The 12 Products We’ve Bought In 2026 That Are Now Empties And That We’ll Be Repurchasing ASAP
If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission. Gifted items will be called out (gifted), and affiliate links will include an asterisk (*). We have to eat, after all.
by The Candidly Team
Part of our jobs as your humble editors is to try a dizzying number of beauty products. We like to think that makes us your own personal 40-something guinea pigs for skincare and haircare and cosmetics.
At least, that’s what we use to feel better when we’re staring ourselves down at 6:24AM, straining to see if the 14th eye cream we’ve tried this year has managed to do … anything?
But some products just so clearly do something. Special things. Magical things. Things we don’t have to question. There are 17 items in our bathroom that have fit that bill for us this year. Some of them were sent to us for free, but without question, we’ll be buying them again with our own hard-earned, guinea-pig dollars.
And here is what they are:
1. Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment
Why we love it: We were resistant to trying something so trendy, but we caved, and we have to tell you this is one of those “what is this sorcery?” products. After two weeks of use, the results have been stunning. Before we even say what it is, here is a before and after:
Ok, so it’s essentially an exfoliating product that uses Lactic Acid to break down dead skin cells and obliterate fine lines, wrinkles, and blemishes. It changed the texture of our skin overnight, but after two weeks we were floored. A certain person in the above photo was even accused of getting filler when she shared her after photos. We’ll take that as a sign of how well it works.
Price: $122
* Gifted
2. Merit Flush Balm
After wearing BEVERLY HILLS* in 2024, we are repurchasing the color ROUGE* after reading that red blush was the secret weapon that makeup artist Rose Marie* used when she did makeup for Victoria’s Secret models. The tones mimic more of a natural flush than pink so it just looks slightly sunburnt and gorgeous.
Price: $30
3. Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel Pads
Why we love it: If you have any skin texture at all, these pads will be your new best friend. They have five acids to shrink the appearance of pores, banish blemishes (even the deep ones), and smooth your skin on a level you didn’t realize was possible since the day you turned 35. They’re a bit of an investment, but a true alternate to chemical treatments and peels that you can do at home and watch change your life.
Price: $94
4. Furtuna skin Olive Lip Butter Balm
Why we love it: When you flood the barrier of your lips with moisture-rich, natural ingredients (the full list of which we will not get into cause we’ll be here for days), you’ll watch as cracks and lines and microscopic flakes melt away, and you’re left with the look of fuller, younger-looking lips. We wrote about this being the best balm we’ve ever used. We apply it at night before bed and in the morning along with our skincare, and our lips have never felt healthier. It’s like we have our old (young) lips back … but probably better as they were so dried out from Lip Smackers tbh.
Use the code CANDIDLY to get 20% off.
Price: $45
* Gifted
5. Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Rescue Solution Serum
Why we love it: This serum is a godsend option for those of us who just want a one and done thing to slap on each night and move on with our lives. You will awake with soft, supple, glowing skin every morning without fail.
Price: $53
6. Makeup By Mario Soft Sculpt Skin Enhancer®
Why we love it: This product has all the glow of a gorgeous bronzer with none of the dry cakiness. The texture is actually so sheer, it feels like the warm result of a kiss of late afternoon sun. Apologies for getting all poetic about it, but so many bronzer-type products just make us look streaky and orange or muddy and brown. This one is ethereal and foolproof, meaning we can just whoosh it on with a brush and look like we just came back from a restful nap on the beach.
Price: $34
7. Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3
Why we love it: With the rise of serums and oils, many of us have forgotten about toner. Or we’ve been scared off by the memory of a bad one drying us out on a Cryptkeeper level. But find a good one, and you’ll quickly realize that the key to smooth, lustrous skin starts with toner. This one from Clinique (yes, the brand we loved in high school is in fact incredible on over-40 skin) is especially excellent for combination skin. It gently exfoliates, which allows it to absorb all the moisturizing ingredients that come after.
Price: $37
8. iS Clinical Active Serum
Why we love it: We don’t know what’s going on but iS Clinical is creating some real Benjamin Button-like magic behind the scenes in so many of their products. But this little blue-bottled potion, which we first heard about from our go-to skincare expert Candace Marino, quenches our skin with the kind of hydration that smooths fine lines and banishes redness and blemishes, so we can watch in real-time as our glass skin dreams come true.
Price: $96
* Gifted
9. Yves Saint Laurent Candy Glaze Lip Gloss Stick
Why we love it: We tried this on, and without experiencing a single burny, tingly moment, our lips looked plumper and richer than ever. It’s that rare thing where we seem like we were just born with glowy, soft pink, youthful lips. Here’s a little visual of what it looks like on one of us:
Price: $43
10. Sunday Riley Auto Correct Brightening + Depuffing Eye Cream for Dark Circles
Why we love it: Another wunderkind from Sunday Riley. It combines caffeine, horse chestnut extract, and watermelon rind extract to de-puff and brighten your eyes in ways you see right away but that also improve texture over time, so you get the best kind of results: immediate and lasting.
Price: $65
11. Avène Eau Thermale XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cream
Why we love it: This is one of our favorite French pharmacy products. It calms and nourishes the skin in ways that are only rivaled by THIS $300 miracle cream.
Use the code CANDIDLY to get 15% off.
Price: $28
12. Bumble and Bumble Gentle Shampoo And Super Rich Conditioner
Why we love it: If you have oily hair, this combination is the answer to how do I keep my hair smooth, shiny, and full of bounce without it looking dirty and weighed down.
Price: $36 for the shampoo, $36 for the conditioner
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
We have to eat.
