8 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Red-Light Wands to Recycled Rugs

Butler bake shop co-founder Hugo Murray told us he has been wearing this American Giant hoodie for ten years and counting. Although he generally considers hoodies to be casual, sitting-on-the-couch apparel, this one is made of high-quality cotton that’s “probably twice the thickness of the average hoodie” with extended rib-cuff stitching that “creates an overall more tailored look,” Murray says. He has worn it during build-outs on a Butler shop, for trips to the gym, and on hikes in Wyoming, and it was a staple in his suitcase on international trips to the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina. After all this time, “it’s never let me down,” Murray declares.

Strategist columnist Chris Black answered a reader request for help refreshing their sock wardrobe. “You need the right socks for boots and cold weather as winter continues but not something so thick and warm that it makes your feet sweat,” Black writes. He suggests options from Falke and Smartwool for everyday wear, but these smiley-face-emblazoned Kapital socks are his splurge pick. “I have given and received these as gifts, and they get worn often. They aren’t cheap, but they sure are fun,” he says.

Strategist contributor Diksha Basu turned 40 a few months ago and swears her skin looks better now than it did at 20, which she attributes to the Solawave: a red-light face wand that helps reduce wrinkles, dark spots, and puffiness. Even though she’s generally not fussy about skin care — “I don’t wear sunblock regularly, and my products include only what is not under lock and key at whichever CVS or Target I happen to be in,” she writes — she’ll run the Solawave over her face for the recommended 12 minutes a few times a week. The result is that “my face glows, and my eyes look much less tired than they feel,” she reports.

When we asked professional surfer Nathan Florence what he can’t live without, he highlighted this reef-safe tinted sunscreen, which keeps him from burning during three-to-four-hour sessions in the water. “I found that other sunscreens would leave my skin dry after the session and kind of crackly,” Florence says, but the Protekt sunscreen doesn’t do that. “It’s not oily, but it just has a little bit of substance to it so your skin doesn’t feel really dry after,” he says. “It just covers you, does the job.”

In our roundup of what the Strategist staff bought in January, senior editor Winnie Yang wrote about this skill-building wooden labyrinth that she first came across at a delightful toy store in Rome. It involves placing a metal ball at the starting mark and then twisting the handles to move the board and maneuver the ball to the finish line. “My 8-year-old was immediately drawn to it. I made a mental note to get it for her birthday earlier this month, and she’s been playing with it in the weeks since we gave it to her,” Yang says.

A recent issue of Secret Strategist — our weekly newsletter devoted to unearthing special things — was devoted entirely to rugs after senior editor Simone Kitchens went looking for alternatives to the beautiful (but pricey) Nordic Knots Grand rug. First she ordered a yellow-gold one from rugs.com, which turned out to be too pale and scratchy. Then she found a sage-green option from boutiquerugs.com that she’s satisfied with thanks to its cushiony high pile and rich color. She’s also eyeing this rug from Quince, which is made from recycled plastic water bottles.