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Shandi Nichelle

What’s In Your Beauty Bag?

Image credits: Shandi Nichelle

It's exciting to find out what others are buying and loving, especially the experts. That very information is partly what we use to create our data-driven shopping guides, after all. Enter our What's In Your ___? interview series, where we get all the details on the products cool people can't live without.

It's no secret that the haircare market is a saturated one. There are dozens and dozens of products out there for every hair type, texture, and problem, which can make nailing down the perfect routine quite overwhelming. Innovative and entrepreneurial cosmetologist Shandi Nichelle is changing that with her brand, FREEWELL, and its debut hero product, Power Gloss. The game-changing formula combines seven steps into one for dramatic results and way less work.

Shandi created FREEWELL with the mission of helping all to live Free and Well, which manifests in two ways: providing people with sustainable, innovative products that deliver powerful results, and donating 3% of profits from said products to survivors of human trafficking. And the impact doesn't just stop there—FREEWELL also works to provide safe jobs with fair pay to women transitioning out of trafficking.

The CEO and founder has successfully maneuvered niche markets within the beauty and personal-care space for 18 years. At 25, Shandi built a six-figure hairstylist business in eight months, successfully sustaining it for over 10 years. Shandi taught sold-out hair styling classes with Babehair Bootcamp to hundreds of attendees all over Texas, building trust and camaraderie with today's busy woman.

With over 80,000 hours speaking directly to clients, Shandi has a deep understanding of customer needs and immense product knowledge. With that in mind, we did a little digging into the products she deems best of the best. Scroll on to shop 11 you'll always find on her top shelf.

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April 4, 2023

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Image credits: freewell

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Freewell Power Gloss

$34

Buy Now

"Being a hairstylist for almost 20 years, Power Gloss still blows me away with its results. The best part is you can treat your hair and scalp anytime, anywhere. I love applying it in the morning on my dirty hair day, doing a slick bun, taking my meetings in it, working out in it, sleeping in it and then washing it out the next morning."

Osmosis Beauty Purify Enzyme Cleanser

$44

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"This is my tried-and-true face wash. My esthetician of over 10 years who is in her sixties and has amazing skin got me on it. I can try other face washes but I ALWAYS come back to it."

Rohto Cool The Original Cooling Redness Relief Eye Drops

$21

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"A long time ago, a YouTube makeup artist mentioned using these eye drops as part of her makeup routine. It makes your eyes look bright and white, and I love the cooling effect. I call it my 'eye coffee.'"

Wet Brush Original Detangling Hair Brush

$16

Buy Now

"One of the biggest ways to enhance your hair growth is to make sure you are using a brush that doesn’t break off your fragile ends. I make sure to get every client of mine to switch to a wet brush. It’s an easy transition with big results."

The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3%

$10

Buy Now

"I love this serum, and I love the price point! Getting potent antioxidants in my skincare routine is key. I just mix this serum into my moisturizer to give it the boost my skin needs."

Kevin Murphy Hydrate-Me Wash And Rinse

$68

Buy Now

"This is the shampoo and conditioner I seem to always go back to. I like to mix it up, but nothing sucks more than when you buy expensive shampoo, and you end up hating it. Shampoos and conditioners are not one-size-fits-all. This is one that MY hair loves—it really is a trial and error, but once you find the one you love, it's such a relief."

St. Tropez Self Tan Classic Bronzing Mousse

$42

Buy Now

"I bought a huge one of these during the Nordstrom anniversary sale. I thought, 'Well I sure hope I like it!' I love it. It doesn't dry out my skin, the color is beautiful, and It doesn’t smell! The hype is real, y'all."

Osmosis Beauty Quench Nourishing Moisturizer

$58

Buy Now

"My skin needs a lot of moisture. This lightweight moisturizer feeds my skin all the good things and isn't heavy."

Oral-B 3DWhite Luxe Dental Floss

$9

Buy Now

"I am the queen of multi-functional products. My whole company is based off of that. So when I find a product that does it well and cuts my time in half with amazing results, I'm sold. I love this floss for the feel but also know it's helping whiten the little spots strips can’t get to. WIN WIN."

Rare Beauty By Selena Gomez Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer

$22

Buy Now

"My current concealer kick is the Rare Beauty Brightening concealer. I fell in love with it while playing around in Sephora with one of my girlfriends. We were both blown away with how it looked and both bought it."

Olivia Garden NanoThermic Ceramic + Ion Round Thermal Hair Brush

$33

Buy Now

"This is my ride-or-die round brush. My clients get intimidated by the size of this brush, but it actually makes it easier to use than a smaller one since you are getting fewer rotations."

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