An all-over-the-place assortment of stood-behind products culled from this very website that appears in the most recent June issue of New York Magazine.
Best in Class
Strategist writer Rachael Griffiths has been self-tanning since she was a teen and is familiar with everything that can go wrong with the process, from inhaling smelly orange foam, to applying an unpleasantly gooey formula, to getting stuck with a tan that looks overtly fake. Eventually, trial and error led her to Bondi Sands Self Tanning Foam, and in five years of use, she has never had the desire to try any other product. The foam dries quickly, has a subtle coconut scent, and fades gradually and uniformly rather than haphazardly in unsightly patches. Most at-home tanners come in just one color, but Bondi is available in three: light/medium, dark, and ultradark. Spray-tan stylist Cait Cassagne of Studio C8, who is also a fan, says, “The color has beautiful undertones.” Griffiths started with a medium shade and eventually progressed to dark for a totally natural look. She says, “I’ve even had people ask where I’ve been on vacation for such a glow.”
Celebrity Shopping
“I found out about this from a makeup artist about five years ago. It’s a skin- barrier repair cream, so it’s great if you’re dealing with acne, healing scars, and sun damage. I use it nightly because I feel like it restores my skin best then. When I wake up, I literally feel like my skin is saying, ‘Hello! Good morning!’ ”
“I saw this on Shark Tank. It turns any pair of shoes into slip-ons. I buy it for all my shoes. Everyone who lives with me thinks I’m an idiot, but I think it’s great. You don’t have to tie your shoes anymore — you just tie them once and then you never have to bother again. That’s 30 seconds a day you save.”
“Who doesn’t love Isabel Marant? I just happened to go in the store and saw this. The fabric is not quite velvet but close to carpet. It’s colorful and fun and big, so I can put lots of things in it when I travel. It’s my happy tote bag.”
Gifts They Might Actually Want
A few years ago, I was gifted a pencil. It was a considerate present from someone who knew me well; I write all the first drafts of my manuscripts in pencil. But this was no regular pencil. The Graf von Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil has a long, narrow shaft of black ribbed Californian cedarwood that enrobes the lead. There’s a tiny white eraser concealed in a rose-gold cap on one end and a hidden sharpener that can refine the lead to a lethal point on the other. As soon as I started using
it, I noticed the lead was smooth and made a beautiful sharp mark that didn’t smudge. I admit this pencil isn’t exactly a budget option, but it will be with me for life. It’s become part of my signature as an author, and in all these years I’ve had to order new lead only once. The lead replacement is around $55 for three sticks, a small price to pay for this heavenly pencil. —Plum Sykes
Strategist Explains
Washing jeans too often can weaken the fabric and make them wear out faster, so when it is time to clean them up — after every ten or so wears — it’s important to employ an effective yet gentle method. Below, some tips. —Ambar Pardilla
1.
Turn your jeans inside out before you throw them in the washer.
It’s inevitable that jeans will lighten with age, but washing them inside out helps them hold on to their color. Newer jeans are more likely to bleed, so try washing them in a load by themselves.
2.
Use cold water.
Both water and heat can cause shrinkage, but using cold water will mitigate some of the damage. No need for special detergent, either; whatever you use on the rest of your clothes will do.
3.
Yes, it’s okay to put your jeans in the dryer sometimes.
The occasional tumble won’t ruin them. Just make sure the heat setting isn’t too high — the lower the better. Still, the best way to prevent shrinking and stretching is air-drying. If you want to be extra careful, lay your jeans flat to dry.
4.
Spot-clean between washes.
You can get away with fewer regular washings this way, plus it’s more sustainable since there’s less water involved. I spot-clean my own jeans with water and a drop or two of detergent.
Ask a Cool Person
Because of its heirloom quality and high price tag, a wooden salad bowl can feel aspirational, like something you’d put on a wedding registry. But you don’t have to wait for a momentous life event to purchase one. Here, a list of favorites from notable chefs, authors, and food critics who all make and serve a lot of salads. —Lauren Ro
Cookbook authors Andrea Nguyen, Monique Volz, and Dan Pelosi all swear by this acacia-grain salad bowl, which Nguyen calls “handsome and organic- looking.” Pelosi appreciates its large size — great for dinner parties — “and the way its rounded sides appear to be literally hugging the contents of the bowl.”
Different from the acacia and cherry bowls on this list, this one is made from a wood that gets its name — and distinct coloring — from fungus left by an infestation of the ambrosia beetle. New York Magazine’s chief restaurant critic, Matthew Schneier, has it at home. When he’s not at table, he uses it to hold onions and shallots.
Trinity Mouzon Wofford, co-founder of wellness brand Golde, received this bowl as a wedding present. Produced by Vermont-based company Andrew Pearce, which cuts and hand-turns bowls and chopping boards from a single piece of wood, the oblong cherry bowl has a live edge, which gives it a natural, rustic look.
Food writer Colu Henry found what she calls the “love-of-my-life Dansk salad bowl” at an estate sale in Hudson about ten years ago and has been using it ever since. “I love that it leans retro and by nature has a sculptural vibe,” she says. While hers is vintage, Dansk still makes similar styles, like this one in acacia.
This Thing’s Incredible
I didn’t set out to sleep on a cardboard bed. I ordered a wood-and-rattan platform from CB2 and had to wait two months for the delivery. In the meantime, my Casper mattress was on the floor, which got old fast. My back hurt, too. Soon enough, I was furiously Googling “temporary bed frames.” And there was the Yona, a recyclable cardboard bed. When it arrived, it looked comically simple. The setup was just three steps: Open the box, pull out the frame like an accordion, then place your mattress on the accordion.
The Yona lifted my mattress 10.4 inches off the floor, and its honeycomb design allowed for good airflow. Every few days, it drifts a little, but I just kick it back into place. In fact, the Yona is so comfortable and functional that when my CB2 order arrived incomplete, I decided to cancel it and stick with the Yona for the long haul. I’ve been using it for seven months now, and it’s surprisingly perfectly fine. Plus if we ever move, it will be a dream to transport. —Kiki Aranita
Theme Week
The serious runners of the Strategist (there happen to be a lot of them) took over the site in early May. Below, some things they can’t run without.
Writer and marathoner Jeremy Rellosa uses this handheld water bottle to bring electrolyte drinks on runs, which helps him run longer distances. Unlike other handheld bottles, this one doesn’t chafe and has room for his phone, keys, and energy gels.
Newsletter editor Ashley Wolfgang says these compression boots squeeze out her sore calves after long runs and prevent pain the next day. She also likes that they fit easily in a carry-on; she’s taking them to the Chicago Marathon this fall.
After her best track-and-field season in college, writer Brenley Goertzen developed plantar fasciitis so painful she had to take five months off from competing. A foot specialist pointed her to these inserts, which enabled her to stay on her Division I team for two more years.
To keep shin splints at bay, writer and half-marathoner Arielle Avila relies on these compression socks. Without them, “it would take me at the very least two days to get back on my feet post–long run,” she says.
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.
