9 Products That Delighted Us Last Week: From Spice Labels to Wearable Fans

“Lest you think TikTok is just dancing teens, the #diy hashtag has nearly 40 billion views,” contributor Ella Cerón reminds us in writing about one home-improvement trend that’s gone viral thanks to the platform. That trend? Reorganizing kitchen cupboards with the help of these aesthetically pleasing spice labels by Kim Negaard, a Minnesota-based graphic designer and blogger. Cerón first saw the labels in a TikTok video by Brooklyn-based blogger Teresa Caruso (which she notes has been viewed more than 3 million times) that “details how she turned her ‘hot mess’ of a spice cabinet into a pristine display.” But, she writes, “the labels have experienced notoriety on other social-media platforms. Earlier this year, Domino highlighted organizer Shira Gill’s overhaul of a kitchen belonging to Identité Collective founder Anastasia Casey, and the resulting spice cabinet — featuring Negaard’s signature labels — has been re-grammed and pinned hundreds of times.”

Last week, for the first time ever, we did some deal-making of our own, reaching out to the brands behind some of our most-stood-behind products to get exclusive discounts for Strategist readers. While some of the offers in Strategist’s Two-Day (Actually Good) Sale have come and gone, those who missed out can still take advantage of others, like this 20 percent discount on a cool-women-approved work bag that, we note, “is pretty much a perfect bag — period. Nice-looking but not boring, sturdy, and spacious enough to hold all your essentials, it’s the type of thing you can run errands with, pack for a day at the park, or, of course, carry back and forth to the office every day whenever you might return.”

Whether you’re headed to the backyard or the backcountry, frequent campers say that even spending just one night outside will require some supplies if you want to be truly comfortable. One of them, not surprisingly, is a tent — but, according to the experts that writer Lauren Ro spoke with to put together our beginners’ guide to camping, you do not have to spend more than $100 to get a good one. Three regular campers told us the Sundome is perfect for newbies, and not just because of its price. “It’s the best for beginner campers because it’s covered and completely dark on the inside,” says one pro. “You can sleep in longer because it blocks everything out. Plus it keeps everything cool, and doesn’t cook you inside of it,” thanks to its large windows and ground vent, which provide ventilation. It comes in several sizes, too (the experts say to choose a size up from the number in your party — so if you’re two campers, choose a four-person tent — to ensure there’s plenty of space).

“Running is the most democratic, pure form of exercise. While there are clothes specifically designed for the activity, all it really requires is a good pair of shoes — or so I thought, until I started clocking double-digit miles multiple times per week outside in warm weather,” Black writes, telling us those double-digit miles left him with “painful, bleeding nipples that began to interrupt my strict two-a-day schedule.” After doing some research and talking to some runner friends, he learned his “nipple disaster” was due to “chafing from rubbing against clothing, sweat, and salt.” Black says he “was ready to (literally) just put Band-Aids on my nipples — but then I discovered the cleverly named NipEaze stickers. They don’t move at all once applied — they become one with the nipple, protecting it like a shield from sweat-soaked synthetic fabrics. They are also discreet: I wear them every day, and still will forget to take them off, sometimes even in the shower.”

When we asked ten men about the best pairs of no-show socks you can buy, almost half of them (four) pointed us to this specific style from Uniqlo. (And all of them said that wearing socks, even if you prefer the bare ankle look, is essential for the benefit of your shoes and your feet.) “They last long, grip the heel and foot well, and are well-designed enough that they’re never peeking out the back of your shoe,” says one fan, with another simply praising them as “affordable, practical, and reliable.”

Contributor Alison Freer “recently spent a week house-sitting a pal’s home in Palm Springs,” a statement that, on its face, sounds downright lovely. “But” — there’s always a but — “I also got to experience Palm Springs’ unrelenting 112-degree heat, which made it hard to be outdoors.” She told her pal as much, and he told Freer to rummage through his closet for this fan, which “he swears by during roasting-hot desert summers.” She gave it a spin and “was shocked by how much wind this little device managed to put out. It has three different fan settings (plus a set of colored LED lights, should you find yourself at a rave), and the short charge lasted the entire two hours I was out walking. Once I charged it fully, it ran for close to six hours on the medium setting. The clever neck fan has flexible, posable arms that allow you to aim the breeze wherever you like, and I find myself wearing it inside the house while doing chores — even when the AC is running.”