Our second year of making the most of too-much time spent at home has yielded countless products that promise to sooth our stressed minds and bodies. But the marketing around such spaces—cosmetics, skin- and haircare, and fitness, to name a few—is a minefield of meaningless buzzwords and pseudoscientific solutions. Our Personal Care winners represent some of our favorite exceptions to that woeful rule: These products harness everything from space-age physics to basic magnetism to offer genuinely innovative improvements to everyday life.
Looking for the complete list of 100 winners?Check it out here.
Grand Award Winner
Tempo Move by Tempo: A gym and personal trainer in an end table
Sound familiar? In 2019, we awarded Mirror for ushering in a new era of at-home fitness, with its luxe, reflective workout screen and the promise of personal training via its built-in camera. In 2020, we spotlighted the Tempo Studio mirror-and-weights system for fulfilling that potential first—providing targeted, AI-driven strength training for folks stuck at home. In 2021, Tempo slid the needle forward yet again with Move, a weight-training setup with a footprint small enough to be practical in even wee domiciles. Move replaces a pricey mirror with the LIDAR in the front-facing cameras of any iPhone equipped with FaceID. A cradle hooks up your phone up to your TV via HDMI, so you can see your body and weight movements in real time. The Move comes with enough plates to make each of its two dumbbells a 25 pounder, and the system recognizes how much you’re lifting to tweak your workout accordingly. Coupled with data from an included heart-rate monitor, the Move’s tracking capabilities, price, and form factor put strength training within reach for anyone with enough space for a yoga mat.
They’re Real! Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara by Benefit Cosmetics: Lush lashes, thanks to magnets
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Many mascaras promise to lengthen lashes with the help of buildable dark goop, and eyelash curlers aim to shape those hairs by physically crimping them upright. They’re Real! Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara does both—with the power of physics. A magnet-embedded wand swipes iron-oxide-rich pigment along lashes, tapping a mechanism called ferromagnetism to evenly carry the makeup where you want it to go. The result is a clump-less lash coated for big volume and gently hoisted upward for maximum length and curl.
Supersonic Flyaway Attachment by Dyson: Banish pesky flyaways in a single pass
When the engineers behind Dyson’s Supersonic hair dryer arrived at a photoshoot in 2018, they thought they were in big trouble. The model’s hair was damaged and frizzy. A stylist on set, though, gave them an idea: He held the model’s hair taught with a brush while blowing the nozzle of the blowdryer downward just so, and her flyaways slipped beneath longer strands. Replicating that process became a pet project of the engineers. The resulting Flyaway attachment harnesses a quirk of airflow called the coanda effect: the tendency for jets of air to stay attached to curved surfaces once they come into contact with them. In this case, the attachment’s nozzle slides down the hair shaft and draws strands toward it, which creates a downward flow that pushes frizzy bits below the main tress. The result is a smooth finish that even amateur hands can master.
Oura Ring Generation 3 by ŌURA Health: The most discreet period tracker
While the Oura Ring Generation 3 offers a fairly standard raft of health monitoring features—from sleep tracking to activity logging—it represents a significant improvement in reproductive health. It monitors fluctuations in body heat to predict when users will start menstruating, up to 30 days in advance. Based on the well-established connection between body temperature and ovulation, the Oura Ring is a major step ahead of most available period trackers, which are generally just calendars that rely on user input. In the future, a similar device could bundle fitness tracking with fertility analysis to lower or raise the odds of conception.
Lioness Vibrator 2.0 by Lioness: A sex toy that learns what you like
Deciphering personal pleasure can take lots of trial and error. The Lioness Vibrator 2.0 offers a potential shortcut. The toy includes onboard temperature and force sensors, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope that all work together to track pelvic floor contractions—one of the most-accurate indicators of org*sm across sexes and genders. The device analyzes those movements in an app to visualize arousal in real time, and banks that info so users can check out trends, giving them the chance to pinpoint how different kinds of stimulation affect them.
braid better by Rebundle: Plant-based braiding hair
Natural hair can benefit from protective styling—the braids, twists, and other looks that tuck fragile ends away from cold winds, UV rays, friction, and other irritants that can cause breakage. For many, adding extensions to the mix is a crucial way to get length while keeping hair healthy. But human hair is expensive and can come from suspicious sources, while synthetic options are generally made of plastic, which is potentially irritating to scalps and definitely irritating to the planet. Rebundle’s banana fiber-based strands provide a great look and feel for protective styles, plus they biodegrade completely in a compost pile.
