Obviously, Strategist staffers are excellent shoppers (it’s why you’re here visiting the site right now). So once a month, we highlight all the things we’ve been buying for ourselves. You’ll notice that it’s both a blessing and a curse to be a Strategist editor; we’re picky, but sometimes we just have to get on with it. (It’s online-shopping expertise meets IRL needs.) Below, what we bought in November.
Ailbhe Malone, senior editor
This smells like a pomander — festive in a Victorian way, not a Hallmark way. It makes me want to yowl, “You there, boy! What day is it?” from my bedroom window to a snowy street below.
Rachael Griffiths, writer
I went to a talk by Kaveh Akbar recently and was utterly transfixed by his turn of phrase — particularly his description of bias as being “yoked to my subjectivity, just like anyone else.” I knew I had to order his debut novel, Martyr!, and was thrilled to find his prose equally as engrossing, beautifully and uniquely crafted. It’s also a favorite 2024 novel of our friends over at Vulture and in the group chat for Book Gossip (a new literary newsletter from the Cut). If you feel you’ve not read anything truly refreshing lately, I can’t recommend it enough.
My love for Maybelline Sky High is well documented, so it’s no surprise I ordered a tube of its new glitter topcoat as soon as it launched. My editor and I were worried the glitter would flake off into my eyes or dry stiff and gloopy, but I’m pleased to report that’s not the case. It simply adds a little frosting to your existing mascara, which doesn’t show up excellently on camera but is dazzling in real life when it catches the light.
Amelia Jerden, writer
My favorite breakfast is cottage cheese on toast with a dash of everything seasoning. I recently ran out of my everything blend, so I picked up this citrusy one from Spicewalla to replace it. It’s deliciously tangy and perfect for my toast.
Earrings are my favorite type of jewelry, and I especially love big statement pairs. The trick is to find ones that don’t weigh down your ears. Wood is often a good bet for something light but big, so I always take a peek when I see wooden earrings at art markets or craft fairs. I stumbled upon a local artist selling some at a museum event this past weekend and picked up these gorgeous celestially inspired earrings. (I was tempted by this snapping-turtle design, too). I wore them the very next day and can confirm they barely weighed down my ears at all.
Hilary Reid, senior editor
Pretty much every day from November to March, I usually wear a black wool Jil Sander coat I bought on the Real Real a couple of years ago, but the weirdly warm weather this fall led me to look for lighter options. I didn’t want to spend a zillion dollars, so I took a turn around Zara and was drawn to this coat for its shape. The collarless cropped silhouette makes it a little just so, but then the faux shearling loosens that up a bit. So far, I’ve had a few friends ask about it and each was surprised to hear it’s from Zara, which is basically the exact response I would hope for with an under-$100 jacket.
I also bought two more of these white T-shirts from J.Crew, bringing my total to four. They are really ideal for layering under sweaters because they have a longer sleeve length, which prevents the shoulder from bunching up the way a cap sleeve does. I also love that they’re made from a kind of crisp, opaque white cotton that feels distinctly early aughts — it actually reminds me of the Three Dots T-shirts I would long for in high school.
Bella Druckman, junior writer
After hearing about these sparkle patches from every Swiftie I interviewed for our Swiftie gift guide, I couldn’t resist trying them for myself. It turns out they live up to the hype: They’re easy to apply, stay on all night long, and look cute in every sparkly selfie (of which I took many).
If you read my “Strategist Brain” column, you may remember the stockings I just purchased. This sparkly oyster ornament was a last-minute addition to my cart, and I can’t wait to see it in person.
Dominique Pariso, writer
As an early holiday present to myself, I picked up this solid-gold sequin charm during Olivve NYC’s Black Friday sale. It’s super-sparkly and looks really great with my other charms.
Winnie Yang, senior editor
I have long wanted to opt out of the nonstick-pan lifecycle. I’m sick of having to toss them after just a couple of years when the coating starts to wear off (and of worrying about what’s in the coating itself). So I was particularly interested in the recommendations from our recently published guide to carbon-steel pans, which I edited. I’d tried a couple before but could never get them to work as a total substitute for nonstick. With not a little hesitation, I bought eight-inch and 12-inch versions of the top pick during a sale. When the pans came, I immediately put them to the test by frying eggs and then dumplings and was pleased to see them slide off the pans without a hitch.
Somewhat relatedly, in a continuing effort to rid our household of plastic, I got a very nice wooden spoon–spatula hybrid.
Katherine Gillespie, writer
I stocked up on winter basics this month and am proud of myself for buying three of these LA Apparel crewnecks for the same price as the one Flore Flore tee I actually wanted. Probably the cut isn’t quite as nice (at $107 a pop, I guess I’ll never know?), but the quality is there and I actually really like LA Apparel’s colorways. I’m getting a surprising amount of wear from the baby-pink one layered under a V-necked sweater. These definitely aren’t as cropped as they appear on the model, which for my purposes is a good thing. Also, they have nice long sleeves.
Arielle Avila, writer
Instead of the bookshelf options I mentioned in my “Strat Brain,” I decided to build an Ivar system from Ikea. I love it. It’s made of real wood, affordable, and completely customizable. (The last point was a huge deciding factor since I may want to add cabinets later or move it from behind my couch.) Right now, the spacing between the top shelves is a tad off and the unfinished wood makes me nervous, but another row of shelves and a little sealer are a quick and easy fix.
