We write about hundreds of products a week. Here, in our version of the Sunday circular, we’ve plucked out some of our favorites — expert-recommended essentials, life-changing stuff you didn’t know you needed, newly-launched gizmos, and the very good deals we uncovered while trolling through the vast online-shopping universe this past week.
Better ‘flowers’ for your Valentine
For the price of a nicer bodega bunch, this actually cool-looking phone case strikes the same note as giving flowers, but will likely last way longer than cut stems. It’s from our list of 19 floral gifts for Valentine’s Day that aren’t actual flowers.
A (cheap) security camera to safeguard your home
“You simply can’t buy peace of mind for under $40 — unless of course you get this camera,” is how one reviewer summed up his experience with this gadget on our list of the top-rated security cameras on Amazon. Another notes that, in addition to monitoring your home or office and livestreaming your pets and kids, it allows you to “capture special moments using motion tracking and tagging.” (We can’t think of a special moment we’d want to be tracked and tagged during, but we’ll take their word for it.)
Some (cheap) gloves to safeguard your hands
When we’re not writing about products, we are buying them — lots of them — as evidenced in our monthly hauls. In our latest edition, Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst mentioned that she nabbed these gloves that contributor Lily Kamp told us about a few weeks ago. “After an accident with a garlic slicer (and a newly sharpened knife before that),” Denton-Hurst wrote, “I’ve forced my girlfriend to wear cut gloves whenever she’s near sharp metal objects.”
Choose-what-you-pay cashmere
If you somehow missed our earlier story and newsletter about the latest additions to Everlane’s ongoing choose-what-you-pay-sale, a reminder that there are new additions to Everlane’s ongoing choose-what-you-pay-sale. Among them are a handful of soft, cozy things made of cashmere, like this simple, wearable sweater for just 84 bucks.
A new doll with a dose of nostalgia
With the holidays behind us, you’d think it’d be all quiet on the kids’ toy front. Not so, thanks to L.O.L. Surprise, which released a new line of dolls meant to fascinate today’s kids the same way MTV’s Room Raiders did for adolescents of the early aughts: “Each of the three new dolls includes a mini black light to ‘reveal even more surprises,”’ we wrote in Don’t Dillydally, where we also noted the dolls “will ship on February 16, but are available to preorder now.”
The polish a Catbird creative director uses to complement her jewelry
“My favorite glitter polishes look beautiful with rings,” wrote glitter-polish enthusiast and contributor Leigh Plessner. This inexpensive shade, which she describes as “silver with some rainbow tendencies,” is her go-to right now: “In the winter, it’s unexpected and makes the most of that low light, like white tablecloths and mirrors once did in the days of candlelight.”
An affordable (architect-approved) coffee table
We love it when we find out that people who design and furnish fancy spaces for a living actually fill their own places with stuff we can afford. Case in point: This boho-looking coffee table from Urban Outfitters that architect Ming Thompson has in her home. Not only does it make a “strong statement,” the furniture (which comes in two sizes) also holds up: “My coffee table gets a lot of wear and tear, with children crawling on top and dogs scratching underneath,” she told us.
A small but mighty way to fight stink
Haunted by the smells of “ghosts of meals past” inside his otherwise well-kept home, contributor Eric Marguiles could not find an effective way to stop his kitchen trash from stinking — until he tossed one of these shoe deodorizers into the bottom of the can. “On the day I put the sachet in, I checked it hourly, and the smell still most closely resembled that of months-old yogurt and pizza,” he told us. “But the next day, I opened it and just smelled … nothing. Somehow, the fragrance-free sachet had consumed all of the hellish smells lingering in the trash can overnight.”
And Chris Carrabba’s favorite underwear
We’ll let the Dashboard Confessional frontman explain the appeal of these boxer briefs he can’t live without: “To be candid here, they’re called Saxx because there’s a little sack where you have extra space, I guess? And so things are situated in a more pleasant way than when I wear other brands on the market.”
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
