Talking Shop is our series where we talk to interesting people about their most interesting buys.
In the five years since it’s been in business, Ghia has firmly established itself as a major player in the nonalcoholic beverage space. You’ll commonly find the brand’s bottled apéritif on people’s bar carts for a night in with friends and its canned spritzes in coolers at holiday celebrations, which is exactly what Mélanie Masarin, Ghia’s founder and CEO, hoped for when she started the company. She spent summers near the Mediterranean while growing up, and some of her most cherished memories center around sharing drinks with loved ones. With Ghia, Masarin wants to encourage this type of togetherness through the brand’s refreshing, spirit-free beverages.
To simplify life while balancing a busy schedule, Masarin has a handful of tried-and-true products that, together, she refers to as her “CEO survival kit.” I talked to her about each pick below.
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Masarin splits her time between New York and Paris, and over the years, all that flying back and forth has made her a professional traveler. One of her top tips? Wear compression stockings. “I’m a big compression tights lady,” she says. “It’s not the most glamorous, but my friend who owns Ricari Studios, the lymphatic place, recommended these ones because they’re medical-grade, so they’re tight and thick. They’re unflattering, but they really help with the jetlag.”
“I saw Instagram Reels about the frequency between the AirPods when you’re using them, and I was like, ‘This can’t be good for my brain. Why do I not want to plug something in?’” says Masarin. “I always use headphones at my computer anyway since I have seven or eight calls a day, so I bought these wired headphones and I like them so much better. You can just dump them in your bag, too — the little AirPods box was too dainty for me.”
“I’m a big coffee drinker, but I’m trying not to give myself an anxiety attack every day,” says Masarin. “In the morning, I have coffee and in the afternoon, or when it’s time for my second cup of caffeine, I have matcha. I honestly never liked matcha until I found this one. I only like to have it with water, not milk, so I needed one that’s not bitter. This one is a really nice quality, and I just love it. It’s so refreshing with a little ice water.” Masarin says Rocky’s Match frequently sells out, so she buys it whenever the brand restocks.
“When I used to work at Glossier, Sofie Pavitt was called the acne whisperer, and I never had a ton of acne, but when she launched her skin care line I was intrigued,” says Masarin. “I bought the face wash first, and then her cream. I did a Q&A on Instagram and said I wanted to do a facial with her, and then she invited me in. She really explained how to use her products, which I love because they’re really gentle. They’ve never irritated me.”
Out of all the Sofie Pavitt Face products Masarin uses, the Omega Rich Moisturizer is her favorite. “My skin is dry, so I need a rich cream that doesn’t break me out,” she says. “This cream is unbelievable. I use it every morning.”
“I used to wear Lash Slick from Glossier because I worked there, but I always felt like it was missing a tiny bit of oomph. It was a great everyday mascara though, and it got me into tubular mascaras,” says Masarin. “Merit’s tubular mascara is thick enough that it has a bit more pay off, but it’s never given me racoon eyes, so I like to use it on the top and bottom lashes. You can layer it, too. It’s the one that I always reach for, especially if I’m traveling. I swear by it to make me look awake.”
“During Covid, I lost the habit of wearing daily fragrance, and after Covid, I was a lot more aware of clean ingredients in beauty, so using my old perfumes felt like spraying a bunch of chemicals on myself,” says Masarin. “Now, I wear very little fragrance, but for special occasions, I use Perfumehead. I got a sampler pack that seems clean enough. I really like a few scents, like Cosmic Cowboy, La La Love and 1272. The full bottles are really pretty, too.”
“I always have a sweater around because I run very cold, and this one is my favorite,” says Masarin. “It’s so thick and warm, so I bring it everywhere. It kind of looks like the one from The Row that everybody loves. This brand is really great for all kinds of essentials and basics, too.”
“Kirsty Godso has famously trained a lot of people, and earlier this year she launched her fitness platform. I felt like it was the push that I needed to actually start working out online,” says Masarin. “She asked for feedback early, and I was like, ‘Wait, this is a total game changer.’ I always prefer going to a studio, but Kirsty has launched so many programs, and she really helps you get that burn you feel in the studio. Especially when I’m in Paris, I want to enjoy my days, which are packed. Squeezing in one of these 30-minute workouts is amazing when I’m on the go. I really, really swear by it.”
Masarin also bought a pair of light, easily portable resistance bands to incorporate into her workouts, and left a set in Paris so she can use them no matter where she is. She appreciates Pyro’s gym classes, too. “I never know what to do in a gym by myself, but I put this on my iPad and it guides me,” she says.
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Why trust NBC Select?
I’m a reporter at NBC Select who writes our Talking Shop series, interviewing people like Chace Crawford, Dorinda Medley, Miranda Kerr, Tiler Peck and Sara and Erin Foster. I interviewed Ghia CEO and founder Mélanie Masarin about her all-time favorite products. I’ve also been a Ghia customer for four years and frequently write about nonalcoholic wine and spirits.
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