I own $199 salt and pepper grinders and a $200 jar of honey, and I regret nothing. Welcome.

If you're new here: a little luxury is the premium version of an everyday item. The price sounds ridiculous next to the standard version, but because the item itself is ordinary (a grinder, a soap, a water bottle), the best version in the world is still within reach. It's a small pop of joy in your day, and once you notice the difference, you can't go back.

This is the first real edition of this newsletter, so it felt right to start with five of my all-time favorites. There is no theme beyond "I use these constantly and they make me irrationally happy."

Heads up: some links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you buy (at no extra cost to you).

Four of the five below live on my Amazon storefront.

HexClad HexMill Salt and Pepper Grinders, $199 for the set

Absolutely worth it. These things are super thick, real heft in your hand, and they grind so much more salt and pepper per twist than the average grinder.

If you actually cook, that matters more than you'd think. Ten grind settings, no-mess caps so you're not dusting pepper across your counter, and while most grinders look tacky these look like a high end piece of culinary equipment.

And yes, $199 for salt and pepper grinders. Salt and pepper touch almost everything you eat. On a cost-per-use basis this might be the most rational purchase in the whole post.

Get it here

Manukora Manuka Honey, $200

The OG little luxury. This is the product that kicked off the entire idea for the series.

It's Manuka honey straight from New Zealand, and yes, the premium jar is $200. They make more affordable versions, but the top one is the top one for a reason. You haven't tasted honey until you've had this.

Manuka honey provides heaps of benefits as a powerful antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant.

Get it here

Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash, $43

You've heard me talk about this one before, and it stays on the list. This is the original fancy hand soap, and it smells amazing.

You wash your hands at someone's house and stop mid-rinse like, holy s**t, what is that? Mandarin rind, rosemary, lavender.

You wash your hands a dozen times a day. You might as well get a moment out of it and you can never have enough well designed little things in your bathroom.

Get it here

Viski Gold Wine Opener, $25

Two points here. One: get a proper waiter's corkscrew like this, not one of those winged contraptions. Two: it's gold, so obviously it's awesome.

It's 24k gold-plated with a built-in foil cutter, and it works great. At $25 it's also the cheapest thing on this list, which makes it the easiest way to find out if this whole little luxury thing is for you.

Get it here

Purist Water Bottle, around $50

Glass-lined on the inside. No, that doesn't mean it shatters when you drop it.

It's this weird new technology, a thin glass coating inside a metal bottle, so you get the durability of metal and none of that tin taste most bottles give you. Glass beats drinking out of plastic anyway, obviously.

The result is that water tastes like water, which sounds like a low bar until you notice how many expensive bottles fail it.

This one isn't on Amazon, so go straight to the source.

Get it here

That's part one. Part two soon because I cannot stop buying the premium version of things nobody asked me to upgrade. Tracks.

All five (minus the Purist) here in my Amazon storefront.

What are the little luxuries you indulge in? Drop them in the comments. The best ones might end up in a future edition.

Subscribe now

Hello friends and welcome to the first edition of Little Luxuries newsletter.

This is a way to bring you along for the journey, add some more context, and share in a different format. As a marketer at heart, and now a short form content creator, I lean towards clear and succinct communication so this won’t be long winded. In this newsletter, I review premium lifestyle products and luxury home goods that elevate everyday moments—what I call ‘Little Luxuries.’ I’ve got a whole series of Little Luxuries over on Instagram if you want to check them out.

This week I’m reviewing three premium products from Aesop, the luxury Australian brand that sold to L’Oréal for $2.5B. Typically I feature 3 different products from three different companies, this is an attempt to go deeper with companies I really like that make more than one incredible product. I’m curious to see how well it does and if people like the format.

Note, apparently it’s pronounced ee-sop, which is branding 101 - make your brand name something people don’t have to ask how to pronounce. Double note, this is just me protecting my ego because I’m pronouncing it wrong, *sighs*.

With that, here’s top three little luxuries from … Aesop.

My Top 3 Aesop Products Worth the Splurge

1. Resurrection Aromatique Hand Soap - $46

I still remember the Chicago restaurant bathroom I was at in March of 2020 where I first smelled this. One of their early tactics was to get their soap in popular places, and it worked. The smell an intoxicating blend of mandarin, rosemary, and cedar and they were one of the first movers in the high end soap game, and, probably became the biggest as they sold to L’Oreal for $2.5B. If you’re wondering ‘is Aesop hand soap worth it?’ for me, yes. It’s become the gold standard in luxury hand soap and high-end bathroom products.

The branding is also gorgeous, it just looks good. It’s clean, simple, and pairs well with almost any home style.

2. Bronze Incense Holder - $175

This is a classic little luxury. Something that is both gorgeous and expensive compared other options. It is 1.5lbs and feels great in your hand. I don’t need to wax poetic about it. It’s simple, it’s pretty, it looks better than that cheap wood one you got for free.

3. Ginger Flight Therapy - $35

Who doesn’t have a moment occasionally where you could use a little cool down, a little breather, a little space, something to trigger your brain to chill tf out? Straightforward, smells great, nice to have around.

General Updates

FYI this was not sponsored, but I would love for it to be. That is also a part of testing these brand-focused little luxury videos. As I build out my content world I’m thinking of ways to create sponsored content that is still good content and not just an ad.

I will never push a product I don’t believe in (I’ve turned down a lot of money from AI companies already - not that I wouldn’t work with them (*ahem nanobanana, perplexity, anthropic, openai) but most of them are garbage.

If you know a brand that you think I would vibe with I would be in your debt if you connect me (partnerships@calebulffers.com) - generally leaning towards high quality and well designed products in home, tech, and fashion.

I have some fun holiday content I’m working on including luxury gift guides and premium product recommendations so stay tuned.

If there’s anything you want to share, ask, request, just hit reply or jump into my DMs.

Looking for more luxury product reviews and lifestyle recommendations? Subscribe for weekly little luxuries delivered to your inbox.

Have a fabulous weekend!