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We write about hundreds of products each 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 through the vast online-shopping universe — including a “giant gummy bear”-like phone case, earrings by a Ted Muehling apprentice, and a celebrity-approved DIY teeth-whitening system.
Our travel writer’s key to staying warm in every kind of sleeping situation
As you read this, our travel writer, Katherine Gillespie, is “trekking in the Himalayas and chugging across deserts on sleeper trains,” a feat made more comfortable by this sleeping-bag liner. “I would rather be too warm than too cold, and as such will be bringing this sleeping-bag liner to enhance whatever bedding situation I encounter on the trip,” she says. “It’s very toasty and an easy way to winterize a three-season sleeping bag.” Between uses, Gillespie stows the liner in a 35-liter Cotopaxi Allpa — her travel bag of choice.
A matcha machine for making barista-level drinks at home
If you’re sick of paying for daily matcha lattes at your coffee shop, you might want to invest in the at-home matcha maker that singer-songwriter Justine Skye told us she can’t live without. “It’s fun to watch the machine grind up the matcha and mix it in perfectly,” she says. “You can set it to different strengths, like if you don’t want too much caffeine that day, or if you need an extra boost.” Given the machine’s capabilities, she adds, “It makes me feel like a matcha barista at home.”
A does-it-all salve for irritated skin …
In the latest installment of The Strategist Beauty Brief, our beauty writers shared the boring-but-beloved staples they’re bringing into 2025. Their list includes a number of longtime favorites, like Vaseline, CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, and this baby skin salve that Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst first recommended in 2020. “I’ve taken to using it whenever my skin is in distress,” she says. “It was my go-to when I was in Mexico City back in April and saved my ultraitchy, irritated skin when nothing else worked. I don’t travel without it.”
… and the newest tinted lip balm on our radar
The buzzy French beauty brand Typology’s latest release is a new tinted lip balm that’s available in four shades — pastel pink, rosy brown, deep purple, and clear. It’s made with hyaluronic acid and ceramides, and can also be swiped on your cheeks as a blush, says Strategist writer Emma Wartzman in this week’s roundup of new stuff. “In peak chapped-lip season, that’s hydration and color in one go,” she notes.
A High Sport–esque pair of Old Navy maternity pants
Eighteen weeks into her pregnancy, Strategist contributor Sarah Leon found that she could no longer fit into any of her jeans. Wearing tights with oversize dresses and drawstring pants was a temporary solution — until she found these rather High Sport–like maternity pants from Old Navy, which became the only pants she wore out of the house. “In a moment when I felt weird and lumpy — like I didn’t look like myself, but I also didn’t look like the glowing, obviously pregnant person I would be — they made me feel good,” she says.
An HSA/FSA-eligible sauna blanket
“As someone who’s always belonged to the most affordable gym in the neighborhood, the chance to use saunas are far and few between,” writes Strategist contributor Halley Furlong-Mitchell. That’s why she became obsessed with buying Higher Dose’s at-home sauna blanket, which, at $700, seemed out of reach until she realized she could put her remaining FSA dollars toward it. The blanket did not disappoint: “Days I’ve used my sauna blanket have led to nights I’ve slept more deeply than ever,” she reports. “My mood is stabilized or instantly improved, and my skin has a radiance to it that I can’t attribute to anything else.”
A tee with proceeds that support Mutual Aid LA
“As a California native with friends who have lost their homes in the fire, I’ve been looking for ways to help victims and my hometown,” says Strategist writer Lauren Ro. Along with donating to as many GoFundMe campaigns and nonprofit organizations as possible, Ro rounded up a list of companies giving back to the community. On the list is NYLovesLA, which teamed up with Kingsland Editions to make this tee, “the sale proceeds of which will all go toward supporting the work of Mutual Aid LA,” writes Ro.
The mattress that’s (still) our favorite
The Saatva Classic mattress had been our No. 1 mattress pick for years, even before our sleep writer, Amelia Jerden, took over the beat. When Jerden started, she was familiar with the mattress — “I’d briefly tried it myself in my previous job as a mattress reviewer and thought it was a high-quality option, so I had no issue keeping it in the top spot,” she says — but it was time to try it again, just to be sure. Upon revisiting the mattress and sleeping on it for four months, her verdict is in: “It’s the platonic ideal of a mattress that can work for almost anyone.”
An impractical yet aesthetic phone case
When it comes to phone cases, Strategist writer Erin Schwartz says, “I love the crazy stuff, and I’m not alone — I’ve noticed maximalism gaining ground.” After all, they ask, “In the face of a homogenous and creatively uninspiring tech landscape, why not get an insane phone case?” In turn, they scoured the internet for a variety of impractical yet aesthetic phone cases, including this one that “looks like giant gummy bears and can act as a holder or prop up your phone like a stand in either orientation, horizontal or vertical.”
The teeth-whitening system Janelle James swears by
“I’m trying to stay away from the chiclet teeth that everybody’s getting and just remember that my teeth are nice and white enough,” actor Janelle James told us. When she does want to whiten her teeth, James uses this two-part system that includes a toothpaste and an activator. “You put a little dab of both of them on your toothbrush, so now you feel like you’re doing science,” she says. It makes a noticeable difference: “When I fall off, I do notice my teeth aren’t as white,” she says.
A 3-D Tetris game for kids and adults
If you’re looking for a new addition to your game-night lineup, try this 3-D Tetris game, which Strategist writer Dominique Pariso recently included in her guide to the best board games for adults. It “works much like the original version of the game, except you’re also competing against other players to win points as you build your lines,” she writes. “While this game was brought to my family’s Christmas this year to entertain the kids, it wasn’t long before the boards had been commandeered by the adults,” she adds.
Under-$500 earrings from a Ted Muehling apprentice
With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, we’re already thinking about gifts that will surprise and delight, including fine jewelry (which means pieces in gold, silver, or platinum and that include gemstones or pearls). “While a lot of fine pieces come with a four-figure-plus price tag, you don’t actually have to spend a fortune,” writes our in-house jewelry collector, Ambar Pardilla. To prove her point, she “went on the hunt for the best necklaces, bracelets, and earrings under $500 from everywhere I could think of” and turned up more than 50 pieces, including these sterling-silver acorns from Gabriella Kiss, who was an apprentice of Ted Muehling.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.