Beauty / The Traveling Shelf Best Of 7 products · Updated September 28, 2026

TheTravelingShelfSwitzerland

August, in a mirrored cabinet in Switzerland — and the 7 things in it I would keep forever.

A mirrored bathroom cabinet in Switzerland: dōTERRA oils on the top shelf, Biologique Recherche and Bioderma in the middle, Nescens and Verdilab below — August, Switzerland

the staples →

Lauren tested

Words & testing · Lauren Fowler Open story ↓ Photograph · Lauren

Filed under
Beauty / The Traveling Shelf

Prices checked
Sept 2026

Published
September 28, 2026

Best by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Every product here was bought with my own money or tested for at least six weeks. No brand has paid to be included, and nothing is ranked higher because it pays more.

August was spent in Switzerland, and the cabinet came with a mirror at the back, which is why half the labels in the photo read backwards. What is on it is a mix of things that were there for a month and things that have been on every shelf for years.

The seven below are the second kind. A micellar water, a mask, an eye gel and four essential oils — the bottles that have moved house, country and climate and are still here.

The ShortlistJump to a product

01 Sensibio H2O Micellar Water $21 02 Masque Vivant $95 03 Youth EssentiA Vita-Peptide Eye Gel 04 Lavender $38.67 05 Serenity Restful Blend $56 06 Breathe Respiratory Blend 07 Frankincense $105.33

Product image: Bioderma

Bioderma

Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

The original micellar water and still the one to beat. It is a plain, fragrance-free, alcohol-free solution with micelles that lift makeup and sunscreen onto a cotton pad without rubbing, and it leaves nothing behind — no tightness, no residue, no need to rinse. It is the first step of a double cleanse or the whole cleanse on a lazy night, and the 500ml pump is the size to keep on the shelf because it goes faster than you expect.

Why I love it: Fragrance-free, alcohol-free, takes off everything including eye makeup, and has no film left behind.
Good for: Sensitive skin · First cleanse · Eye makeup · Travel — the 100ml goes through security
The verdict: the micellar water that has never been replaced

Shop — $21BiodermaShips worldwide

Biologique Recherche

Masque Vivant

The Biologique Recherche mask people actually repurchase. It is built on brewer’s yeast, which is why it smells the way it does, with cucumber extract to balance and soften, and it does two things at once: it tightens pores and brightens, and it calms skin that has been through too many actives. Fifteen minutes, once or twice a week, rinsed with water. The formula is greenish, thick and unlovely in the tube, and none of that matters once it is off.

Why I love it: Brewer’s yeast and cucumber in a balancing mask that tightens and brightens without drying.
Good for: Combination skin · Dullness · Before an event · Anyone already on Lotion P50
The verdict: the yeast mask that makes skin look awake

Shop — $95BrandSold through authorised spas

Biologique Recherche Masque Vivant, the 100ml tube

Product image: Rescue Spa

Product image: Environ Skin Care

Environ

Youth EssentiA Vita-Peptide Eye Gel

Environ’s eye gel from the Youth EssentiA range: a light, quick-absorbing gel with peptides and a gentle level of vitamin A, which is the thing most eye products leave out because the skin there is thin. It does not sting, it sits under concealer, and it is the sensible way to get retinol near the eye without using a face-strength one there. Environ is sold through skin clinics rather than shops, which is why it is harder to find than it should be.

Why I love it: Peptides and a low, tolerable dose of vitamin A in a light gel made for the thin skin around the eye.
Good for: Fine lines · Puffiness · Retinol users who want something around the eye · Under makeup
The verdict: the eye gel with actual vitamin A in it

ShopSold through authorised clinics

dōTERRA

Lavender

If you only own one essential oil this is the one. Steam-distilled lavender flower, clean and soft rather than soapy, and it goes everywhere: the diffuser, a bath, a drop on a pillow, a few drops in a bottle of water for linen. It is the base note of Serenity, so it pairs with everything else on this shelf.

Why I love it: Steam-distilled Lavandula angustifolia, the one oil that does everything.
Good for: Sleep · Skin · The bath · The linen drawer · Anyone starting with one bottle
The verdict: the staple

Shop — $38.67AmazonShips worldwide

Product image: dōTERRA

dōTERRA

Serenity Restful Blend

The calming blend. Lavender does most of the work, backed by cedarwood, ho wood, ylang ylang, marjoram, roman chamomile, vetiver, vanilla and hawaiian sandalwood, which is why it reads as warm and woody rather than purely floral. A few drops in a diffuser at night, or one on a pillowcase. It is the bottle that gets finished first.

Why I love it: Lavender, cedarwood, ho wood, ylang ylang, marjoram, roman chamomile, vetiver, vanilla and sandalwood in one 15ml bottle.
Good for: Bedtime · The diffuser · A drop on the pillow · Winding down after a long day
The verdict: the bedtime blend

Shop — $56AmazonShips worldwide

dōTERRA

Breathe Respiratory Blend

The clearing blend, sold as Easy Air outside the US. Eucalyptus and peppermint are the two you notice, sharpened with laurel leaf, tea tree, lemon and cardamom, and the effect is the same cool, open feeling as a menthol rub without anything on the skin. It goes in the diffuser when a room feels close, or a drop on the floor of a hot shower.

Why I love it: Laurel leaf, eucalyptus, peppermint, tea tree, lemon, cardamom, ravintsara and ravensara.
Good for: Colds · Dry hotel air · The diffuser · A drop on the shower floor
The verdict: the one for stuffy rooms and stuffy heads

ShopAmazonShips worldwide

Product image: dōTERRA

dōTERRA

Frankincense

A single oil rather than a blend: steam-distilled resin from Boswellia trees, so it smells warm, dry and slightly sweet, like the inside of an old church. It is the essential oil people most often use on skin, diluted into a carrier or a moisturiser, and it sits well in the diffuser with Serenity at night. The most expensive bottle on the shelf, and the slowest to run out.

Why I love it: Steam-distilled Boswellia resin — warm, resinous and the single oil most often used diluted on the face.
Good for: A drop in moisturiser · Meditation · The diffuser · Anyone who finds lavender too sweet
The verdict: the one that goes on skin

Shop — $105.33AmazonShips worldwide

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Beauty

TheTravelingShelfSwitzerland

Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

Masque Vivant

Youth EssentiA Vita-Peptide Eye Gel

Lavender

Serenity Restful Blend

Breathe Respiratory Blend

Frankincense

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TheTravelingShelfSwitzerland

Sensibio H2O Micellar Water

Masque Vivant

Youth EssentiA Vita-Peptide Eye Gel

Lavender

Serenity Restful Blend

Breathe Respiratory Blend

Frankincense

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Seven bests.
Every Sunday.