10 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Dainty Coupes to Go-Bag Matches

While we endure this never-ending heat wave, it seems as though sweat (and how to prevent it) is on everyone’s minds — including our writers’. During a caucus of particularly sweaty Strategist writers, Dominique Pariso advised using these antiperspirant wipes at night to prevent sweating during the day. “Basically, it works better at night because your sweat glands aren’t as active, so it allows it to soak in more,” she told us.

In other sweaty news, Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst has been using this colorful floor fan since 2016. She says that after bringing it home for the first time, “[I] was so impressed with it that I kept it running nonstop for the next six months, even after I bought the AC.” Eight years later, Denton-Hurst has purchased a few reinforcements, including the same small-but-mighty ventilator in a brilliant blue. She uses it as the sole source of cool air in her home office.

After Strategist writer Arielle Avila noticed that American-made sunscreens had been in the hot seat recently, she decided to investigate. Her research turned up a few solid sunscreens made in the U.S., including this broad-spectrum option that comes in a rather cheery container. The formula inside is just as pleasant: “I’ve tried it myself and really enjoyed it,” Avila writes. “The formula has that slippery silicone feel and is a little heavier than other sunscreens I’ve used, but it doesn’t make my skin look oily.”

“I’m big on the mood in a room — especially if I’m traveling, staying in hotels or backstage at venues,” says singer Tinashe. Along with her favorite candle (it’s the Baies scent from Diptyque if you were wondering), she takes this smart humidifier with her everywhere. “It keeps me from drying out,” she says. “I like to add eucalyptus oil, because why not? Just to give it that extra-fresh, spalike feel.”

If you caught our guides to the best cocktail jiggers and shakers, you might be intrigued to hear there’s an addition to our bartending lineup: a guide to the very best cocktail muddlers. “I have replaced many plastic and wood muddlers from wear and tear or chipping. But not stainless-steel ones — they’re hard-core,” says Adrienne Gomez-Saddler, who has opened numerous bars and restaurants over the past 20 years. This stainless-steel muddler, which has a serrated end, is her favorite.

You’re going to need something to put that cocktail in. Consider these crystal coupes, which we heard about from Strategist contributor Maria Yagoda, the author of our new guide to the best coupe glasses. “Because coupe glasses can dress up such a wide variety of drinks, they make a smart glass choice for stocking your home bar,” she says. The Nude coupes are a staple at Paris’s Ritz Bar, where head bartender Romain de Courcy has one tip for at-home bartenders: “Just make sure to put them in the freezer for at least ten minutes before use so they keep the cocktail chilled when you pour it in.”

“Whether you’re dealing with a natural disaster, a public-health emergency, or a human-caused disaster, an emergency kit can help you get to safety and stay safe,” writes Strategist writer Jeremy Rellosa. Among the food, first-aid, and clothing necessities he keeps in his go bag is this set of stormproof matches. They’re windproof and waterproof (but best kept in a waterproof case for safekeeping). “I have the same ones in my backpacking kit and keep them in a plastic bag along with some kindling — I use extra toilet paper,” he writes.

We found something to pack for your next weekend upstate: Kingdomino, a two-to-four-player board game newly added to our guide to the best adult board games. “In Kingdomino, players use tiles featuring different land types to build kingdoms within a set-size grid,” says Cartamundi tabletop-games ambassador Sean Amdisen-Cooke. Pariso explains the dominoes-esque factor best: “Its name — a portmanteau of kingdom and domino — nods to how you play it: Players can only add a tile to the grid if the one it touches contains a matching land type to theirs (like how you’d match dominoes).”

Gifting season is still a few months away, but chef Alice Waters just tipped us off to one item we’re adding to our mental lists: a crêpe-paper head of garlic that’s full of little delights. “Every time you turn them, you unravel them and there’s a little surprise inside,” she says. “It may be a little ring. It could be a quote from some philosopher. It could be a little candy, a little toy.”

“A lot of adulthood, I’ve found, is realizing that the things you liked as a girl are still pretty great,” writes Strategist contributor Nicolaia Rips. While she’s not quite ready to return to winged eyeliner, Rips says that the mint-flavored lip gloss she’s been buying since high school — an unassuming tube from C.O. Bigelow — is the only one she uses during the ongoing lip-gloss craze. “It gives the lips a sheer reddish-brown hue as if you had just bitten into a small ripe stone fruit. It’s not sticky; it doesn’t glue your lips shut. It’s not drippy — or drying,” she writes.