If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but the hair spray and the electric toothbrush. We asked Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, who is about to go on tour in support of her new album, Tigers Blood, about the sleek silver ring that monitors her heart rate, her favorite lip color, and the incense she burns in the recording studio.
I am a side sleeper and I suffer from all kinds of workout-related injuries and I really need a knee pillow to sleep. But when I travel, I struggled to pack one. How the fuck are you supposed to bring this thing with you everywhere? And then one day, I thought, Wouldn’t it be great if there’s an inflatable knee pillow? I looked it up and it does exist, and it has changed my life. I bring it with me everywhere. It takes three big breaths to blow up and then you have a knee pillow that you can still put in your suitcase. I don’t overinflate it — I leave a little bit of air out of it so it has a little bit of squish.
I’m a big Magasin reader, and Laura Reilly did this interview with Into the Gloss where she goes through her whole beauty routine. And there are so many products in it that I use and love but also a whole lot that I hadn’t heard of, so I was really just clicking on every link. This lip oil was one thing that she recommended, and it’s so great. It comes in just a few shades, and it’s really good for just everyday wear. I have the red and the pink. It moisturizes your lips but also gives you a little bit of color. It’s hard for me to say how long it lasts because I’m always putting on more. What I love is that it’s really subtle; I’m not a strong-lip-color-in-the-light-of-day kind of girl. It’s the subtleness that makes me really like it.
I have been a person who wears nightgowns as clothes for a long time. The Salter House ones are a really good, soft cotton. I’ll throw a T-shirt over them, I’ll throw a sweater over them, and wear them out of the house. They’re something you can wear any time and dress up or dress down. I have probably six different styles. I’ll sleep in them, of course, and especially on tour it’s really great for me to go from the tour bus into public. There’s some in-between time where I can’t change clothes yet and I just have to wear what I’m sleeping in. As I was saying that, I was like, That’s maybe a little too revealing: I like to wear something in bed and then the whole day? But these are great if you’re that type of person, which I’m assuming more of your readers than are willing to admit are.
My producer Brad Cook is a fragrance person, and he’s really good at knowing the best candle of the moment. He stays very in the know. And same with incense — he’s always got stuff burning in the studio that’s immaculate. People are always like, “What is that?” He brought this incense to the session for my record Tigers Blood. He started burning it, and immediately I was like, This is the best-smelling incense I’ve ever smelled. Brad specifically burned the Winona Forever one for the whole session for my new record, and it’s one of my favorite scents that I’ve ever smelled. All of them are great, but Winona Forever is the GOAT.
I have it on right now. It’s a ring that tracks all your body data, and you have an app that gives you scores for everything throughout the day. I love data. I really like to be very in tune with what’s happening with my body at all times. It’s a little bit of an anxiety thing for me, but also, as somebody who travels a lot, there are times when I really don’t get enough sleep. This ring actually puts my mind at ease because it often tells me when I’m doing better than I think I am. Or if I’m really experiencing a hard moment, it tells me that, too. It monitors your steps and your heart rate and your heart-rate variability and your breathing when you’re sleeping and your body temperature and everything. The ring is so subtle; I’ll stack other rings on top of it to make it cute. I know myself well enough to know that I am 100 percent the type of person who’ll buy an Apple Watch and then wear it for two days and then never wear it again, and it would be a stupid waste of money. Again, I saw Brad Cook wearing this, and as soon as I realized what was happening, I was like, I’m buying this immediately. And I haven’t taken it off since. I wear it every day, all the time, and have for the last year and a half. Brad’s an influencer.
I love his entire product line, and I use a lot of his products in my skin-care routine. He has a couple masks that I love, but this one I’d say is the best catchall. I love to put it on while I’m traveling. If there’s a bathtub in the hotel room, I’ll wash my face and put it on and just let the steam from the bath kind of soak in. It makes it so soft and hydrated without getting oily or anything. All his products are clean, and it feels like a good skin reset. I only do it once a week or every other week, so it lasts a long time. The little pot will last a few months for sure.
This was another Brad recommendation. I love this roaster. It was founded by the former lead barista from Counter Culture; it’s a North Carolina brand. Most coffee people are pretty in the know about it. I have a subscription for their beans; they come to my house. When I was younger, I’d travel with a whole coffee setup: I’d bring an AeroPress and a grinder. I traveled with a kettle many times. But now I bring this instant coffee, and it really gets the job done. There are a lot of cool roasters that are doing instant coffee well, but this is the best one that I’ve found. I just performed on a cruise a couple of weeks ago, and I would go to the main dining area and just get hot water for my instant coffee every morning, and it was so easy. I don’t have to bring 16 different props with me anymore.
I have the whole product line, so it was hard for me to pick a specific thing. But the ring is great. I work out with Brad’s wife, Stella — she’s my trainer, and she introduced me to it. We do a lot of Pilates-based movement exercises. So I’m holding this thing and squatting all day. It’s great because it’s not overly heavy. It’s just enough to give you what you need. You’d think that it being a circle, it wouldn’t make sense in that many ways, but there are so many ways in which you can use it. It’s a game changer.
I really connect with hideous footwear that’s designed to be comfortable. UGGs, Crocs — you name it. Once I discovered these, I started wearing them all the time around my house and outside my house, with socks and without socks. They’re truly the most comfortable shoe that I’ve ever found, and I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert. I love my Crocs too, but these are so much more comfortable. More cushiony. They’re designed to be worn after a lot of exercise. It’s a similar weight to a Croc — very light — but there’s a thicker sole and just a little bit more support.
I’m someone who’s always looking for a dupe. I’m always like, What’s a cheaper version of something that’s just as good? And this is a case in which I decided to buy the actual thing, and I’m really glad I did. I have the metal steam head, so it gets really hot. It’s industrial. Years and years of buying a shitty steamer and having my outfit covered in water and totally wrinkled have led me here. Steaming is one of the most calming things you can do. I had a friend open a store here in Kansas City recently, and she was getting ready for her big grand opening and I asked if I could help. She said I could come down and steam, and I was like, Yesss. I was so at peace.
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