Strategist Brain is a series where staffers share the stores they’ve stopped into, stuff they’ve spotted, and extra tidbits from stories they’ve worked on. You’ll hear from a different writer every week.
I’m getting married in a month, which is alarmingly soon for me to have a vague idea about what shoes I’ll wear. My dresses are sorted, but the footwear felt like a bigger task. My initial instinct was the Dries Van Noten cutout sandal, which has this sexy, deconstructed Tabi-vibe. Those are almost $800, which could be allotted to something else, like our flower budget or custom matchbooks. I also read Harling Ross’s Substack post making a case for sensible heels that you can walk and dance in all night. While the Dries shoes look comfortable, I can’t be sure that my flat feet won’t be throbbing halfway through the night. I did a lot of trawling through the Ssense sale a few weeks ago, adding some Aeyde options to cart, but ultimately, I couldn’t pull the trigger after watching my cart swell to over a grand. Wedding shoes are likely to get ruined and never be worn again, so I pivoted to my trusty wide-foot-friendly, affordable shoe source, Asos, and found some classic-looking pointy-toe ivory satin heels that were cheap and not too high. They arrived a few days ago, and after trying them on, I immediately felt like a bride.
Here’s everything I’ve seen recently
I’ve been testing the ultrapopular EltaMD sunscreen, a Strategist favorite that is also beloved by dermatologists. The “clear” version is ghoulish on me, and the tinted facial sunscreen was fine but still a little off. Now the deep-tinted version is here, and I’m happy to report that it blends in beautifully.
Stylist Anny Choi recently posted herself wearing a brown drop-waist dress from Tory Burch that I wanted when it first came out and then swiftly excised from my brain when I saw the price tag. Now it’s on sale for $349, which is still pricey but a much more manageable pill to swallow.
At the top of the week, I went to Target and ended up leaving with two dresses: a striped sweater tank dress that feels heavy in a good way and an open-stitch maxi-dress situation that would make for a good beach cover-up.
I also stopped by Old Navy to restock on my favorite quarter-crews, which are thin and the right height: mid-shin. No need for scrunching, and they look great over leggings.
I also grabbed some white mesh shorts, which fit surprisingly well in the hips and thighs.
I went to Diptyque’s holiday preview last week, and even though I was there to see the candles, I spent lots of time sniffing and testing the perfumes. My favorite of the bunch was Tam Dao, which has this velvety, milky, woody scent. One of the main notes is sandalwood, one of my favorites (I regularly wear Armani Santal Dan Sha). I can’t wait to start wearing this one and am considering layering it with Phlur’s gourmand Heavy Cream. Also on the scent front, Tory Burch recently released Sublime, an interesting floral, leathery scent. It smells good, but I’m also obsessed with the bottle, which has a cool, sculptural shape.
When I was in Ghana, I was entranced by the beauty-salon signs, which decorated a few shops I visited. During a recent visit to my friend Jet’s house, I noticed she had one (she has an enviable art collection more generally), and it reminded me that I want one for myself. Etsy has a nice selection. My favorite so far is this one, but this shop, the Niger Bend, has lots of options.
I’m in need of a vanity for my bedroom, and so far, I haven’t found anything I’m in love with. I am interested in this foldable pine table from Muji, which is a good size and very well priced.
I bought primary-colored Post-it notes from Staples because I wanted red ones (spotted on Emily Schuman’s Substack), specifically in the 2x2 size (better for annotating books without directly marking up the page), and ended up having to throw in retractable Sharpies in order to get free shipping.
I am constantly thinking about ways to maximize storage in my apartment, and right now my fixation is the shoe situation in my entryway. I’ve been using the Open Spaces shelving unit for a few years, but I have too many shoes for that. This tall cabinet from Ikea, designed for bathrooms, feels like a good solution. It has a decent amount of shelves but isn’t so deep that it’ll take up my limited entryway space.
I agreed to buddy-read If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English with one of my favorite Substackers and needed to buy the book. I was in Ridgewood, so I decided to try and find the book in the neighborhood instead of going to McNally Jackson. My first stop was Mil Mundos, a bookstore that has a nonprofit division called El Común, which supports families in Bushwick by providing essential goods and support. No luck, but I ended up buying The Black Jacobins, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, and The Gilded Ones, because I have no self-control. Then I went to Topos a few minutes away. It didn’t have it either, but I ended up grabbing Ralph Ellison’s Juneteenth, a novel he was working on at the time of his passing, and some hibiscus tea at its on-site café.
I’m also always screenshotting and taking pictures of books to read later. Four added to my photos folder this week: Time of the Flies, by Claudia Piñeiro; Sacrificio, by Ernesto Mestre-Reed; All Our Yesterdays, by Natalia Ginzburg; and Scaffolding, by Lauren Elkin.
I’m testing out lots of lip liners, and this week I tried the Tower 28 One-Liner, which, if the brand’s PR emails are to be believed, is beloved by Hailey Bieber. After carefully lining my lips in the darkest shade, Draw Me, a chocolate brown, I understand the hype. It’s creamy but precise and blended nicely into my natural lip color. I even overlined slightly and managed to not look crazy.
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.
