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 Lisa Barlow — the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City cast member and founder of tequila brand Vida Tequila — about her favorite cookies from childhood, massage-therapist-recommended compression socks, and drugstore lip gloss that replaced her Tom Ford.
I’m actually sipping on Diet Coke right now. I’m a 7-Eleven fountain-drink girl. I grab one every morning in a Styrofoam cup with pebbled ice. I never grew up drinking sodas because my parents only had water or fruit juice in the house. But when I went to college in Utah, it was the thing to drink. Like everyone went to the Hart’s Gas Station and got a Diet Coke with lemon. That stuck with me.
I have a storage container at my house that’s always stocked with these. I also grab one on the go when I’m getting my Diet Coke. I’ve been eating them since I was little — the original flavor, not extra spicy. One of my best friends thinks it’s disgusting, but I still love them.
Oh my gosh, I love all flavors of Milanos — mint, orange, dark chocolate. It was like a special treat when I was a kid and went to my grandmother’s house. She always had a bag of the mint ones for me, and I’ve loved them ever since. Now, we buy the snack-size ones at Costco for my kids’ lunches and always have them stocked in the pantry. My youngest Henry is obsessed. He says they’re the perfect dipping cookie.
I lived in a modern house growing up — 90 degree angles everywhere and all white. My mom bleached everything. As soon as you walked in, it smelled clean. Like it could be hermetically sealed. Now, I live by my Clorox wet wipes. I wipe down everything with them. I can’t travel without them. As soon as we get to the hotel, I wipe down anything that somebody could have touched.
While we were on a yacht trip on the Mediterranean in 2017, I woke up one day and was like, Oh my gosh, my ankles are so swollen. We had a massage therapist on the boat who I went to, and she kept telling me, “It’s lymphatic. It’s lymphatic.” When I got home, I told my normal massage therapist about it, and she recommended these compression socks. Now I live by them. Especially because I’m traveling so much and drinking so much Diet Coke.
This is going to date me, but back in the early ’90s, my mom got me the perfect striped bodysuit from Express. I’ve been trying to find something like it ever since, and this is it. I have like ten of these in black and ten in white. It’s not too thin where you can see your bra through it, it has some weight. It looks like a T-shirt fabric, but it’s a stretchy blend that’s super-comfortable. I love wearing mine with my Bottega leather pants and a pair of killer heels. Or I wear them with those low, low waist jeans that are coming back.
I think every closet should have a clean pair of white sneakers. I’ve been wearing these for like the past eight years and own multiple pairs. They are so comfortable to walk in, and they look cool. The shape is great because they work with everything. Not all sneaker shapes look good with dress pants, but I like wearing mine with my Khaite pants and a Chanel sweater. And the platform’s not too much where you look like a Spice Girl, but you still get a little extra lift. They do run on the bigger side, so you do have to size a half-size down.
My mom sent me two boxes of the Refresh Eye Drops probably three months ago. She swears they made her vision better. I love them because I just need a little bit and it keeps my eyes hydrated all day long. It’s really great for anyone who has dry eye and lives in a dry climate like I do. I always have two or three in my bag.
Tom Ford lip gloss was all I wore until I found this about three months ago. Makeup artist Morgan Fay introduced me to this. She put it on me, and I was like, Oh my gosh, I’m obsessed. I literally went and bought 50 of them right after. It’s the perfect pinky-brown color, and the formula’s not super-sticky. I have it in every glove box and bag now. For my everyday look, I usually line my lips with MAC Soar and fill in with this.
My hair is everything. I try hard to take amazing care of my hair. I really love this line because it’s paraben free, sulfate free, all the frees of any bad things you don’t want in your hair. The shampoo is extra cleansing and the conditioner’s extra hydrating. I take it with me everywhere, and it makes my hair super-smooth and shiny. It feels luxurious, but it’s affordable, too.
I’m a very loyal person. Our tequila is the only spirit I drink. If I can’t get Vida, I don’t drink tequila. Not everybody is growing their agave to full maturation, which we still do. That means our tequila is really smooth, strong, and delicious with rich agave notes. When you don’t let the agave reach full maturation, it’s like eating an underripe strawberry. It is a sipping tequila, so it’s best neat or on the rocks, but I do have a favorite cocktail. On our first cast trip in Palm Springs, we stayed at the Trixie Motel, and I sent a message down to the bartender to make a Vida Blanco: an orange spiced tea syrup, angostura bitters, fresh lime, and fresh lemon. It’s balanced and so delicious.
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