Joel Kim Booster, host of Bravo’s ‘Love Hotel,’ shares his favorite things, including the cleanser, blanket, snack, and tracking device he can’t live without.
If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked Joel Kim Booster — host of, whose season finale airs this Sunday night on Bravo — about the couch blanket, pretzels, and cleanser he can’t live without.
I’ve been using this for close to a year. This was recommended to me by my makeup artist, Tracy Raffelson. She has been my makeup person since 2019 in LA. I have really acne-prone skin, especially when I’m wearing makeup, and I have combination skin too, so I’m oily in the summertime, dry in the winter time. What I found is, especially when I’m shooting and I have makeup on every day and I’m washing my face multiple times a day, it can be really stripping on my skin. This cleanser is great because I can use it every day. It’s hydrating. It’s easy enough that I can use it multiple times a day without worrying about stripping my skin. It is a great all-purpose sort of cleanser for me. I’ve been sort of searching for a good cleanser for the better part of the last decade, and this one is the best one that I’ve found.I’ve been actually using this for years and years now. It was a drugstore find back when I was still getting most of my skincare stuff from Walgreens. Like everyone, I heard Eva Longoria talk about hyaluronic acid in all of those commercials, and I was like, “I got to check this stuff out.” And again, going back to the nature of my skin, I need a lot of moisture. I need something to really infuse and not only infuse the skin with moisture, but trap some of that moisture on my skin. And listen, there’s a lot of hyaluronic drops and serums and things like that, that are way more expensive. And this is not cheap, by the way. You don’t realize until you have money that so much about skincare and keeping your skin looking a certain way is about access and it is about money. This was a godsend for me back in the day because I didn’t have a lot of money. I couldn’t afford those more expensive hyaluronic acid serums that some of my friends were using. But this was a great sort of mid-tier find for me. I mean now I stockpile this stuff, but back in the day I would buy one and really make it last as long as possible because they are small jars. I always use the fragrance-free option because I find it’s easier on my skin, it doesn’t irritate it as much, and I can just slather it all on at the end of the day. I use it mostly as my nighttime moisturizer. Sometimes in the winter I’ll add it atop my daytime moisturizer as well. I love that it’s simple. They recently made their containers recyclable, which was a big pain point for a long time. I felt really guilty about these containers that were filling up landfills somewhere while I kept my skin moist. It’s a really accessible brand and product for a lot of different types of people.If I can’t remember or I don’t have time to do everything, I will always put SPF on my skin, especially on my face. I think the secret to looking young and staying looking young is SPF. It’s like you can put all the serums and the tricks and whatever on your face, but if you’re not using SPF, then what are you doing? I really like this moisturizer because it has the perfect SPF level for me, 45. It’s even a little higher than I like to go. The other thing that I really love about this moisturizer is it’s moisturizing, but it’s also mattifying. And especially in the summertime when my T-zone gets really oily and shiny, this has been such a godsend to keep some of that at bay. I’m wearing it right now and my skin is really soft to the touch, but it’s very matte, too, at the same time, which is hard to find. It seems counterintuitive to have them both in the same product, but it really is such a good catch-all. It’s moisturizing, it’s got SPF and it’s got that mattifier in there, so it’s really a lot of bang for your buck. It is not cheap and the bottles are very small, but it’s worth it.This is a game changer for me. I certainly didn’t know about azelaic acid until a couple years ago. I’m on a lot of prescription topicals too to keep my acne at bay. Tretinoin is the one that I’m on right now, Tazorac. It was working for a while, then it stopped working, and then I added the azelaic acid into my routine and it changed everything. It’s really great for inflammation and redness and it pairs really well with pretty much everything else in my skincare routine to just make it go even further. I have a lot of hyperpigmentation from past breakouts and it’s great for that too. I can’t believe I didn’t know about it until two years ago. I use it morning and night, but sometimes when I’m shooting and I’m over-washing my skin, it can be a little too irritating. The Ordinary’s formulation is not too super irritating. I can use it twice a day and like I said, it makes the benzoyl peroxide absorb better, the Tazorac absorb better. Everything that I use, it seems to pair really well with it.It was a random find of mine. It was at one of my favorite sandwich shops in LA and I have now since come to buy it by the pallet basically. I am really bad at hydrating. I’m really bad at drinking water. We are a drink-forward household though. Our fridge is mostly drinks and less food. And the thing is, I drink a lot of soda. I drink