Oprah kicked off the 2017 holiday shopping season early this year — right after Halloween, on November 2nd, with the longest-ever edition of her annual Oprah's Favorite Things list. The wide variey of most coveted gifts this year includes a fancy coffee maker, a bicycle, slippers, maple syrup, dog treats and tequila.

Even though 102 items made the cut, only 7 are beauty products — and this number includes a candle. However, we didn’t include these items in the count: a makeup case, folding mirror, pajamas by Burt’s Bees, and an electronic toothbrush (the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9500 Series).

It seems it is becoming more difficult for a beauty brand to make the list, yet, all 7 picks this year have one thing in common— packaging that looks elegant and luxe.   

The Oprah Effect

Brands strive to make the coveted holiday list. The ‘Oprah-effect,’ which boosts a company’s sales, often lasts throughout the entire following year.

Julep Beauty’s ‘It's Whipped’ Limited Edition Lip Vault, at $249, sold out in just three hours after appearing on the list this year. The company quickly re-stocked.

That Something Special

The items on the list often have a memorable story. Candles by Joya made the cut — The French Laundry, Per Se, Ad Hoc and Bouchon, created exclusively for The Finesse.

Designed and handmade in Brooklyn, New York by Joya, the scents are the result of a two-year collaboration between Joya’s founder, Frederick Bouchardy, and Laura Cunningham, vice president of branding and creative development for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group.

The duo sought a way to preserve the ‘sense memories’ found in a favorite restaurant, by thinking about this: “A fine meal in a restaurant is made up of so much more than the food; how do we remember the almost imperceptible details that make our experiences unique?”


The scents were then built from scratch, without bases or accords, in a process reminiscent of fine perfume-making. Cunningham says, "I think food and fragrance are similar in the way that they transport you to a time and place. Our scents are based on the elements of each establishment, whether those be menu ingredients, components of architecture and ambiance, landscape environments or historical nuances.”

The candle packaging is sustainable. The boxes have glue-less botttoms, and are made with recycled paper. The candle jars are decorated with organic paint.


See the 7 Lucky Oprah-Approved Beauty Products

In case you missed them, see them here in the slideshow, Oprah’s Favorite Things 2017.

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