I finally bought myself a jewelry box so I could start building up my jewelry collection without worrying about ruining or losing pieces. But I’ve found I actually wear more of the pieces I already own now that everything’s laid out nicely and extremely easy to get to. I bought mine used and discounted on Mercari, but I would gladly purchase it at full price.
Lauren Ro, writer
I discovered this brand earlier this year while googling “felt bins” to go inside the shelves of our new entryway storage unit. I bought three XL bins back in January. Then, last month, I got fed up with the open-shelving situation in my closet and bought a bundle of these slim felt bins with lids to organize my jumble of tights. They’re really nice. They’re made of felt derived from postconsumer recycled plastic and are structured and stiff but have a soft look that feels very Lauren Manoogian to me, especially in the “stone” color. They’re expensive but sturdy, and, maybe more important, they bring some much-needed order to the chaos that is my house. Right now, the brand is offering 25 percent off with code BF25. I may buy a few more for socks and underwear.
As a rule, I generally don’t like to wear athleisure outside the house, but if it’s a weekend, I’ll pull on a pair of leggings to run a couple of errands. As much as I adore my Lulu Aligns, they’re slightly too unstructured to comfortably wear around town. On the other end of the spectrum, running tights are too compressive and shiny. I wanted something that was matte with a soft feel like the Aligns but a little more supportive and smoothing. I consulted my colleague Kat Gillespie (she has tested dozens of leggings for the site) about my search and she suggested I check out Alo. After poring over its many options and reading reviews, I settled on the Alosoft style, and they were exactly what I was after. They have a bit more compression than the Aligns without being too tight, giving me more definition and, let’s be honest, confidence. I wore them with Spanx’s AirEssentials Half Zip to dim sum with the family this weekend and felt like a polished Pilates mom — even though I was unshowered and had bits of har gow in my hair. (Best part, they are still on sale for 30 percent off.)
Ambar Pardilla, writer
While working on our guide to corduroy pants, I realized I didn’t have a pair of corduroy pants. Such is the fate of a Strategist writer: If you hear about something enough, you’re convinced to buy it for yourself. I like that these corduroy pants are baggier and come with a barrel leg. They don’t feel preppy, like many corduroy pants do (they’re nothing like what you’d see in, say, an old L.L.Bean or Lands’ End catalogue).
Erin Schwartz, writer
Ahead of gift season every year, I get a few rolls of Carta Varese wrapping paper from the Etsy store 32 Degrees North. This year, I scammed my partner into splitting it with me, which allowed us to get more patterns. I will never stop singing the praises of this wrapping paper. It’s made by a 17th-century Venetian papermaker, and the print quality is the best I’ve seen: saturated and rich without the watery tones you see on dollar-store paper. The sheets aren’t huge, so it’s best for gifts that are hardcover-book-size or smaller, but it makes them feel so much more special. The paper is also the perfect weight — crisp enough to hold a crease and thick enough that it doesn’t rip easily when you peel off the tape to reuse it, which you will want to do.
I have the cursed combination of extremely sensitive skin and a fragrance allergy, which makes finding a deodorant quite hard — both traditional deodorants and the hippie stuff have left me with an itchy red rash. After years of looking, I bought this Kiss My Face roller at the Park Slope Food Coop (where else?), and I am happy to say it actually works. I’ve hesitated to buy fragrance-free deodorant before because it sounds like it would do absolutely nothing, but this thing is magical. Even in the absence of smelly ingredients, it transforms sweaty armpit odor into a pleasant smell I can best describe as “clean body.”
Kitty Guo, writer
Last year on Black Friday, I bought this ring from California Dirt, a nature-inspired jewelry brand described as “hippie” by Remi Wolf. I wear it pretty much every time I leave the house, and last week on the L train, I was tapped on the shoulder by someone sitting next to me who recognized it because the brand founder, Carmen Kelly, is a friend of his. Clearly, this was a fortuitous sign, so this year I went back for this dainty little star-shaped pendant, which I’m sure will get worn just as religiously.
Vulture’s rave review, plus a vouch from fellow Strategist writer Dominique Pariso, finally convinced me to go see Oh, Mary! on Broadway. My review: tightly paced, excellently designed, and thoroughly entertaining. What more could you ask from a night at the theater?
Jeremy Rellosa, writer
My editor, Winnie Yang, suggested I check out this book because the TV adaptation was set to release this fall. I was familiar with Patrick Radden Keefe’s other work, but Say Nothing flew under my radar. I’ve really enjoyed it so far. Keefe gives an incredibly detailed account of the violence that took place during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He’s meticulous in his reporting and research, yet it’s very easy to read — the best kind of narrative nonfiction.
I bought a new pair of Endorphin Speeds for marathon training because my previous pair had lost their bounce (I’d logged over 600 miles on them). It’s my favorite shoe. I use them for everything from easy miles to speedier interval workouts, and my feet are happy in them. I wanted to change it up and get a bright highlighter-yellow color, as opposed to my usual gray-white-black-blue running-shoe rotation.
Liza Corsillo, senior writer
Sarah’s Silks started Black Friday very early with some truly excellent deals. I bought a bunch of things for my son’s upcoming 2nd birthday, including this star balloon ball, a silk cover for any regular balloon that makes it both pretty and safer to play with.
Holiday-card season is coming fast, so I bought these lovely stamps that feature iconic Shaker designs like chairs, staircases, and a spinning wheel. The collection’s release coincides with the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the first Shakers in the U.S. The look of them feels cozy to me.
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.