SoundControl Hearing Aids by Bose: The first FDA-cleared, direct-to-consumer hearing aids
Traditional hearing aids cost thousands and require multiple trips to audiologists for fittings and follow-ups. That’s a problem worth solving: According to the World Health Organization, some 630 million people will experience hearing loss by 2030, and that number will hit 900 million by 2050. This year, Bose released the first direct-to-consumer hearing aid. For less than a thousand bucks, adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss can buy SoundControl directly. Even better, they can adjust fit themselves with included earbud tips, and can continually tune different frequencies using an accompanying app; a user could, for example, dial up the pitch of a conversation partner’s voice while keeping the tones of passing traffic at low. For now, the aids are more basic than medical devices—they can’t pick up phone calls or play music, for instance—but the tech marks an important step in making the world more accessible.
Droplette by Droplette: A NASA-backed skincare system
On its face, Droplette is simply an excellent addition to a skincare obsessive’s cosmetic regimen: Designed by MIT-trained female scientists, the Star Trek-esque device turns pods of treatments like collagen and retinol into a super-fine mist to help skin absorb the ingredients more quickly. Droplets 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair get that good stuff into a deeper layer of skin than a cream or serum could. With funding and support from the Walter Reed hospital, the National Institutes of Health, and NASA, the company’s ultimate aim is to use the tech to deliver drugs without needles. Research is currently underway to treat alopecia, battlefield wounds, and a painful condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa.
WHOOP 4.0 and WHOOP Body by WHOOP: A fitness tracker you’ll never take off
The WHOOP is already a standout in the super-saturated world of fitness wearables thanks to its focus on recovery—a metric that taps sleep quality, athletic strain, and heart rate variability to identify a user’s ideal workout and rest days. The WHOOP 4.0 cements the company’s commitment to being a health-and-wellness conscience by making the device easier to wear 24/7. Its attachable battery pack is now waterproof, so users can slap it on to recharge even while bathing or swimming laps. WHOOP has also unveiled a line of tights, boxers, bras, silicone armbands, and other clothing and accessories to keep your 4.0 nestled against a useful pulse point no matter what.
L’Oréal Water Saver by L’Oréal: A water-saving hair-washing system
The salon experience would be nothing without a luxurious scalp massage—and the hosing down that comes with it. L’Oréal’s new washing system aims to make that ritual a little more eco-friendly. A showerhead cartridge injects shampoos and conditioners by Kérastase and L’Oréal Professionnel directly into the waterstream, which ups the efficiency of the washing and lathering process. The sprayer also produces small, fast-moving droplets that make it feel like more H2O is flowing, allowing stylists to rinse clients out with less. The result cuts down on the wet stuff by 80 percent compared to a standard showerhead. A similar product for at-home use should roll out in the near future.
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This article discusses various products that have been developed to improve everyday life during the time spent at home. These products fall into categories such as cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fitness, and personal care. The article highlights some of the innovative and effective products in these categories that stand out from the marketing buzzwords and pseudoscientific claims often associated with such products.
Tempo Move by Tempo: A gym and personal trainer in an end table
Tempo Move is a weight-training setup that offers the convenience of a gym and personal trainer in a compact and practical design. It replaces a traditional mirror with the front-facing cameras of an iPhone equipped with FaceID. By using LIDAR technology, the system tracks your body and weight movements in real-time and adjusts your workout accordingly. With the included heart-rate monitor, Tempo Move provides comprehensive tracking capabilities, making strength training accessible to anyone with enough space for a yoga mat.
