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 Orville Peck’s cowboy-boot-removal tool, a very handy corn peeler, and pair of atypically artsy Nike socks.
A tool for the sweet-corn stans
Labor Day weekend notwithstanding, we still have one more month of corn season, and this tool will make it easier to make the most of your ears. It’s best for anyone who prefers their corn off the cob — like Strategist junior writer Bella Druckman, who included the gadget in her roundup of everything we’ve written about from OXO. “As someone raised in the Midwest, I can never pass up some sweet summer corn,” she writes. “This corn peeler, which easily strips corn off the cob without the hazards associated with a knife, was a beloved tool in my childhood home.”
Short rain boots for city folk
As Strategist writer Katherine Gillespie says, “Late-summer rainstorms are no joke, but waterproof footwear can help.” She recently added this low-profile pair to her guide to the very best rain boots as an appeal to city dwellers like her who want rain protection that doesn’t sacrifice on style. “While they don’t provide knee-high splash protection, they’re very comfortable and completely waterproof. They have the same narrow fitted shape and grippy lugged soles as the original boots, and, yes, they also come in lots of pretty colors that’ll stand out on gray days,” she says.
A nostalgic eye-shadow palette worth reconsidering …
Like many millennials and Gen-Zers, Strategist writer Rachael Griffiths first got her hands on a Naked eye-shadow palette ten years ago and proceeded to spend the next several weeks “following along with YouTube tutorials, palette in hand, learning how to blend the shadows and cut a crease.” In the decade since, Griffiths has nurtured her makeup skills and Naked has both discontinued and rereleased its original Naked palette. The verdict on the rerelease? “It’s simple, properly smoky, and has a luxury feel at a decently affordable price,” Griffiths writes.
… and an under-the-radar blush stick that lasts all day
Being accused of “blush blindness” is the new “tomato face,” which is the insult that put Strategist contributor Katie Stone off blush for years. That is, until she discovered blush sticks — “the pigmented equivalent of a glue stick” that she can swipe on her face without a care. “Since my blush-stick revelation, I’ve become a full-blown blush addict,” she says, and she has discovered that Victoria Beckham’s blush doesn’t fade: “This blush feels luxe — it’s very lightweight on your face, while still delivering a soft, smooth pigment that seriously lasts me hours on end (even during the sweatiest of NYC days).”
An extremely handy tool for taking off cowboy boots
Given the cowboy boot’s steady takeover of Manhattan, we can only assume many stylish individuals would benefit from Orville Peck’s cowboy-boot-removal tool. He received his as a gift from Post Malone and named it something he can’t live without because the device lets you “take your cowboy boots off without sort of having to sit down and struggle with them,” adding, “It sounds pedantic, but honestly, it is one of my favorite inventions in the world because when I don’t have one, sometimes I have to get someone to help pull my cowboy boots off my feet.”
The newest addition to the Squishmallow-verse
Neck and neck with Jellycat as the plushie du jour, Squishmallow just introduced a new toy that might give it some edge: Squish-a-longs. “This is a departure for the brand as the one-inch-tall figures aren’t plush; instead, they’re made of smooth and squishy plastic, a lot like the tradable ‘mochi’ squish toys that are popular among elementary-school kids,” says Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo in the latest toy-centric installment of “Don’t Dillydally.”
Sporty socks for museum regulars
And in the broader world of this week’s particularly exciting new product launches, a new collaboration between Nike and the MoMA caught our eye. It bridges the gap between the athletic crowd and the art folk in five colorful pairs of socks that Strategist writer Arielle Avila says “are classic for a reason.” That reason being “they’re cushiony, breathable, and go with everything,” she explains.
A design-forward shelf that doesn’t skimp on utility
Ahead of the fall shopping season, Strategist writers Dominique Pariso and Lauren Ro asked 25 shopkeepers and their in-the-know employees about the item they’re most excited to see on the floor this season. At design incubator and studio Lichen, that item is a versatile shelf that designer Alvaro Ucha Rodriguez describes as perfect “for daily carries like house keys, bags, hats, glasses, and even jackets but can also be used for oddly shaped things that can’t be hung, like lip balm, gum, or loose change.”
[Editor’s note: The Hangi.Dutti will be available at Lichen in September.]
One writer’s surprisingly nice-looking travel toothbrush
As our travel writer, Gillespie is often testing products that aren’t quite necessary for travel but certainly make many trips easier. She clued us in to this delightful travel-toothbrush kit in the newest edition of “Strategist Brain.” It includes all the dental necessities — a compact toothbrush, whitening toothpaste, and two interdental brushes — without skimping on quality. “I’ve taken one of these tiny Curaprox travel kits on every trip this summer. Colorful and design-y but also just a great toothbrush with uniquely soft bristles — if you know, you know,” Gillespie writes.
KJ Kearney’s favorite hot sauce
Over the years, we’ve written about a lot of hot sauces, and James Beard Award–winning founder of Black Food Fridays KJ Kearney just tipped us off to a new one: Lillie’s of Charleston Lowcountry Loco Hot Sauce. He places most hot sauces into one of two categories — “One is hot for the sake of being hot, and the other is underwhelming in heat but very flavorful” — and says Lillie’s delightfully fits right in the middle: “It’s flavorful, but it’s also hot. I’m not trying to eat Carolina Reapers here. What are we trying to prove? That I’m willing to put a hand grenade in my intestines? I want to enjoy my food, not suffer.”
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.
