. I have developed a strange fear of losing my senses (though my mom likes to cheekily reply with “don’t worry, you’ll never lose your sense of style.”) So earplugs at loud events are now a stronghold on keeping my hearing intact.

I recommend these to absolutely everyone. Loop earplugs are the rare product that does exactly what it says it will, in a category that has historically disappointed me. For reference, I lived on a second-floor walk-up on a busy street in a major city and never once was woken up by the traffic.

In my experience, the Quiet earplugs are comfortable enough to wear as a side sleeper and the Experience earplugs are discreet enough that wearing them in public doesn’t feel noticeable. Certified staple: Dyson Supersonic Nural Hair Dryer, $600 CAD My review: For years, I was skeptical – surely, hot air is hot air. Then I used this hair dryer at a hotel on a work trip and completely understood the hype.

I’m an air-dry person by default and genuinely by preference, so I don’t reach for this nearly as often as most people probably would. But when I do use it, my hair feels exponentially better. My hair and scalp were considerably damaged when living abroad due to hard water, so the regrowth journey has been tough, making me nervous about heat styling.

BUT, there is actually a “scalp protect mode” which shifts the heat and airflow accordingly to protect and provide shine. Hit or miss: Shark CryoGlow Red Blue & Infrared iQLED Face Mask, $500 CAD My review: When I am in a rhythm with this mask, I use it every single day and my skin shows it. I have far less breakouts and my skin is noticeably brighter.

The issue is that my relationship with this mask is all or nothing. When I am in, I’m SO in, but when I fall off, whether it’s a trip or a busy week, I’m really out. The results are enough to justify the habit, but the mild inconvenience makes it an uphill climb to get back on track.

BRB setting a reminder to start again tomorrow! Hit or miss: Zelus Weighted Vest, $32+ CAD My review: This is a new one, so I can’t say for sure yet but the logic is quite simple: I was finding it tough to find hour blocks to walk, but I could always find thirty minutes.

The weighted vest makes those thirty minutes count, pushing me from zone 2 into zone 3 heart rate without requiring any more time or mental energy. It makes everything incrementally harder in a way that adds up fast. So far, it’s a promising addition because it’s so low lift (while being a heavy lift).

Hit or miss: Skinbyvee Gua Sha Cryo Sticks, $175 CAD My review: These are a lifesaver...on the occasions I actually remember to use them. (I often will pull them out of the freezer just as I’m leaving for the airport and use them once I am at the gate for a stunning pre-flight treat.) The problem is that they live in my freezer, which makes them work brilliantly, but as they say, out of sight, out of mind.

I’m not giving up on them, I just need a better system. Hit or miss: Shark Flexstyle My review: This one stings because I truly love using this tool. I was influenced by every TikToker who had a perfect blowout.

It’s so easy to use and makes my hair look salon-level incredible...for approximately thirty minutes. Then, nothing – completely flat, as if I’d done nothing at all. Sure, setting with rollers afterwards extends the results slightly, but with no guarantee of success for more than one hour.

It might be my hair type more than the tool itself, and I know people who swear by it. The gadgets that didn’t work for me Waterpik Water Flosser My review: When I use this water flosser, I feel like I’ve unlocked a new level of clean. My mouth feels like it has been pressure-washed (and it kinda has).

And then the worst thing happened: I saw a TikTok of a dental hygienist demonstrate how to properly clean the device itself, including how often it needs to be flushed out (daily!!!) and how quickly bacteria builds up inside without a full-scale clean. I was devastated because I knew, with complete self-awareness, that I was not (and realistically never would be) cleaning it on the right cadence, which meant I was almost certainly blasting bacteria around my mouth rather than removing them.

A cautionary tale about reading the full instructions. NuFace Mini+ My review: The immediate results are good, that’s a fact. Right after a session, there is a visible lift and definition that can only be described as “snatched.”

The problem is that it lasts a couple of hours at most, which means to get long term results, you need to be ON it. Plus, you can’t use it without gel (similar to an ultrasound) but the gel is expensive and needs to be replenished constantly, so the upfront cost is really just the beginning. Why trust us: We research, test and vet so you don’t have to.

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