a lot of drinks that have artificial sweeteners in them and God knows what else. I like that it tastes really good. It has the electrolytes, no artificial sweeteners, and it’s not carbonated. That’s the big thing right now is that every drink that’s even somewhat good for you is also carbonated. I care about my teeth and I am trying to cut down on the amount of carbonation that I drink, but it’s difficult. It’s such a great product and I can’t believe that it is mostly water at the end of day. It’s really been a godsend for me in terms of keeping myself hydrated. I really love it and I wish it were easier to access. I like the classic lemonade, but I think they sell them in a variety pack and all of the flavors are great.I mean Dots is such a if-you-know-you-know. Everybody who knows Dots, loves Dots. I think they are so much more than just a simple pretzel. I love the original flavor. I think the original flavor is great. It is kind of an acquired taste, I will say. The first time I had the original flavor Dots, I was like, “What is this?” This is not what I was expecting to get out of a pretzel, but it does become mildly addicting. My favorite flavor is the Honey Mustard, a classic, classic flavor profile for a pretzel to have, but Dots, I don’t know what this woman is doing to her pretzels, but they are incredible. They really elevate pretzels in a way that you never thought that they could be possible. We have bags and bags of Dots in our house at all times because they’re such a great little munchie to have on hand.Okay, so my partner and I are big time couch boys. So much of my life is on the go and traveling and being on set and shooting and going from here to there. And so when I have time to be at home with my partner on the couch watching something and being cozy, it is the best feeling in the world. It is paramount to our relationship. We have three Pendleton blankets. They’re all always on every couch and every guest bed in our house. The couch Pendleton especially is deeply important to us. It is the fluffiest blanket you’ll ever find. And they’re big too. That’s the thing. This is not some throw you put on your couch that barely one adult body can fit underneath. My partner is 6’2”, I’m 5’9”. We both fit under the blanket comfortably on opposite sides of the couch and we just do couch rot underneath that blanket for as long as we can before we have to get off the couch and out from underneath our Pendleton blanket. We put these blankets away when people come over for the most part because they are so big and it’s definitely meant for sleeping, not for couching and lounging.I’m obsessed with this rugby shirt. I wear it instead of a hoodie around my house when the A/C is blasting. I’m fully Risky Business in it. I’ll be walking around in the A/C in my house with nothing but this rugby shirt on. I brought it to Palm Springs with me. I would sleep in it sometimes, but then also it’s really cute and really stylish so I can throw on a pair of pants or wear it with pretty much anything that I own and walk out the door and run whatever errand I have to do and then come home and change into my athletic shorts and it’s still comfortable. I’m constantly reaching and searching for this rugby polo, whether it be for a night out or just chilling at home.I have AirTags on pretty much everything I own and I was losing my wallet a lot and you can’t really comfortably fit an AirTag on your wallet. I believe my partner bought this for me because he was tired of me scrambling around the house looking for my wallet every time I had to leave. Putting this nice tracking card in my wallet is the biggest, nicest, easiest life hack I’ve found. I can go on my Find my iPhone and make it make a noise. It’s really cut down on time searching for it. I left it at TSA the other day and it beeped at me on my phone to tell me that I left it behind. I’m such a space case when it comes to things like that that I need all the help I can get. And this tracker card has really been a nice little game changer for me.Listen, I’m a man on the go. I’m traveling constantly and for a while I had pretty nondescript-looking backpacks and things like that, which are functional and good. But when I’m walking around New York City on my way to a meeting or popping into a coffee shop to get some work done, I want to look like I have thought about every aspect of my outfit, including the bag. Rains is really nice. It’s high quality. Design wise, it’s also really, really cool. I love toting it around the airport with me. It fits underneath most airplane seats. It’s a good carry-on to have with you. And there’s lots of pockets. It can be a backpack and a tote, which is great functionality-wise too, because sometimes you want it to be a tote, it’s easier to carry, but sometimes you just give up and you want it to be a backpack. There’s this thing in LA too. I think it’s a little bit more normalized in New York, bringing a bag to the bar. In LA, it’s less of a thing. So I never feel any certain type of way about bringing this bag with me out to social functions.I Asked Dozens of Tasteful People About Their Favorite Sandalsis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about*Sorry, there was a problem signing you up.You'll receive the next newsletter in your inbox.New York
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