Talking Shop with Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen

If you think Crown Affair’s founder Dianna Cohen takes hours to do her hair, you’re sorely mistaken. It looked soft and shiny when I met her over Zoom, and I was honestly jealous of her frizz-free waves. But as a business owner, and someone who doesn’t want to stand in front of the mirror forever, her goal is to help you make hair care a consistent, daily practice, whether you have time to do a five-minute scalp massage or haven’t shampooed in four days.

“I call it no-makeup makeup hair,” says Cohen. “I’m not going to wake up tomorrow magically with 20 years of professional hairstyling experience, so I wanted to formulate innovative products that make your hair look its best without always having to do the equivalent of a full beat.”

Cohen could talk about leave-in conditioners, brushes, hair oils and dry shampoos forever, but she’s also very passionate about her other favorite products. These are the top 10 she’s obsessing over right now, including the itty-bitty water bottle that doesn’t weigh her bag down, the protein bars she says “actually taste good” and the splurge-worthy recovery tool she can’t get enough of.

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“I’m obsessed with this refillable journal from Leatherology. I use it every single day,” says Cohen, who is a big pen-and-paper notes taker. “You can literally take the pages out and refill the journal with new, blank pages once you fill them all. I just think they look so beautiful, and they’re great gifts because you can get them personalized and it only takes about a week. I bring these whenever I’m staying with somebody and buy them as holiday gifts. This summer, for example, I stayed at a friend’s house in the Hamptons, and they have everything under the sun. There’s nothing I can get them that they wouldn’t already own. But I got her, her husband and her daughter their own journals with their initials in different colors, and I could tell how much they loved them.”

“‘The Artist’s Way’ is my bible,” says Cohen. “I literally mark it up like it’s a religious text.” She originally bought the book in 2016 after a friend wrote about it, but it sat on her bookshelf for four years. Then, in September 2020 during Covid, she joined a group on Zoom who did “The Artist’s Way” together. “It’s a 12-week program that will unlock your creative potential, and it’s really great to do with a group. Every week has reading and some tasks to do, and then every morning you’re supposed to write stream of consciousness pages. The other part of it is doing an artist date with yourself, like going to a museum or taking a pottery class solo. It’s very vulnerable, and I actually just did a check-in during the beginning of this year on my Substack chat.”

“I’ve got multiple pairs of these Bala hand weights because they’re just so good,” says Cohen. “I also love Natalie [Holloway] as a founder. I’ll use the Balas when I’m traveling or at home to do a Melissa Wood Health class, and sometimes when I’m running around and doing errands I’ll put them on.” In addition to putting them on your wrists or holding them, you can wrap the 2-pound weights around your ankles with the stretchy Velcro strap. They come in a zippered mesh case, making them convenient to throw in your suitcase.

“There’s so many good lip balms, so it becomes very hard for me to choose a favorite without feeling like I’m picking people’s children,” says Cohen, who added that she’s tried “every lip balm ever.” That’s not an exaggeration — she showed me a container overflowing with tubes during our call over Zoom.

“Eadem’s lip balm is great, and I pretty much have it in most bags,” says Cohen. “My other two favorite lip balms are Iris & Romero’s The Lip Cocoon and U Beauty’s The Plasma Lip Compound. Iris & Romeo’s doesn’t have the sexiest packaging, but the formula is really, really good. U Beauty’s is really good too, but she’s pricey.”

“When I tell you this thing fits as much as a carry-on, yet it counts as a personal item,” says Cohen. “It’s life-changing. You can travel anywhere in the world and go shopping, and whatever you buy will somehow fit into this bag.” MZ Wallace’s Metro Tote Deluxe is made from a water- and stain-resistant material, and it has a detachable, adjustable crossbody strap in addition to two shoulder handles. The bag also has multiple interior and exterior pockets, plus three removable zip pouches and a luggage sleeve.

“I use a lot of Cuyana pouches to organize my bag, and I have different leather pouches for different things, like chargers, skin care and hair care,” says Cohen. “I’m just such a pouch queen. I think that you can never have enough pouches.” The pouches are made from Italian leather, have interior slip pockets and get softer and more flexible over time, according to the brand. They’re available in nano, mini and small sizes.

“I’m a big fan of glass water bottles. They just feel way less gross than plastic, and my favorite ones ever are from Bkr,” says Cohen. “They’re glass, but they have this rubber cover, so you can drop them. Mine is the perfect baby size because it doesn’t get too heavy when I fill it up. You can add a carabiner, too, so I bring this with me everywhere and I’m always refilling it.” Bkr’s Little Bottle has a 16-ounce capacity, fits in most cup holders and is dishwasher-safe, according to the brand.

“I have these in every pouch and every bag,” says Cohen. “I feel like they’re the best bars I’ve found that have the least random stuff in them and actually taste good. They have protein in them, but I snack on them because I love the flavor, and the matcha chai is my favorite. I’m not replacing a meal with them, but it’s great for times like when I’m on a four and a half hour flight and know I’m going to eat eventually, but I need something to get to the next moment.” Each IQ Bar has 12 grams of plant protein, and they’re vegan, soy-free and gluten-free.

“I wanted a Missoni robe for 15 years and I didn’t buy one, and this year, I finally did,” says Cohen. “It’s not cheap, but it’s so worth it and so luxurious. When I put it on I’m like, ‘man, this is luxury.’” The robe is made from soft cotton terry fabric, and it has a hood, waist belt and pockets. It’s available in sizes XS to 3XL.

“If the girlies are grabbing a red light face mask at night, they should put themselves in these legs, too. They’re so nice for circulation,” says Cohen. “I did lymphatic drainage at Ricari Studios in LA about a year and a half ago, and at the end, they put you in these Balancer Pro legs that are $50,000 high-tech compression pants. Apparently huge celebrities and major athletes have them on their private planes for recovery, as they should. They’re unbelievable, and the Therabody ones are not exactly the same, but they’re as close as you can get at home.” The JetBoots Prime have a built-in rechargeable battery pack, making them wireless when you use them, and a built-in control panel, letting you choose from four pressure levels and set treatment times. Both legs inflate and deflate simultaneously, and they fold up into the included storage bag.

I’m a reporter at NBC Select who writes our Talking Shop series, interviewing people like Chace Crawford, Dorinda Medley, Miranda Kerr and Brooke Shields. To write this article, I interviewed Crown Affair founder Dianna Cohen about her favorite products.

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