Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers
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 the colorful diaper bag one writer spotted all over Europe, our review of the new Outdoor Voices collection, and the Lululemon keychain that’s making rounds in high-school parking lots.
Everything you need for a long-lasting at-home manicure
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Dazzle Dry Build Your System Kit
$77
$78 now 1% off
$77
Don’t let Dazzle Dry’s simple packaging and the quick-dry claims dissuade you: Every time our writer Dominique Pariso used the polish to give herself an at-home manicure, it lasted two weeks without chipping — and actually dried remarkably fast. “I needed only three to five minutes for each coat and finished the entire manicure in under 30 minutes,” Pariso writes. “I immediately launched into my skin-care routine without having to worry about my nails smudging — a miracle by at-home-manicure standards.”
The Lululemon keychain you’ll find in every high school parking lot
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$48
“Sure, it’s been a while since Lululemon’s leggings and sports bras were the status items of New York’s Pilates and spin classes,” writes our junior writer Bella Druckman. “But in high schools from California to Alabama, it’s still ‘Lulu’ (as the teens call it) that’s at the top of holiday wish lists, on team uniforms, and, increasingly, in the school parking lot.” Specifically, it’s a small wristlet that teens are coveting. “I’m not really at the age where I really need a purse, per se,” teen Addie Bradley told Druckman, adding that she mainly needs something to hold her new driver’s license, debit card, and keys. “This is just something small and easy to put on my wrist and walk.”
A precise pen for picky people
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As a writer, former footwear designer, compulsive doodler, and avid list-maker, Strategist writer Martha Tuber has strict criteria about what makes a pen worthy of her paper. In addition to having black ink and an ultrafine nib, a good pen, she says, “should be intensely pigmented and smudge free, and it should glide smoothly over the paper with zero hint of friction or drag.” While her short list includes a variety of ballpoints and fountain pens, this one “is hands down the best for writing if, like me, you want a very fine line with a seriously smooth flow and ink that doesn’t smudge even a little bit,” she writes.
The illuminating gel Rebecca Minkoff applies from her face to her legs
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$29
Whenever designer Rebecca Minkoff puts this liquid illuminator on her face, legs, and arms, she says, “People always think I have had a facial.” She counts the tube of glitter-free glow among the items she can’t live without since it gives her “a dusting without the overly sparkly, glittery look — like a dusting of sun.”
The miracle cream Wyclef Jean swears by
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Until Wyclef Jean discovered this vegan body butter that’s handcrafted from mango, shea, and cocoa butters, he was using baby oil, cocoa butter, and Vaseline — sometimes all at the same time — to moisturize his skin. Now, it’s only this butter cream that he counts among the items he can’t live without. “You definitely go from ashy to classy with this,” he says.
An immersive scented candle for Dungeons & Dragons players
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When it comes to Dungeons & Dragons, “it can still be intimidating to get started playing. There are rules, mechanics, and terminology to learn,” says our sleep writer Amelia Jerden in her guide to the increasingly popular role-playing game. “There’s also the matter of all the stuff,” which can range from everything to a player’s handbook to some dice. If you’re set on the essentials, though, she recommends adding a few scene-setting extras, like these candles that are designed to “immerse you in a smell environment” while playing.
The colorful diaper bag taking over Europe
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$102
During a recent vacation in Sagres, Portugal, Strategist senior editor Ailbhe Malone split her time tending to her mosquito bites, lathering on sunscreen, and, of course, trend spotting. “The diaper bag I saw slung over every second Yoyo in Sagres was the squishy Olend Ona,” she writes. “That’s the third European city I’ve seen them in; my friend Hannah in Dublin bought one last year, and they’re a staple at the park near my house in London.
One of our favorite pieces from Outdoor Voices’ new collection
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After Outdoor Voices wiped its Instagram clean and announced that Ty Haney had officially rejoined the company, we were curious to find out how the updated stretchy exercise dresses, supersoft CloudKnit fabric, and lined gym shorts, compared to the originals. While writer Brenley Geortzen and deals editor Sam Daly found that “some of the pieces did feel rather skimpy and the sizing wasn’t very inclusive,” there were a few standouts among the collection, including this skort with a thick, high-rise waistband and contrast stitching that Geortzen plans to wear for her next pickleball outing.
Rimowa’s status suitcase in backpack form
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Rimowa Original Backpack
$2,400
$2,400
This week’s installment of “Don’t Dillydally” included Rimowa’s new aluminum backpack that has the same boxy exterior as the brand’s status-y suitcases. Complete with a padded back with a “quick access” exterior pocket, an interior laptop pocket, and a suitcase sleeve attachment, the backpack is “designed to meet the ‘changing need of a modern urban commuter,’ but to me it looks more like a prop from a spy movie,” writes Jerden.
The starter heels that won our writer’s hunt
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Madewell The Debbie Slingback Pump
$96
$150 now 36% off
$96
Five years after Druckman thought she had sworn off heels for good, she built up enough courage to give heels — specifically some neutral-colored, one- to two-ish-inch starter heels — another go. “Three months and seven pairs later — after no fewer than six blisters, tens of thousands of steps, and just one pity Uber — I feel confident calling myself a ‘heels girl,’’’ she writes. That’s made possible by these simple black Madewell slingbacks that she says “will live on the top shelf of my shoe rack for the foreseeable future.”
A Khaite-like tee for a Le Bon Shoppe price
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While Los Angeles–based brand and e-retailer Le Bon Shoppe made a name for itself with its socks, the category that’s truly taken off for the brand is T-shirts. After noticing the tees were making rounds in our fashion coverage, writer Ambar Pardilla decided it was time to give the T-shirts, which come in a range of styles from “vintage-inspired” to “cropped length,” a true test. After trying on (almost) all of Le Bon Shoppe’s tees, she counts this style as one of her favorites. It’s most comparable to her actual favorite tee, Khaite’s loose-fit Devra, for about a seventh of the price.
The $25 button-down one writer owns in ten colors
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Photo: Retailer
Freelance journalist Kelsey Mulvey doesn’t have an office to dress up for, but she didn’t want to spend her entire career dressed in sweatpants. “I was desperate to find a middle ground: something that was comfortable and casual but felt more put-together than sweats or pajamas,” she writes. Enter this lightweight, ultrasoft-cotton button-down that she pairs with everything from straight-legged jeans to leggings. “Since I purchased my first shirt, I’ve noticed that Target is always rotating its colors, patterns, and material options for the top. So whenever I see a new one I like, I add one to my cart and I don’t think twice,” she says.
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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.
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