18 Nordstrom Beauty Items I Recommend to My Pickiest Friends
As a beauty editor, I’m constantly asked which brands, products, and treatments are “worth it.” This is a tricky question because an honest answer depends on left-out information—skin concerns, hair types, makeup preferences, etc. Still, I like to keep a select number of tried-and-true suggestions in my back pocket, lest people are simply open to testing new things.
That’s the case with 18 beauty products I recently recommended to my picky friends. From a gentle cleansing foam to an iconic foundation and beyond, these are the beauty products I recommend to just about anyone… Lucky for me, they’re all available at Nordstrom. How convenient. Keep scrolling to see my picks!
Skincare Staples
Sulwhasoo
Gentle Cleansing Foam
What it is: A gentle, foaming face wash
Why I recommend it: It has a silky, luxe-feeling lather that whisks dirt, oil, and debris off of my skin without stripping moisture or exacerbating irritation. Whenever I use it, my skin feels exceptionally clean, happy, and healthy. It’s definitely a staple.
CAUDALÍE
Vinopure Skin Perfecting Serum
What it is: A blemish-fighting, oil-regulating, pore-minimizing serum
Why I recommend it: Acne-prone skin needs hydration too, yet many acne products strip moisture rather than adding it back into the skin. This one is different. Sure, it uses salicylic acid to unclog pores and prevent breakouts, but it also uses hyaluronic acid to moisturize, soothe, and plump irritated complexions.
Kiehl’s Since 1851
Ultra Facial Cream
What it is: An effective moisturizer
Why I recommend it: This is one of my top three all-time favorite moisturizers. I’ve used it since I was a teenager, and I still love that it moisturizes, soothes, and plumps my skin without clogging my pores or exacerbating irritation. I really, truly love it.
Kiehl’s Since 1851
Creamy Eye Treatment With Avocado
What it is: A moisturizing eye cream
Why I recommend it: This creamy eye treatment deeply moisturizes the delicate eye area for a plumper, smoother appearance that has less visible fine lines.
What it is: A refreshing hydrating mist
Why I recommend it: Thanks to ingredients like aloe, sea salt, hyaluronic acid, and seaweed, this face mist hydrates and refreshes dry and tired skin like a charm.
Bodycare Staples
L’Occitane
Almond Shower Oil
What it is: A luxe shower oil
Why I recommend it: This starts out as a silky oil and transforms into a light, foamy lather in the presence of water. It’s rich in almond oil and other moisturizing lipids, so it softens the skin as it cleanses. Plus, it has a delectable scent that turns any shower into a spa-like experience.
Nécessaire
The Body Wash
What it is: A cult-classic body wash
Why I recommend it: With plant-derived surfactants, botanical oils, vitamins, and omegas, this body wash is like a multivitamin for the skin. It washes away dirt, oil, sweat, and other debris, without stripping the skin. Plus, it comes in both scented and unscented versions. I like the eucalyptus one best.
OSEA
Undaria Algae Body Oil
What it is: A celeb-loved body oil
Why I recommend it: Here’s another Osea item. This time it’s a body oil that’s never thick, heavy, or greasy, unlike others on the market. The lightweight, dry-oil formula contains Undaria seaweed, white lupin flower, and a botanical oil blend to moisturize and strengthen the skin…not to mention make it glow beyond belief. It’s no wonder celebs like Victoria Beckham use it.
Makeup Staples
ARMANI beauty
Luminous Silk Natural Glow Foundation
What it is: A cult-classic foundation
Why I recommend it: Beauty editors, celebrities, and makeup artists agree that this foundation is elite. It provides the prettiest, natural-looking glow to the skin, disguises imperfections with medium coverage, and never leads to clogged pores or breakouts. I’m not lying when I say makeup artists and facialists recommend it to literally everyone.
Kosas
Revealer Super Creamy + Brightening Concealer With Caffeine and Hyaluronic Acid
What it is: A Brightening concealer
Why I recommend it: Half concealer and half eye cream, Kosas’s Revelear Concealer works double-time. Its medium coverage disguises dark circles, while its caffeine and hyaluronic acid-spiked formula treats and perfects the under-eye area. And even though it works like a dream under the eyes, I use it all over my face for natural-looking coverage and skin benefits.
NARS
Soft Matte Complete Concealer
What it is: A cream concealer
Why I recommend it: Makeup artists recommend cream concealers to cover the most stubborn skin concerns like breakouts and dark spots. This one offers high-coverage, skin-blurring effects, and a stunning, soft-matte finish.
Victoria Beckham
Satin Kajal Eye Liner
What it is: A creamy eyeliner pencil
Why I recommend it: I would shout my love for this eyeliner from the rooftops if I could. Not only is the shade range impeccable, but the formula is soft, creamy, and blendable, so it’s easy to work with. Once applied, it doesn’t really smudge, feather, or transfer either. I know my beauty editor colleagues agree.
Lancôme
Lash Idôle Volumizing Mascara
What it is: A lash-perfecting mascara
Why I recommend it: The Who What Wear team is not so secretly obsessed with this mascara. It volumizes, lengthens, and fans out lashes for a defined, yet natural-looking effect. I’ll always recommend this mascara to anyone who will listen.
Clinique
Almost Lipstick in Black Honey
What it is: A universally flattering lipstick
Why I recommend it: This lipstick has been around since, well, forever, but it recently went viral on social media after younger folks discovered just how universally flattering the iconic Black Honey shade is. The raisin-like color suits almost every single skin tone out there. Plus, the sheer, shiny finish is so pretty.
Hair Staples
Living proof
Perfect Hair Day High Shine Gloss Treatment
What it is: A shine-boosting hair treatment
Why I recommend it: In case you missed it, glossy hair is one of the biggest 2025 hair trends, according to experts. This in-shower treatment boosts shine and lasts through three washes. Expensive-looking hair, right this way.
Oribe
Dry Texturizing Spray
What it is: An iconic texturizing spray
Why I recommend it: This 4-in-1 product absorbs excess oil like a dry shampoo, boosts volume like a mousse, provides touchable hold like a hairspray, and delivers the most intoxicating scent like a hair perfume.
Fragrance Staples
CHANEL
Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum Spray
What it is: A sweet, floral fragrance
Why I recommend it: Fragrance is so personal, so it can be difficult to recommend a specific scent to someone—especially if I don’t know what type they’re usually drawn to. Luckily, there are a few perfumes that seem to hit the mark for just about everyone, and I’d argue that Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum is one of them. With notes of orange, Grasse jasmine, May rose, patchouli, and vetiver, it’s bright, sweet, and traditionally feminine. It’s so good, I’d go as far as to say that it’s uncontroversial.
PHLUR
Vanilla Skin Eau De Parfum
What it is: A modern “skin” scent
Why I recommend it: Here’s another fragrance I think smells good on literally everyone. Phlur’s Vanilla Skin has notes of pink pepper, apple, lily, cashmere wood, vanilla, and sandalwood. It’s best described as a “your skin but better” scent that’s sheer, subtle, and inoffensive to any nose that sniffs it.
