We write about hundreds of products every week. Here, in our version of the Sunday circular, we’ve plucked some of our recent favorites: expert-recommended essentials, life-changing stuff you didn’t know you needed, newly launched gizmos, and very good deals we uncovered while trawling the vast online-shopping universe — including $70 super-comfortable (and machine-washable) flats, one writer’s perfect pair of dark-wash jeans, and Sofia Coppola’s preferred exfoliating mask (that’s now 30 percent off).
Chef Daniel Humm’s favorite incense
Daniel Humm, the Michelin-starred chef of Eleven Madison Park, regularly travels to Japan, where he found this incense that he counts among the things he can’t live without. Humm describes the scent as being woody and very calming: “It brings me back to my time there and going to the Buddhist temples,” he says.
An ugly but effective machine for banishing night sweats
When nothing could stop her perimenopause-triggered night sweats, Strategist contributor Claire Zulkey turned to the BedJet, a gadget she calls “a central-air unit under your covers.” Here’s how it works: A small hub rests under the bed, while a connected air hose attaches to the side of the mattress to blow continuous air above the top sheet. “The pleasure of sleeping without sweat overrode the soft purring of the motor and the gentle air-current feeling,” says Zulkey.
Harry Styles’s “grandpa mints” that are not for the faint of palate
Last weekend, our social-media editor Kathy Li noticed a video circulating on Twitter of Harry Styles at the Luton Town vs. Manchester United match. Before the game, the singer popped a mint that came in red-and-green packaging into his mouth. It turns out it was a Trebor Extra Strong mint (the same kind Jessica Chastain told us she can’t live without). To find out more, Li consulted Strategist senior editor Ailbhe Malone, who’s based in the U.K. “They’re a grandpa mint — like the mint version of a Werther’s Original,” Malone told Li, adding that they’re also “pungent” and “very much a smoker’s mint.”
The dark-wash denim jeans one writer found after a very long hunt …
Strategist contributor Mya Gelber was on the hunt for the perfect dark-wash jeans, and after scouring hundreds of websites and ordering (and returning) over 20 pairs, she finally found a winner: the Clean Eileen from Nudie Jeans, which are made with 100 percent cotton, slightly hug her hips, and fit better than any other pair. “I think I may have shed a tear once I zipped these on,” Gelber says, adding that the Nudie jeans are sturdy with a weight akin to vintage Levi’s.
… Plus one writer’s $70 personal uniform …
Meanwhile, Strategist contributor Anne Kadet told us about her current personal uniform, which cost just $70: a stretchy shirt and high-waisted, pull-on pencil skirt, both from “bastion of high style, Amazon.” Yes, the items are basics — and for Kadet, that’s the point. “I want people to notice me, not my outfit,” she says.
… And the orthopedic flats another writer never takes off
Last summer, Strategist contributor Misty White Sidell missed a connecting flight and wound up spending an afternoon in Milan, where she discovered her perfect everyday flat: Arcopedico’s Sec V. The flat’s “sleek knit top combined with bulbous soles” reminded Sidell of similar pairs from luxury brands, and she’s worn the shoes everywhere from meetings and fitness classes to her birthday party at the Russian Samovar.
A strong fragrance that’ll actually last
In last week’s installment of The Strategist Beauty Brief, our writer (and resident beauty expert) Tembe Denton-Hurst answered a reader question about scents that’ll last on elderly skin. She suggests switching to a stronger fragrance — specifically eau de parfums, or just parfums, rather than an eau de toilette or an eau de cologne. This one from Profumum Roma is a parfum, and according to the scent obsessives on Fragrantica, it’s similar in smell to the reader’s favorite Eau d’Hadrien, a citrusy scent that’s not too saccharine.
An on-sale “instant facial” mask beloved by Sofia Coppola
We found the exfoliating mask that Sofia Coppola uses to refresh at home or when she’s traveling in SkinStore’s big Anniversary Sale, along with plenty of our other beauty favorites from CosRX, Sunday Riley, Act+Acre, and more. Get Coppola’s mask at 30 percent off with code CELEBRATE — but don’t dillydally, as all markdowns will expire at 11:59 p.m. PT on Monday, February 26 (2:59 a.m. ET on Tuesday, February 27).
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.