They’re Real! Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara by Benefit Cosmetics
Benefit Cosmetics' They're Real! Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara uses the power of physics to deliver lush lashes. The mascara's wand is embedded with magnets that attract iron-oxide-rich pigment and evenly distribute it along the lashes. This magnetism, known as ferromagnetism, helps create clump-free lashes with volume, length, and curl.
Supersonic Flyaway Attachment by Dyson
Dyson's Supersonic Flyaway Attachment is designed to banish pesky flyaways in a single pass. It harnesses the coanda effect, a phenomenon in fluid dynamics where jets of air stay attached to curved surfaces. The attachment's nozzle slides down the hair shaft and draws the frizzy bits towards it, creating a downward flow that tucks them below the main tress. This results in a smooth finish that can be easily achieved, even by those with minimal hairstyling experience.
Oura Ring Generation 3 by ŌURA Health
The Oura Ring Generation 3 is a discreet period tracker that goes beyond the standard features of health monitoring. It uses body heat fluctuations to predict when users will start menstruating, up to 30 days in advance. By monitoring the connection between body temperature and ovulation, the Oura Ring offers a significant improvement compared to traditional period trackers that rely solely on user input. In the future, similar devices could combine fitness tracking with fertility analysis to assist with family planning.
Lioness Vibrator 2.0 by Lioness
The Lioness Vibrator 2.0 is a sex toy that incorporates advanced technology to learn what individuals prefer for personal pleasure. Equipped with temperature and force sensors, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope, the vibrator tracks pelvic floor contractions, which are reliable indicators of org*sm for people of different sexes and genders. The device analyzes these movements in an app to visualize arousal in real-time, allowing users to identify trends and understand how different types of stimulation affect them.
braid better by Rebundle
Rebundle offers a plant-based braiding hair option called "braid better." This product is designed for natural hair and protective styling, such as braids and twists, which help protect fragile ends from external factors that can cause breakage. Unlike traditional human hair extensions that can be expensive or synthetic options made from plastic, Rebundle's banana fiber-based strands provide a natural look and feel for protective styles, and they biodegrade completely in a compost pile.
SoundControl Hearing Aids by Bose
Bose's SoundControl Hearing Aids are the first FDA-cleared, direct-to-consumer hearing aids. Traditional hearing aids can be expensive and require multiple visits to audiologists for fittings and adjustments. SoundControl Hearing Aids offer a more accessible and affordable solution for adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Users can adjust the fit themselves using included earbud tips and tune different frequencies using an accompanying app. While they currently offer basic functionality, such as adjusting the pitch of voices, future advancements may expand their capabilities.
Droplette by Droplette
Droplette is a skincare system backed by NASA and designed by MIT-trained female scientists. The device turns treatment pods, containing ingredients like collagen and retinol, into a super-fine mist. These tiny droplets, 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair, penetrate deeper into the skin compared to creams or serums. Droplette aims to use this technology to deliver drugs without needles in the future, with ongoing research focused on treating conditions such as alopecia, battlefield wounds, and Epidermolysis Bullosa.
WHOOP 4.0 and WHOOP Body by WHOOP
WHOOP is a fitness tracker that sets itself apart by focusing on recovery as a key metric for optimizing workouts. The WHOOP 4.0 version is designed to be worn 24/7 and features an attachable waterproof battery pack. Additionally, WHOOP has introduced a line of clothing and accessories, including tights, boxers, bras, and silicone armbands, to ensure the device remains in contact with a useful pulse point throughout the day.
L’Oréal Water Saver by L’Oréal
L'Oréal's Water Saver is a hair-washing system that aims to make the salon experience more eco-friendly. The system injects shampoos and conditioners directly into the water stream, improving the efficiency of the washing and lathering process. The sprayer also produces small, fast-moving droplets, creating a sensation of increased water flow while using less water overall. L'Oréal plans to release a similar product for at-home use in the near future.
These products mentioned in the article demonstrate the use of innovative technologies and scientific principles to provide practical solutions for personal care and well-being.
